vmartell22

I think we all ( in this forum, ASR and everything in between) are somewhat guilty of being legends in our minds. Yes, have got into a few tiffs here but also over at ASR - even if in general that forum would be more my inclination. Why ? Not sure what is the malady but is not fun. Do we, do you want people to drop their argument say "I am sorry, I agree with you" and drop it? Both sides are not doing that. I have compared audiophilia to flat earthers - I do apologize for that as it can be offensive. BUT it is an example of how we can not be and should not be open to discuss ANYTHING, specially if it goes against what we currently know ( as the explainers of how real science is indicated above we should say). BUT the other side is not doing much better. There is a thread on ASR called "explain to me the vinyl renaissance". The implication is obviously is that vinyl being a medium with less desirable specs, it does not make sense for people to still seek it. My argument was : "Well, as AN ASR-ER I completely understand that digital has the superior specs, therefore makes sense digital is a preferable medium. But, well, I just like vinyl. I am not proclaiming its superiority. I am at ASR after all. All I am saying is fun and I like to do it" Well. As simple as that is to understand... it wasn't. Chris have seen it too as he contributed to the thread. I don't think people READ what I said, let alone understand. They replied as if I was saying it was a superior medium even when I clearly said I did not think it was. It is insulting and rude, and it triggered me in all the wrong ways. But I have done that too. So all I am saying is that neither side can throw the first stone. In general, got into forums during the pandemic. I thought fighting it out in the forums was more fun that binging crap on the streamer. And it was for a bit. But lately I finding myself not really having fun. I still disagree with most of audiophilia but I totally admit that many of my comments were/are motivated by a misplaced saviour syndrome. I wish people did not even consider spending more than $100 on cables. They don't have to IMHO. I remember replying to Chris on how expensive cables were part of the same malady that gives us evil in the world! :D BUT the truth is that IRL, my attitude is "you do you". I WOULD NEVER FOR EXAMPLE VOTE FOR A LAW PROHIBITING EXPENSIVE CABLES! :D I know extreme example but that is the truth. You do you, I don't care. Except in the forums! So trying to wean myself out. I try to use the forums as news aggregators. Find out what is new in audio without having to check all the sites. I do admit, that just like now, cannot help but to chime in again. But yeah, in conclusion, two wrongs don't make a right... they make the world of audiophilia forums! :D lets all get along for Christmas! v

HAHA I want to say, I have stopped reading the Schiit forum over at Head-Fi - because yes, even with Schiit, which provides gear that is not that expensive, specially compared to other gear, it does feels like an an elder, affluent, white crowd. Proof is the infamous "discussion cycle" on their main chat (Jason's blog). Basically the idea is that between Schiit announcements, the conversation cycles more or less around the same subjects until the time there is more new Schiit to discuss... cigars, vintage cars, expensive alcohol... stuff that the chaps above might love. And this is in the Schiit forums... so is not the price of the gear, is the hobby that attracts that kind of peeps... and they are not my crowd.

Seems like I did misunderstand - gotta say, my idea is better... v

This is something that I have thought about before - as a hypothetical ! Upon learning that the Laserdisc was analog, I realized that we have long equated "optical" with "digital" - which is not necessarily so - is all about what is optically encoded! :D - so I started pining for a hypothetical new-old format - take the laserdisc - DITCH THE VIDEO to dedicate the full bandwidth to audio, stick analog audio on it and we might have had the ultimate analog format, free of most of the disadvantages, except, well, size although IMHO that is even a plus - more space for cover art. Now TBF, apologies if I have misunderstood the whole thing - kind of only skimmed the article and the comments, but wanted to put it out there, kind like a "HA, I was right!" kind of comment. v

Is a clone the same as a knock off? After years of and years of IBM PC Clones... that seem OK, right? I am not in the market, but I actually consider the "McInlosh" one... What if it gives me 90% of the performance for 10% if the price? Seems like a sensible decision, right? Because I care about my wallet more than McIntosh... If I bought one of those and it turned out to be fantastic... I would be happy... McIntosh could disappear and I still would be happy with my amp. THAT SAID, before I am murdered here The reason that I stopped considering the "McInlosh"... the whole support situation seems iffy. Could end up with a "McInlosh" paperweight! :D - [ Edit: Removed comment about the Denafrips clone being a better choice, given the better reputation of the company... commented before reading the whole thread... turns out is not really Denafrips - same issue as with the "McInlosh"... could end up with a broken, unsupported product] v

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33456 v

Remember reading somewhere that allegedly is a repackaged $30 TP-Link, but for the life of me cannot find the reference, so won't affirm or deny anything... anybody else have read that? is there a reference/link/video of a tear down that shows that? Appreciated if you have it.

