Audio myths & dogmas #1
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2020
- There are many opinions on audio in forums and other outings on the web: Class A amps sound better, Straigt tone arms have better tracking, XLR cables sound better than RCA cables and so on. But are they true? Well, sometimes they are.
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Hans, I am a great fan of yours simply because you offer the most extraordinarily balanced and educated information that I've ever come across. You alone have taught me to avoid developing a final opinion without very careful consideration of all the issues that might affect the quality of the sound. Thank you!
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Be an audio Jedi - feel the force - trust your ears! - love it!!! - Thank you Hans
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Hans. You explain things that some might rather have people not know, in a very easy to understand manner. Thanks for these videos. Glad I came across your channel.
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When I learned to setup the bit perfect feature in Foobar, was en ear opener. It was a big difference, great video!
Great to hear!
I am glad that you mentioned the fact that PC's (and MAC;s) want to convert digital.
Files must always be played as bit perfect without conversion
(one of the common and very bad conversions is from 44 Khz to 48 or 96 Khz which is a disaster for sound quality).
It really is important to make sure that there is NO conversion taking place before being sent to the DAC.
I'm stingy about giving praise but here it finally comes some.
I look at all your posts & many thanks for your videos.
They are really great and interesting!
PS. I ALWAYS give you a "Thumb Up" anyway. DS.
Wow, thank you
Hans, I watched both of your videos. Excellent presentation as always👍👍
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Your words are like music to my ears. Thanks for clarifying and explaining so much in this presentation.
You're very welcome!
I found this very informative - it repays close listening. Thank you Hans.
Glad you enjoyed it
Very nicely balanced, subtle and measured treatment of this topic. The mention of IMF speakers took me back to the "old days". A brand that seems to have faded into the mists of time. I owned a pair of IMF Transmission Line Monitors a long long time ago (the size of a small fridge - 4 way with KEF B139, B110, Dome tweeter and super tweeter), but could not drive them properly with my small amp (Cambridge Audio P110 then Cambridge Audio Classic One, 50W per channel), so got rid of them. I learned early on about trying to drive inefficient loudspeakers to a loud volume with a small amp. At the time powerful amps delivering high quality sound cost an awful lot of money. The Cambridge Audio Classic One sounded gorgeous, but it produced a lot of heat in a small box and kept overheating. If the amp could have delivered enough power, I think I would still own that setup today. It sounded superb.
It shows our age, doesn't it.
I'm going on 70, never had golden ears but through persistence over many years from the 70s, put together a stellar audio system. It portrayed pinpoint soundstages, subtleties/nuances were easily discerned & it was musically involving. I encouraged many co-workers & friends to share the enjoyment & even though they weren't audiophiles they were amazed at the ease & quality of the delivery.
It all comes down to attention to detail with set up & equipment, not specs.
One incredible example was installing better interconnects to our purposely chosen softer sounding CD player (harsh players were abundant), the difference was night & day.
Thank you Hans for giving others your insight.
My pleasure. Which current gold prices having golden ears might be dangerous out on the street ....
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel I'm not sure I understand, so I'll expand on my approach to musical enjoyment.
Something I say to people who scoff at the price of enjoyable sound is that before the advent of subtitles on TV, & of course, radio, TV (news readers especially) & radio announcers had to speak very clearly so their audience could understand. My approach to enjoying Hi-Fi & music is not having to concentrate hard to hear the contributions of each musician & over-dubs in production. With precise imaging, the sound isn't confined to each speaker front, nor is it an indistinct cloud of sound, each sound element can be pinpointed in a 3D structure. If I want to revel in the more subtle contribution of the rhythm guitarist, he's right there & I can face him like you would in a conversation. I love music to be naturally & effortlessly detailed, not like it's the sound version of PhotoShop, ie artificially sharp &/or harsh.
Overall, the system was indeed expensive, but without fail, everyone enjoyed the music & didn't even ask about the equipment, which is how it should be.
