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Audiophile GAF

teezzy

teezzy

Banned


Appears to be a modern take on M-Audio's M-Track 2x2 USB_C... like almost exactly. That device was discontinued. I'll trust that this has better driver support as a result.
 
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Mistershine.

Mistershine.

Banned
TeezzyD said:
My phone has a jank 3.5mm. I'd try it on my PSP, but I'm lazy.

It's already too late though - I've ordered the M-Audio AIR 192|4 with some TRS cables. Went with this over the FocusRite Scarlett.

I'll admit, I appreciate a large knob XD
Click to expand...
PC audio isn't my thing, normally if people want a better 3.5mm output I recommend(and sell):
www.whathifi.com

Home review

There wasn't much wrong with the Award-winning Hugo, but Chord doesn't rest on its laurels...
www.whathifi.com www.whathifi.com

The joys of a hifi business.
 
Mistershine.

Mistershine.

Banned
Maiden Voyage said:
I would love to test drive a Hugo. Sadly I’m hours away from the nearest Hifi shop.
Click to expand...
I have one of these upstairs in the demo room:
www.whathifi.com

Home review

Eight grand is a high price tag for a DAC, but the DAVE more than merits it...
www.whathifi.com www.whathifi.com
But it's been put to one side as we have one of these on loan:
www.audioemotion.co.uk

Nagra Tube DAC | Audio Emotion

The Nagra TUBE DAC is a no-compromise D A converter that can reproduce DSD 256 and 384 kHz PCM signals with an unparalleled
www.audioemotion.co.uk www.audioemotion.co.uk
 
Ribi

Ribi

Member
bought some Blon bl03 for 25 and should be here this week. Im excited and am looking towards owning some moondrop starfields in the near future for pc use. Only worry on those is the paintchipping and the apparent issues of the left ear losing sound over time due to flter issues but then moondrop said they changed some things recently so idk if its still a problem?
 
T

TheHighFlyingBirds

Member
Mistershine. said:
I have one of these upstairs in the demo room:
www.whathifi.com

Home review

Eight grand is a high price tag for a DAC, but the DAVE more than merits it...
www.whathifi.com www.whathifi.com
But it's been put to one side as we have one of these on loan:
www.audioemotion.co.uk

Nagra Tube DAC | Audio Emotion

The Nagra TUBE DAC is a no-compromise D A converter that can reproduce DSD 256 and 384 kHz PCM signals with an unparalleled
www.audioemotion.co.uk www.audioemotion.co.uk
Click to expand...
I'd also love to hear some high end gear to see if I can hear any difference. 50k for DAC and PSU is insane.

We need some more pics, will get a pic of my setup when I get chance, as now upgraded my diy manual amp selector switch to a diy auto amp selector switch.
 
Mistershine.

Mistershine.

Banned
TheHighFlyingBirds said:
I'd also love to hear some high end gear to see if I can hear any difference. 50k for DAC and PSU is insane.

We need some more pics, will get a pic of my setup when I get chance, as now upgraded my diy manual amp selector switch to a diy auto amp selector switch.
Click to expand...
It's very much a diminishing returns situation. Going from a cheap £500 hifi in a box to a £2000 system with an amp, speakers, and cables is a massive upgrade. Going from £2000 to £5000 is less noticeable, as is 5k to 10k, 10k to 20k, 20k to 50k, and so on. People spend thousands on ethernet and usb cables in order to extract every ounce of performance or of their systems.
 
Can't decide

Can't decide

Member
Mistershine. said:
It's very much a diminishing returns situation. Going from a cheap £500 hifi in a box to a £2000 system with an amp, speakers, and cables is a massive upgrade. Going from £2000 to £5000 is less noticeable
Click to expand...

Reminds me of when I was demoing speakers when I was building up my system. One day I wanted to listen to something outside of my budget. I had what are now my current Monitor Audio S10's side by side with a pair of either B&W 803D or 804D speakers, which were 3.5 times the price. Other than detail in the low-mid range, there was virtually indistinguishable differences between them. If anything, the cheaper S10's had the slightest of edges at the upper end and vocals. You have to spend stupid money to get anything noticeably better.
 
T

TheHighFlyingBirds

Member
Mistershine. said:
It's very much a diminishing returns situation. Going from a cheap £500 hifi in a box to a £2000 system with an amp, speakers, and cables is a massive upgrade. Going from £2000 to £5000 is less noticeable, as is 5k to 10k, 10k to 20k, 20k to 50k, and so on. People spend thousands on ethernet and usb cables in order to extract every ounce of performance or of their systems.
Click to expand...
Oh I know, I'm part of AVforum and see some of the questions people ask about USB cables, etc. I agree about diminishing returns after going so high, but some of it is pure snake oil, seen people question if a power cable to hook up their amp should be replaced by one that costs a few hundred quid, but ignore the fact their house wiring is plain old 2.5mm twin and earth which feeds the socket to their potentially expensive power lead.

