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Cake day: October 27th, 2023

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  • gnostalgick@alien.topBtoAudiophileSource most important?
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    1 year ago

    I don’t think anyone here is saying that the source isn’t important. Just that most $100ish streamers are beyond competent these days. But a $100ish speaker is bound to have severe limitations is not outright audible flaws. And these will be just as obvious even when paired with a $10k dac. But most people would still be blown away by $10k speakers and $100 source.

    Both budgets are a bit silly irl, but it’s not about blindly following some ideal audiophile philosophy, it’s about practical value for money. Digital sources have simply gotten better and cheaper almost every year this century, whereas speaker technology has remained pretty much the same. Diminishing returns just kick in at very different price points than 50 years ago.

    Turntables of course change that balance to some extent, but I still think a $2k setup (new Technics & nice cartridge, Rega if you prefer) is still good enough to reasonably and happily pair with speakers ten times the price.


  • Windows itself can mess with the sound if it’s not bypassed. So you do need to make sure you’re choosing ASIO, KS, or WASAPI output in your player to ensure it’s bit perfect. All of those options are available in Foobar (probably by default, but easily downloadable from their site if not). No idea about the others, but any player that supports any one of those should sound the same.