After being told to get off the PC more than once, I recently started to look at streamers.
One of my issues has been that, streamers aren’t as sexy as DACs, amps or headphones to me, so I was struggling with the thought of spending a grand plus on one. However, this video popped up in my stream this morning. Looks like I can potentially settle here:
Whatever it takes for you to give it a try.
It’s been a while since I have gotten off the PC, but when I did, I never looked back. In fact, I actively try to stay away. My PC sound system is super value bang for buck and I only use it for YouTube or quickly trying things.
You will usually run into some sort of, lack of a better term, “bottleneck.” At the time, I had a pretty beefy setup with a Lampizator and ran it off of a laptop. Now the next part may help the idea seem sexier. When I switched to a streamer, to me, and to my setup at the time, sounded like I upgraded the DAC. To me, it was that large of a change. Some others believe in “trash in, trash out.” To a point where they spend a stupid amount on the source (read Taiko).
Anyways, hopefully it helps. And oh yeah… get off the PC
What dictates choosing an aes cable over spdif bnc / rca and vice versa? Is it the cable or the source design?
Most gear have all 3
The input itself is not inherently better, AES is just balanced and thus will have better noise rejection. The real meaningful part is the source and destination. Some are better designed for one or the other.
For example, SPDIF is a 75 Ohm design but RCA are incapable of providing true 75 Ohms. BNC are. But it doesn’t really matter if the manufacturer’s design is not specific to that 75 Ohm resistance.
Only your ears can tell you which is best for your situation/chain. 
Ok second question is, if the length for aes is 1.5m (i know some say doesnt matter but let say it does), what is it for bnc ? Is it shorter better like usb or 1.5m too? Rca i guess 1.5m and longer is bad
It’d be the same for AES/SPDIF the number is picked to try and stop reflected signals from piling up on each other and potentially increasing jitter.
If the cable impedance is correctly matched the reflections should be negligible, that’s the point of it, however it requires the entire path to be at that impedance, not just the cable, and they likely aren’t.
There are high end cables that don’t even have the correct impedance, because the designers don’t believe it’s a significant factor.
Short version I really wouldn’t worry about it, if your buying, pick something up over 1.5M just in case, used I’d just take what you can find at a good price.
I left my all - tube chain on for two days.
Normally id turn it on and let it warm up for 30 minutes, and then listen.
Has anyone noticed a sonic difference leaving them on like that?
I sometimes accidentally leave my tube gear on overnight, I don’t hear a big change in it after the first hour. Certainly not enough for me to leave it on given the heat some of it generates.
I tried that once with a few pieces, it gave me more stress than it was worth and just counting the unused useless hours added to the tube life alone gave me enough stress that I never did it again 
Within the hour most if not all of my tube based equipment comes into its groove, small and mostly insignificant changes but if you stress over it enough yes, there is a small difference once its all warmed up nicely.
Would agree that in most cases for most gear a few hours on before listening is plenty of warm up time for a tube amp, however I’ve noticed that some tube preamps/dacs that were designed to always be left on did sound better with more warm up time than a few hours, but at most only 6-12 hours or so and it was more minimal and gradual. I’ve honestly noticed warm up time that was really long moreso with dacs than I have most tube gear lol, so in general for solid state dacs I never really turned them off unless the mfg suggested to not leave them on
So normally if it’s really cold in my place, especially during Winter,
I won’t turn on the heater. 'll just turn the PC, amp and DAC on when I’m home.
I’ve had the QHA long before the Lampi, And I would leave that thing on for days.
Didn’t think it had much of an effect.
The Lampi on the other hand… I don’t mind leaving on because the company says that they engineered it so the tubes last longer. I also believe the power draw isn’t terrible.
I left it on from Friday to now. When I was on earlier listening to it, it raised an eyebrow
Granted… I didn’t even touch the chain til earlier today, So I’m trying to explain away that it really was my imagination and just being absent from listening.
The thing is, I know my chain very well. I listen to it any chance I get.
At least I think…
Hence my ask
EDIT(01/28/2025): I was wrong. Did some testing. The QHA’s sound would also change if I kept it on over time too.
Sw1x DACs sound better after a few days on so there are tube components that do benefit from it. My current gear doesn’t sound much different after an hour or two
Turns out that all this chain needed was the HE Adapter. I’m still getting to know it but from my last listen, before I had the adapter, this now does sound like the amp has a lot more control over the drivers. This sounds punchy and somewhat v-shaped 
Anyone have experience with the old Monarchy Audio DACs? I often saw them referenced fondly on other platforms, so when I found a listing on USAM a few years back for a DAC 22A and the DIP Classic, I made an offer for the two which the seller accepted…I think it was about $450 total.
At the time, I had the Bifrost 2 OG and was using it with the EAR HP4 (phenomenal combo, at least with the Sophia 6SL7s) as well as a separate stack that was my daily driver, consisting of my custom GDA-600 and the RNHP into Shure SRH-1840. When the 22A arrived, I replaced the GDA-600 with it and was underwhelmed to say the least. I used it for a few days, but it just never really took, plus it sounded significantly worse without the DIP and I couldn’t use my Lokius due to lack of outlets, so I boxed it up and put it in the garage until about 8 days ago.
