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5 Overrated Audiophile Features You Probably Don't Need
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OK, again :) Headphone output. When you live in Europe you have more crowded places and rooms closer to family. So, if you have babies and toddlers and small children you don't want to wake them. And the listening room is usually the living room as well. In those conditions it makes sense to use the internal headphone output. You could live with good headphones and 3 meters of cable and your night session listening problems are solved.... and you don't have to buy a different product for that.
I agree 100%. I work third shift and I'm usually up when everyone is sleeping. So headphones come in really handy.
You are missing the point. Headphones are great but a dedicated HP amp is way better then most HP outputs on products, that’s all
@@Nordraw We see differently. I see that I don't miss the point why the headphones outputs are there in amps. Nobody questioned whether a dedicated headphones amp is better in quaIity most of the times - but not always - as an integrated one. The question was why is it there when you coud have dedicated ones? And from that standpoint I see you who is missing the point :) And that's the point of integrated ones. If you headphones are just for auxiliary usage the ingerated ones - could be - fine. And the headpohne output in my marantz is quite good... if I were a headphones guy I would buy one dedicated maybe from Burson Audio. But my main listening condition is with the speakers, 68-722decibels and occasional headphones output. And I mean that's the point in having an integrated one when you use it 1-2 hours for 1-2 times a week.
Good list CAM
100% agree. Another important feature of using an integrated amp's headphone socket is that it typically defeats the speaker outputs. I doubt a separate headphone amp connected to a pre-out would provide this function, no matter how wonderful it may sound!!!
Overrated: Upgrading a good dac. If my $110 dac reveals 10% more details, a $1000 dac reveals an additional .01%.
😅tried to give u 2 thumbs up , but 2nd touch cancelled . U are so right.
A good dac does more than just adding details.
@@onionknight9431 Yes, but I didn't want to drag it out with multiple paragraphs.
@@onionknight9431 I'm not saying an $1800 or $13,000 or $50,000 dac isn't better. It just isn't worth the extra clams to the average guy. Less than 1% of the 1% are audiophiles. I'm 60 and still working in residential construction so priorities are priorities.
Absolutely.
Balanced- here’s the deal- most gear that have balanced inputs and outputs lacks true balanced circuitry, in which case balanced in/out is nonsense. Some gear has true balanced circuitry and in that case balanced connection may (but not definitely will) sound better
Great Vid! With the USB port - I find the best use case in CAR STEREOS. I can load up a TB of Hi-Res audio that I can take everywhere, and never worry about satellite or FM reception while maintaining the highest possible quality. The 6-9" touchscreens today are super easy to read and navigate.
USB music lover checking in here. Here are some of the things that I use it for. I need to listen to music/ambience all night to drown out the neighbors dogs barking at all hours. I used to have a 5 CD changer loaded with ambient discs, but after several years of use like that, it killed it. USB has 0 moving parts and even if the drive itself dies, I can get another one for a few bucks. The sounds I like to listen to aren't available on any streaming service either. Rain sounds for example, there are plenty of 5 minute ones on Amazon music, but I want something at least a few hours long so it's not fading in an out all the time.
I also use USB music in my farm tractor. I've tried to use CD and cassette in the past but the dirty and high vibration environment just kills them. USB sticks have been running reliably for years there.
But you could have these sounds on your computer and stream them from there. or a NAS
What I learned is that balanced output are used in studios where they use longer cables and with that to reduce the chance of interference.
I'm the outlier in the USB thumb drive. As a matter a fact, I would ONLY consider an amp IF it has that feature. It's just so convenient because all my hi rez music are there. I don't need a CD player. I will stream spotify if i don't have it already. But as someone who has big collection of high quality lossless digital music, it offers a clean minimalistic look. I agree bout the legibility of content on the small screen, but no biggie for me. My Yamaha aventage screen displays the content in moving text. Thanks.
Another USB thumb drive user. Why? convenience, I rip my CD's in FLAC (yes, still buying them) and put it in a USB drive (prog, rock, jazz, classical, etc.) I typically put the latest 20 cd's for each genre and listen to them as albums, one folder, one album, in my bedroom or in the car.
@@albertomarquintosh2603 And yet another thumb drive user. Especially in the car. Thumb drives can hold an enormous amount of music and I find it much more convenient than carting CDs back and forth into the car. Besides most cars don't have CD players and I don't like streaming nor do I particularly care for Sirius. I do have a Sirius subscription but that's for my wife. I like to listen to my own selections. I create .WPL files to organize the music. And the next amp or blue ray player I get will have a USB port for playing files.
