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In Reply to: RE: Possibly a worthy cause: but going backwards, & back in time posted by Sordidman on June 16, 2015 at 14:07:00
Do you consider it noisy? Also, if we could define our terms a bit, what exactly do you mean by high-end vs. mid-end (with examples, if possible)? (TIA!)
Follow Ups:
Sure....
Thanks for asking.....
Below are my opinions, based on my experience, that I don't expect to have any value to anyone else...and I endeavor to be open minded, understanding that my opinions are going to change in light of new experiences.
Computer:
It's a noise box for sure. I optimized one of my squeezeboxes and after careful listening, could hear differences, and the Mini beat it: but the differences weren't dramatic. Any commercial computer is essentially a "noisebox." For PCs, it's the power supply, PCI bus, Hard Drive controller, and motorized hard drive. Chip fans? OMG!!! EMI is through the roof. CD/DVD drives are incredibly noisy, there's no damping materials in the case, cheap USB buses that have variances in their output, video cards, - sometimes with fans, some built into the mainboard... MACs are not much better, and have similar issues. i believe that one can drop north of $5K or $6K on computer mods and by disabling almost all aspects that make it fit the definition of "computer," (so it in essence becomes exclusively a digital file player), and still have it not equal the better network players. I believe a computer can be modded to give one very good sound: but not worth it, comparatively.
Over the weekend, a friend gave me his Auralic Aries, and i have been comparing it to the Mini, - first impression is that it's significantly better than the Mini, - especially in dynamics & soundstage.
Traditionally, the high end was separated by a rough, general, loose, moving, (how many qualifiers can I use)? {Cause I take S$&T when I say it} classifying price of $1K per component. I think that there are several items that cost less than $1K and several that suck that cost more than $1K, that are hi-end, mid-end respectively. (That largely came from Stereophile).
The companies of NAD & McIntosh, no matter how expensive, are mid-fi companies that make mid-fi products. NAD cuts treble, McIntosh can't make treble sound right, and boosts low mids to an unnatural level. Oppo is a mid-fi company. Their SACD players sound OK with SACD, but their redbook playback is mediocre at best. Some high-end companies like Wadia, Meridian, etc. make both SOTA products, as well as low cost products.
In general, (I agree with TBone, many reviewers, and others who've heard a lot of products), {Not saying that I have as much experience as many of them}; that there's a significant separation between the Audio Aero's, Wadia's, Linn, Meitner, Berkeley, Lindeman, Ayre, Cary, Zanden, APL, Esoteric, and the Sony's, Marantz, Project, Cambridge, Anthem, Oppo, Yamaha, Pioneer etc..
"Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"
Like you, I'm speaking for myself here, and I just replaced my four-year-old Mac Mini with a current, tricked-out Mac Mini about a week ago. Neither of these Mac's made/make as much noise as the fan in my Marantz UD8004 does, and, regarding the various internal noises and interferences leaking out into the audio stream, I've yet to hear it, even if I try headphones (or putting my ear up next to the speakers!), with and without music playing.
Regarding the brands you mention, I try to keep in touch with what I can at the California Audio Show each year. Most of the time, I feel that there's a difference in the sound, but I'm not convinced that a given difference necessarily translates as an improvement in the sound. (The constrained environments of a show usually don't allow for optimum presentation of the SQ in any case.) I'd probably have to live with a component for awhile before coming to any conclusion. (You mention Meridian, and, as a multi-channel kind of guy, I've consistently been impressed by the Meridian exhibits I've heard though.) I also feel that, because of economies of scale, one can potentially get better SQ at a given price point with one of the larger manufacturers you mention (Sony, Marantz, etc.) than with a smaller, more esoteric manufacturer. I suppose you could argue that perhaps the smaller companies don't have the overhead of the larger ones though. As JM likes to say. . . FWIW and YMMV.
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