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Going Digital!

Man, you guys are burning up the keyboards! All great stuff here, I have appreciated a bit of Oscar-Wisdom myself, and the neat part about it is this, it ain't all about hifi/music either. Sometimes it is just about life itself, and I appreciate that! So carry on!
 
TimF said:
Man, you guys are burning up the keyboards! All great stuff here, I have appreciated a bit of Oscar-Wisdom myself, and the neat part about it is this, it ain't all about hifi/music either. Sometimes it is just about life itself, and I appreciate that! So carry on!
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Hi Tim,

Thanks for the kind words, as I've told Byron last night.........., it's because of him that I'm trying to be calmer these days, but knowing guys like you has had an ever more intense effect on my current outlook as well - so thank you for being whom you're as well. I'm honored knowing guys whom are of the closer to God then I've been since 1999, when it seems anger sort of took over - but there are times when I feel better relating to some then others.

Take care of " You ". ( Yes, I spelled it like that on purpose, so please no jokes about gramma ).

:scratch2:_oh
 
BenWaB3 said:
Here's a link to the iFi site I took off of Head-Fi. It's some burn in tracks for the Micro or any other component in the chain. Mine probably has hit the 100 hour milestone but not the 200 yet. As usual, YMMV.

http://ifi-audio.com/audio_blog/burn-in-like-a-pro/
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Thanks Ben,

I missed that one all together, along with studying the meaning of the different light colors that Byron gets on me about when I'm sampling higher ratings of Hi-Rez downloads, as right now.........., I'm all over the place, which is why I know that once I do get around to listening to DSD its all over with, but until then..........., I'm just having fun and trying to figure some of this out along the way.

Thanks again.
O_o scar
 
botrytis said:
This was totally discussed on AK. It was a big huge deal.

I thought it was a good article, many thought he was condescending.

Let's get back to the OT, so any new revelations from the DACs?

:lurk:
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Oops!,

My bad, as I don't sit here and read every single entry posted here, I was aware of that, but I certainly will walk lightly next time, as I'd hate to have the moderator deleting my post.

Back on topic then Drill Sargent.
:tears:
 
botrytis said:
Not a worry Oscar!! :D

I just want you carry on and enjoy!!
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Thanks Dave,

I was so worried there for a moment, as I felt I'd lose my street cred for not reading more, but of late it's all about the listening sessions more then reading - writing, and darn near anything I'd add.

Onwards...........,
 
BenWaB3 said:
I've been one of the beneficiaries of Oscar's largesse so I'll chime in a bit here. He sent the Straightwire USB-link cable to me In comparison to the stock iFi cable there is a difference to my ears anyway. I've been comparing the Straightwire to the original iFi cable for the testing. One of Oscar's posts on AK describes how he listens to the bass, especially in a Jazz context, I'll use Monty Alexander's version of I've Got You Under My Skin from the Echoes Of Jilly's album as an example. Monty is on piano with Troy Davis on drums & John Patituci on bass. The arrangement for the head is Latin for the verses & swing for the bridge. John's lines seem more solid with the Straightwire, the presence, impact & pacing more "there". There are a couple places in the bridge where John is doing triplet grace notes. They are clearer with the SW. During the verses the Troy is doing mostly high hat, snare & bass drum. When he does some open to closed hits on the h.h. it can sound a little like that's being run through a phase shifter with the stock cable - much less so with the SW. He goes to the ride cymbal on the bridge section & you can hear it "peeking around" the piano, which is the dominant part of the mix, a little better with the SW. Another song I use for my tests is 10 Minutes Til The Savages Come from Manhattan Transfer's The Offbeat Of Avenues album. Again the (acoustic) bass has more authority with the SW. Not only does it sound deeper but you can hear the overtones a little better too, along with more solidity. On Natalie Cole's version of Route 66 the drummer's brushes have more snap & clarity. The bass has the same improvements mentioned in the last 2 examples (I'm not close to the CD to see the credits, but you know Ray Brown when you hear him). I'm pretty sure that's Monty Alexander on piano on that track too. Moving to other genres I listen to Sure Fire One by Liquid Soul to hear the multiple grace note bass drum hits in the instrumental section. Again, a little clearer with the SW. Lou Rawls' One Life To Live is another example where the bass is more defined & the recording as a whole is more focused. Keep in mind this is probably considered an entry level cable so some of the higher end ones Oscar and slippers-on are trying out now should produce even better results. Sorry for getting so long winded with the "brief" post.
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Hello Ben!