Thumb drive user here: I use my thumb drive via Volumio in my raspi, which feeds (local) flacs via Allo DigiOne Signature via Coax into my Gustard R26 which uses XLRs ( :-) - I need the RCAs to drive my bass-amps) to connect into a PS Audio BHK250 (which has tubes :-) ) which drives a pair of Infinity Epsilons.
Something that isn't overrated... my 1990-ish Pioneer VSX4600 AV receiver. It's being fed by a Bluesound Node->Denafrips Ares II and powers a pair of Klipsch floor speakers. Old school meets new school and sounds great!
For US thumb drive feature, it feels like 80% of the time I'm on someone's car they are using USB thumb drive to play car audio. It simply works, plug once then forget.
I use a thumb drive to play music in my car. I typically set it to random on long drives so that I never know what's coming up next. The controls on my steering wheel allow me to control volume or back up or go ahead to the next song. I have to admit that my music system is an upgraded one with 7-inch touchscreen and a host of features. My thumb drive holds 800+ songs so I never run out of something to listen to on those long trips.
My son uses the output from powernode for his child headphones. This morning, he could listen to ‘Cha cha cha’ (Finnish Eurovision song) probably 50 times in a row, and the household was grateful for the headphones output.
I use the headphone jack on my Yamaha amplifier for my computer from time to time. I had a dedicated amp and dac for a while, but it didn't make much difference to me when I listen to it through my integrated amplifier. It sounded just as great, and I felt like it could drive it to higher volumes through the a-S801. From my understanding though, this integrated amplifier has a saber dac that is considered pretty good.
I am an rescued high end audiophile. Now I'm into music. And i use Bluetooth, mostly Apt-X adaptive and I'm perfectly happy with what i hear. We have a Arylic B50 in our livingroom with Polk ceiling speakers and a sub. Without Bluetooth that thing would not be used by my family and frankly myself. I hope Cheapaudioman isn't turning into Cheapaudiophileman. 😎
11:09 I have that dac's cousin, the SMSL A300 integrated amp. Has a crappy DAC in it with that same feature. With the right double USB-A cable, it can be used as a computer input as well.
What drives me crazy is that specially the Chinese brands sell a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense in a larger component system. You already pointed out the headphone outs but sometimes you end with multiple tone controls/EQs, Bluetooth receivers, etc. And on the other hand, if you search that one component for a specific use case, they usually miss one feature, and if you buy another component to get that one feature, you have again 25 redundant features. It just never fits.
Tubes in everything might have folks, myself included, treating them to a certain extent like VU meters. They're cool to look at. I have the Fosi Box X2 with tubes, Schiit Lyr and Schiit Saga both with tubes and I think for the most part if I never saw that they had tubes then I would have been just as happy with their solid state listening. I do notice a slight difference with the tubes and prefer it, so I use them, but my ears aren't trained enough to pick out tubes from a blind taste test. So I guess for me they're aren't 'necessary'.
Interesting take on balanced outputs. I use it between the DAC, preamp, and power amp for the voltage output. However I have read that most commercial 'balanced' isn't really 'balanced' as the circuits are not separated/differential. Not sure if that is correct, but differential amps are definitely more expensive. Bluetooth is a convenience, as is the USB connection and headphone jacks, for this mobile age, and not really for critical listening, imo. I do use a tube headphone amp, MT-604, that really filled my head with amazing space and sound. Perhaps I just didn't find a good solid-state HP amp, which I'm told do exist, but at a much higher price. So in conclusion, as you have said before, use what you like, but remain open to new things and not disparage other options till you have experienced their perspectives. Thank you for your time and effort as always. Take care and be well.
All op amps are differential. So balanced or non-balanced is a purely schematic thing, the price difference concerning electronic circuitry there is negligible.
Paying for balanced i/o in the consumer domain is paying for an elite status.
@@dead_art Thank you for your reply and your effort to educate me.
@@dead_art Then why do balanced cables sound much louder than unbalanced ones?
@@yjlconductor , cables do not sound.
@@dead_art of course they do! Balanced cables sound completely different!
I’ve seen the ‘Framework Laptop’ which you can modify for your needs and put connections etc in or out depending what you want or need. Maybe a universal system like this for a music setup and custom your required inputs / outputs, components such as amp or dac etc and make your own audio device tailored to your specific needs 🥳🤤🥰👍💪
Interesting!
