Computer Audiophile on the Cheap

[Balder]

Hi!

Nice with a topic i can relate to! I live in Sweden, we have a "local" forum, whenever you claim to "prefer" a, lets call it "budget item", you get "jumpt" on by "trendsetters" - who uses all kind of arguments to, sometimes bluntly, but mosltly "polite" tell you that you did something wrong when you came to the conclusion that the cheaper item sound very close, if not as god as the expensive item in "fashion".

 

Now, for me personaly, the reward of working with what you have, with small, well informed, investments and achiving a very high level of performance/money is enormous. For me it started with a dropp in inkome, that forced me to rethink the "uppgrade carousel". Instead of just bying a higher level of perfomance, i had to learn, and learn, and work within my ekonomical reality. I found myselfs with a lot of time on my hands to focus on that, not everybody has that, of course.

 

I have today a sound system of old and/or second hand parts that i have spent about $1000 in total - computerbased. That outperforms previus systems i have had over the years up to $10000, or more...

 

I have a 8 years old laptop, 3TB HDD, a 8 year A/V amp (high-End back then) - 2008 it cost 13000 SEK( ca $1100), i paid 2000 SEK( ca $200), a pair of Boston Acustics A26 "demo-shop" as god as new för 2500 SEK(ca $240), and the "icing on the cake" in february they had a  short sale, online, a USB-DAC: Korg DS-DAC100m for 695 SEK($70). I have not owned a better system. By spending endless hours learning to configure foobar2k, with the right components bla, bla... i can now play back native PCM 24/192 and DSD128 to a level i am happy with and never thought i could ever afford, and insn't that what realy counts? I don't try to build a system others would approve of, or have the "latest in fashion"! One very helpful factor has been my "totaly HiFi-blond wife" - she has no expectations about how god sound is supposed to sound, so when i make a small change - I may have specific expectations, and may experiense "placebo" effect! She can simply say "i like that better...", and, most of the time she is spot on. I have had HiFi as a hobby 40 years, yes you learn a lot, but is there a possibility to focus on the tech so much, focus on tiny details bordering on OCD, and forget why you started the hobby - to enjoy the music experiense to the maximum...so - as a paradox of loosing some inkome, in my case, gaining time and energi, to learn a lot, but moreover- The feeling you can't buy(?) - I did this!

[firedog]

Nothing wrong with your approach. It might even be the most sane one around. 

I think audiophiles often get caught up in that next tiny improvement in sound quality and describe small improvements as enourmous. When you do that, less expensive equipment is denigrated as "Lacking", when in fact it has most of the qualities of much more expensive stuff. That curve of diminishing returns is pretty steep in audio, and once you spend over a $1000 or $2000 it starts to really kick in- significant improvements start to cost quite a lot.

 

The advances in materials, electronics, and manufacturing mean that even with new equipment you can get a source, DAC, amp, and speakers for $1000 that sounds very good - at least in the US. It gets you most of the way there. Also very true with modern active systems that include a DAC. The biggest thing it doesn't do is very low bass and room filling volumes...and a lot of us don't need that. 

[bigbob]

Since my last posting "Computer Audiophile on the Cheap" has jumped into Class-D Amplifiers. I am listening to a $40 Nobsound built on the TPA3116 chip with a 24v power supply ($10). I tested the iFi iDSD nano LE as a DAC, and have concluded that I like the Schiit Modi 2 better-- it is more 'Musical'.

 

The iFi unit has a headphone amplifier stage, and it really does well with my Sennheiser cans, but too many POTS spoil the soup, when I used it on my system.

 

 

[Balder]

So True...

 

I have reached "the end of the line" as far as "room" audio is concerned, the way forward for me is going to be a headphone system "best bang/buck", i have Shure SRH940 from 2013 -like them, but they can be "to honest" ie sound harsh on some material, so going to look for some "non neutral", fun - phones...

 

And you would not belive the prices we have in Sweden, when i look at things on Amozon US - 9 sek/$ then times 2, thats our price!

Some try to sneak by custums, they don't check every parsel, but if you are done - 50% extra + penalty fees.... 

 

I guess there are pros and cons everyvere...

[bigbob]

1 hour ago, Balder said:

Hi!

Nice with a topic i can relate to! I live in Sweden, we have a "local" forum, whenever you claim to "prefer" a, lets call it "budget item", you get "jumpt" on by "trendsetters" - who uses all kind of arguments to, sometimes bluntly, but mosltly "polite" tell you that you did something wrong when you came to the conclusion that the cheaper item sound very close, if not as god as the expensive item in "fashion".

