[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Stereophile's "Chinese Wall" between advertising and editorial departments

[andy_c]

There's recently been some entertaining fallout as a result of Sam
Tellig having quit Stereophile. It seems that for many years now,
Stereophile has claimed to have a "Chinese Wall" between advertising and
editorial departments. A Google search (via '_this_LMGTFY_link_'
(http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Stereophile+%22Chinese+Wall%22) for ease of
search) confirms many such claims.

Well, it's '_recently_been_discovered_'
(http://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.html?forum=critics&n=78336) that
their Advertising Manager is one Laura J. LoVecchio. She happens to be
John Atkinson's wife. :D I don't know how long this situation has been
the case though.


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[ralphpnj]

Post by andy_c
There's recently been some entertaining fallout as a result of Sam
Tellig having quit Stereophile. It seems that for many years now,
Stereophile has claimed to have a "Chinese Wall" between advertising and
editorial departments. A Google search (via '_this_LMGTFY_link_'
(http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Stereophile+%22Chinese+Wall%22) for ease of
search) confirms many such claims.
Well, it's '_recently_been_discovered_'
(http://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.html?forum=critics&n=78336) that
their Advertising Manager is one Laura J. LoVecchio. She happens to be
John Atkinson's wife. :D I don't know how long this situation has been
the case though.

Andy if you have been reading this "Audiophiles" section of the User
Forum for any length of time then you would know that most of the
regular posters here have long ago realized that whatever Stereophile
may say to the contrary there is no "Chinese Wall" between the
advertising and the editorial departments. Instead what exists is
complete control by the advertising department and the advertisers
themselves over any and all editorial content. But Stereophile should
not singled out for this behavior since all audiophile publications, be
they print or online, have the exact same arrangement.

This sad state of affairs makes independent audio critics like our
fellow forum member Archimago all the more valuable since their reviews,
research and critiques are now the only ones available that have not
been rendered worthless by advertising dollars.



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[andy_c]

Yes, I realize I am preaching to the choir here.

I also read the audiophool forums like Audio Asylum though, mostly for
amusement purposes. Stereophile has been loudly and preemptively
proclaiming this "Chinese Wall" thing for years, more so than the other
publications. In the audiophool culture, many, perhaps most, have
swallowed this BS hook, line and sinker. Atkinson has been a kind of
folk hero in that culture for years. What's interesting is that now,
because of this issue, he seems to be viewed much more negatively by
many in that culture than in the past.

Another interesting aspect of the feud between Atkinson and Sam Tellig
is Tellig's reason for leaving. He left because of Stereophile's
failure to pay him on time for his work, and his subsequent need to keep
pestering them for payment. According to him, Stephen Mejias had to
intervene on his behalf in order for Sam to get his money. This
suggests they may be in some financial difficulty. If they go under,
I'm going to throw a party!

Last summer I bought the stereophool.com domain name and had thought to
make a parody site, but I'm too lazy to do that.


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[ralphpnj]

I try not to use the term "audiophool" since I don't think that most
audiophiles are fools but rather just misguided. It's quite easy to
become enthralled by those slick high end magazines with their elegant
prose and artsy equipment photos. After all on the surface it seems that
their quest for better sound is a noble one plus they are careful to
appeal to both the music lover and the equipment lover. It is only when
one starts to scratch below the surface that their carefully constructed
facade begins to fall apart.

Sure there appears to be this entire industry filled with well meaning
individuals all united in the quest of perfect sound but this too is
just a front for a whole bunch of shady characters just trying to
separate the well healed audiophile from lots and lots of money. Now
bear in mind that not everyone involved in high end audio nor every
manufacturer is in on this money grab but as equipment prices have gone
into the stratosphere and entered in the world of luxury goods it
becomes ever more important to question everyone's motives and their
honesty. Magazines like Stereophile no longer serve the interests of
their readers and only exist to serve the wants and needs of their
advertisers.



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[darrenyeats]

I'll be sad if Stereophile disappear because they're one of the few
magazines doing measurements as part of their reviews.



