Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

I gathered that's the point you were making. I was just trying to unpick it from the point I was making because gain staging for recording is bound to be different from mastering or playback. With recording you need headroom because you can only estimate what levels the input will reach. If you are recording from a recorded source (vinyl->tape for example) you can find out the maximum level and adjust gain.

It might be more accurate to say that failures in the DAC can lead to voltages larger than 0dBFS being generated but there shouldn't be any headroom above 0dBFS.

There's nothing that unusual about a mastering engineer mastering for digital normalising to 0dBFS. That may just be a single peak in the material of 0dBFS with any amount of dynamic range overall. Problems occurred with engineers compressing and limiting to 0dBFS and crushing the dynamic range.

I'm not making some special case for digital gain staging but I have 40 years experience of recording to tape and I've never heard the problems with tape that I've heard with digital systems so that's why I recommend people make sure they don't have the dac or CD player shouting at the input of their amp.

I usually check my db levels if necessary with a sine wave and multimeter. I have a digital desk and 3 analog desks at home so I do try to keep learning. It seems like we both have some experience of recording but this thread is probably better suited to a discussion about which cheap dac should I buy.

I had read about the 540p a fair bit before I decided to make a phono stage from board level instead and ended up making and modding 2 diy cnc phono stages. My search ended after building those although I'm sure there's plenty of improvement that could be made I've found my level for the time being.

I've been running the AT VM95SH for a year on my recording rig and that seems to be about my level atm.

Had a look at the reviews for the IQ3 but couldn't find a description of the stylus cut. At that price it must be microline or similar?

Anybody ever repaired Sennheiser HD580 headphones? I have a pair that are about 20 yrs old but still sound great. I’ve noticed that the sound through the left ear crackles when I move my head, and it’s starting to happen more often.

Quick research on the ‘net suggests the springs inside the earcup that connect with the external lead can lose their springiness over time, leading to dodgy connection. Sennheiser sell spare springs, so I got some but the YT video showing the procedure warns it’s v fiddly. As these are my only decent headphones, I’m loathe to risk destroying them just when I can’t go out and audition new sets. Neighbours have a toddler so headphones is now my main way of listening to music.

Hoping someone’s done it and says it’s a piece of piss!

I shouldn't have asked.. A quick search and there is a pair of Cheviots for sale up not far from me!

Buy them. At the right price you can be a custodian till you get the itch then pass them on for the same or more $

they call it an an type 2, which appears to be a vdh type 1, which is confusing as all fuck.

it is really good. it is marginally better that the omp40 with the fg2 (i think), but seems to track a lot better. probably just a better match to the tonearm. id does like to see 150-200pf, though, which can be a pain in the jocks, depending on your phono stage.

the arkless, is excellent. surprised me at how good it was. i bought it for fuck all on a whim, from a bloke that said it was damaged and got him to send it to arkless, who said the bloke was just using adc power supply, instead of ac - result!

if you haven't heard a pair of tannoy dcs, it is worth trying to.

I see a tidy pair are for sale up in scotland - is that the set youare talking about? they look good.

I think it's more the difference between optimum and maximum input. The problem being distortion as the amp approaches the edge of its performance envelope. Pretty much how you've summarised it. I might have said 'can' rather than 'will' overload.

Obviously I trying to simplify it grossly and don't want to get started on preamp colour and distortion either although preamp distortion is hardly an unknown in the recording process.

The think the process you are describing is called interpolation clipping, and yes some dacs do have headroom above to cope with it but technically there should be no headroom above 0dBFS since it is supposed to represent the maximum digital level.

The fact that they don't just name the profile might be copyright or something like that I guess. It's kind of a next level cartridge for me although I'd probably be comparing it to the Nagaoka MP500. I really enjoyed the MP-110 but since moving to Shibata type profiles I notice it seems a bit veiled.

One problem I have is running 2 decks I have to have 2 carts, 2 phono stages etc. doubling the cost.

