Hi-Fi Special #2 - DALI KATCH Giveaway, and my favourite speakers in the world

[@cschruu]

What about a second Channel: JayEmm on HiFi? I would definitely watch it😃

[@tylerlange4949]

I'm liking these Hifi reviews. Im very lucky that my father gifted me his entire Vinyl collection, Infinity RSIII Monoliths, RS3000 Bookshelf speakers, and vintage B&O equipment. Makes for an amazing home theater/HiFi system. Keep these reviews coming. Very interesting.

[@johntearle]

Great to see another one of these - thank you James (and James!). Good luck with the contest. I have submitted my answer. Have a nice Easter weekend everyone.

[@nkenchington6575]

Top notch stuff, there, people. Only Verity make speakers that rival Marten and TAD. YBA also has an excellent reputation.

[@DanLMH]

Lets talk sub £1500 for a good stereo setup then I'm all ears, one product above £10k is not for quite a large portion of the audience I suspect... :p

[@JayEmmOnCars]

So I just sold a pair of Ruark Crusader II - superb speakers and you can get for around £500. Leaves budget for a decent integrated and a CD player

[@DanLMH]

@@JayEmmOnCars That's more my budget haha, superb👍🏼

[@stevehartland7003]

@@DanLMH Or a pair of KEF LS50W, active speakers, just swapped out all my pre / power and floor standers for these, love them :-) oh and they have an analogue input for your turntable, which I do

[@JayEmmOnCars]

@@stevehartland7003 my study setup is KEF R100 with a Cyrus One HD plus a REL Q200E, could get all of that around £1500 also

[@arisaga822]

I had the privilege of listening to a B&W Nautilus a few years back. The proper “sea horse” one. Nothing has ever compared to that... yet.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Very cool speakers those

[@simons4474]

Wow I just googled that looks incredible , I thought my friends zeppelin was good!!!

[@arisaga822]

@@JayEmmOnCars Thanks for the reply👍

[@arisaga822]

@@simons4474 Would you believe that design is about 20+ years old?

[@simons4474]

@@arisaga822 The nautilus??? It still looks cool today. It looks like that devialet have copied the design a bit for some of there speakers.

[@eldrl001]

20 grand 🤔 Okay that’s me out with a speaker that cost more than my car i took a loan out for 😂

[@akorus_master]

I really love those hifi segment being a bit of a audiophile myself. Thanks Jay.

[@crossercuss1]

brrmm and bass !!!

[@thomasfrank280]

On the barbie.

[@markreynolds8449]

Those Dali portable speakers look so much like the Bang & Olufsen ones that I saw in a shop a couple of years ago. Hmmm .

[@Chris_the_Dickens]

Can't go wrong with Dali. I have a Zensor 5.2.2 system and absolutely love them.

[@labalo5]

Those TADs are amazing,. I have the TAD ME1 and they have outperformed very respectable floorstanders. A TAD amp too! Thats really an amazing pairing!

[@madeinengland6784]

Love pioneer gear, I have the TADs for a few years now, can’t ever imagine upgrading them.

[@JB-tz4jq]

Good to see you doing the audio reviews as well. I love Dali speakers I only own the zensor three and love them,on a set of Atacama stands.

[@E..M..]

Nice video James, I didn't know you were also into hifi. One minor correction, CDs don't have grooves like vinyl, they have 0s and 1s. And this is one of the reasons I stopped reading magazines like What Hi-Fi; back in the CDR era (showing my age now) they used to claim that, using the same DAC, one brand of blank CD sounds better than another brand of a blank CD. Which I can tell you with great certainty (dealing with 0s and 1s is practically what I do for a living) is total bollocks - 0s and 1s don't sound like anything, as I'm sure you know it's the DAC that converts 0s and 1s to the music carrying pixies. The same goes with HDMI cables; they are carrying 0s and 1s from the source to the target - some HDMI versions carry additional features but they are still in digital form. The other reason I stopped reading these kind of magazines is that I realised the 'reviewers' were 40-60 year olds with 'decades of listening experience'. Not to sound ageist but a 60 year old have lost most of their hearing ability, a middle-aged person with decades of listening to audio equipment for a living would be practically deaf. Anyway, I love Dali, I have a pair myself, although my preference is another Danish brand, which 'audiophiles' frown upon although this brand happens to have one of the most natural sounding speakers and one of the best speaker testing facilities in the speaker world.

[@Carrera-gp9od]

Which brand are you referring to dynaudio or audio vector ?

