[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Another Open Question To Audiophiles With Studio Experience
Well, my last question generated a healthy dose of banter, so I thought I'd ask another. (Although this is more of a pontification.) Recently I bought a copy of Propellerhead Reason to see if there's any chance I can put together some not-completely-sucky music. I've also wanted to rig up a modest studio in our guestroom to produce said music. So I wandered into Guitar Center to listen to and compare some small, relatively inexpensive monitors, namely: KRK Rocket 5 Gen 2 M-Audio BX5a Deluxe Mackie MR5 Yamaha HS50M Now, these are all supposed to be flat, sterile studio monitors. Theoretically, shouldn't they all sound the same, or at least VERY similar? But you know what? They all sounded VASTLY different. As different as any bunch of similarly-sized hi-fi speakers you might stick together. So here's my opinion at this point. There ain't no flat speakers. There ain't no accurate speakers. You pick the ones that abuse your particular ears the least and you buy them. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=50711 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Another Non-Slim Question
Another one for the engineers out there... I'm researching which Audio Interface to buy. Remember, this is a modest, BUDGET studio setup I'm talking about here. There are a ton of devices in the $150-300 range, and I've been doing enough reading to be leery of all of them for one reason or another. In the $500 range, suddenly a couple of clear choices jump out: The Apogee Duet and the MOTU UltraLite Mk2 (soon to be Mk3). Anyone have an opinion? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=50734 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Open Question to Audiophiles
Don't know if this has been discussed before, but I'll throw it against the wall anyway and see if it sticks. By definition, I would think the average audiophile would be looking for equipment that reproduces music as accurately as possible. Again, by definition, it would seem that good studio monitors fulfill that requirement, in that they are supposed to color the music as little as possible. Anyone care to chime in? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=49757 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Sb4 ?
Pat Farrell;211498 Wrote: JJZolx wrote: If the next generation of streaming media product released by Logitech were powered by a slick Windows-only application, would anyone really be that surprised? Then I would be as angry as most of your postings. I use Windoze only when I am paid to do so. 18 years ago, I was a Windows evangelist. I've changed. Windows-only applications are simply not acceptable to me. YMMV. -- Pat http://www.pfarrell.com/music/slimserver/slimsoftware.html I like Windows. They lets in the light! -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=35881 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Flac or Apple Lossless?
The ONLY reson I can see to choose ALAC over FLAC is if you're going to abandon the Squeezebox altogether and go with an Apple TV device (which does have a very slick interface, BTW). But, you'll need a TV next to it, and some of us still keep our Hi-Fis and home theaters in seperate rooms. On a related subject, I hear tell that QuickTime on Leopard will support FLAC natively. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=34953 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Cheap tweaks that really work
Skunk;190780 Wrote: Thanks for the correction, and more importantly the new verb to use when my girlfriend suggests we use these. I feel bad saying this now, after recommending them, but I only tried it once and couldn't stand to let it burn more that 20 seconds. Something didn't seem right to me, but she thinks they're great! I thought the ear candling thing was a joke! It's real?!? In which case, I highly recommend anal candling to help eliminate the ambient intestinal noise that can detract from your listening experience after an evening of heavy chili or corn dog consumption. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33956 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Cheap tweaks that really work
How about digging those plugs of wax out of one's ears every now and then? Disgusting, but beneficial. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33956 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Cheap tweaks that really work
Skunk;190599 Wrote: Also, remember to eat a balanced breakfast on the day of any serious listening. The signal-to-noise ratio of one's digestive tract the day after chili or corndogs probably adds more ambient racket to the listening environment than a the hiss and grunge from a POS mini-hifi from Target. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33956 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] SB3 vs PC as a source
Robin Bowes;189385 Wrote: Bob Bressler wrote: Turns out not to even be an option for me. My PC that runs SlimServer and iTunes is also running Windows XP Media Center Edition. Apparently, hardly anyone in the 'pro' world builds drivers for that system. Bob, You should be able to use std WinXP drivers on a MCE system. What version of MCE is it? If it's 2004 or earlier, it's based on XP Pro. If it's 2005 or later, it's based on XP Home. R. I don't think that's quite accurate. As far as I know, the only major functionality that was removed from MCE 2005 was the capability to join a domain. Other XP Pro features remain like IIS, encrypted file system, administrative shares, etc. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33724 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] A photo of your Squeezebox setup (please)
