robocop

Atmos music never going to be big just as surround music never made it. I went to huge expense and had a 5 channel dedicated music system back when J Gordon holt was recording music in 5 channel and had a similar system. I have the SACD Miles Davis 3 channel, Pink Floyd 4 channel Dark Side mix and Kraftwerk. All sounded amazing and easily beat stereo. Alas circuit board on preamp died and I reverted to stereo in the absence of new surround recordings. The cost of the associated equipment will keep Atmos to a small high end percentage as did surround music. I'm afraid home theatre is about where it will largely stay and this is what it has largely been designed for. A blow you off the seat movie sound. Which lately is overwhelming movie stories.

I don't see 48khz a problem unless you want to feed more than 48khz digitally direct. Most would still have multiple sources through a preamp of sorts. I upsample audio in Xxhighend to 24/768 Usb to 205 Dac and analogue output from Oppo 205. Also run Nvidia Pro shield via HDMI through 205 but use HDMI bypass. While I don't have 8c's yet I'm seriously considering them. Martijn Mensink's explanation why he uses 48khz seems logical especially in regards to the tweeter. I do see 96/192 being implemented at some point. REW uses 48khz but its upsampled to 96khz for my minidsp flex. Robert

Over priced, ported, under sized driver and low powered. Doing yourself a massive disservice with this sub. You actually need two minimum and at least 12 inch drivers with 1000 watts or more and sealed. You could squeeze two JL Audio 12's in for this retail price. Anyway it is what it is, you didn't pay retail so it doesn't matter. Sub woofers are essential and always have been they improve the midrange and high frequencies. Sealed subs have always been cleaner sounding to my ears. Ported are trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear!!!

My reply re street power cable upgrade was serious. When I inspected old joints on old cables they were very corroded in fact not far off breaking plus cable quality was typical post war poor quality. In commenting on directionality it is present. An old guide line is as you read the writing on cable towards the source has pretty much worked for me over the years. No one has explained it but I think it has something to do with the drawing of wire in manufacture. Electrical engineers discount it as it can't be measured. In the end its another minor tweak which can overcome a bright cable or system issue. Not worth loosing sleep over!!!!

Interesting all I know is when my electric utility replaced the 1950's high tension wire outside my home the result was staggering not only did the TV picture look better the hi-fi sounded better and my shaver ran faster, all things electrical ran better.

Sorbothane along with most other rubbers does indeed dull the sound. But can help if support structure is prone to vibration. I did find sorbothane sticky sheets helped damp sheetmetal cases on cheaper components.

Its interesting it is a nice sound. Two way sealed boxes are excellent in my book. Don't know the music but in comparing with a stream source I would guess this track is straight off the master tape its so clear. Not knocking this approach but when used as a source to audition equipment it sure makes for a great sound.

Yes definitely and the longer its off the longer it takes to get back to normal. I agree totally with fas42's description above. I certainly turn mine off particularly with longer breaks than a weekend. When I travel for extended times I must admit I'm so happy to be home it sounds amazing anyway.

Turn it on turn it off. The main reason to keep it on is to hear a consistent sound if you listen everyday which I do. Some components seem to need 2 to 3 days to get back to a happy listening place. This is clearly audible. If you are an inconsistent listener don't worry about it. I do turn my DAC and computer of from time to time and this also helps maintain a happy sound. One technical reason for leaving ones equipment on is a lot of component failures can happen at cold turn on, which I have experienced. One of my JL Audio subs died at cold turn on caused by an input capacitor expiring. Radio stations leave equipment turned on when they go off air and recording studios. Certainly turn it off and disconnect mains supply plugs in the face of any storms. Sleep mode is not desirable for the best listening although everything warms up after about 20 minutes in my system. As far as I know there isn't a technical study to verify this but thousands of listeners have heard it. Its really down to how fussy you are with always hearing the best sound when you sit down. I do and I'm happy to pay the power bill which I guess is about $20US a month in a country with lots of power generated by river dams. At the end of the day its optional and certainly best practise if you want the best sound. Robert

Short answer YES

Excellent detailed article. Have to say I compared the MFSL(Ultradisc II Gold) to HD tracks 2012 24/192. And do prefer the HD. I find these days the MFSL's dated somewhat with a bassy preference. At the same volume the MFSL stage was smaller turning MFSL up it enlarged and recording clearer but with a background brightness, with bass overlay. I have several other MFSL's and they all have a similar signature. In saying that they were the best until hi res masters appeared. Vocals and treble has more detail and prescence on 24/192 recordings. Instruments better balance. I do not have the latest 50th version. You are right Josh at the end of the day its what you prefer as your end sound. Robert

What the hell is that fish? Can you eat it? Caught with digital rods I see!!!!

Genelecs are excellent quality. Ultimately avoiding preamps is the best. But running vinyl you will need to run through a preamp. The ultimate digital system with which you will have the capability is to run your DAC output into Genelecs direct and control volume digitally either from the DAC if capable or Music source. I also suggest go active crossover in this setup is another level improvement in sound.

Well with some of the latest recordings having DR's as low as 4 they could use phone mic's who would notice.

Still hear a difference between recorded and live performance. Interesting that for all the money poured into Hi-Fi still not their but certainly getting closer. Personally I think its the studio front end microphone - recorder - Mixing - Production etc where big improvements are to be had. Companies like Sound Liasion are trying to get closer. Hi-Fi gear is at a high level of development.