[@E..M..]

@@Carrera-gp9od Bang and Olufsen (Edit: not the car audio stuff, that’s licensed although some of the tech is sort of genuine)

[@JayEmmOnCars]

I still remember when some CD players didn't play burned CDs as the data wasn't as clear as pressed discs

[@E..M..]

@@JayEmmOnCars Indeed, lasers work by reflecting back to the head and some early transports had trouble with recordable CDs; different layers, colour, etc. Also skipped a lot when shaken a bit while playing. All that were pretty much solved when writeable CD-ROMs came out, then every CD player, irrespectively of price, used (and pretty much still does) a CD-ROM transport - more reliable and economical.

[@Carrera-gp9od]

@@E..M.. Ah , I actually forgot b and o were danish 👍🏻

[@grayfool]

Interesting. I live in the same room as my sound system, as does my wife. I do not want great lumps of stuff stuck to the wall thanks. Cables? I've heard differences when swapping cables. You just have to try it and see, or should that be listen? Whatever. In fact, just listen to any componant you are after and decide for yourself if you like it. You'll be the one listening after all. Thanks the Jameses. Look forward to more in the future.

[@RogerBergqvist]

I like my NAD:s C268, C268 and a C568. Nice audio for less money 😎😁 And my Audiovector M3 Signature speakers are doing a nice job still.

[@djschwindt8786]

Hey J, happy Easter! I’ve always enjoyed your automotive channel and am happy your also reviewing hifi gear! They’re not enough good KZbin hifi reviewers online and I think you fit the bill perfectly! You speak very well and I can see your passion! It’s just a matter of time before your as popular as John Darko! I look forward to checking out your future auto/hifi reviews. Keep up the good work! Fan from Waterloo Ontario

[@djschwindt8786]

How's HiFi and Horsepower??

[@JayEmmOnCars]

This is not bad

[@marcnobel3938]

Ha! Great Video and good timing. - I am constructing and building/printing my own set of horn speakers right now. Almost finished with the first prototype.

[@marcnobel3938]

Very nice speakers indeed! - My favorite speakers at the moment are the Bayz Audi Counterpoint V2.0 - I love the concept, the look, and the sound is also really, really good.- If I am lucky I can shot myself a used Hegel H390 Amp from a friend when he is moving for a good price. Can`t wait for that :-D

[@gracefullygraceful9776]

Bookshelf speakers has always been popular due to its size and weight. The TAD's looks like a special unit

[@Z-u-m-a]

Nice gear I'm sure but you really don't need to be spending that kind of money to get a hell of a system. Plus worth considering that, like cars, buying smart used can mean the effective cost of ownership can be minimal (or even zero, or even make a profit!).

[@MartinArscott1]

Interesting to find a fellow car enthusiast who's also a fellow audiophile! I wonder how common that pairing is? I'm not in that league, but I do have dual Cyrus mono power amps, Chord Qutest dac, and a lovely pair of PMC speakers plus Focal Clear headphones (along with £1,200 of cabling which absolutely makes a difference). Very happy with what I have so not entering the contest but interesting kit there, I am familiar with that DAC! Btw wanted to say thanks for all your Lotus Evora vids - I've started saving!!!

[@JayEmmOnCars]

My pleasure Martin

[@FlorioAlagna]

Hearing room treatment and fancy cables put together in the same sentence as equally divisive or subject to interpretation, breaks my heart.

[@nformby]

Car & HiFi talk sounds like amazing to me!

[@itisjustacomment]

Cars and speakers this is a man wish list of objects here.

[@paulallwood6033]

I grew up in a house with Egg boxes and rugs constantly hung on the walls of the living room....Dad loved it, Mum hated it

[@JZS171-W]

Love love love the warmth & air of vinyl, you must get some J 👍🏻

[@XGEOX]

Hmm. I'd suggest before you spend thousands on speaker cables, lifters, magic stones, etc; do a blind test and see if you can still tell the difference. You'll save yourself some money. When it starts back up again, the 'Bristol Sound & Vision Show' (now 'Bristol Hifi Show') is worth a visit.

[@100reps9]

What do you use for your PC audio system? I find I listen to most music through a set of £40 altec lansing pc speakers and looking for a very compact upgrade. My 'full system' just seems to gather dust. How do you feel about decent surround sound compact speakers through a 2 channel integrated and DAC?