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 Question: Should there be a new forum for photos? - yes - no - maybe joatca;183138 Wrote: Disclaimer: I'm not an audiophile, plus I'm Scottish and therefore cheap. I have two SBs, an SB2 in the living room and this SB3 in the bedroom, hooked up to a venerable old (and rather beat-up) NAD 3020 that I picked up on eBay. It came with the original pre-amp-out-to-normal-in jumper cables missing and replaced with a regular 6-foot RCA cable. I had a local store make me a pair of three-inch jumpers from Monster cable. Anyone know how much a 3020 cost brand-new? The NAD drives a pair of Mission 762i speakers, also from eBay. Total cost, with shipping, $120 for the amp and $160 for the speakers (not counting the stands, of course). It sounds better than anything I've ever owned, even when playing MP3. At one point I had a bunch of video stuff in this room too (there's a TV on the wall above it), and swapped out the NAD for a huge Yamaha RX-V800 that I picked up for $500 just to get remote volume control and video switching, and connected the SB by optical. Our main living room amp just died so I'm pulling the Yamaha out to replace it, and the old NAD is back in the bedroom. (One reason why it looks so tidy... I took a picture as soon as I finished putting it together.) You know what? The $100 NAD connected RCA sounds better than the $500 (list $900) Yamaha does by optical. I'm sure that none of you are surprised. The little wireless headphones are connected directly to the SB and are another eBay special, $20. Useless for music, but fine for listening to the BBC World Service when my wife is asleep. Like I said, I'm cheap, but suggestions to improve the sound welcomed. Cheap ones, that is... :-) I bought a 3020 when they first came out ages ago, but I'll be darned if I can remember how much I paid for it! It must have been in the $500 range ... I couldn't have afforded much more than that. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] CD Treatments?
It seems to me that anything between the layer of pitted metal and the laser (including the plastic of the disc itself) is a potential obstruction. How can adding another layer/film/smear of anything, DO anything but further reduce transparency? Unless, maybe it was some kind of self-leveling compound that filled in pits and scratchs and what not. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=32993 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] CD Treatments?
On a related note, has anyone tried polishing a scratched CD with Brasso? I saw a web site where a guy got good results polishing the scratches off of his iPod Nano with Brasso. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=32993 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Any one tried isolating feet on their SB ?
I suspend mine over a high-pressure cushion of air. Of course I have to turn the volume way up to drown out the roar of the blower. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=32301 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: ok, may be i am just crazy, but how can i be so lucky
andyg;171627 Wrote: OK so I'm not an audiophile by any means, but if you would agree that the bits are the same, then I can't really continue this discussion. ;) I'm afraid that in the universe of audiophilia, bits are not necessarily bits. You can make up your own reality here. It's like, you know, a New Age religion, but with better treble response. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=31833 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] A Cut-Rate Audiophile s Experience With a Linear Power Supply
I like to think of myself as an audiophile (at least with a small a). I appreciate good music, and I like hearing it well-produced. My system is far from high-end, and while it sounds good to me, Ive heard better. However, I have a shortcoming that I feared might derail my application for full membership into Audophilia: Im sure I can detect some of the more subtle differences between things that others claim. I dont have the money or inclination to buy several sets of esoteric interconnects to test my abilities in that arena, but the switching vs. linear power supply debate seemed like a doable experiment. Several months ago I picked up a couple of encased 5v linear power supplies* on eBay. Yesterday, I finally got around to hooking one up. THE TEST Ill tell you right off the bat that initially, I couldnt tell any difference between the two. An A/B comparison is difficult because it takes 10-15 seconds for the SB3 to reboot when you withdraw one power supply and plug in another. But I persevered. I picked a tune with which I am very familiar, and listened to 30 or seconds of it over and over at a fairly loud volume over headphones. Then I switched back and forth between the two supplies, looking for any small differences. After a while, I felt like the music sounded a bit warmer, perhaps with meatier mid-bass powered by the linear supply. Ss, also, seemed to have less sibilance. Perhaps the overall presentation had less graininess and more depth. Or, the whole thing might have been my imagination. (My stereo also sounds better after Ive dusted it.) So, I asked my wife to assist me with the test. She finds this stuff rather tedious, but shes a pal, so she went along with the process. This time, I listened over my speakers. I asked her not to try to trick me, but to simply switch one supply out for the other without telling me which was which. I listened to 30 seconds, or so, of music at a time, while my wife alternated power supplies. I listened to each supply five times. I closed my eyes and held my ears (so I couldnt hear the cord rustle which would have been a clue) while she switched supplies. I had no idea which supply she started or ended with. But again, I thought I detected subtle differences less graininess, perhaps more precise imaging with one supply over the other. After the tenth listening, I pronounced judgment. Thats the new power supply, I said. And I was Wrong. Well, this was a bit of a blow to my ego. My ears, I guess, are not so golden after all. I dont think theyre tin, but maybe aluminum? Perhaps my system is not of sufficient caliber to resolve the differences? Or maybe this kind of stuff really is in the realm of imagination. To put things in perspective, on the Back page of the December 2006 issue of -he Abso!ute Sound-, Ted Denney, Lead Designer/Owner of Synergistic Research (maker of cables) is interviewed. In the course of the interview, he states (regarding cables), and I paraphrase, that if you cant hear the difference, then how can you hear the difference between speakers? Well Im sorry, but the audible differences detectable between two sets of loudspeakers, verses two sets of cables (or power supplies) is nearly astronomical in magnitude. Very red apples verses very orange oranges. * I think its a linear power supply. Its big and it gets warm. I have no idea as to its internal quality. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=31758 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: A Cut-Rate Audio philes Experience With a Linear Power Supply
ron thigpen;171255 Wrote: jonheal wrote: This time, I listened over my speakers. I asked her not to try to trick me, but to simply switch one supply out for the other without telling me which was which. A Question: When your wife was swapping out the PS, was she unplugging them from the wall or just at the SB? The reason I ask is that if the switcher were still plugged into the wall, and the predominant audible effect of the switcher is due to EMI (see John Swenson's post), then it could be that your test didn't properly control for the principle causal factor. --rt No, the wall wart was left plugged in, so -if- EMI produces audible artifacts, than yes, they would have still been present. The point I came away from the experiment was that everything sounded fine and wonderful while being powered by EITHER supply. I detected no additional noise, hum, grate, scratching, buzzing -- non-music, in other words. What I -thought- I could detect, I could not, with reliability, attribute to one supply or the other. As, I stated before, I have no information as to the quality of the linear supply I was using. All I can say is that I could not reliably pick which one sounded better, or worse. I know some people are down on A/B testing, and that's fine, but the fact of the matter is that it is the only way to (rationally) determine for yourself if something sounds different -- and you need someone else to do the switching -- the power of suggestion is just too, well, powerful! -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ~~~ SB3 (wired - 6.3.1) | Home-brew PC running XP Pro | DENON DRA-395 | PSB Stratus Bronze (2) | Outlaw Audio LFM-2 (1) | DIY Speaker Cables | Dayton Audio Interconnects jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=31758 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Carver M-400t -- 220v plug into 120v?
jmourik;164304 Wrote: I'm the proud owner of a Carver M400t amp, have had it for probably 15 years or more! Cute little thing, though I must admit back then I really liked the Yamaha version too, the little pyramid... I bought the m400t in the Netherlands, and as such the sticker on the back says 220~250 Volt 50 Cycle ABC 8 fuse only. But it has the American style ac connector. So I'm wondering, can I plug this thing straight into 110V here? What would happen? Thanks guys! jan Oh, the tie-in to SB? I want to use it in my bedroom with the SB2 driving BW in-wall speakers... What's the worst that can happen ... a little fire/explosion? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30850 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Noise Floor on SqueezeBox 3 - Normal?
tomjtx;162751 Wrote: Some people think the sock wall wart generates a lot of noise. Plug it into a power conditioner and you should reduce the noise and inprove the sound. For more improvement buy a linear regulated power supply, perhaps modded by Bolder Cable if your in the U.S. I added one of those ferrite thingies to the stock power supply cord. Not sure if it does anything, and it may be along the lines of wearing an aluminum foil pyramid on my head. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30645 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: 320kbps -- too much?
highdudgeon;162247 Wrote: That's what I thought -- I've played uncompressed files I don't know how many times. Possibly a neighbor's network is interfering? I wasn't even on the web -- I was cooking dinner with the kids when it happened. With the microwave? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30594 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Question about Spouses?
1. My wife bought me my Squeezebox for Christmas last year. 2. She put up with me spending beaucoup hours ripping our CD collection. 3. She put's up with my endless tweaking of the system. 4. She let me rearrange the living room to try to find the best place for the speakers. 5. She let's me listen to whatever I want as loud as I want (although she turns it down if I leave the room). My wife scores 100 in HAF. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30541 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Cable burn-in, does this work?
Cable burn-in sounds like a classic case of audiophile voodoo to me, but I would submit that running electricity through a wire does change it over time. I've been doing a lot of electrical fixes in our 40-year-old house. The copper in the romex is very brittle. I can snap off bits of it with the pliers pretty easily. Now it may be that the copper is oxidized, although that seems unlikely to me as it's jacketed. And of course, a 120V @ 15 amps gusher of electrons is a little different than the trickle passing between your SB and amp, or between the amp and speakers, for that matter. But then our telephone wiring is brittle, too. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30223 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: There must be a better way for this forum to operate.
