Vinyl or CD?

09 January 2024, 03:39 PM

piqué

Vinyl or CD?

quote:
Found a USB Digital-to-Analog Converter that I plugged into the USB-C port on my laptop. It is a Dragonfly Cobalt via Amazon. It is the size of a thumb drive. It bypasses the computer audio. I have plugged my high-end Sennheiser headphones into it.
I switched the sound quality of Amazon Music to Ultra Hd and I am listening to a Joshua Bell recording. The volume control of the computer was also bypassed. Amazon Music through my iphone is working much better than with my laptop due to a volume control.
I like it. The sound has a spacious quality that I like. The high notes sound superb.
I have not been listening to music very much. I will now.

This sounds really interesting, Chas! I am going to look into it!

09 January 2024, 08:05 PM

CHAS

I found a lot of info on the Crutchfield site.

13 January 2024, 09:38 AM

Steve Miller

Ken Fritz built the world's finest audio system.

13 January 2024, 10:03 AM

CHAS

Anything worth doing is worth over doing.
Nothing succeeds like excess.

I doubt my ears are good enough to appreciate that system.

13 January 2024, 02:35 PM

Bernard

quote:
Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Ken Fritz built the world's finest audio system.

I just read a long article on WaPo about him. Wow, some serious life lessons to be read about in the WaPo article. Will have a look at your link later.

14 January 2024, 03:39 AM

piqué

I have some really mixed feelings about Ken Fritz's story.

On the one hand, I admire anyone who puts so much dedication and craftsmanship into a passion, anyone who strives to excel.

On the other, he was an abusive and selfish father, and his disinheriting his son is really all one needs to know to judge his character.

It also seems nearly criminal to have broken up his life's work like that and sold it for a pittance. I think whoever was advising the family on the sale of the house did them a disservice. With the right marketing and publicity, the right buyer could have been found for the house--they would have been buying a stereo system with a house attached.

I also object to the lauding of it as the "world's greatest sound system." That's very far from an objective statement, and is akin to someone saying an ice cream flavor is "the world's greatest ice cream flavor." Maybe it is the most expensive. Maybe it required the longest and most intense human investment of time and energy of any sound system ever. Doesn't mean it would have agreed with my or your taste.

What are the lessons to be gleaned from Ken Fritz's life?

02 February 2024, 11:51 AM

CHAS

Is it a gimmick? I suspect some or all of it is. If so, I don't care. I love it.

I think spatial audio is only part of it. Is there really a high resolution of lossless element? I think so, but the perception of someone who wears two hearing aids might not be the best perception.

02 February 2024, 12:16 PM

CHAS

quote:
Originally posted by CHAS:
Is it a gimmick? I suspect some or all of it is. If so, I don't care. I love it.

I think spatial audio is only part of it. Is there really a high resolution of lossless element? I think so, but the perception of someone who wears two hearing aids might not be the best perception.

Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio can be applied to older recordings. High Resolution is real. https://youtu.be/E-d6XzTNk4A?si=_XfyR1C-yyOq5asg

02 February 2024, 12:21 PM

CHAS

quote:
Originally posted by CHAS:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by CHAS:
Is it a gimmick? I suspect some or all of it is. If so, I don't care. I love it.

I think spatial audio is only part of it. Is there really a high resolution of lossless element? I think so, but the perception of someone who wears two hearing aids might not be the best perception.