I use my thumb drive music 75% of the time with my Bluesound NODE. I purchase used CD's, rip them using EAC, save a back up copy to a local computer drive and also add them to a 2TB thumb drive using the BSN interface to control the music.
Once i got a full 7.1.4 setup, i fully realized that all i really needed was a solid 2.1 or the right stereo speakers. When my receiver goes and lives on a farm upstate, i will move to that setup.
With the Monoprice MSV-2, you can have both the vintage 2.1 setup, or switch to the other amplifier/receiver when you're in the mood for surround sound.
I have made the exact same choice. I just re-setup a surround system to check my impression and wow, was I disappointed. 2.1 was so much more to my liking now, especially when I play stuff below 90bd most times anymore. Forward image and stage are much more pleasing to me and surround seems to lose some of that, at least in my room to my ears and taste.
I had a 7.2.4 system, and just got tired of the complications. Much happier with a 2.2 system. Doesn't get in the way of the music and movies sound about as good. And I have three systems now even after selling off parts
My current setup is very simple. An Aiyima A08, a pair of Sony CS5 bookshelves, and a JBL 550p subwoofer running off of a laptop. This setup sounds as good as any studio I've recorded in or club I've performed in. It's interesting to me that people think they need to spend more on gear than audio professionals do or that near-field listening, the way recording studios are setup, isn't an accurate representation. I think a lot of people just need a basic stereo receiver that already has all of the stuff like a headphone jack, BT connectivity, basic EQ, etc. built into it instead of overthinking it.
I use headphone output from SMSL C200 placed in my bedside and use balanced cables to connect to the speaker amp across my bedroom and use LDAC Bluetooth stream from my phone just to move around a bit. I use USB drive connect directly to the router and play music on it from the computer/Andriod app and never need USB drive to the dac/amp. Tube is not really my thing.
People who are into tubes are as crazy as people who are into vinyl. They call me Crazy Carl.
You crazy Carl!
@@philpatt970 Thanks bro!
we are simply built different
Now you need… Another video to talk about what’s missing on different hi-fi component equipment; what should be there, but usually never is.👨🏻
I use XLR for mostly convenience. I dig the Schiit DACs having XLR as a bonus input. I get the dry heaves remembering those fragile and tiny wire clip speaker terminals . I despise all those faux tube amps from China. They are most often mosfet anyway, the tube is barely a buffer. None of the cheaper or equal priced imports hold a candle to the LYR+.
As a Tapehead I get a little bit angry seeing all those useless connectors and features on everything when all I need to come back is a couple of tape loops or three on Integrated Amps and pre-amps. I'm betting those are way cheaper to implement than all the other stuff put in there you in the end want outboards for anyway. It's like that NAD anniversary amp they released for a classic integrated. Which got me interested, but they added modern featurse, built in DAC, built in BT and i2s and all sorts of digital, but all hinte of tape loops entirely gone from the model it was an anniversary for...
As for thumbdrives, I have my entire music collection on a thumb drive plugged into my blusound node. Choose songs and make Playlists using the app. Use this more than streaming. You get the dac you pay for
As I just posted, an external SSD or powered HDD is considerably cheaper and easier to setup than a NAS enclosure and drives.
No NAS firmware F* ups, no stumbling through poor setup guides, no issues with the stramer firmware not playing nicely with the NAS, no router issues, just plug in and play.
I have a Yamaha RN803 receiver with a USB port on the front panel. The front display allows easy navigation of 512 gb of hires files. It has a very nice Sabre dac internally. It also has built-in streaming and networking. A true one box solution. While I've looked at moving up to a nicer external dac, I am finding it almost impossible to find one that accepts thumb drives and has the requisite display to allow direct access to the files. It's become a deal breaker for me because I don't want to have to hook up my desktop or laptop to my stereo while it's very convenient to keep my entire music library on a thumb drive. I know there are dacs available with internal storage, but the ones I've seen were prohibitively expensive. Any suggestions?
Bluesound Node allows usb to show up in BluOS and Roon. Great way to keep noisy computers off your gear.
Load music on a thumb drive to use in the delivery car I drive. Works very well for me.
Use the headphone output on my NAD amp very often. Love it and doesn't disturb anybody.
Balanced connections and tubes are a waste of money.
