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Post by brian2957 on Sept 18, 2020 16:07:28 GMT
Brian, I've heard the word that Alan Firebottle can "breath" on the 2310 preamps to good effect. I'll see how it goes once I've heard it again and maybe see if he fancies doing an upgrade for me. Or maybe I'll just be happy using the Nobsound pre. Yes , that would be very interesting Jerry . |
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Post by user211 on Sept 18, 2020 18:56:48 GMT
Avoidable degradation 1: Spotify.
Avoidable degradation 2: Bluetooth.
What I don't like is I know I can avoid 1 & 2. It's just the thought of it that annoys me. But I know I couldn't live with Spotify years back. I really could hear it was worse than CD quality and still had to buy CDs whilst I was using it for that reason.
I reckon those classical recordings might be a different story as to be quite frank the sound quality of classical stuff really varies. Maybe losing res helps with quite a lot of them:)
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Post by MartinT on Sept 18, 2020 19:20:58 GMT
I reckon those classical recordings might be a different story as to be quite frank the sound quality of classical stuff really varies. Maybe losing res helps with quite a lot of them:) Hmmm, not really. Classical generally needs more res as there is so much going on, especially in choral music. Spotify, though, can sound utterly superb when you give your digital chain as much attention as is needed for good hi-res. |
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Post by John on Sept 18, 2020 19:49:21 GMT
I used to think Spotify was awful Yes CD is better but I get to discover so much music and so I do not worry about it. Like Martin I put a lot of work into my digital chain and apart from Tidal I can enjoy all the other streaming services
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Post by The Brookmeister on Sept 18, 2020 20:19:52 GMT
Interestingly I had a spare hour this afternoon so decided to give the turntable a rest and find something in the shop thats digital (Lumn X1 now gone sadly)
I already had a stonking DAC the LAB12 DAC1 Reference so I hunted around and found a Lumin U1 mini which is a transport essentially.
Plumbed it in and used my phone as I could not find my ipad, loaded the Lumin app but couldn't get qobuz to work for some reason.
I have had a spotify account almost since day 1 which I never use as my daughter is always using it but I knew she was at work so I thought what the hell let's try that.
I was quite taken aback, sound was bloody good.
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Post by user211 on Sept 18, 2020 20:28:23 GMT
I reckon those classical recordings might be a different story as to be quite frank the sound quality of classical stuff really varies. Maybe losing res helps with quite a lot of them:) Hmmm, not really. Classical generally needs more res as there is so much going on, especially in choral music. Spotify, though, can sound utterly superb when you give your digital chain as much attention as is needed for good hi-res. I reckon that's pants, to be quite frank. I don't mean that to be rude, but I disagree totally. Wasn't Spotify supposed to be going lossless? |
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Post by user211 on Sept 18, 2020 22:22:26 GMT
I can live without her. Or Siri. Or Cortana. They're all in my past now  Don't worry Alexa is a stupid bitch anyway. Ask her to play shit and she plays something else quite a bit of the time. The current state of AI no doubt LOL. AI will kill the planet through misunderstanding. |
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Post by Firebottle on Sept 19, 2020 7:14:32 GMT
Brian, I've heard the word that Alan Firebottle can "breath" on the 2310 preamps to good effect. I'll see how it goes once I've heard it again and maybe see if he fancies doing an upgrade for me. Or maybe I'll just be happy using the Nobsound pre. Yes I have upgraded a couple of similar preamps using the 2311 volume control chip. The main restriction to greater transparency is the use of bog standard regulators, replacing these with low noise variants improves things. The Nobsound NS-08P I wouldn't describe as a stepped attenuator pre, that description to me conjures up a mechanical switch with resistors. The 08 uses a combined volume/bass/treble/selector chip that has 5 times greater distortion figures than the 2310 volume control chip. The 08 chip description is 'The NJW1194 is a 2-channel electronic volume with 4-in 1-out stereo audio selector and Tone Control. The NJW1194 performs low noise and low distortion characteristics with resistance ladder circuit.' |
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Post by jandl100 on Sept 19, 2020 7:47:14 GMT
Thanks Alan.
I'd read somewhere that the 2310 and 2311 chips have astonishingly low distortion, so the 08 chip being 5 times more is actually still quite decent?
I plan to do a direct comparison between a standard 2310 pre and the NS-08P, so that will be interesting.
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Post by Firebottle on Sept 19, 2020 7:55:44 GMT
Yes still quite decent at 0.02%.
That may sound a very small amount but my system goal has been the greatest transparency attainable.
Once the distortion is reduced even further the micro detail that gives the 'venue space' clues changes the sound stage from village hall to concert hall, assuming it is in the recording.