Really folks, I think several of you just need to let go. Clearly, no one's going to get the last word in, and at this point, all you're doing is pouring salt into wounds and contributing to the build up of your own stomach acid. We're all imperfect creatures. We all have quirks and annoying traits. And generally, those traites we find most annoying in others are those that we ourselves possess. Why don't we draw a line in the sand and move forward on a positive note. Frankly, if everyone turned the other cheek a little more often instead of sniping back, the world would be a hell of a lot more pleasant to live in. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30039 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: There must be a better way for this forum to operate.
ModelCitizen;158068 Wrote: Yup, I'll second that. MC Are you commenting on your similar traits or just agreeing with me that I'm a dick? :-) -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=30039 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Looking for advice
Mark Lanctot;154969 Wrote: You could also use passive attenuators and go from the SB3 direct to the amp. Sean recommends passive attenuators, and I believe they aren't that expensive. You need something should the SB3 catastrophically fail and send out white noise at 100% power. This is possible and was infrequently reported about 6 months or more ago - it was referred to as the white noise of death. Although it occurred a few times, there were no reports of blown speakers, but the possibility is there. Strangely, the reports of the white noise of death appear to have ceased. Regarding the WOD, I'm still on 6.3.1 (and have no need to upgade at the moment), but occasionally, I'll get a burp of what sounds like white noise to me when the SB transitions from a FLAC to a 128k mp3 in a playlist. Just a burp, but it scares the crap out of me when it happens. Makes the cat jump, too! -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29722 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Speakers for Conservatory
Andyoz;154661 Wrote: For me it's a case of NO grilles and a 2 year old toddler in the house. NO WAY!! I just don't get the logic to that one, at least cover the woofer with something? p.s. Did you get the Audioengines from Progressive...how much? REAL audiophiles kill and eat their children to cut down on the ambient noise in the listening room. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29665 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Speakers for Conservatory
What about these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16836136102 -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29665 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Better sound with digital out. Why?
beerbunny;153446 Wrote: I'm running FLAC through a Squeezebox 2 into a pair of Paradigm Reference 100 V.2 speakers. I don't understand why I get vastly different sound depending on my hookup. For good sound I run the SB2 into my Yamaha R-V1105 via the digital optical output. The Yamaha serves as a preamp and I run RCA cables from the Yamaha into my NAD S200. If I want to wash out the bass I skip the preamp and run RCA cables directly from my SB2 into the NAD S200. I've also tried RCA out of the SB2 into the Yamaha with the same lousy result. I see the transporter as my next step up because I can run balanced inputs from the transporter directly to my NAD. However, I'm worried that after I spend the money, I'll get the same washed out bass that the direct RCA approach is giving me. What am I missing? I believe this has been covered elsewhere. The theory is that many consumer-level components convert analog to digital internally whether you want them to or not because it's easier and cheaper to process a signal (volume, tone, etc.) when it's digital rather than analog. So, when you connect your SB to your receiver with an analog cable, you are potentially converting digital to analog on the SB, then analog to digital at the preamp stage of the receiver and then digital to analog again at the output stage. That's a lot of converting, and maybe its munging things. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29526 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Logitech
325xi;148977 Wrote: I have serious doubts about Transporter fate. Logitech is mass market company. Yes, it sells expensive keyboards, but they are expensive mass-market keyboards. Logitech sells nothing for truly hi end narrow enthusiast market. I hope Transporter line won't be dropped because it's not profitable enough (and it will never be). Another thing is possible degradation. I don't think SB was originally designed with audiophiles in mind. It happened to be very good design that in digital domain meets audiophile needs - and thanks God it happened! Because it's made by enthusiasts. Now go ahead and design the next version with only look and price point in mind - the way virtually all those crappy portable players are designed... Throw inside some new flashy features to make appealing to teens and create enormous jitter, make everything reclocked to 48kHz - and you're done! People are making the assumption that Slim Devices will lose its identity in the purchace, and that the Squeezebox (and Transporter) will be rebranded with the Logitech logo, losing their mystique, if nothing else. I haven't read all the posts from Slim and Logitech, but I don't think its been made clear exactly how Sean and company will operate. They may continue as a wholly-owned subsidiary, and basically function as-is. The boxes still may may sport a SlimDevices logo. One has to assume that Logitech would want to maximise sales, and if sales would slip with the loss of branding, why would they rebrand? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28862 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SB2 as Preamp?
