What is the most Forgiving Speaker/ Amp Combo at the High End for guys who like to Stream (Many Crap Recordings) that are recommended by algorithms?

[caesar]

At the low end, Zu owns this market.

At the high-end, many modern speakers are so resolving that the crappy recordings sound horrendous on typical streamed music.

Does any speaker / amp combo stand out for guys who like to stream hours on end?

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Not too sure about the streaming stuff, as yet to get me convinced to notice any significant improvement...

However, interesting question.
On a slightly different note, previously I used to enjoy a few LPs on the humble Rega RP3. Using the MM Ortofon Blue and MM Black, these LPs were great! To name a few, Amy Winehouse- The Lioness album, Miles Davis- Round Midnight, a few older jazz albums from Ornette Coleman to Chet Baker and crew... all sounded ok on the RP3 with the Quads and different CJ gear.

Now, with a completely different system and one that is far more revealing, these LPs sound awful! Just can't listen to them. I'm trying to ignore the terrible recording and focus more on the music but simply cannot. Hence, I'll be donating these LPs to a mate who's just starting into TTs, and the rest I might donate to Salvos. It's a darn shame, they're great albums but I'm not sure what they did with the recording process...

It's a bit perplexing that on the digital side of things, I do possess some not so great CDs but they don't sound that bad, compared to theSE particular LPs.
I was quite surprised to experience such a variation in the quality of recordings.

So getting back to the original question of streaming and it's quality, I hope those who are experts in streaming can identify any issues or flaws and omit bad / poor quality recordings.

With physical sources it's sometimes hard to tell, until you get home and actually play the thing. I'm now very weary of the labels I choose, and always try my best to look them up, check on reviews and confirm somehow before purchasing. So far so good! And I also avoid certain stores...

Anyway, I'm sure the quality of streaming or least the technology used will eventually reach a pristine level. As for now, I've yet to hear anything really worthwhile.

I believe as long as your enjoying your music in one form or another, that's the main thing!
So enjoy those tunes in whatever shape or form. cheers,
RJ

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Is this another caesar anti Magico thread?

Just sneakier than the others?

Not that we all might not welcome the distraction and opportunity to vent our spleens. Nothing better to do I guess.

 

[caesar]

Is this another caesar anti Magico thread?

Just sneakier than the others?

Not that we all might not welcome the distraction and opportunity to vent our spleens. Nothing better to do I guess.

Mike,

You in a negative mood? Magico with CAT amps is quite musical

 

[astrotoy]

For high end with crap sound, there is the wonderful Bose 901 speaker. It allows you to use any Pioneer or Sansui receiver and sit anywhere in the room to get the same great sound. I understand you can even sit in the garage.

 

[ashandger]

CAT or Audio Research with Sonus Faber Guarneri (original version) or Strads. Had the Guarneris with CAT and ARC for a few years and played, and enjoyed, all sorts of music with good and poor recording quality through them.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Mike,

You in a negative mood? Magico with CAT amps is quite musical

caesar,

the underlying basis for your OP thread question is simply not true. digital streaming performance can be very good; and only sound crappy in the regard that streamer's tend to sample recordings out of their comfort zones and so the music might not be 'friendly' to them. but the sonics from the top sources can consistently be very well behaved.

i'm talking about Quboz and Tidal. can't speak to other streaming sources.

streaming at high performance levels does require close attention to network and server details. it's not plug and play.....if you want top performance. which does not mean you need only expensive gear choices, only that the details are attended to.

if the streamer has expectations and efforts consistent with their system expectations and efforts they should be satisfied if they stay in their musical lanes.

i have a very highly detailed system and can stream for hours and hours, and do that all the time, and never feel like the music is rough or needs signal path coloration to be acceptable. my expectations are pretty high i think.

and i explore freely.

 

[Leif S]

At the low end, Zu owns this market.

At the high-end, many modern speakers are so resolving that the crappy recordings sound horrendous on typical streamed music.

Does any speaker / amp combo stand out for guys who like to stream hours on end?

I've been in lock down for four weeks now and have done nothing but streaming for many hours each day. I'm using less than 10K in electronics and I can listen all day long. I don't consider my speakers forgiving. I think it's just more about synergy. And I can do the same on our flagship speakers as well with super expensive electronics. I don't think forgiving has anything to do with this.

 

[Duke LeJeune]

The Silverline Bolero is imo an exceptionally forgiving speaker, and I'd suggest asking a Silverline dealer for the amplifier recommendation.

 

[caesar]

Gentlemen, appreciate the replies.

Mike's case may or may not be an exception, but I am wondering - generally speaking - if the concept of "high-fidelity" is compatible with the streaming revolution.

I wonder if speaker and amp designers - across the board - need to adjust their thinking to express the realism of the best recordings and also accommodate someone wanting to stream the music they like, which may sound like crap in a "high-fidelity system.

 

[Holli82]

No problem streaming here!!

 

[wil]

caesar,

the underlying basis for your OP thread question is simply not true. digital streaming performance can be very good; and only sound crappy in the regard that streamer's tend to sample recordings out of their comfort zones and so the music might not be 'friendly' to them. but the sonics from the top sources can consistently be very well behaved.

Mike, would you elaborate by what you mean regarding "sample recording out of their comfort zones"? Are you saying that, in your experience, any upsampling is going to degrade the sq through streaming?

