Eric assured me they would be better than my existing speakers. They are not - not even close. I don’t want to get into more detail on the forum - hence I’m offering to discuss further on the phone. I’m in western Canada so it’s just before 3 PM at this time.
That’s not common except for making “needle drops.” Which I think was the main intention of having this ADC in the NuWave Phono Converter. I don’t do that, I’ve never made a needle-drop, I don’t like to use computers for music.
I had the NuWave PC for about a year before I even tried to use the digital out, I always used the XLR out into my ZTPRE preamp. But I got bored one day and tried it. WHOA. Because a) the output stage of the PS Audio DSD is so darned good and b) the cabling I use to and from the DSD in this instance was better than the cabling I was using for the anlalog output the resulting sound is one that I enjoyed listening to more than the XLR analog output. It sounds like my turntable and record, not like a cd. The NuWave PC ADC converts the analog phono signal to DSD64 or DSD128. IMO there are better phono preamps out there for sure, but this feature of the NuWave PC allows me to utilize the second HDMI input of my DSD, one of my AC-12 HDMI cable, and get really satisfying sound.
I still had some hum, not loud, but some. . . until I tried a pair of Telos Audio XLR caps. Boom, that noise disappeared.
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You are one interesting lad!
Good thing you’ve got a helper. I had to unbox, unpack, and move two of those by myself. Thank goodness for leverage.
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If it sounds better I use it. Thank goodness I don’t have to follow audio rules!
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I have experimented with digital out for records too. I found it to be a mixed bag. Some records had some improvement and some did not really sound any different to me. As I recall, nothing sounded worse. I believe what I heard was some background layering of the tracks that was being brought to the front when going through the DAC. Maybe it sounds better, but not really the way it was intended to be heard. For example, some songs you would hear guitar parts in between the layering. Interesting at times, but not consistent. It was a fun experiment though.
You will notice the PS Audio dropped the digital out on the Stellar Phone Preamp. Darren was already asked if the new Perfectwave phono stage would have it and he said no. I think if Darren and Paul thought digital out was a great feature these phono stages would have it. It does not cost much to add it, so it would not be a worthwhile option.
Every time I purchase a new toy that’s bigger than a shoe box I watch unboxing video’s. While they are amazingly helpful, they don’t solve the problem of actually moving the box into our house!
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It’s like Christmas in July! My Holo Audio Spring3 DAC Placebo Edition (credit to @aangen for the name) just arrived! I wasn’t expecting it for a couple more weeks but got a message earlier this week from DHL that it was scheduled for next week, and then this morning received a message that it was out for delivery!
Doh! Now the dilemma. Do I spin vinyl or CDs this evening? I know, first world choices!
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Our budding audiophile daughter says that CD’s are the analog version of Roon!
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Al better have crane!
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Now I can just tell everyone I’m spinning analog!
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Wow! Gorgeous wood work (as per usual for Salk- LOL!).
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@vee Your ground field addition inspired me to make a modest effort to improve my grounding system. I could but shouldn’t drive more rods so I enhanced the two I’ve got - 8’ 5/8" copper clad steel rods bonded with 4awg stranded copper, 6’+ apart. Minimum to meet code in 2016 locally.
I have a rain water catch setup with two 55 gallon repurposed food barrels next to where the rods are. I use the water mostly for the ground rods along with adding a healthy amount of MgS04 to the soil. It’s one of the least corrosive of the salts and it’s cheap and perfectly safe for the ground et al and enhances soil conductivity significantly. I understand it can be hard on concrete though so be mindful of your foundation.
While I’ve watered one of the rods for several years now I extended it to water both at the same time that and the magnesium sulfate have maybe perhaps added just a touch of increased dynamics. Cheap and cheerful.
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I bought 110 CDs today and that was a great upgrade in my CD-shelf.
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Never bothered with Roon, as I was looking forward to the new Innuos app. While it was a bit of a wait, more than I had anticipated, I believe I made the right choice. On the other hand one can say not having lifetime Roon I don’t know what I am missing.
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My next upgrade?..
A new, larger house that we can truly call our own!
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Congratulations
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I got to use that remote with four N25s tonight.
I thought Matt was being a bit silly. Then I saw them them, two stacks of two.
Oh.
My.
God!
I believe that just looking at them is all the pleasure anyone could wish for.
They are not subtle. No sir.
But then we listen and strangely enough, four 15 inch woofers in Baby Grand Piano sized cabinets with kilowatt amplifiers in each can charge a room quite nicely.
We were doing fine, listening loud, enjoying ourselves up until I selected Erotic City from Prince. At that moment we had the N25s crossovers set to 35Hz and the building started acting like a Miami building would. We turned it up to where we wanted it to be and we knew this wasn’t going to work. Nope. Not in a shared space. So we shut the subs off completely and any interest in listening to the song vanished. Poof!
Matt used the hand remote control to set the crossover to 25Hz, yes, 25Hz And then we could turn it up a bit and possibly avoid a visit from the thought police. It was still good but it could have been so much better if we were out in the country and could blast at will.
Anyway, I now believe Matt is brilliant and the only thing I wonder is how two stacks of three N25s would look and sound. It’s only money.
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There’s a nice picture somewhere of a system with six, with I big multicolored wood diffuser on the wall between the speakers. Can’t seem to find it. May be on the crazy systems threads.
I currently have (2)F112’s and (2) DIY 18’s (per Darren and Chris). The 18’s are back by the listening seat, delayed and EQ’d with a DEQX. Does all the fun stuff on “bass demo” sorts of tunes, sure - but the bottom octave really informs everything above in a way you wouldn’t expect. Makes it a more complete picture. Adds palpability to vocals, etc. And this is with them barely ticking over and often unnoticable.
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