Audiophiles...Good sounds

think i read about a test they did once. They used like top of the line gold plated wire and coat hangers to attach some amp and player to some nice speakers...no one could tell the difference...

as long as they are properly shielded i don't think it matters personally that much.

 

Yea, different components will sound different with different wires, and I think is more noticeable with audio than it is with video.

For example, silver conductors will tend to sound bright, and work well with components that lack in high ranges. Different wires will also change response. I had a cheap RocketFish sub cable for the Velodyne sub, it sounded ok. I switched it out for a AudioQuest SubX cable and the bass is noticeably tighter and crisp, but it did loose a little 'umph'.

Good wires will also have better insulation, resulting in less interference from other components/wires.

 

I was looking at a Nuforce uDAC-2. I like the size and it would look good sitting on top of my BX5 D2's. I know its a "headphone" amplifier but would it work?

Budget $150 or less. Looking for something compact that I could be mobile with. Mac sound cards suck and I want something that will work with the monitors and a pair of quality headphones when I get them.

Right now the monitors are just plugged into the samsung tv with a TRS to 3.5mm cable. I know these monitors would sound much better with something in between the tv/computer/iphone whatever I'm playing music off of.

I'm relatively new to this audio game. But I really enjoy getting the most out of my music. I occasionally listen to Flac files, have a few live recordings of The Doors. Really love Jim's banter and Ray's keys with that fender piano bass.

 

Check out these DAC's. May be a little pricey, but paired with a quality headphone like Sennheiser, and a headphone amp, and listening to ONLY WAV or FLAC files, you will not be disappointed. NO MP3s, ever!!!!!!
http://audiophilereview.com/cd-dac-digital/audiophile-reviews-top-five-dacs-under-1000.html

 

Look at this DAC

http://www.jdslabs.com/item.php?fetchitem=46

Honestly, I've had 500 dollar dacs and this one is 90 percent of what they were. Udac-2 is good but not even close to the JDS ODAC IMO. It is also smaller than the udac is but it is only a dac, meaning you cant plug headphones directly into it, it only has line level output.

 

Wow this thread moved quickly considering it was started today! I smelled audiophiles and legit just wandered in here. Like, I've never been in this Entertainment section of the forum before no joke.

For sure. If you've got enough gain in your amp turn up "Private Investigations" and listen the whole way through. It's recorded VERY quietly but man is it ever a trip.

I posted my new towers in another thread somewhere on TW. I own StereoClarity.com and build/design/sell speakers. These are my current flagship towers that are in my listening room. I call them the LA-50. Line array towers with 50 drivers per set. Each has a 500 watt plate amp on the rear to run the subwoofer section and the upper midbass and tweeter lines are passive.

I can't even describe the level of detail that these produce. The best part is that distortion remains almost non existent. Because they're so capable they never really have to try/strain very hard.

PS: Solid walnut.

 

ermagerd, you make some nice towers man! Are you a small shop or just make speakers for local clients?

 

Good shit man
I bet those do sound great.

And I agree, 'Private Investigations' is one of my favs too.

 

No physical shop. Everything I do is through my website.

I've started building amplified media servers too. I had this vision one day while hooking up my home theater that it would be really cool to have no interconnects. This would mean everything would need to be in one box. So I decided to take a stab at it.

The end result is what I call the "OneSource". Basically, it's a home theater PC, Receiver, DVD/BluRay player, and media organizer in one box. You can even watch TV through it. Basically, you just plug in your HDMI to the TV, plug in your speakers....then press the on button. I haven't sold any yet but I'm about to get it reviewed so hopefully it gets favorable press and I can sell a few!

 

I'm not a true audiophile, but I appreciate quality sounding music, I am on a college budget or I would have some stuff that is a bit nicer. I run an onkyo 5.1 system in my apartment (best I could afford since I found it on sale). But for the last year or so, I have had a fixation on vinyl, making me really want to get a turn table, anyone know of one that would work well on a cheap skate college kid budget that sounds good?

and sweet jesus those are some awesome looking (and I'm sure sounding) speaker towers...I love walnut

 

Nice! be sure to post a link to your website and any pictures of that "OneSource"

Keep up that awesome work!

 

Thanks! Here'a a peek inside the 7 channel home theater version. This is a shot of the amp. It's 125x7 @8ohms. The two channel "audiophile" box has 250watts per side and a signal to noise ratio of 120db.

Website is www.StereoClarity.com




Truthfully, I don't expect to get rich of this stuff. But it funds my own audio habits which are quite expensive.

 

But back to music....I recently picked up a copy of Lightning Hopkins "Blues Hoot".
You want something recorded well that has character? Holy cow man...this is where it's at. The intro song where he's lamenting about when this chick stole his car is just too cool. You can hear other people in the jazz club, waiters, and you can hear when he accidentally bumps into the mic. I might could dropbox if y'all want to pm...

 

Very nice web spread I'll have to check out blues hoot!

 

HOLY SHIT!!!

thats fucking sick!!

Again...DAMN!

ooooooo...that sounds like it would be cool!

 

Wow. Mind-blown. Those towers are sick!

 

Good to know that some young folks still care about music, the sonic quality, and richness of tones....rather than shitty compressed and noisy files played thru an ipod. Bravo!

 

Beats FTW

 

Best. Headphones. Ever. Hooked to an iPod the sound is just incredible.