Love your work👍
All I know is, the more I listen, the more critical I become of my system and look for things to tweak. That’s what makes this journey fun. Some tracks sound so good and another track plays and a certain frequency sounds lacking. Make adjustments, buy a new piece of gear, fix that issue only to create a new issue. It’s the same with my golf game. Forty years playing I still can’t shoot under par. I’m running out of time. Excellent video by the way.
Thanks for sharing
Thank you for the many great explanations. Qualifying the opinions with gear is important when taking in information when you want to quantify a result. People form a bubble around their arguments when they're implying "all things being equal" when they are never implicitly equal. Thanks especially for the explanation on XLR. I've been somewhat disappointed my Vincent monoblocks don't offer XLR but knowing that you have to double the circuitry, it wouldn't have been such a bargain for a great sound :)
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Thanks! this vid has a ship load ( 6:09 ) of info and great insight!!
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I know im not the only one who thought they heard a "t" instead of a "p" when Hans said "shipload" :-D
Gentlemen!!
Excellent video! At the end of the day it all comes to as said in 20:10 "If it sounds good, it sounds good!"
Exactly!
Thanks for that Excellent advice , as always as you say enjoy the music but as you know it's not easy for all of us is it , we can get a bit involved with our set up can't we !! Thanks again phil
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Thank you for your Videos Hans. I really enjoy! Are you also in Headphones or just Stereo? Something like a ZMF Aeolus on the Feliks Euhoria sounds so gorgeous and for me, it's easier to maintain.
I don’t enjoy headphones so I don’t review them. Sorry
Chapeau! Another great , well thought, informative video. It was intriguing , tasy and hot quite like a well prepared dish of "Pasta with N'duja sauce" that i really hope you had during your vacations... Keep on posting those videos wise Hans
I actually ate N'duja for the fist time two weeks ago while I was in the south of Italy😋
Excellent, as always. Thank you Hans.
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Dear Audio Evangelist, many thanks for ALL the advices. We need this kind of audio tonic!
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To be clear, this is a compliment. I love the dry factual academic style. I dont mind that it seems scripted. My father used to tell me that the best impromptu speeches were the ones you prepared for. The educational value IS the entertainment value for me . Great video.
Thanks!
Thank you. Thisis why I subscribe to your channel. I absolutely agree, trust your ears (maybe with a litte guidance).
Thanks and welcome
Quality advice once again 👍
Thanks again!
Hans you are part of my audiofile journey ,The topics are so interesting, revealing ,phenomenal insight into The Audio world and their equipment. Truthful Information we all need to know about. So thanks Hans keep on wowing me. 👍
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Hans, I love you to do some episodes on valve amplifiers. Thinking of adding a valve preamplifier/headphone amp, to my system. Linear tube Audio. Problem is I’m in the UK and they are in America. So I cannot sample their equipment. Still really interested though. Many thanks Clint.
Sorry I focus on digital front ends and I don’t enjoy headphone listening.
Of course its digital with you Hans, thanks for replying. 👍
Hello, thank you for honesty and your simple explanations on topics that matter!
David Gill Montreal Canada
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thanks for sharing your vast knowledge .i was going to buy xlr connectors for my rotel preamplifier .its not truly balanced so will stick to my wireworld rca conectors many thank for all your vast knowledge .😊😊😊
Glad I could help
Very nice said. I certainly feel the force 😀
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Excellent done!
Claes Malmberg 🙏🏽
Great video Hans. I've always said that the best measurement of whether something in the audio world is any good or not is your own ears. Your preferences are personal to you and just because someone else might not like it doesn't mean they are right and you are wrong and vice versa. Enjoy the music. 👍
Absolutely
Good evening,
congratulations for the tutors are really interesting and well done.
I am not very familiar with English and I help myself with Google translate, sorry.
In the 80s I started to love high fidelity and after a break I have now started to get interested in liquid music; my question is related to the request for advice about the use of a computer for liquid music to then interface with the audio amplifier: is it better to use a mini PC + external DAC or the Raspberry + external DAC? What are the minimum features that the mini PC / Raspberry must have?
