/ag/&/am/: audio general & audiophile memes

yeah cuerex here

currently having a set of quadral argentum 520 in the setup

they image really nicely and sharp. stereo center is really centered on these unlike many others i tried.

i need to get myself sure in what to get next, the silver 100 get hyped to nirvana on whathifi and i can get a decent deal possibly.

or for the similiar price i could just get the oberon 3 but i'm not sure if the jump is worth it with no reviews out there

try smsl dac 68 dollars

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Emotiva A-300, monitor audio gold 200s and my shanling m0 as my DAC which just has a 30 dollar DAC inside.

For better connectivity look at CA Dac Magic which can be found for about 135 US online shipped.

I rate it: Noice, and makes a substantial audible change to music quality for the better.

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>le horns are for old people

xDDDDDDDD

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>shanling m0
DAC model: ESS Sabre ES9218P

its already got a good chip

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I don't think Quadral is available in the US. Not sure why.

maybe you should ask

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If you only ever listen to music non-stop then realtek is fine too, but power saving buzz and mode switch clicks happen every time you, your os and any other programs decide to start/stop any audio.

>>your os and any other programs decide to start/stop any audio

Not trying to be argumentative -- what do you mean by this.

Just got a pair of rokit 5 G3's, however I am getting what I think is possibly a ground loop making a humming and buzzing noise. It gets super loud as I scroll or change web pages so it is definitely stemming from my computer.

Would a ground loop isolator reduce audio quality? My other option is to invest like $150 into an audio interface and more cabling.

My audio setup is
computer > USB DAC > rca cables > rokits

theres how to guides on the internet that go through a list of things to try first -- weird things like disconnecting certain kinds of appliances, or using your equipment at a friends apartment, or even just changing the outlets, before buying a ground loop isolator

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With realtek there's annoying audible switch between power saving zero level and "power on, no sound" fixed level output, and also similar sound happens when for example you have music playing and a notify ringer pops up. Not sure what exactly causes it, my guess is their drivers are shit at mixing different sample rates, but that never happens with E10k or Behringer audio interface.

>>and a notify ringer pops up

that would drive me up the wall

Wouldn't it definitely be a ground loop being that it stems from my computer though? When I unplug my USB dac the humming completely stops, and when I put the rca cable into my phone I can play music also without the humming noise.

Everything I looked up so far says I need to get an audio interface and balanced xlr cables instead of rca, but I don't want to spend a shit ton of money if I can just get a ground loop isolator.

Now imagine that instead of a perfectly clear bells and beeps creeping their way into your music there is a loud click followed by a second of crunchy distorted music before and after equally crunchy and distorted beep.

A sensible person would think that, but try reading some of the things that show up on the forums. Sometimes it can be something to do with the USB DAC's power supply interaction with the computer's power supply, if the DAC is separate and plugged into the wall. Or something about how your amplifier handles DC current and its conversion from AC, compared to your phone which has battery supply isolated from AC. Or some crazy shit like that.

There are audiophile set ups that have a kind of virtual battery so that it keeps the AC separate from the main unit, so that the unit is sort of on battery power all the time.

I used to get those weird sounds before I switched to a dedicated DAC running off my laptop.

Interesting thanks for the advice, will look into it more then and see if I can isolate the problem. Going to bring my setup to a friends house tomorrow to see if anything changes, I already tried 3 different wall outlets with no success.

i wish the fuck speaker makers would put on their ad copy something like "This speaker is hard to drive. Make sure you have decent amplifier capability"

and fuck you Quad for not doing that and also recommending biwiring

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i really want to get these but i dont need it

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>he came to /ag to get reasonable advice

Youre on /ag you phool - we will tel you to buy it.

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*tell

>>Quadral

what do these (this brand) sound like in general
i like the deco design

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Loudspeaker video. Talk starts about 11 minutes in.
mega.nz/#!mVczyazB!HngcjKFgcrz-aeCxLU3I9OndtVD2rRRBbT5UKuj0iHM

Sometimes the gear looks nice and can fit with your decor. Most of the time, I think the gear looks ugly and should be minimized. So, do you think you can build a room aesthetic with this?

Thanks for the link. The main speaker really is good at procedural explanation.

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Can I post about headphones here? I just broke a pair of m50s and am debating on if the msr7s i ordered are good

Got a noob question:

So if i have a pair of bookshelf speakers being driven by an amp, but i kinda want to up the sound quality a bit + have a proper dac/amp combo to plug headphones into, how do i do this?