Anyway, one can dream of an expensive, well engineered system that looks and sounds the business, until then I'm happy enough with my setup (until i get the itch to want to upgrade, which will be a new receiver :) ).
 
Mistershine.

Mistershine.

Banned
Can't decide said:
Reminds me of when I was demoing speakers when I was building up my system. One day I wanted to listen to something outside of my budget. I had what are now my current Monitor Audio S10's side by side with a pair of either B&W 803D or 804D speakers, which were 3.5 times the price. Other than detail in the low-mid range, there was virtually indistinguishable differences between them. If anything, the cheaper S10's had the slightest of edges at the upper end and vocals. You have to spend stupid money to get anything noticeably better.
Click to expand...
It's all a balancing act, and knowing what to pair with what. Not all amps and speakers are "compatible" as it were, what sounds great with a naim amp might sound dodgy on a Rega amp, some speakers are better suited to classical and others rock or jazz and so on. My speakers are 20 odd years old and work really well for movies and games as well as music. I have no intention of replacing them as it would cost the best part of 10k to get a decent upgrade
 
Soodanim

Soodanim

Gold Member
Hello AudioGAF. I have a question.

I have a set of Steljes NS3, which are powered speakers. I have two choices for sound output from my PC, and I want to know if the extra clicks of switching the sound output is worth it. Motherboard is ASUS Z-97A, which supports 192 khz/24-bit.

Connection 1: Motherboard speaker output via 3.5mm to 3.5mm
Connection 2: HDMI to TV, which outputs all audio via optical to the speakers

Is it worth the clicks to switch from 1 to 2?
 
T

TheHighFlyingBirds

Member
Mistershine. said:
It's all a balancing act, and knowing what to pair with what. Not all amps and speakers are "compatible" as it were, what sounds great with a naim amp might sound dodgy on a Rega amp, some speakers are better suited to classical and others rock or jazz and so on. My speakers are 20 odd years old and work really well for movies and games as well as music. I have no intention of replacing them as it would cost the best part of 10k to get a decent upgrade
Click to expand...
Without going back through the thread, what speakers you rocking?
 
T

TheHighFlyingBirds

Member
Mistershine. said:
Rega Jura Mk1, and the potential replacements would be https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/focal-kanta-no3 in yellow. Although they're priced at 9k I would get a 40% discount as we're Focal dealers.
Click to expand...
Never seen any rega speakers in the wild but they seem to have quite a bit of a following.
Wow, thats a nice speaker, focal are well regarded, would love to hear them. What colour you aiming for? Where you work out of interest? Obviously, understand if you don't want to say.

If I could get upgrades on my speakers, I would love some Kef reference or MA platinums. Also like the JBL L100s, they just look like they have been made for kicking out tunes from old vinyl. Until then, I'll have to stick to my qacoustics :(
 
Mistershine.

Mistershine.

Banned
TheHighFlyingBirds said:
Never seen any rega speakers in the wild but they seem to have quite a bit of a following.
Wow, thats a nice speaker, focal are well regarded, would love to hear them. What colour you aiming for? Where you work out of interest? Obviously, understand if you don't want to say.

If I could get upgrades on my speakers, I would love some Kef reference or MA platinums. Also like the JBL L100s, they just look like they have been made for kicking out tunes from old vinyl. Until then, I'll have to stick to my qacoustics :(
Click to expand...
I'm trying not to name drop my business as manufacturers can get really touchy about dealers revealing discount levels.

If I get the Focals then I'll get the yellow ones, they just look fun.

The kef reference series are OK but for the money you can get better. We have 1s, 3s, and 5s at work and they all sound a bit bland compared to their peers. For old school looking no nonsense speakers I like the Harbeth range, but they're a bit wide for my layout.

If you're looking for a vinyl setup then you could do much worse than the Rega One kit, which includes io amp, p1 turntable, kyte speakers, and cables for less that a grand. Fantastic value and a really good entry point with great upgrade options in the future.

On a bonus note for me, we found a pair of sennheiser HD820's at work today so I might have to borrow them for an extended demo.
 
T

TheHighFlyingBirds

Member
No worries. Although must be good working at a hifi shop getting to demo all new kit.

Never heard kefs, just like the look, which is the totally wrong approach for speakers, but hey when you can't listen to them you can at least look.

Already got the p1 with an audio techica cart, works well for me as only just got into vinyl. This is paired with my yammy AS501 (wish it was a AS3000). Maybe next audio upgrade is either better stylus or a dedicated phono amp.

I fancy some headphones, can you recommend any to look at? Need a pair that are easy to drive for an ipod and can be paired with my amp and in £100-200 range. On or over ear only though.
 
Mistershine.