Check it, add to it! http://www.dr.loudness-war.info/

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[Archimago]

Post by darrenyeats
I'll be sad if Stereophile disappear because they're one of the few
magazines doing measurements as part of their reviews.

My sentiment exactly... The measurements J.A. publishes are why I
subscribe. It would be say if the only audiophile magazine I can find
left at the local bookstore ends up being TAS or Hi-Fi+.



Archimago's Musings: (archimago.blogspot.com) A 'more objective'
audiophile blog.
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[ralphpnj]

Post by darrenyeats
I'll be sad if Stereophile disappear because they're one of the few
magazines doing measurements as part of their reviews.
My sentiment exactly... The measurements J.A. publishes are why I
subscribe. It would be say if the only audiophile magazine I can find
left at the local bookstore ends up being TAS or Hi-Fi+.

Come on gentlemen please tell me exactly what difference Stereophile's
holy measurements make? If the equipment under review and measurement
sounds great to the reviewer but has terrible measurements then JA (aka
clown in chief) writes some nonsense about how just because the
measurements are not good does not necessarily mean that the equipment
is going to sound bad. And if an inexpensive piece of equipment measures
great (as is the case with almost all well designed DACs these days)
than good old JA (yes that clown again) writes some nonsense about how
measurements don't reveal enough about how equipment sounds and how
measurements fail to capture those little things that separate a $20,000
DAC/preamp/power amp from a $500 DAC/preamp/power amp. Remember when you
are in the business of lying there is no depths to which you are
unwilling to sink.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg because JA never fails to his
holy measurements as a double edged sword - $20,000 DAC has jitter which
is almost unmeasurable but $500 DAC has measurable jitter - well then
the $20,000 DAC HAS TO BE BETTER!!! But JA always fails to mention that
the jitter in the $500 DAC is inaudible.

I could go on but I think you get my point - JA and Stereophile use
measurements to give a false sense of scientific respectability to what
is really just a bunch of garbage. At least the Absolute Sound and HiFi+
dispense with the charade and just give you lots and lots of BS.



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[andy_c]

Post by ralphpnj
Come on gentlemen please tell me exactly what difference Stereophile's
holy measurements make? If the equipment under review and measurement
sounds great to the reviewer but has terrible measurements then JA (aka
clown in chief) writes some nonsense about how just because the
measurements are not good does not necessarily mean that the equipment
is going to sound bad. And if an inexpensive piece of equipment measures
great (as is the case with almost all well designed DACs these days)
than good old JA (yes that clown again) writes some nonsense about how
measurements don't reveal enough about how equipment sounds and how
measurements fail to capture those little things that separate a $20,000
DAC/preamp/power amp from a $500 DAC/preamp/power amp.

I bookmarked one of the funnier posts I have seen on just this very
subject. It is '_here_'
(http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/lounge/146693-john-curls-blowtorch-preamplifier-part-ii-2454.html#post3092791)
(first one, by SY, "JC"=John Curl in the quote).


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[ralphpnj]

Post by andy_c
I bookmarked one of the funnier posts I have seen on just this very
subject. It is '_here_'
(http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/lounge/146693-john-curls-blowtorch-preamplifier-part-ii-2454.html#post3092791)
(first one, by SY, "JC"=John Curl in the quote).

Exactly my point - while Stereophile's measurements may be revealing and
useful to a knowledgeable reader who understands how to read and
interpret them, JA's remarks about how the measurements relate to the
equipment's sound are pure marketing BS.



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[Mnyb]

Post by ralphpnj
Exactly my point - while Stereophile's measurements may be revealing and
useful to a knowledgeable reader who understands how to read and
interpret them, JA's remarks about how the measurements relate to the
equipment's sound are pure marketing BS.

The really silly part , he fails to see the very obvious solution to why
the subjective reviews and measurments don't add up .

Non blind testing gives any kind of biased results , the overall
conclusion I would do after years of measuring stuff that's totally
transparent to human listeners and my subjective reviewers comes up with
very weird results that's does not correlate with measurments would be
to review the listening process used .



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[ralphpnj]

Post by Mnyb
The really silly part , he fails to see the very obvious solution to why
the subjective reviews and measurments don't add up .
Non blind testing gives any kind of biased results , the overall
conclusion I would do after years of measuring stuff that's totally
transparent to human listeners and my subjective reviewers comes up with
very weird results that's does not correlate with measurments would be
to review the listening process used .

I'm not sure that the writers and editors of the various high end audio
magazines fail to see the error of their ways. I think that it's more of
something like "whatever pays the bills" as in if the magazine raves
about the wonders of $500 USB cables or $1,000 Ethernet cables then the
cable manufacturers will continue to pay for advertising but if the
magazine were to tell the truth about these over priced pieces of audio
jewelry then those cable manufacturers would no longer advertise in the
magazine. Money is very, very powerful.



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[Archimago]

Many good points gentlemen about JA, and his text commentary around
measurements (including the tendency to waver towards his subjective
review colleagues).

Nonetheless, my hope is that in time as more of the population "get it",
and pressure these guys about realistic (objective) evaluation, it's
easier for JA to change the text that accompany his measurements.
Imagine if attitudes do shift in time, at least Stereophile will have
some ability to adjust and place more prominence in the objective side.
Much easier than 100% fluff magazines like TAS to actually hire someone
to do objective analysis or change a culture which has opposed objective
analysis altogether. Again, I'm thankful that bizarre articles such as
that series by Zellig and Clawson likely would never pass muster at
Stereophile.

As much as I do want the magazines to change and prominently put
objective analysis as an essential benchmark for which all gear should
have to hurdle in the full review, as a business guy as well, I
appreciate how they have to find a balance with industry support. These
days, with the free availability of blogs and other sources of
information (like the forums), magazines obviously need ad revenue to
survive. There's a business model to keep the ship afloat and pay the
bills. If they advertise for reasonable companies that make a product
that could in some way advance our hobby (not necessarily in sound
quality but usability for example), I doubt anyone would complain. But
when they start courting companies like Synergistic, Nordost, or (for
the most part) AudioQuest where the products they make are either
without merit or borderline insane, then we have real problems if the
magazine feels it has to cater to them and "put in a good word"...
Perversely, I suspect the mark-up must be massive with these "products"
and thus the potential ad revenue available disproportionately high as
well.

I guess the bottom line is, I do gain some entertainment value from
reading something like Stereophile - keeps us up to date on what's new
and what to complain about :mad:. And JA's measurements I find valuable.
I certainly would like to see the culture among "audiophiles" change
towards a "more objective" leaning as I highlight on my blog tagline.
And hopefully, being a small hobby, more of us will leave comments on
crazy blog articles, write it Letters To The Editor, or demand evidence
when we see commentary on questionable products... Like in most hobbies,
the magazines will have to dance with the "devil" (certain questionable
part of the industry). But they shouldn't get in bed with her!
:rolleyes:

BTW: In my 'ethernet cable blog post'
(http://archimago.blogspot.ca/2015/02/measurements-ethernet-cables-and-audio.html),
I mentioned Chord's troubles with the UK Advertising Standards
Association. Does anyone know if in the US there has ever been action
against a cable company over all these years for false advertising?



Archimago's Musings: (archimago.blogspot.com) A 'more objective'
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[ralphpnj]

.... But when they start courting companies like Synergistic, Nordost,
or (for the most part) AudioQuest where the products they make are
either without merit or borderline insane, then we have real problems if
the magazine feels it has to cater to them and "put in a good word"...
Perversely, I suspect the mark-up must be massive with these "products"
and thus the potential ad revenue available disproportionately high as
well (as Ralph has already hinted at as well).

I once read somewhere that one goes to one of the big box audio/video
stores, e.g. Best Buy in the US, to buy a HDTV that the store makes more
money on the fancy cables and power strips then on the HDTV, so yeah,
the mark up and profit on cables is off the charts.