Has this been posted? If so, apologies. Title of the article is hilarious. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/ethernet-switch-for-audiophiles "$2,500 Ethernet Switch Effectively Isolates Audiophiles From Cash" :D

Does that mean you ignore and/or don't try corroborate anonymous tips/information/possible facts OR does it mean that you will always identify your sources? (sincere, somewhat neutral question) v

Hrm - very disappointing. This should have the thing that united ASR and AS. Argument should be - hey, both sides of the audiophile thought discussion agree here, mQa is bad news - even if for different reasons. Doesn't matter. I do have a related question - do moderators have a duty to be impartial? Well, I understand that the owner of the forum has the right to regulate content she/he wants on the forum - BUT, talking in general, if someone becomes a moderator, is that a reasonable expectation? I guess I kind of answered my question... so it may be dumb in essence... yet... feels wrong what they did... v

Please correct me if I am wrong - I have been doing net things for a while - I have forgotten whatever little DSP I had in me. I have gotten in my head that the genius of @GoldenOne 's video is that it got all the MQA - sorry mQA :D proponents to publicly admit that it behaves exactly like a lossy scheme. Including Bob Stuart himself. From there, well, if it looks like a duck... I maybe inferring to much - but just wanted to double check I am right - or not! v

Regarding all the comments about Apple - indeed, very often I don't like what they do, I don't like what they have turned into and definitely avoided them for a long time. Up until recently, there was no Apple or Windows at Vic's office - that changed recently though; my kid went to college and I inherited the Mac Book Pro. That was actually the main catalyst to try Roon. But I digress. It's obvious that Apple is no white hat cowboy to the rescue. BUT there are difference between that and the MQA effort. Main is that Apple aims to establish not standards BUT market domination - most of the people I know will use ALAC not because is being forced, but because Apple's size, market and mind share. They want to use Apple, regardless of disadvantages or doing so, or the advantages of not doing so. BUT - you can reject it. Like I said, I did not use Apple. Even with its market dominance, I only started using their products because I wanted to. They don't want the backlash that MQA generated. They also have no need to risk it. I hate it that they removed the audio jack and that everyone is following. So big they don't care. All that obviously very NOT desirable. The problem with MQA was that is a consumer rights eroding effort through the means of industry adoption. BAD. Then you add all the claims, the lossy issue and so on. In fact, I thought I did not care about MQA until I new of the existence of MQA CDs. That made me go, wow! they are also going after physical media. THEY WANT TO CONTROL EVERYTHING. That will not do. v

I just want to say good luck on your new adventure. That said, IF I did what you are doing, I would not consider a regular system or a car stereo type system . Headphone Hi-Fi seems to be the way to go, no matter the source... well except a turntable - I also would not do that either! :D But this is just a "feeling" answer/opinion. And it enormously uninformed, since I don't see myself ever attempting what you are doing. So my answer is the product of just a couple of minutes of thought :D Good luck - hope you enjoy it. The freedom sounds nice... v

1.- True - to be fair, the forums are the private property of the owner - the owner sets the rules. I always respectfully point out what I disagree with. I am very often careful to indicate that the owners have the right to decided what kind of forum they want. I also respectfully ask, well, just have them be clear. If they don't want MQA polemics, it should make it a rule explicitly. 2.- Disagree on what gets flagged. It looks like you are on the Roon forum. You know then, that the flagging is done by users and in general ( again, I have to generalize - after all we are all talking about a trend ) the MQA believers are tremendously petty - they use the flagging system as if it was a "disagree" button. 3.- I also have to disagree, and it comes back to rules, focus of the forum, the image they want to project and their selective enforcement of the rules. I will say plainly, the less polite and abusive people on the forum, at least on those discussions are the MQA believers. And they get lots of tolerance. Or used to. I haven't read any MQA discussions there lately. I think they are still ongoing, but as I mentioned before, they get push down to the the bottom of the topic highlights. Don't have the energy to look for them anymore! :D 4.- Again, I know is my fault, but would love to get away from the Roon forums topic. I do agree - while is possible for ALAC files to contain MQA, I don't think that it will be the case. This is going as predicted. And of course, this is not petty ill-will towards people. It is unfortunate that, if this affects Tidal and Meridian, it might also have an effect on real people as opposed to that entity known as "the corporation". Yet - free markets are like that. Public opinion is a market force; we are free to disagree and free to campaign etc. v

ALAC as per the rumours ! v