Just how good can an audiophile streamer be in a hifi system? Is the Antipodes Audio K22 the perfect hifi streamer for audiophiles in high end audio? Please join my FB page here: / greekaudiogeek
I was an early adopter of the Antipodes music servers. You are spot on regarding their customer service. But I have been very pleased with the sonics of the units. Better as you go up the line. Now I have down a fair amount of system tuning including adding high grade switches, power cords, and system grounding. Well worth the journey.
I enjoy your reviews, thanks. I have 3 Aurender N20, N10, and ACS10 and will say their customer service is probably the best of any brands I have experienced. Also, the sound quality is outstanding and impeccable workmanship. I love their app and feel no need to use Roon even with a lifetime membership. Just based on customer service and support alone, I will probably never go to another brand!
I learned a great deal from you switch and configuration comparison video. Thanks to your findings, I could narrow down to integrating a switch/ifi ps combo that made a huge difference. To the point that now I don’t feel I need to upgrade my ddc streamer 🙏🏼👍🏼
I am happy with my Hi Fi Rose 150 B for now. I only have 2 years under my belt as a so called audiophile. I am hoping in another year or so to upgrade. My speakers are the Ohm Walsh 3000's. My next upgrade will be my head phones. I have my eye on the Maze Empyrean 2's. I really enjoyed your video!
Happy new year to you and yours 🎉 I think the issue is that if you aren’t able to hear a NIGHT AND DAY difference between the old and new components ( a DAC for instance) …the. It’s a question of is your system is resolving enough to present the difference…or have you reached as far as your ego, wallet and domestic tranquility will comfortably reach .
Like you, I constantly test equipment. Sometimes I post reviews on websites like WBF and AG. I have a fanless computer server that was driving the Etherregen network switch and a Ultrarendu both using an Uptone LPS. HQPlayer was involved too and a Holo May KTE was the DAC of choice. I hd the opportunity to audition the Allnic D10000 DAC which I reviewed on WBF. The Allnic destroyed my Holo May as it did not have the typical 'DAC' signature. I set it on DSD and just listen to music. But as the journey continues, I bought the Legacy Audio Aeris speakers along with its Wavelet II processor which has a built-in DAC. I could 'stack' the Allnic DAC which of course then goes through 2 DAC processes which did not make me or my Allnic DAC happy. So the Allnic DAC is now performing on our second system. The second system having the Allnic DAC needed a streamer, so I bought the HiFi Rose RS130B. My wife and I were greatly surprised how it allowed our second system to sing. It allowed the tubed Allnic DAC so much more room to breath life into the music. I then tried it if front of the Wavelet processor. And now it stays in my primary system as it so upgraded the sound of the Wavelet DAC that my wife now spends hours in our audio room. Unfortunately, it looks like we will need another RS130B for the 'second' system in front of the Allnic! My take, streamers are as important if not more important than the DAC.
When listening I assume you were streaming and not using stored music on the internal SSD drive? If you were just streaming did you try the replay option from the internal SSD drive as this will more than likely be a big upgrade over streaming off the web.
Thank you. I liked your video of the Antipodes K22 very much having been on a journey myself through the Antipodes range. I got very deep down the rabbit hole and am very lucky to have ended up with the latest revised Oladra. It is of course absolutely stunning but as you say the Antipodes range does pay dividends from giving it a really good length of run in. One thing I am interested in though is what software app did you use on the K22? I have had the K50 and now have the Oladra and to me ears the Squeeze option has a sound which is head and shoulders better than the other apps included with the Antipodes range hence my interest is what you used.
@@MichaelsHiFiAdventures Indeed the Oladra does sound fantastic but I would blow my own trumpet and say that part of that is using one of my own WAVE High Fidelity STORM RF filtering spdif BNC cables from the Oladra to the DAVE DAC. 😂 Yes, it is worth checking what software your K22 was preset to use. Also Antipodes are just about to release updated software for their whole range at the end of this month. Out of interest I am also using the Puritan 156 power conditioner and as of yesterday I have incorporated ground earthing rods and the Ground Master unit from Puritan. Both have been a worthwhile upgrade to sound quality. Like you, all of my assessment of each part of the system is totally without reference to what others say and I prefer to make up my own mind having heard how each device sounds. For instance there is a craze for using fibre, SFP and media converters in the local network supposedly to reduce noise because of the fibre cable but my own listening tells me that exactly the opposite is the case and the sound is worse with optical bridge units, perhaps because conversion circuits introduce more noise than the fibre filters out.
@@nickwavehighfidelity7651 They sent a beta version on my unit. I have the puritan grounding City grounding unit and ground master as well and trying that out. Puritan makes great stuff. Self promotion is totally welcome! :)
Good video. I think the law of diminishing returns exists in hifi BUT that fact does not preclude serious sonic upgrades when your system is already truly resolving. At a certain point - let's say your system is $75K - if you go from a $10K streamer to a $25K streamer, the jump in performance is jaw dropping. It's like getting an entirely new system. This has happened to me a few times in my audiophile journey, but it's not something that comes cheap. IME most of the folks that spout the law of diminishing returns are the folks who don't have the cash to play in the deep end of the pool.