[@Andy-pu2iv]

Lovely, lovely, lovely to see one of my favourite KZbinrs doing Hi-Fi!.... Everything about this video is bang on ... apart from - yes, you knew it - a couple of things.... 1) A record is called a record or an album, or even an LP. But never a "vinyl". Vinyl is what they are made from. 2) A "needle" is used for stitching. What you were referring to is a "stylus". 3) Yes, I am a very old fart with a record collection and the equipment to enjoy it. 4) Love everything else about this vid, especially your pal's insistence on using an "untreated" room to demo stuff, after all, we all don't live in acoustically optimised rooms. (Optimised for what, exactly?) b) Yes, cables do make a difference. But I have yet to find a big enough difference between my favourite "budget" cable and the megabucks monsters. f) Keep it up! iii) I have no idea how to use Instagram, therefore I have no chance of winning the prize. Not that I'd know what to do with it... MMXXI) Yeah, that's it...

[@JayEmmOnCars]

I love your numbering system

[@jaysmartin]

@@JayEmmOnCars I think someone has spammed your old computation post

[@iandavidson99]

Many car people are watch people too, so how about "Turbos, Tweeters and Tickers" :-)

[@Manu-Official]

I don't see how sound treatment is controversial. When you're going to splash on expensive, good sounding gear, you don't want that coloured with reflections and frequency resonance. For instance on this video, I don't understand the poor placement of the sub in the far left corner. Just doing that acoustically creates a 3dB boost which will make the bass slow, but also create some exuberance at random frequencies. As per the CD player that you should leave open, I say dust gets in and dust will get on the lens. You don't want that.

[@mohitkhatri6325]

Clear and deep sound

[@marivor58]

Clarkson Island

[@DanPyjamas]

Drivers for drivers.

[@TGXB]

"Drivers"

[@GTFour]

The prices are absolutely insane 🤯🤯🤯

[@enigmatwist6548]

So when do we get to check out your stereo?

[@paulvallins5994]

Enjoyed this mate ,I live just down the road from D@B Hi Fi might pop in one day

[@TheMentalblockrock]

Do Dali also make the specially "melted look" Salvadore model speaker?

[@venom5809]

So weird I watched Jon Olsson yesterday and someone said he should buy Dali speakers and then you make a video about them. lol

[@johnbates606]

If you want a good amp go check out plinius it’s a company in Palmerston North. New Zealand. Class A or class A/B. In the UK the dist. Is Padood 20 station rd. Cambridge.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

I'm aware of Plinius

[@robertdonaldson9880]

They have been in Christchurch, south island, nz for over 15 years now under new management. Gary Morrison then moved to Wellington and founded Pure Audio, however very sadly passed away in Feb 2021 RIP. I worked for Plinius in Chch, and own a 3200B amp &2.4 pre since new in '89. Would love to own a Pure Audio pre and mono blocks one day.

[@edgereviews2924]

How about Car-nival or Car-nival in the park! Free for you!

[@richardturner4848]

Genres is the biggest difference. I literally listen from Vivaldi to Russian hard bass, and I have a pair of decks conected. I expect amazon hates me during covid. I'm not in the 30k market anyway, but if you are narrow minded with music, choosing equipment is much much easier.

[@EvolutionaryProduct]

Was the bit about the CD player being played with the lid open and 'reading a groove like vinyl but with a laser' an April fool Joke?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

No, that's pretty much what a CD is. Not quite the same as a vinyl but similar

[@JayEmmOnCars]

@@larrysmith6797 it's a laser that points at a disc and depending on whether the signal is bounced back or not then decides what the data is. Digital versus analogue and the disc itself isn't actually producing sound but it's a good way of explaining it in a few seconds

[@JayEmmOnCars]

@@larrysmith6797 a record contains an analogue representation of the music, pressed into a spinning disc. A CD contains a digital representation of data which contains the music, stored by pressing a series of pits into a spinning disc. In a ten second explanation I don't think it's incredibly inaccurate.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

No of course not but they are spinning when played back - you know what I mean

[@revolvo5519]

Love your curtains 😜

[@TheMentalblockrock]

not his curtains.....

[@vitoponzio2234]

Jay there is no debate about cables, copper is copper. Yes stranded is better than solid, the enclosure can make a difference but in the end any manufactured speaker cables from 10 AWG (gauge) ... anything bigger introduces more resistance to the audio signal ... to 14 AWG (gauge) ... anything above and you will get some audio signal loss ... with some solid gold plated banana plugs will do the trick. Full stop. Save your money newbie audiophools, for speakers and the power plant (amps, AVR's, etc.). And most importantly go get a hearing test. Our hearing gets worse as we get older. The peak of our hearing is when we're 5 to 8 years old. So don't be fooled by the frequency spec's, since only dogs can hear above 20 kHz. In the end buy what sounds good to your ears, not to the bloviated salesman's or some pompous audiophile. It's you money.

