So MUCH "STUFF" Available these days....Who thinks they have tried everything and has the best answer....

[Jud]

"Best" list - what I've personally heard in my own systems or those of other folks whose systems I've liked, or just intrigues me, best fulfilling my own predilections and goals:

 

Amps and preamps: Spectral, Pass, NCore-based stuff; Constellation is interesting, but costs a small home and I haven't heard it enough.

 

Software - Players, Audirvana+, HQPlayer, XXHighEnd; PCM sample rate conversion software, iZotope (offline in their Rx product, inline in A+), XXHighEnd (inline only), HQPlayer (inline only), Audiophile Inventory (offline only); DSD sample rate conversion software, HQPlayer (inline only), Audiophile Inventory (offline only), mansr's Sox fork (offline at mansr's website https://github.com/mansr/sox, inline in A+).

 

DACs - Anything with reasonably good build and parts quality that allows best use of the software above, i.e., which does not have internal processing that gets in the way of the conversion and filtering done by the software.

 

Speakers - Love Vandersteen because their time and phase correct philosophy helps give my ear/brain the impression of realism, though I haven't heard their top of the line 5 and 7 series. I've also heard the Avantgarde horns sounding very good, and Phasure's Orelo and Orelino series look interesting, though I haven't heard them.

 

Cables - Omega/Mikro and Mapleshade.

 

Tweaks - Uptone Audio Regen; their upcoming LPS-1, which I've ordered, looks interesting as well. The Sonore microRendu essentially incorporates Regen circuitry, along with its ability to isolate the player computer's USB electrical system from a USB DAC's input (i.e., it acts as an NAA or similar device), so though I've never heard it I imagine it does a very nice job, especially for the price.

[firedog]

Interesting - I like the SQ on the HDTracks download of Koln. Illustrates the point about differing opinions well, I think.

 

I'll provide my "best" list here momentarily....

 

I think the SQ is excellent; I do have a small issue with the original recording (also on LP version): the way it was recorded results in a fair amount of piano "ringing", which I think comes from miking inside the lid. Not how I would do it, obviously Manfred Eicher feels differently.

[semente]

Interesting - I like the SQ on the HDTracks download of Koln. Illustrates the point about differing opinions well, I think.

 

I'll provide my "best" list here momentarily....

 

I think the SQ is excellent; I do have a small issue with the original recording (also on LP version): the way it was recorded results in a fair amount of piano "ringing", which I think comes from miking inside the lid. Not how I would do it, obviously Manfred Eicher feels differently.

 

When I said "rubbish recording" I was referring to the close mic'ing which in my view distorts both timbre and perspective whilst adding mechanical noises and moaning that one wouldn't listen from the first row of the audience...

 

Then there's that thing with the piano (as described by the musician):

 

"Hey, I have a Bösendorfer here and it's not the right size and it sounds like a modified electric harpsichord."

 

R

[Jud]

When I said "rubbish recording" I was referring to the close mic'ing which in my view distorts both timbre and perspective whilst adding mechanical noises and moaning that one wouldn't listen from the first row of the audience...

 

Then there's that thing with the piano (as described by the musician):

 

"Hey, I have a Bösendorfer here and it's not the right size and it sounds like a modified electric harpsichord."

 

R

 

Yes, I recall your aversion to close miking, which I often don't mind but certainly can't say you're wrong about. It's definitely an artificial perspective.

 

Regarding the piano, my friend : Parents of a childhood and college friend owned a Bösendorfer, and I often heard his sister playing it. It sounds very natural to me.

[firedog]

When I said "rubbish recording" I was referring to the close mic'ing which in my view distorts both timbre and perspective whilst adding mechanical noises and moaning that one wouldn't listen from the first row of the audience...

 

Then there's that thing with the piano (as described by the musician):

 

"Hey, I have a Bösendorfer here and it's not the right size and it sounds like a modified electric harpsichord."

 

R

 

Kind Of Weird: How The Köln Concert Made Keith Jarrett A Pop Star

 

Jarrett was sleep-deprived and harried that night, and his mood wasn't helped by the fact that the opera house had supplied a relatively small, poorly tuned piano rather than the Bösendorfer grand that he requested. Even after an emergency tuning, the instrument supposedly sounded like a toy, with shrieking high notes and little projection in the low registers.

 

On the record, having passed through two microphones, the piano has an almost otherworldly sound, like it's five stories high and made of glass. Jarrett plays it harder than he does on his other solo recordings, bashing the keys and keeping largely to the mid-range notes, perhaps out of frustration. "What happened with this piano was that I was forced to play in what was—at the time—a new way," he explained years later. "Somehow I felt I had to bring out whatever qualities this instrument had."

