What's your setup/configuration look like?

[jfbuk]

Guess again and take it with a pinch of irony

It was a rhetorical question not a guess lol

 

[BMeek]

The WiiM Sound Lite in my bedroom.
I love it very much
View attachment 36024

Love it! Does that keep a lid on the noise level?

Sorry - old dad here.

 

[TonyE]

On those Dali speakers.... with the Primaluna...

RUN, don't walk. Put in a reasonable DAC with a strong analog drive... use that as your preamp. It will make the system sound much better. If you have to, do a DSP for the low pass for the REL. Although you might find that you don't need the REL.

The Ultra is exceptional as a bit perfect bridge, but it falls flat on its analog output. I'd recommend something with a Schitt Multibit DAC.

Schiit and Nitsch make excellent parts ( the Nitsch is simply outstanding with its class A output, it has an analog input as well so it works great as preamp ). In my home office, I pulled out the CJ ET3SE because the Nitsch by itself sounds better.

Amps...

So much discussion about Class D, tubes.... yet... it's not a fair discussion as "Class D" is all over the map. Just as class A, AB, H are also all over the map...

ICE amps are dark on the top. Indeed. Great bass because of very low output impedance and high damping factor, but soft on top due to the output filter. I use to run an NAD SS AB amp with Acoustic Reality ICE amps on the big PSBs in the hT. It worked quite well, excellent bass.

I have some Hypex Ncore NC252MP amps that I put together. They sound a lot better than the ICE amps.

I also have some Nuforce (DDA100, DDA120, MCA-20) and Teac Reference class D amps. They all sound different. I don't care for the Teac... they don't seem to have much power despite their rating... the MCA-20 drives the HT and it sounds really good, great dynamics... the DDA amps are in our PC based systems... quite good sounding actually -but they are hooked up to overachieving near field monitors.

One day I'll get a Purify amp.

Tubes? Well I've heard quite a bit. Currently I own an ARC D70-II with Svetlana 6550s. It sounds fantastic... magic midrange indeed. I would love a classic Conrad Johnson except that something with KT150s would be really nice too. Love triodes... but see below... SIT.

Other solid state... well... what kind? Class A mostly... FET, MOSFET, VFET, SIT... they all sound different. I got them all. Big ones, little ones, linear power supplies, switching power supplies.

But I got some SS class AB power amps that sound extremely good too. Just different, likely more "accurate" than the class A amps but they lack the "sugar" that makes stuff like piano, strings and voices so beautiful to listen to.

Right now the big ones in the living room are DIY monoblocks Pass Aleph 2 and DIY First Watt F4, bridged pair of amps with an FE22 front post-pre amp. All balanced. Yes, you can hear the difference from the room next door.

Then you got the Static Inductor Transistors... and the VFETs. Imagine a triode with power.

I personally would not claim that swapping a Purify amp for a perfectly working tube amp is better. If anything I might do the class D amp to drive the bottom end and use the tubes to drive the top end (biamping).

Or bite the bullet and buy the First Watt SIT5 and speakers that are 91db/w efficient.

Or drive a DIY SIT4 into a pair of power resistors and use that as source input into an F4. That way you get the 45wpc of SIT sound without spending the extra money ( yes, that's one of my plans )...

Have fun.

Oh, my LP12 is right now getting it's Lingo 4 upgrade. ;-)

My living room does look like an audio salon. Hopefully when the stock market rebounds we'll build two more rooms to the house... one will be my own "office/audio room".... Than I can unite four audio systems in one room.

Which amp will be the "One Amp To Rule Them All"? Who knows... I guess it will depend on the phase of the moon, the weather, my mood....

One Amp to rule them all, One Amp to find them, One Amp to bring them all, and in the music bind them

Hmm... might have to play Heavy Metal then...

 

[RyanWithWiiM]

Hey everyone, I love seeing the pics of products and setups, this thread is one of my favorites to scroll through!

One small ask: let's try to keep posts focused on sharing your actual setup and configuration. In-depth debates about amp classes, component comparisons, and audio philosophy are totally welcome on the forum, but let's try to have them in other threads less focused to sharing cool pics. The side conversations tend to work better as their own dedicated threads where they can get the attention they deserve.