As long as the White Noise of Death bug is truly squashed, you should be fine. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28641 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: The Sooloos
seanadams;145337 Wrote: You know, that's actually a pretty interesting idea... I'd be happy with a Slim's standard remote if it just had learning capabilities. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28499 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: The Sooloos
Yannzola;144799 Wrote: Agreed on both counts. Hot model, alright, but the stupidest product name ever. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28499 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Dist-ed FLACs. Whatta do?
Robin Bowes;135453 Wrote: vsu wrote: andy_c;135047 Wrote: In EAC options, Normalize tab, did you check Normalize? This should not be checked. It is not checked... Ok, I've got the file and am listening now. It sounds Ok to me. You've not got bit-rate limiting turned on have you? (if you have, slimserver will be transcoding to mp3 on-the-fly) R. Maybe the output level from the Squeezebox is so high, you're overloading your preamp. Does the distortion go away when you turn down the volume on the Squeezebox? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=27245 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Tried the 63.0 (mute) attenuation thing........
P Floding;131720 Wrote: Well, I think we all know about the placebo effect. The reason I asked if the CEO knew something was to find out if you had actually done the scientific experiment, or not. Or are you just assuming it can't be true? One common fallacy is to write off everything as placebo because one can't be bothered to investigate further. Personally I keep an open mind until the experiment has been done. BTW, is the performance of the Transporter based on the placebo effect too? You're gaining the reputation as the biggest crackpot on the forums ... and I mean that as affectionately as possible. :-) -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=26436 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: S/PDIF sounds poor
P Floding Wrote: Stop spamming interesting threads with your irrelevant and long-winded religous beliefs. You sir, are rude. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=26332 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Denon DRA-395
For those wondering about making b-stock purchaces, I have some first-hand experience to relate. I went ahead and purchased a DENON DRA-395 from SecondAct.biz, one of DENON's authorized distributors of b-stock and reconditioned items. Mine was b-stock, which means it could have been a dealer demo, or a returned item, etc. It included a disclaimer about possible dings, scratches, etc. I really hesitated on that last point before I clicked the Purchase button, because I hate scratched stuff. (The instant I took my wife's iPod Nano out of the box, I stuffed it in a hard plastic case.) But, I clenched my teeth and clicked the button anyway. While the receiver was in transit, I kept telling myself that even if it was a little scratched up, so what. I saved $150.00 over the purchase of a new unit, and really, wasn't I being a little neurotic about scratches? When it arrived a few days later, I was greeted with a stamped warning on the box, This unit may be scratched, dented ..., etc. I opened the box. At first glance, it looked okay. Then I noticed a large crack running about a third of the way across the front panel. I also noticed that the front left foot was not sitting level. But it worked. Get used to it! I told myself, It works. It's fine! But of course I couldn't get used to it. So I decided to take it apart to see if I could at least lessen the obviousness of the damage. Once I got the top and the fornt panel off, I could see that the receiver was probably dropped on the front left corner, which bent the chassis and kinked the foot at an odd angle. The bent chassis stressed the front panel where it connects to the chassis, causing the crack. I got out two pairs of Vise Grips and applied some Neanderthal metal working to the chassis in an attempt to straighten it out. I would say that I got it about 60% back to where it should have been. Enough to destress the front panel so that the crack closed. The front left foot still sat a little crooked, but it was improved. That looks better! I said to myself, I can live with that! But of course, I couldn't. So a few days later, I tracked down a replacement chassis and front panel for $50.00 at Partstore.com. This weekend I'll dissassemble the receiver again to replace the parts. Well ... I still saved $100.00. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23912 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Slim Devices NAS Device
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24534 Question: What do you think about the new SD NAS device? - Awesome! Where can I get one? - Nice. I'll put that on my wish list. - Not for me, but it sure is pretty. - Lame idea. Have the SD folks lost their minds? I suppose RAID is nifty, but I paid 75 bucks for a Linksys NSLU2, $80 for two really nice external cases, and $160 for two Seagate 160GB drives (one drive is a mirror backup of the other). Total: $335 Of course, I still have a PC running somwhere in the house to run Slimserver. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24534 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Final Vinyl
Does anyone have any information about the quality of this product? It's a recording app for OS X that Griffin Technology gives away. I am mostly wondering about its RIAA equalization, which it does though DSP, apparently. Not that I am that much of an audiophile, anyway. So it won't do you too much good to recommend an escoteric tube preamp in its stead -- I've got other things to spend on right now. :-) I'm just curious as to whether it would equal or better the phono stage of my halfway decent Denon receiver. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24538 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Advice please
