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thrand1

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  1. Hi, Tom- I have been searching for new(er) recordings of the Mahler 8, which I agree with you wholeheartedly is a very important piece. After listening to the samples, I'm looking to perhaps download this work, and I would value your opinion on something. It is my understanding that any "lesser" resolutions are included with purchase of a piece (i.e. DSD64 is also included if you purchase DSD128 version), but I am struggling to balance file size with relative performance. I have an iFi Micro iDSD Black Label, which supports up to DSD512. Most of my listening is done off of an iOS device connected to the iFi, but I also have a PC at home which I use with the iFi. I have read the resolution recommendations on the site, but would appreciate yours (and anyone elses) insights on "what resolution to buy." Do I buy the DSD256 version, and then maybe download the DSD64 files in addition for my iPhone? Thanks so much for your valuable contributions to the community. Regards, Tyler
  2. Not necessarily the daily deal but... I see that the next Vanska/BIS project appears to be a Mahler cycle, starting with the 5th? I'm not entirely familiar with the 5th, but the SQ on it (at least streamed through Spotify Premium) appears to be the usual stellar BIS grade. I also noticed a discount on Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto from Challenge Classics . I don't own a copy yet (and again, not as familiar with this piece) but who can argue with that price. Anyone with listening experience or feedback on these recent releases? I think there was a review of the Mahler 5th by Gramophone (?) which had somewhat positive praise and constructive criticism on different movements...
  3. Can't believe I missed this I would be completely interested in this for comparing/contrasting my 3 Shure IEMs (215,425,535) and seeing how well headphones scale with a quality source!
  4. Hi all, I just received an email from Pentatone about a sale this weekend on the works of Brahms and Tchaikovsky, who share the same May 7th birthday. You can use the promo code DUOLEGEND17 through the end of Sunday, May 7th at the Pentatone online store for 20% off. I bought the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (Julia Fischer) in high-res from Pentatone, and it was a great experience- download package included multichannel and surround DSD ISOs which burned to DVD and played no problem on my Oppo BDP-83 disc player, and there was even a copy of low-res MP3s included along with liner and album art. Overall, a pleasant purchase for me. @Musicophile, any particular Pentatone pieces from Brahms or otherwise you could recommend? Anyone else? Enjoy! -Tyler
  5. That actually seems like proper behavior- the green indicator is 44.1kHz sampling rate, which is standard for anything "CD quality" like your streaming Tidal HiFi or Amazon Prime music/any other music streaming service. Most (if not all) movie soundtracks, especially those accessed via streaming, use a 48kHz sampling rate, so that would explain why it is blue for the Amazon Prime movie. With the advent of Blu-ray and high resolution audio, there is capability to support higher sampling rates like 96kHz, but when you're streaming Netflix or Amazon Prime movie, most of the time it is standard Dolby Digital/AC-3, which is 48kHz rate. Hope that helps.
  6. For anyone out there who was considering getting this: Pentatone is running a promotion for 25% off of this album with the promo code "XMAS16". Not sure of the end date, but it should be either Christmas or the end of the year.
  7. Hi iFi, Would there be any warnings/negatives to using this with one of your products such as the Nano iDSD? I was considering the Nano versus the Micro iDSD but only currently have IEMs, so don't need the crushing power of the Micro headphone amp. I am aware of the other additional features offered by the Micro, but when analyzing the headphone amp only I didn't know if the Nano + iEMatch would be OK to use. Thanks! -Tyler
  8. This is a very good point and that is why I'm considering the cost of the unit versus the gains (or lack thereof?) that could be realized. Having IEMs, I have noticed some amount of background hiss even with my 6S in airplane mode, and my IEMs aren't the most sensitive on the market. I don't need a lot of power out of an amp, but would be curious if a DAC would offer any gains in providing a more quiet background plus that test of whether or not high res capability is worth it As I said before- this isn't for use "on the go" like in a pants pocket; the primary use would be taking it to my work desk where I could have it during the day, and then maybe connecting it at home as well. Everything has give me great food for thought, and I do appreciate your experiences, advice, and feedback!
  9. Sorry for the simple question but: what is your DacMagic currently connected to? If you have it connected to your Azur 840A, doesn't that have a headphone jack integrated on the front of the unit? Apologies if I misunderstood your question, but wanted to get a more complete picture of how your system is currently connected.
