Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

That's amazing... If I bought one I'd so put googly eyes on.

I recently bought a zorloo Stella usb-c MQA DAC to use with tidal on my pixal 4a. $149 aud later and MQA doesn't decode out from tidal. Do research, poo, android doesn't pass "bit perfect" stream out of the USB. Buy 3rd party app with MQA plug-in, $20 later and several digs into the settings... Yay, I have tried MQA playback. Can't really tell the difference! I have a set of westone IEM that I use as the are very clean sounding and not bass boosted or anything and maybe there's a bit more seperation of sounds and touch more sense of silence between notes. But marginal and not worth the faff or the money.

That's because MQA is a marketing ploy 😌

I suspected as much but couldn't not try... The zorloo USB dongle DAC is pretty handy though. Noticeable improvement in sound when plugged into the phone. Happy with that part.

MQA is a bit more sophisticated than marketing but it's intended to protect owners rights and allow the end user to ensure they are listening to an authorised source.

They have added a little (marketing) sq boost in so much as MQA knows the difference between the mastering convertors and your MQA dac so it can adjust to give you the same output as the studio dac.

Personally I don't think it's worth worrying about anything over 96/24 and MQA protects the rights owners from streaming services using whatever content they want. With Tidal having lots of artist owners it makes sense they would pursue this.

I was only kidding, I know it's not entirely marketing. I don't like what it stands for though.

It's not something you can joke about ....:)

Enjoy playing records at my dad's but moved out in the last year or so and he retains his equipment of course. I've done a bit of research on how to build up my own setup and seen a pro-ject RPM1 for sale at work for £100, in good condition but in need of a new stylus. Good buy? What'd be a good stylus? Cheers

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great price! I'll let someone with better insight than me comment on stylus choice.

@giles337 sweet cheers

I have acquired about 80+ original David Bowie, pink Floyd, Beatles, the clash, ect and some special effects records perfect for showing off your new of the time hifi system.
My issue is my record player/ turntable is is a Audio technica lp60. So pretty much toy grade.
What would be a good start for an upgrade. I have a fairly good av system I'm hooked up to at the moment with an onkyo receiver and Dali speakers.
£200 would be the idea price
Suggestions appreciated

rega p1? or sommat like that

That's one option, I'll have a look at them and read some reviews

Look no further than the Planar 1 at that price range tbh. It's just so good.

Do you need to budget in a phono stage?

I have a av receiver I am plugged into now using the phono channel. Can that be used as a phono stage amp? Or do I need to buy a separate one.

I suspect you will need a phono stage, as your AV receiver will be unlikely to have one. You can play through it currently as your LP60 has one built in. Look at the Rega phono stages too, pretty decent.

Or CA stages

Understood, this is bumping the price up abit more than I already wanted to pay.
I think it's just the case that it will cost me more than I first thought to get out of the toy grade players aha

Thanks

Sticking with Rega you could look at the Rega Planar 1 Plus which has a built in phono stage. Worth looking out for on eBay, Pinkfish etc

this is bumping the price up abit more than I already wanted to pay

It's a long term investment. When you consider the likely life of a turntable, £500 is less than £1 a week.

Ended up picking up the pro-ject RPM1 from the last page. It is stuck elsewhere because of LD. Now to look at sorting a full setup + replacement stylus

If you buy a 2nd hand technics 1200 it will probably cost you nothing to own once you sell it or die.

Shopping for tape decks on ebay, any recommendations?

There's a few Nakamichi-BX1's which look nice. I'm going mostly by looks at the moment.

I own 4 tapes.

Just get a Nakamichi shell and buy digital copies of your tapes.

Is fucking tape really having a comeback?

Heard that the other day, hipsters buying walkmen again now so they can listen to analog stuff while on the go and be very retro and nerdy at the same time.
Can't imagine this really being a thing.