Thunktank

I recently decided go down the headphone route to allow me to listen late at night without disturbing anyone. I wasn't in a position to audition any equipment so relied on reviews in this and other forums. After much deliberation I opted for pair of Senheiser HD800s and a Schitt Mjolnir2, these combined with my MacBook and WeissDAC2 should have given an excellent introduction to the world of headphones. After a short burn in period It became apparent that all was no well, I am accustomed to a well defined sound stage thanks to my Musical fidelity TriVista and Anthony Gallo reference 2.5's. However the same could not be said for the headphone setup, everything seemed to be skewed to the right hand side. To cut a long story short it turns out the problem is my left ear, an audio gram reveals that while my hearing is generally good for my age (52) my left ear has a deficiency of around 5db from 500Hz all the way up to 19K, which is the high frequency limit of my aged ears. I do not think I ever noticed before as I was probably compensating by sitting to the left of the sweet spot. Here is where I would like some advice, my current setup, ITunes-Amarra-HiFi-Weiss DAC2-Mjolnir2 does not offer me any form of balance control let alone individual channel EQ. I am contemplating moving away from iTunes, rather than using trial and error to find the best solution I am looking for advice. Ideally I would like to be able to EQ the individual channels rather than just shift everything to one side. My left ear is not just 5db below my right across all frequencies, ideally I would like to use the audio gram results to create a custom EQ to compensate correctly. I look forward to being able to hear my new purchases in all their glory. Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile

Just landed a bargain Anthony Gallo Reference 3 sub amp, as I am a big kid and can never wait to play with a new toy I would like to have the cables ready for when the amp arrives. Set up at the moment is:- Mac Book - Itunes - Amarra Hifi - Firewire - Weiss DAC2 - Nu Vista RCA - Musical Fidelity Tri Vista 300 (recently "Fine Tuned" By MF with fantastic results) - Van Damme Blue series 8m x 6.0mm - Anthony Gallo Reference 3.1. While looking at prices for some more cable I discovered two things, I had rather overcooked it going with 6.0mm for my 8M runs and since the last time I bought cables Van Damme have introduced a UP LC-OFC "Hi-Fi" cable which some people seem to prefer over the blue series. Considering that I do not know if the Anthony Gallo Reference 3 sub amp will be staying for any length of time, do I :- Buy some cheap 2.5mm cable to run between the sub amp and the Ref 3's second voice coils, just to help me decide if the sub amp has anything to offer. Buy Blue series just for the sub amp. Buy UP LC-OFC "Hi-Fi" just for the sub amp. Buy enough UP LC-OFC "Hi-Fi" to wire both my main amp and the sub amp. Non of the above, all suggestions welcome. I apologise if my question is not well formed I am a furniture designer by trade and have very limited electrical engineering knowledge. Any advice as the gauge/brand of wire I should be using for either the main amp or sub amp runs would be greatly appreciated. Or if you have experience with the combination of Gallo Reference 3.1's and sub amp I would like to hear your opinion. Thanks

I do not own a "tape deck", if I get one will it improve my "Hi Fi" even if i don't use it? ;-)

Hi all I recently purchased How Big, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence and the Machine (Deluxe Edition) from Amazon. I very rarely write reviews but due to the fact that the producers and engineers appear to have completely ruined what could have been a highly enjoyable experience I felt compelled to tell potential buyers that the album has issues. It is not so much my review that is of interest but the hilarious response from someone who took exception to what I had to say. How Big, How Beautiful, How Compressed! Another victim of the loudness wars? This CD could have and should have been an absolute show stopper instead it has been seriously compromised by poor engineering. Great songs, great voice, imaginative compositions rendered mediocre by a lack of dynamic range and unbalanced mixing . Don't get me wrong I love this CD I am just deeply saddened knowing that it could have been so much more. If you want to hear this album with slightly better dynamics then go for the hi res download, even then it is not going improve a whole lot. The crucial issue is a production style completely at odds with the music, Welch & co. should have stuck with Paul Epworth as a producer, despite having an impressive CV Dravs has ruined what could have been the album of 2015. Equipment used for review was as follows aiff rip - Itunes - Amarra Hifi - Weiss DAC2 - Musical Fidelity Tri Vista 300 - Anthony Gallo Reference 2.5 And the response Have you tried going into a record store (shops that sell music, tv and film media and accessories) and actually buying the CD (a digitally mastered disc of music), then inserting it into a proper HI FI ( a hardware stack comprised of a separate amplifier, turntable, CD player, tape deck and speakers) and press play?. I did and i have none of the problems you described!! I hope this gives you a good laugh it did me, it was "then inserting it into a proper HI FI" that really cracked me up.

