nosualc

Responses from nosualc

Audio Research i/50
An onboard DAC will make at least part of your Lumin potentially redundant. I guess I'd wait to see if you prefer the sound of the onboard DAC before moving on from your Lumin.  
Audio Research i/50
@roxy54 never make a typo? I bow to your pedanticism.   
Audio Research i/50
I've had a good deal of MacIntosh gear (although never a 252). Good quality stuff, looks great (which is of course in the eye of the beholder), sounds good. It's real magic is resale; buy it right and you can use it for a year and sell it for the ... 
Audio Research i/50
I should have mentioned in my previous post that I own an ARC Ref 6SE, and that I toured the ARC factory last summer (I live nearby). The i/50s are built by the same folks in the same building as everything else. They were building a lot of them, ... 
Audio Research i/50
My local brick-and-mortar ARC retailer has one on demo with a phono. Paired with efficient speakers, they are big fans, and big fans of ARC in general. I am told that i/50s are very popular. The last 3 times I visited, with no other customers in ... 
Streaming – Discovering Similar or New Music
I abhor creating my own playlists. Tedious. 95% of my listening is via suggested playlists or "radio" type features. Spotify has the best suggestions. Of course it’s content isn’t the greatest quality. Tidal does a pretty good job of providing c... 
Curious to know your streaming and dac set up and the best recommended streamer under $15k
For relatively little money, you can try an Sbooster (et. al) external power supply for your T2. Installation is pretty simple, it does require you to cut one wire, IIRC.  
Curious to know your streaming and dac set up and the best recommended streamer under $15k
And I am the guy who bought the X1 from @gelfdaddy, upgrading from a T2 with a SBooster power supply. My X1 is paired with an ARC Ref 6SE, and Pass XA60.8s. I connect my X1 via fiber. I too am very content. I have thought of trying an external DAC... 
Network optimization for serious streamers
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell Ask yourself, which are you? I prefer to remain skeptical, but keep an open mind, accepting ... 
Network optimization for serious streamers
@classdstreamer The notion that an internet connection (and everything connected to it) is potentially a source of electronic noise is a possible way to explain audible differences some people report when they experiment with fiber, power supplies... 
Using streaming as a main source ---DSD, FLAC, MQA Streamers and DACS
read what @ghdprentice wrote above. All true, IMO. +1 To what he wrote I would add: Tidal, has a wider music selection than Quboz. MQA is a bit of marketeering nonsense (it IS lossy, and MQA is a solution to a problem better solved by bandwidth)... 
Network optimization for serious streamers
As an experiment try this: With a functional streaming setup, listen to some music for a minute or two, then disconnect your streamer from the internet. In my setup, the music continues to play for just under 120 seconds before it stops. That t... 
Looking for a McIntosh amp that gives a great example of the “McIntosh Sound”
Probably a bit beyond your budget, but a MC452 is I think, the best SS bet from the last 10 years. Whether or not it represents the "McIntosh sound" you seek is a subject for debate.  
Has anyone kept the 6550 regulator tube past 2K hours in a ARC REF6?
From the ARC REF 6SE manual: The 6H30 tubes in the Reference 6 should have an expected life of approximately 4,000 hours, while the 6550WE tube in the power supply should have a life expectancy of approximately 2,000 hours. That said, I demo'ed ... 
Speeding sound track
Golden Earring - Radar Love Kinda ironic when you think about it.