Don’t know where to ask, but I guess I will start here. Does anyone know a cheap dust cover for tube amps? I just want a cheap cover to cover my Supratek DHT preamp and Allnic HPA-5000XL when I am not using it in the day. Or maybe a good custom dust cover builder recommendation in Etsy would be nice too.
Allnic HPA-5000XL got cool tube chimneys to protect the insides from dust, so I guess I’m good there technically, but the Supratek is expose and easily attract dust.
I think @Rhodey had one for his Stratus?
You can hit these guys up, https://www.radiodustcovers.com/
They will make you whatever you need and it’s a reasonable price imo. I’m getting one made for my envy. I had one for my stratus and it was nice.
Thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for. The pricing looks pretty good too. Not too familiar with dust cover costs, but I thought a good dust cover was going to cost $500 plus. Glad to see it under that price range.
I think mine was about $100
Would anyone have any thoughts or estimated guesses on where there would be similarities and differences between the following three dac’s?
Msb discrete
Lampizator Baltic 4
Esoteric n-05xd
Currently own the discrete but looking to side shift to a dac with a single PSU requirement, analogue inputs and XLR/rca outs (discrete only has XLR out).
I’ve heard and enjoyed the Baltic 4 a lot, would even have considered it as one to own as I liked the signature. Just didn’t want a tube DAC. Not heard anything MSB or Esoteric but I’m sure you’ll get some feedback from folks here on those.
Why the analog in as a requirement though? You’re limiting yourself a lot there IMO to available choices and going with a pre might ultimately give you a better outcome so I ask simply out of curiosity not because there’s a right or wrong about it.
I think @M0N has a good summary of the Baltic 4 on the Shit List article, check it out there.
Trying to keep the box count down so analog input/pre built into the dac would be ideal.
Failing that the aqua la scala is on the list and I’d just run it and my phono straight into the aic and use it’s volume control but I wouldn’t mind a little more finesse over what the aic controls offer.
Early impressions in my source comparison - the rendu (I2S) sounds better than the Red (AES).
I need to change my testing strategy though so will move to only Red with USB AES and I2S all plugged in with AQ Carbon cables direct to WD to decide on the best input first.
Then get back rendu in the game so it’s a fairer comparison.
There’s also a third option of Red as DDC only with Rendu as source 
EDIT - Red can’t output to all three together, it’s either USB or the others.
I found this article about amplifier sound which includes input from amplifier designers, very interesting read:
There was a gentleman who for many years would offer $10K “reward” to anyone who could distinguish, ie. A / B sound between 2 different amplifiers, under test conditions he had devised and he never paid out. I wish i could locate the story about him on the internet again but no luck.
Anyway, IMO even using lower end gear, differences in Sound Character between amplifiers is the one musical condition I find relatively straightforward, clear cut and with some listening training i personally find as being the second most easy to distinguish change to sound character after speaker positioning. 
. Audiophiles all focus on different aspects of what constitutes “sound character” and i may be way off base in what i personally value and listen for. I’m just babbling, i happen to like articles like the one you posted @Gothique, much appreciate the reading material, its a topic i value. 
I’ve been trying to learn about how amplifier circuits work and are designed recently and one of the ideas I am coming to is that the fun, things like synergy, sound character and so on probably come from the imperfections in both the amplification and the power supply. Not just the over all topography but the little things like sometimes you have to round off the “ideal” values of components to match what is actually made. It’s kind of subtle though and I think you hit the nail on the head with talking about listening training. You only hear it if you try to hear it and most people will never feel a need to learn to.
I don’t think you can be off base in what you look for. It’s what sings for you and that is all that matters in your gear I think. I still have vague plans to one day work out how to build a passive EQ just so I can mess with things!
Babbling now too, it’s just something I am currently fascinated by.
It’s more than even that, every component is imperfect, a capacitor isn’t just a capacitor, it’s the combination of a capacitor, an inductor and a resistor, and capacitors manufactured in different ways have differing imperfections. Resistors similarly have capacitance and inductance etc etc.
I’ve been playing with tube amp designs mostly in simulation (though I intend to build a few of them), their generally simpler and easier to understand than often more complex SS designs, and I’m starting to better understanding of how output transformers vary, some of the tradeoff’s in construction, what cathode bypass caps actually do, it’s been a good learning experience.