BTW: In my 'ethernet cable blog post'
(http://archimago.blogspot.ca/2015/02/measurements-ethernet-cables-and-audio.html),
I mentioned Chord's troubles with the UK Advertising Standards
Association. Does anyone know if in the US there has ever been action
against a cable company over all these years for false advertising?

Archimago I know that you live in Canada but here in the US there are no
advertising standards. Basically one can say or claim just about
anything and get away with it. Just watch this video of Dr. Oz basically
telling a US Senate panel to go f*&k themselves:

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[Archimago]

Post by ralphpnj
Archimago I know that you live in Canada but here in the US there are no
advertising standards. Basically one can say or claim just about
anything and get away with it. Just watch this video of Dr. Oz basically
http://youtu.be/QkUe4bMS_8Y

Well, that sucks! Here in Canada, we do have the "'Advertising Standards
Canada' (http://www.adstandards.com/en/)" body which at least one can
easily lodge a complaint on-line. In some of the radio broadcasts, every
once awhile we are reminded that "advertising standards are important"
and listeners are reminded that they can lodge a complaint. I don't know
if any audio companies have been hit with complaints up here (didn't
find any names I knew with a quick search).

But for ads originating in the US, what can the public do to lodge a
complaint within that jurisdiction???



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[ralphpnj]

Post by Archimago
Well, that sucks! Here in Canada, we do have the "'Advertising Standards
Canada' (http://www.adstandards.com/en/)" body which at least one can
easily lodge a complaint on-line. In some of the radio broadcasts, every
once awhile we are reminded that "advertising standards are important"
and listeners are reminded that they can lodge a complaint. I don't know
if any audio companies have been hit with complaints up here (didn't
find any names I knew with a quick search).
But for ads originating in the US, what can the public do to lodge a
complaint within that jurisdiction???

Here in the US what we get are all kinds of commercials that make very
reasonable sounding claims or very attractive offers only at the very
end of the commercial, whether they are in print, on line, on television
or on radio, there is the "fine print" which basically voids everything
said in the commercial. It's really quite comical since you will see or
read an ad that promises to cut your cell phone bill in half only to be
followed by a disclaimer that basically says "hey we're only joking". I
just love totally unregulated capitalism!



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[paulster]

Post by ralphpnj
Here in the US what we get are all kinds of commercials that make very
reasonable sounding claims or very attractive offers only at the very
end of the commercial, whether they are in print, on line, on television
or on radio, there is the "fine print" which basically voids everything
said in the commercial. It's really quite comical since you will see or
read an ad that promises to cut your cell phone bill in half only to be
followed by a disclaimer that basically says "hey we're only joking". I
just love totally unregulated capitalism!

As someone with feet on both UK and US soil, and therefore familiarity
with the Advertising Standards Authority, it's amazing to me what
advertisers in the US can legally get away with. Exactly as you say,
you can make all these fundamentally bogus claims and then simply
disclaim them in fine print and you're good.



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[ralphpnj]

Post by paulster
As someone with feet on both UK and US soil, and therefore familiarity
with the Advertising Standards Authority, it's amazing to me what
advertisers in the US can legally get away with. Exactly as you say,
you can make all these fundamentally bogus claims and then simply
disclaim them in fine print and you're good.

Watch the Dr. Oz video I linked to in a post above - it's an amazing
piece of political theater with Dr. Oz basically telling all the
anti-regulation senators that this is what you get when you don't
regulate. In other words, I can say whatever I want and there is nothing
you do about it, except of course to pass some laws which provide some
regulations.



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[andy_c]

But when they start courting companies like Synergistic, Nordost, or
(for the most part) AudioQuest where the products they make are either
without merit or borderline insane, then we have real problems if the
magazine feels it has to cater to them and "put in a good word"...

