Hi Fi

[Summerbuzz]

Been through hell with mine lately

My Nad C320 amp seems to be on it's way out so I've tried some new kit. First I got the Audiolab 6000A and 6000N to replace my amp and chromecast audio. I found it was a bit too 'boomy', and as you can't adjust the bass had to send it back. iItested the Audiolab 6000N against my chomecast and couldn't tell a difference most of the time so that went back too.

I then got a Naim Nait 5si amp to run with chromecast and that's going back too. Can't stand it. Sound is clear but it has no body and is far too bright. Going to book a slot with Audio T in town and try some stuff in the flesh there to get it sorted.

What is it with the hifi world though? This fucking Nait amp - why the hell do the speakers connect the wrong way round on the back of the amp? Why the hell do you have to solder the fucking speaker cables into the Naim speaker adapters? Why isn't their the ability to tone the bass down a bit on most amps? I can't even adjust the balance so unless you're bang in the middle of the speakers in a room that revolves around them it's off balance. It's an incredibly pretentious, nerdy little world at times it really is, but you need your tunes to sound good and it's a case of trying to fumble through all the bullshit to find something that sounds great and has a reasonable level of practicality that doesn't cost about 15 grand.

Even the streamers that cost hundreds/thousands and don't have gapless playback. How poor is that? Dark Side of the Moon? Last 7 tracks or so of Abbey Road? Forget it. And loads don't have common features like the ability to play spotify connect. It's painful. It's so, so painful

Thing is I was happy with my old NAD amp, CCA and Tannoy Revolution DC speakers so I'm not keen on splashing thousands on something that sounds the same as a 30 quid CCA and NAD amp I bought for 180 quid 15 years ago. Hopefully I can find a solution for less than a grand

It's really all about synergy. And personal preference. That usually means EQ. Digital EQ is not ideal but it's usually a damned site truer to the original signal than the bullshit ANY analogue component introduces.

Get the google home app up,you should be able to have a crack at the EQ. Try to lower frequencies, rather than add.

I'd also have a look at Hi-fi cast app, it's supposed to be the least destructive way to stream audio to the chromecast.

Hi-Fi Cast - Music Player - Apps on Google Play

Effortlessly stream music to UPnP/DLNA, Sonos and Chromecast enabled devices

play.google.com

I'd also definitely reccomend looking at BubbleUpnp, it's a great little app capable of loads of stuff that really ought to be normal for streaming and networking but usually isn't.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp

Anyway. The secret to hifi is that when are trying to listen to something, in building the subjective experience you go through, in how it decides what it is hearing - the mind prioritises literally everything else over hearing.

 

[dooie68]

Hmm... Have you tried all the inputs (not Phono)?

Also try whipping off the links between pre/power and give them a clean and refitting them (I know it's both channels but you never know).

Also, try another source if you have one.

Thanks I'll give those suggestions a try

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

It's really all about synergy. And personal preference. That usually means EQ. Digital EQ is not ideal but it's usually a damned site truer to the original signal than the bullshit ANY analogue component introduces.

Get the google home app up,you should be able to have a crack at the EQ. Try to lower frequencies, rather than add.

I'd also have a look at Hi-fi cast app, it's supposed to be the least destructive way to stream audio to the chromecast.

Hi-Fi Cast - Music Player - Apps on Google Play

Effortlessly stream music to UPnP/DLNA, Sonos and Chromecast enabled devices

play.google.com

I'd also definitely reccomend looking at BubbleUpnp, it's a great little app capable of loads of stuff that really ought to be normal for streaming and networking but usually isn't.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp

Anyway. The secret to hifi is that when are trying to listen to something, in building the subjective experience you go through, in how it decides what it is hearing - the mind prioritises literally everything else over hearing.

Signal to noise ratio of the output device (be it transistor, FET or Op amp) is probably the biggest factor in audio reproduction, from the origin if the analogue signal right up to the transducer (speaker driver). On top of that you have induced noise, harmonics, frequency cut/notches and phase issues, both in the power supply and the signal path.

Basically, keeping the signal clean and true is the key. EQ deals with speaker/room interaction issues. If you need to use EQ to solve a frequency deficiency caused by the interaction between amp and source then either or both are not fit for purpose.

 

[Aphex]

It's an original one

Bad Transistors maybe.. they are over 30 years old

 

[Aphex]

Tidal just offered £15 a month for a year. Try cancelling, wait a day then open the app. Worked for me

 

[Chippy_boy]

Signal to noise ratio of the output device (be it transistor, FET or Op amp) is probably the biggest factor in audio reproduction, from the origin if the analogue signal right up to the transducer (speaker driver). On top of that you have induced noise, harmonics, frequency cut/notches and phase issues, both in the power supply and the signal path.