 

Now, for me personaly, the reward of working with what you have, with small, well informed, investments and achiving a very high level of performance/money is enormous. For me it started with a dropp in inkome, that forced me to rethink the "uppgrade carousel". Instead of just bying a higher level of perfomance, i had to learn, and learn, and work within my ekonomical reality. I found myselfs with a lot of time on my hands to focus on that, not everybody has that, of course.

 

I have today a sound system of old and/or second hand parts that i have spent about $1000 in total - computerbased. That outperforms previus systems i have had over the years up to $10000, or more...

 

 

 

I know people who read the mags every month and lust for more expensive solutions to problems that don't exist. If you can be happy listening to your music, does it really matter if some paid reviewer for a magazine thinks it is good? For those of us on a fixed income, or just just not wealthy--we can make our music sound better, if we spend it carefully on things that make a difference. In my case, the High Fidelity Cables MC-0.5 made a tremendous difference at $300 per unit (although I hear they are closing out some blems for $225, without the fancy waterproof shipping case)  And some of my friends said my new 'mini Power Amplifier' sounds great until I tell them it cost only $40 and is Class-D.... You see the Audio Press doesn't hold Class-D amps in high regard, so rather than trusting their ears--they say it just doesn't sound good. Now, if I had $250,000 invested in my system, I am sure that I couldn't accept a $40 amp as anything other than deplorable. But, opinions are like a-holes, everyone one has one, and some stink....

[bigbob]

https://www.facebook.com/CheapAudiophile/?ref=bookmarks

 

Here is my Magazine on Facebook

[Balder]

yeah- we all have them,holes...

 

I don't have anything against people who work f-g hard, earn loads of money and spend them on whatever, but i can be lets say "litle uppset" with folks who look down on HiFi nerds with less "expensive" equipment, and "dare" claim "cheap" stuff to be OK. We all have different ekonmise, and it can vary a bit over a lifetime...(parden my "english" - Swed, trying to type english fast - bad idee....

[Silly goose]

3 minutes ago, bigbob said:

https://www.facebook.com/CheapAudiophile/?ref=bookmarks

 

Here is my Magazine on Facebook

I love that gorilla tape trick you used. It would likely be a smash hit with the elitist crowd. 

 

 

[Balder]

Thanks bigbob, guess i have to reaktivate my fb account....

[Balder]

You too silly goose...

 

You know, sometimes my mouth is ahed of my brain :-)

But i'm just a blond "Viking".... k-l first... think later, if at all... so what do i know...lol!

 

By the way: On my dads side my family has lived on an island as far back as the records goes, back to 1450. I own a big piece of land there, but guess what? Market value = zero! Illigal to build on it - "N-y" security zone/enviromental protected zone....So - i am stinking rich-not!

[Silly goose]

13 minutes ago, Balder said:

You too silly goose...

 

You know, sometimes my mouth is ahed of my brain :-)

But i'm just a blond "Viking".... k-l first... think later, if at all... so what do i know...lol!

 

By the way: On my dads side my family has lived on an island as far back as the records goes, back to 1450. I own a big piece of land there, but guess what? Market value = zero! Illigal to build on it - "N-y" security zone/enviromental protected zone....So - i am stinking rich-not!

What it's valued at to you is all that matters

[Balder]

Back to topic:

 

I found very little info, when i googled on the Korg DS-DAC100m, i finaly got - with a free- return policy.(695 SEK($70)). Probably the best Upgr/money i ever done!

 

OK -the retail price on Amazon UK is £ 211(!) - that's to much for me, haven' t checked Amazon US, so, no idea how expensive it would be compared with ex Shiit? Shiit Modi 2 Uber would sett me back 2500 SEK(about $250) from US(Shiit-direkt) to Sweden(No retail here)(!). So that was not an option...

 

This is my first USB-DAC: but it sounds amazing to me...

 

I do have a "spdf" DAC: LiTe DAC-AH from 2007, modified 2008, but total "red book".

Has an interesting design: in stead of one god expensive chip, it has 4 cheap Philips old school chip/channel parallell, the idea is that diferenses in specs "evens out", and the resulting analog output signal is strong - no need for a ampchip! Sounds realy "sweet" - some folks may say it sounds "analog"(as oposit to "digital") OK?

[Balder]

So true...i have roots that can be traced more than 600 years back....

 

I guess that's rare in the US?

 

In light of that, what's money?

[bigbob]

I was humbled on my first trip to Europe. I looked up and saw "Anno 1640" on the keystone. America is the land with no roots, and less Respect for where we came from.

