SoundSparks

Thank you very kindly for your input! 😀Tube pre... Do you believe there can be a true synergy between the SS XA30 amp and a reasonably priced (BAT, IMHO, are way too overpriced...) tubed pre like, for example, Atma Sphere MP-3 ❓If staying with solid state... Did you enjoy the SOUND of your 30.8 and XP-20 pair, please❓ Would you say the XP-20 was a step up from the XP-10 (I am quite familiar with the latter) ❓

And that at 87 dB SPL (2.83 V/1m)! Stout indeed! Way, way out of my price range of up to 5 - 6K, unfortunately enough... Will try to arrange for an audition of HOLO Audio MAY DAC in my room... I see this R2R DAC is quite popular here, and John Atkinson was also very pleased with it.

Exemplary service indeed!😀

They are gorgeous indeed, but 88 dB SPL (2.83V/1 m)... Your experience demonstrates I was very wrong not even considering any speakers with sensitivity lower than 90 dB to pair with my XA30.5... I certainly do not want to hijack the thread, but could you please tell me if you auditioned any SW1X DAC's before deciding on your excellent Lampizator DAC? Please, please do keep us posted!

Thank you very kindly, @lpost! You did replace excellent BHK Signature Preamplifier and DirectStream DAC with the May/Serene combo: This certainly tells the story! Do we have any statistics on the rate of failure of Holo Audio products? What will be the turnaround time in your case, I wonder...

Am I correct assuming you did audition both in your room❓ If I may also inquire, what speakers do you employ with your PASS Labs XA30.8, please❓

This coincides perfectly with my observations over the years pursuing this elusive SOUND... Thank you @GregWormald! Anybody, dear experts, had a chance to audition any quality pre-amp (within 9-10K, let us say) vs. Serene in a system with familiar upstream and downstream components, please❓

Thank you very kindly, @GregWormald, for your most appreciated input!😀 I am looking for a system level approach vs. a component based one thinking holistically of my pre-amp (TBD), existing May KTE DAC and PASS Labs XA30 amp configuration, working in concert together as one vs. approaching it a component (or two for that matter…) at a time. Do you believe the XP-12 would have this synergy we all are looking for working with the XA30 and May DAC❓ Anybody, dear experts, had a chance to audition PASS Labs XP-12/22 vs. Serene in a system with familiar upstream and downstream components, please❓

What were your conclusions, @GoldenOne, on PASS Labs XP-12 vs. Serene, please? I am sorry in case I missed your report...😄Another question for you, dear experts: would you recommend going with XP-12/22 or Serene to work in tandem with PASS Labs XA30 power amp and May KTE DAC❓ Please chime in!😄

Dear experts,😀 Could you please help me understand what real-world throughput I can possibly get for the following setup (please note DASD employs Intel JHL7440 Thunderbolt 3 controller Chris discussed in his article)?❓ iMac <--> Thunderbolt™ 3 Optical Cable <--> OWC ThunderBay Flex 8😀 Does the throughput depend on the direction of the data flow?❓ Cable length?❓ HDD / SSD / RAID configuration employed? Any optimum (performance / price) configuration you would recommend?❓ Any Thunderbolt controller with native Thunderbolt 4 or USB 4.0 support (at least in the specs), and DASD's employing it?❓

Ergo, it's not a factor...😒

RAID 5 it is! Definitely need to find a solution for this... I wonder if RAID DASD's (something like LaCie 6/12big where aluminum enclosure dissipates heat significantly better than plastic) are less noisy, and if they are, by how much...

Thank you very kindly, dear experts! In terms of NAS, QNAP TVS-872XT does fit the requirements perfectly. Just a bit "heavy" at ~ 2.2K... What max transfer speed can I possibly achieve? @plisskengets ~ 38MB/s, which is pretty good... I guess nothing beats Thunderbolt 3 DASD if higher throughput is required... That is the plan! I think even I can do the "surgery". Crucial offerings look pretty good. What RAID level did you employ, please?

Thank you very kindly, dear experts! I will try to use the storage room for my NAS (wired connection), and if not, it will sit about 3-4 feet from my desk: so noise is definitely a consideration for me. I was thinking of some kind of soundproof enclosure to put the NAS into, but this, most probably, will not work because of possible NAS overheating ( 215 BTU/hr on Access and 117 BTU/hr while in Hibernation )... Yes, QNAP TVS-*72XT Series looks most attractive, but Synology does offer some interesting opportunities as well (at a bit lower price point). Could you please help me to compare technical specs: QNAP TVS-672XT vs. Synology DS1621xs+ ? I am not knowledgeable enough, and do need expert advice here, please... Most importantly, in terms of reliability, which brand would you give your preference to, dear experts? This is something I have never heard before... Thank you for the warning! Some of the content is critical indeed, and I have no chance of getting my hands on it again. I would say we are talking of only about a few TB total here, and manual backup (i.e. without doing any RAID) of this content is certainly a possibility. Does this approach seem feasible, please? This is my concern also, ergo, hard-wiring with CAT-6a cable would be my preference. Going to take the "boss" to a nice restaurant to negotiate the deal... Can a newbie like yours truly perform such complex "surgery"? I take it I will need 2 x 16GB modules. Any names you could recommend, please? Yes, off-site backup for my critical content ($$$) for sure. Going to talk to my insurance folks about theft and fire.

Thank you very kindly, dear experts! If I can get my away establishing wired connection using readily available CAT-6a cable, I will go this route (superior throughput and latency), and if not, I will try to implement approach kindly outlined by @plissken. Still a million dollar question remains: which NAS providing 90 - 100TB raw capacity would you, dear experts, recommend for my use case, please? IMHO, offering dual Thunderbolt 3 ports QNAP TVS-*72XT Series looks most attractive. Any alternatives from other manufacturers you could recommend to consider for my use case, please?