[@JCW-jx6ld]

Wireworld mains cable is amazing

[@rickp6731]

Only the all new Clarisys Audio Minuet Loudspeakers with NEO Magnets are better than these speakers here ! World's Best-Kept Secret...

[@thedetailingdoctor5746]

I’m staying out of the competition as I don’t feel it would be right for me to enter 👍 great video as always James keep it up

[@popstars4444]

I loved this video, really interesting, you have to play some music though, I know it doesn't make sense but you have to go there, and describe the differences you can hear in the room

[@VladoT]

I think TAD was Pioneer high-end division?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

That's how they started yes

[@rosschurchouse2794]

Race n Bass seemed on point

[@alastairhonaker1155]

Brilliant stuff mate

[@strongerandwiser2023]

32k per speaker? This is the wolf of Wallstreet money. Gotta be seriously rich to have that kinda cash lying about for home speakers. Love to see the clients he gets must be some big CEO's and celebs etc. I bet they sound incredible but for that sort of money, they better be the best thing on earth. Gobsmacked at the cost of a full setup. I never knew you had this kind of money mate! Done very well for yourself by the looks of it :O Jealous man! You should get yourself an F40 or something crazy for the channel mate! Be nice to see more classic supercars and crazy quick stuff on the channel. Get rid of that Gallardo and swap it for a Merci SV or Carrera GT. You just can't beat the sound of a NA v12 or the glorious Porsche v10!

[@venom5809]

He’s said several times growing up his mother had 911 Turbos etc so he’s not hurting for cash. lol

[@strongerandwiser2023]

@@venom5809 Yeah to be spending 30k for a single speaker he must have serious cash mate. As you say there sounds like the fam is very wealthy.

[@philipanthony7531]

"Crank it up" "Chassis' and synthesisers"

[@Birmingham_racing]

Your a proper audiophile wish I could afford such a set up

[@RumblestripDotNet]

A name for the event, "Play It Loud" also the name of a great BBC Doc about Marshall Amps.

[@blarkdexture8899]

Cool great hifi Mårten in Sweden

[@joeshmoe9233]

I lit a fart yesterday and accidentally burned all the hair off my butthole.

[@johnbates606]

Music and motion

[@lawrencejones553]

I think one of the thumbs down must be from Russ Andrews on hearing your view about spending £10K on cables for a £5K system!

[@paulfages749]

Hey JayEmm, I'm currently attending university, and the topic of my senior thesis is cars and EVs. I have to conduct a survey and wanted to know if you could present it to your subscribers/viewers. It would be tremendously helpful as I desperately need to collect as much data as possible. Great video as always.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Message me about it on insta or by email

[@paulfages749]

@@JayEmmOnCars thank you very much.

[@paulfages749]

@@JayEmmOnCars I've sent you an email hoping it was the right address. Thanks again.

[@michaelgriffiths7937]

I watched the whole video on all cars you’ve owned but can’t seem to find it for revision?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Search 29 cars by 30

[@andyhunt457]

Isn't treatment in the normal house the actual furniture curtains floor covering etc?.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Yes- it's exactly that. Single glazing vs double makes a difference, etc etc

[@JamesAHall101]

Whips and woofers

[@stefanbraem]

The reason that that raised cable sounded different than the one laying on the floor, is because of flow and resistance. That's also the reason why there really is a difference between cables, given that your system can reveal it. Paul from PS Audio has a great KZbin channel explaining all this. Try Audioquest btw, they've got some great stuff! 🙂

[@paulcs2607]

Or static electricity? A Furitech Destat is essential for me.

[@TheMentalblockrock]

I don't see any record players there- OK you just answered that!

[@xcvbxcvb2179]

"move me"

[@tomeasterbrook9486]

Isn’t TAD a (posh) division of Pioneer, kind of like Lexus & Toyota?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

It was started as that yes

[@ch0ke66]

Rock n Roll

[@Anonymouseys]

Imagine smoking in a room with your 20k speakers 😂

[@MrPigeonaids]

Love the video! Running Kef LS50 Meta`s here. The dream would be Klipsch Cornwalls. Those are some true rock n roll speakers :P

[@jayboy8325]

Beats and Bumpers ?