Keep the pictures and configs coming.

 

[TonyE]

Here.... this is what I'm discussing..

As you can see, things change... amps come and go... speakers move around... notice the Ultras?

 

[Kblade97]

Guess again and take it with a pinch of irony

I say speaka make you happy. And yes I spelled it speaka I have not heard one of those, but I’ve been wanting to get rid of my UE Megaboom it sounds great but I would love to be able to place little WIIM’s around the house for a whole home system when we have company over. How do they compare to something like a JBL extreme or a Foco

 

[Kblade97]

Hey everyone, I love seeing the pics of products and setups, this thread is one of my favorites to scroll through!

One small ask: let's try to keep posts focused on sharing your actual setup and configuration. In-depth debates about amp classes, component comparisons, and audio philosophy are totally welcome on the forum, but let's try to have them in other threads less focused to sharing cool pics. The side conversations tend to work better as their own dedicated threads where they can get the attention they deserve.

Keep the pictures and configs coming.

I would agree wholeheartedly agree. And can we not tell somebody their system kind of sucks but in their own little way. Like telling you to get rid of something because they think something‘s better. Or that an amp will replace a subwoofer

 

[Kblade97]

On those Dali speakers.... with the Primaluna...

RUN, don't walk. Put in a reasonable DAC with a strong analog drive... use that as your preamp. It will make the system sound much better. If you have to, do a DSP for the low pass for the REL. Although you might find that you don't need the REL.

The Ultra is exceptional as a bit perfect bridge, but it falls flat on its analog output. I'd recommend something with a Schitt Multibit DAC.

Schiit and Nitsch make excellent parts ( the Nitsch is simply outstanding with its class A output, it has an analog input as well so it works great as preamp ). In my home office, I pulled out the CJ ET3SE because the Nitsch by itself sounds better.

Amps...

So much discussion about Class D, tubes.... yet... it's not a fair discussion as "Class D" is all over the map. Just as class A, AB, H are also all over the map...

ICE amps are dark on the top. Indeed. Great bass because of very low output impedance and high damping factor, but soft on top due to the output filter. I use to run an NAD SS AB amp with Acoustic Reality ICE amps on the big PSBs in the hT. It worked quite well, excellent bass.

I have some Hypex Ncore NC252MP amps that I put together. They sound a lot better than the ICE amps.

I also have some Nuforce (DDA100, DDA120, MCA-20) and Teac Reference class D amps. They all sound different. I don't care for the Teac... they don't seem to have much power despite their rating... the MCA-20 drives the HT and it sounds really good, great dynamics... the DDA amps are in our PC based systems... quite good sounding actually -but they are hooked up to overachieving near field monitors.

One day I'll get a Purify amp.

Tubes? Well I've heard quite a bit. Currently I own an ARC D70-II with Svetlana 6550s. It sounds fantastic... magic midrange indeed. I would love a classic Conrad Johnson except that something with KT150s would be really nice too. Love triodes... but see below... SIT.

Other solid state... well... what kind? Class A mostly... FET, MOSFET, VFET, SIT... they all sound different. I got them all. Big ones, little ones, linear power supplies, switching power supplies.

But I got some SS class AB power amps that sound extremely good too. Just different, likely more "accurate" than the class A amps but they lack the "sugar" that makes stuff like piano, strings and voices so beautiful to listen to.

Right now the big ones in the living room are DIY monoblocks Pass Aleph 2 and DIY First Watt F4, bridged pair of amps with an FE22 front post-pre amp. All balanced. Yes, you can hear the difference from the room next door.

Then you got the Static Inductor Transistors... and the VFETs. Imagine a triode with power.

I personally would not claim that swapping a Purify amp for a perfectly working tube amp is better. If anything I might do the class D amp to drive the bottom end and use the tubes to drive the top end (biamping).

Or bite the bullet and buy the First Watt SIT5 and speakers that are 91db/w efficient.

Or drive a DIY SIT4 into a pair of power resistors and use that as source input into an F4. That way you get the 45wpc of SIT sound without spending the extra money ( yes, that's one of my plans )...

Have fun.