Is it as simple as buying, say, this:
a.co/d/0ePiell
plug this in via usb to my pc, and running these cables from that to my speaker amp via the r/l in's and outs:
a.co/d/8wFTSTX
and viola? that's it?

the 520 sound very extensive and rich as well as in the mids for the price. they make good bass especially for the size but they easily get boomy when not enough distance from the wall. the center image is really crisply rendered and between aluminum tweeter transparency and silktweeter fluidity. they extend just right in the highs, not too detail heavy, not too crunchy and render the soundstage very sharp but you still get the outside the woofer stereotriangle imaging.

they're very quiet on their woofer technology which worries me in all their lineups since they
visually all look the same on the front so maybe there's the jew sitting there.

also they incorporate 3 tweeters in their lineups, 1 ribbon tweeter, 1 so called RiCom tweeter and normal silk or aluminum dome tweeter.
but there are no real comparison on google available.

i'd love to try the argentum 530 as well. these look like a good compromise to have it all for the price in my medium/small sized living room. but i don't know for sure yet.

my local retailer might contact me today to audition the oberon 3 today.

yeah you'd be fine with this but you could have some audible hiss on the headphones. you get what you pay for and chink shit can be prone to this

I wonder what batteries lasted a whole year or 'normal use'

we ded yet. test test test

Guys is vsonic gr07 worth it

queer

Can anyone recommend a soundbar like the sound blaster katana? I may wind up buying it on sale, but what I'm looking for is:
>soundbar
>jack for a subwoofer (i already have a sub I like)
>fit under my monitor with room for keyboard cable underneath
>good highs and mids without trying to promote "what clear bass it has!"
>not autistic looking

I have the SMSL bluetooth stereo/usb dac and I love it. Only complaint is customer service when the remote broke, but I didn't use it for much other than powering on and off

I got some 60om headphones recently. reviewers like retarded tech syndicate and some other place said it sounds shit on older motherboards but on newer ones with dedicated headphone amp components it sounds good.

is this true or just placebo does 60om actually need headphone amp to sound good?

my motherboard has one but wondering if I should buy some thing to power it when I plug it into old cheap cassette sanoy Walkman or cheap 100$ android phone etc?

hyper x cloud 2s btw. they have a mic/L/R combined jack but I doubt that matters no inline controls and don't really care about using mic on phone just music

Should I bother getting a DAC? I've only recently got decent headphones (HD600) and listen to a pretty wide range of stuff, but £100ish is a lot of money

I'm willing to buy them if there's a significant improvement but I'm a normal fag and have never tried using one, how much of a difference do they make?

depends on the actual impedance curve and the sensitivity

Transducer type: Dynamic O53mm
Operating principle: Closed
Frequency response: 15Hz-25KHz
Nominal impedance: 60 O per system
Nominal SPL: 98±3dB
T.H.D: < 2%
Power handling capacity: 150mW
Sound coupling to the ear: Circumaural
Ambient noise attenuation: approx.20 dBA

this info help or not enough?

>msr7s
they're good. awesome promo video too, dat production quality.
youtube.com/watch?v=w-1y0GCsOss

why 705 is better than 305?

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>hi res audio
>frequency drop off heavily after 10khz

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most likely better materials and better measurements all around but just get a vanatoo transparent one

i have 50khz sonys, i know hi-res audio bud.

The 705/708 have high spl at midfield/farfield.
youtu.be/qU3Fj74LMcQ?t=26

Good to know. If it ends up being the case and i get hiss I'll return it and get something more expensive. But thank you! Glad to know i got the basic idea.

big if true

he says 705 has deep bass extention but it measures almost the same as 305

> fucking up a small battery powered DAC

jesus christ chord. i have auditioned the mojo, dont let the verge stream youtube music on it from their phones next time

That's not really the right way to look at a DAC. The purpose of the DAC is to generate analog signals with minimal error: noise and distortions. You don't *need* a DAC any more than you did earlier, though you might *care* more about the signal quality.
The HD600 has below-average sensitivity, so you may have a use for an amplifier. I don't know how loudly you want to listen to headphones, so I can't really answer for sure. It could be useful.

>705 is better than 305?
705 construction is generally better. Plywood beats plastic.
Amplifiers have more output power with less noise.
The tweeter has control into the top octave, with less beaming than the vast majority of midsize and larger tweeters.
The response is flatter and has a few onboard parametric filters.
It also accepts digital input.

The port is a bit lousy on the 705, it's causing that notch minima around 750Hz.

Thanks. This is a great, detailed review and important especially because these speakers are rarely seen in the U.S. and Canada.

I think the amp does help a lot, but if you're not fussy, you still get okay audio output - just not the most that the device can give you.

based on the charts, the 705 had greater bass extension, more uniform bass output, no real treble roll off until 16.5khz or so; and somewhat better dispersion

It depends on the definition n of "normal use". Those things are not the most power hungry things, so 30 or so a day would make the battery last a bit, even considering older battery tech.

I meant to write 30 or so minutes a day.