I use a usb flash drive (thumb drive) into my Onkyo-RZ50 AVR. Presently have some 50-60 CD's ripped to FLAC onto the flash drive. Since the AVR is hooked up to the TV, can use the TV to navigate as well as my phone through the Onkyo app. Saves loading a CD into the Blu-ray player.
Simply illuminates the need for a music server (rune for example) as the 256GB flash drive has more space than I'll likely ever need for CD-rips. The RZ 50 also has inbuilt streaming, so no need for an external streamer box + Chromecast to stream from my phone as well.
Regards
Jordan
Countless HDMI connectors and digital inputs on modern amps/receivers instead of enough RCA inputs.. was a deal breaker for me quite a few times.
agree with bluetooth and balanced outputs. I use the USB connection in my OPPO and REAVON players not for a thumb drive but for a hard drive that contains tons of music in FLAC and you can use the interface through the TV, it's great. I use tube amps, preamps and CD with tube output so no need for tube buffer.
Your point about balanced inputs, balanced outputs and a balanced circuit topology, is valid. Yes, I take on board common mode rejection and the benefits that brings, especially when employing longer interconnects. But, a balanced circuit uses twice the number of parts. This has to be reflected in the dimensions, weight and price of the component. Also, the more parts a signal has to pass through, the greater the potential for signal degradation. Single ended or unbalanced topology offers a much cleaner/purer signal path, leaving the reproduction more faithful to the creator’s intent. Plus, the money you potentially save by choosing single ended components a, could be employed to upgrade other devices in the chain!
Wrong! Balanced headphone outputs give four times the power output of single ended. And it's not "Twice the number of parts" either.
To paraphrase, why faf around with such bs. Keep it simple stupid or ‘kiss’. I agree
@@danapuopolo8397 I made no reference to headphone amps. Yes, if we’re nit picking, or being esoteric, there aren’t strictly twice the number of components, but the topology does necessitate a 2nd hot, or live circuit!
@@TD05SSLegacy 👍🍻
Greetings from Norway. I agree with most of your points in this video. Concerning Bluetooth, i totally agree when it comes to listening to music. However, as an example, Yamaha's silent cinema enables me to enjoy a movie or series on a Bluetooth headset of my choice, without disturbing my better half while she's asleep upstairs. That's at least for me a convenience I do appreciate 🙂
Yes I need a USB. I use a Brennan unit which is basically a device to download CD'S. The Back up is a thumb drive. So if something happens to my unit I can still play my library.
Thank you for not saying Phono Preamps. When they got rid of these in the 90s, it was a violation of my civil rights!
USB input is a very important feature for me. I backup all of my media on to a usb drive which I play through my Onkyo receiver.. If there is a better solution, I'm all ears!
I use the headphone output on my vintage Luxman amplifier.
My new setup has been serving me well since I got it last month. I got sober about 3 months ago and it great to listen to a bit of heavy metal up really loud to get the tension out! It has bluetooth (Dx3 pro plus) but I don't imagine ever using it. I think it's just nice to have in case a friend comes over and wants to play me something on their phone or something.
I use the usb thumb drive on my avr to connect to an external hard drive where all my cd rips are located. Is this what u were referring to?
I regularly use the headphone port on an integrated amp for TV, not serious music listening. Also in a lesser system in another room I may not add a dedicated headphone amp, but use the one on the integrated amp, eg a rec room.
653 views and only 52 likes. WTF People.?!
Randy puts a lot of time into these vids. Takes a split second to hit the like button.
Maybe Randy should do a video on what all is involved in making a video for our viewing. Where is the love?🤷🏻♂️❤️🎧💽
An earlier commenter already spotted this. If you have equipment that really is balanced (as in true differential mode) then your selling yourself short if you don't connect them with an balanced interconnect.
I am using a Roksan K3 for my amplifier, which has a headphone jack (but lacks bluetooth, as Rokson couldn't get the chips during covid), so I have a Ifi Zen blue V2 bluetooth/dac, which does a decent job of converting most files.
Personally, I use Bluetooth the vast majority of the time for its convenience. Yes, I am sure there ware better ways for me to connect my computer to amplifier but this is simple and the Ifi Zen blue v2 is very good for what it is.
As for the headphone jack on the Roksan K3. It does a very good job, whether it is as good as a dedicated headphone amplifier, I don't know but compared to my Topping DX3 Pro+ which I use upstairs, I would say the Ronksan fairs pretty well.
