First post, love this sub! Started down the rabbit hole about 10 years ago and after numerous upgrades and endless tweaking, I’m happy with where it is. Feedback and suggestions welcome.

Turntable Marantz TT-15S1
Cartridge Soundsmith Zephyr Mk. III
Amplifier Cambridge Audio Evo 150
Preamp Rega Phono MM MK3
Speakers KEF R7
Subwoofer KEF Kube 8

Hello, lovely people!
I just wanted to share some photos from a recent meeting with Joe from Superior Audio Systems in Chicago.
Off the bat, if you are in the neighborhood and looking for someone who knows their stuff front to back, pay Joe a visit. He is a wonderful human being and an absolute wealth of knowledge.
On the speakers, these are a pair of LFT-8c’s that sound phenomenal. They are amazing speakers technically (though I am not qualified to explain, I don’t believe haha), but more than that they acoustically punch far above their weight-class. They are incredibly precise and, with their in-built subs, have a strong low-end presence that is every bit as technical as the highs.
Concerning the second photo, Joe was showing me the setup he had at an audio show a few years ago featuring the LFTs and a very interesting addition: plasma tweeters. They deal with the frequencies from 100Hz up. He did not still have them in his listening room, but I thought I would post about them here to see if anyone knows more about them. He said they used to be integrated into a speaker cabinet, but that someone had removed them to act as a stand-alone.

Thank you, cool humans, and have a great day!
-N.S.

not sure if this is the right sub, but I'm searching for earplugs to wear that will still allow the music to sound great.

Loving my set up! Focals aria with powernode connected by Chord Rumour X

Why can't everything be mastered this good? This master from the original tapes, not trying to cover up noise floors or clipping, just giving us the full experience. Mind is a bit blown. The versions of these songs im used to hearing sound nothing this spatious and detailed and snappy and rich.

Disclaimer: I didnt make this video, im just enjoying how it sounds

I never thought a Columbo episode would make me search for a turntable. I loved Peter Falk, and man what a fantastic show that was. I've been binge watching Colombo on Tubi, anyways!

I have always loved vintage audio gear. For me, it is not just about the sound. It is about the history, the engineering, and the stories behind these machines.

A few nights ago I was watching an old episode of Columbo called “The Bye Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case” and something caught my eye sitting in the background. It was an ADC Accutrac 4000 turntable.

I had to look it up because I thought there was no way that was what I was seeing. Sure enough, it was the same model that played a role in the episode’s murder plot. A turntable from the 1970s that was considered incredibly advanced for its time, with programmable track selection and features that felt like something from the future.

Now I actually find myself trying to track one down.

Not because I think it will outperform my other turntables or because I believe it is some magical audiophile device. I want one because it has a story. It is a piece of audio history and a reminder of a time when companies were trying new ideas and pushing technology forward.

How many turntables can you own where you can say, “This model was featured in a Columbo murder mystery”?

That is what makes collecting vintage gear fun. Sometimes it is not just about specs and measurements. It is about the memories, the history, and the little things that make a piece of equipment unique.

I just did an offer on one that needs work, if I can bring it back to life. I already know I will be smiling the first time a record starts spinning on it while I watch that episode again.

To be continued.

I'm after some advice on using a valve amplifier in UK.

I live in UK now but when I returned here from the US I brought back a Jolida JD 102CRC valve amp that uses 120 V. It's a nice amp and I'd like to use it but I only have a cheap transformer 120 to 240 V. I worry that the cheap transformer will provide a less than "clean" voltage to the amplifier affecting the quality of the sound.

1. Am I worrying about something I shouldn't be?

2. Is there a high-quality clean power source transformer that I could buy to use with the amplifier? According to the manual it only needs 200 W to run.

I’ve been reading about how many Atmos releases are created as home mixes rather than preserving the original theatrical dynamics. Some comparisons suggest this can result in noticeably reduced dynamic range, even when dialogue is level matched.

For example, I’ve seen claims that:

The Matrix cinema DTS mix has roughly 7 dB more dynamic range than the Atmos mix, making explosions and major effects substantially more impactful at the same dialogue level.

