[mammal]

I'm trying to breath in audiophile quality air, saturating it with as much music as I can fit in my waking hours

This reminds me this video, about how to properly drink water.

 

[N Quarter]

The Monoprice Slimrun Optical USB seems to give you the benefits of Toslink in USB form, although Toslink should still win out in SQ. It should provide optical isolation.

Anyone else try this cable, and have heard the benefits over optical direct from a laptop? I read through most of the links Outroduction posted, but there seems to be a battle going on about what is better, USB or Optical. My laptop only has USB out, so I may try one, I mean if they are good enough for Ray-dude and Romaz, why not?

 

[ZappaMan]

Anyone out there driving atc 7,11,19 from their tt2 directly ?

according to the specifications, it’s too insensitive for the tt2, but as I only listen quietly, I wonder if it’s actually decent ...

 

[Articnoise]

I don’t subscribe to the audiophile ethernet cables, switches, server vibration isolators etc etc but upscaling does have a marked effect, good or bad. That is what I’m trying to figure out now. Music is #1 though. Now back to 4 or 5 new prog albums.

I subscribe to all of them (audio grade cables, dedicated server, isolators, quality switches, audiophile software etc etc ) as well as quality mains power. A audio system is never better than its weakest link.

 

[zenlisten]

Just posted my findings over on the Abyss AB-1266 forum, maybe it's worth mentioning here:

I put a lot of energy into trying to compare the sound out of the TT2 directly with the sound while the XI AUDIO Formula S is in between, and in the end I didn’t find out much about the difference. Still, it’s all good news in the end.



It was immediately clear that the Formula S sounded differently but it was very hard for me to understand what exactly the differences were. These ridiculous scenarios repeated a few times:

• In a specific track I find the music/bass/voice/soundstage/whatever through the Formula S amazing. So I switch (15+ seconds), and listen to the same part again directly from the TT2. And the damn thing sounds at least as amazing! In other words: the quality I found remarkable is independent from the amplification used.
• I find something ugly using one device. I switch, and the issue is there on the other device too. So it’s an issue either with the recording or the rest of the system (and not the amplification parts).

In other words: I had a hard time understanding what differences I should focus on when using the TT2 directly versus using the additional amp. Either the differences are too subtle to notice after the 15+ second breaks, or my listening is too untrained, or my hearing is crap.

I asked my family to help. Unfortunately each of them only tested a single Billie Eilish song, but here it is:

• My wife liked the sound via the Formula S better, even though she didn’t want me to buy yet another black box for a lot of money (and I didn’t even mention the Powerman). However, I have to take into account that I forgot to make sure that the volumes match for her listening.
• After careful listening our 14 year old could not decide: “Both of them are pretty good”, was the judgement. Fair enough.
• Our 17 year old found both great but slightly preferred the sound directly from the front SE of the TT2 as it had slightly “more clarity”. I was really happy to hear that as this statement fully aligned with my perception.

So I spent additional hours, tried really hard and went through a lot of music. To some tracks listened over ten times to be sure (e.g., Lumerian by Soen). And still I could not understand what exactly the differences were. The sound of Formula S (connected via inakustik premium audio RCA interconnect cables) sounded slightly differently but could not say how exactly due to my untrained ears and the 15+ second long switches. And the TT2 had a little bit more “clarity” or “transparency” which was expected. It wasn’t a critical difference though that would drastically change the enjoyment of the music for me. In other words: both are great.

The bass situation was really puzzling to me as I saw some people complaining about the lack of bass on Abyss directly from the TT2. I worked very hard to reproduce this issue. Listened to a lot of bass-heavy music, including a lot of metal but in the end I failed: to my hearing the front SE jack from the TT2 was producing just as much wonderful bass as the Formula S. This is completely against my expectations and I cannot explain it. I don’t think my hearing would be so bad that I couldn’t judge this but I cannot exclude this possibility. Or is there a significant difference in my setup? I wish I could invite those who missed the bass on Abyss from the TT2 to a joint audition and find out together what’s going on.


