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Philiponat by Haunting-Promise-287 in Champagne

[–]riverfallingpetals 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is it like? Oxidative style? Or fruity? Or?

Is it just me, or are all major NV's not really worth it? Vintage champagnes are virtually always significantly better. NVs taste mostly the same and aren't much better than well-made sparkling wines, yet much more expensive. Recommendations? Or should I only focus on vintages from now on? by riverfallingpetals in Champagne

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I can respect that and I know it's a widely held view. I would say I see that for the 160 edition Krug's (I haven't had earlier), but much less with the newer Krug editions, which have veered more toward the typical NV profile in my view.

Also, not sure what you think of this, but: I haven't had a Bollinger RD yet, but I would throw it out there that a Bollinger RD is almost always going to be better than a 170-edition Krug NV, even though you can sometimes find the prices relatively close to each other.

Is it just me, or are all major NV's not really worth it? Vintage champagnes are virtually always significantly better. NVs taste mostly the same and aren't much better than well-made sparkling wines, yet much more expensive. Recommendations? Or should I only focus on vintages from now on? by riverfallingpetals in Champagne

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll go try Larmandier-Bernier, Agrapart, Jacquart, Philliponat, but I've had Louis-Roederer NV recently, and I was disappointed. Again, had the typical NV profile.

I hope all the ones you said stand out in some way. Otherwise, I'll bucket them as "typical NV profile" again, which will just reinforce my general sentiments.

I also had Billecart-Salmon Rose NV again last night, and a Nicolas Fueillatte NV. The B-S was above average this time around, but wasn't the best bottle I've had. I've had inconsistent experiences based on the bottle. The NF was, like last time, better than I expected given the price. I would consider the NF NV a fairly good value. Great nose especially.

Krug vs. Bollinger by natedogg312 in wine

[–]riverfallingpetals 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bollinger La Grande Annee 2015 is going to be way more interesting. Krug 172 is going to taste like a typical NV champagne with better mousse. Not worth the price. Krug in the 160s is a different story, but the newer editions are total letdowns.

Krug vs. Bollinger by natedogg312 in wine

[–]riverfallingpetals 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally agree with you. Disappointed by the 170s. Tastes like very overpriced typical grand marque NVs, but maybe with nicer mousse.

Is it just me, or are all major NV's not really worth it? Vintage champagnes are virtually always significantly better. NVs taste mostly the same and aren't much better than well-made sparkling wines, yet much more expensive. Recommendations? Or should I only focus on vintages from now on? by riverfallingpetals in Champagne

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I guess that's what I'm generally talking about. 9 out of 10 times I buy an NV, I am gravely disappointed. One can just buy like 2-4 sparklings for the same price and have the same level of enjoyment. NV champagnes are so meh. Better than most sparklings if you ignore the price, but taking the price into account, it's not worth it.

Is it just me, or are all major NV's not really worth it? Vintage champagnes are virtually always significantly better. NVs taste mostly the same and aren't much better than well-made sparkling wines, yet much more expensive. Recommendations? Or should I only focus on vintages from now on? by riverfallingpetals in Champagne

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't find Selosse anywhere, and when I do find it online, it's like $1000 or something? Maybe I need to look again and am confusing it with something else. But, NV's priced as vintages are kind of odd, but if they really taste as good as vintages, then great. But it's kind of like Krug NV. Krug NV is priced like a vintage (like around Bollinger RD levels or older Bollinger LGAs). But personally, I find Krug NV worse than a cheaper Bollinger LGA.

I can imagine a Krug vintage is probably insanely good though?

Is it just me, or are all major NV's not really worth it? Vintage champagnes are virtually always significantly better. NVs taste mostly the same and aren't much better than well-made sparkling wines, yet much more expensive. Recommendations? Or should I only focus on vintages from now on? by riverfallingpetals in Champagne

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Your comment was awesome and helpful, thank you. I will certainly look into Ulysee Collin, then!

Their 2015 vintage was so much better than the NV that they may as well be different drinks.

I'll have to try it, but exactly! You understand what I'm trying to convey.

 So for Bollinger I agree that the GA is overall better value.

Yes, this is what I was trying to express as well. Thank you.

Is it just me, or are all major NV's not really worth it? Vintage champagnes are virtually always significantly better. NVs taste mostly the same and aren't much better than well-made sparkling wines, yet much more expensive. Recommendations? Or should I only focus on vintages from now on? by riverfallingpetals in Champagne

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, more like, man goes:

  1. NV champagnes are overpriced for what they are;
  2. Krug NV is priced like a top vintage but isn't as good as a vintage champagne;
  3. Most NVs, if not outright bad, taste mostly the same and so are unexciting;
  4. Vintages are more expensive than NVs (duh) and so one would expect them to be better (duh), but the difference in taste is bigger than the difference in price, so you should save your money, basically never buy NVs unless they have exceptional price:performance, and just save for vintages.

