Am I loosing it?

[Shivam]

I recently connected an old Marantz DVD player as a source for playing CDs and accidently compared it to the flac of the same titles using Linn Akurate DS and then specially with Musical Fidelity M1 Clic. I did not hear a difference.

Either the AP setup does a good job of making everything enjoyable or I am loosing my hearing!

 

[square_wave]

The difference from the dvd player to the akurate ds should be huge. Something is wrong somewhere !!

 

[Santy]

or I am loosing my hearing!

How old are you Shivam? You are scaring me. hyeah:

 

[Shivam]

Cross-checked everything and tried again. I am unable to tell the difference !
I am not even middle aged.

 

[mpw]

tell you what.. last few days i have been listening to some music on my Audioengine A2. Finding it rather enjoyable. FLAC files straight from a sansa flac player.

Thats supposed to be a far cry from the naims and their like..

)

This actually beings me to the point - is hearing believing or is believing hearing ??

njoi.. and think about what to do with the surplus equipment you have now.. :lol:

mpw

 

[ranjeetrain]

Shivam, do you live in a noisy neighborhood? Do you listen at very high volumes regularly?

If that's the case, it will be natural to lose some of hearing. But I hope it's the equipment, not you.

 

[Shivam]

I live in a very quiet area and listen to music too at low volumes.

Selling the Linn Akurate DS will be a problem! I'll keep the MF M1 Clic for its ease of use.

 

[vijwilso]

Is your room OK ? It is hard to distinguish if the room is not helping out with reflection/echo's and if it is too large in proportion with the speaker/amp

 

[jagdish_p]

Just trying to understand your set up.

a) Does your DVD player have a digital out which you are using. If yes why should there be difference?

b) Also I have not been able to gather any info on your active speaker system. Are they high end , resolving speakers for you to differentiate the input sources?

Pardon me if the above are too simplistic queries.

 

[Shivam]

I am using analogue out of the Marantz DVD player and analogue out of the network players. The rest of the chain is resolving enough (though not very high end) to let me appreciate the differences in various other CD players and differences between flac from CD and hd flac files. The room is good in terms of acoustics.

I think somehow the Marantz people got it right with this model especially the mid-range response and the AP setup is doing its bit to make the mid-range still better. I can't comment on low frequencies since my system at present doesn't go very low.

 

[john_k_antony]

Slightly off topic, I too had a similar experience in the recent past. I was using KEF iQ7 speakers for stereo in my living room and I was not at all happy with the low end and overall performance. I was almost going to sell it off and get an expensive and better speaker and electronics. Before I did that, I just tried a small experiment.

1. I build the DIY Pass B1 Pre and CNC phono. (This is one hell of a performer , I just can't thank enough for this wonderful DIY kit developed by Sachin, Om and others).
2. Moved the KEFs to my dedicated listening room with acoustic treatment.
3. Did some measurements using UMIK and REW and adjusted the speaker position and toe-in to make it sound "flat" in the room.

You will not believe the way those KEFs transformed. They transformed themselves into a "BEAST". They started sounding very live with decent bass. When I was using KEFs in a living room setup, it hardly produced any bass.

I had a friend of mine visiting me yesterday and he was really surprised to know why would I ever wanted to upgrade my setup. He said they sound pretty fine.

Here is my 2 cents from my experience

In Audio, you are always in for some BIG surprises from the least expected things . And its not always the most expensive stuff that can give you the best sounding system, there are other factors that can make an "inferior" system to sound much better. For me, one of that factor is the room and acoustics .

I don't think I need a stereo upgrade any time soon . I am still working on the best position and placement and some acoustic mods using REW and looks like I am almost there.

-John.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I was happier with my Marantz CD player than I was with my much more expensive Cyrus. It outlived it too, and got put back on the rack for many more years service.

I'm a bit suspicious of "media players," whatever the name on the front, because I have a suspicion that they are just single-purpose computers put into a hifi box. What, me? Cynical? Well yes, and the usual disclaimer applies: I haven't heard any . I just look at the box and ask myself what it does. There are audiophile operating systems out there. What's audiophile about them? The name, usually. Otherwise, just like media players, they are a ready-boxed implementation of something one could do oneself. It's just my suspicion; not even my theory, and I could easily be wrong. it's just an idea.

 

[vijwilso]

John good to know that you are familiar with rew. Need your help when my stuff is ready

 

[magma]

Shivam

great Ba**s
to actually admit something like this

Pedigree of equipment doesnt really equate it to how it sounds in "a particular" setup

The linn is no doubt a good piece
But as you came to hear it doesnt sound very good in the "setup" YOU have
Maybe the setup is not as resolving or maybe the setup is just not "setup" correctly to hear the differences

This is exactly the point where an audiophile now needs to think of his "setup" as a whole rather than his equipment

if you are not going to bother to get your setup done well
dont bother buying expensive equipment
i advice this always!

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

The linn is no doubt a good piece

The Marantz CD player is no doubt a good piece!

Shivam, if the media player had sounded worse, then it would be cause for tears, but, looking on the bright side, you must have bought it for its media-player functionality, and that is what you have got. You will use each source according to your convenience, each to its own purpose: there is no real reason for one to sound better than another, except, perhaps, price.

Be happy: Enjoy the music

 

[arj]

I recently connected an old Marantz DVD player as a source for playing CDs and accidently compared it to the flac of the same titles using Linn Akurate DS and then specially with Musical Fidelity M1 Clic. I did not hear a difference.

Either the AP setup does a good job of making everything enjoyable or I am loosing my hearing!

Just trust your ears Shivam and dont let the brain take over too much. in the end they are your windows to enjoying music.
If your ears do not hear a difference, then for you there is no difference and thats all that matters.

If you do like the technicalities n audio you could do a deeper dive. the AP setup cannot be an issue as they are very revealing especially with respect to the Source..they do not make music at the expense of resolution.

If i were to wear a technical hat I would start looking at everything from speaker placement+Room , power, cables, isolation etc.. but if not inclined, just better to leave it alone and focus on enjoying the music especially with regard to the source.

 

[john_k_antony]

John good to know that you are familiar with rew. Need your help when my stuff is ready

Sure thing . Its fun to play around with REW.

 

[Shivam]

Just trust your ears Shivam and dont let the brain take over too much. in the end they are your windows to enjoying music.
If your ears do not hear a difference, then for you there is no difference and thats all that matters.

If you do like the technicalities n audio you could do a deeper dive. the AP setup cannot be an issue as they are very revealing especially with respect to the Source..they do not make music at the expense of resolution.

If i were to wear a technical hat I would start looking at everything from speaker placement+Room , power, cables, isolation etc.. but if not inclined, just better to leave it alone and focus on enjoying the music especially with regard to the source.

Good advice. I'm able to enjoy music from all my sources and that is what matters.

(I have already found a buyer for the Linn too. Selling the Linn means a new HT setup and the much needed sub for my music system. )

 

[rikhav]

Why dont you invite some fm to your place who has something comparable to what your setup is

He can listen to music which he is very familiar with. If he also feels something is amiss then if you feel like you can look into cables, speaker placement, etc

 

[Shivam]

Why dont you invite some fm to your place who has something comparable to what your setup is

He can listen to music which he is very familiar with. If he also feels something is amiss then if you feel like you can look into cables, speaker placement, etc

None of the other FMs live in my city.

However it doesn't matter since finally what counts is what I can hear and what I can not. I did call over a couple of audiophile friends but it seems that my speakers are ideally placed and changing them changes the sound for worse. I am happy that Marantz DVD player has the same sound signature as the Linn DS. For comfort of playing flac files, I will keep the MF M1 Clic.