Excellent point. I believe the improvements in sound quality can be thousands or even millions of times. It's impossible to quantify hence phrases such as "jaw dropping upgrade." Another thing is that the gear that is known in the industry, because it's reviewed by the magazines, is not actually the really good stuff. I know 2 guys personally that either own or regularly listen to Audio Note UK Level 5 systems that rate the Holo May Level 3 DAC as 3/10. Yet it's Stariophile's reference DAC. Lol. I'm 60 years old and have lived through periods where they rave about certain products and then you never hear about them again. Remember BAT? Remember when they raved about the B&W 801? Remember Halcro amps from Australia? The ones with more negative feedback then God, which produced a hard, brittle sound? Remember Lamm? Remember Ayre? Last year's models. They've moved on to new stuff. They condition you into thinking people are coming up with the latest and greatest all the time. That's what they want. You thinking there's an infinite upgrade path. I've talked to manufacturers who swear that reviews are bought and paid for. $16,000 gets a front page photo and rave review in Stareophile or Racord Review. $6,000 for Michael Framer to give you a positive review. No money. No interest. No review. I've owned Chord and dCS gear and learned to personally despise those companies and everything they stand for. Any reviewer that starts bragging about that stuff being reference gear, and this is typical, instantly gets classified into the clueless numb nuts category by me. I'd live without tunes before I allowed that gear into my home, even if they paid me. Friggin' midfi gear that will make you give up the hobby in favour of listening to RU-vid through your headphones because it's better experience overall. But you'll think it's your fault. There's something wrong with you. Listen to the detail. It's obviously superior reproduction. True. But it's only superior in the measurement catagory. But most things can't be measured. Timing can't be measured. Decay can't be measured. An army of engineers will figure this out. The real truth is high end audio is like most things in life. You need a mentor to navigate it or you'll get old and die with monkey coffin speakers and 1000 watt solid state amps while thinking you know what the "ultimate" is. Which brand doesn't advertise but can barely keep up with growth in demand? Which brand makes all their own electronic components? Why would they be doing that? To get rich?
Will you be providing an update video on your implementation of a 4th D-Link switch box (if you’re still using it) and any added benefits that brought?
@@MichaelsHiFiAdventuresMike, if I may, is there a reason you chose a different model D-Link, over a 3rd $30ish D-Link switch you already have in between the chain? Thanks in advance!
2 things: 1) do you think that the network settings you had to change for your Antipodes, could have also affected the Rose issue you were having. 2) did you try the Rose digital outputs to the Aqua DAC for transport comparison, because comparing the Antipodes/Aqua combo to the Rose is not a direct comparison.
Hi - I didn't change network setting per se - simply what web address I visited to access squeeze player. Yes I tried exact comparisons with outputs between units.
I am searching for a streamer that will produce natural, organic sound, and not have digital brightness. I was considering a streamer from Innuos, but all their mid-tier streamers only have USB connections (my DAC, an Audio Note 2.1x only has S/PDIF Coaxial and AES/EBU inputs, and thus won't integrate with Innous). I was then considering a Lumin U2, but my fear is it will sound unnatural. Do you think an Antipodes K22 would work well with an Audio Note DAC (which is a non-over sampling DAC)? For a streaming new-be like me, is there app easy to follow? Do you use Tidal?
I have used those streamers you mention and I think the Antipodes Audio K22 - after you let it burn in a couple of hundred hours - will sound FANTASTIC for you. I found their set up to be very easy and they have 100% support if you have ANY questions. I was worried about the set up involved, and it was very easy which I cover in my video. And when I did have a question I scheduled a webinar appointment with them and they helped me! Try the K22 - you will be glad you did.
@@nicktube3904Having owned the 150 and heard the 130 I agree I prefer it over Lumin. But now having Antipodes there is no way I'd take a Rose over Antipodes. Just a matter of personal opinion as there is never any right or wrong when it comes to personal preference on sound.
@@MichaelsHiFiAdventuresa friend of my has a K50 which sounds fantastic! Meaning the K22 must sound crazy good as well! But it’s almost twice the price of the Rs130. Do you have a idea how far the RS130 is behind the K22 in terms of SQ?
@@nicktube3904I think it's really going to depend on the rest of your system, room set up and your ear. The RS130 is a steal at it's price for sure and a great unit. I can't imagine anyone going wrong with the Rs130. However when you try and tweak the system as much as I do with vibration control and room set up, there is absolutely no comparison between the Rose and the K22. Also, if you use USB only you could go with the K21 which is less money. The difference is as big as a pair of decent speakers vs fantastic speakers. Oh - and it's also going to be dependent on how good your DAC is.
The Eversolo is a low end DAC that is merely mediocre. I have heard it. They have spent a lot of money to influence reviewers and social media in hopes people will believe what they read rather than use their own ears.
I had the Rose, Auralic Vega G2.1, my freinds digibit, Melco N10 and NadM50.2. I was counting on the Melco, Auralic sounding best. The test was done on my system and then repeated on my friends system. The worst was the Digibit and Rose, Auralic and Melco sounded fantastic and now for the shocker, the NAD blew us both away, and we did NOT expect that. I was kinda hoping for the Melco since i have there S100 switch. The Rose is stunning to look at but sound wise isn't anything special, it's all show no go. If a hifi product does more than one thing it's usually never good.
Hi - In the video I mention I was always running the Aqua La Scala with the Rose so the price difference you quoted is not accurate since the Aqua was used in all instances.