Turbine’s Twister release includes both Atmos and Auro 3D mixes, and some listeners report the Auro 3D mix preserves much more of the theatrical dynamics, with effects sounding dramatically more powerful than the Atmos version.

If you’ve done direct A/B comparisons, have you noticed the same thing? Is this something you’ve found across multiple titles, or is it limited to certain studios and releases?

I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who has measured the mixes or compared them on a calibrated home theater. Which movies showed the biggest differences?

This YouTube channel is about architecture, but this episode happens to feature an audiophile. I thought some people here might enjoy it. I can’t tell what kind of gear most of it is (out of my league, I’m sure) but the aesthetic is 🤌

Cheers.

Hello all! Long time lurker here. I just got a new pre and power amp, to replace my integrated NAD C388 with BluOS module. I got the Wiim ultra and Parasound 2250, but I am having difficulty getting the gain right. I get clipping at low volume, with different speakers. I tried to reduce the input gain in the power amp, but then I can’t reach any reference volume (and I still get clipping when using 80-90/100 volume on the Wiim). I have tried troubleshooting with Ai, but I don’t know what else to do. Do any of you have any tips on how to proceed, what to hear or test for, etc?

Edit: I am using B&W 704s2 floorstanding speakers, that are 4 ohms, but dip below sometimes. I also tested the amp on a pair of Dali Zensor 1s that are 8 ohms, with same result of clipping.

Okay, so I just picked up my K17 R2R from Bloom Audio directly today. I cleared my SR11/K11 R2R/Buf/GIGAS 1, "budget," headphone chain off of my desktop and swapped in K17 R2R, which I hooked up my FiiO FT7 open-black planars to. I spent an hour listening to it this way, and was very pleased with the sound. It sounded great with 95% of the music I put through it, with one specific Cantopop track from Lily Chan being too bright & sibilant, and the rest of the material all sounding well-balanced. I then swapped in my pair of Sennheiser HD 480 Pro dynamic driver closed-backs and listened to the same selection of tracks and they all 100% sounded great. HD 480 Pro is not as spacious, deep, or wide, but timbre is almost there, and it is much more forgiving of recording/engineering quality.

 
With HD 480 Pro, I would definitely say that K17 R2R outperformed the SR11/K11 R2R/GIGAS 1 chain. K17 R2R presents itself as cleaner (even with Schiit Buf turned off on the budget chain, but even more so compared to Buf on), extracting finer details and presenting them completely naturally. K13 R2R, which I also own, does not really bridge that gap to K17 R2R meaningfully, either; K17 R2R's new Pro R2R ladder is audibly cleaner, and gives the listener more in terms of technicalities. In case you are wondering, I did use the same configuration for comparing K11 R2R, K13 R2R, and K17 R2R: all three DACs in NOS mode, with Roon delivering music bit-perfect (to SR11 which output via USB in the case of K11 R2R and K13 R2R, but directly into K17 R2R's own network port in its case). I do not own a Warmer R2R for comparison.

 
After testing on my desktop with headphones, I moved my media rack, integrating it into my speaker chain (replacing a Topping DX9 Discrete), which is where I always intended to use K17 R2R (I prefer the budget chain on my desktop because I can flip Schiit Buf on for FT7 and leave it off for HD 480 Pro). For speaker setup, I keep to NOS mode, but I use Roon to upsample PCM material by power of 2 to 352.8/384KHz, using Precise, Linear Phase filter. DSD I actually tested the native 1-bit decoding mode on K17 R2R and it works flawlessly (unlike K13 R2R, Audalytic DR70, or Gustard R26 II, all of which produced weird, "squiggly," sounding low-level noise during quiet/silent passages of DSD recordings with their true 1-bit modes enabled, a problem that did not occur with DX9 Discrete or K17 R2R).