It's always a fun read looking through
'_the_\\"Miscellaneous\\"_section_of_Stereophile's_recommended_components_list_'
(http://www.stereophile.com/content/2014-recommended-components-miscellaneous),
where you'll see "P.W.B. Electronics Cream Electret" (from Peter Belt)
and the like.


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[Mnyb]

Post by Gandhi
That thread mentions an absolute goldmine of crazy. Bury most of your
face in pillows and read with eyes half-closed! You have been warned.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/zanden-5000-mkivsignature-da-converter-2000-premium-cd-transport-measurements
Wow, the measurements of that DAC really suck! A bargain at $15,470! :D

To JA's credit he really bash the product but probably holds back a bit
due to comercial concerns . The truth is any supermarket 50$ DVD player
outperforms it even the revised performance with the other sample .
So actually stereophile is doing well pointing out that it does suck .

It's a lovely piece of kit in that I higligths so many wrongs at the
same time . Let's mention just a few of them .

What kind of cargo cult delusion went trough the designers head ? analog
absolute phase switch ? And that probably just the beginning of all
flawed designed deciosn made .

This points out the necessity of measurments in hifi reviews . High end
brands can make very weird stuff that needs to be singled out and more
normal brands can make honesty mistakes .

Let's measure an audio note DAC voodoo design galore:P and also some
modern home theater amp the complex functionality of those makes
mistakes likly software bugs etc .

It's also interesting to see how the subjective review fails and the
necessity to improve these . The listening sessions must improve and be
blinded somehow , but an open part is needed to asses look and feel and
functionality .
Blind part can be weeks it does not need to be 30 second snippets , just
saying .

It's also tells how hard it's is to do and how high the human hearing
treshold really are , the performance is abysmal but they still can
listen to it . Tells something on how random a subjective review would
be on a well performing product where all artefacts are below human
hearing tresholds.......

And the audiophile culture that embraces such products stratospheric
price tags steampunk design esthetics some mystics and smoke and mirrors
then nano seconds of jitter is just fine :D whereas such a thing is a
liability in other more normal products , it's completely irrational ?

These kind of products is a large part of the ad revenue ? For more fun
follow some of the ads on the website ?
Of the adds where more normal no audioquest or similar the editorial
policies would more possible to actually enforce and be somewhat in the
interest of all parties . The will ofcourse still be conflicts of
interest .

And a normal hifi brand would be probaly be more able to suck up a bad
review if they trusted the magazine , but as it is now when any garbage
can be praised and good products gets doomed by the " God for its price
" moniker ( remeber it's must be expensive to be high end :P ) .

Is seems like audimagazines have resorted to never give bad reviews or
so subjective ones that no reader can really make any assumptions and
then scoop in the ad revenue .

It does not have to be a direct conspiracy an indirect way makes it even
better. Magizine makes random harmless articles on very posh and
expensive stuff and ad department sells ads to brands accommodating to
that market .
Brand x does not have to buy a good review ! Magizes just have to
nurture a culture of wideyed gullible marks that willingly accepts this
culture and it's values .

But I'm very suspicious of the direct product recommendations some
British hifi rags do ? Hmm .

But this makes very bad consumer oriented journalism , no reader gets
any help to actually further his/hers interst in Audio and HiFi . You
don't get any more knowledgeable in the science on how audio really
works or any solid product advice .



--------------------------------------------------------------------
Main hifi: Touch + CIA PS +MeridianG68J MeridianHD621 MeridianG98DH 2 x
MeridianDSP5200 MeridianDSP5200HC 2 xMeridianDSP3100 +Rel Stadium 3
sub.
Bedroom/Office: Boom
Kitchen: Touch + powered Fostex PM0.4
Misc use: Radio (with battery)
iPad1 with iPengHD & SqueezePad
(spares Touch, SB3, reciever ,controller )
server HP proliant micro server N36L with ClearOS Linux

http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html
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[cliveb]

Post by Mnyb
To JA's credit he really bash the product but probably holds back a bit
due to comercial concerns . The truth is any supermarket 50$ DVD player
outperforms it even the revised performance with the other sample .
So actually stereophile is doing well pointing out that it does suck.

