In article , James Harris
no.email.please wrote:
"S888Wheel" wrote in message
... snip
My hi-fi sounds great sometimes and not others.
snip
Maybe you could give us the specifics on your system.

Nad C541i as transport, Meridian 203 DAC, Rotel RA-02 amp, Dynaudio
Audience 62 floorstand speakers

Chord Optichord digital link, Audioquest Python interconnects, Atlas 2.0
speaker cable, Atacama Equinox rack

Since this is being cross-posted to 'opinion'... :-)

FWIW I use two main systems. One now uses a pair of ESL63's and a Meridian
263 DAC. The other now uses a pair of ESL988's and a Meridian 563 DAC. (You
may spot a pattern, here... ;- )

In each case I tend to switch the speaker energisation and DAC power on in
the morning, and off at the end of the evening. I have a slight impression
that the speakers (and maybe the DACs) benefit from this. However the
changes are so small I am not at all sure of this. I general I don't bother
switching on amplifiers more than a few mins before use. So far as I can
tell, letting my amplifiers warm up has no effect that seems audible to me.


The dealer advised a 30 to 60 minute warmup before each listening
session - which is a pain and I'm not convinced that the improved sound
quality follows such a warmup. The improvement seems random - and
unexpected. Maybe mains problems? The sonic difference to the bass is
quite clear. Forgive the adjectives but when it's not working well the
sound is OK but 'thin' and lacks energy. When it works well the bass is
rich and the sound fuller and more musical at the same volume. It even
sounds good with the volume lower.

The Audioquest Pythons were the last addition. I wasn't happy with the
system - it didn't have the clarity - until they were added to replace
Atlas Voyagers. Does the kit list above give any clues as to why the
sound would change? (BTW, thanks too for your suggestions on test CDs.)

I also hear (apparent) changes from time to time in terms of relative bass
level, etc. However it does not seem to correlate with anything so I
suspect it is just my perceptions altering as a result of various
'extraneous' influences...

Slainte,

Jim

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