tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post1885390939934189238..comments2024-03-28T13:45:12.227-07:00Comments on <em>Archimago's Musings</em>: REVIEW: SMSL A6 integrated amplifier - Part I: Overview and Subjective Listening (and briefly about USB cables)Archimagohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-46599558901029925342019-03-12T20:28:44.234-07:002019-03-12T20:28:44.234-07:00Hi Robert,
Sorry I don't know about the new ve...Hi Robert,<br />Sorry I don't know about the new version. All I can say is that the one I used (my dad's now) is fine with N. American 110V/60Hz.Archimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-59971034763583108832019-03-12T18:42:02.346-07:002019-03-12T18:42:02.346-07:00I have been holding off ordering the new version o...I have been holding off ordering the new version of the A6 but havent pulled the trigger since I cannot confirm if it can be used with 110v 60Hz, the back of every device I look at has 220V 50Hz<br /><br />Can you confirm?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09002013982808838491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-10083944835092154082018-03-04T19:48:27.351-08:002018-03-04T19:48:27.351-08:00Hi Anirban,
I'm sure the USD$500 USB will serv...Hi Anirban,<br />I'm sure the USD$500 USB will serve you well. Glad to hear that you're benefiting from the purchase.<br /><br />Of course I personally would not feel I need such a cable for similar levels of pleasure while enjoying my music...Archimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-89758320041784453232018-02-27T08:58:53.731-08:002018-02-27T08:58:53.731-08:00did you eventually buy the A8?
i have the alientek...did you eventually buy the A8?<br />i have the alientek D8, perfect little dac/amp<br />only distortion on very very high volume.<br />but i'm interested in the A8 as welltoms7https://www.blogger.com/profile/10576351678949300466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-80347391124000881392017-10-22T23:29:49.364-07:002017-10-22T23:29:49.364-07:00There are tons of people who swear by homeopathy t...There are tons of people who swear by homeopathy too. Doesn't mean they are right! Or homeopathy passes the double-bind test.<br /><br />I just sunk USD500 on a USB cable. Do I want my music to sound better, yes I do. Does it sound better. Yes!!<br /><br />It's the mind over reality, folks! Anirbanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00285530012534090130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-4072548049655424972017-09-25T21:33:47.366-07:002017-09-25T21:33:47.366-07:00Hi Archimago, just found out your blog as I was lo...Hi Archimago, just found out your blog as I was looking for a review of the SMSL A6. Very interesting blog, compliments, of course I read the whole review of the SMSL (waiting for the 3rd part, 好期待!)as I'm looking for a replacement for my trends audio ta 10.2 (tripath based amp) since I sold my klipsch and bought the ELAC which have much lower sensitivity. I have seen on SMSL website that theAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08128594668780889522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-68275897170187725952017-09-13T23:51:15.231-07:002017-09-13T23:51:15.231-07:00Thanks for sharing the valuable points, i think it...Thanks for sharing the valuable points, i think it still works.<br /><br /><a href="http://timensound.com/" rel="nofollow">Gps Navigation</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08630041534317180572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-59659701474183499102017-08-06T14:43:50.970-07:002017-08-06T14:43:50.970-07:00Glad u mention Onkyo I have A 9755 a superb integr...Glad u mention Onkyo I have A 9755 a superb integrated amp with lots of power also D classMartinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18419856625684722806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-17928341350310339652017-08-05T09:01:53.354-07:002017-08-05T09:01:53.354-07:00Hi Don,
Yup, could make a difference since in the ...Hi Don,<br />Yup, could make a difference since in the analogue world with such small mV signals from the turntable, all kinds of changes to the sound is possible...<br /><br />The problem is of course the claims, the cost, and ultimately the VALUE (or lack thereof!). I personally have nothing against African ebony and swamp water :-).<br />Archimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-65358082228210489032017-08-05T08:59:24.833-07:002017-08-05T08:59:24.833-07:00Hi Mark... Oi.
I feel your pain regarding the LMS...Hi Mark... Oi.<br /><br />I feel your pain regarding the LMS/Touch/EDO issue. That sucks! I hope you get it working soon.<br /><br />With regards to recording the sound... Hmmm, alas if all you have is a mic input on the motherboard, this will be an issue. I guess it really depends on how much difference / distortion you're hearing. If there is a *huge* difference then it might be still Archimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-34726779862038045832017-08-05T06:05:25.208-07:002017-08-05T06:05:25.208-07:00Archimago
Thanks for your response. I am intrigued...Archimago<br />Thanks for your response. I am intrigued by your suggestion that I attempt to record what I'm hearing but I have two concerns:<br /><br />First - My "ADC" would be the motherboard soundcard on my PC, which has only a microphone input. It seems there could a bad mismatch feeding the headphone output of the DAC/headphone amp to a mic input. In the past I have have Mark's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556013235433587491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-48604523040079681282017-08-04T23:47:36.899-07:002017-08-04T23:47:36.899-07:00Yes. But iTunes was not bit perfect in my tests. W...Yes. But iTunes was not bit perfect in my tests. When I tried 24 bit a few months ago with all sample rates, not only 44.1/48, it failed (I should recheck this with the latest macOS version, though). The problem might be the underlying Core Audio. I did not spent more time to check this as I don't use Macs to listen to Music. It was able to handle 16 bits in all rates.Techlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00511548486704836818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-21586313788498863472017-08-04T08:10:24.710-07:002017-08-04T08:10:24.710-07:00iTunes *is* bit perfect if configured correctly an...iTunes *is* bit perfect if configured correctly and you know what you're doing ;)<br /><br />I was just pointing out that what may appear, on the surface, to be a "bits is bits" situation may, upon further investigation, have other confounding factors that are not immediately obvious - so it's best to acknowledge "bits is bits" but not be close-minded about it.jhwalkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14734724684407804183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-38008123606627403212017-08-04T01:48:49.032-07:002017-08-04T01:48:49.032-07:00iTunes is not bit perfect. And if Core Audio has a...iTunes is not bit perfect. And if Core Audio has a híckup weired things will happen. For things like this a tech with some knowlegde quickly finds the culprit and might even fix it. Problem is that most people don't even start to find the cause of the differences, but quickly jump to the usual conclusions (bit perfect - still sound differences exist...).Techlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00511548486704836818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-34277876730717924592017-08-03T20:41:47.684-07:002017-08-03T20:41:47.684-07:00The kicker is that it may actually make an audible...The kicker is that it may actually make an audible difference with some turntables. (But of course, so would a clamp of similar size and mass made of inexpensive materials.) DonHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15979728975964152827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-57250340294536262712017-08-03T13:53:20.412-07:002017-08-03T13:53:20.412-07:00I had a similar experience in listening to music v...I had a similar experience in listening to music via iTunes vs. Audirvana. I was not expecting to hear any difference at all between two bit perfect players in bit perfect mode but I ran across several instances where there was noticeable distortion in iTunes that was not present in Audirvana. It was not noticeable 99% of the time, but where there were issues, it was clearly audible and jhwalkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14734724684407804183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-68919840316409115382017-08-02T08:10:03.983-07:002017-08-02T08:10:03.983-07:00Ahhhh yes...