Thanks for adding to thread! Nice to hear you listen to music, and it's such fun discovering what sounds good to one in his system. I've heard about the great reputation of Straight Wire products...Keep up the listening and feel free to report your findings here.
 
Just an observation gentlemen.

Ignorance was bliss for me. True bliss. I used to stream FM from some of my favorite stations on my iPod or iPhone and enjoyed it. I actually thought it was decent fidelity.

Then I discovered High Resolution. Ouch. Now, the least I can listen to is 128 AAC. Gone are the days of blissful streaming of FM or music from services like Spotify. Surprisingly, Amazon Prime Music Streaming sounds like it's around the 128 benchmark for me.

When you go down this dark side, it's a pretty deep plunge. :)
 
It's sounding great. I'm using the Straightwire usb cable from Oscar & the interconnects to the preamp are generic. The preamp is a Rogue Audio 99 Super Magnum with NOS Sylvania tubes & Herbie's tube dampers. The interconnects from that are entry level Morrow cables. Right now I'm using a Yamaha M4 power amp. The Rogue has an odd habit off causing power amp relays to click in & out. It was doing so with a Mitsubishi DA-150 & also with the Yamaha until I discovered (by accident) that turning on a switch on the back of the amp that cuts out anything below 10Hz solved the problem. However I bought a pair of high pass filters built into a female to male rca plug to try with the Mitsubishi & it still cuts out.The speakers are either a pair of JSE Infinite Slope model .6's in a near-field situation on either side of the computer monitor or a pair of Infinite Slope model 2's that are off to the left side. If I want to listen to them I'll just push the chair away from the computer & turn 90 degrees lt. That's where I do my "critical listening". Neither pair of speakers has the right to sound good considering the room layout I have to use but somehow they manage to sound great. The speaker cables are generic monoprice wires, 14g. to the .6's & 12g. to the 2's. The guy who sold the model 2's to me also gave me a length of cable he had gotten from a factory somewhere. It doesn't have a brand on it but he said it is used by the US Air Force in their planes. It has closely woven solid white sheathing & 4 solid silver wires inside. I keep breaking in first one thing & then another so have never gotten around to putting the newer speaker cabling into play. With the tubes in the 99 the 2's sometimes sound a bit "polite" so I would like to see if the silver speaker wire livens them up a bit. The .6's sound a bit more lively on their own. I'm thinking my next step might be to try some silver interconnects between preamp & amp to see if that livens things up a bit also. So that is the system as it stands now. I'm reading, with great interest, the posts you & Oscar have been putting here with descriptions of your cabling experiments & experiences.
 
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BenWaB3 said:
It's sounding great. I'm using the Straightwire usb cable from Oscar & the interconnects to the preamp are generic. The preamp is a Rogue Audio 99 Super Magnum with NOS Sylvania tubes & Herbie's tube dampers. The interconnects from that are entry level Morrow cables. Right now I'm using a Yamaha M4 power amp. The Rogue has an odd habit off causing power amp relays to click in & out. It was doing so with a Mitsubishi DA-150 & also with the Yamaha until I discovered (by accident) that turning on a switch on the back of the amp that cuts out anything below 10Hz solved the problem. However I bought a pair of high pass filters built into a female to male rca plug to try with the Mitsubishi & it still cuts out.The speakers are either a pair of JSE Infinite Slope model .6's in a near-field situation on either side of the computer monitor or a pair of Infinite Slope model 2's that are off to the left side. If I want to listen to them I'll just push the chair away from the computer & turn 90 degrees lt. That's where I do my "critical listening". Neither pair of speakers has the right to sound good considering the room layout I have to use but somehow they manage to sound great. The speaker cables are generic monoprice wires, 14g. to the .6's & 12g. to the 2's. The guy who sold the model 2's to me also gave me a length of cable he had gotten from a factory somewhere. It doesn't have a brand on it but he said it is used by the US Air Force in their planes. It has closely woven solid white sheathing & 4 solid silver wires inside. I keep breaking in first one thing & then another so have never gotten around to putting the newer speaker cabling into play. With the tubes in the 99 the 2's sometimes sound a bit "polite" so I would like to see if the silver speaker wire livens them up a bit. The .6's sound a bit more lively on their own. I'm thinking my next step might be to try some silver interconnects between preamp & amp to see if that livens things up a bit also. So that is the system as it stands now. I'm reading, with great interest, the posts you & Oscar have been putting here with descriptions of your cabling experiments & experiences.
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Good evening Ben,

Thanks again for chiming in, I was going to write you personally in regards to cable options, but then felt the need to share it here, as mentioned elsewhere I worked in the audio retail trade during my youth as a hardware buyer and as such travels many many places as a effort of finding newer items of worth to introduce to our somewhat pickier then most upscale clients, but in doing so developed a rather good ear as it related to timing and pitch of instruments much like we were at the time taught the rules of PRAT to the point we breathed it during our sleep.