In the end it’s a win-win situation:

• I’m positive that the Hugo TT2 is powerful enough to drive the Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC headphones, even from the front SE jack. This result is against my expectations, and based on other’s reports I have worked really hard against it, but I have no other choice than trusting my experience. This is good news for me: I don’t have to add another component to my audio chain.
• On the other hand, the Formula S sounds like an excellent amp for the Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC headphones, even without the Powerman. It would be a strong purchase candidate for me if I had a DAVE which reportedly doesn’t have the power to drive the Abyss AB-1266 Phi TCs directly.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Lgn3]

I subscribe to all of them (audio grade cables, dedicated server, isolators, quality switches, audiophile software etc etc ) as well as quality mains power. A audio system is never better than its weakest link.

Well I reckon the weakest link in my system is my 67 years old hearing. I would love to know how many of the great and good on this and other forums who have passed their 50th birthday can hear anything above 12000hz !

 

[griff500]

Well I reckon the weakest link in my system is my 67 years old hearing. I would love to know how many of the great and good on this and other forums who have passed their 50th birthday can hear anything above 12000hz !

I can.

I'm sure when I am 67 my hearing will be worse. Does that mean I should gradually be downgrading my system until I end up with an Apple HomePod at the age of 70?

 

[Lgn3]

Anyone out there driving atc 7,11,19 from their tt2 directly ?

according to the specifications, it’s too insensitive for the tt2, but as I only listen quietly, I wonder if it’s actually decent ...

I can.

I'm sure when I am 67 my hearing will be worse. Does that mean I should gradually be downgrading my system until I end up with an Apple HomePod at the age of 70?

Hopefully not.
I can still hear 12khz out of my right ear but not always out of my left. I don't think that's too bad. However if the mastering is the same I wouldn't really expect to be able to distinguish hires from rbcd.
I came across this article the other day which I found interesting.

https://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

 

[Lgn3]

Anyone out there driving atc 7,11,19 from their tt2 directly ?

according to the specifications, it’s too insensitive for the tt2, but as I only listen quietly, I wonder if it’s actually decent ...

I don't think these people https://hifilounge.co.uk/ are ATC stockists but they are really clued up about Chord gear and are very friendly so you may want to give them a bell and see if they have any advice regarding your speaker requirements. Also Fanthorpes are very good.

 

[gnomen]

No, I don't think hifilounge handle ATC speakers, although they do have a broad range of equipment and know Chord very well. So I second the suggestion of seeking their recommendations.

I have active ATC 50 speakers and have listened to many versions of their passive speakers too. They are great speakers but I think they do require significant power to drive them well.

 

[griff500]

No, I don't think hifilounge handle ATC speakers, although they do have a broad range of equipment and know Chord very well. So I second the suggestion of seeking their recommendations.

I have active ATC 50 speakers and have listened to many versions of their passive speakers too. They are great speakers but I think they do require significant power to drive them well.

And there's the beauty of their active speakers.

 

[ZappaMan]

And there's the beauty of their active speakers.

My main problem is my office is a very small space, I’m thinking of getting the scm19 active, as a kind of future proofing, for when my office is a little bigger.
But my room is so small...

 

[griff500]

My main problem is my office is a very small space, I’m thinking of getting the scm19 active, as a kind of future proofing, for when my office is a little bigger.
But my room is so small...

Can you demo them?

 

[Scorpio1957]

I don't think these people https://hifilounge.co.uk/ are ATC stockists but they are really clued up about Chord gear and are very friendly so you may want to give them a bell and see if they have any advice regarding your speaker requirements. Also Fanthorpes are very good.

No Hi Fi Lounge definitely don’t stock ATC speakers, I have been there many times, I think Audio Sanctuary in New Maldon London do and they also stock Chord.

 

[Articnoise]

Well I reckon the weakest link in my system is my 67 years old hearing. I would love to know how many of the great and good on this and other forums who have passed their 50th birthday can hear anything above 12000hz !

I know nothing about your audio system, but I would be surprised if that's really the case . Am 52 and hear as good, or bad, as then I was 30 .

I would say that clarity, calmness, blackness, good instrument separation, air and things like that actually makes it easier for people with degraded ability to over 12 000 Hz to hear what the singer sings and individual instrument clearly instead of a wall of sound.

How much impact audio grade cables, dedicated server, isolators, quality switches, audiophile software etc make is a different matter and up to each one to decide.