The reason for having it is again convenience. Living in a semi-detached, my next door neighbour is very good about me using my speakers but I don't want to take the mickey so when it comes to 10pm, I either have to turn them down or use headphones and cable (or headphones to bluetooth). So the easiest thing is to just plug the headphones into the L3.
USB port for thumb drive:👍 I’ve gone full streaming. No CD player and I rarely use my turntable because turntables are (and always have been) a pain.
For anything I like to listen to not on Amazon or Qobuz, I have an mpg on my pc. Maybe compressed, maybe not, but it still sounds decent.
So, I load it onto a thumb drive and plug it into my Bluesound Node (It’s a rare extravagance in an otherwise proudly Cheap audio system. OK, Cheap-ish. )The BlueOS software sorts through the drive, and I play what I want. Very convenient and decent sounding.
Could I airplay to the the Node instead? Sure. But having your full collection of otherwise unavailable tunes basically embedded into your central audio component makes a lot of sense. Thumbs up for thumb drive audio.
Also, balanced cabling is the only option for long cable runs. My TV and audio components are on opposite ends of the room. An $80 wireless link failed after about 3 weeks. So I have to go with a hard wire solution.
After snaking around corners, the sofa, and up and over doorways, the run is about 60 feet. Balanced is the only viable solution. So, I use RCA/balanced converters at each of the TV and audio system ends. They cost about $90 each, which still counts as cheap audio. If the Bluesound Node had a balanced input, I’d only need one of them. How about it, Bluesound?
Nothing wrong with USB input on a streamer as long as it has an aop that allows you to remotely browse the drive like a PC.
A LOT of people still want to own their music collection and have a CD collection that they've ripped to a storage drive.
I personally wouldn't have bothered with a NAS if the WiiM pro had a USB input and support for external drives.
A one terabyte portable SSD or even a powered two or four terabyte HDD is a heck of a lot cheaper and easier to get going than the cost of even a budget NAS enclosure and drives.
I use the headphone output of my McIntosh because it’s the most expensive thing I own! I paid for that sound so why spend money on yet another piece of equipment and more cables. It’s there, it sounds great and it’s already connected to my DAC/laptop and the Mac even has a remote. For me, it just makes sense since I stay up much later than anyone else in the house😊
#1; Since I can't change the stereo in my car, and Bluetooth is about 5db quieter than a thumb drive, I use a thumb drive. It's nice to be able to pull it out and pop it in at home for same reason.
#2; headphone jacks are nice on everything if you live in an apartment. Really wish my neighbors knew that.
Why can't you change the stereo in your car? Is the car leased and it would violate a condition of the lease?
@@purpleghost4083 technically I could, but I'm not spending 2+5k to replace the factory 7 channel surround sound, with sub, that is a 2 ohm system, just for convenience.
I use the headphone output on the bluesound Node for quiet tv watching - not for audio. The cable feeds a headphone distribution amp so my wife and I can listen to movies/tv without waking the fam. That's the only use for us, but i'd consider it almost essential
Phone stage. Rather have rca input and buy it separately. Also most budget record players have a built in phono and audio purists will buy their own.
Randy, I figure I'm a hybrid of your last three examples, and damn, if'n I don't have a few Edsels in my systems! Very insightful, my friend, and quite a few chuckles to boot! Iggy
Nice way to explain XLR cables and your technical knowledge, "They have sine waves!"
Pre-DAC 31 band digital EQ with user saved settings is so important but a feature nobody includes.
Hi! Thanks for all the great videos. My experience with balanced and unbalanced cables for amps has been huge! Balanced cables sound much louder on my amp compared to unbalanced cables. I had to really crank up the volume on my preamp but now I have the volume set at about 25% and it sounds just fine. Audio quality is better too.
Only turntables and tuner don't have headphone out. Agree re: that USB. Not going to have a rareified high-end system with balanced. Present in only item I have, Monolith Cavalli Liquid Gold DAC-Headphone amp (no line outputs of any kind, just 3 types of headphone connection including balanced).
PS re: If anyone had read my rambling past comments on a couple of the videos -repairs were expensive but worth it - repaired NAD cassette deck is fine.
Repaired new NAD TT I destroyed tonearm head-shell wire connectors is fine, and got it back with installed 2M Bronze.
Balance inputs can be beneficial on specific types of amps. If an app has a balanced circuit, it maybe has cross feedback, the XLR input could be beneficial and reducing distortion. For instance the pass Labs X series.
The issue with that comes with the fact that you would want to have balanced from the source all the way up through the amplifier. Otherwise it's kind of pointless.
