Need your expert guidance: Rotel A12MKII and good speaker pair

The Node2i supports MQA, but only by using the internal DAC. I believe the Zen streamer is the same. But it doesn’t have DAC, as mentioned by you. You rely on the onboard DAC in the Rotel amplifier.

However if you connect trough the USB connection you might need to do this. I have not done it myself, so it don’t know.
 
This video should explain the way you do it.
 
I believe the video talks about connecting pc with ROON. It’s perhaps not necessary to this with the Zen.

@iFi audio, has explained before in the tread. Sure they well help you again.
 
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@Kapkirk to each their own :) I also enjoy Star Trek, it's great fun watching it.
There are some vinyl lovers here at iFi, we really put our souls into phono products. I'm glad to hear that it was worth it! What table are you using? I'm playing with Avid/Nagaoka now. Vinyl shopping is always a priority! Got any particular records in mind?
Hi Mate, the records are the problem, I cant seem to find any to look at, apart from my local HMV store, and the 3 records I wanted in there last week they didn't have in stock anyway. I did manage to pick up a new copy of Fear of A Blanket by Porcupine Tree as I love their stuff, but was a little disappointed with the pressing quality when compared with my old albums from the 80/90's which definitely sounded better even with their pop and clicks..I also have some Sorbothane feet sitting under the stock feet for extra isolation.
I have the Debut Pro with cork and rubber mat upgrade and the vm540ml cartridge which I fixed on the arm a few weeks ago, and an considering the Aluminium Sub Platter upgrade.
The sound was over bright going straight into the DENON AMP phono. Wasn't happy with the standard 2M series cart supplied so swapped it out for the Audio Technica and I love it, smooth large sound field but exciting to listen to and the mids are beautifully clear and treble sweet and detailed.
I was running it in to my amp at first but too bright sounding because of the high capacitance in the amp.
I ordered the Musical fidelity phono amp LX2 lps but I think it sounded better with the amplifier phono but just very bright, couldn't get hold of the Schiit Mani v2 and missed out on a rega fono so thought I'd try the ifi ZEN phono and after about 30 minutes it sang and seemed to match the vm540ml really well so now back to playing vinyl, it's just that I don't have any new stuff yet. If the ifi stuff is that good I might even have to try one of their DAC'S for my node streamer and my old SONY CD transport.
Wasn't sure about using Discogs are unsure of the quality I'd end up with. so just been playing my old records for now.
Kind of having regrets and wished I'd gone for a Rega Planar 6 as I feel the debut pro is a little delicate on it 3 legs and especially the arm and rest, but the sound is very impressive from the Project so I might keep a while and try some new vinyl on it.
 
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Hi Mate, the records are the problem, I cant seem to find any to look at, apart from my local HMV store, and the 3 records I wanted in there last week they didn't have in stock anyway. I did manage to pick up a new copy of Fear of A Blanket by Porcupine Tree as I love their stuff, but was a little disappointed with the pressing quality when compared with my old albums from the 80/90's which definitely sounded better even with their pop and clicks..I also have some Sorbothane feet sitting under the stock feet for extra isolation.
I have the Debut Pro with cork and rubber mat upgrade and the vm540ml cartridge which I fixed on the arm a few weeks ago, and an considering the Aluminium Sub Platter upgrade.
The sound was over bright going straight into the DENON AMP phono. Wasn't happy with the standard 2M series cart supplied so swapped it out for the Audio Technica and I love it, smooth large sound field but exciting to listen to and the mids are beautifully clear and treble sweet and detailed.
I was running it in to my amp at first but too bright sounding because of the high capacitance in the amp.
I ordered the Musical fidelity phono amp LX2 lps but I think it sounded better with the amplifier phono but just very bright, couldn't get hold of the Schiit Mani v2 and missed out on a rega fono so thought I'd try the ifi ZEN phono and after about 30 minutes it sang and seemed to match the vm540ml really well so now back to playing vinyl, it's just that I don't have any new stuff yet. If the ifi stuff is that good I might even have to try one of their DAC'S for my node streamer and my old SONY CD transport.
Wasn't sure about using Discogs are unsure of the quality I'd end up with. so just been playing my old records for now.
Kind of having regrets and wished I'd gone for a Rega Planar 6 as I feel the debut pro is a little delicate on it 3 legs and especially the arm and rest, but the sound is very impressive from the Project so I might keep a while and try some new vinyl on it.
How much was the Avid/Nagaoka combination and are you enjoying it still.?
 
The Node2i supports MQA, but only by using the internal DAC. I believe the Zen streamer is the same. But it doesn’t have DAC, as mentioned by you. You rely on the onboard DAC in the Rotel amplifier.

However if you connect trough the USB connection you might need to do this. I have not done it myself, so it don’t know.

The Zen Stream is MQA compatible and relies on an external DAC to do the second unfold. A second unfold of MQA can be done only in the device that does the D/A conversion, as it also requires a specific set of filters for a converter.

@Kapkirk usually, old vinyl sounds better. It might be due to mastering, as now it's much different now. Debut Pro is a terrific table. It punches way above its class. My friend has it and the aluminium subplate is strongly recommended by him. good to hear that AT cartridges pair well with Zen Phono. I'll keep that in mind if anybody needs some tips in the future. Older CD players made by Sony are outstanding transports, they made state-of-the-art CD drives. I think that any Zen DAC would like to play with a machine like that.

I'm using Avid Ingenium with RB300 tonearm and Nagaoka MP-110. I want to upgrade it to MP150/200 this year. When I bought it, the price was around 1300 pounds.
 
