was_a

Thanks was_a

Nope, not at the moment.

Does Snakeoil work on Ubuntu 25.04? Just wondering........!

Using your IP address and a browser, you've accessed the webpage for Snakeoil control panel to set up a music player? (Don't worry about the two days learning curve - mine was a week!). And you've made the donation to the author in order to access the "Snakeoil" tab in the control panel? Very easy to install / modify hardware and software this way.

For PC users with Ubuntu 24.04.2, be wary of the latest security updates. It mucked up my Snakeoil and made my source drive for music files inaccessible.

This thread inspired me to listen to my old LKS DA004 ($2K), an equally old (circa 2018) well-specced Chinese no-name Sabre DAC ($700) and the new $200 ES9039Q2M Fosi ZD3—with my memory of the PS Audio StellarGold ($8K) still fresh. And I've revised my opinion that sound quality and chip brand are not related. Using the opener on Bill Evans' Explorations (XRCD master) as a test track, even the LKS made the piano sound unnatural (metallic, bright, like an electronic instrument). My mid-priced Creek Evo 100CD (Wolfson chip) reproduces the piano beautifully, as does my little Fiio K11 R2R. Of the Sabre-chip DACs, only the StellarGold passed this test.

This latest version is better than the previous, with slightly more organic and dynamic sound. Snakeoil with Audirvana Origin simply destroys any Windows platform I've compared it with, regardless of optimisation and tweaks, and it's also better than paid Linux alternatives like Euphony.

CD players reached maturity around the mid-2000s as DAC-chip technology advanced (the original Rega Apollo comes to mind). But beware a trend towards hyper-detail and overly clean sound-quality among modern disc-players (Marantz HDAM products, Audiolab comes to mind), not helped by cost-aware manufacturing that makes many current offerings look like light-weight toys compared to those from the '90s. That $1500 price-point will buy you a second-hand Rega Saturn, Creek Evolution, Roksan Caspian. That's where I'd look. Alternatively, budget DACs like the Fosi Zd3 and the FiiO K11 R2R are ridiculously good for the money. I know, because I've tried both against DACs costing ten times as much. Why not try one, powered by an iFi iPower X, and use your Marantz as transport via coaxial connection. You might be surprised.

Ever tried to hook up wifi to a Sonos One (Gen 2) speaker? You can...if you don't have any wifi extenders in the house, anywhere, or don't use one of half-a-dozen 'incompatible' modems....... Absolute joke. Then came the software 'upgrade', which, for 4 months, rendered my internal drive with music storage invisible to the Sonos system. When finally they rectified that (with special instructions to set up sharing privileges for the drive), the real frustration started. The Sonos One simply disappeared, regularly, and had to be factory reset and set up again, only for the same disappearing act to occur again and again. Six months of this. With Sonos, incompetence, arrogance and indifference towards customers has reached a new level. Never again.

Like fjs I've owned the headphones you've mentioned, as well as the Senny 600 and a couple of the 800 varieties. I quickly sold the budget Meze model, and I'm ambivalent about the Senny 650 which on first impression is nice and rich and mates well with most DACs, but may be perceived as a little thick and murky after a while. Speaking of DACs, much will depend on your digital frontend, but regardless, if opting for a Senny I'd choose the 600 for its tonal neutrality and slightly better soundstage. The keeper for me is the Amiron Home. It's tuned to draw you into the music while retaining that Beyer insightfulness and tonal accuracy. A slightly elevated mid-bass is similar to the Senny 600 series, but the Amiron has much better sound-staging and transparency...It's in a different league, and competes with the high-end Beyers and Sennys in my opinion. Treble issues with the Amiron are debatable—a read through the forums is confusing, as some listeners complain about brightness and sibilance, while others praise the non-fatiguing treble and sibilance control. I'd put this down to slight differences in the manufacturing process, as well as differing digital frontends. I believe the tonal character of the highs is far more pertinent—and perhaps what many listeners are really trying to comment on? The high-mids and treble are neutral-to-slightly-dry in tone, so brighter recordings can be found out... I listen regularly to the Amiron Home as well as my Hifiman Ananda (original) cans. They are both mid-priced stars in my opinion.

I've been listening to Snakeoil version 1.4.0 for a week and making comparisons, although comparisons weren't really necessary—it's so good that it's obvious right away. Snakeoil runs on my PC and is controlled via my smartphone. To my ears It betters every commercial Linux distro out there, and closes the gap on expensive dedicated audio servers by the likes of Melco etc. By far the best sound quality that I've achieved is with Audirvana Origin installed on Ubuntu 24.10; if any of you Snakeoil users haven't tried this I strongly suggest you do. The only niggle is that on Snakeoil load-up, Audirvana starts as a service before the network is running, therefore Audirvana Remote on smartphone cannot connect. I simply go to my computer, log into Snakeoil and stop and restart Audirvana via the terminal. A 30-second inconvenience. Once again, Snakeoil 1.4.0 is absolutely wonderful and I've already congratulated Theng Kiat on what I think is a real achievement.