[bigbob]

47 minutes ago, Balder said:

Back to topic:

 

I found very little info, when i googled on the Korg DS-DAC100m, i finaly got - with a free- return policy.(695 SEK($70)). Probably the best Upgr/money i ever done!

 

OK -the retail price on Amazon UK is £ 211(!) - that's to much for me, haven' t checked Amazon US, so, no idea how expensive it would be compared with ex Shiit? Shiit Modi 2 Uber would sett me back 2500 SEK(about $250) from US(Shiit-direkt) to Sweden(No retail here)(!). So that was not an option...

 

This is my first USB-DAC: but it sounds amazing to me...

 

I do have a "spdf" DAC: LiTe DAC-AH from 2007, modified 2008, but total "red book".

Has an interesting design: in stead of one god expensive chip, it has 4 cheap Philips old school chip/channel parallell, the idea is that diferenses in specs "evens out", and the resulting analog output signal is strong - no need for a ampchip! Sounds realy "sweet" - some folks may say it sounds "analog"(as oposit to "digital") OK?

Schiit Modi 2 sells for $99 directly from Schiit here in US. The next price point is Bifrost $399. For me the Modi 2 is quite adequate.

[Ralf11]

or one can say America is the land of the future, unfettered by the past horrors of history

 

and the land has not been occupied by a monkey infestation so long it has been totally effed up yet (Pleistocene Overkill would be an exception)

[bigbob]

Those dang monkeys.

 

[Ralf11]

Phylogeny explains a LOT of human behavior...

[Balder]

Yeah right....

Infestations...

To that i have only one response: Donald Trump!

 

I complained about the high prices in Sweden....

 

....Trump intends to bring "work" back to US....

 

Custums fee on imported stuff  was mentioned...

 

I wooonder....is imported electronics(mainly made in China/look behand nearly every gear....) going to be cheaper? More expensive?

 

Well i to stupiddd, can't figure that out mmmmm.

 

[Balder]

Green Day(punk-rock-band)

 

Have done a nice song from 2004....Don't remember the titel....

[Silly goose]

22 minutes ago, Balder said:

Yeah right....

Infestations...

To that i have only one response: Donald Trump!

 

I complained about the high prices in Sweden....

 

....Trump intends to bring "work" back to US....

 

Custums fee on imported stuff  was mentioned...

 

I wooonder....is imported electronics(mainly made in China/look behand nearly every gear....) going to be cheaper? More expensive?

 

Well i to stupiddd, can't figure that out mmmmm.

 

U.S citizens will quit spending if they are forced to buy U.S made products.

 

As far as I'm concerned they should put a 40% duty on all products manufactured in countries known to be exploited for cheap labor, and lack of regulatory measures. The only reason companies should outsource is if they seek superior technology not available locally. Not so they can sell out their own country and citizens, and make other countries more powerful due to greed. 

[AudioDoctor]

Nothing wrong with audiophiling on a budget.  Most of my home office system came from Craigslist and I love it.

[ElviaCaprice]

Nope, nothing wrong with having a budget.  If there was one area where the budget gets broken, because there are no alternative low budget solutions, it's power supplies.  Can redefine what budget components sound like.

[Balder]

Silly goose: Well on that i totaly agree....

 

We had a enormous industriell base, shipyards, volvo saab, asea- who built all our nukler plants(considered to be among the safest in the world)..

 

and so on... they all where outcompeted by "Asian" industri, without the strong uniun - we always had here. I have seen BBC dukumetarys abuot the workers conditions there - lets just say they don't have a long life expectensy...

 

My new DAC states:made in Japan, sounds god, if it's true?

 

We, all of us; have been spoiled by cheap styff from Asia. not many think about why they are so cheap? Must be magic? And usualy: momey talks! But i suspect that a lot of that money made in Asia ends up in pockets belonging to "western bussiness men"?

 

 

[Ralf11]

3 minutes ago, Balder said:

Silly goose: Well on that i totaly agree....

 

We had a enormous industriell base, shipyards, volvo saab, asea- who built all our nukler plants(considered to be among the safest in the world)..

 

and so on... they all where outcompeted by "Asian" industri, without the strong uniun - we always had here. I have seen BBC dukumetarys abuot the workers conditions there - lets just say they don't have a long life expectensy...

 

My new DAC states:made in Japan, sounds god, if it's true?

 

We, all of us; have been spoiled by cheap styff from Asia. not many think about why they are so cheap? Must be magic? And usualy: momey talks! But i suspect that a lot of that money made in Asia ends up in pockets belonging to "western bussiness men"?

 

 

 

 

the industrial base and manufacturing will come back (and is already doing so in the US) -- it's the jobs that won't come back --- unless you can program a robot