The Bigblog!

Stick with the abacus 🧮!

It's been a few weeks since the new system was assembled and left to settle in and i am really struggling to find issue with it.

The new Arke Audio TG Nextel 2F have had well over 150hrs through them and are performing really well. I can say with hand on heart honesty that i am SO glad i pulled the trigger on these. They (along with the Purifi) have hit the ground running! I am rediscovering music and listening at levels of detail and clarity that have eluded me in the past. What a joy it is to listen to this system now. I think even Jerry may like it

I have been playing a bit with cables recently, specifically digital ones between the D70S and the X50D, and to my surprise i am seemingly quite taken with USB cables at the moment. I am currently at breaking point in terms of cable storage, having at least 300 miles of copper cable in various guises, so the clear out will continue. I have also been having a rifle through the garage and have found some other things that need a new a home, so expect further listings.

That said, I have ordered another cable to try. Its an Acoustic Revive R-AU1 PL. Link here: www.playstereo.com/en/cavi-usb/3602-acoustic-revive-r-au1-pl-10m-usb-cable.html#

I am a big fan of PC-CCC as you all know, so when this and the 1.6m of SAEC AC3003 i bought from Bruce arrives, every single piece of wire or cable will be PC-Triple C in my system...both internal and external wiring. Apart from the mains cables to the Hypex on the speakers, which i will do eventually for completeness, rather than performance, as the Supra is a fine cable.

I am hoping to loan my old Aqvox DAC off optical while he plays with his new toy. I am loving the Topping D70S, but i want to know if there is any benefit in undertaking another Aqvox project. I suspect they will be quite similar, but it's good for my mental state lol.

Other than getting my vinyl back up and running, for the first time ever...i have no plans at all. It must be contentment!

I'll be cancelling Qoboz today.

I just don't use it.

I think the issue is the X50D as you can't really just browse albums like you can on the Qobuz app.

I can browse my CD rips far easier, so I think that's probably why Qobuz has fallen by the wayside. I won't be shifting the X50D for a better qobuz experience either, as ripped files still sound better to me than those provided over the internet.

I didn't listen to any classical music when setting up the speakers at Oli's. The bass and transparency are certainly very different to what you heard before Jerry.

Went down to Oli's for a listen today to these new speakers of his.

Very impressive - to get such tight bass response in such a small room, well I can't think of any equivalent that would be able to do that.

Lovely, clean sound, stops on a dime and has good separation. Never hard or harsh even though we pushed the levels high with some demanding music. I have heard a lot of very expensive set ups fall apart playing heavy rock and funk at much lower levels.

A great solution for a small/difficult space. In fact even disregarding that, it's one of the best systems I have heard in a long time.

Sorry I've no experience with X50D but do have with Auralic, Lumin, and Eversolo.  I could browse my favourites with them all, the advantage with the Eversolo, I can do it in alphabetical order, with the Lumin it was in the order I put them into the list.  I will add that you have to go into settings on the Qobuz app to do this.
I've got to ask, can't you see your Qobuz favourites on the X50D? and what about new and older music you haven't got, it means buying physical media.  

Oli, just check by going into your Qobuz account, making sure the setting is in alphabetical order, mine wasn't, but as soon as I changed the setting the Eversolo showed them as I wanted.  No harm in seeing if you miss it, for me and my brother we wouldn't be without it, new music and no longer having to buy more cd's. Of course we could buy an odd one if it is not on Qobuz.

In fairness we haven't found lots of new music, we've tried a few different artists, maybe adding them to favourites and yet never returning to them. Three recent artists that seem to get a fair amount of play are Gert Emmens ( I believe it was on of HiFiNutt's recommendations ) Will or William Ackerman, and Euge Groove, unfortunately we are at an age were we are stuck in a rut.  

You can always come back to Qobuz if you need to.

I pick up new stuff via Radio Paradise and save in Qobuz. If I find myself playing a new album more than twice I buy a physical copy of it.

@jandl Good for you Jerry, pleased you're enjoying all the opportunities Qobuz can give you, and together with 'mood' lighting.

Lol. Must be like living in an episode of 'The Avengers'.

One thing I do like Qobuz for is the ability to bring up lyrics.
I was actually listening to some Steely Dan yesterday.. and hadn’t realised what some of the songs were actually about. I blame bloody cd’s.

Well, day one with no Qobuz and I didn't miss it at all. Instead, I bought three CDs from the charity shop for £4.50.

I'm still up £6 from paying for Qobuz and the music is mine forever.

Yup, this feels more right to me.

Anyhoo, the Acoustic Revive PC-CCC USB has been in for a few days and it's a remarkably good cable. It's WAY beyond the Supra in every department. The only thing is, I think it may be a little too Hifi compared to the Wireworld Eclipse 8 AES cable, and I'm not sure how I feel about that yet.

I swapped back to the AES earlier and groove seemed groovier, Dance seemed dancier (?) and soul was more soulful.

It's a really minor difference in the balance betweens tone and transparency, but it's there at the moment. The AR USB is more detailed and transparent than any digital cable I have tried, including the WW8, so in one respect I am LOVING the detail, but I'm lacking a bit of emotion at the moment.

Maybe USB isn't the devil it was, but I'd like the sound to flesh out a touch. I'll give it a few more hours and keep my fingers crossed.

For the last few days i have been extensively comparing CD rips of CDs i have done on the Nova X50D against the CD i ripped being played via the Kenwood X9010.

Ever since Macca brought his TEAC CDT over last year i have been battling the urge to drop file based/streaming audio in favour of physical media once again. The overwhelming feeling i have been left with is that CD is superior in many ways. The main one being realism.

I can't think for what reason this would be, or why it should be any different, but time and time again i am left physically more engaged by the CD version than the CD rip of the same disk. The big turning point happened today when listening to Radiohead - Amnesia for the first time ever. I listened on CD first, and i was taken on a sensory stimulating journey through a very technical album. Listened again with the the CDrip...not bothered at all. So i tried the same again with Radiohead - Kid A...Rip first, CD second.

I wasn't really fully engaged until i got to CD, then i was hooked.

I am going to try a LPSU in the X50D and see if that makes any difference to proceedings.

However, i am building a CD library in my garage regardless of the outcome. I have a megaton of CDs, the magnitude of which didn't become clear until i cleared out my old grow room earlier, and WOW...I am going to need some serious shelving. If anyone has any shelving recommendations, i would be keen to hear them!