Thanks for the attention.
choose the 'lightest' computer you can. Speed only makes a computer noisier. Look at th-cam.com/play/PLMbsmejHnP8G3kkMLMe9Q7c8fCcqJNci7.html. Even better is to use a device that is built for audio, like the Bluesound Node 2i
Hans , you're my favorite audio evangelist , period.
Are there any others then?🙏🏻
Hans knows his stuff. The Optimod in broadcast radio and TV has been squashing audio for decades. Not entirely a bad thing, the audio needs to be intelligible on both a $4000 audio setup AND a portable TV with a 2" .25w paper driver. The video in a typical home is all over the place too. I see huge TVs with crunched black levels and fluorescent color all the time. Hans speaks the truth, though. His conclusion at 20:07 speaks volumes. Not everyone can live in a quiet suburb with space for a dedicated audio room.
Thank you for your effort. Cheers!
My pleasure!
Excellent video very informative new subscriber thx
Welcome
Hans, You are doing excellent work here, music lovers/HiFi fans need this info!
Glad you think so!
Hello Hans, quick question, have you ever tried using USB Audio Player Pro App? If you do, do you recommend bit perfect mode or upsampling mode? Thanks
I don't have Android devices
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel ahh i see
You've said the magic word; SEASONED marketers.
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Well done, very good video!
Thank you very much!
Highlight of this video for me was the mention of IMF speakers. I still use the huge IMF rspm mark IV but do wonder if my 90wpc tube amp is enough for them. I hope so. Sounds good to me. 👍
If it sound good to you, that's all that matters.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel I have a question about bit perfect playback. If a recording was made in 24/96, or some other high res format, and was down sampled to make a 16/44 CD, which rate do you use for bit perfect playback? And what I mean by that, is if you rip a cd that was originally recorded in high res, do you need to use 24/96 if you want bit perfect playback, or can you still get it with a CD?
Thanks, I'm not very knowledgeable in this area, and don't understand everything but still informative and i'm learning.
One question, I experienced the "power" of valves when I bought a class A 15 Watt guitar amp. It was very loud over the 12 inch speaker, too loud for home use and sold it. But why have these more power, 1 Watt equals 1 Watt? The speaker doesn't know and has a fixed sensitivity (indicated in Watt)?
Bedankt Hans.
For as far as hifi is concerned: I don't know and haven't find a plausible explanation yet. A guitar amp is a completely different beast where 5% distortion might not be a problem. Furthermore the speaker(s) used doesn't have to go very deep, is in an open cabinet and thus has a very high efficiency (you need little power for high acoustic output).
Thanks Hans. It’s a wild world out there, appreciate the gift of your lightsaber to help cut through the ship! Maybe Solo should be your jazz name?
I asked for that, didn't I😄
Great video. Surprised to hear that use Audio Note amps, given you generally discuss digital!
What’s strange about that?
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel nothing strange at all. I also use Audio Note equipment.
Hello! I'm a new viewer of yours and I have a question regarding bit perfect playback on computers, wouldn't setting the sample rate to the same sample rate as the file, provide bit perfect playback on a computer? Or is there more to it? I'm a beginner and use an aftermarket PCI-E sound card. Thank you.
matching the sample rate should stop resampling from the software, bit perfect output will depends on the software you use. Some software don't output bit perfect audio. If it is bit perfect then the sample rate should automatically change on the hardware indicator.
Both Windows and MacOS use a software mixer to be able to mix sounds from different functions. For instance to mix music you are playing with the beeps of the operating system. So setting it to a given sampling frequency and setting volume to 100% doesn't cut it.
From one adult to another, this is eduction for all of us to take in. Good subject, by all means ;-) Cheers from Denmark
Thanks!
