The Absolute Sound Podcast

Streamers and Digital to Analog converters are the key source for modern high-end audio systems. For most people at least, if for no other reason than the availability of nearly the entire catalogue of recorded music. And ease of use. And low cost. What can be confusing is the degree of sonic difference between various streamers – devices that request music from a streaming service and convert the music files from network protocols to music file types – and various DACs – devices that convert digital signals to analog signals that amps and speakers use. They’re just computers dealing with files. Simple, right? Well, no, apparently. Which brings us to the Lumin T3X with QRONO and LEEDH technology. Right now, I’d rate this as the lowest cost way to get 95% of more of what digital can do. It isn’t inexpensive, but I think it is a benchmark that helps everyone think about audio system building and budgeting.

This video is sponsored by: https://fidelityimports.com/pages/introducing-perlisten

00:00 Lumin T3X

02:12 Overview

03:24 Features

09:36 Sound Quality

16:28 User Interface

17:57 Summary

The Bricasti M1 DAC has been a powerful mainstay for consumers looking for affordable yet high-fidelity precision since its debut in 2011. Bricasti is now introducing the Series II, looking to expand yet preserve what made the first edition so special. Does the Series II deliver? Tune in to find out.

This video is sponsored by: https://fidelityimports.com/pages/introducing-perlisten

00:00 Bricasti M1 Series II

01:58 Overview

02:38 Specs & Design

04:10 Reference Equipment

06:00 Is it for you?

08:16 Summary

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What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

Today I’m taking an inside look at possibly the most innovative company in the consumer audio space. I say this because today’s subject, Theoretica Applied Physics, is working on some of the biggest problems of audio believability, their results are quite successful in my experience, and the architecture they use is relatively low cost. Let’s take a deeper look.

Learn more: https://www.theoretica.us/

This video is sponsored by: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

00:00 Theoretica Applied Physics

00:56 Believability

03:38 Advanced Technologies

06:27 Problem 1 Part A

11:59 Problem 2

15:56 Problem 1 Part B

19:15 Problem 3

22:15 Problem 4

24:42 Summary

Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound

Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com

What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

Flexibility is not something one usually associates with wired headphones. After all, you're tethered to your equipment. You can't go out, hop up and get a cup of coffee, and you can't do a lot of adjustment to the sound profile as well. Wireless headphones promise to do a lot more. Aside from the flexibility of being able to get up and move around, that will without a cable tied to your head. But also the idea is you could adjust the sound to your own personal specifications, as it were, because wireless headphones have digital signal processing on board. So if you need to, you could tweak the sound. The trouble is, in cutting the cable. Obviously a lot of the sound quality got cut as well. Sennheiser now has tried to solve that problem with the HD630s.

This video is sponsored by: https://www.hifiman.com/products/detail/350

00:00 Sennheiser HDB 630

01:39 Overview

06:31 Sound Quality

12:17 Compare & Contrast

13:45 Summary

Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound

Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com

What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

In this briefing, I give my basic observations about the performance of the Isoacoustics GAIA Neo speaker footers. These are complex passive absorbers that replace the spikes normally used at the base of speakers like my test subject, the Perlisten S7t. Normally, I think of products like this as “below threshold” items – products that may be beneficial, but whose effect may be difficult to hear in isolation, especially because a quick A/B comparison is hard and the effect is subtle. But I heard a demo arranged by IsoAcoustics that suggested otherwise, and when they offered to supply a set for testing, I accepted because in my listening room I have much longer to understand what products do. Let’s see what I found.

In memorium: Dan Roemer: September 4, 1970 - December 26, 2026

Dan was the genius behind the S7t speaker mentioned in this video. He was a great designer and a special person. He will be missed.

This video is sponsored by: https://www.sotm-audio.com/

Tom's Listening Room: https://youtu.be/To3yKpFUMNI

Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound

Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com

What Is The Absolute Sound?

The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.

#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound