Impressions of Tidal
Comments
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Maybe the bluesound is the limiter
But in my room, the emm transport beats out the bluesound through tidal both going into emm dac.
Enough of a difference that through an iPhone video it can be discerned which is which
Just to be clear, I'm comparing HDD music to a CD player. I find tidal to be a bit soft around the edges (subtle, but noticeable), and I'd pick a CDP over Tidal, but not over flacs delivered via a hard drive.
Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2 -
Just to be clear, I'm comparing HDD music to a CD player. I find tidal to be a bit soft around the edges (subtle, but noticeable), and I'd pick a CDP over Tidal, but not over flacs delivered via a hard drive.
Definitely I can tell it is soft around the edges. Which is not to say it's a bad sound.Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
That^ is exactly what I heard when auditioning the BS vs the CXN. We A/B tested directly with the node 2 and the Cambridge and the latter was more full and dynamic. I was lucky to have a dealer that carried both.
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Important to note that BS is now on their 3rd version (2i) of the Node.
Now I am prolly going to upgrade from the Node 2 possibly to the Lumin u1 mini.
But here is some feedback from other users as well.
https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=48820My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160
Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |
ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |
Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's | -
My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160
Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |
ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |
Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's | -
There' s never going to be an appropriate time to add this, so I'm just going to do it now.
Every time I see the title of this thread, I think of Visions of Johanna.
https://youtu.be/nuTpTzYiR1w -
I guess what I'm trying to say is that for my use, I'm too cheap to buy an aurender so the used bluesound node 2 that i got for $200 off audioaficionado is good enough.
I'm sure there is better.
One of the members in our DFW Audiophile club has the Aurender w20, that's $17,000 for a streamer.... so I know it gets good.
I'm just at a point where the system is so good and enjoyable, I don't stress about the final %-ages of improvement.Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
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Dayng! Nice.
I think Rich @SCompRacer may be using this or an earlier version.
When I set up my first USB DAC for continuous use with the home office PC, I had all kinds of clearly audible noise and other weird USB device interaction, like weird mouse and keyboard behavior with audio playing. You don't have to listen or look hard for it either. It was obvious.
I noticed an immediate and huge improvement simply going with a dedicated USB 2.0 card to isolate the DAC from the rest of the USB devices. It really does work. I can only imagine what the SOtM tX-USBexp is like. Beautiful little piece of tech there.
Which Power Supply are you using with it @fastz28 ?
I'd love to build something completely dedicated with a card like this in it.
Incidentally, this little near field system I built in the home office with the computer connected DAC was the first time I began to experience more profoundly some audio refinements, like imaging and player location.I disabled signatures. -
Do they have a family version like Spotify? I'll take a look.
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You don't have to spend $17,000 to move up. I was actually turned off by Aurender because they use hard drive disks in their streamers. I know its not 'in the music chain' but it still bothered me enough to look elsewhere. I haven't had a chance to get my ears on them yet.
Understood.
But what I’m saying is if all I’m doing is streaming tidal rather than burned flac files of my music, then there’s a lot more limiting factors than the bluesound running coax into the emm labs dac2x.
If I were streaming my entire flac collection, then that’s a different story.Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
Oh, power from the same guys, nice. That makes sense.I disabled signatures.
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The same fellow tested the MiniDSP SHD DAC audio processor / streamer. Its seemed to measure pretty well. $899 - $1199 price range. Its an interesting looking unit for sure with the added Dirac room correction.
For the price I think it is adequate
Not my reference playback for digital anyway
What would you recommend for similar cost?
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-minidsp-shd-dac-dsp-and-streamer.4286/
https://www.minidsp.com/products/streaming-hd-series/shd-series#network-audio
2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Sub 1 - Mirage Omni S8 | Sub 2 - Mirage Omni S8
5.2 A/V Setup | OLED TV - Sony Bravia XR A80J 77" | Source - Fire TV 4K, Wiim Pro | AVR - Anthem MRX 520 | Speakers: Main - Boston Acoustics VR3 | Center - Boston Acoustics VR920 | Rear - Boston Acoustics VR-MX | Sub 1 - HSU VTF-2 mk3 | Sub 2 - HSU VTF-2 mk3 -
The same fellow tested the MiniDSP SHD DAC audio processor / streamer. Its seemed to measure pretty well. $899 - $1199 price range. Its an interesting looking unit for sure with the added Dirac room correction.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-minidsp-shd-dac-dsp-and-streamer.4286/
https://www.minidsp.com/products/streaming-hd-series/shd-series#network-audio
That streams Tidal?Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
Ive tried Spotify and Tidal and thought they both sounded better than the actual CD....at times.