Oh, my LP12 is right now getting it's Lingo 4 upgrade. ;-)

My living room does look like an audio salon. Hopefully when the stock market rebounds we'll build two more rooms to the house... one will be my own "office/audio room".... Than I can unite four audio systems in one room.

Which amp will be the "One Amp To Rule Them All"? Who knows... I guess it will depend on the phase of the moon, the weather, my mood....

One Amp to rule them all, One Amp to find them, One Amp to bring them all, and in the music bind them

Hmm... might have to play Heavy Metal then...

I would disagree the ultra sounds best through its analog outputs and not as a transport. You mean something like this?

 

[TonyE]

I would disagree the ultra sounds best through its analog outputs and not as a transport. You mean something like this?

Hmm? that's not what I said... I say the Ultra "sounds better" when driving an external DAC via its USB.

See the pictures I posted above?

In the home office I drive the Ultra into a Nitsch Pietus Maximus with the Multibit DAC with Unison.
In the main rig, I run the Ultra into a Burson Swing with the Burson Vivid V7 opamps.
In the other picture, the HT, I run the Ultra via its own DAC -volume fixed- as a 2ch source in a Parasound P7.

Note how in the home office I run the Nitsch as a preamp as well. I prefer to buy DACs that also serve as headphone amps because they tend to have more powerful analog sections. I also prefer a real pot, or resistor ladder, not a digital volume control.

I keep thinking of getting one of the top Schiit units.... we'll see...

 

[Kblade97]

Hmm? that's not what I said... I say the Ultra "sounds better" when driving an external DAC via its USB.

See the pictures I posted above?

In the home office I drive the Ultra into a Nitsch Pietus Maximus with the Multibit DAC with Unison.
In the main rig, I run the Ultra into a Burson Swing with the Burson Vivid V7 opamps.
In the other picture, the HT, I run the Ultra via its own DAC -volume fixed- as a 2ch source in a Parasound P7.

Note how in the home office I run the Nitsch as a preamp as well. I prefer to buy DACs that also serve as headphone amps because they tend to have more powerful analog sections. I also prefer a real pot, or resistor ladder, not a digital volume control.

I keep thinking of getting one of the top Schiit units.... we'll see...

And I said I disagree. It sounds better through its analog outputs. That’s a long post. I don’t think I’m gonna read it all, though i did read the first sentence.

 

[Kblade97]

Here.... this is what I'm discussing..

As you can see, things change... amps come and go... speakers move around... notice the Ultras?

rock on

 

[TonyE]

And I said I disagree. It sounds better through its analog outputs. That’s a long post. I don’t think I’m gonna read it all, though i did read the first sentence.

That's something I don't understand.

Why people reply to posts they haven't read....

Don't you folks read books? I mean, I figure you'd get a heart attack if you had to read Crime and Punishment. Nevermind, Magister Ludi.

 

[Kblade97]

That's something I don't understand.

Why people reply to posts they haven't read....

Don't you folks read books? I mean, I figure you'd get a heart attack if you had to read Crime and Punishment. Nevermind,

 

[Kblade97]

That's something I don't understand.

Why people reply to posts they haven't read....

Don't you folks read books? I mean, I figure you'd get a heart attack if you had to read Crime and Punishment. Nevermind, Magister Ludi.

 

[Wiimer]

Don't you folks read books?

Have you read this?
It seems you still don't understand...

Hey everyone, I love seeing the pics of products and setups, this thread is one of my favorites to scroll through!

One small ask: let's try to keep posts focused on sharing your actual setup and configuration. In-depth debates about amp classes, component comparisons, and audio philosophy are totally welcome on the forum, but let's try to have them in other threads less focused to sharing cool pics. The side conversations tend to work better as their own dedicated threads where they can get the attention they deserve.

Keep the pictures and configs coming.

 

[TonyE]

I was just replying to his comment about the systems that I posted above.

Here's the Sound... first, initial configuration.... it sounds less boomy in free space. Note how I used a battery brick, it has an AC outlet.. I got six hours of play time. The Sound was plugged into ethernet. I think I may not play as long if I use WiFi as those radios use more power.




In its current installation, back bedroom, on top of mid 60s credenza... also plugged directly to an ethernet switch.

It might be interesting if I put the Sound (and Sound Light) behind the speaker grills...