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    How Good a CD Transport is Required to Sound Better than Streaming?

    IME, optimizing a digital front end is not more complex or involved than optimizing an analog front end, but it is different. With my prior turntable I had to pay attention to quality power (dedicated line with isolation transformer), isolating the SUT, turntable, three power supplies, and...
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    Whole Home Audio

    If you’re up for changing the in-ceiling speakers, the IC6’s on this page are about as good as you can get. They require the matching dedicated amps which have built in processing to precisely match with the speakers, and, to get the sort of sonics you’re looking for require subs too (there are...
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    Your suggestions on a high end dac/streamer.

    At two very different price points you might look into the Sonore and Antipodes products. Both provide terrific sonics, and as important with streamers, both provide outstanding after-sale customer service: https://sonore.us/Signature-Rendu-SE.html https://antipodes.audio/kala.php
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    Does Analog EQ belong in State of the Art Systems?

    Yes. And, finer gradations in the target frequency for each filter. I’ve experimented with quite a bit of professional gear. Some of it is outstanding and others less so. Some of the verbiage on that unit was the quality of the transformers, etc. from which I inferred a focus on the sorts of...
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    Does Analog EQ belong in State of the Art Systems?

    The KMR Wes Audio ngTubeEQ in the link is an impressive piece of tube gear that would provide a lot of flexibility. The Manley device appears to be more a “tone shaper” (similar to the bass/mid/treble controls on old integrated receivers) than a device to address the specific frequency response...
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    MSB Discrete DAC

    Motorman, what Trip-lite model (even better a link)?
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    Does Analog EQ belong in State of the Art Systems?

    Many moons ago I used a Rives Audio Parc unit and it was superb. It’s limited to under 350hz (as I vaguely recall). They occasionally show up on Audiogon and eBay
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    Does DSP belong in State of the Art Systems?

    Those three work really well for movies and general home theater use (particularly for improving dialog intelligibility and soundscape/staging), but are not at the level of Acourate (or AudioLens) and similar approaches for ultra high end audio use cases. For just one example, most of the off...
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    Does DSP belong in State of the Art Systems?

    RPG’s Modex products are very effective. I’ve got six of their plates (three on the ceiling and three in one corner). The form factor works well.
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    Development Thread: Sigberg Audio Saranna - active floorstander

    Welcome to the forum. I’m a big fan of active speakers (and outboard subs).
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    Does DSP belong in State of the Art Systems?

    Agree 100%. In reply to Analog Scott ... The two rooms and systems were very different. My first dedicated room was designed by Russ Herschelman. We built a room within a room using a detached two car garage as the shell. There was extensive use of channels for the walls and ceiling with two...
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    Does DSP belong in State of the Art Systems?

    I’ve used a wide array of DSP products in two different purpose built rooms. Both rooms were professionally designed for specific speaker types, both had extensive room treatment, and in both great care was taken with speaker and listener positioning. In those two, admittedly atypical, settings...
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    Is iPad/Laptop as Streamer Good Enough?

    Some of these reclockers don’t even require an external power supply. The one I mentioned uses a single 120v outlet and would be easy for travel - it‘s simple USB in and USB out with no other functionality. I used both types for years prior to upgrading to dedicated servers.
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    Is iPad/Laptop as Streamer Good Enough?

    He’d get much (much) better results if he’d at least put a reclocking device in between his Mac and his DAC - Wavelength Audio makes one that delivers demonstrably better signal to whatever device it’s’ feeding. https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/innuos-pulsar.36540/post-898389
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    Clarisys audio - Auditorium!

    Anyone with head-to-head experience with Clarisys and Alysvox? I heard the latter - they were impressive driven by VAC components - but don’t have point of reference.
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    The Digital Director - A new MSB product improving everything from the source to the output

    Nice to hear from you Vince. What’s the approximate latency of a Reference with the Director in the chain? My reason for asking is to see if it’d work with the available distance delay in a system also used for home theater.
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    AppleTV X - I am playing with something new

    It’d be great if you modded a Key Digital or similar! That would work for people doing both high end two channel, and, for people doing high end multichannel (although it wouldn’t support some of the newer formats).
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    More Consensus That Streaming Is An Inferior Format & Not High End?

    Caveat, I’ve written a lot of machine and assembly level code over the years …. The analogy to video isn’t particularly relevant to two channel music because the required bit rates are materially different; two channel audio even at “high” (by audio standards) sample rates doesn’t remotely...
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    More Consensus That Streaming Is An Inferior Format & Not High End?

    Across multiple rooms and multiple pre/amp/speaker chains I’ve found little to no difference when comparing physical CDs (via multiple great transports) to FLAC files of those same CDs (through multiple great “streamers”) when feeding the same DAC and playback chain. When there was a non-trivial...
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    Can K50 feed multiple players?

    One more K50 Player question … can the Roon Player be configured to have software (Roon) based volume control? Other Roon players I have allow that, but I could not find the configuration setting on the K50’s player
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    Can K50 feed multiple players?

    I currently use a K50 (upgraded) to feed my MSB Reference via USB in my main listening room. Can that same K50 server/core feed another K22 in a different room on the same network? If so I might add one to feed my Kii3s Thanks.
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    Low cost streaming solution

    https://www.bluesound.com/products/node/ You could set up Roon or Spotify to output mono and use either channel.
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    Alsyvox planars...prepare to sell your Magico's, YG's, Wilson's, Cessaro's. Maggie's, and all others!!

    I heard the Botticelli’s with VAC signature amplification and matching pre. Digital was Esoteric fed by Taiko. Glorious sonics.
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    Wondering about convolution files

    I’ve used various DSP-based filters for years. A simple notch (or two or three) and basic shelving is easy to do in the DSP section of most playback software (via Roon, or adding a plug in similar to Fab Filter to J River). AFTER you’ve done what you can via speaker and listener placement, and...
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    Your All Time Favorite Preamplifiers?

    ML-1 back in the late 70’s started me down the rabbit hole. Replaced with a ML-3A in the mid 80’s. Both were a revelation versus the receivers they replaced.
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    Cable Modems

    What SFP to RJ45 transceiver do you recommend for your SwitchX?
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    Recommendation for “interim” server

    Appreciate the perspectives …. I ended up getting a (gently) used K50. Now my only decision (for now anyway) is whether to get it upgraded to the latest spec.
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    Whole Home Surge Protection/Power Conditioning for Dedicated 20A lines...

    This has worked great for me. My networking gear, most of my sources, and all of my home automation are on UPSs. You have to ensure the UPSs are adequately sized and have good isolation across various types of devices. The only drawback is making sure you get the UPS serviced and/or batteries...
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    Advice on Solid State Amp (Dartzeel and Audiopax Preamps)

    While neither are particularly popular on this forum, Bryston and Balanced Audio Technology both make very nice solid state amps, with used units often available.
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    MSB Reference as an input to a Phono Pre

    In prior setups I tried my MSB both direct to my amps and separately through a VTL 7.5 II preamp. While direct was more incisive, the “tube goodness” was something I just couldn’t give up.

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  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

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