Single ended has benefits and that you generally have simpler circuits. Some of which cannot accept an XLR connection.
I would like a HiFi channel with actual music being played and components being plugged in to hear what they are talking about.
Though this hypothetically would be awesome, it is sort of impossible. Any system that you listen to to through your headphones or speakers are only going to sound as good as the headphones or speakers you are listening through. So if you're listening to a video of a $100k audiophile system through your airpods, it's only going to sound as good as your airpods can sound.
@@ethanjoseph139 True, but don’t audiophiles usually have at least one decent pair of headphones? I can see how mics have evolved so much that you can create a reliable “sound experience” like those Dolby Digital or DTS demos (maybe with binaural microphones?). I agree that it will never replace the true experience, but it would probably be more fun to try.
@@DJVARAO so I just went to Axpona to listen to dozens of high end audio rigs. I've listened to some TH-cam vloggers who demo amps and speakers on their pages and there is simply no way to recreate the quality of audio. This is especially true if you're using Bluetooth which even the best quality Bluetooth still compresses the audio to less than CD quality. A lot of these hifi rigs contain 4x-16x the audio data of a CD and way more than that of most Bluetooth. If you're plugging your good headphones in to a computer then you're also at the mercy of a Mac/HP/Acer/etc DACs which are all notoriously bad.
Don't get me wrong, some things might come through like timbre and warmth, but the detail, soundstage, personality, and drive are all going to be completely lost. This is why most hifi channels talk more about specs. Once you get to know some science about hifi, you'll be able to see the specs, understand what they mean and fill in the blanks with the TH-camr's objective characterizations.
@@ethanjoseph139 Thank you for sharing. Yes, it is true that nothing compares to the real experience. But, wouldn't be fun if someone makes an effort to recreate that experience with the conventional surround technology? I mean, I believe it might be done at one point. Even more crazy idea: what if some technicians can program an AI to capture certain HiFi features and hence you can recreate them on your computer? That will be fun too.
Reviewers will get copyright strikes from TH-cam and their videos de-monitised if they use an artist's music without permission. Too many offences could get them banned from TH-cam. There are some reviewers that post sound demos on their Patreon pages.
I tried my friends $20K Classe amplifier on my Kef R3's. Was no difference to running through a 14 year old 400 Watt Yamaha RX-V1065 receiver worth $150. The biggest difference came from switch from an optical connected bluetooth box to streaming through the Wiim mini (optical connected).
Even in the pro world, we don't always use balanced outputs. Frankly, I'm using unbalanced right now from my mixer to power amp and you won't be able to tell the difference. It's a matter of run length and cable path. Tubes are another thing that just make me cringe all to often. There is certainly a place for them, in certain gear when recording (esp. pre-amps and compressors) and maybe, maybe, power amps on (certain) playback. Most of the tube-based gear you see doesn't have the tubes as a part of the actual circuit. They simply "inject" tube noise into the signal path.
As far as one thing overrated? Gotta be cables. There's a huge difference between a good quality cable and some of the things you see so much in audiophile shops. For critical operations, Canare star quad is certainly worth the cost. Most of probably don't need any better than GLS cable, to be honest.
Bluetooth for car is essential - podcasts + background noise make weaknesses beyond hearing. At home, lossless source through BT-LDAC (iFi Zen Blue v2) vs real CD-lossless in a quiet place seem to be mostly DAC differences. Of course opinions may vary. I bought the Ifi to be independent of hardware or streaming services living, stagnating or failing. No telling if I'd make the same decision being being more informed now. Also no regrets.
Most of your bummers are integrated into the chipsets and are a cheap and easy way to impress customers. Memory sticks I use when I visit my audio nut friends and want to try some of my music on their system. USB is cheap and can also be used to update firmware. You and Steve are my favourite audio reviewers. You 2 don’t sound like you’re just reading the product’s text and it’s easier to guess what you don’t say!
I have a Denon receiver with a USB input. I do use a USB drive occasionally, but the receiver has i dedicated monitor for all the functions controlled by the remote.
I don’t think I’ve ever used the headphone Jack on an integrated amp other than two see how it sounds. I do find headphone outputs on DACs convenient though. On my desk, I have a Fiio K7 connected to a mini DSP, and an Emotiva power amp. It is nice to have headphone output when I want to listen to them, but I’m not really a headphone guy, so I don’t use that jack a whole lot either..
