Recent content by matthewpianist

It's hard to go wrong with Fyne Audio, whatever you buy. It all comes down to auditioning with your own ears, and picking the point where you think you are getting the best balance of sound and spend.

I think the best rule is, when you find yourself engrossed in the music and you more or less stop thinking about the equipment, that's the time to stop. Otherwise, it's just an addiction, and an expensive and destructive one at that.

It's one of those names that belongs to a holding company somewhere now and has been licensed for use on cheap TVs and even karaoke packs over the years. It's sad. Pioneer lasted a lot longer as a hi-fi brand, but even they seem to have disappeared over the past few years.

I grew up with one of the small Sansui amps, an AU-2200. It's still one of the most musically engaging amps I've had. Low on power, but somehow it didn't seem to matter with a lot of music. The bigger ones can be astounding.

Some equipment is totally unsuitable where low volume levels are required. I had a pair of Spendor A1s a few years ago, and they needed to be pushed quite hard before they came 'on song'; at lower levels they actually sounded pretty poor, even with a Rega Elex-R behind them. Quad 11Ls were the...

Even touring isn't hugely profitable for many artists, and outside of the big crowd-drawing names, there's a large element of 'doing it out of love' involved. Venues take big cuts to survive, and some even charge the artist upfront and then look at the balance sheet later, to reduce their own...

The company I work for has its own streaming service, and we pay on a 'per second' model, rather than 'per stream'. This is fairer to the artists, and we already have integrations with Audirvana, BluOS and Eversolo. We're in development with two big high-end hi-fi manufacturers, and with other...

Instead of only making the statement it would be interesting to know what it was you didn't like about their speakers

You will certainly get more bottom end from the 12.3s, but they can get slightly edgy at the top end with some recordings, especially if you have lots of hard surfaces in your room. I would suggest also considering the Q Acoustics 3050i - still available, and a touch more balanced than the...

The Alpha 7R is a nice amp and, having owned a pair of 12.3s, I can say they aren't especially challenging to drive. What change in sound are you looking for though?

Yes, I see there has been similar posts aimed at other forum members.

That gets me too. I have more than enough experience to know that for myself.

It's my choice whether or not I participate in this discussion, not yours. I have more than enough experience with hi-fi (40 years in fact), to know that amplifiers do impact the sound, and I'm not alone in this. I'm not an 'audiophile stereotype' and have the wisdom and experience to question...

That's just a matter of opinion and preference, and if we're talking bulky, have you actually seen some of the Sansui and Pioneer amps of the day? There was good and bad from every country, and the NAD was ground breaking in bringing great sound to a more affordable price point. A 3020 or 3120...

Yes, the Ultra has room correction, as you will see in the manual: https://www.wiimhome.com/langPdf/en/WiiM%20Ultra%20UM.pdf Everything you plug into the Ultra runs through its digital processing, including the phono input. If you have RoomFit switched on, it modifies everything the Ultra...