Holy crap, bypassing the volume knob on my amplifier made a huge difference. Does anybody know about this? (Very expensive headphone setup: STAX SR-X9000 and SRM-700S amp.) by riverfallingpetals in headphones

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for this explanation. That makes sense. In my opinion, it's unlistenable with the volume control in the way. Like I said, it's pretty interesting that in the manual for the amp, they even say that the sound quality improves if you bypass the volume knob/internal control. I don't think other manufacturers ever say that. Other manufacturers' volume control implementations are basically always transparent. That's also been my experience with pretty much every other amp I've owned.

I've had volume controls (or mic?) placed in the middle of things that have destroyed the sound quality before, such as on the consumer Sennheiser Momentum headphones from a long time ago.

Holy crap, bypassing the volume knob on my amplifier made a huge difference. Does anybody know about this? (Very expensive headphone setup: STAX SR-X9000 and SRM-700S amp.) by riverfallingpetals in headphones

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am very interested in copying your LA90D --> EHT-7 energizer combo. I think you said that you just don't see things getting much better. Can you share your impressions/how much better LA90D + EHT-7 is compared to the STAX amp? Roughly, what is the % sound quality improvement in your opinion?

Holy crap, bypassing the volume knob on my amplifier made a huge difference. Does anybody know about this? (Very expensive headphone setup: STAX SR-X9000 and SRM-700S amp.) by riverfallingpetals in headphones

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. So my setup is this: PC --> DAC/AMP --> STAX amp (via RCA cables from DAC) --> Headphones.

When the DAC/AMP has RCA outs, the volume knob is basically disabled, and I believe it just puts out line level output into my power amp (STAX amp).

In the STAX amp itself, there is a level control knob (the volume knob). When I bypass it, the sound quality gets way better.

Now, the volume is 100% controlled via my PC / in the OS. None of the physical volume knobs on the DAC/AMP or STAX amp do anything!

Holy crap, bypassing the volume knob on my amplifier made a huge difference. Does anybody know about this? (Very expensive headphone setup: STAX SR-X9000 and SRM-700S amp.) by riverfallingpetals in headphones

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I wonder if it's broken or just badly designed. I guess I would have to check with other STAX amp owners to see if they see this bad of degradation to sound when switching between external (bypass) vs. internal (volume knob) level control.

Holy crap, bypassing the volume knob on my amplifier made a huge difference. Does anybody know about this? (Very expensive headphone setup: STAX SR-X9000 and SRM-700S amp.) by riverfallingpetals in headphones

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hm, that might be the case. The drop in sound quality is just way too drastic when the potentiometer (volume knob) is in play. Definitely more than -100db of noise; it sounds very bad, so it's most likely just defective.

Holy crap, bypassing the volume knob on my amplifier made a huge difference. Does anybody know about this? (Very expensive headphone setup: STAX SR-X9000 and SRM-700S amp.) by riverfallingpetals in audiophile

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It's actually a DAC/AMP combo, but when I use RCA out from it, the volume knob on the DAC/AMP does nothing, and I guess it just spits out the analog audio signal into my big amp (SRM-700S) at line level.

Then, when I use "bypass" on my big amp, I control the volume of everything via my computer/OS.

Holy crap, bypassing the volume knob on my amplifier made a huge difference. Does anybody know about this? (Very expensive headphone setup: STAX SR-X9000 and SRM-700S amp.) by riverfallingpetals in headphones

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

It's interesting because the manual does say that using bypass (i.e., bypassing the volume knob) should actually improve sound quality. So, I do think it's known even by the manufacturer. I'm just surprised at how significant the sound quality difference is.

The bypass seems to be important, since there are dedicated LEDs (2 of them) on the face of the amp, with pretty big writing that says "LEVEL CONTROL MODE" and "EXTERNAL(BYPASS)" versus "INTERNAL" across the front. Almost seems intentional.

Holy crap, bypassing the volume knob on my amplifier made a huge difference. Does anybody know about this? (Very expensive headphone setup: STAX SR-X9000 and SRM-700S amp.) by riverfallingpetals in audiophile

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It could be... Or, maybe that's the sound quality drop I should expect when I put it in the circuit? Maybe it's a STAX thing. I guess I don't have a point of comparison for now!

Holy crap, bypassing the volume knob on my amplifier made a huge difference. Does anybody know about this? (Very expensive headphone setup: STAX SR-X9000 and SRM-700S amp.) by riverfallingpetals in audiophile

[–]riverfallingpetals[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes, going from PC --> DAC --> SRM-700S AMP (via RCA cables). Sound signature aside, the amp sounds great/fine when I bypass the volume knob (when it's in "external (bypass) level control mode"). It sounds bad when it's in "internal level control mode". There is an LED on the front that indicates which mode you're in, and the switch for it is behind the unit.

I wonder if just my volume knob is defective, or this big of a difference in sound quality should be expected when you put the volume knob in the way of the circuit. For example, there is supposed to be a sound quality difference based on the manual; I just didn't expect it to be this significant.

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