[@peterthompson9854]

So in the world of James and James, £10k are the cheap speakers! Hmmmm.........

[@scaniashane174]

Can’t believe those speakers weren’t biwireable

[@stevengooch2224]

Supercharged speakers !

[@timkiwi]

Can you review some new E Mountain Bikes.

[@xPooeyPenguinx]

Engines and Earholes

[@scottscottsdale7868]

very good video.

[@chrisroberts1440]

Wheels and Woofers

[@ApKieras]

Wow, grooves in a CD?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Yeah, that's how the data is stored - there is a pit or there is not and that equates to your binary data (simplified explanation). Look up close up picture of a CD

[@AllTorque]

Oil Leaker Speaker Tweeter 2021 Autophiles Brrrrrrm & Boom Drive & Drivers Shift & Play Amplidrive Turntable Torque Jon Bon Covid Turbonote Rhythm & Racers Rhythm is a Stanza Top of the Pops & Bangs Cars & Charts Rhythm & Road Petrol Powered Tweeter Speaker Eaters Bassbox BHP Dali in the Park Tunes & Tuned

[@mitchbuchannon6637]

Will never sell any of my Naim gear

[@simons4474]

I know you're a speaker and sound person but you must have a good knowledge and a decent TV so could you include abit of advice on TV,s on the next one. Explain a bit on 4K and uhd etc if possible.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

If I get started on UHD I will never stop

[@simons4474]

@@JayEmmOnCars OK cool. Are you gonna do a video on your home set up at some point ?

[@JZS171-W]

Herspers & Hertz

[@davidfairley2440]

Bob's & Knobs.

[@deanchur]

The three Alfas you've owned: -1967 33 Tipo Stradale -1939 8C 2900B -2010 TZ3 Stradale Zagato

[@Dave-sb7ev]

CarBQ sounds

[@cr4ptrap]

Bass n Boost BBQ?

[@ben4373]

Autos and Audios

[@aidencoder]

My Dali Oberon 5's are feeling rather low grade now! hah

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Nowt wrong with those. In fact my friend rates even the Spektor as a great value speaker

[@aidencoder]

@@JayEmmOnCars Yeah they're OK, i'm more of a headphone/headphone-amp (Focal Clear + Topping A90) geek myself but the Oberons do the job. The mids break up under pressure, the top end is stupidly good though. E-12F sub essential. Also, thank you for comparing car geekery and audio geekery in the video, couldn't agree more.

[@stav2002]

drivers and drives

[@ady1234uk]

Wow over £30k for a speaker are they gold inside

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Sometimes, yes

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Yep, the real one has a tick

[@ady1234uk]

@@JayEmmOnCars OK thought it looked wrong and there commented on a few by the way

[@leejones5757]

Car Fi

[@jaysmartin]

Entered :D

[@4pevans]

NA and tweeters lol

[@watchfan6180]

Be honest can you hear a dramatic difference to £500 speakers? Speak the truth. Is the higher quality download or stream good enough to benefit these speakers?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Absolutely, yes. But it is law of diminishing returns. I find you normally need to at least double your money to notice a difference

[@watchfan6180]

@@JayEmmOnCars Ok, does that work all the way down from £100, £200, £400, £800 etc.. Can you do a video on say low end components of say £450 each. Like Kef speakers etc....

[@JayEmmOnCars]

@@watchfan6180 vaguely yes - at the lower end the differences can be bigger. I may eventually setup another channel at some point for those kinds of videos to not dilute the car content here

[@michaelb9664]

About a year before Covid happened I went on a Linn factory tour, which ended with a demonstration of their flagship equipment. It was pretty much just a normal room with £80000 worth of Linn Kilmax in it. It was one of the most underwhelming audio demos I’ve ever endured. I wouldn’t be happy with the sound I heard in that demo at under a grand - let alone at 80k. I guess what I’m saying is @Paulie Blog, the prices are over inflated to silly levels. It’s audio jewellery, nothing more. For the record my own speakers are worth £1000 and my amplifier and DAC combined are another £1100 and I honestly think it destroys that Linn system I heard at £80k. Once you’ve got the price point of low distortion, flat response and so on there is nothing else to spend the money on other than fancy materials and looks (Jewellery). True high fidelity does not have to be expensive at all.

[@watchfan6180]

@@michaelb9664 Thank you. I thought as much.