....Other times, not sure, and also at times, maybe a very slight softening of the sound, but never did a truly in depth comparison.
I guess overall, easily good enough to not leave any bad impressions.
I've used and am using both currently, Spotify for about 3 years or so. It took me a while to try out Tidal and even more important have something that can show me the difference. To me at least there is a discernable difference in Tidal's favor BUT it could have just been what my system needed in terms of Soundstage expansion. That and the slight softening you mentioned were the most noticeable changes. I had same feelings with CDs, I chaulk it up to the version of the CD was a bad digital file or an already compressed file uncompressed in a bad way.
Could I live with Spotify... Yeah but man I like the other side.
Just a dude doing dude-ly things
"Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
" I have always had a champange taste with a beer budget" - Rick88
"Just because the thread is getting views don't mean much .. I like a good train wreck doesn't mean i want to be in one..." - pitdogg2
"Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know." - heiney9
"Audiophiles are the male equivalent of cat ladies." - Audiokarma Member -
Do they have a family version like Spotify? I'll take a look.
Yep Tidal has family accounts.Just a dude doing dude-ly things
"Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
" I have always had a champange taste with a beer budget" - Rick88
"Just because the thread is getting views don't mean much .. I like a good train wreck doesn't mean i want to be in one..." - pitdogg2
"Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know." - heiney9
"Audiophiles are the male equivalent of cat ladies." - Audiokarma Member -
Has anyone A/B'd the difference between Tidals HiFi and Premium service? Just wondering if it's worth the extra ten bucks a month.Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus -
I’ll try it when my new preamp comesHas anyone A/B'd the difference between Tidals HiFi and Premium service? Just wondering if it's worth the extra ten bucks a month.
Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
Has anyone A/B'd the difference between Tidals HiFi and Premium service? Just wondering if it's worth the extra ten bucks a month.
In my experience it isn’t THAT far off. Not as resolving but still good sounding, better than Spotify. I say this but have the Hifi option, I’ve been skating by on promotions after I cancelled. 3 months for $2!Just a dude doing dude-ly things
"Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
" I have always had a champange taste with a beer budget" - Rick88
"Just because the thread is getting views don't mean much .. I like a good train wreck doesn't mean i want to be in one..." - pitdogg2
"Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know." - heiney9
"Audiophiles are the male equivalent of cat ladies." - Audiokarma Member -
codycatalist wrote: »I’ve been skating by on promotions after I cancelled. 3 months for $2!
OOO! Sweet deal there! Not a bad idea.I’ll try it when my new preamp comes
Thanks Joey. Can you do this on a crappy (to you) pre? Your stuff is WAY nicer than mine.Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus -
Well, $20 won't buy you 2 CD's a month, so....Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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Well, $20 won't buy you 2 CD's a month, so....
It will of you buy used or look for the amazon deals $10 or less, of which there are a ton. But even if you find three a month for $20, if will take you decades to build a library anywhere near the size of tidal...Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
Yeah man, Its on topic and on point! Don't listen to me, check out the pages I linked. I'm have a paid Spotify subscription but I'm about to try Tidal myself.That streams Tidal?
https://www.minidsp.com/aboutus/newsletter/listid-1/mailid-69-minidsp-q4-2018-newsletterminiDSP wrote:SHD SERIES UPDATE
We are very happy to report that the popular Qobuz and Tidal music streaming have been added to the SHD Series. These additions further solidify this series as a great fit for any modern audio system.
Existing customers can easily upgrade with the Over The Air (OTA) upgrade process from the Volumio web GUI. Go to the system settings page and click on "Check Updates". Done!
Both SHD and SHD Studio products are in stock. A great Christmas gift to fit under the tree! :-)
SHD Series Manual: https://www.minidsp.com/images/documents/SHD Series User Manual.pdf
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I JUST DISCOVERED THIS, CHECK THIS OUT!
