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After reading all the comments here, I am not sure if I am happy or sad. I was looking forward to hearing all the auditory adjectives I had read about in years past, acoustic diamond-like clarity, sonic liquidity in spades, lush orgasmic midrange, soul-shaking bass, and whatnot. And now that I...

I recently purchased a $2000 DAC / headphone amp combo with greater than 110db SNR and favorably reviewed on these pages. It is clean-sounding and plays the highs and the lows with no discernable distortion at high volumes. But I am very underwhelmed. I bought some high-resolution FLAC files...

I'll mention something that may be heresy on these pages but let me explain my experience with speaker wire. I have always been interested in audio from as young as I can remember. I was cutting lawns around age 12 to save money so I could experiment with the different drivers sold at Radio...

I understand that if you don't have USB input and need USB input, it serves a practical purpose. However, my question was more about sonic improvements on devices that may already have USB input, such as any of the top measuring DACs listed on this website.

Nearly eight years later, do dedicated USB-->SPDIF converters still make sense, or does current technology negate any benefit these devices once had?

What is the total cost of each? I'd bet the horn system is far less expensive and perhaps sounds more accurate.

From a casual observation tube equipment measures poorly compared to solid state. However, many people say tubes sound better. How is this possible? From personal experience, I have noticed some poorly measuring tube amps will raise the hairs on the back of my neck while listening to Sade...

Good: One of my first systems was an Adcom 545 with KEF Q90 speakers and a Sony ES series CD player with a volume knob. It sounded pretty amazing to me in the early 90s especially since I bought it all used at Sound Advice for about $1000. B&W 801s with Krell KSA (or KVA?) 200W amps. Rock and...

Is there a box that plays Pandora and Spotify with balanced outputs? I could go from a tablet to a balanced Bluetooth receiver, but that is a bit complicated. Any suggestions?

I have several spools of Belden 1855A, would you suggest I go that route instead? Below are the specs compared to Belden 1505F commonly used. It has higher impedance but lower capacitance. 1855A Nom. Conductor DCR Nom. Outer Shield DCR Nom. Capacitance Cond-to-Shield Nom. Characteristic...

True. But don't we celebrate 1dB differences between DACs with >120 dB SNR? :) I once worked on a satellite system that had a variable phase combiner that would combine two Ku-band signals. I was shocked at how easily minuscule changes in cable length (or more accurately electrical length)...

That is some good stuff right there! Thank you. Once again I learn I don't even know what I don't know!

I'm surprised that is the best option as I would expect very small time variations in the arrival of the signal between the two isolated paths. I would have thought using a single center conductor would be the best choice. Maybe Amir has a sensitive time domain reflectometer or vector network...

So you disagree with the way that is pictured? Would you have some theory as to why it would be bad (...or less good?)

So like the way in the drawing linked to... I read of some manufacturers doing it this way and hence why they are considered "directional" cables. The source is grounded and the destination is floated. But then this starts to sound like snake oil so I really don't know.

I often build balanced audio cables at work. We use various sizes of XLR-to-1/4 plug or XLR-to-XLR. It is cheaper/faster/easier to build custom lengths than ordering custom lengths online. I always use Neutrik connectors as they last a long time. Anyway, I had a request today for 2 10-foot...

A non-conductive layer is laid down first.

https://conductivex.com/emi-rfi-shielding

I am contemplating the purchased of some new gear. If 99% of my content is streamed, does it really make sense to pursue devices with 120db SINAD? What is the SINAD of streaming services such as Pandora, NetFlix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc.? From my understanding, some sources stream...

I am surprised no one mentioned Dorrough, they are the standard in the broadcast industry. https://dorrough.com/products.html