Mistershine.

Banned
TheHighFlyingBirds said:
No worries. Although must be good working at a hifi shop getting to demo all new kit.

Never heard kefs, just like the look, which is the totally wrong approach for speakers, but hey when you can't listen to them you can at least look.

Already got the p1 with an audio techica cart, works well for me as only just got into vinyl. This is paired with my yammy AS501 (wish it was a AS3000). Maybe next audio upgrade is either better stylus or a dedicated phono amp.

I fancy some headphones, can you recommend any to look at? Need a pair that are easy to drive for an ipod and can be paired with my amp and in £100-200 range. On or over ear only though.
Click to expand...
Grado Sr80e are nice on ear and work well with ipods and such for just over £100, long sessions can be a bit uncomfortable if you wear glasses though as the tops of your ears get pressed against the arms. The 225s are another 100 on top but have different cushions and are more comfy. Sennheiser 599 is also a nice choice for less than 200, while the 4.40 are less than 100 and offer Bluetooth and wired connections. It's worth looking up a hifi shop near you, most will be happy to demo them for you. For myself the first thing I look for in headphones is comfort, they could be on your head for several hours so you need to make sure your ears will be fine, after that comes sound quality. I'd happily sacrifice a bit of audio to gain a better feeling set of cans.

One last thing, most hifi headphones don't have a mic for hands free calls and such.
 
JeloSWE

JeloSWE

Member
Here is my current setup:

PC --> Sony ZF9 75" TV --toslink--> miniDSP 2x4 HD (DAC and room correction) --> XTZ EDGE A2-300 (amp) --> SVS Ultra Towers

I'm really happy with the Ultra Towers (27-20.000hz) as I don't feel the need for a subwoofer any more. There is not enough sub 30hz content in the things I usually consume so this 2.0 setup is super convenient. The room corrections and EQ of the miniDSP has been great, it's easy to boost bass even more as well as greatly reducing problematic room modes that previously made the sound bloated around 40hz.
 
Last edited:
teezzy

teezzy

Banned
Wow what kind of crock of shit drivers does M-Audio have for this Air 192|4

Audio just cuts out between VLC files, or switching between Youtube and Spotify, etc

Needs to the USB transferred to different ports over and over before it kicks back in, Windows recognizes it but there's no sound

Removed all the drivers entirely and works great again.

Sounds amazing when it actually works. But seriously I shouldnt have to jump through hoops for a device that literally just connects speakers via usb. Get your shit together M-Audio, this shouldnt be happening within 24 hours with a 2020 product in Windows 10
 
Mistershine.

Mistershine.

Banned
TeezzyD said:
Wow what kind of crock of shit drivers does M-Audio have for this Air 192|4

Audio just cuts out between VLC files, or switching between Youtube and Spotify, etc

Needs to the USB transferred to different ports over and over before it kicks back in, Windows recognizes it but there's no sound

Removed all the drivers entirely and works great again.

Sounds amazing when it actually works. But seriously I shouldnt have to jump through hoops for a device that literally just connects speakers via usb. Get your shit together M-Audio, this shouldnt be happening within 24 hours with a 2020 product in Windows 10
Click to expand...
Sounds like something is activating exclusive mode and not letting go.
 
teezzy

teezzy

Banned
giphy.gif
 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
JeloSWE said:
Here is my current setup:

PC --> Sony ZF9 75" TV --toslink--> miniDSP 2x4 HD (DAC and room correction) --> XTZ EDGE A2-300 (amp) --> SVS Ultra Towers

I'm really happy with the Ultra Towers (27-20.000hz) as I don't feel the need for a subwoofer any more. There is not enough sub 30hz content in the things I usually consume so this 2.0 setup is super convenient. The room corrections and EQ of the miniDSP has been great, it's easy to boost bass even more as well as greatly reducing problematic room modes that previously made the sound bloated around 40hz.
Click to expand...
How's your separate handling those towers?
 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
JeloSWE said:
Separate...? Are you referring to my fictive other half :D
Click to expand...
Your amp. That's a separate. I stick to a/v's (they've come a long way) since the 00s so I was curious as how your amp handled your towers.
 
Maiden Voyage

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
SixFourMike said:
Hello AudioGAF. I have a question.

I have a set of Steljes NS3, which are powered speakers. I have two choices for sound output from my PC, and I want to know if the extra clicks of switching the sound output is worth it. Motherboard is ASUS Z-97A, which supports 192 khz/24-bit.

Connection 1: Motherboard speaker output via 3.5mm to 3.5mm
Connection 2: HDMI to TV, which outputs all audio via optical to the speakers

Is it worth the clicks to switch from 1 to 2?
Click to expand...

The DAC / processing on your mobo will be better than your TV. I'd say 1, but the best test is with your own ears.