I apologize if I sound rude, but these topics have been covered numerous times. Please use the forum's search function. I'm sure you'll find lots and lots of commentary. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24026 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Denon DRA-395
joncourage Wrote: have you considered the Outlaw rr250? I did consider that one -- and if someone gave me one for Christmas -- I'd keep it! But it's perpetually (and bizarrely) on backorder. Anyway, I feel guilty about spending money on stereo stuff right now. I can get a B-stock Denon for about $200.00, which almost falls beneath my guilt threshold. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23912 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Denon DRA-395
I'm sure this unit hardly qualifies as audiophile to some, but I was wondering if anyone has any feedback on this particular item. Right now, I'm using ADCOM components that are nearing 20 years in age. From time-to-time, I get noise due to aging mechanical contacts in the source switch. By moving to a more modern unit, I'll gain two things: - A remote control for volume - A subwoofer pre-amp-level jack Thanks in advance for the input. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23912 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Denon DRA-395
Skunk Wrote: I like the fact that it's stereo :-) Here's a nice review: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.pl?ramps1080742540openflup114#11 The last reply was interesting, comparing the Denon to some older receivers. Yeah, I saw that one. At this point, I'm willing to sacrifice a little possible esoteric sonic superiority for convenience and a subwoofer out jack. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23912 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Denon DRA-395
Skunk Wrote: Here was my sub out jack when using the Sonic Impact t-amp: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showpost.php?p=105051postcount=17 I figure it's about as non-audiophile as you can get! It seemed to work ok with the sub level being controlled by SB remote, but I'm sure the DENON would be more ideal. You can borrow my Sonic Impact, if you're curious. It would only cost about $1.75 to ship it to you. Your speakers may be too manly for it though :-) Ye olde y-connectors... Unfortunately, the sub I'll most likely get has a mono input, which means I need to join the channels in some other fashion than simply using a y-connector. Ys are good for splitting, not so good for joining. I forgot to mention one other plus for the new receiver -- it has one of those electronic volume controls -- you know, the kind with the knob that turns infinitely. Right now, my boys sometimes fiddle with the volume knob when the stereo is off. I have to remember to always check its position before I turn the unit on, lest I be showered with speaker fragments. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23912 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Denon DRA-395
Phil Leigh Wrote: ? - I'd have said that y's are good for joining (especially in this case) - they are less good for splitting - especially if the two pieces of equipment have different impedance characteristics etc...they'll interact in subtle ways...you really need some kind of a pad (active or passive) to buffer each item when splitting... used Y's in the studio a lot for joining (usually as in your case to make a stereo signal into mono) - I'd never use them for splitting... Well, I'm not an audio engineer, but from everything I've read and heard from folks who know more than me (like my EE friends), joining stereo signals with a Y is a bad idea because one channel ends up trying to drive the other when their levels are not identical (i.e. always). Here's a reference: http://rane.info/note109.html -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23912 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Cooking the Squeezebox
Patrick Dixon Wrote: The SB will only draw what it needs, so the excess current -capacity- isn't a problem. Excess voltage is however ... If for some reason you had a short in your Squeezebox, wouldn't excessive current possibly cause things going to go poof? For a reference, take a pair pliers, open them up and touch metal handles to the two terminals of your car battery. I know, it's kind of an absurd analogy, except that I think I've heard of people powering their hi-fi with a car baterry. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23648 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SqueezePower final design Power supply
Mike Anderson Wrote: OK, but is it bulletproof? I need mine to be bulletproof. Does your significant other hate your choice of music -that- much? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23227 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Is FLAC bit perfect decoded on SB3
dlite Wrote: Also when the flac file is transmitted either wirelessly or via ethernet cable, do network protocols ensure the file is bit perfect when it reaches the SB3? That's ensured by the TCP part of TCP/IP. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23174 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Environmentally Friendly 5V PSU?
ChrisOwens Wrote: I just had to do the math on this one. He had 500 lbs of potatoes, and out of that he was getting 5v at 4ma. The SB3 power supply puts out 5v at 2a (2000ma). 2000ma / 4ma = 500 So to power an SB3 on potatoes, you'd have to wire together 500lbs * 500 = 250,000 lbs (113,400 kilos) of potatoes Add to that the warning at the bottom of his page: Don't eat potatoes after using them for a battery. On the other hand, if it cuts down on jitter and increases the clarity and openness of the sound... :) I think Yukon Gold potatoes taste, I mean SOUND the best. And low-fat sour cream definitely clouds the sound stage. Use the real stuff if you care anything about openess, transparency and clarity. It was like a veil being lifted when I moved to real sour cream in my system. Butter's not too bad either. Cheddar and bacon bits on the other hand... Well, you might as well be listening to a tin can on the end of a string. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23056 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Poor listening environment, any point upgrading?