A USB drive connected to a Raspberry Pi streamer is okay.
I've moved to all balanced on my system. When the system is on with no music playing, I hear absolutely nothing with my ear to speakers. As far as sounding better, I feel it's slightly better, but not night and day difference. I use Chromecast mostly for connecting, but occasionally use Bluetooth. Bluetooth definitely sounds a little degraded. I love my tubes and the warmer sound, especially my Freya+.
i think you´re right ,only use balanced imputs or outputs in professional material , for home use is just like you said . Maybe the best components i have are from mid 70´s they sound better than any new expensive component or better but no balanced plugs ,it´s also not totally correct to call them balanced ,it gives the impression that other conections aren´t ,might not be as good as professional cables but they do sound balanced, the so called (DIN)plugs i think they were not that good because of the cable section ,but when RCA plugs were universal they sure made componentrs sound better ,today i see lot´s of expensive cables ,some might need them but most of the ones who are using them , sometimes with a section that is huge making no sense because it can´t improve the already limited section of cables ,some are so heavy that destroy the inputs and outputs of any hi-fi gear . as an example a friend of mine bought maybe the cheapest tower-speakers from B & W ,they don´t have bi-wiring option but he had to break the inputs of the speakers ,so the cables can be conected , i said nothing but that´s ridiculous
Bless you Cheapaudioman! BT, sooooo very not necessary in the home. Airplay & Casting + a decent DAC is far superior and just as convenient!
I have a CA streammagic , I use a usb thumb drive function regularly. I don’t know why but the same flac played on the usb sounds better than from my server and even better than the CD it was ripped from. CD played using streammagic as DAC.
Agreed. I don’t use any of these things. Good points.
appreciate your videos. it's rare to see an audio reviewer working to help people AVOID unnecessary purchases, love it!
Thumb drives are for very rare audio files. Back in the days of Napster, I managed to find a 29 minute long version of Orbital- The Box. If I tried to connect that thumb drive to a computer with a streaming service, the service will delete my file for a generic version. The same goes for live recordings.
I would not use USB drive on my primary system, but I’d love to be able to export a Roon playlist and use a usb drive at my office setup. Sadly I haven’t seen an inexpensive usb player yet.
Headphone outputs on everything is a useful for troubleshooting . Just keep plugging phones into devices until you find out where the signal stops or is distorted.
it was asked about using a USB. If it is a commercial/semi-commercial setting and you play certain types of tunes and have them to be played on a remote system not tied to the network, just plug it in, let it run and the speakers are always busy. just a thought. I have used it to test a BT speaker being set up for volume and "balance" before giving to the family member. (snickerz)
Agree with you with everything but the balanced. 😋
In my opinion everything that costs more than 100$ should have balanced input/outputs.
We need to bring the audiophile industry's level to the professional level.
Why risk to have interference or ground loops in our sound systems? Vintage receivers were just that, vintage.
In our modern world, balanced should be standard. 😎
Update on headphone outputs.......... Just checked what and where: Outputs found on: spaniel, cheese in the fridge, my shed, all the chimney pots AND the neighbours new hair.
Wierdly there are no outputs on any of my hifi gear.
It's a bonkers world out there.
that made me chuckle
I pretty much only use the headphone output on my stereo receivers. I have what is considered to be a good quality headphone amp built into my Audioengine HD3 powered speakers, but it CANNOT drive my 250 ohm DT-770 Beyers even though it claims it can. My Pioneer stereo receiver has more than enough clean power out of its headphone amp to drive my Beyers, and its the only thing I use.
Don't think you get Chromecast on the Wiim mini, though you do on the Pro. I'm coming round to balanced, though. In fact yesterday I remembered my Burson DAC/ headphone amp had both balanced and RCA outputs which both work at the same time. This was great because I swap back and forward between solid state and tube amps. Now one less set of cables to unplug and swap.
I think we're all missing a big trick with thumb drives. I've never used them either but surely the apps that come with most good streamers have areas where the contents can be clearly displayed and navigated but the trick I think we're missing is its ability to replace the blank cassettes of old.
It staggers me that (as far as I can tell) sharing music on usb drives isn't a thing and, royalties etc aside, I can't quite believe you can't find gazillions of pre-owned ones on ebay full of dozens of albums & playlists.
I'm not suggesting we start a new wave of pirating music but in my experience illegal copying of music on cassettes mostly led to people discovering new stuff and ultimately paying more to the labels, so what's the harm - and why aren't we using thumb drives to share music collections?
