How Do You Live The Audiophile Life
I started with Emotiva in 2009 before they were really well known. It’s a fine place to start. I still have my Emotiva preamp boxed up just in case. For me the magic came when I started to perceive height in my sound stage. A pair of JBL 4312a ‘s and Emotiva amp showed me this. Don’t worry about source material either. A good system will still create magic with MP3, DSD, streaming, Bluetooth, vinyl or reel to reel tape. I can prove it. Once you begin to be able to discern spacial elements like scale, position, depth, height and width from two speakers you are on the right track. This means you’ve positioned the speakers properly (at least) and that you may have found a good speaker for your room. Localities of sound can be super specific. Different amplifiers will produce different scale, layering and tonal characteristics. But the speakers are the final arbiter of how everything sounds. So start there. Try different amplifiers out. Play with the accuracy and tonality of your digital sources (DACs are important). Try some simple room treatments, nothing crazy. Once the speakers vanish (with eyes closed) and you can hear sound 4, 6, 12 feet away from your speakers, sometimes behind your head.... ...and sometimes if you find yourself, even to music that isn’t specifically for it, you find yourself ‘dancing’ (in your seat) say to something obscure like Genesis “Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging,” “...Theb you know that you are there...” (to quote PC of Genesis “Silver Rainbow”) Please feel free to direct message me if you have questions! :-) |
@audiodidact I just added 'the Schitt' to my system. I have an ModWright Oppo 105D. It's an excellent performer. But in my never ceasing pursuit to remove distortion and reduce sibilance in my system, I found even the entry level Schiit helped with the accuracy of the 2khz-10khz range and decreased smearing, so any present sibilance became more delineated and musical, less spitty, cutting, tearing. It is also helpful if the DAC can reveal/illuminate any reverb that surrounds those frequencies. I also found a very special vintage power amp and an even more special old pro amp that are now my two primary amplifiers. I will probably not be sharing what those amplifiers are at the moment as most audiophile peeps would laugh me from the forum. But these amps (in my setup, my room, and with the music i primarily listen to) have bested a CJ 350 Premiere, a BAT VK-500 with BatPak, a Spectron Musician III mk2 , Carver Sunfire Signature Sunfire 600, a Carver Lightstar 2.0, an Adcom 555 and more. I have visited Optimal Enchantment https://optimalenchantment.com and other local shops... Optimal Enchantment has a gorgeous all-tube AR setup that is once of the best i've heard. I also visited AXPONA 2018. For my room, for my preferred music, I would put my system up against any system that I have heard. ((...I am willing to be tested, but I am pretty sure I have 'golden ears'. One measure we do not measure is 'speed of hearing'. Think of it as frame rate is to film or how quickly can you get information from moments. They say Ted Williams could see the spin of the ball and thats why he was such a great hitter. I was a great hitter (until i grew an irrational singular fear of being hit in the face with the ball) and I'm in an industry where I 'have to see the spin of the ball' all day long. So I know i am well practiced in getting/perceiving near pixel-level data on individual frames--at speed--which is 24 to 30 frames a second.)) I welcome anyone in or passing through the LA area to come on over for a listen. Just private message me. |
Comparing a ‘live concert‘ to your home system is a bit odd in my mind. Unless we are talking classical/orchestral concerts in a non-amplified venue or jazz in an intimate room. Even then Jazz and Classical/Orchestral recordings are rarely recorded as you would hear them. Multiple mics are used, instruments and performers are mixed in with live ‘room mics’ to come up with a pleasing ‘live sounding’ result. If we are talking Pop, Rock, Techno, Rap, ProgRocComparing a ‘live concert‘ to your home system is a bit um, a bit odd in my mind. Unless we are talking classical/orchestral concerts in a non-amplified venue or jazz in an intimate room. If we are talking Pop, Rock, Techno, Rap, ProgRock, Hip Hop, R&B, Metal, Trance, Disco, Dance, Country, Soul, Reggae....live concerts are amplified and generally live venues, especially ones with amplifiers elements, are an echoey mess. Everything is going through microphones, or microphones on speakers, there are tape loops, direct sends from keyboards and tons of vocal effects all mixed through a board and re-presented to you again via amplifiers and speakers... It’s cool to hear a recorded concert you attended played back on your system. But the two experiences will sound different. You could try binaurally recording a show you attend. That might be revealing of your home system. But again so many variables. If you’d like to chase solo piano recitals and their reproduction, I am certain you can come very close to matching that ‘live’ sound on your home system. And I honor your pursuit and look forward to hearing your system. We will chase what we will chase. (The heart wants what the heart wants.) *if the aforementioned solo acoustic piano is your goal I would suggest, in the broadest sense, electrostatic speakers, a solid state power amp, an airy holographic tube pre amp, balanced power and balanced interconnects. **The BAT VK-500 with BatPak does pianos beautifully! |
