High-End Audio or 2CH Consultations
Music Lovers seem to attract each other! We can talk for hours about anything related to music. Our favorite bands, past concerts, the latest in audio gear, sharing our favorite songs or playlists and of course, the stories we all carry from the most impactful audio systems we’ve experienced! Some of the seasoned audiophiles have their listening rooms tweaked and sounding good. But all too often, I find little things that even seasoned music lovers with great systems have over-looked. The weak link in the audio chain can be a weak tube, poor connection(s), improper system synergy, settings set incorrectly, over-compensating with DSP or EQ, fat bass, not realizing how important a low noise floor can make, and the list goes on. For new music lovers or someone that is still in the phase of constantly making system improvements, please reach out to me!! I can help you climb that performance ladder quicker and it might not be a stronger amp or the latest well reviewed DAC.
My High-End or 2CH Consultations Service
Where Do We Start?
For existing rooms, for me to fully understand your system, I need all of the model numbers in your audio system, pictures of all four walls allowing me to see the whole room, and lastly, measurements of the room including speaker, subs and listening position. It would be helpful to know the RT-60 time of your room as well as your frequency response curve of your listening room for those looking to squeeze the last percent from your system.
What is Best?
What is best? Tubes, solid state or Hybrid amp? Should you get a Class A, AB, D, or G or XYZ amp? What is fact and fiction when it comes to investing in better cables and inter-connects? How much should you budget on surge protection or power conditioning? How to deal with resonance issues effectively? What is the best speaker for your tastes? Every room is unique. The Room is actually the final speaker in your audio system! Unless you are listening in the near field at modest levels, your room has the final say on what it absorbs, reflects and diffuses! It all starts with giving me your room & system info!!
What is Important?
WHAT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE AUDIO CHAIN TO YOUR ENJOYMENT? It took me 25 years to learn this. Regardless of the level of investment you have in your current audio system, “Enjoy the Music“. Don’t get caught up in trying to analyze what’s not right about your system. I found that I was not enjoying my listening sessions because I was constantly after another improvement.
2CH Consultation's FAQs
Great Question! Most of the time I find folks not giving the noise floor the attention it deserves. For example, even well-seasoned audiophiles have just grown accustomed to hearing the HVAC noise. Attacking noise floor issues is sometimes very challenging but yields great rewards!
If you have a highly resolving system, you most certainly can reap the benefits of the downloads offered today over streaming solutions. You will notice a difference right away in the low-level detail. It will spoil you quick! That said, I still stream the vast majority of my tunes. I have lots of LP’s and CD’s, but I’m quite happy with the flexibility of streaming.
That depends on your total investment in your sound system. For less than $15K of audio, you will likely be just fine with a sub $1000 DAC. My current DAC retail was only $5K. Did it make a huge difference in my system? No. But enough of a difference for me to justify the cost for sure! On the other hand, I have friends with $20K DAC’s and their $150K+ system’s sounds amazing! But at this level, my $5K DAC would show it’s weakness. I’m back to “That Depends”!
For a highly resolving system, ultra important. On a basic level, the difference the right amp/speaker relationship is huge. For costly systems, I will step out on a long plank and say that cables and interconnects most certainly play a part in the end result of what comes out of your speakers. I’ve heard it too many times to deny it!
Wow! That is a deep pool and will likely net me a few comments. For ME, isolation works in all cases up to a point. But mechanical draining of resonance seems to be more effective. For more on that topic… write me!