I popped into the hi-fi shop and learned a few things while I was there and again when I got back home.
1. The hi-fi shop is selling more CD players, CD transports and vinyl players than streaming devices recently. Most of their streaming display stock was up for sale as ex-demo. Anyone else noticed this trend too?
2. The starting cost of a quality / full valve amplifier (i.e. not hybrid) is about £4k and these models require very careful speaker matching as their output is so low. Also noticed that a large output valve amplifier is built like a brick outhouse when compared to a modern class D like Devialet or Cyrus 200. Drummerman wrote a similar thread on how miniaturisation is on the increase ... so to say.
3. I've had the volume and gain controls on my Pathos Aurium turned up really high for a couple of years, mainly to drive some 300 ohm headphones properly. So I took some advice that XLR connections tend to have a stronger signal. I've purchased some XLR leads and gone balanced from the DAC into the Aurium. The gain and volume are now dialed down, but the detail and resolution are so much better, even at lower volumes. Well pleased and I wish I'd done it sooner.
4. After years of intending to swap out some well bright QED speaker cable, I finally did it. The bloke in the shop had used the last 4m of some Carnival Silverscreen to create a terminated pair. Plugged in back home it's the first time my Chord Electronics + Cyrus + Monitor Audio combo has been so tonally balanced that I could just kick back and listen to the music for hours with absolutely no hint of ear fatigue, particularly from the highs. Well pleased again and again I wish I'd done it sooner.
5. I bought a (PSX-R2) and learned that Cyrus suggest I fitted the ferride core on the power lead for ''performance improvement'' reasons. So I did and I have no idea what it is supposed to be doing. Any technical advice?
6. As a long term Cyrus purchaser, I know that I have permanently contracted upgrade-itis. As years pass by I'm learning to cope with my condition. It's expensive ... but thankfully not life threatening.
1. The hi-fi shop is selling more CD players, CD transports and vinyl players than streaming devices recently. Most of their streaming display stock was up for sale as ex-demo. Anyone else noticed this trend too?
2. The starting cost of a quality / full valve amplifier (i.e. not hybrid) is about £4k and these models require very careful speaker matching as their output is so low. Also noticed that a large output valve amplifier is built like a brick outhouse when compared to a modern class D like Devialet or Cyrus 200. Drummerman wrote a similar thread on how miniaturisation is on the increase ... so to say.
3. I've had the volume and gain controls on my Pathos Aurium turned up really high for a couple of years, mainly to drive some 300 ohm headphones properly. So I took some advice that XLR connections tend to have a stronger signal. I've purchased some XLR leads and gone balanced from the DAC into the Aurium. The gain and volume are now dialed down, but the detail and resolution are so much better, even at lower volumes. Well pleased and I wish I'd done it sooner.
4. After years of intending to swap out some well bright QED speaker cable, I finally did it. The bloke in the shop had used the last 4m of some Carnival Silverscreen to create a terminated pair. Plugged in back home it's the first time my Chord Electronics + Cyrus + Monitor Audio combo has been so tonally balanced that I could just kick back and listen to the music for hours with absolutely no hint of ear fatigue, particularly from the highs. Well pleased again and again I wish I'd done it sooner.
5. I bought a (PSX-R2) and learned that Cyrus suggest I fitted the ferride core on the power lead for ''performance improvement'' reasons. So I did and I have no idea what it is supposed to be doing. Any technical advice?
6. As a long term Cyrus purchaser, I know that I have permanently contracted upgrade-itis. As years pass by I'm learning to cope with my condition. It's expensive ... but thankfully not life threatening.