Forgive me if I've misunderstood your position here, but you seem to be
giving Stereophile some points for bothering to measure the device and
publish the figures.

But: having measured this DAC and discovered how catastrophically broken
it is, the review bends over backwards to find some kind of mitigating
factors. Stuff like saying that it sounds nice in the mid range, where
most music signal sits. WTF?

Come on guys: if the device had been a $100 DAC from China, do you
really think Stereophile's review would have said anything other than
"This is a pile of junk, fit only for a dumpster"? How does the fact
that it's pretty and costs a fortune change anything? The fact that they
fail to call it out despite having the appalling evidence staring them
in the face is just mind boggling.



Transporter -> ATC SCM100A
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[Mnyb]

Post by cliveb
Forgive me if I've misunderstood your position here, but you seem to be
giving Stereophile some points for bothering to measure the device and
publish the figures.
But: having measured this DAC and discovered how catastrophically broken
it is, the review bends over backwards to find some kind of mitigating
factors. Stuff like saying that it sounds nice in the mid range, where
most music signal sits. WTF?
Come on guys: if the device had been a $100 DAC from China, do you
really think Stereophile's review would have said anything other than
"This is a pile of junk, fit only for a dumpster"? How does the fact
that it's pretty and costs a fortune change anything? The fact that they
fail to call it out despite having the appalling evidence staring them
in the face is just mind boggling.

probably depends on said manufacturers ad budget ....

yes i'm probably a to nice guy :) acustomed to read streophile between
the lines sometimes .



--------------------------------------------------------------------
Main hifi: Touch + CIA PS +MeridianG68J MeridianHD621 MeridianG98DH 2 x
MeridianDSP5200 MeridianDSP5200HC 2 xMeridianDSP3100 +Rel Stadium 3
sub.
Bedroom/Office: Boom
Kitchen: Touch + powered Fostex PM0.4
Misc use: Radio (with battery)
iPad1 with iPengHD & SqueezePad
(spares Touch, SB3, reciever ,controller )
server HP proliant micro server N36L with ClearOS Linux

http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html
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[Mnyb]

and further they risk to upsett more than one brand . one fundamental
myth of high end is that price corelates strongly to soundquality that
you can not get perfection for less than multiple 1000$ . 30k$ dac are
common or 100k$ preamps ?

So i'm surprised that they even dare to say that something expensive
whatsoever is slighlty bad :D



--------------------------------------------------------------------
Main hifi: Touch + CIA PS +MeridianG68J MeridianHD621 MeridianG98DH 2 x
MeridianDSP5200 MeridianDSP5200HC 2 xMeridianDSP3100 +Rel Stadium 3
sub.
Bedroom/Office: Boom
Kitchen: Touch + powered Fostex PM0.4
Misc use: Radio (with battery)
iPad1 with iPengHD & SqueezePad
(spares Touch, SB3, reciever ,controller )
server HP proliant micro server N36L with ClearOS Linux

http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html
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[andy_c]

Post by Mnyb
Let's measure an audio note DAC voodoo design galore:P and also some
modern home theater amp the complex functionality of those makes
mistakes likly software bugs etc.

Don't get me started on non-oversampling DACs!

There's an obsolete chip made by Philips, the TDA1541A, that's become a
fetish item in high-end circles. '_Here_is_but_one_web_page_'
(http://www.lampizator.eu/lampizator/TDA1541%20corner/TDA1541.html)
devoted to singing its praises. It's pretty clear to anyone with any
technical knowledge at all that the contents of that page from
"Lampizator" are complete nonsense, and yet this guy is considered to be
some sort of high-end audio guru! What a sad state of affairs.


