37: Interview with an Audiophile, with Matt Rockwell

beginner audiophile | hifi | gear reviews | stereo | hi-end audio - A podcast by Michael O’Neal and Awesome Co-hosts

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Today, 30 year audiophile (and one of the two guys that got me into the hobby) Matt Rockwell and I sit down for a chat in his house in Boulder. When I met Matt, he had a $300k+ system. Now, a few years later, he's "pared it down" to a simple $36k system. I know that sounds like a lot, but this was a fascinating conversation about audio, art, gear, and the true essence of the hobby.

Note...Matt speaks quite softly, so I've done my best with the audio.

Here's Matt's current system:

Speakers: Green Mountian Audio http://greenmountainaudio.com/eos-hd/

Subwoofer: Rel https://rel.net/shop/powered-subwoofers/serie-ti/t9i/

Integrated Amp: Jeff Rowland https://www.jeffrowlandgroup.com/continuum-s2/

DAC: http: Aesthetix Pandora with Signature Upgrade //aesthetix.net/digital.php

Digital Source: Custom Ubuntu 18.04 Linux, Real-Time Kernel. Running Roon/Tidal and JRiver Media Player

Headphones: Speaker Man - Ether : https://www.mrspeakers.com/headphones-22/ether.html

Headphone Amp: Amp Sound : https://ampsandsound.com/products/kenzie-headphone-amp

Speaker Cables: Analysis Plus Oval 9 https://www.analysis-plus.com/product/home-audio/speaker-cables/black-mesh-oval-9/

Digital Interface: Off-Ramp-4 https://www.stereophile.com/content/empirical-audio-ramp-4-usb-format-converter

Power Conditioning: Running Springs Jaco : http://www.tonepublications.com/review/running-springs-audio-jaco-power-conditioner/

Power Cables: Shunyata Venom : https://shunyata.com/products/power-cables/venom-hc/

Interconnects (RCA and XLR: Audo Magic Liquid-Air : https://www.audio-magic.com/files/128166265.pdf

Today's Sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by SVS. SVS makes some of the best bang for the buck in high-end audio. Check them out at http://svsound.com