Seeing as I have had two AE gen 2's die and having been unable to find out much about the 3rd gen I have decided to steer clear of apple devices. Like others on these forums I will investigate using a Raspberry Pi, cheaper than apple products and much more fun. http://jordanburgess.com/post/38986434391/raspberry-pi-airplay

I just had an airport express 2nd gen die on me, this is the second one to have died (out of warranty of course). I was looking to buy another one and see that they are now on to 3rd generation. A quick search of the net revealed quite a few posts, mainly on the apple forums relating to jitter and problems with DAC's being able to lock on. Does anyone have experience of this or know if apple have addressed the problem. I would also appreciate any opinions on the 3rd gen AE in general. Thanks It's ages since I have posted here just looked at my profile, very strange coincidence, it is 5 years to the day since I became a member. Spooky :-)

Hi I am just about to take delivery of a pair of Prima Luna 7 monoblock valve (tube ) amps which I will be using in a second system in my living room (lounge ). I would like to use a sub woofer connected on the high level inputs, the problem I have is that the model of sub I am considering uses a neutrix plug with only three wires, left, right and a common ground. How do I connect the sub so that it receives a signal from both amps, I do not feel to happy about linking the ground terminal from one amp to the other. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for apology it is greatly appreciated and your quite right to point out that "Giant killer" could be misleading. I was simply concerned that someone may have read the earlier post and prematurely smashed open the piggy bank to go out and buy a Matrix instead of waiting till they could buy a Weiss or similar. After all it was the Weiss name that was used in the context of "ridiculously over priced". I was aware that The DacMagic cost more in other countries I have seen it sold on Ebay for a price considerably higher than it's UK retail price, which has gone up £10 since i bought mine. In a shoot-out the matrix wins on value, it's better looking, has a cleaner interface and a big plus is no nasty wall wart as found on the DacMagic.(the DacMagic Wall Wart was subject to a product recall last year) As regards sound I think it comes down to preference, my initial impressions where very similar to those expressed in the link i supplied in the previous post. I have not had an opportunity to thoroughly compare the two so won't comment further. I now have the Matrix paired up with a TA2020 Tri path amp form Arjen Helder (my first foray into DIY) and I must say i am delighted with the result, it's certainly a lot of bang for buck.

Sorry double post.

Hellenback did you see the speech marks at the opening of my post? Just in case you are unaware this indicates I was quoting a previous poster, who expressed the opinion that the Martix was better than the the "ridiculously overpriced Weiss' (that was a quote as well). As i understand one of the purposes of this forum is for lovers of music to help each to assemble the best systems that they can irrespective of budget. It would have been remiss of me not to balance the previous posters comment with my own opinion based on actually owning both pieces of equipment. Having read back through this topic it would appear that the earlier posts are missing and that the topic has been truncated. Despite this I feel your comment "The fact that you even mention them in the same review is a little odd, unless you feel the need to let people know you own a Weiss DAC2" was extremely insulting and ill-mannered and certainly not in the spirit of this forum. Suffice it to say I expect an apology. I bought my DACmagic from richer sounds for £219 and the Matrix online for a tad under £200, so here in the UK at least they are virtually the same price.

"I think everybody should check Matrix with Hiface before burning money for fancy stuff (like Weiss or some other ridiculously priced stuff" The Matrix is an excellent DAC at the price, But it does not come close to my Weiss DAC2 in any area. I bought the matrix to replace my Cambridge DacMagic on my PC system. (Dacmagic was being moved to bathroom system) PC > DacMagic > BiAmp Topping TP10's > B&W 601S2. As it turned out the Matrix is going into the bathroom system as it's sound is more suited to the type of music I listen too while soaking away the stresses of the day. It's more analogue sounding than the DacMagic but not as detailed or punchy. My findings are very similar to the conclusions found in this review :- http://www.headfonia.com/matrix-mini-i-balanced-dac/3/ I did try the matrix in my main system as I had done with DacMagic before it. It did not take a long listening session or any straining to realise that the Weiss DAC2 is the superior DAC in every aspect. However it is in some respects a superior DAC to my old Musical Fidelity TriVista DAC which even second hand cost me three times the price of the Matrix. Just shows how technology moves on.

The best price I have found for the Weiss DAC 2 in the UK is £1630, which is around £500 less than the Bryston. As my source is a MacBook (which I wish to continue using) I do not have the option of adding any cards. I was surprised that the difference between USB and Coax was so marked.

I hear what you are saying about people being put off by computers, they want something that works like the kettle, you switch it on and it boils water, you switch it on and it plays music . The solution in a box stuff like HDX, and Sonos does not suit me, I don't mind tinkering, and it gives me the flexibility to customise to my own needs and to upgrade in small steps rather than flogging the lot and starting again. If will try to get to my local dealer for the summer roadshow, it will probably be too busy for me to get an audition but I can at least report back with some specs.

Obviously this is not confirmed, but if it is true I will be very surprised. I was surprised at last years summer show when they where demoing the HDX, to me it seemed out of step with the way the market was going. I can only assume that Naim are doing their research and are selling to a market I am unaware of.

My previous post was to be my last on the subject but......... I Take your point that this is a UK market problem, but I object "To point the finger at Bryston is closed minded and points to an agenda" . Did you read my earlier post? " I have no axe to grind with Bryston, on the contrary they have often been on my shortlist when buying new components, they manufacture top notch gear and offer superb after sales support". I am an end user and have no association to any audio manufacturer and have no agenda, I was not "pointing a finger", It was Bryston I was looking to purchase and therefore that is to whom my questions where directed. I have at no time accused Bryston or PMC of profiteering I simply asked for an explanation and then posted the explanation when I received it. I think the thread continued because this disparity in pricing seemed to be in excess of what we usually see in the UK. I allowed PMC to explain why I had not received a demo, their explanation was very fair and I said as such, I have posted no more comments regarding the demo problem after the explanation was received. I hope that the staff at the dealers get a rite royal bollocking (good telling off for non Brits).