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What source do you use to demo equipment?

Hello. After decades of enjoying my home audio system, I find myself beginning to look for my final end-all dedicated music system. So I am beginning to look at speakers, amps and source components.

The question is: with all of the new streaming services and hardware, when you go into an audio salon, what do you listen to as your baseline music and via what format? I used to take a few CDs along, which were familiar to test the musicality of equipment. With all of the streaming and source hardware variables, what do you use? I had an experience recently where I had a salon queue up a familiar song via their streamer and it sounded horrible. It lacked any dynamics compared to what I was familiar with. I went home and listened to it on my streamer and the same thing. It sounded terrible compared to the CD version.

So how do you get the consistency of sound for listening tests? What sources do you listen to when testing?

 

cooperdude6
ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,466 posts
 

Streaming is where CD /SACD / vinyl are now when same masters are compared. it has been for the last three or four years. There is variability in different price categories. Only really expensive $100K vinyl rigs  can do better… or maybe not that any more. I don’t have any experience with recent really high end streamers / tt / phono stage. You can assemble a sub-optimal rig of any kind… but do your homework and there isn’t any advantage to physical media any more. 
 

I have a $45K vinyl leg and the sound quality on my $45K streaming leg is as good and often better in streaming because many more high resolution recordings are available on streaming.. well over half a million on Quboz. 

jafant's avatar
jafant
21,611 posts
 

jmalen123

2nd-  I also own Reference players by Accuphase, AYRE, Esoteric, Hegel, Marantz and Parasound.  Only streamers above $20K can compete.

 

Happy Listening!

jafant's avatar
jafant
21,611 posts
 

cooperdude6

Continue to take your fave CD/SACD discs to audition gear. This is best practice for consistency.

 

Happy Listening!

mswale
382 posts
 

It really depends on the dealer. Some have nice vinyl rigs setup and will play your record. Some have CD, some have streaming. A couple I have been to, will not let you stream, but give you access to a tablet that is hooked up to the system. 

Usually I try to pick gear close to what I have, or the sonic signature of what I have. Then place the component I'm looking at into the chain. Always have something else that's different to compare. 

alaric62
91 posts
 

Well recorded cd's on my Marantz SACD player has never been beat by streaming to my ears.

Same. A decent quality music file burned in my Plextor ODD and played through the SA8260 is the best sound 've gotten from my rig. Rumors of physical media's death are greatly exaggerated, and I've been hearing that prediction since the first "extinction" event of vinyl in the mid 80s. (Has it really been 40 years???) Hell, you can still find blank cassette and reel tapes for sale.

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