I'm finally preparing to install Bacch dsp, in which the creator has told me that upsampling all streams to 96 kHz will be best not only for the function of the dsp, but sq in general. He's created his own upsampling algorithm.

So, I'll have to listen myself, but wondering if you can elaborate on your experience? Thanks

 

[wil]

Gentlemen, appreciate the replies.

Mike's case may or may not be an exception, but I am wondering - generally speaking - if the concept of "high-fidelity" is compatible with the streaming revolution.

I wonder if speaker and amp designers - across the board - need to adjust their thinking to express the realism of the best recordings and also accommodate someone wanting to stream the music they like, which may sound like crap in a "high-fidelity system.

I think you're making a mistake by conflating crappy recordings with streaming. Generally speaking, good or bad source -- good or bad sound, independent of delivery method.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Mike, would you elaborate by what you mean regarding "sample recording out of their comfort zones"? Are you saying that, in your experience, any upsampling is going to degrade the sq through streaming?

I'm finally preparing to install Bacch dsp, in which the creator has told me that upsampling all streams to 96 kHz will be best not only for the function of the dsp, but sq in general. He's created his own upsampling algorithm.

So, I'll have to listen myself, but wondering if you can elaborate on your experience? Thanks

"sample recordings out of their comfort zone".....refers to just that. streaming presents a smorgasbord of musical choices that is way more varied than anyone's personal library. and you can find many offerings that on first listen can be very in your face.....or just so different from what you are used to. how is that stuff suppose to sound? do we point at the recording? the music type? the streaming? like trying new foods, some of us have never really done it. it's a learned thing to be able to be open to new sensual experiences.

for myself; at first i was put off by many choices. but now a couple years into streaming i have 'new music' sessions where i sample everything on the 'page' and make myself listen for two cuts. it's rare i don't find something that sticks with me long term every time, or something that leads me down a new musical road. but you have to do some work to get your head around that.

 

[caesar]

I think you're making a mistake by conflating crappy recordings with streaming. Generally speaking, good or bad source -- good or bad sound, independent of delivery method.

I generally agree, but good / bad recordings will sound better with newer digital technologies, and gear that can deliver high dynamics and rich tone, which to my preferences, take my focus away from their shortcomings.

But what I am getting at is that with streaming, an algorithm can suggest the next track, without consideration to good or bad recording. And as turntables and CD transports fade away to streaming habits, guys who sit down and stream all day may have a bumpy ride.

P.S. Nice system!!!!

 

[caesar]

No problem streaming here!! View attachment 63804

Nice System! Heard it at several audio shows, possibly with this and another VAC amp. This is what the hobby is all about!

 

[pdubya]

Would be helpful to have a few examples of specific titles you find to be crappy when streamed.
Parker

 

[wil]

I generally agree, but good / bad recordings will sound better with newer digital technologies, and gear that can deliver high dynamics and rich tone, which to my preferences, take my focus away from their shortcomings.

But what I am getting at is that with streaming, an algorithm can suggest the next track, without consideration to good or bad recording. And as turntables and CD transports fade away to streaming habits, guys who sit down and stream all day may have a bumpy ride.

P.S. Nice system!!!!

Streaming allows me to explore music so easily and with fantastic depth. I just ignore the bad recordings (of which there are many) and move on. This is a lot better than dealing with buying CD's where you're stuck with the crappy cd.

I tend to explore an artist at a time and sometimes at great depth. The recordings I like-- I "collect" in the Roon library. I do this with all genres of music, but Classical is different in that you have different performances to explore. This is where it where it can really get interesting, not only in comparing performances but recording quality-- which varies wildly.

 

[wil]

"sample recordings out of their comfort zone".....refers to just that. streaming presents a smorgasbord of musical choices that is way more varied than anyone's personal library. and you can find many offerings that on first listen can be very in your face.....or just so different from what you are used to. how is that stuff suppose to sound? do we point at the recording? the music type? the streaming? like trying new foods, some of us have never really done it. it's a learned thing to be able to be open to new sensual experiences.

for myself; at first i was put off by many choices. but now a couple years into streaming i have 'new music' sessions where i sample everything on the 'page' and make myself listen for two cuts. it's rare i don't find something that sticks with me long term every time, or something that leads me down a new musical road. but you have to do some work to get your head around that.

Oh, I totally misread. I thought you meant "comfort zone" of the recording, not the listener!

 

[pdubya]

I listen to a lot of alt/indie/lo-fi for background office music and working out. A lot of my Tidal playlists with this type of music sound darn good on the MBL 121's -- a bit more enjoyable overall than what I hear through the horns. Don't even try to listen to this stuff in the YG/Luxman system, which is in a dedicated room.
Have no idea if the higher-end MBL's would decrease streaming enjoyment of this sort of music.
I have a playlist of albums from Spoon, Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (Lennon's son), Ride, Caffeine, Mark Lanegan, the Districts, Elle King, etc. that are just too compressed/hot to include in other playlists because any sort of randomized listening would result in very incompatible volume levels. Not sure these could ever past "audiophile" muster no matter the system.
Other end of musical spectrum -- classical (usually orchestral) that sounds like it was recorded in someone's pocket out in the vestibule. Not sure even a system like Mike's would render these pleasant listens.
I've been told that Harb's can be very friendly to less-than-perfect recordings. Not sure if these are high-enough end for OP's purposes.
Parker