I'm afraid you're just going to have to move. ;-) -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=22717 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SB3 Breakin?
Since solid-state electronic break-in is completely unquantifiable, and whatever positive effects experienced as a result thereof, locked within the impenetrable mind of the true audiophile, I offer the suggestion that perhaps what is being heard is the audiophile's mind slowly justifying throwing another pile of cash at one's hobby, rather than toward one's child's college education. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=22176 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Ripping Vinyl
cliveb Wrote: I don't know of a program off-hand that will crop LSBs and redither, but last night I did some casual tests using an audio editor. I had a recording of a vinyl record in a 16bit 44.1kHz WAV file on disk, and extracted a short section from it to play with. What I did was apply an amplitude reduction (in order to truncate LSBs), then re-normalised it to bring the level back up and thus pull the quantisation noise up to a much higher level. This in effect truncates the LSBs *without re-dithering*, so any effects should be even more audible. The results were: 1. Reduce then increase amplitude by 36dB, effectively truncating the bottom 6 bits. This is the 60dB test. The raised quantisation noise was very clearly audible, and completely unacceptable, which suggests to me that, although the dynamic range of the LP is probably less than 60dB, one cannot afford to be cavalier and chuck away 6 bits of resolution when recording. 2. Reduce then increase amplitude by 24dB, effectively truncating the bottom 4 bits. It was very difficult to detect a significant difference after applying this change. I felt that maybe the noise was changed slightly, but never detected that characteristic y-ness of digital quantisation noise. Perhaps better headphones would have revealed a more obvious difference. 3. Reduce then increase by 18dB, effectively truncating the bottom 3 bits. No audible difference. This was no surprise: the surface noise on a vinyl LP is so high that it effectively self-dithers the recording at around the 12-13 bit level. So if you have a decent soundcard with a noise floor below -90dB, it's safe to record at peak levels as low as -12dB then normalise. Bear in mind this was a casual, sighted test. The equipment used was: Linn Sondek LP12/Lingo/Ittok/Karma Naim 42.5K used as phono preamp M-Audio Audiophile 2496 soundcard Home built headphone amp Sennheiser HD535 headphones Clive, Since I'm not a recording engineer, and I don't know a least significant bit from a hole in the ground, please confirm that that my simple English description conforms to what you have said: 1. Record LP with peaks no higher than -12db. (The meters in Sound Forge hold their highest value, so this should be easy to do with a couple of passes.) 2. Normalize Correct? I'm going into a Audiophile 2496, too. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21836 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Ripping Vinyl
P Floding Wrote: It doesn't matter if the Naim pre is better than average if the rest of the system can't resolve differences. Stating that 16/44 can capture everything that comes off LP is not all that clever, given that we know for a fact that frequencies above 20kHz can exist on LP. Yeah, but who the heck can hear *that* under normal listening situations? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21836 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Ripping Vinyl
This is turning into quite the little pissing contest. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21836 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Ripping Vinyl
Ralph, Robin's suggestion of a ripping service is a good option because transferring vinyl to digital (or CDs) is, if not a labor of love, definitely a labor, depending on the level of your anal retentiveness. I've done three LPs myself. I used a semi-cheapo 20-year-old Technics linear tracking turntable, a middling Audio-Technica Cartridge routed through the phono preamp on my ADCOM GTP-400, and into an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 soundcard. I recorded using Sonic Foundry Sound Forge, and I ripped the CDs using Cakewalk Pyro. All told I spent six to nine hours per LP. First, I had to play the albums through several times to try to set the recording llevel as high as possible without clipping. Sound Forge's recording meters mark their highest levels, so I would start the LP recording, walk away for 20 minutes until a side was finished and have a look at the meters. If the highest level marked on the meters was less than clipping, I'd increase the recording level a bit and repeat the process. It usually took three or four attempts before I felt I had eeked as much level out of the recording as possible. Then I'd split the file into tracks and carefully fade the beginnings and endings to eliminate the hiss, clicks and rumble between tracks. In Pyro, I would use its filters to reduce hiss and pops and clicks in the tracks themselves. This too, was a trial and error process. Too much filtering, and the music was audibly degraded. As you can see, it can be a lot of work. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21836 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Ripping Vinyl
