mb9061

Responses from mb9061

Help Me Tweak System...
Steve,I'm curious why you're steering him away from FLAC or other compression formats? Is this only an XP platform issue in your mind, as I thought the general concensus 6 months ago was compression formats don't impart any measurable sonic degrad... 
Shunyatas New CX series
I've had their speaker cable (Andromeda Bi-wire, albeit with silver spades which ultimately were too bright) and I currently use their Altair RCA ICs. My system is all tube except the IMac computer feeding a Turbo-3 USB converter. You may have a p... 
Shunyatas New CX series
I'm curious how much improvement there is to be had between the CX and the previous line, but with the price breaks on the now discontinued stuff it's hard to pass them up (Musicdirect has them for about $75 more than you can find them used on Ago... 
shorten NBS AC cable
Depending on the power cable and its design, some sound worse at one meter. I owned a 1 meter Python Helix cord from Shunyata and found that to be the case versus a 1.8 meter. Any benefit in sound a power cord lends may be impacted by halving it's... 
Higher End USB Cables
That's a similiar experience I'm having with the 10' Cryoparts USB cable. It clears up the presentation moreso than the Belkin gold and does add a sense of dimension and weight, particularly to the midrange frequencies (fairly noticeable in my sys... 
Can you Analyze this?
Gray Goose goes beyond my expectations. Maybe that's just my imagination since all vodkas should be the same if they're crystal clear and 80 proof. Or maybe the proof is in the hangover.I think most people are of sane enough mind to determine if w... 
Can you Analyze this?
Bikes run the gamut of prices too (google Trek and price one of their Madones). Even water goes from free to expensive (and tap water generally tastes poor). If your friend is getting a chuckle over the power cord, show him a picture of a Trek Mad... 
Dac for rock and not so good recordings Tube?
Try an MHDT tube DAC. Either the Havana or Paridisea. both resell easy if they don't meet your expectations. Jitter and a/c issues can have a lot to do with bright and/or harsh sound, though most chalk it up to bad recordings (not that bad recordi... 
PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC
I believe it'll run $3500 w/ the "bridge" that provides reclocking from what I've read. If it gets rid of the need to have a computer in the equation, I'd probably be interested. I have an MHDT Havana tube dac right now though that I'm pretty happ... 
Just got an iTouch...
If you're going to rip an entire collection, rip the full lossless version of your CDs. Memory is cheap (likely cheaper than the days and days you'd spend re-ripping down the road anyways). You'll be p#ssed if you decide later you'd rather have ha... 
Please help me improve my system - next steps?
First, don't listen to Larryken, I'm not sure why he posted that opinion on a PC Audio forum unless he owns an expensive CD player and hasn't heard a well thought out computer setup.Like Henryisland said, a tube dac has a lot to do with it (i.e. t... 
Higher End USB Cables
Thanks Ed.Thinking on it now (and this is going to seem like we're manufacturing a sales pitch for Cryoparts), I'm honestly not sure I've noticed as big an improvement in any cable upgrade I've made so far compared to this one. Only thing I can co... 
Higher End USB Cables
I just took delivery of a 10' Cryoparts USB cable. I've had a 10' Belkin Pro Gold USB cable for a year now though 4 dacs, 2 sets of speakers and 5 amplifiers (the only USB cable I've kept in my system). I'm really floored at the improvement the ca... 
Benchmark DAC
I don't think you'll find much more out there that gives you the detail the Benchmark does. Rather than spending a grip more on another DAC, buy a high-end power cord and see what difference that renders. I put a Python Helix on the one I used to ... 
MacMini USB ports which is better?
Yes. Same changes that you hear on DACs and CD players, etc. I put a Taipan Helix on it and the sound was more punchy, dynamic and a bit smoother. I put a Taipan Helix Vx on it and the dynamics were lessened a bit, but the higher frequency respons...