Listening to hi-fi and ascertaining sound quality is the ultimate test of a system. After the consideration of technical metrics, design principles and the purchase of equipment, we are left with our ears. I can't remember when the term "subjective" was thrust upon us, or exactly why—perhaps to placate a large orchestra of drum-beaters? Personally I dislike the term "subjective" and don't use it. Listening to hi-fi and determining sound quality is a holistic experience: auditory, visual to a degree, our thoughts and responses emotional as well as intellectual—informed by our knowledge of acoustics, hi-fi components and their technical specifications and relevant measurements. Reducing that to "subjective" or "objective" is rather primitive. As I opined earlier, the iFi iPurifier LAN filter is effective when inserted in an everyday streaming setup, reducing harshness and making the music more easeful.

I'm a fan of integrated CD players, because combining a separate transport with a DAC requires quite some experimentation to get the synergy right, including cable connection. A Meridian G08 or even the 500 series, or a Rega Saturn (original version) would satisfy your sound requirements. If you want the latest, you could even try a FiiO K11 R2R DAC for $250. I have one for my computer desktop with an iFi iPower X supply, and it's no slouch! Regarding the Audiolab 6000 and 9000 transports, it's a big NO from me. I've owned both, and while the 9000 is definitely more dynamic and transparent, both are rather matter-of-fact in tonality, with a slightly sterile quality to proceedings. The 6000 is grey in timbre and "inoffensive"; the 9000 is rather too forward in soundstage with a hyper-detailed presentation at the expense of naturalness and musicality....Compared to a dozen other transports I've tried, I'd rate the Audiolabs close to bottom. The thing with brands like Topping, SMSL, Audiolab, is that they're HEAVILY marketed, reinforced by a very strong presence on YouTube channels, and priority listings on Google Search (headed by the influential Audio Science Review and their "measurements are everything" brigade...ASR really is the antitheses of hi-fi as an auditory pursuit, in my opinion). So anyone who hasn't listened to a lot of hi-fi gear will veer towards these brands, especially since they're in the budget and mid-priced segment. That's the power of marketing in the 2020s!

Nothing to do with the DAC chip whatsoever. There are some great DACs with ESS chips, admittedly far more expensive than the budget ones from China... I recently heard the PS Audio StellarGold ($8K) and its soundstage was wonderful, as was the timbre of instruments. The $600 SMSL measures well but has little else going for it...

Lowering noise in digital audio reproduction is the biggest challenge when using a computer or network streaming as source. A very quick way to hear the difference is via a side-by-side comparison with a mid-priced CD player; most PC or streaming systems sound harsher, thinner, less natural in tonality, and fatiguing after a while in comparison. I take my hat off to those who've persevered with streaming to a satisfactory level of sound quality. (My streaming setup is rudimentary: a Project Stream Box S2, with a little iFi Lan filter in the ethernet socket that improves the timbre and easefulness of music. It's fine for background listening, dancing round the room etc!).

Interesting discussion. But in my experience good DAC sound quality depends on numerous factors, including circuit design and output stage. I've owned and heard many DACs over the years, both R2R and chip-based, and I can't side with one particular approach. I am, however, sceptical of the highly specced, lights-a-flashing mid-priced DACs coming out of China at the moment. Clever marketing though!

The latest DACs from China all sound very similar to each other, SMSL, Topping, et al. Designed to measure superlatively they sound very "clean", rather stark in the treble, with a homogenous tonality across the frequency range. This highlights a "clear" soundstage where "detail" is served up in spades. Unfortunately the timbre of instruments is neutralised, distinctions in the character of recordings minimised, making for a rather bland listening experience. You only have to go to a live concert to realise how unnatural this sound signature is. In general I welcome the burgeoning ChiFi industry over the past decade and the healthy competition it has provided. Advances in technology have driven down prices in the budget segment—class D amps and all manner of DACs. This is a great way to entice and expose new / younger people to hifi. But personally I see the value in the Chinese market in older technlogy such as R2R DACs and "copycat" class A / AB power amplifiers.

Worrying about replacing a failed transport mechanism should be a last concern, in my opinion. Everywhere CD players are discussed this seems to be a major factor, but most transports last a decade, two decades... Your first concern should be sound quality, then synergy (with a matching DAC, and / or amplifier. My recommendation is to look for a used Metronome CD player.

Speakers are like any hi-fi component: over time you gain experience in regards to design types, brands, and synergy with amps etc. And the most pertinent experience is gained in the home listening environment. Personally, I also learned a great deal through weekly visits to a local hi-fi shop, where I also occasionally worked. This, over many years, allowed me to compare multiple speakers across different brands and price-points. I've also been lucky enough to listen to more than 20 systems at different Stereonet members' houses! So buying speakers without auditioning becomes an informed decision to a certain degree; there will always be an element of risk, of course, but that's the hobby!

Yep, I have some THAT'S brand CDRs, burned with the Plextor drive with laser-power-adjusted settings; excellent sound quality. For those of us who use a CD player / transport as their primary source, these sorts of differences in sound quality become quite noticeable (as do the differences between UHQCDs, Blu-Spec and SHM CDs). Often these differences don't equate to better or worse, but they most certainly are noticeable, the protests of naysayers notwithstanding!

Subjectively there are definitely differences in sound quality, and good CD players / transports will tell you the difference! The best-value 'audio' CDR is the MAXELL XL-II. With a (very affordable) modern Plextor optical drive (Plextor PX-891SAF) I get excellent results with these CDRs. Adjusting laser-power settings with PlexUtilities software, and using optimal settings in Nero burning software, helps too. Happy to share this info in a PM.