Hi Mate, the records are the problem, I cant seem to find any to look at, apart from my local HMV store, and the 3 records I wanted in there last week they didn't have in stock anyway. I did manage to pick up a new copy of Fear of A Blanket by Porcupine Tree as I love their stuff, but was a little disappointed with the pressing quality when compared with my old albums from the 80/90's which definitely sounded better even with their pop and clicks..I also have some Sorbothane feet sitting under the stock feet for extra isolation.
I have the Debut Pro with cork and rubber mat upgrade and the vm540ml cartridge which I fixed on the arm a few weeks ago, and an considering the Aluminium Sub Platter upgrade.
The sound was over bright going straight into the DENON AMP phono. Wasn't happy with the standard 2M series cart supplied so swapped it out for the Audio Technica and I love it, smooth large sound field but exciting to listen to and the mids are beautifully clear and treble sweet and detailed.
I was running it in to my amp at first but too bright sounding because of the high capacitance in the amp.
I ordered the Musical fidelity phono amp LX2 lps but I think it sounded better with the amplifier phono but just very bright, couldn't get hold of the Schiit Mani v2 and missed out on a rega fono so thought I'd try the ifi ZEN phono and after about 30 minutes it sang and seemed to match the vm540ml really well so now back to playing vinyl, it's just that I don't have any new stuff yet. If the ifi stuff is that good I might even have to try one of their DAC'S for my node streamer and my old SONY CD transport.
Wasn't sure about using Discogs are unsure of the quality I'd end up with. so just been playing my old records for now.
Kind of having regrets and wished I'd gone for a Rega Planar 6 as I feel the debut pro is a little delicate on it 3 legs and especially the arm and rest, but the sound is very impressive from the Project so I might keep a while and try some new vinyl on it.

Nice turntable🙂

Another site you might look at is Eil.com. Everything they sell is graded, and I have yet to get any duff vinyl from them. I haven't used discogs but I imagine their stock must be graded.
 
Stands. If the surface your speakers currently stand on is resonating - yes. A solid, inert surface with blutac between the speakers and surface really helps. I have mine On Q Acoustics concept 20 stands. But there are others cheaper.
Hey onlythesound,

I ended up buying the Q Acoustic Concept 20 stands. All pretty clear set up, but the screws that mount the speakers themselves to the stand seem to leave for some wiggle room between the speaker and the plate they sit on.

Is that the case for you as well?
 
It is. I believe others found the same and I shoved a tiny piece of blu-tac in there to solve it.
 
The speaker should be as stable as possible. Blue tack is good idea. If you are referring to the stands foots. I believe you can adjust them depending if the floor is uneven.

Probably an excellent option for QA speakers. However stands from B&W can be sand filled. Not tried the QA stands my self, but from the picture they seem unstable.

As mentioned you can probably adjust the spikes which is located to the floor. If you feel is too unstable you can put granite block underneath them.

But can’t this stands be sand filled?
 
The speaker should be as stable as possible. Blue tack is good idea. If you are referring to the stands foots. I believe you can adjust them depending if the floor is uneven.

Probably an excellent option for QA speakers. However stands from B&W can be sand filled. Not tried the QA stands my self, but from the picture they seem unstable.

As mentioned you can probably adjust the spikes which is located to the floor. If you feel is too unstable you can put granite block underneath them.

But can’t this stands be sand filled?
That’s the thing about them. They are stable. I saw a post on the forum recently about how the ´3 point’ feet make it stable. You would really need to push hard to knock them over.
The stand itself is very solid; not hollow, with that gelcore layer between stand and top plate.
 
The speaker should be as stable as possible. Blue tack is good idea. If you are referring to the stands foots. I believe you can adjust them depending if the floor is uneven.

Probably an excellent option for QA speakers. However stands from B&W can be sand filled. Not tried the QA stands my self, but from the picture they seem unstable.

As mentioned you can probably adjust the spikes which is located to the floor. If you feel is too unstable you can put granite block underneath them.

But can’t this stands be sand filled?
They are super stable. It’s odd. It is just the point of securing the speaker to the gel core plate. The speaker screw that is meant to lock it in place has a slight wiggle.
 
I’ve also just realised you said the screw has a slight wiggle. That sounds like faulty manufacturing to me - presumably you mean one of the set of four screws securing the plate to the stand or the 3 screws in the base of the speakers ?
 
So is it relevant to fig 2 or 3 in this photo?
 

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They are super stable. It’s odd. It is just the point of securing the speaker to the gel core plate. The speaker screw that is meant to lock it in place has a slight wiggle.
The screw itself has a wiggle, or the hole it goes through is much larger than the screw is?
 
I’ve also just realised you said the screw has a slight wiggle. That sounds like faulty manufacturing to me - presumably you mean one of the set of four screws securing the plate to the stand or the 3 screws in the base of the speakers ?
I mean there is room between the plate the speaker sits on and the bottom of the set of three screws that go into the speakers.

The screws themselves aren’t loose. Does that sound more like your issue?
 
With this, you’ll find a little less than is necessary to fill the recess - the screw heads will spread it and make it a firm fit (wiggle free)
 
So the crews are too long to squeeze the plate tightly, is that what you are saying?
No. It’s a bit odd. They seem to have cut the hole in the plates that hold the gel core — and where the speakers mount to the stand — too big for the screw/anchor that goes into the speaker.

So when you place the speaker into the stand, there is a bit of wiggle.
 

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