I do use the USB thumb and the headphone output. I wish companies would put better headphone outputs on their amplifiers, and not have to buy an extra device.
The 3.5mm jack on the Fosi phono pre amp is actually an aux INPUT, not a headphone out
re: balanced: if you live in a penthouse on a roof facing the mountain full of antennae, you need balanced to not hear radio in your self-amplified sub :( I have a perfectly good 18" sub that I can't use because of this. Looking into aftermarket amp replacement... hard to find.
I have a feeling that tubes in cheap audio equipment (eg,the Douk) actually do nothing for the sound, and are there just for decoration. You know, to make it look more up-market.
Also something I think is a bit pointless is bi-wiring on cheap (sub $1k) speakers. Is anyone REALLY bi-wiring their RP600M's?
Yep, I use a thumb drive all the time. It's navigated with an app... look into it! (lol). Seriously though, it's the same with a NAS drive, you navigate with an app, not the screen! This is 2023, and YES, I need to have a USB thumb drive in an amp. Along with Chromecast. Those two features drove my last, two integrated amp purchases.
I think leg warmers would be an excellent next piece of Sith Audio apparel
I agree with 80% of your list but in many instances the USB player is a desirable feature. Especially when it's just a small space or for casual listening. Like you mentioned, I randomize my music in folders of MP3s or FLAC by dumping entire albums and playing all the track ones in alphabetical order and on through all the remaining tracks this way. My favorite feature of portable MP3 players is the delete option. I would welcome that feature in these class D amps as well.
6:10 I specifically bought a Sony head unit that supported USB FLAC playback for my car....10 years ago maybe? For home audio....I would just use a PC though.
double binding posts for bi-amping.
Did you really mean for bi-amping or did you mean for bi-wiring? Some people confuse one for the other.
Using headphone output on my midrange Marantz integrated amp. 1) It drives all my headphones and 2) sounds better than my douk dac/amp combo and my Topping dx3pro headphone output. Actually use that Topping as the dac in front of my Marantz integrated buddy.
Randy, great as usual. Balanced: most of the cheap stuff isn't really balanced, just SE in disguise. There's a great explainationof this out on Head-Fi in the thread about Schitt Audio. USB: I don't know what I'd do without USB - in my car. It's great to be able to have so much music with me, and my car's interface isn't too bad. But I don't think I'd use it at home.
My car has an SD card slot that I use.
100% on integrated Bluetooth, not because I don't find it useful, but because I find it extremely annoying. There's a design assumption that people will want to use Bluetooth over anything else, so when paired through Bluetooth, the amps override RCA connections. This is a problem because I have a WiiM connected by RCA to my A08 Pro, and a stranger is paired through Bluetooth, overriding the RCA connection. If the A08 just had a BT off switch it would be perfect, instead I had to cover the antenna mount with a wad of foil.
Cable plating. "Silver-plated copper cable" what about silver plating is supposed to make the driver move differently? Because the driver moving differently is the only way you are going to notice a change in sound. Why is silver plating supposedly always brighter sounding and copper always supposedly darker sounding? Is it literally because silver is bright to your eyes and copper is more muted? It can't possibly be something so rudimentary, but I bet it is.
For those of us needing a headphone amp to work with an audio interface, balanced is the way to go. I just bought the JDS EL Amp II+ with the optional TRS balanced inputs. It will work perfectly with the TRS line outs on my Focusrite Clarett+ interface.
@cheapadudioman The USB port on the SMSL AO200 you used as an example on USB thumb drive is also an input to the internal DAC from a streamer or PC. So it does have a point in having it. I have not tried it with a thumb drive and don't know it it reads from one. But I agree that an otherwise for-USB-thumb-drive-only port is quite pointless these days particularly when you don't have a way to direct access the music but only to play/skip in sequence .
I don`t need headphone amp, always happy with headphone outputs in my teac ax-505 and nuprime a-300 amps.
USB can be a NAS replacement! I currently use a 1TB hard drive via USB on my Bluesound node. Works really well. Easy to navigate on BLUEOS app. Will upgrade to a NAS someday though.
Ok, I am a Bluetooth user, like you mention, and want to now switch to streaming music on my Marantz SR5010 AV receiver. What would be a good starting point for a streamer/ DAC and will i hear a noticeable difference in the sound?
I use headphone outputs for troubleshooting in my studio for fast detection of component and cable problems.