Dear Mr Beekhuyzen,
In regard to eliminating interference signals “living inside your computer” (15:36). Is the significant effect of cleaning up the signal by an Uptone audio iso regen dependent on the quality of your DAC?
That is, if your pc is connected to a good quality DAC by a usb 2.0 cable, would inserting the Uptone audio iso regen between my pc and DAC still be worthwhile to do (adding another conmponent to my audio chain)?
In my case just bought the Denafrips Ares 2 that you reviewed several weeks ago. Would you recommend me buying the Uptone audio iso regen to further enhance the quality of my audio signal?
Many thanks in advance!
I can't say if it will be beneficiary to you since I don't know your listening environment and your hearing. But for me it clearly improves the sound.
The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel
I will consider it.
Thank you for your reply. Much appreciated.
I just bought a Schiit Eitr to go between my PC and my Arcam CDS50, which is a £700 SACD player with a well-implemented ES9038PRO-based DAC. It sounds detailed and resolving to me but your Denafrips is probably even more so. Previously I was using a 3m optical cable, which carries no noise but extremely high jitter. Running 2m of USB to the Schiit Eitr, having it clean things up then sending it the rest of the way via Coax has led to almost no introduction of noise that I can detect, and the improvement from jitter reduction has been astronomical. The Eitr has cost me £75, but I anticipate I'd have to have about £300 more invested in the DAC component to achieve the same improvement. I will also say that giving Foobar exclusive control of the output and sampling rate (so that it can play back CD quality without upsampling) has made just as big a difference, as Windows upsampling is famously terrible.
The inventor of the USB audio standard thinks it sucks. Implementing USB into DACs is not an easy thing to do well either. And your PC is going to make a terrible source no matter how you hook it up. It's absolutely worth investing in a DDC if you have a DAC like the Ares. The Eitr is not even a particularly great performer for what it is, but still for me the improvement has been dramatic.
because of your sincerity I support you financially as well. Keep doing what comes from your heart ...
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Good video 👍👍
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Hans, why would the "Balanced outputs/cables" from a SACD player have a much lower volume going into the balanced inputs of a preamp than unbalanced RCA? Have you come across this before?
I haven’t seen that before. Normally balances outputs have a 6dB higher output.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel Understood, that's what i've read on forums as well. My case is the opposite with a Yamaha BD-A1060 bluray/sacd player. I was able to confirm online that one other person who has the same bluray/sacd player reported the same thing as well. So, i don't think anything's wrong with my unit. Oh well, it's straying from the topic of your video. Thanks for the great content anyways.
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I wish you were a US citizen, I'd nominate you for the Presidency, thank you for this, so many useful bits of information, with just enough honey to make taking our audio medicine a little easier. Be safe, and keep up the great work.
Wow, thank you!
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel Thank you!!
Thank you for your wisdom Hans. You are perfectly right
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I always loved Sony ES components, but was always a bit offset (if not upset) by their tech-terms. For instance, what on Earth does "Spontaneous Twin Drive" mean?
Exactly🤗
You are one of my favorites brother, i love how logical and methodical you are but you keep your ego out of it.
Thx man
The voice of reason always!
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Appreciate the myth busting on tubes. I have XP with both and am actual going back to Tubs after a long stint with SS. In particular, I own a brand whose SS amps are supposed to sound like tubes. This amp does but not totally, it compromises. The design produces more mid-bass/ bass energy than a typical tube amp does. Pair it with a pair of bass heavy speakers, it becomes too much of a good thing. So, in the need to establish synergy I am switching to a technology that always seem to have a more pronounced midrange. Like you, what I have found in my Audio Journey is well designed SS gear sound a lot like tubes and visa/versa.
I find warmth depends on the amplifier. SS can sound warm too. Brands like McIntosh and Audio Research are extremely accurate designs that I consider not having a lot of warmth. Cary and Prima Luna not so much on nutrality but have more that tube qualityy. I am sure another SS design would fit the bill. Nonetheless, to my ear no matter what brand you use, most Tubes Amps seem to do a better job bringing the midrange center stage. Never heard one that had a lot emphasis on bass that certasin SS designs can. Although I am sure there is one out there, I do not have the resources to do a lot of equipment rolling. Therefore, I am going with a technology that is pretty much a sure bet.