Anyways, over the years since, I've ventured outwards to expose many domestic as well as imported brands regardless of cost, and having heard back in 1993 at a local dealers home whom had ( still does ) some of the most diverse components from around the globe I had ever seen/heard - it was one evening when we where comparing the more upscale Nordost Vahalla against something he had just bought into his home - and to this very day it's one of those cheap cables that either fits your system or doesn't?, and received great ink ( reviews ) with a few negative ones I should add, but as always just like the question I posed yesterday about someone not hearing Shindo Labs at its best.............., one has to look at the supporting cast, as P Diddy can't act - so why would he be selected as James Bond 007 and so on?.

But said cable was/is the Alphacore/Goretz TQ2 Silver Ribbon that still retails for say 1.5m/$189, and remains the only silver based ICs that I more often then not recommend to those whom can afford Audio Note/Kondo or Shindo Labs on a purely sonic level I should add, and I'm inclined to think these would improve your listening pleasure tenfold - if nothing else,may a small deposit via the Cable Company to audition them in home........, and let me know what you hear?.

When it comes to Tubes - Isolation Devices and Cabling Looms, I've studied these long enough to have a feel and ear for what's what, and needed where.

Test my ears/judgment and call me out if I'm wrong?. I'm here to help, not hurt.

As a matter of fact, I want to test you on how I hear - this is the type of sound I pursue as someone whom has owned over 20 pairs of Mini-Monitors since 1982, can you appreciate this sort of sound? If so........., I ask that you trust my ears, because KEF LS 50s aren't going to give you this, enjoy ( hopefully? ):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlYObIagjdw#t=137

Live life.........., go 4 it.

O_o scar
 
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Kt77 said:
Good evening Ben,

Thanks again for chiming in, I was going to write you personally in regards to cable options, but then felt the need to share it here, as mentioned elsewhere I worked in the audio retail trade during my youth as a hardware buyer and as such travels many many places as a effort of finding newer items of worth to introduce to our somewhat pickier then most upscale clients, but in doing so developed a rather good ear as it related to timing and pitch of instruments much like we were at the time taught the rules of PRAT to the point we breathed it during our sleep.

Anyways, over the years since, I've ventured outwards to expose many domestic as well as imported brands regardless of cost, and having heard back in 1993 at a local dealers home whom had ( still does ) some of the most diverse components from around the globe I had ever seen/heard - it was one evening when we where comparing the more upscale Nordost Vahalla against something he had just bought into his home - and to this very day it's one of those cheap cables that either fits your system or doesn't?, and received great ink ( reviews ) with a few negative ones I should add, but as always just like the question I posed yesterday about someone not hearing Shindo Labs at its best.............., one has to look at the supporting cast, as P Diddy can't act - so why would he be selected as James Bond 007 and so on?.

But said cable was/is the Alphacore/Goretz TQ2 Silver Ribbon that still retails for say 1.5m/$189, and remains the only silver based ICs that I more often then not recommend to those whom can afford Audio Note/Kondo or Shindo Labs on a purely sonic level I should add, and I'm inclined to think these would improve your listening pleasure tenfold - if nothing else,may a small deposit via the Cable Company to audition them in home........, and let me know what you hear?.

When it comes to Tubes - Isolation Devices and Cabling Looms, I've studied these long enough to have a feel and ear for what's what, and needed where.

Test my ears/judgment and call me out if I'm wrong?. I'm here to help, not hurt.

As a matter of fact, I want to test you on how I hear - this is the type of sound I pursue as someone whom has owned over 20 pairs of Mini-Monitors since 1982, can you appreciate this sort of sound? If so........., I ask that you trust my ears, because KEF LS 50s aren't going to give you this, enjoy ( hopefully? ):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlYObIagjdw#t=137

Live life.........., go 4 it.

