$2000 Reference system

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4 hours ago, jabbr said:

Sennheiser HD800 Headphones: $1100 https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-800-Reference-Dynamic-Headphone/dp/B001OTZ8DA

iFi iDSD Micro Black $600 https://www.amazon.com/iDSD-Black-Label-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B01MTNK3ZT/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1529515488&sr=1-3&keywords=ifi+micro+idsd+usb+dac

Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid Headphone Amp: $250 : https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-alex-cavalli-cth-tube-hybrid-amp

Raspberry Pi 3 B+ as NAA: $35

Flirc Raspberry Pi Case $15

 

$2000

....

can upgrade power supplies, cables etc, add ISO Regen etc.

this assumes you already have a PC running HQPlayer/Roon and an 802.11ac wireless network

   -- could substitute Solid-Run Clearfog Base as NAA with fiberoptic network $145 https://www.solid-run.com/product/clearfog-base-1g-8g-e/

   -- alternative and cheaper headphone Massdrop K7XX headphone $200 https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-akg-k7xx-red-edition

Pretty good. I think I would replace the Sennheiser HD800 headphones with the HiFiMan 'Ananda' for $1k and the Headphone amp with the amazing Schiit 'Asgard 2' for $250. But other than that, I pretty much agree with your recipe for high-end audio on the cheap. The best way to get GUTB to go along with your recommendations is to 10X all the prices. Do that and he will be on board. 

[gmgraves]

3 minutes ago, mansr said:

I'd replace the headphones with a pair of active studio monitors.

Oh sure. Were I going to go that route; speakers rather than 'phones. I agree. The Behringer B1031As sound excellent. To that I can attest and at $200 ea from Sweetwater, they can't be beat for price. In fact, by spending a bit less on 'phones (say the excellent $500 HiFiMan Susvara or equivalent) one could have both!

 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/B1031A--behringer-truth-b1031a-8-inch-powered-studio-monitor 

[gmgraves]

1 hour ago, jabbr said:

 

Have you compared the Asgard 2 with the Cavalli CTH? Probably worth buying the Schiit for the name alone though ?

I've compared them spec-wise (sort of). The thing about the Asgard 2 is that it's pure class A and it's output can swing 70 Volts. Most headphone amps can't do that - especially at anywhere near the Asgard 2's price. It sounds damn good. It's the best sound I've ever heard from the HiFiMan HE-1000 v.2 'phones. and I've driven them with a number of different headphone amps including some costing more than the phones. When I said that in my review, the folks at HiFiMan got somewhat miffed and said that I shouldn't review a $3000 headphone with a $250 headphone amp, but damn it, they sounded better with that amp than with any of the others including a $5K Wu tube amp!

[gmgraves]

4 hours ago, jabbr said:

 

Your knowledge of electronics is lacking in this case. Feel free to suggest what in your opinion would be a better system for $2k.

 

That's easy, a better $2000 system to GUTB would be one that costs $20,000!?

[gmgraves]

1 hour ago, Jud said:

 

Love reading, which I often do while listening to music.  

 

Can't sleep on planes. The one exception was a flight from Edmonton when I was exhausted and my wife considerately did not wake me to watch the Aurora Borealis out the window.  

I HATE flying. I generally get my doctor to give me something to knock me out both ways - especially when flying coast to coast or overseas to Europe or the Orient. 

[gmgraves]

5 hours ago, Superdad said:

 

Really?  I recall reading in multiple places that the HD800 require a pretty serious HA to drive properly—though I certainly could be mid-remembering. 

I mention this because I am in the market for a set of neutral reference headphones (under $1,700).  My criteria is that they not be huge, heavy uncomfortable things (I put most of the planers like HiFiman, Mr. Speakers, Audeze into that category) and that they be easy to drive.

Quite a number of experienced listeners have praised the HD800 (though there are some notable critics of it and I will need to judge with my own ears), but I always shied away from them because I thought they were hard to drive.

Would welcome clarification on this.

Thanks,

—ALEX

A buddy of mine drives his HD800s with his Pono in the balanced-output mode. Seems to drive them louder than required by, I would think, anybody!

[gmgraves]

Just now, The Computer Audiophile said:

The Pono player is actually quite special though. Charley Hanson / Ayre design.

While true, the pono is battery powered and therefore drive limited in that regard. The fact that the pono can drive the HD800s is pretty good evidence that they are not all that hard to drive.

[gmgraves]

2 hours ago, fas42 said:

Human hearing is remarkably critical - but it does have to be steered in the right direction;

The most correct statement that you've ever made, Frank. People need to calibrate their ears. As in any complex system, feedback is important. People who never listen to live music have a very strangely skewed notion of what real music sounds like. Their versions generally have more presence than a real performance, have brighter, more deeply etched highs, and more juke-box like bass. 

[gmgraves]

14 hours ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

How can you have more presence than a real performance? A closer perspective may be.

 

It's simple. They like speakers with a forward midrange that makes vocalists "pop" out of the ensemble better. It makes instrumental music sound lousy, but that's what they think a real vocalist against a real backup band/orchestra sounds like.  

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14 hours ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

 

Just re-read Frank's posts  ?  ?

Yeah, and there are others almost as bad!

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2 hours ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

 

When sitting in fairly close proximity to an ensemble, especially a small acoustic ensemble, the vocalist *is* out in front (providing he/she actually is located there).A recent restaurant/jazz club visit in Paris reminded me of just that live and real experience. With large amplified ensembles and full orchestras the situation clearly changes. Overall I don't think one can generalize about the spatial characteristics of live performances.

 

People who have systems with a forward midrange have mid-fi gear (irrespective of price), which seems to have become synonymous these days with the pejorative term "HiFi" sound , not true Hi Fidelity.

Yeah, and the stuff they chose and are happy with they chose because they don't know what real music sounds like. One needs to hear live music, as much as is practical to keep from ending up with a system that has exaggerated highs, Juke-box bass and whatever else the buyer associates with "hi-fi" sound. People who listen to a lot of music tend too build systems that are more neutral and therefore sound more or less "correct" playing anything from Reggae to Rigoletto.

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39 minutes ago, fas42 said:

Here's a clip I just found of one of the tracks from that album - gives one a taste of the production ...

 

 

Forgot the backup singers, and the orchestra - there's probably a kitchen sink, somewhere in there ...

Mariachi is Mexican folk music and the authentic stuff can be really good. This piece you posted sounds like the real thing. And it is wonderful to listen to, but I think a steady diet would get tiring after a while, but this was a nice breath of fresh air on a Saturday evening!, Thanks!

[gmgraves]

2 hours ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

 

Now you're just being silly!

Perhaps!