davehg

Responses from davehg

I love sad music
Sorry all but Sufjan Steven’s Casimir Pulaski Day is head and shoulders the saddest song - about the singer’s girlfriend dying of bone cancer. The lyrics are amazing.Why on earth would you ever want to hear this? Because it’s beautifully sung, wel... 
Hana Cartridge for MMF-7 ?
I installed the SL recently (on a VPI Prime) I really enjoy it. On the gain issue, I would be looking to see what your phono stage provides for gain and loading options. On a EAR 834p (with fixed settings for gain and 400ohm loading) and a Sutherl... 
For the Audiophile with a taste for good design(looks)....a question.
Leben AirTightVAC PA90WAVAC(pretty much a tube thing)DevoreAvantgarde hornsAuditorium horns@snilf I was a college kid selling hifi when Mke Mahoney showed up with the Tesla’s. They looked great, but man did the top end just sizzle. Mated with warm... 
Best integrated for my needs????
You owe it to yourself to listen to a few tube integrated, especially given your music choices. I would try Devore or Harbeth coupled with Leben or Line Magnetic integrateds. For digital, get a streamer like a Lumin D2 or T2 and a Roon setup.  
Beginning of a new journey...
@arafiq You might try Massdrop. They have a deal on the Violectric V280 which is a wonderful and warm sounding amp with power galore. It’s what I’d buy if a WA22 could not be cheaply had.  
Sutherland 20/20 v Manley Chinook
Helpful thread. I tried a Sutherland KC Vibe and it was decent but too tame. My EAR 834p had much better depth and soundstage. I just popped the Chinook into my system and so far I am impressed. It is very dynamic and detailed, but musical. I need... 
Recommendations for a network streamer for my system playing Tidal Masters
What kind of sonic signature are you wanting? The Auralic and SimAudio tend toward cooler sound. The Aurender, Lumin, and Mytek tend toward the warmer end. I’ve not heard the Esoteric.Of those, my choice would be the Lumin T2. Plays well with Roon... 
Beginning of a new journey...
The HDXX is a very high impedance headphone- like nearly 600 ohms. It needs a slug of power to come truly alive. Paired with a powerful headphone amp, it outpunches its weight.For me, the Woo WA22 is ideal with the HDXX, when running in balanced m... 
Headphone Amp for Focal Utopias?
I have Focal Clears, as well as LCD3’s. My favorite amp is the Woo WA5 - it is magic with every headphone. I also have a Woo WA22 which does great on the Focal  but prefers balanced sources. I am not a fan of pairing the Utopia with Sim - you need... 
Guest suddenly takes it upon herself to move my speakers
Years ago, when my son was 2, I would let him into the listening room to sit with me and listen to music, and he watched intently as I took the grills of my Merlin TSM speakers to listen (they sounded better grills off). I usually kept the door to... 
Why does my old CD player sound so much better than my new streamer?
I own a D2, and AudioTroy gave very helpful and useful info on dialing in the D2. First, set the audio volume to fixed. Second, enable DSD decoded playback. Third, if using Roon, set Roon to upsample to DSD and adjust the phase and filter settings... 
Best Vintage Dac??
Agree on the Trivista 21 DAC. Wonderful sounding, built like a tank and the tubes last several lifetimes. I’ve had mine new since 2004 and it sound wonderful.only problem with most vintage DACs is that they don’t play high Rez files, like MQA or D... 
New Firmware Out For Sony HAPZ1 And S1 HDD Players
Don’t hold your breath Dep14. I did and finally exhaled after playing with a Roon Nucleus. No going back, and after adding a Lumin D2 and a cheap SSD drive to my Nucleus, I get everything the Sony provides PLUS Tidal, Qobuz, and DSD upsampling. Wh... 
What does Roon do?
I actually use the Roon’s own Nucleus. It is an Intel NUC i3, which wouldn’t ever be described as a lot of horsepower, and the processing speed for basic DSP capabilities is pretty light. Roon built its own hardware mainly to address those audioph... 
What does Roon do?
I’m a long time tube guy too.You need a PC to use Roon. Think of Roon like an operating system for your music, it knits together all your digital music, whether stored on a hard drive or bought on iTunes, or streamed through a high Rez service lik...