The standard 2310 build doesn't achieve it's published performance so it will be an interesting comparison, to me at least.
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Post by julesd68 on Sept 19, 2020 16:25:01 GMT
Hmmm, not really. Classical generally needs more res as there is so much going on, especially in choral music. Spotify, though, can sound utterly superb when you give your digital chain as much attention as is needed for good hi-res. I reckon that's pants, to be quite frank. I don't mean that to be rude, but I disagree totally. Wasn't Spotify supposed to be going lossless? I heard that Spotify are resisting going lossless as they think their market isn't clamouring for it. Things might have changed since. I can only judge Spoti by how it sounds in my system and I'm more than happy with what I'm getting. I will try Qobuz at some point but not in a rush to pay the extra and also pay a Volumio sub. The only time I guess you might want less rez with classical is for some of the 'legacy recordings'. |
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Post by jandl100 on Sept 22, 2020 11:44:40 GMT
The standard 2310 build doesn't achieve it's published performance so it will be an interesting comparison, to me at least. So, Weilang 2310 chip preamp is now out of quarantine, and an immediate comparison with the Nobsound NS-08P shows a significant, maybe substantial, decrease in transparency compared to the NS-08P. With the 2310 chip pre the sound is relatively smoothed over and transients have less 'spang' to them. Despite the comparative distortion measurements indicating the contrary, the NS-08P seems a significantly better preamp to my ears. |
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Post by jandl100 on Sept 22, 2020 11:50:17 GMT
Also out of quarantine today are the B&O H7 Bluetooth headphones. Took me a while to get them paired with my phone, but sussed it out eventually! I had hoped it would sort itself out, but other Bluetooth devices have to be unpaired first. Got there in the end. They sound fine, I've not done any comparisons yet with wired connection, or with my non-Bluetooth H6 cans. Yup, it's cool being able to just move around without having to worry about cables.  |
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Post by brian2957 on Sept 22, 2020 12:53:46 GMT
The standard 2310 build doesn't achieve it's published performance so it will be an interesting comparison, to me at least. So, Weilang 2310 chip preamp is now out of quarantine, and an immediate comparison with the Nobsound NS-08P shows a significant, maybe substantial, decrease in transparency compared to the NS-08P. With the 2310 chip pre the sound is relatively smoothed over and transients have less 'spang' to them. Despite the comparative distortion measurements indicating the contrary, the NS-08P seems a significantly better preamp to my ears. Thanks for the feedback Jerry . |
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Post by Slinger on Sept 22, 2020 12:55:16 GMT
How odd that you had to unpair everything else before the B&O cans would pair. I've had a (very) quick nose around the net and don't see that as a reported problem. Although not in the same league as your B&Os, I was impressed by how easily my Sennheisers paired with the PC; hold one button down on the headphones and a little voice - a bit gimmicky maybe, but no matter - in the headphones told me they were "paired." Job done.
The same function reports when the cans are switched on, or switched off.
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Post by jandl100 on Sept 22, 2020 12:59:26 GMT
How odd that you had to unpair everything else before the B&O cans would pair. I've had a (very) quick nose around the net and don't see that as a reported problem. Although not in the same league as your B&Os, I was impressed by how easily my Sennheisers paired with the PC; hold one button down on the headphones and a little voice - a bit gimmicky maybe, but no matter - in the headphones told me they were "paired." Job done. The same function reports when the cans are switched on, or switched off. Ah, right - nope, my bad usage of terminology. I didn't have to unpair them but I did (I think) have to turn the audio connection off explicitly. Maybe this is an obvious thing you need to do? - but I kind of expected the newly turned on device to take priority. I have several Bluetooth devices in my immediate environment now, maybe that causes confusion - including in myself! The B&Os give a small beep when connecting/disconnecting. |
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Post by Slinger on Sept 22, 2020 13:09:44 GMT
Aah, right, I get you now, I think. It's still odd though, according to the B&O website it's as easy as 1-2-3.
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Post by jandl100 on Sept 22, 2020 13:13:15 GMT
and Spotify pauses and has to be unpaused.
It's far from seamless getting the H7 to play music for me.
Brian has a pair - maybe he's sussed them out better than I have.
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Post by jandl100 on Sept 22, 2020 13:28:22 GMT
Sitting out in the garden now with my Bluetooth-ed H7. Heh, cool. |
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Post by brian2957 on Sept 22, 2020 13:31:05 GMT
I use them with a little Bluetooth sender unit plugged into the headphone socket of my amp without any issues . They also paired with my daughter's IPhone on several different occasions . So no problems here .
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