  10. Sure! I didn't want to make my already long post even longer. I was considering the Audioquest Dragonfly Red/Black, the iFi nano or micro iDSD, the Oppo HA-2, and the Mojo. I've been vacillating a lot between these options...primarily I'm going to take this item to work with me connected to my iPhone, then the other use case would be connected to my stereo at home at the end of the day. Having an S/PDIF out connector would be a plus for use with my home system, so the iFi products had a slight positive there. The Oppo and Nano iDSD has "some" reports of hissing with IEMs. The Mojo and Micro iDSD seem to be compared a lot to each other as well, thanks for your insight on those. The Micro iDSD features that are positives to me over the Mojo are the iEMatch settings, the power bank capability, and the S/PDIF out capability. The Mojo SQ according to reviews I've read are basically considered on par if not slightly better and has a more compact form factor. What prevents me from automatically narrowing it down to the Micro iDSD and the Mojo is the "overkill" factor. Given I am using just IEMs, I wouldn't be tapping into the power potential, but obviously both products would provide some good futureproofing if I were to add more "difficult" headphones in the future. Then there is the point that both of these would cost approximately $200 more than my IEMs... In the end, I keep going back and forth about getting the lowest cost equipment with the best match of features (maybe the Nano iDSD plus the iEMatch, or the updated HA-2SE?), or just getting the best within my range and being "set" for a long period of time. It is difficult when I haven't had an opportunity to date to really hear any of them, so feedback from you all has been very helpful. If I missed any questions, feel free to re-ask them Thanks!
  11. Thanks for the feedback- I had previously browsed thecableco.com casually but hadn't looked too closely at their inventory. I appreciate it! Anyone else is still welcome to comment as well Thanks! -Tyler
  12. If this belongs in the General Forum, please accept my apologies. I have been searching for a new DAC for a while now to use at work with my iPhone, and at home connected to my system in the $500 range. I have done a lot of research, and have narrowed down my options. The difficult part is attempting to audition or do anything further to validate if this new DAC will deliver the results I expect. The brick-and-mortar dealer networks that were prevalent when I started into hifi about ten years have been greatly reduced here in central Ohio. Even if I find dealers, they often don't stock or demo many of their USB DAC products (even for "lower price" products like the Dragonfly Red). For the brands I'm considering (Audioquest, Chord, iFi Audio, Oppo), there are many online storefronts that will sell the product to you. I have considered the possibility that I could order a product then just not like it, or it may not work well in my system. In that case, I would not consider returning a product which is non-defective simply because I "don't like it." I have noticed sometimes on other fora people will leverage good return policies to review or audition multiple products, and it wouldn't feel right for me to do that. As a result, I'm stuck trying to figure out if there is any way to try before I buy. If anyone on these forums happens to have multiple DACs, or perhaps an old one which is gathering dust and does not use it on a daily basis, would you consider lending it out for a short time? If you do, could you please reply to this thread or PM me? I would be more than willing to negotiate shipping and some compensation to you for letting me try out the product and then return it to you. Thank you so much for reading this, and if you are willing to help. Regards, Tyler
  13. Should have posted this before, as we already went but...saw the New York Philharmonic last week for opening night of their 175th season. Pieces featured included a premiere of John Corigliano ("Stomp"), Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F, and Dvorak's New World Symphony. The soloist on the Gershwin piece, Aaron Diehl, was spectacular- he went to high school in my hometown (graduated the same year as I). I saw him perform several times at school events before he went on to Juilliard, and it is great to see his continued success. The other pieces were well done, and sound quality in the venue was good even though our seats were perhaps not as optimal (right hand side of the auditorium well back from the stage). Finishing off the evening after the concert with some pizza and wine in Little Italy was a nice conclusion to our trip of a few days in the city.
  14. Well, looks like the HDTracks version is crushed to high heaven. Curiously enough, the CD layer of the hybrid SACD is very good, maybe even slightly better (numbers-wise) when compared to the original CD. Strongly weighing whether or not to buy the SACD or wait and see if a better download comes out...
  15. Could it be... 1) iFi signal attenuator for headphone use 2) -x dB attenuator button that toggles between differing levels of attenuation. 3) Miniature amp/bass boost for headphones, maybe a gain switch?
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