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[Mnyb]

Post by andy_c
Don't get me started on non-oversampling DACs!
There's an obsolete chip made by Philips, the TDA1541A, that's become a
fetish item in high-end circles. '_Here_is_but_one_web_page_'
(http://www.lampizator.eu/lampizator/TDA1541%20corner/TDA1541.html)
devoted to singing its praises. It's pretty clear to anyone with any
technical knowledge at all that the contents of that page from
"Lampizator" are complete nonsense, and yet this guy is considered to be
some sort of high-end audio guru! What a sad state of affairs.

Oh no , not that :D this lampizator guy also has a tube driven digital
output :confused: Yes you can use some HF radio tube for such an output
stage ! and ofcourse it's "sounds better" for unknown or unknowable
reasons you know it's a tube so it has the pixie dust that makes stuff
better .



--------------------------------------------------------------------
Main hifi: Touch + CIA PS +MeridianG68J MeridianHD621 MeridianG98DH 2 x
MeridianDSP5200 MeridianDSP5200HC 2 xMeridianDSP3100 +Rel Stadium 3
sub.
Bedroom/Office: Boom
Kitchen: Touch + powered Fostex PM0.4
Misc use: Radio (with battery)
iPad1 with iPengHD & SqueezePad
(spares Touch, SB3, reciever ,controller )
server HP proliant micro server N36L with ClearOS Linux

http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html
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[Archimago]

Post by Mnyb
Oh no , not that :D this lampizator guy also has a tube driven digital
output :confused: Yes you can use some HF radio tube for such an output
stage ! and ofcourse it's "sounds better" for unknown or unknowable
reasons you know it's a tube so it has the pixie dust that makes stuff
better .

Funny that the 'negative New York Post article on Pono'
(http://nypost.com/2015/01/11/do-consumers-really-care-about-digital-quality/)
quoted Mr. Lampiz himself (Lukasz Fikus). Of course I'm generally not a
fan of useless hi-res remasters of essentially standard-res stuff... But
when you quote a guy who makes tubed (sometimes NOS) DACs, of course
“the difference is so miniscule that it’s not even worth talking
about”!

Would love to see measurements on these Lampizator stuff to see what the
noise floor is like with them tubes.



Archimago's Musings: (archimago.blogspot.com) A 'more objective'
audiophile blog.
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[cliveb]

Post by andy_c
Don't get me started on non-oversampling DACs!
There's an obsolete chip made by Philips, the TDA1541A, that's become a
fetish item in high-end circles.

Just in case anyone misinterprets your post as meaning that the TDA1541
isn't capable of oversampling, let's just be clear that it can be used
in "normal" oversampling DACs. Its max input bitrate allows for up to 4x
oversampling, and it was used in a large number of classic highly
regarded CD players (eg. Marantz CD94, Meridian 207). Nothing wrong with
the TDA1541 when used correctly.



Transporter -> ATC SCM100A
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[Gandhi]

Post by andy_c
I bookmarked one of the funnier posts I have seen on just this very
subject. It is '_here_'
(http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/lounge/146693-john-curls-blowtorch-preamplifier-part-ii-2454.html#post3092791)
(first one, by SY, "JC"=John Curl in the quote).

That thread mentions an absolute goldmine of crazy. Bury most of your
face in pillows and read with eyes half-closed! You have been warned.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/zanden-5000-mkivsignature-da-converter-2000-premium-cd-transport-measurements



Best Regards,
Gandhi

not often enough well recorded and mastered cds *|* dbpoweramp with
accuraterip *|* flac *|* fanless asrock z77e-itx intel i5-3570t *|*
ubuntu 12.04.1 lts 32-bit *|* lms 7.8.0 *|* brutefirdrc 3.0 (rewv5) *|*
transporter (balanced out) *|* thule ia252b *|* audio physic scorpio *|*
no fancy cables. *+* also some booms. *+* harmony 525s for them all,
including waking the server from s3.
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[andy_c]

Bury most of your face in pillows and read with eyes half-closed! You
have been warned.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/zanden-5000-mkivsignature-da-converter-2000-premium-cd-transport-measurements

Wow, the measurements of that DAC really suck! A bargain at $15,470! :D


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