With the Mystique Y I purchased breaking and needing to go back 5 hours after I got it, I made plans to move the GDA-600 back to the listening room and then figured I could give the 22A another chance in my office. I’m using it with the Headamp GL Mk2 + GRPS into Eikon and Clear, as well as a pair of Edifier S1000DB powered speakers I’ve had since 2017 and barely used. They’re up on the official stands, so I’ve got a nice little nearfield setup at my standing desk.
As a side note, these speakers are fucking INCREDIBLE, especially considering the price. I frequently prefer their presentation over the Cornwall IVs down in the listening room. They have incredible resolution and layering, not to mention they’re punchy as hell and just have that…something…that really sucks me into the music.
The 22A has shown what these speakers are capable of. Despite being stock, with capacitors that are 30ish years old, after a few days of warm up and constant playback, the true abilities of the 22A have been shown and this DAC is blowing my mind.
I cannot believe the low-level detail, especially in bass synths. For instance, I’m listening to “Oh No” by Bring Me the Horizon (again, for like the 7th time in a row because it sounds so good and is somehow even catchier with this DAC) and the bass synth during the verses has so much detail and texture I have NEVER heard before.
The 22A is easily a tier above the fully customized/rebuilt GDA-600. That DAC sounds kind of shrill and hollow in comparison. I thought this was just going to be a temporary thing until the Y returned, but I think the 22A is going to become my new office DAC and the GDA-600 is going on the shelf. I’ve been trying to find a schematic and came across a post on another forum from 2 years ago by someone speaking on behalf of CC Poon (the guy who is Monarchy Audio), selling old stock. There was an email address provided, so I emailed two nights ago asking if he had any schematics for the 22A and/or DIP Classic, because I want my guy to recap this thing and he always wants a schematic. Sadly, there is almost no information online about either device, but especially the 22A. It was apparently very different from the 22B and 22C models, and wasn’t around long, so there aren’t a lot of them or people talking about them.
I don’t know where I’m going with this. Just rambling I guess. I’m just so happy and excited that this vintage DAC I thought was garbage a couple years back actually just needed some time to warm up properly and the right gear upstream to make it shine.
There’s the odd (positive) mention of the Auralic Taurus mk. II on here, but nothing more than that.
Does anyone have experience with it? Care to comment on how it fairs against V281, and other such well-regarded amplifiers?
I have a friend that has the auralic taurus mk2 but I havent heard it myself, funnily he also has a chinese cloned version of the v281 (I think, could also be v550), a burston 3xgt as his main amp and has had several lower than the taurus, dont know which
Hes always talked good things about it, he really likes both the he1000v2 and he6seV2 on there
I can ask him anything youd like to know
Thanks, Mac! As it happens, I already gambled and bought one. It’s waiting for me back in England. I’ll compare it to my OG 281 and see what’s what.
Watcha gon use it with
Oh don’t ask me that… I started 2024 with a real solid set-up that I was happy with, Gumby > WA22 > HEKse. I got the itch half way through and went off the rails!
One of my new years resolutions is to “end the game” and soon. I spend way too much of my free time buying and selling gear. I bought the Taurus because I have always been curious about them from reading a few articles.
My current “main” can is an Ananda Nano. I picked it up cheap after speaking to someone on Head-Fi swearing that it’s basically a HEKse. I didn’t believe them but I thought I’d be willing to give it a go while I bolster my IEM game. Even though the Ananda is excellent, it obviously isn’t a HEKse. It also showed me that, even with IEMs I love, I am a headphone guy.
So, gambit is buy ANOTHER HEKse or HE-500. They were the two headphones I loved the most and lasted the longest. They’re both different but stuck around for a reason. I could probably justify keeping both and may do. I’m going to buy whichever one pulls into the cross-hairs first to audition the 281 and Taurus to make my decision. I figure either amp should pair well with both headphones.
I had wanted to finish my quest by auditioning a Tungsten DS, but they’re uncommon and would probably just serve as a distraction.
I’m hoping to settle on a main chain by March, certainly by June.
So, getting off the PC. I still haven’t done it. But as the above post suggest, I intend to “finish” my chain soon. I am going to buy a streamer.
I have two questions.
Is it ridiculously limiting/an obvious bottleneck to get a cheap streamer to pair with my more expensive chain; i.e., will basically any streamer of “decent standard” do and yield me the benefit of getting off the PC?
Would a streamer replace and render my DDCs redundant? Or should I try and incorporate them into my streaming chain? My DDCs aren’t anywhere near as pricey as the rest of my chain.
For reference, my current chain(s):
Qobuz > Singxer SU-1 / Douk U2 Pro > Comet+ / Mojo > Taurus II / V281 / WA6 > Transducers
