Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2019 20:04:55 GMT
Copied from AoS member Jimbo's thread :
Although I live 20 minutes from Oliver I still find it difficult to find time to meet up but as so much had changed in Oliver's system I was curious to hear what changes he has made to his system and on a blustery Friday afternoon I managed to pay another visit. Unfortunately we only listened to 50% of Oli's system as he is still painfully building his phono stage and I am not just referring to delayed parts!
Frustratingly this was only a toroid away from completion!
As always Oliver is a great host, enthusiastic and great company and has, as I have mentioned before, a great ear for audio and sound in general. If I was to trust someone to recommend or put a system together for me it would be this man.
So the 50% that we could listen too was Oliver's newly acquired digital set up which suited me fine because I knew if Oliver was happy with it and it remained in his house for more than a few weeks it must be good. Although we are both massive vinyl fans we keep an interest in digital equipment and I would say we have both dabbled in various digital orientated systems over the years. I believe a fair bit of kit has come and gone very quickly in Oliver's house but at last he has an system which I think maybe a keeper? This is based around the Raspberry Pi which has been configured with an Allo BOSS DAC with a laptop used as a server.
The Pi is juiced by a nice linear PSU and pumped into his own build preamp and finally into a monster Krell KSA 100 MK2. I know a few folk have heard this amp at Oliver's but what took me by surprise was the size and the heat, it makes a very good radiator! This amp is a beast, a steel hand in a velvet glove. I quickly grasped its ability as a power amp, very muscular and just cruising most of the time like a V8 engine. You only have to blip the throttle and its control, weight and authority are felt as a physical presence in the room. It has a warmth to the sound but handles fine detail in the top end superbly whilst absolutely controlling and defining the bottom end. Bass is not just delivered, it is articulated in a way few amps I have heard can do below £10,000. Ok Oli's speakers don't need that much power but they never sounded too pushed or overawed, they just sounded controlled. Wonderful.
Back to the Pi. I have heard a few configurations of the Pi but this one was the best. The digital picture it paints is sophisticated and punches way above its price. It does not do anything badly and avoids any of the pitfalls of digital audio I have heard in the past. We listened to some great 'demonstration' tunes and it really was enjoyable. Volumio works very well and there were no glitches, it never fell over. On well ripped material,we only listed to files, it sounded very good indeed and was revealing enough to quickly tell you when you had a poor rip lower down the bit rate scale!
I was impressed and would only say that compared to the very best digital audio I have heard it sounded a little bit constricted and slightly muddled or thick on some material. The soundstage was not the biggest and it may have lacked a bit of air and ambience in some recordings. But I was impressed and for the money it is a steal. When digital is this cheap there is no argument not too have one. I am sure this would embarrass a lot of more expensive DAC/ renderers!
As Oliver is a cable man I took round a Chord Epic twin speaker cable. Speaker cables are probably not as sexy as ICs so I though it would be interesting for Oli to hear this cable. I have had it for a few years and it is simply far and away the best speaker cable I have heard. It does everything right and orders everything in a controlled way that allows you to hear the full potential of the material you pump into your speakers. Nothing is exaggerated or emphasised, it is a very well balanced cable. Oli may be able to mention what his thoughts were?
This time round the biggest impression I took away from Oliver's was the Krell. It is a fabulous power amp and one of the best I have heard. I can't wait to get back round when Oli has finished his latest reiteration of his phono stage and listen to his vinyl rig. I can only imagine it will be spectacular.
Thanks for a great afternoon, it was certainly warm and cosy next to that amp.😆
Although I live 20 minutes from Oliver I still find it difficult to find time to meet up but as so much had changed in Oliver's system I was curious to hear what changes he has made to his system and on a blustery Friday afternoon I managed to pay another visit. Unfortunately we only listened to 50% of Oli's system as he is still painfully building his phono stage and I am not just referring to delayed parts!
Frustratingly this was only a toroid away from completion!As always Oliver is a great host, enthusiastic and great company and has, as I have mentioned before, a great ear for audio and sound in general. If I was to trust someone to recommend or put a system together for me it would be this man.
So the 50% that we could listen too was Oliver's newly acquired digital set up which suited me fine because I knew if Oliver was happy with it and it remained in his house for more than a few weeks it must be good. Although we are both massive vinyl fans we keep an interest in digital equipment and I would say we have both dabbled in various digital orientated systems over the years. I believe a fair bit of kit has come and gone very quickly in Oliver's house but at last he has an system which I think maybe a keeper?
This is based around the Raspberry Pi which has been configured with an Allo BOSS DAC with a laptop used as a server. The Pi is juiced by a nice linear PSU and pumped into his own build preamp and finally into a monster Krell KSA 100 MK2. I know a few folk have heard this amp at Oliver's but what took me by surprise was the size and the heat, it makes a very good radiator! This amp is a beast, a steel hand in a velvet glove. I quickly grasped its ability as a power amp, very muscular and just cruising most of the time like a V8 engine. You only have to blip the throttle and its control, weight and authority are felt as a physical presence in the room. It has a warmth to the sound but handles fine detail in the top end superbly whilst absolutely controlling and defining the bottom end. Bass is not just delivered, it is articulated in a way few amps I have heard can do below £10,000. Ok Oli's speakers don't need that much power but they never sounded too pushed or overawed, they just sounded controlled. Wonderful.
Back to the Pi. I have heard a few configurations of the Pi but this one was the best. The digital picture it paints is sophisticated and punches way above its price. It does not do anything badly and avoids any of the pitfalls of digital audio I have heard in the past. We listened to some great 'demonstration' tunes and it really was enjoyable. Volumio works very well and there were no glitches, it never fell over. On well ripped material,we only listed to files, it sounded very good indeed and was revealing enough to quickly tell you when you had a poor rip lower down the bit rate scale!
I was impressed and would only say that compared to the very best digital audio I have heard it sounded a little bit constricted and slightly muddled or thick on some material. The soundstage was not the biggest and it may have lacked a bit of air and ambience in some recordings. But I was impressed and for the money it is a steal. When digital is this cheap there is no argument not too have one. I am sure this would embarrass a lot of more expensive DAC/ renderers!
As Oliver is a cable man I took round a Chord Epic twin speaker cable. Speaker cables are probably not as sexy as ICs so I though it would be interesting for Oli to hear this cable. I have had it for a few years and it is simply far and away the best speaker cable I have heard. It does everything right and orders everything in a controlled way that allows you to hear the full potential of the material you pump into your speakers. Nothing is exaggerated or emphasised, it is a very well balanced cable. Oli may be able to mention what his thoughts were?
This time round the biggest impression I took away from Oliver's was the Krell. It is a fabulous power amp and one of the best I have heard. I can't wait to get back round when Oli has finished his latest reiteration of his phono stage and listen to his vinyl rig. I can only imagine it will be spectacular.
Thanks for a great afternoon, it was certainly warm and cosy next to that amp.😆
