dave48
Established Member
Having asked a range of questions over the last years, I thought I’d feed back my “real world” view on various component questions I’ve asked myself and others over the years.
Are pre-power separated amps better than integrated amps? I’m not convinced - I’ve done a lot of comparisons eg with Primare A30.1 vs PRE30 and A30.2. If anything I still find the integrated better - as well as significantly cheaper and fewer cables.
Do cinch / RCA connectors make a difference? Not much - the only ones where it did were probably a poorly isolated design which picked up noise. Otherwise I’ve really struggled to hear any difference.
Balanced cables better than cinch/RCA? Balanced cables look nicer. I think I would *really* struggle to hear a difference in a blind test, and even if I did I’m not sure I’d get it right. Maybe 50% of the time.
Does bi-wiring speakers make a difference? Not really although I did get some expensive biwired cables as an experiment which made things worse.
Does bi-amping speakers make a difference? Found it depends on the configuration. As bi-amped monoblocks - yes - although the difference is not massive.
Do power amps get better as they get more expensive? I don’t think do. I have several power amps from the under-rated French manufacturer Atoll which I think are excellent. And you can occasionally get them dirt cheap. You have to let them warm up for 30 mins though - truly transforms the sound.
Does the time of day impact how good music sounds? I am convinced it often sounds better in the evening. This may be my head, but I wonder whether the electricity supply is “cleaner” at night. This difference can be significant.
Does room correction help? I have a Lyngdorf 2170 and it does. It makes my record player sound amazing. I also love the huge reduction in cable count.
CD / digital or record player better? Until the Lyngdorf I’d have said 100% digital. I’m now tending the other way. Even though there are A/D and D/A conversions.
Class A vs. A/B vs. D amps? Difficult to generalise. Good class D is very good. Simple class A (the Atolls) are very good.
Speaker cables make a difference? Yes, some Expensive ones sound worse than bog-standard decent copper cable.
Can you still use Logitech Squeezeboxes for streaming? Yes, they are brilliant. I must have nearly 10 of them by now.
Do DACs all sound the same? No. I’ve tried quite a few: I really like Musical Fidelity V90 DAC (bargain and sounds excellent). Audiolab M-DAC in pre-amp mode directly to power amps - superb. Cambridge Audio DAC Magic - rubbish. I’ve got a Hegel DAC which is good but fussy with pairing.
Is more expensive hifi more reliable? No. I’ve got fed up with Primare, which I used to really like. I’ve sent amps in for repair 5 or 6 times. I wouldn’t buy anything from them any more. Sorry - I was one of your best customers. I have never, ever, had a problem with anything Japanese.
What’s more important - listening to the music or fiddling with the kit? Until I got the Lyngdorf - fiddling with the kit. I’m now broadly cured and focusing more on actually listening - also on my non-Lyndgorf kit.
Buy hifi new or secondhand? I’ve got 90% secondhand. It‘s generally been much better (as so much cheaper) but I’ve had 4 bad experiences (2 Primare power amps - one of the reasons why never again, and two sets of speakers, however in those two cases I found a fair solution with the seller).
I may add a few other thoughts later ... but I first need to put some new music on.
Are pre-power separated amps better than integrated amps? I’m not convinced - I’ve done a lot of comparisons eg with Primare A30.1 vs PRE30 and A30.2. If anything I still find the integrated better - as well as significantly cheaper and fewer cables.
Do cinch / RCA connectors make a difference? Not much - the only ones where it did were probably a poorly isolated design which picked up noise. Otherwise I’ve really struggled to hear any difference.
Balanced cables better than cinch/RCA? Balanced cables look nicer. I think I would *really* struggle to hear a difference in a blind test, and even if I did I’m not sure I’d get it right. Maybe 50% of the time.
Does bi-wiring speakers make a difference? Not really although I did get some expensive biwired cables as an experiment which made things worse.
Does bi-amping speakers make a difference? Found it depends on the configuration. As bi-amped monoblocks - yes - although the difference is not massive.
Do power amps get better as they get more expensive? I don’t think do. I have several power amps from the under-rated French manufacturer Atoll which I think are excellent. And you can occasionally get them dirt cheap. You have to let them warm up for 30 mins though - truly transforms the sound.
Does the time of day impact how good music sounds? I am convinced it often sounds better in the evening. This may be my head, but I wonder whether the electricity supply is “cleaner” at night. This difference can be significant.
Does room correction help? I have a Lyngdorf 2170 and it does. It makes my record player sound amazing. I also love the huge reduction in cable count.
CD / digital or record player better? Until the Lyngdorf I’d have said 100% digital. I’m now tending the other way. Even though there are A/D and D/A conversions.
Class A vs. A/B vs. D amps? Difficult to generalise. Good class D is very good. Simple class A (the Atolls) are very good.
Speaker cables make a difference? Yes, some Expensive ones sound worse than bog-standard decent copper cable.
Can you still use Logitech Squeezeboxes for streaming? Yes, they are brilliant. I must have nearly 10 of them by now.
Do DACs all sound the same? No. I’ve tried quite a few: I really like Musical Fidelity V90 DAC (bargain and sounds excellent). Audiolab M-DAC in pre-amp mode directly to power amps - superb. Cambridge Audio DAC Magic - rubbish. I’ve got a Hegel DAC which is good but fussy with pairing.
Is more expensive hifi more reliable? No. I’ve got fed up with Primare, which I used to really like. I’ve sent amps in for repair 5 or 6 times. I wouldn’t buy anything from them any more. Sorry - I was one of your best customers. I have never, ever, had a problem with anything Japanese.
What’s more important - listening to the music or fiddling with the kit? Until I got the Lyngdorf - fiddling with the kit. I’m now broadly cured and focusing more on actually listening - also on my non-Lyndgorf kit.
Buy hifi new or secondhand? I’ve got 90% secondhand. It‘s generally been much better (as so much cheaper) but I’ve had 4 bad experiences (2 Primare power amps - one of the reasons why never again, and two sets of speakers, however in those two cases I found a fair solution with the seller).
I may add a few other thoughts later ... but I first need to put some new music on.