Great! I’ve been lusting after HIFIMAN!
Luckily, on the digital side tech has become mature and there seems to be little reason to spend high-end money. I’ve heard lots of great things about Topping, and plan to get a dac/pre and a HIFIMAN.
I’ve avoided Topping because of QC issues that are still rampant to this day.
Seems like the only people raving about them are those on AudioScienceNetwork forums or whatever it’s called, who only care about measurements and don’t care how they actually sound.
I’ve tried one of those extremely neutral DAC/Amps, the sort that Topping make, but from FiiO, which ranked near the top of their list. At the end of the day, my iFi sounded significantly better despite utilizing a “worse measuring” Burr-Brown DAC. It just sounded more lively and there was no shortage of detail in the music.
The FiiO sounded clinical and sterile. Made all of my music boring.
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Yeah, I’ve been following that debate as well. My taste, similar to you, is more towards the romantical than the analythical. The Topping Velvet dac seems to be more towards my tastes, but I’ll have a listen first, of course. Seems like a lot can be done with curves and eq on the computer side, also, so the dac would be less important than it used to be. Do you have any experience with Schiit?
It’s almost like that… But how to “force” Linux to output DSD to DAC?
P.S. And now they’re going to start swearing at us 
I have a vintage Pioneer SX-950 receiver from 1977. It’s currently in the shop getting LEDs installed to replace faulty lights and also getting recapped and cleaned.
I’ll hopefully be getting a pair of vintage Boston Acoustics a150 speakers from 1979 in the not to distant future
.
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PCM 44.1k is all I need so that’s fine lol
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No experience with Schiit but seems to be more of the same as Topping.
WOW!! There’s nothing like vintage audio aesthetics! Hows the sound?
Makes me regret all the stuff I’ve sold or thrown away over the years, including hundreds of vinyl records. Vintage audio prices are soaring now, but there are still good deals to be made
I know many here don’t like youtube channels, personally I find them great for my different hobbies.
Here’s a nice one for vintage audio.
Single ended triodes (tubes). Accept no substitue.
I’m very fond of the 2A3 tube.
But the 45 tube really stole my heart:
Sadly, I went deaf a few years ago. I gave my Cary Audio 2A3 monoblocks (switched to running the 45 tubes) and the rest of my system to a very good friend.
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This is understandable 
I am also more than satisfied with the 192 kHz of my collection
But in a Windows environment, my DAC directly reproduces dsd, and in a Linux environment I can’t find a way… 
Nothing like tubes!
I used to have a nice mid-range kt88 tube amp, but the maintenance was too much for me, I’m no electrician and feel that I’m still just too young to die from bias adjustment shock in the name of audiophilia!
But that sounds alarming. You mean actually deaf, or do you speak figuratively?
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I tried up to the DSD512 that this DAC/Amp supports and honestly I cannot tell the difference.
Most of my library is redbook so I have it set to 32-bit and 44100 kHz. I love it for its wide soundstage, impeccable channel balance and lively sound.
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The sound is quite nice. I got this receiver at an estate sale about a year ago. $240 U.S. They seem to go for between $800 to over $1,000 fully refurbished. But if you’re not afraid to tinker, or have a shop nearby that does cleaning, recapping and light replacements; there are bargains to be found.
I’m using a mediocre turntable at the moment. A 90’s Yamaha linear-tracking model. My records were tossed out or given away many years ago. I re-started my vinyl journey around 2010. I have about 1,200 LP’ and EP’s in climate controlled storage for the time being. I’ll hopefully be fully back up and running after the new year. Probaby springtime.
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Actual deafness. My hearing was fine (a little high frequency loss that was common with age) until I woke up one morning and couldn’t hear.
After getting a series of steroid injections through my eardrums (which didn’t help) and a battery of tests, I was diagnosed with Sudden Onset Hearing Loss, which is a fancy way for doctors to say “we don’t have a clue what happened.”
It usually only happens in 1 ear. I won the jackpot and got both.
It’s OK, though. I had many, many years of listening to great music, much of which I can still hear in my head whenever I want. And I had nice tube amp setups all my life, since I was a teenager.
I miss playing (I played jazz guitar) the most. I keep a guitar just so I can run my fingers over it. It still feels good, even if I can’t hear it.
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I’m not talking from the point of view of “quality”, but from the point of view of realizing the potential of your hardware 
Goddamn! Sudden Hearing Loss, from out of the blue. Talk about life dealing some blows.
I’m sorry. You seem to have found a healthy way to cope with it.
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When there’s nothing you can do, you just have to roll with the punches. Otherwise it’ll drive you insane.
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Well, I am the type of person to use a 14900KS to watch YouTube…
High five K10 buddy
I replaced the stock keycaps with blank caps just because I could, but otherwise I’ve been very happy with it as-is as a daily driver for about a year now
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