Basically, keeping the signal clean and true is the key. EQ deals with speaker/room interaction issues. If you need to use EQ to solve a frequency deficiency caused by the interaction between amp and source then either or both are not fit for purpose.

Regards your last sentence, we've reached a point nowadays where in terms of DACs (including CD players) and amplifiers, pretty much any reasonably priced and properly designed (not esoteric gimmicky bollocks) component sounds "good enough" to the point of probably being indistinguishable from an alternative in double-blind testing.

People will of course swear otherwise (especially if they spend countless hours and countless thousands on their hobby) but that is the reality. Electronic components are all much of a muchness now. What differentiates them is the facilities (number of inputs etc), the power available from an amplifier (how loud it will go before clipping or the onset of audible distortion) and what the case work looks like. You can pay many, many thousands for kit from manufacturers such as Chord Electronics of Jeff Rowland simply to pay for the exquisite machining of the metalwork.

The biggest influencing factor now BY MILES is the quality of the speakers and their interaction with the room. It's the complete opposite to the thinking in the 1970's and 80's for example when the perceived wisdom was that the order of importance was SOURCE > AMP > SPEAKERS. It's now SPEAKERS, SPEAKERS, SPEAKERS!

A system with a £250 CD player, a £250 amp and a £1,000 pair of speakers will sound miles better than one with £500 on each. Let alone one with a £1000 CD player, £250 amp and £250 pair of speakers.

 

[TueartsOHK]

Cambridge Audio CXN V2 music streamer
Marantz PM6006 amp
Celestion floor standing speakers (can’t remember which model)
Systemdek IIX turntable

I've ripped all my cds onto Synology DS218 server which plays through the CXN. I don’t bother with a CD player anymore

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

Regards your last sentence, we've reached a point nowadays where in terms of DACs (including CD players) and amplifiers, pretty much any reasonably priced and properly designed (not esoteric gimmicky bollocks) component sounds "good enough" to the point of probably being indistinguishable from an alternative in double-blind testing.

People will of course swear otherwise (especially if they spend countless hours and countless thousands on their hobby) but that is the reality. Electronic components are all much of a muchness now. What differentiates them is the facilities (number of inputs etc), the power available from an amplifier (how loud it will go before clipping or the onset of audible distortion) and what the case work looks like. You can pay many, many thousands for kit from manufacturers such as Chord Electronics of Jeff Rowland simply to pay for the exquisite machining of the metalwork.

The biggest influencing factor now BY MILES is the quality of the speakers and their interaction with the room. It's the complete opposite to the thinking in the 1970's and 80's for example when the perceived wisdom was that the order of importance was SOURCE > AMP > SPEAKERS. It's now SPEAKERS, SPEAKERS, SPEAKERS!

A system with a £250 CD player, a £250 amp and a £1,000 pair of speakers will sound miles better than one with £500 on each. Let alone one with a £1000 CD player, £250 amp and £250 pair of speakers.

Agree, although I wouldn't use price point as guide to the sound quality of a loudspeaker, because once you factor in marketing and asthetics/finish of many more expensive speakers the sound to pound ratio falls off a cliff as with all hifi components.

 

[Aphex]

Regards your last sentence, we've reached a point nowadays where in terms of DACs (including CD players) and amplifiers, pretty much any reasonably priced and properly designed (not esoteric gimmicky bollocks) component sounds "good enough" to the point of probably being indistinguishable from an alternative in double-blind testing.

People will of course swear otherwise (especially if they spend countless hours and countless thousands on their hobby) but that is the reality. Electronic components are all much of a muchness now. What differentiates them is the facilities (number of inputs etc), the power available from an amplifier (how loud it will go before clipping or the onset of audible distortion) and what the case work looks like. You can pay many, many thousands for kit from manufacturers such as Chord Electronics of Jeff Rowland simply to pay for the exquisite machining of the metalwork.

The biggest influencing factor now BY MILES is the quality of the speakers and their interaction with the room. It's the complete opposite to the thinking in the 1970's and 80's for example when the perceived wisdom was that the order of importance was SOURCE > AMP > SPEAKERS. It's now SPEAKERS, SPEAKERS, SPEAKERS!

A system with a £250 CD player, a £250 amp and a £1,000 pair of speakers will sound miles better than one with £500 on each. Let alone one with a £1000 CD player, £250 amp and £250 pair of speakers.

Dead true. Speakers should be at least twice the outlay of your amp.

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

Dead true. Speakers should be at least twice the outlay of your amp.

That's a bit like the old What Hifi mantra: 'You need to spend 10% of your system cost on cables' - You don't

Just quality drivers in a cabinet suited to your room (position/number/type of drivers), and a quality crossover which cuts and rolls off at the right point. If you can achieve all that cheaply, then there is really no point in spending more because you're beyond the point of diminishing returns.