Hello all, I’m a newbie to the forum thanks to a recently rekindled interest (“obsession”) with finding the perfect sound. I got started on this never-ending journey back in 1984 in a small one-man stereo shop in Binghamton, NY called JSG Audio. I spent what seemed like a fortune on a college budget, and left there with an NAD 3020A integrated amp and a pair of “Profile” speakers – his own design. I was thrilled with this new (to me) concept of stereo imaging, and the clarity I heard in that system. Now 37 years later that amp is still the centerpiece of my system, while my speaker selection has been “influenced” by my wife, who is of the opinion that the aesthetics of the speaker housing is a prime consideration in speaker selection. So the Profile speakers were replaced by a set of Jamo Concert 8’s soon after we got married.
About 10 years ago I made the decision to commit to digital audio – and spent 2+ years ripping all my CD’s to the computer in FLAC. Today my sole audio source is a standard windows desktop with an ASUS Essence STX II sound card. The sound card was a $200 gamble at the time, but when I plugged it in I was quite pleased with the results – beautiful clarity and sound stage, and listening to Norah Jones you swear you can almost feel her breathing on your face as she sings in front of you.
About a year ago I got my neighbor buddy hooked on high end audio. He was showing off his system to me one evening, the main selling point of which was a lot of watts and a lot of decibels. I invited him over to introduce the concept of stereo imaging, and he was um… impressed. So much so that he went on a HiFi stereo bender over the next year (unbeknownst to me), and long story short – I checked out his new system a couple weeks ago and holy %&$#! It sounds amazing. (Schiit, Emotiva, JBL components). I must have sound like that.
So it turns out there’s a whole world of high-end digital audio out there that I’ve been relatively oblivious to, so I’ve got some learning to do. And a lot of questions. Questions like:
Thanks, and looking forward to learning and listening!
About 10 years ago I made the decision to commit to digital audio – and spent 2+ years ripping all my CD’s to the computer in FLAC. Today my sole audio source is a standard windows desktop with an ASUS Essence STX II sound card. The sound card was a $200 gamble at the time, but when I plugged it in I was quite pleased with the results – beautiful clarity and sound stage, and listening to Norah Jones you swear you can almost feel her breathing on your face as she sings in front of you.
About a year ago I got my neighbor buddy hooked on high end audio. He was showing off his system to me one evening, the main selling point of which was a lot of watts and a lot of decibels. I invited him over to introduce the concept of stereo imaging, and he was um… impressed. So much so that he went on a HiFi stereo bender over the next year (unbeknownst to me), and long story short – I checked out his new system a couple weeks ago and holy %&$#! It sounds amazing. (Schiit, Emotiva, JBL components). I must have sound like that.
So it turns out there’s a whole world of high-end digital audio out there that I’ve been relatively oblivious to, so I’ve got some learning to do. And a lot of questions. Questions like:
- Tubes or solid state? I understand that to the engineer, solid state provides a more accurate reproduction of the original source than tubes. But from the little listening I’ve done thus far it also appears to also provide better clarity and stereo imaging. I also appreciate that it comes at the cost of some of the “warmth” that tubes provide. Is it possible to have both, or are those features mutually exclusive?
- Balanced lines – totally new concept to me. Do I need this?
- Bi-wired speakers – ditto.
- I’ve been advised, and it totally makes sense to me – that the ONLY way to judge whether Brand X or Brand Y of any given component is better, is to do an A/B comparison: Being able to switch back & forth instantaneously between the 2. My local audio shop isn’t equipped to do this. Are they the exception or the rule?
- High efficiency speakers, or high power amp?
- What do I need to know to match components – output/input impedance, efficiency/power, etc…?
- How much difference does a good DAC make? I paid $200 for my ASUS Essence sound card (DAC) – how much would I need to spend to improve on that? (It’s 13 yr old technology).
- How much difference does a good pre-amp make? Do I need to upgrade BOTH my preamp and my DAC?
Thanks, and looking forward to learning and listening!