Again, trust your ears.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel Sage advice. Never was one to base purrchasing decions on reviews and measurements anyhow. Just wanted to share some insight with people that may have an interest in tubes that some brands do not sound "tubey". Nor all SS gear fully nuetral. Some do have an tube like glow to the sound.
Essential viewing for anyone who wants to get the most out of digital playback. I used to think everything was the same in the digital domain but I found my ears disagreed!
Excellent 👂🏻👂🏻
A system also has three outcomes (perhaps for another video) : it’s main purpose, servicing and (multi)room(s) placement limitations. Purpose has to be related to « lifestyle ». Having a small kid running around might not be compatible with hi-end uncovered speakers 🔊 to be punched by playmobil pirate swords and cables running at length (booby traps for the said 4-old pirate). Not having enough time to be actively engaged in the sole music listening experience because of family life and spouse acceptance factor made me choose for two listening experience : a Yamaha multiroom set, and a Sony LDAC/AAC headphone/BluRay player/iPad combination with a CD quality Deezer account usable for both. Then comes servicing. I know my WXA-50 (paired with focal 706v WITH GRILLS and a yam NS-200 sub) and WXC-50 (paired with MSP-5 I already had for keyboard playing) are mass-market products. Good ESS chip onboard and B&O Ice Module though, loads of features, small form factor, later on I discovered with very low distortion etc. If they ever break-down I might find a dealer easily or maybe not even bother and get another unit (next product ?). I have even lower-cost 90s Hi-Di(stortion) moved to bedrooms hooked up with dirt cheap wxa-10 and a musiccast 20 (mono effectively) in the kitchen to have my music following me, for I must cook etc. You have to have realistic expectations. I cannot crank up the volume, and the front-ported Focal speakers must stay in corners, each side of the TV 📺, as a sound bar replacement. I thus killed the bass with the built-in dsp and transferred it to the Yam sub out. The other day, I was listening to Don Grusin’s Piano r recorded at PS-Audio in DSD (Octave records « out of Thin Air ») played from Audirvana + through my home Ethernet network. The Piano was There. I my small flat, loud and clear. That’s all that matters in the end.
Life is one big compromise. Think of " If you can't be with the one you live, love the one you're with." (Stephen Stills).
That goes for audio as well.
Berkut You’ve reminded me of my first set of speakers. They were Cerwin Vega 12TR’s that once my children were born, the uncovered rear facing horn became forward firing😂. They had some boom though
Thanks for another great video!
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How about the dogma that from a certain age on one shouldn’t bother to buy good audio equipment because you won’t hear the difference anyway?
I know this is not true but I would like to hear or read your view on this.
I was ahead of you: th-cam.com/video/JxFCnZ5pBp4/w-d-xo.html😋
This is an angry video, well done!
Angry??
If laundry detergent marketing was true, we would have transparent clothes by now.
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Thumbs up 👍🏼
Even tho i would like to mention that higher priced equipment doesn’t always sound better..
(Not that you made such a statement but some people might conclude so after this video)
Very true!
Hans, I hope the measurements freaks do not get their knickers in a knot over your gentle remonstration lol!
We're lucky to have freedom of speech 😁
Here I think you simplified the section on XLR cables a little too much. There can still be an advantage to XLR cables, even when run into a single-ended amplifier. That’s because receiving equipment (the preamp or amp) can have two different single-ended methods of sensing the input signal: it can either look at one hot pin and ignore the other, or it can look at the difference between the hot pins (they both carry the same signal, one being inverted). The latter is called a differential input, and if the cable picks up some common mode interference along its run, this interference is cancelled out. This is because the interference is the same magnitude on both hot pins and the difference between them is not changed by the interference. A balanced input will also be differential, but will reduce distortion because again, some of the distortion is the same magnitude in both halves of the signal, and the speaker only sees the difference.