TeezzyD said:
Wow what kind of crock of shit drivers does M-Audio have for this Air 192|4

Audio just cuts out between VLC files, or switching between Youtube and Spotify, etc

Needs to the USB transferred to different ports over and over before it kicks back in, Windows recognizes it but there's no sound

Removed all the drivers entirely and works great again.

Sounds amazing when it actually works. But seriously I shouldnt have to jump through hoops for a device that literally just connects speakers via usb. Get your shit together M-Audio, this shouldnt be happening within 24 hours with a 2020 product in Windows 10
Click to expand...

No reason to use their exclusive audio codecs, tbh. Just use WASAPI or ASIO.
 
JeloSWE

JeloSWE

Member
SLoWMoTIoN said:
Your amp. That's a separate. I stick to a/v's (they've come a long way) since the 00s so I was curious as how your amp handled your towers.
Click to expand...
No problems at all. Can drive the speakers loud and clear with full lower end. But I'm not as experienced in audio as I am with displays, so maybe just maybe another amp could make a difference. Though the amp has gotten very good review from some notable youtube high-end audiophiles. I live in the same country as the maker so it was very convenient to order.
 
Last edited:
teezzy

teezzy

Banned
Maiden Voyage said:
The DAC / processing on your mobo will be better than your TV. I'd say 1, but the best test is with your own ears.




No reason to use their exclusive audio codecs, tbh. Just use WASAPI or ASIO.
Click to expand...

Let me make sure I'm picking up what you''re putting down.

In this instance - the M-Audio drivers contain their proprietary codecs?

How can I control which codecs VLC, Spotify, games, and Firefox utilize? This is an entirely new rabbit hole for me.

I appreciate your help, especially if if I'm completely lost here.
 
Maiden Voyage

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
TeezzyD said:
Let me make sure I'm picking up what you''re putting down.

In this instance - the M-Audio drivers contain their proprietary codecs?

How can I control which codecs VLC, Spotify, games, and Firefox utilize? This is an entirely new rabbit hole for me.

I appreciate your help, especially if if I'm completely lost here.
Click to expand...

Sorry-not codec. I meant driver. More info on WASAPI here.

For standard listening, just use the default drivers in Windows. They're much better than they used to be.
In programs like Foobar you can set the driver to WASAPI or ASIO provided you have them. I don't use VLC for music so I'm not sure of it's capabilities in picking output.
Spotify doesn't let you pick your output, so it will route through the OS anyway. Not sure on Firefox.

Honestly, the standard windows drivers are decent enough for 99% of uses. Unless you're getting super into hi-res & high-end gear, I wouldn't worry about codecs and such.

Take a look at this post about disabling Windows audio "enhancements" is the default doesn't sound good:
 
Mistershine.

Mistershine.

Banned
TheHighFlyingBirds said:
Ive never heard of them. What power is the amp? What is the thing at the top left? Is it yours? Also need some sources as well by the looks of it. Sorry for all questions.
Click to expand...
The amp is 100w per channel, the top left is a cd player. The current setup is essentially a CD player, there are other bits we can connect to it but they are from different manufacturers so they don't look as neat on the rack(which is about £3000).
 
kingbean

kingbean

Member
Does anyone know of any better pads for the Audtio Technica M60Xs? After like 20 minutes those things hurt my ears and they're supposed to be very comfortable, but they just aint.
 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
kingbean said:
I only wear glasses when I'm not at my desk, and no my ears are pretty normal.

I got used to wearing AKG k7xxs which dont even touch my ears.
Click to expand...
You either have a big head or the phones are too small. Might not be the pads at all.
 
Chittagong

Chittagong

Gold Member
WBbmP9H.jpg


Here is my setup. Actually got into audio and headphones via GAF back in the day.

Hifiman HE-1000 headphones
Cambridge Audio 851N streamer over AE
Schiit Yggdrasil DAC
Schiit Ragnarok amp

Right below the setup is a beer fridge, so I can kick back and enjoy music with a cold one.


XnFlj5O.jpg


Have had this setup for almost 4 years now. It seems pretty timeless, I haven’t been compelled to update anything after I got the streamer.

HE-1000 are a really pleasant pair for relaxation.
 
T

TheHighFlyingBirds

Member
Chittagong said:
WBbmP9H.jpg


Here is my setup. Actually got into audio and headphones via GAF back in the day.

Hifiman HE-1000 headphones
Cambridge Audio 851N streamer over AE
Schiit Yggdrasil DAC
Schiit Ragnarok amp

Right below the setup is a beer fridge, so I can kick back and enjoy music with a cold one.


XnFlj5O.jpg


Have had this setup for almost 4 years now. It seems pretty timeless, I haven’t been compelled to update anything after I got the streamer.

HE-1000 are a really pleasant pair for relaxation.
Click to expand...
Some nice choices of uk ales there.
 
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