[Jud]

firedog, I think there's some artistic license in the piece you linked. Though yes, Jarrett was famously not pleased with the piano and a lot else in the preparation.

 

Anyway, back to topic?

[beerandmusic]

Software - Players, Audirvana+, HQPlayer, XXHighEnd; PCM sample rate conversion software, iZotope (offline in their Rx product, inline in A+), XXHighEnd (inline only), HQPlayer (inline only), , mansr's Sox fork (offline at mansr's website https://github.com/mansr/sox, inline in A+).

 

 

1. Excuse my ignorance, what do you mean by inline only?

 

2. I "think" i have tried xxhighend before but unsure...i know it is peter's but unsure why i haven't investigated more...is it windows and does it support native dsd?

 

3. never heard of this "mansr's Sox fork" will research here momentarily....probably apple since i haven't heard of it...

[Jud]

1. Excuse my ignorance, what do you mean by inline only?

 

2. I "think" i have tried xxhighend before but unsure...i know it is peter's but unsure why i haven't investigated more...is it windows and does it support native dsd?

 

3. never heard of this "mansr's Sox fork" will research here momentarily....probably apple since i haven't heard of it...

 

Inline means while the music is playing, offline means when it's not.

 

XXHighEnd doesn't do DSD.

 

SoX I believe is available for Windows and OS X as well as Linux, but if you have never done anything with Linux installation may not be trivial.

[beerandmusic]

Inline means while the music is playing, offline means when it's not.

 

XXHighEnd doesn't do DSD.

 

SoX I believe is available for Windows and OS X as well as Linux, but if you have never done anything with Linux installation may not be trivial.

 

oh, ok, that's why i gave up on xxhighend fast...imho if it doesn't support DSD, it's not even a consideration.

 

I have played with unix/linux during my career, but it has never been a front runner for me, so if it is really cryptic, i likely am not interested...but i will have a look anyway....i don't want to leave any stone unturned until i find my "ticket".

[beerandmusic]

I recently completed my stuff. I went with what is in my signature. But there were compelling alternatives from Naim (ND5 SX with Nait2, SuperUniti), Cyrus (streamers and amps) and Creed. In the end I went with this because it gave me flexibility as each separate component can be changed.

 

as per your signature, i have tried and very much liked the use of minimserver (i used upplay, and suspect the sq would be the same, or very close regardless of the upnp controller). I think it rivals the best players with usb implementations....i have done this a few times, but for conveniency, stability, and functionality, i seem to keep going back to usb.

[beerandmusic]

^^^ ok, found mansr sox...appears to be sampling conversion program, not a player...which is what i guess what you meant by offline...i personally don't want to get into those weeds...but i am sure others do. I am still on the hunt for a decent windows player that supports native dsd for under $300...that or i may opt to spend up to $2K for a media server that has a windows control point. I hear aurendar has a windows control point in the works, and that may be the ticket for me if no software shows up first.

[realhifi]

 

 

 

 

I find if Art Dudley likes a recoding, I am quite likely to like it as well. Not so much on playback equipment though, as I am not much of an analog guy myself.

 

 

You DO of course realize he's right. ; )

[Paul R]

You DO of course realize he's right. ; )

 

Vell' I will admit he spins rightward...

[realhifi]

Vell' I will admit he spins rightward...

 

I believe that is "clockwise" of course. ; )

[davide256]

Define "best". Often it is a combination of value for money, sound quality and convenience. And also about what one believes in.

 

Rest assured in the knowledge that what is considered "best" today will be superseded by something else tomorrow.

 

 

Nice system.... value for the money

[franz159]

Nice system.... value for the money

Hi Dave, just for info, is this the HDPlex power supply in your signature?

 

HDPLEX Fanless Linear Power Supply for PC Audio and CE device

[Windows X]

Allow me to add mine into the list.

 

Nimitra Computer Audio Server | Fidelizer

 

Also have review from Roy Gregory here.

 

Fidelizer Nimitra - The Audio Beat - www.TheAudioBeat.com

 

This is a response from Roy who listened to many highend stuff

 

So far, listening experience with the Nimitra has been limited to a system in which it was acting as a network player connected to a dCS Vivaldi DAC. The results were unusually planted and rhythmically coherent for a file source, with greater body, weight, musical coherence and structural organization than I’m used to from file sources.

 

Regards,

Keetakawee