The precious mythical and mystical c...Ahhhh yes...<br /><br />The precious mythical and mystical century-old African ebony. Drenched in swamp water - the elixir of the gods of the First Men. Now imported and hand made by high priestess Katy Perry-like maidens (aka "Gurls"?) in the sun drenched New World, the promised land of California right alongside the tech titans and wizards of Silicon Valley.<br /><br />Clearly this isArchimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-40613399842280221162017-08-02T02:14:16.921-07:002017-08-02T02:14:16.921-07:00Man, I couldn't stop laughing! Electroflux you...Man, I couldn't stop laughing! Electroflux you say, the ebony "molecules" (what a joke!) are excited, this is snake oil to its finest!!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04163613157713710449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-1144395286556363792017-08-01T13:45:28.846-07:002017-08-01T13:45:28.846-07:00Thanks for the perspective and anecdote Mark.
Don...Thanks for the perspective and anecdote Mark.<br /><br />Don't worry, I don't wave people off who take the time to explain themselves so well as a "kook" :-). (Nor do I ban them with their thoughtful expression of experience!)<br /><br />So the theory is that the 5V power lines are somehow being affected by the data lines or vice versa. Now here's the part that we need to Archimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-65790860202560316042017-07-31T17:56:22.349-07:002017-07-31T17:56:22.349-07:00"The question is at what point does the takin..."The question is at what point does the taking of opportunities cross the line and become immoral? ... - at what point do marginal benefits become fraudulent claims?"<br /><br />Here ya go!<br /><br />"A legendary Shun Mook product now being made in a very, very limited number. This record clamp is made from extremely rare pieces of dried ebony briar. This extra heavy century old Daniel Deverellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14719892115482875208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-21895575686316269402017-07-31T12:59:42.833-07:002017-07-31T12:59:42.833-07:00My sentiments exactly Jim.
I can't speak much...My sentiments exactly Jim.<br /><br />I can't speak much more about DAR since I don't visit there regularly - I simply did last week because of some MQA-related posts, and was surprised by the lack of lively comments.<br /><br />As for AudioStream. All I see are a bunch of music recommendations, teaser articles with little detail, some strange articles off the mainstream, and the Archimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-10161918620421503302017-07-31T10:01:27.057-07:002017-07-31T10:01:27.057-07:00Interesting comments. It would be great if you cou...Interesting comments. It would be great if you could make a recording of the passage with the two cables to demonstrate the difference.robertzombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00140772559943617054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-79537019571628559862017-07-31T09:11:24.310-07:002017-07-31T09:11:24.310-07:00Hi Dtmer,
Thanks for the note. That's a great ...Hi Dtmer,<br />Thanks for the note. That's a great price in China. Admittedly I have not looked at the catalog of hi-fi from SMSL so it is interesting to know that the $450 price is one of their most expensive products... As you say, in audiophile world this is not a big price tag compared to so many others!<br />Archimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-81428986155668278472017-07-30T17:19:44.860-07:002017-07-30T17:19:44.860-07:00Archimago,
I am glad you are opening up discussio...Archimago,<br /><br />I am glad you are opening up discussion on the DAR article. I am one of those who felt like commenting, but DAR doesn't accept comments.<br /><br />I too am a bits-is-bits kind of guy and see no possible reason data carried over USB should depend on the cable used. Your measurements verify this. But, I have actually heard a difference. Before you wave me off as a Mark's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556013235433587491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-58590585482031703942017-07-30T15:04:31.415-07:002017-07-30T15:04:31.415-07:00Hi Archimago, I'm glad you also noticed that J...Hi Archimago, I'm glad you also noticed that John Darko shut down user comments on his blog when posting the recent bizarre articles defending his glowing articles on audiophile snake oil. My favorite comment was:<br /><br />"Let us also ignore that differences between USB cables are measurable."<br /><br />He links to a posting about how Gordon Rankin has measured bit errors in Jim Ambrashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12813850767640732358noreply@blogger.com