Yes! All of this! Any time something abstract has to be made reality there is compromise.
So kind of final results of my source comparison - differences between Sonore ultraRendu with ultraDigital and Holo Audio Red are negligible. I2S vs Aes on Wavedream has some differences but I think it depends more on the source itself and cables than actual input implementation and would not stress on moving to one over the other if you’re happy with your gear.
I didn’t notice a different presentation or characteristics that are enough for me to care between the two or describe them as very different sounding.
Considering that means one can save a lot of money with the Red (no need for extra power supply, no need for USB cable, it’s cheaper than the combo of Sonore source/psu/DDC even when buying them used) I’ll probably try and move the rendu and stick with the Red with I2S as my setup for now.
I do think the higher end options in the market do sound better (from memory) but I’d probably skip mid tier stuff and save for a bigger jump later down. It’s more to say the money can potentially be used for a DAC upgrade or other stuff if needed vs jumping a tier up in source. In my case I’m guessing the system would probably improve more from a Wavedream upgrade to the Pacific for about $5K than upgrading from the Red to a Wavelight Server or Antipodes S Stack…
But with the higher end DACs some guys here are playing with I’d say investing in the source would make probably more sense imo because the upgrades are much more expensive between DACs
Might just be my ears not being discerning enough, or other gear in the chain not detailed enough, but I now consider things like the Red and Rendu very very good value for money and would be hard to convince me to spend 3-5K on a source instead of waiting and saving more to make a much more substantial upgrade. It also means I’m not going to blind buy a ultra high end source because it might really be a waste of money for me.
As with anything - YMMV.
The beauty of the hobby is that we all get to make our own chains and the fact that we wind up with so many different solutions is a testament to how much good gear that’s put together with good synergy can trump or at the very least make other factors negligible.
I have heard a distinct difference between the dCS and the opticalRendu and so I’m sure that a better source would be an option for me but the question I ask myself is why? What don’t I like about my system now and not having an answer to to that not being able to articulate what I’d improve in the sound means that I’m staying put with my source.
At least you put in the time to do the testing and your have your answer. Now you can match the Holo Red with that red WD. 
I did not have a chance to compare the red and Rendu to the Antipodes they replaced but I’m quite certain the Antipodes sounded better. Is the difference enough to be worth it for my system? Perhaps at different times. Today I’d probably save the money for a different upgrade or cover costs of transducers etc and get back to source later.
I’m definitely still a believer in maximizing your source as viable consideration but I think these give so much value that I question the priority this shoukd have over other upgrades I’m looking at that’s all.
I think I personally struck gold with my current Red-Wavedream-Danacable RCA-LTA-Viking Weave-Utopia chain for most of my tastes. Synergy is simply out of this world. The things I’m missing sometimes are absolutely attainable but imo they require a different amp and headphones (little more neutrality and bass extension as examples or a more laid back sound) and not a different source DAC or cables. It’s also more of an alternative listening option over simply an upgrade. Time will tell if I’m correct once I get those in the house too.
The new upcoming Wavedream Ultra has a streamer built in with the DAC 
Hey guys, not sure where to ask this, but i have purchased some generic 3.8v 1300mah batteries from Aliexpress to substitute the ones in a dead iFi Gryphon and people are saying this will affect the sound.
Do you guys know about any of that? If this is true i would like to know how, makes no sense yo me…
@luizgarcia , my recommendation to you is this; try the batteries and listen to the product first before basing your own opinions and judgement on what others say. Obviously, listen for negative performance, but as long as the product is safe to operate with the replacement parts, simply try it out for an extended period of time and make your own judgement. This way you have a solid reference point to base your next move and possible expenditures. good luck, hope that works out for you good sir
Hi guys,
I recently acquired a Yggdrasil A2 DAC and after comparing it to my previous Gustard A26 for a few weeks, I’m not sure I’m impressed, to be honest. I’ve been reading and lusting after the Yggy for literally years and now that I own it, it sounds ok, but nothing too impressive even after several weeks of ‘warm-up’ time.
Also now looking at the Rockna Wavelight and Bricasti M3 as a potential next step.
Does anyone have any thoughts on those DACs? I’ve found some limited impressions around, most people seem to think the M3 is great value even compared to higher-end Bricasti’s like the M21. Overall impressions of the Wavelight seem positive as well but seems like most people end up going with the Wavedream ultimately.
Thanks!