I know what differential inputs are but the fact is that when used with an asymmetrical output, one side is connected to ground So there is no differential signal as such.
Not to disregard here, but in the intro I understand that companies are "trying to fool" consumers with trade mark names when in fact the quality is the same...and then, at the end I understand that is actually good to buy more expensive gear, just because it's coming from a "name in the industry" that's using high end parts. It's kind of confusing.
I wonder, if these "facts" can be measured somehow? And I'm not referring to measure them with an oscilloscope, but to actually do double-blind test and see the difference.
Being an mixing engineer, I tried myself few audio interfaces ranging from $500 to $1500 but I couldn't tell the difference, or the difference was too small to justify the price. Now, if I have to spend $5000 on an audio interface just to hear a tiny difference when I'm recording/mixing songs that are streamed on Spotify at 320kbps, I think it defies the purpose :)
I just said that you should not pay attention to fancy names manufacturers give to circuits or systems. And I said that it it a good idea to stick to brands that are known to deliver quality. I don't see a conflict between them.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel Agree :) But people are biased no matter what, and over the last decade a lot of companies were able to put out products that are less expensive but offering same quality (or slightly less quality but huge money savings). So, it's a good idea to break the "rules" and try different things.
In my experience as an mixing engineer I've seen this "bias" first hand, and my belief is that the ultimate test is the blind test that matters (not the specs, price, or brand). There were just few professionals who agreed to do blind tests with audio over the years and they failed. That's why no one wants to do it because it's too risky for their careers :)
But nonetheless your channel has a lot of valuable info for anyone in the industry. :)
I honestly struggle to hear a difference between my Apple Music Airplayed and CDs. I guess I’m happy in my ignorance so can enjoy the convenience of Apple Music for a modest monthly cost.
Just enjoy the music.
So we should ignore all specs and just experiment? 🤔
No as long as you do realise you can’t judge equipment on specs alone. Don’t experiment, listen.
The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel
But everything sounds bad, i need equipment!
I’m not sure Hans’ view, but a number of people think many R2R DACs sound better/more natural but they typically measure worse.
I understand that measurements are vital in the design of equipment . But If, as you say, they aren't meaningful in assessing audio quality , why do you measure at all?
To check if there are errors, to understand what the designer had in mind, and so on
Thanks for answering. Great video as always.
Great question and answer, I always wondered this too!
Why can't current be measured and shared with amp buyers? Is it impossible? Sorry I am no physics man.
It is very easy to measure current as such. But measuring how quick an amp can deliver current and how long it can sustain that current is a lot more complex. I know of no standardised measurement for this.
I only use a cartesian set-up. It doesn't exist. 🤣
Dualism should not be mixed up with stereo🤔
You need a good streamer/server but the pricing on nicer units is soo extreme for what you are getting. The marketing is creative and poor to understand, for these pretty boxes. Amps and dacs are complex, but streamer/server components are far less complex and basic, yet pricing is sooooo high. This are is more commodity. Why is pricing so high? Am I correct? Next vacation, go to Yosemite.
I am afraid you underestimate the complexity of building a really good streamer/server. I started of with a Mac mini with bit perfect software years ago and now play music from a +4k streamer/server. And that's not because it looks fancy, if you catch my drift.
How about cable length? Speaker cables are better when shorter where interconnects can be longer... e.g. mono block amps put closer to wider speakers will perform better than a central multi channel amp with longer speaker cables. Then you have things like cables (silver vs. copper, material treatments, termination types). Power Conditioners, power cable upgrades, and lifters to get the cables off floors. How about measurements? Places like ASR will use SINAD + THD + S2N as a comprehensive benchmark if a product is good or bad without regard to personal preferences to subjective audio qualities.
Yeah, I know, I can’t retire the coming years
I listen...😏not analyzing Music...
Good man!