Recent content by matthewpianist

Unless you can stretch to an LP12 that has received appropriate attention from someone who knows what they doing (Peter at Cymbiosis, Paul at Moorgate, Karl at Vickers as examples), tread carefully. They can sound wonderful if done right, but awful if not. It certainly isn’t something to buy on...

Oh, and £35 commission was for selling a £350 stand. The commission on upselling from a £30 HDMI to the Prowire one was £10. This was the time of digital switchover, the beginning of 1080p ‘Full HD’ etc.

Cost price was £12, and they retailed at £60. A lot of Sony products were very low margin - VAIO around 8%, PlayStation virtually nothing, Cybershot high teens. Bravia wasn’t bad at 25-30%, but that dropped dramatically as margins got trashed by national electronics and white goods stores.

Visit an independent dealer, and start by explaining your needs, including sources, room size and musical tastes. Don’t divulge budget, and if asked, tell them £5k instead of 10. See what they come up with, see how well that fulfils your requirements and then explore the improvements that might...

The ATCs I heard at Bristol sounded horrible, but I can't remember whether they were active or passive. It was definitely a sub optimal room as well, to be fair.

I've subscribed to Qobuz Studio for a long time, and I've always been happy with it. It's well curated, easy to navigate and the integrations with most platforms work smoothly, including BluOS, WiiM and Eversolo. I do also subscribe to Spotify, but that's so I can share recommendations with...

Ultimately, this is a very good reason for building a relationship with a dealer you can put your trust in. I've known situations where demo units were always opened from the bottom so that they could be resealed and sold as new without suspicion. A good dealer with whom you build a relationship...

I must admit, I'm still unsure whether the Eversolo is actually worth the extra over the WiiM Ultra, other than for the superior display (and the Presto Music integration, of course, but that will come to WiiM).

Interesting, thanks. Ultimately though, all that matters to me is how it sounds to me, and whether or not I'm getting bit perfect resolution is irrelevant.

So what do the other platforms do?

It might sound better (though my experience suggests otherwise), but the software isn't as stable as WiiM or Eversolo.

The other thing to bear in mind, is that the Omnia has possibly the flimsiest CD tray I have ever seen. What Audiolab thought they were doing, putting that on a premium product, I just don't know.

An Audiolab retailer in France should be able to help. I presume you've switched off, unplugged from the wall and left it for a while?

So far... Sam Kelly - Dreamers Dawn Alison Krauss & Union Station - Arcadia Jason Isbell - Foxes in the Snow Visiting Rachmaninoff (Alexander Melnikov and Julia Lezhneva) Schubert D959 & Moments Musicaux (Steven Osborne) GoGo Penguin - Necessary Fictions Mumford & Sons - Rushmere Voces8 - 20...

I suppose that bit is a matter of taste and system matching, but the audio engine they make such a thing about is a bit of a fail. It's like a loudness switch on a 70s amp. Silly gimmick IMO. TBH, I don't think the A6gen2 is worth the (considerable) extra over a WiiM Ultra.