Apple's Hiked Fees on iPhone Qobuz App, a Straight Wire Cable Swap and More Heard Round the Cave7/9/2020 By Juan C. Ayllon Yesterday, I cued up Cliff Richard's album, Love Songs, to airplay for my mother-in-law, Mary, on her smart TV with the Qobuz app on my iPhone. It was a selection I've often streamed for my wife, Belle; as a child in Belfast, Ireland, she often listened with her family to Sir Cliff, who went on to be knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 1995. "Oh, I like that," Mary said while playing a game of Trouble nearby. Then, at 30 seconds into "Miss You Nights", playback ceased and the next song started. It turns out that I had missed the email containing the gift code for Qobuz industry partners that extended my Hi Res streaming account for another six months and unbeknownst to me, it had elapsed (that's now fixed). However, my temporary inconvenience may be your gain. That explained a new ad appearing on my iPhone Qobuz app that offered a one month free trial of Qobuz Studio Premier and a $21.99 monthly fee afterwards -- as well as the truncation of all my songs to 30-second samples. When I reached out to Qobuz USA's Chief Hi-Res Music Evangelist, David Solomon, about the matter, he asked where I saw the $21.99 price and, after I told him, he responded, "Only Apple does this sort of markup. Tell people to go to Qobuz.com and pay there. If you are in the U.S., it's $14.99 a month." That's right: If you pay through the iPhone app, you will be charged $21.99, but if you go direct to Qobuz.com, you will save seven dollars a month, thankyouverymuch. Straight Up -- a New Cable Swap Back when I employed the tube-based Lampizator Lite 7 DAC -- with its solid state rectification in my system -- I found that connecting it to my PrimaLuna Prologue 3 preamp with a pair of Straight Wire's reference Virtuoso R2 RCA interconnects (info HERE), and linking the tube preamp to my solid state Odyssey Stereo Khartago Extreme amp with a second pair was too much of a good thing; at times, it sounded artificially detailed -- especially since my Usher speakers employ diamond tweeters; my best results were achieved by employing a pair of StraightWire Expressivo AG between the preamp and amplifier. The Virtuosos produce a very detailed, but bass rich presentation, and Expressivos sound warmer through the high bass and lower treble region. Introducing the latter into the mix attenuates the diamond's highs and achieves a superb tonal balance (you can read more about swapping these cables HERE). Fast forward to last week: this last winter, I upgraded my Lite 7 DAC to a Big 7 Mk1 -- with tube rectification -- via a service Lampizator offers customers, and it suddenly dawned on me that swapping the second set of Virtuoso R2s in place of the Expressivo AGs between the preamp and amp might be a good move. After all, the Big 7 had a smoother, more organic presentation than the Lite 7, so why not? Wow. My hunch paid off! Like rotating the manual focus a few millimeters on the camera lens of my Canon EOS 30D, the enhancement in focus and detail, though a little subtle, was noticeable. And the tweak didn't cost me anything; the second Virtuoso pair had connected my VPI Voyager phono stage to the preamp, so I simply moved the Expressivo AGs there. Score! Coming Up It looks now that Pass Labs will be added to the upcoming reviews rotation. More specifically, the X150.8, the entry level model in Pass Labs X line of power amplifiers, will likely be the model of choice. Stay tuned for further updates and, as the saying goes, let the games begin!
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Juan C. AyllonA writer, artist, educator and owner of Prairie Audio Man Cave, he lives with his wife, Isabel (AKA Belle), and their Goldendoodle, Liam, enjoys listening to high fidelity music and all things hi-fi at their home in the greater Chicagoland area.. Archives
March 2024
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