O_o scar
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Thanks for posting the link Oscar. Yeah, I've had 3 sets of KEF's in the past and while I have absolutely nothing bad to say about them they just didn't "float my boat" as they say. There's definitely nothing wrong with the Infinite Slopes either. Before changing the system around I was running them with a Mitsubishi DA-P10 preamp & DA-A15DC amp & the politeness wasn't there. That came in when I put the Rogue pre into the chain, and it's certainly not bad either. The Fosteks in the link sound great too. A lot of definition. There is some harshness & a bit of shrillness but I attribute that to the video camera with a built in mike being placed in front of them & then probably being published in mp3 format. The sound in the actual room probably had no distortion or shrillness at all. Still there are some that don't like that type of sound and they are as correct in their preferences as we in ours. Different strokes, etc. Another speaker brand that I like that would be categorized in the "revealing" camp, like the Fosteks, would be Monitor Audio. I've heard a couple of those that I really liked. Revealing but not over the top about it, to me at least. Anyway, apologies for letting this stray from the iDSD Micro subject at hand.
 
BillyBatts said:
Just an observation gentlemen.

Ignorance was bliss for me. True bliss. I used to stream FM from some of my favorite stations on my iPod or iPhone and enjoyed it. I actually thought it was decent fidelity.

Then I discovered High Resolution. Ouch. Now, the least I can listen to is 128 AAC. Gone are the days of blissful streaming of FM or music from services like Spotify. Surprisingly, Amazon Prime Music Streaming sounds like it's around the 128 benchmark for me.

When you go down this dark side, it's a pretty deep plunge. :)
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That's easier for you Seattleites to say. sir :) We rt. coasters need to depend on streaming to get our Jazz24 fix. But, pertinent to this discussion, that's where the iDSD Micro comes in handy - it seems to smooth out the low streaming rate & makes the station sound better than if I'm streaming over the phone or on the kitchen system. And I'm sure we'll agree, whether we have to use streaming or not, life is much better with jazz24 than without it :)
 
BenWaB3 said:
Thanks for posting the link Oscar. Yeah, I've had 3 sets of KEF's in the past and while I have absolutely nothing bad to say about them they just didn't "float my boat" as they say. There's definitely nothing wrong with the Infinite Slopes either. Before changing the system around I was running them with a Mitsubishi DA-P10 preamp & DA-A15DC amp & the politeness wasn't there. That came in when I put the Rogue pre into the chain, and it's certainly not bad either. The Fosteks in the link sound great too. A lot of definition. There is some harshness & a bit of shrillness but I attribute that to the video camera with a built in mike being placed in front of them & then probably being published in mp3 format. The sound in the actual room probably had no distortion or shrillness at all. Still there are some that don't like that type of sound and they are as correct in their preferences as we in ours. Different strokes, etc. Another speaker brand that I like that would be categorized in the "revealing" camp, like the Fosteks, would be Monitor Audio. I've heard a couple of those that I really liked. Revealing but not over the top about it, to me at least. Anyway, apologies for letting this stray from the iDSD Micro subject at hand.
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Good ears Ben,

You were able to pick up on said effects from the low tech microphone, and still were able to understand what I meant about the speakers actual sound, like you I'm aware that there are many flavors of the rainbow, and not everyone is going to select the same one which makes life that much more interesting as diversity is the key to having these options.

I can hear what some misunderstand about many of the Monitor Audio Speaker designs as well - most have only taken time to hear the earlier versions from let's say 1987 - 1995 and formed a negative opinion of them based upon their use of metal dome tweeters being overly extended, when in fact if they like many designs were placed behind a system with tubes in it, more often then not it would tame said sense of brightness and offer a more rounder presentation while filling in the midband and offering more weight.

As per your Sylvania 6SN7s in your Rogue 99, if we're talking NOS Black Plated versions?, they are one of the most refined ones every made, along with the Brimar or Tung-Sol Black Glass versions, but your mistake is that one should never rely upon the same brand/sonics of any given tube used more then once within their systems other then power tubes - in your case if you wanted to add more presence or snap to the lower treble to upper midrange areas to have greater attack?, then adding two Russian Foton Factory ( don't laugh as one has to take into account that the Russians never stopped making or using tubes,and that some factories had better sound then others ) as shown here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MATCHED-PAI...977?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ce2054921

Who knows......, you might be surprised by the overall results. It's the little details that count.

Now back to a word from our sponsor.
 
Boy, while I am enjoying this read, you guys are really long winded. I don't think I could come up with that much to say in one post. whew.. bro.
 
keithpgdrb said:
Boy, while I am enjoying this read, you guys are really long winded. I don't think I could come up with that much to say in one post. whew.. bro.
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Brevity has never been my strong suit. Unfortunately there are several of my other posts scattered around the AK site to back up my assertion.
 
I can only speak for myself in saying - I feel the need to share, and omitting detail that's vital simply isn't my way, hence so many stories to tell.

My bad.

O_oh.
 
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