Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

am I best just finding the cheapest CD player I can live with

Yes, if you're using a separate DAC.

Interested to see how good they are - looks decent but no idea of sound quality really

I'd agree with all of that IF the original recording, the original master tape that the artist and label signed off on was effectively a totally transparent recreation of "the artist playing in the room". But it wasn't, it was a recording of the artist playing in the room, recorded to tape and played back through a desk, an amp and speakers.

The theoretical totally transparent reproduction doesn't get you back into the room with the artist, it can only ever get you back to the original master. My point is that the original master recording wasn't signed off using the theoretical totally transparent mastering reproduction method either so aiming for total transparency isn't necessarily any more "true" than another, possibly slightly coloured reproduction.

And all of this totally avoids the point that most music isn't mastered to sound its best on high end mastering studio gear (or the theoretical totally transparent reproduction machine) it's mastered to sound its best on the gear that most people will be listening to it on.

I totally get the allure of not wanting avoidable colouration like unwanted distortion or deliberate EQ added, but i think that the obsessive hunt for total transparency is daft.

the obsessive hunt for total transparency is daft

I suppose that depends on whether you like acoustic music or electronica based only loosely on samples of actual music. There's nothing inherently wrong with the latter, but then you might as well pass the data you get from the "musician" through any amount of arbitrary effects in your home lab to make it what you want, not what he thought you might want.

what they thought you might want

i might try one but not just yet, if we (the mrs) end up with a separate office at the next move it can feed the active B&O 6000’s because the ancient iPad she currently uses doesn’t do iplay and it’s a faff to stream to.
this box means her spotify/my tidal can be streamed and controlled from laptops/phones etc.

Not exactly audiophile, but does anyone else have one of those Google Home Mini that Spotify was spamming on a discount a while ago?

The bass on mine seems to have massively dropped.

I've tried the eq settings on the app

they

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1978/30/section/6

The bass on mine seems to have massively dropped.

Said the triumphant dj

For £300 you could get a used Audiolab 6000cdt transport (review) with some change - I just picked one up for £250, and there are a couple on eBay just now finishing over the next few days. Your amp would need to have digital inputs, though, or you could use an external DAC.

The CCA really was a bargain at £30 RRP.

i have one (somewhere) it was a faff and needed a device plugged into it if in an apple houshold, there were issues using it for amazon music and trying to get it to integrate with my unitiqute so i must went with Tidal which just worked.
i’m sure they are great in the right system which is why i gave it a go.

Have been robbed/brought a Chromecast audio NOS now but that looks good.
Don't think it has optical out?

it has toslink

Toslink at up to 24/96. All the apps I use (Spotify, BBC sounds, Qobuz, mixcloud, SoundCloud) have a Chromecast button.

Edit. Above is CCA related!

Total transparency from the final mastered recording to your speakers seems like the ideal.... Although I'm avoiding all the variables that speakers will introduce!

I've got one you have have sitting in a drawer doing nothing. PM me if you want it for a forum donation (London).

Hello audiophiles. Please can you lend me your expertise? I am buying a speaker set up for a Pro-Ject Primary E turntable set up I'm slowly piecing together for my girlfriend. For the speaker side of things, I've been sent here.

I don't have a massive budget, so I'm looking to set up a really decent intro package. If I'm looking to spend £250 max, what would you recommend? I have been researching, but I'm not even sure what the best route is at my price point, ie amp + speakers or powered speakers.

For speaker + amp, my research would suggest the Dali Spektor 2, the Elac Debut B5.2, and Klipsch R-51M are all good options.

For the powered option, a lot of people seem to rate the Edifier R1280DB as a great budget option.

Would you endorse any of those? Or is there an option I haven't found!? Thank you very much in advance

I might be missing something but if your budget is £250 tops, i don’t get why you’re looking at speakers costing about that? How do you buy the amp on top?

These.

Reason why.

:)

Sorry - should have clarified. If I go the speaker + amp option, her parents are getting the amp.

They do seem to get a lot of love. Glad to hear that reiterated here. Thanks!

I've got a load of FLAC albums that are duplicates.

Some because the artists aren't identical (e.g. Belle and Sebastian and Belle & Sebastian). Some because the file names are slightly different. Some because it's two versions of the same album (e.g. standard and deluxe).

Any suggestions for a neat way to remove these duplicates and iron out the naming conventions? Preferably some kind of one-click solution. Cheers

@Calben I'd go powered speakers for that budget but make sure they have a phono stage/inputs.
Techmoan liked these https://www.whathifi.com/roth/va4/review

His review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6d9Sj9-4gs&t=584s