I have FifopiQ3 and bridge pi.
I am wondering if Chinese cheaper ones work.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0zsjqQ
And they have 3 options.
I am wondering if Chinese cheaper ones work.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0zsjqQ
And they have 3 options.
Hello,
So most folks will spend loads of cash , getting all the latest improvements and then connect it to a preamp that will almost nullify the big leaps just being taken?
A line preamplifier that can be used to connect Ian's circuits to a power amp should not be that difficult without using Chinese websites.
There could be some home made improvements easily implemented to most builds here mounted on a ply board.
It appears that avoiding noise is a key element in performance and most state of the art laboratory equipment is build in a way to eliminate the wrong noise from contaminating the results so we should focus more on that.
Greetings,Eduard
So most folks will spend loads of cash , getting all the latest improvements and then connect it to a preamp that will almost nullify the big leaps just being taken?
A line preamplifier that can be used to connect Ian's circuits to a power amp should not be that difficult without using Chinese websites.
There could be some home made improvements easily implemented to most builds here mounted on a ply board.
It appears that avoiding noise is a key element in performance and most state of the art laboratory equipment is build in a way to eliminate the wrong noise from contaminating the results so we should focus more on that.
Greetings,Eduard
I will likely go down this path one day. But I have professional studio monitors that more than fill my listening room so for me it means adding a pre amp, an amp AND passive speakers which equals $$$ for audiophile quality.
My powered speakers are focal audio a50. No input gain control so I am using my Ian DAC stack with MonitorPiPro as my “preamp”.
How good are the preamps in a powered speaker like mine? It’s xlr in and there are bass and treble adjustments. The power section is bi amped for each speaker. They sound amazing to me and I would have to spend $3k at least to replace powered speakers with a passive setup that probably sound similar to what I have. I am a musician and I went to powered speakers 10 years ago because I lived in a 700sq ft condo for seven years and wanted a small system.
I figure if they are listening to these (ie studio monitors are usually powered) in studios to make 24b/192 masters aren’t they good enough for audiophiles assuming we are feeding them with quality gear?
I would love to hear other peoples setups to get a sense of how much difference it would make.
My powered speakers are focal audio a50. No input gain control so I am using my Ian DAC stack with MonitorPiPro as my “preamp”.
How good are the preamps in a powered speaker like mine? It’s xlr in and there are bass and treble adjustments. The power section is bi amped for each speaker. They sound amazing to me and I would have to spend $3k at least to replace powered speakers with a passive setup that probably sound similar to what I have. I am a musician and I went to powered speakers 10 years ago because I lived in a 700sq ft condo for seven years and wanted a small system.
I figure if they are listening to these (ie studio monitors are usually powered) in studios to make 24b/192 masters aren’t they good enough for audiophiles assuming we are feeding them with quality gear?
I would love to hear other peoples setups to get a sense of how much difference it would make.
Hello,
The pre amp in your speaker will be low grade compared to the level of all of Ian's boards you are using.
Focal used to be a very good loudspeaker. I remember the audiom 15 model manufactured in the eighties. Back then they were not exactly cheap. 15 inch speaker with a weight of 13 kilogrammes i just checked my old magazines
For my television set up i use the Elipson planet L combined with an active subwoofer.
It works remarkable well for the money.
If you listen to most of the present day recording they will just sound bad because they are made to sound ok when played on low level gear. Most of the time never played on what be called a better than average stereo set 3 decades ago.
Greetings, Eduard
The pre amp in your speaker will be low grade compared to the level of all of Ian's boards you are using.
Focal used to be a very good loudspeaker. I remember the audiom 15 model manufactured in the eighties. Back then they were not exactly cheap. 15 inch speaker with a weight of 13 kilogrammes i just checked my old magazines
For my television set up i use the Elipson planet L combined with an active subwoofer.
It works remarkable well for the money.
If you listen to most of the present day recording they will just sound bad because they are made to sound ok when played on low level gear. Most of the time never played on what be called a better than average stereo set 3 decades ago.
Greetings, Eduard
I'll share what I use which is off the beaten path but really very good. Autoformers from Dave Slagle aka www.intactaudio.com . Resistive volume attenuation is same as dragging the breaks on your car. Autoformers are like downshifting the transmission. One throws away the power, the other transforms it in a good way. Instead of killing micro detail, it just gives more current at lower volume.
https://www.enjoythemusic.com/diy/0611/slagle_autoformer_volume_control_modules.htm
I mounted them in a wood box, but they'll work equally well on a board.
Attachments
There is a passive preamp at Khozmo, i have thought off it many times, but I live with digital volume control.
https://khozmo.com/product-category/preamplifiers/
https://khozmo.com/product-category/preamplifiers/
Last edited:
So for my analogue output board on the ian DAC (dual mono) I built (OPA861), it's giving me 4V out @ 0db (full ESS chip output) at XLR analogue side. So a pre-amp just gives me essentially a volume control to REDUCE the volume (voltage from 4 to something lower than 4V) before handing it to the power amp? Because power amp input voltage is 2-4V.
And I need a good pre-amp to preserve the dynamic range on the pre-amp side to be as close to the digital SNR of the DAC?
So what is benefit of the pre-amp? Isn't it just one more place to degrade the signal? Why not use MonitorPiPro volume control and go straight into a power amp if the OPA861 is able to give power amp input voltages no problem?
I'm such a newbie
And I need a good pre-amp to preserve the dynamic range on the pre-amp side to be as close to the digital SNR of the DAC?
So what is benefit of the pre-amp? Isn't it just one more place to degrade the signal? Why not use MonitorPiPro volume control and go straight into a power amp if the OPA861 is able to give power amp input voltages no problem?
I'm such a newbie
Hello,
I am using the siver wire autoformers from slagle too in my tube line pre amp.
A few decades ago there was the same discussion why use a pre amp if your cd player gives you more than enough output voltage.
So i am sure the answer is out there.
Having balanced connections is a nice advantage. I remember a meeting with a French diy audio group in the nineties in a real cinema. The chairman of the group did install the sound and vision system in that theatre . We watched a James Bond movie with the best movie sound i ever heard.
After that we played music using a Revox/Studer D730 which was positioned in front of the stage and ALL the other equipment was in the room where the projector was. SO probably minimum of 100 meters balanced interconnect ( Mogami/Prefer/Neglex surely no audiofool brand) and a remarkable good sound.
That was the reason to go for a balanced output on my tube line stage with a pair of Tango output transformers.
In the attachment the loudspeaker system of a French audiophile friend recently deceased and my homebrew tube line amp.
Greetings, eduard
I am using the siver wire autoformers from slagle too in my tube line pre amp.
A few decades ago there was the same discussion why use a pre amp if your cd player gives you more than enough output voltage.
So i am sure the answer is out there.
Having balanced connections is a nice advantage. I remember a meeting with a French diy audio group in the nineties in a real cinema. The chairman of the group did install the sound and vision system in that theatre . We watched a James Bond movie with the best movie sound i ever heard.
After that we played music using a Revox/Studer D730 which was positioned in front of the stage and ALL the other equipment was in the room where the projector was. SO probably minimum of 100 meters balanced interconnect ( Mogami/Prefer/Neglex surely no audiofool brand) and a remarkable good sound.
That was the reason to go for a balanced output on my tube line stage with a pair of Tango output transformers.
In the attachment the loudspeaker system of a French audiophile friend recently deceased and my homebrew tube line amp.
Greetings, eduard
Attachments
Good idea...and passive speakers.....I'm not sure if the shops here let you do that. probably with a depositHmmm... how it was ? ...to be or not to be...?
Or I'll bring my Ian DAC to the shop and blow them away