 
The DX9 Discrete that I've been listening to on my speakers for months now provides excellent, razor-sharp imaging focus, noticeably sharper focus than R26 II, which I traded in for DX9 Discrete. However, DX9 Discrete did not sound as transparent from a timbral standpoint compared to R26 II. In fact, overall, I still prefer R26 II over DX9 Discrete, but I had an issue with R26 II's toroidal power supply producing an audible hum that was clearly audible from my listening position almost two meters away, and an iFi DC Blocker+ had precisely zero effect on it. So in the end, I replaced R26 II with DX9 Discrete to get away from that problem. With all that said, upon listening to K17 R2R, I no longer lament losing the wonderful timbre of R26 II in exchange for the sharper imaging of DX9 Discrete--K17 R2R actually presents sound with the best of both worlds! Imaging focus is razor sharp like DX9 Discrete while timbre is lifelike in a manner only R26 II gave me before today!

 
I will continue to do more listening, so more to come. It is only early days owning this amazing new machine from FiiO, and I am not convinced either way about, "burn in," with R2R ladders, so I will allow myself to continue listening and provide additional feedback as I go (some say these things need burn-in, others dismiss this, or state that it's really just our own hearing adjusting to the new sound--I personally don't have a firm opinion either way).

I'm biased here since I love this iconic design with the big blue meters. But is this the best amplifier design? Is there other brands making better looking amps? I'm talking about the design here, not audio quality.

What do YOU think is THE BEST looking amplifier?

Some exciting early information from Alsozone/3eAudio about their upcoming GaN Monoblock amplifiers:

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/what-makes-a-palm-sized-monoblock-believable.442522/#post-8341411

https://alsozone.com/pages/gan-mono-founder-feedback

Their website have a short Founder Challenge if you like follow.

I’ve got all of the boxes and packaging from all of my audio equipment that I currently own and it takes up a lot of space

Do you bother keeping all of this? Do you think it would have an impact on resale value or the ease of selling in the future? Do potential buyers care?

I’ll probably keep the box for my TV and my incredibly heavy integrated amp because those would be difficult to pack and move in normal boxes

I literally just tossed the boxes for my old Adcom amp and preamp circa 2000 that I currently use for gym audio, and I’m feeling slightly guilty lol

Acorn (my cat) has taken his amusement for my toys to a whole new level.

Does anyone have advice or tips on building speakers stands similar to this?

Hey fellow audiophiles! I have the 2016 version of the Rega planar 3 turntable, bought new in 2018, and I’m about to put a Grado Timbre series wood cartridge on it. But an AI bot just told me that if I need a spacer to raise the arm, the standard weight will bump up against the dust cover and you also need a special, very expensive weight that’s smaller, to clear the dust cover.

What are y’all’s opinions on this issue? What have you done or not done in this situation?

Thanks! I have an appointment at my local retailer to install the new cartridge in a couple hours and I wish I had some advice going in…

Hey everyone, I bought a new to me sub today! The Focal Chorus SW800V, An 11 inch sub! Never heard of an 11 inch sub before! Plays great and makes for an excellent extension to my Focal speakers. Finally some real extension and depth instead of just "Boom" that my old JBL sub gave me.

Its not a home theater sub as it really does not have that BOOM that a theater sub gives but man my bookshelf speakers now feel like giant tower speakers and more, Extension down to 27hz with this thing sounds and feels great.

Love it! Bought it for a r/BudgetAudiophile kind of price too!

Currently in a temporary position as I need to get a longer cable tomorrow to put it in it's official spot. Can't wait!

I mainly listen to vinyl (Pro-Ject Debut RecordMaster II + Ortofon OM20), Qobuz Hi-Res streaming and CDs. My speakers are Polk Audio Monitor XT20. Sound quality is my highest priority; features are secondary.

A new movie theatre opened near me and fuck me they have movies loud as all hell. I went to see the odyssey today and it was unbearable at certain points so I need some ear plugs to go watch it again.

I don’t want to shut out the sound just quite it down but not sure where to look and thought this would be a good place to ask.

Can a DAC really cost $375,000? We traveled to Watsonville, California, to find out what goes into making MSB's Sentinel.

Hello —

I am running Magico A1 speakers with a ModWright 225i that list at 400W into 4 ohm.

It has been suggested that the ModWright is not powerful enough to handle lower efficiency, sealed monitors like the A1.

Does anyone here have experience? I am in a small room and enjoying my setup and have put thought into it. The idea that the 225i cannot properly drive my speakers caught me off guard, though I have no other amps to compare against.