Mi problem. I actually had to repair my unit. The bass driver sealing got loose or dried out. I reglued it and now everything seems fine again

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Is bic f12 q decent sub for a 5.1?

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I have a DAC.. that means I have analogue like the 80s I know about audio.

but do you have THIS dac??

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I have the AD18 V1 and this thing rocks.

I just had a minor issue with the bluetooth but it magically disappeared.

Best bang for buck for 115 €

>AD18 V1
mm nice selection of inputs

No bullshit best hardware for listening to music excluding speakers (already go those) for under 300? dac, amp, etc?

I'm perfectly fine with any amount of DIY as well if that matters at all, pretty skilled with a soldering iron.

Need compact 2.0 or 2.1 speaker setup for PC on a $60-80 budget

What should I get?

Got diamond wharfedale speakers but the bass is shit

the amp I have denon 520 ae has no ports for a subwoofer. Fuck sake stupid cunt

recommend a decent sub and amp for ~£250
pls thanks

might just give up and get that logitech 2.1 shit for 120

>diamond wharfedale
Which ones exactly?

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220 I believe

So you have speakers but you don't have an amp?
What speakers do you have?

Honestly a dac is likely to be totally negligible.

If you want to DIY then definitely spend your money on old gear.

put them on the floor

FFS stupid cunt.
Go buy your plastic loginigger crap.
Now with free fake tweeter!!!11!

>diamond wharfedale
>logitech 2.1

why do people buy new things on a budget ?

here
How many hours have they been used?

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Its called financial planning you absolute neet. ~400 to learn a valuable lesson and not spend any more on this shit meme of hi fi audio.

Alright will do. will probably sound better than your 5k setup too

~100

Im just convinced at this point audiophiles just dont like bass and think anything that lacks bass must mean its sound clarity is amazing.

Seriously the amount of SHIT headphones and speakers I've heard from self claimed audiphiles is a fucking joke. Absolute tinny crap no wonder most of you never stop looking for the perfect amp and spearker combo for your entire lives. Keep getting ripped off.

you could have just get vanatoo 0 or iloud micro monitors with both do double the amount of bass of those wharfedale.

also shelfspeakers are not supposed to be listened nearfield btw

Keep crying bitch nigger.
My setup is even cheaper than yours but since I'm not a useless retard I bought shit that just werkz.

tell me what it is then

liar

>Its called financial planning you absolute neet. ~400 to learn a valuable lesson and not spend any more on this shit meme of hi fi audio.

I don't think you're understanding me.
You could have bought some incredible used speakers for that much money, with amazing bass
I don't know why you thought some new meme speakers that are barely bigger than my cock would have good bass.

im looking for a portable dac with 4.4 balanced output
like the cheapeast possible

Cambridge audio topaz am 5
Heco victa 202 both for less than €250.
Noticed how I could actually name the model name of my speakers?
I'm sure you just bought whatever looked most "hi-fi like" at your local besy buy/media markt and the like.
I'm glad you bought something you don't like on a whim because you're a basic nigger that can't can't even do simple research.
Problably autistic too since any store thats decent would let you try them first.

Look. I know im thick and just rushed into buying whatever. I read some reviews on this fucking site and bought them. I know. Im a cunt.

How do I get some decent speakers for a good price then? dont mind buying used - got any buyers guide infographics or anything?

cheers

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whathifi's credibility is not always the best source. they sometimes promote the biggest shit

–3 dB @ 99 Hz, –6 dB @ 76 Hz;
Read more at soundandvision.com/content/wharfedale-diamond-220-speaker-system-review-test-bench#tgyVz4MQO2hjAMos.99

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...cheers? idk

they look pretty good on NRC measurements
soundstage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1490:nrc-measurements-wharfedale-diamond-220-loudspeakers

it really depends on what you have available locally, but you're going to get something with good bass if you spend over $150 on almost anything big, used.
If outright fidelity doesn't concern you then it's a no-brainer.

This kind of autism and the desire to be able to armchair quantify everything is simply not relevant to most people
Hell, a less 'accurate' system might sound better to a lot of people with what they listen to.

New wharfedale, quad, mission and other "international audio group" shit is literally chink-fi covered up with famous british huntingdon heritage
Wouldn't touch with a bargepole

Clearly shows how they have no bass at all

Ya. Cringe worthy level of bass. Its like listening to my friends shit DT headphones again. Horrible.

my original comment was asking for sub and amp recommendations to remedy this..

or should I just sell the 220s and start again?

Enjoying my 1979 Kef Reference, bro.

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Sub is a good way if you like small speakers, get one with a high level though (as most affordable ones have) so you can use your amp
But as user said if you might as well use bigger speakers to begin with to get better bass extension if you don't like the wharfedales at all