smortega

Responses from smortega

Greatest Songwriter of all time
There's many great ones, but ones that belong in the "best" conversation for songwriters (which implies popular music with lyrics) Joni Mitchell (no one else in her league that can compete solo in musicianship, lyrics and music),  Bob Dylan (not ... 
Does your "esoteric" taste in audio also exist in other "things" you own/consume?
I've been described as gravitating somewhere "b/w the fringe and the fringe or the fringe" in my interests and work (OCD goes with the territory in Medicine ).  In bicycling, I've done more Centuries than I can keep track of, did Paris-Brest-Paris... 
Did vinyl sales just hit the proverbial brick wall?
The state of analog records is frustrating and the article is c/w my experience. We have about 500-600 LPs, mostly pre 1990 recordings. At this stage our analog output sounds significantly better than the digital. If I want to buy a  LP by contemp... 
Is R.E.M. underrated by new music nerds?
@seola30 You have a lot of company across the Boomer (my demographic), Gen X, and Millennial generations in your regard for REM. I had grown tired of R&R/pop in the late 70s and transitioned to Classical with a bit of Jazz. I was complaining a... 
Best turntable under $4000
I recently installed a DS audio E1 on my 17 year old VPI Scout with a dramatic improvement in sound quality. As I used my phono preamp as trade-in it was a pretty economic upgrade. If you like your TT, that might be a way to gradually improve your... 
Whats the ultimate goal with your pre amp ?
@krelldog Thanks for starting this discussion as I'm also looking into the role of a pre-amp in my system. We have the same amp. For now, I'm using the "straight wire with gain" approach. My DAC sounded great connected directly to the amp, but tha... 
To ROON or not to ROON ?
I also was Roon tested several years ago and found it not worthwhile. Several years of buggy metadata and erratic organizing with NativVita, not to mention the company going belly up made me reconsider when looking at alternative hard drive based ... 
Best DACs under $7,000.00
I'm very pleased with my Bricasti M1 SE MDX with network card. Purchased used it's within your price range. Also serves as a network player, can't say how it compares to the Innuos.   
You want a DAC that sounds *different.* What factor helps you find it?
I went from two 2010's vintage low end USB DACs (Burson and Wavelength Brick) to a midrange (expensive even used) Bricasti with an Ethernet input. Much improved using USB and even better using Ethernet. So price (as a function of quality) matters,... 
Computer updated and now Roon is blocked
Is the laptop with the issues your Roon Core?  
Where to invest the most in the "digital chain"?
I'm also on the DAC camp being the most important. Then that the DAC uses ethernet as the conduit- it's the most direct route to the 1's and 0's.Then Roon to organize the 1's and 0's. After that, it gets subjective. I did put in a non-audiophile g... 
How far down the Furtwangler rabbit hole did you go?
Like many here, my interest in Furtwangler goes back decades. A while back, I purchased the Kaisers Klassik Kunde The Legacy box set despite about Wagner being 25% of the selections. Opera's not my thing. I read Europe Central 3 months ago in whic... 
Looking for a streamer/DAC
I went from a 10 year old Burson (now doing service in upstairs secondary system and hooked up by USB to a Roon Nucleus) to a Bricasti M1 using an ethernet card. Pleased as all heck- it's as good as my turntable which is my "reference" device. B/w... 
Sound quality of Roon
After a decade or so of budget experimenting with computer audio and using low end devices (Olive, NativVita and laptops) along with a couple of DAC’s that still see use, I purchased a Nucleus (which comes with a year of Roon- which delays the ine... 
Music lover or audiophile?
Neil Young put it best- sound matters. And to what degree one chases the gear to get to the quality being sought- well it's a matter of taste and priorities. To end, it's a blessing when as another wise old musician said-you get what you need!