VOLUMIO is the interface, platform that its build off of. As I understand it, they are a software company that offers computer add ons, etc. Now, they just released their first complete streaming unit, the Primo model from overseas is just $409.99 at their USA store!!!
https://volumio.org/
https://www.volumiousa.com/volumio-primo/
https://volumio.org/volumio-primo-first-product-on-sale/
https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=pcaudio&m=174320
https://darko.audio/2018/11/volumio-goes-primo/
https://www.facebook.com/volumio/
https://youtu.be/5jn1SWfK1VI
Post edited by WLDock on2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Sub 1 - Mirage Omni S8 | Sub 2 - Mirage Omni S8
5.2 A/V Setup | OLED TV - Sony Bravia XR A80J 77" | Source - Fire TV 4K, Wiim Pro | AVR - Anthem MRX 520 | Speakers: Main - Boston Acoustics VR3 | Center - Boston Acoustics VR920 | Rear - Boston Acoustics VR-MX | Sub 1 - HSU VTF-2 mk3 | Sub 2 - HSU VTF-2 mk3 -
I have a new streamer on the way.... My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160
Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |
ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |
Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's | -
DO TELL!
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That Volumio Primo looks very cool.Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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Lumin U1 Mini to pair with my Mytek Brooklyn DAC+
My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160
Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |
ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |
Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's | -
Also, there are several other cool productson the Volumio USA website for putting together a high performing budget music player, DAC, Digital amp w/bluetooth, etc
https://www.volumiousa.com/products/?limit=100
WHAT IS VOLUMIO
Volumio is a Free and Open Source Linux Distribution, designed and fine-tuned exclusively for music playback.
It runs on a variety of devices, typically small and cheap computers like Raspberry PI, but also on low power PCs, Notebooks or Multimedia PCs.
By flashing (installing) Volumio on any of this platforms, it will then become a headless Audiophile Music Player. Headless means that the only way to control it will be with another device, such as a Smartphone, Tablet, PC or anything that has a browser.
This is made possible by Volumio’s UI: a web applications that runs on any device with a browser, and that allows an easy and intuitive control of your playback sessions. All communications between the Web App and Volumio will happen through your home network.
•Runs on Raspberry PI, UDOO, Cubox-i, Odroid, PC, Mac and a variety of other small
devices
•Minimal operating system, tailored for Bit-Perfect Audio Playback
•The system is loaded entirely on RAM and optimized for lightweight operations
•Various Audio related tweaking for best audio performances
•Works with any USB 2.0 DAC
•Raspberry PI and Odroid I2S DACs supported natively
•Supports all filetypes: FLAC, Alac, Aac, Vorbis, Mp3, DSD etc
• Playback
•Airplay Playback
• Over PCM support, for non Direct-DSD compatible hardware
•Integrated WebRadio directories
•If a compatible wireless hardware is found, Volumio will create a hotspot network for
first configuration
•Mount CIFS and NFS Network Attached Storage, with an auto-discovery function
•Custom playlist editing and creation
•Plugin support with new functions available like Spotify and Digital Room Correction
•Seamless update system: no need to reinstall when a new version is available
• with a growing number of translations available
•Image background support, even your favourite one
•Alarm and sleep function
HOW DOES IT WORK
Once you’ve installed (or flashed) Volumio to your device, and connected it to your network and Audio equipment you will be ready to play. Volumio will discover automatically the music on a USB drive, or allow you to connect your network storage and your streaming services account.
From now on you will control your playback from anything that has a browser: a tablet, a mobile phone, a computer or even your Smart TV.
Volumio can adapt itself to a variety of configurations.2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Sub 1 - Mirage Omni S8 | Sub 2 - Mirage Omni S8
5.2 A/V Setup | OLED TV - Sony Bravia XR A80J 77" | Source - Fire TV 4K, Wiim Pro | AVR - Anthem MRX 520 | Speakers: Main - Boston Acoustics VR3 | Center - Boston Acoustics VR920 | Rear - Boston Acoustics VR-MX | Sub 1 - HSU VTF-2 mk3 | Sub 2 - HSU VTF-2 mk3 -
Yes ..
BkHas anyone A/B'd the difference between Tidals HiFi and Premium service? Just wondering if it's worth the extra ten bucks a month.
PS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 48” - BEDROOM
B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL
Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system
Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sony 65” TV - PATIO -
Sweet! Thanks!Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