With my setup 150-200pf is easy enough to achieve. The original permanently fixed technics phono cable supposedly comes out somewhere around this figure.

Yep.. How much are they worth? A grand(ish)?

there was an immaculate renovated pair for sale recently for £1,400 on a hifi frum, so it doesn't look too bad. they are £200 min to have them refoamed, and they have been done.

Thanks.. I'll need to pick a time to discuss with Mrs Run! Relatively large wooden tombstones probably don't suit her tastes.

"It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission"

will be on my tombstone...

it is an awesome place to listen to music

absolutely gorgeous

Evening Hive,
I'm struggling to decide on which CD player to settle to upgrade from a very cheap Philips.
Will buy 2nd hand, about £100-150 max.
System is B&W 601 S2's paired to a Rotel RA931.
Options considered so far:
Rotel 965BX
C.A. 640C
Marantz CD63 or 67
NAD 5325
Tascam CD200
What have I missed?

unit must be black (preferably), a remote would be nice

Using it as a transport with a DAC or an all in one?

Rega planet maybe?

No Dac.

I used to own a DacMagic along with everything else but sold it all 10 years ago and caught the bug again.

I'm a relatively new convert to Marantz but I like it. They concentrate a bit more on component quality. I've had mine apart and it looks more like the components I'd have ordered if I'd been building one from scratch. Well isolated power supplies. Mine is the SACD that also functions as a dac. SA 8005, now discontinued, can be snagged for reasonable money from time to time.

Only downside is the time it takes to open the door to change disks. Some of the SACD's are worse though because of the time it takes to read the disk. Sound quality even as a dac is very very good.

Thank. I like the idea however most definitely over my budget (still got a few bits to buy and a service).
I am torn between a more modern player like the 640C and a much older one (i.e. CD63 KI Signature...).

I've had a look at a few front firing bookshelves. Reading about their sound profile I think I'd find them too neutral! Just for clarity, I'm not mixing anything on these, just want music while I work, plus I'm pretty fussy with sound. Think I'm verging on going down the rabbit hole. Again... Swore off hi-fi years ago...

I've always thought the Avantone would be good on a desktop but never got a chance to trial them :-

http://www.avantonepro.com/mixcubes-active-black.php

Another unusual design - SE Munro Egg seems aimed at the high end desktop market.

Or just the ubiquitous Harmon Kardon transparent plastic type from the iMac days.

Interesting, I had considered them from the mixing point of view. Makes sense that they are not much good as a full range hifi speaker.

The Quested look decent, I know a few people changed from PMC to Quested, especially around the end of the LB1's.

This looks to be an ideal setup, with sub. Thanks for the tip, will read more

The weakest part of my system is my preamp / phono stage. It’s a TC754 which functionally is fine but now I have a good Hypex amp and Tannoys I suspect is lagging behind a bit.

I have a TT, Chromecast and Bluetooth receiver plugged into it. It’d be nice to get rid of all those boxes and have a fully integrated system. Ideally the Hypex wants balanced inputs (but works fine with the phono to XLR interconnects I have). Also have a MiniDSP to EQ and cross to a sub, doubt I'll get that into one box too though.

So any suggestions for a preamp with:

Decent phono stage (essential)
Balanced outputs (ideally)
Bluetooth (would be nice)
Built in Chromecast Audio (also nice)

Also suggestions for a cartridge upgrade would be good, it’s another weak link, but records are mainly for fun, I don’t see them as my highest quality source. I’ve got a Thorens TD166 mkII, Linn Basik + arm and Audio Technical AT110 cart. Someone recommended a cartridge to me a while ago but I can’t find it now.

I wouldn't consider 'studio' type speakers for listening to music. While they can be enjoyable, they're usually pretty harsh. Some little second hand speakers from the usual suspects (b&W, mission, ae, monitor audio)and a little amp would be much nicer to live with in my opinion. As long as your desk is nice and heavy, and blue tack them down.