Well, I've done all the tests. I guess it appears dumb, but you were all right. The man who responded in blue was the most right of all -- thank you Mr. Ferrell. You were all spot on.
However, trust me, I am now an expert. Do not second guess me at this point. If you want the truth, here it is -- although you all said it TO ME so I am just really saying it back to you: 1. The IPOD sucks. It compresses files. There is no way to get them back out to a full listening device unless headphones is alright with you. I do not like headphones, although if you put me in a casket they'll be fine. However, trust me. I'll kick some serious butt until that happens. "Thunder only happens when its raining." 2. The Z5500 -- while cheap -- kicks the shit out of my 23 bose and boston acoustics theater on the other side of the house. Ferrell is correct. The problem was a THUMPY bass and a DISTORTED high end brought about by the IPOD. He's just correct. If you do not like it, then watch the Waltons or something. It is just a fact. If you do not like what my ears heard, talk to Ferrell. He said it in his first post. 3. I have $500,000 worth of stereo equipment in this house and I now "get it." The big bose system with 10 speakers is a design to "go digital to digital." The Athena speakers are old tube speakers that rock -- but they must be driven. They can blow the doors off of these cheap, plastic Z5500 speakers BUT ONLY IF THE Z5500S are not used properly. If the cheap, plastic, mickey mouse, donald duck 5500s are just treated like Ferrell suggested -- i.e., put a duet on them, rip your cds, set them up right, and let it rock -- then guess what: YOU CANNOT BEAT THE 5500s unless YOU WISH TO SPEND $50,000. Not $10,000. That won't do it. $20,000? That won't do it. The 5500s require a lot of things to beat them. You need the bass. Any sub woofer will not do. Then you require 20,000 Hz. Forget it without the right amp, sub woofer, tweeter, signal to noise and -- if you are trying to hit it all off of an IPOD -- go home boy. YOU CANNOT HIT IT. PERIOD. The IPOD cannot hit it. Ferrell said they were blowing smoke on me. "The Rainbow Has A Beard" (Cream, 1968). I wasted $2,000 chasing their BS. It is smoke. Don't trust it. It is untrue. You no longer have to spend big money to rock the house down. PERIOD. PERIOD. PERIOD. Spend your money on women or whatever. But this industry is different now. Do your research like I did. I have the thousands in this house. But I spend my time around the 5500s and the Duet. And -- trust me -- I know more about music then you do. 4. I like all my other systems but AS FERRELL HAS SAID (and Sinatra) if you are running an IPOD through those systems then it is "garbage in." Ferrell told me "get the Duet first and then get the Transporter." I got the Duet. I've tested all of my systems with studio equipment and back up. Right now, "Purple Haze" has just come on Slacker as we speak. The other systems, besides the Z5500, cannot reproduce what I am hearing right now. I am neither drunk nor high. I am 50 years old. I am telling you that the Duet "softens the lows and accentuates" the highs like nothing you've heard. I'll be specific. Put on an IPOD with Purple Haze. Tell me what Jimmy Hendrix says in the middle of the song. Just paste the words here____________________ _________________________________________________________________________________. Well, I can hear them all being said and now Hendrix is moaning as his amp is hitting on all cylinders vis a vis his fingers. 5. Now Slacker is playing "Under My Thumb" by the Stones. I don't like the Stones (more a Beatles fan; sorry but enjoyed pasting the art when ripping my heart out of apple's BS). However, again, I am listening and he says "she's the sweetest pet in the world." I never heard that line before. I'm sure it is my fault. However, isn't that what Ferrell and perhaps Sinatra predicted. 6. I simply ran the Duet through my analogue like Ferrell suggested. We can't go from "shitty digital" to "shitty digital" (and the Z5500 is in fact shitty if you do not "de-digitalize" the signal first) now can we. So I ran it back to analogue. Just like they "wrote it up." And now: The only issue is whether I will leave home. Rock 'n roll shall never die. 7. This system blows them all away. It is cheap. It is a Z5500 and a Duet. That is it. I have nothing else. I dunno if I will even buy a Transporter. Maybe -- but really as Ferrell said it is not necessary (I am a rock 'n roll freak so I'll probably do it just "BECAUSE"). In the end, I'll buy the Transporter because I feel guilty that I have spent no money to get all this music and and all this sound. Hell, in 1982, this entire set up including the music would be priceless -- at least $100,000 -- and remember the songs weren't there yet (e.g., Journey: Who's Crying Now). 8. Now, let's break this down: A. Theater room: McIntosh $28,000 amp. A Rack of Equipment that makes you swallow your Adam's apple. 9 subwoofers. 20 seats. What am I going to do?: Install a Duet and pray. B. Family room: Pioneer Z128A. 500 watts per channel minimum RMS into 8 ohms with no more than .001 THD. Athena speakers, sub woofers and bookshelves in the back. BUT IT HAS AN IPOD. THE Z5500 BLOWS ITS DOORS OFF. IT NEEDS A DUET AND ONE IS ONE THE WAY. THE ATHENA SPEAKERS CANNOT CLEAN UP THE IPOD. ALL THE KINGS HORSES AND ALL THE KINGS MEN . . .. C. Study: Bose Companion with 50 playmates and cocktail bunnies. 15 little speakers and a gigantic sub woofer. I am so confused I don't know what to do. I know it needs a Duet and it will have one in two days. But now -- what the hell is this thing? Why don't I just get a 5500? This thing cost me $6,000. What is going on here? D. There are five other rooms but now I am sitting in my private study with the following: i. z5500 - $400.00 ii. Duet - $400.00. I've got four speakers, one center channel, one sub woofer, and its all hooked up to the top of the line Phillips television with multi-lighting. Even with the Phillips, we are now at $1,900. Where do I want to spend my time? Right here. Why? I've got the Duet and the 5500, AND IT BLOWS THE DOORS OFF OF EVERYTHING ELSE. Ignore me and waste your money. Its your choice. But, I say thank you to Ferrell and Sinatra. Warning: My wife will probably be out looking for you. The only risk here is that I'm still in great shape and I might leave home with all this rock 'n roll. However, that's not your problem and we all know that. The Doberman has met his match: Logitech does not just sell keyboards. This shit is serious. Trust me. You can now get "all the stuff" for under $1,000. Its a fact. Just post and Ferrell will explain it. And so will I (Joplin comes on Slacker as I sign off -- a symbol obviously). Peace. Mitch. -- Mitchell J. Stein ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mitchell J. Stein's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=21520 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55712 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