tom permutt Wrote: Besides the good suggestions here, you will want to look at http://www.delback.co.uk/lp-cdr.htm which gives a pretty complete overview of your options. The one thing that surprises me a little in the discussion is the concern about recording levels. This is a part of the ritual for those of us who have been recording since tape days, especially cassette, but it was because the dynamic range of the cassettes was at best comparable to that of the records, so you had to be careful to use all of it. I think it might be vestigial with the much bigger range of CD recording. I find that if I just use the same level with plenty of headroom for all discs, the noise from the records still swamps anything added in the transfer. For what it's worth, I use a Sony component CD recorder/player. It has no hard drive and not much memory, so it records directly onto CDs in real time. This may have been a cost-effective compromise a very few years ago, but it's kind of silly now. It's very sensitive to vibration and even, it seems, to the brand of media; and when it fails, it does so in a frustrating way: it usually doesn't give any indication of failure until you finish the track, which for me is a side of an LP. I believe you WILL clip the ADC if you record analog at too high of a level, and it'll be nasty digital clipping. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21836 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Ripping Vinyl
tom permutt Wrote: I quite agree, having the level too high is hideous. I meant, I think you can have it _low_ enough never to be too high, without worrying that it will be too low. Yeah, I see what you mean. The noise on the LP will stay relative to the music content, regardless. As long as you employ ReplayGain, your LP rips won't suddenly sound like whispers against your CD rips on the SqueezeBox. (My three LP rips all sound much quieter than commercial CDs.) -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21836 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: What Amp and Speakers Are You Using?
PSB Stratus Bronze speakers ADCOM GFA-525 Amplifier Home-assembled speaker cables -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21643 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Linear Power Supply DIY Weekend Project
Skunk Wrote: Hi there. Are you assuming the bottom of that PS is smooth? It's not. FWIW, the smooth side of mine is against a sheet of copper, which itself is against the outside of the case. Crooners looks to be bolted to his aluminum case. Did you also not see the plethora of vent holes in mine, and read that crooner is planning on drilling some (although in the bottom??); or did you just feel like saying *something*. Down, boy! ;-) -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21505 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Some Interesting Classical Discs
I stumbled across a little find at Price Club (Costco). RCA has contracted a company called Soundmirror to remaster some or their famous Living Stereo recordings from the 50's and early 60's. The original recording techniques and the process used to remaster them are detailed in the liner notes, so I won't repeat that information here, but suffice it to say that for 50-year-old recordings, they sound amazing. These are hybrid SACD/CD discs. Price Club is selling them for $7.49! Check it out if you live near one. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21522 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
mamsterla Wrote: Hey, I am also SoCal. Westside these days - born in SFV. Anyway, one thing you can do to change Neanderthal soldering techniques would be to go out and reward yourself with a good temperature controlled soldering iron. I like the Hakko 936 - as a bonus, it is sold at Fry's pretty cheaply. I live in Northern Virgina/suburban Washington DC these days, which is pretty much the polar opposite of Southern California in every way, shape and form. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
John Stimson Wrote: This sounds reasonable. The long rows of connected holes are typically meant for power and/or ground. It's too bad that there aren't three of them... That probably won't cause problems, since audio frequency circuits really aren't that sensitive to wire lengths. On the other hand, I like to make my connections as short as possible anyway. One thing to be avoided is making large loops formed between your signal wire and your ground. Those can pick up electromagnetic interference, for instance from your power supply or fluorescent lights. It is for avoiding shorts. Shorts suck. You can imagine that your power distribution is like a plumbing system. Voltage is like pressure, and current is like flow. The power supply is like a pump that is trying to pressurize the pipes to a fixed level. It has a maximum flow that it can generate before it can't keep up and the pressure starts to drop. The capacitors are like big water tanks that fill up to a certain level due to the pressure coming from the pump. Once filled, they can provide extra water flow when the pump can't keep up. The pressure of the water at the outlet of the tank is a function of the height of the water inside the tank. A small valued capacitor is like a skinny tank. It will fill up to the same height as a wide tank, but it will drain faster and therefore the pressure will drop faster. A large valued capacitor is like a wide tank. It takes a longer time to drain, so it can maintain the pressure in the pipes without the pump for a long time. I guess I owe you for Basic Electronics 101! ;-) Below is the layout for the circuit board. I moved things around to get the film capacitors on the same copper pad as the pins of the IC as you suggested. Do you see any egregious errors? In this illustration, the copper pads are on the bottom of the board and all components and jumpers are on top of the board. +---+ |Filename: layout.gif | |Download: http://forums.slimdevices.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=942| +---+ -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
Robin Bowes Wrote: jonheal said the following on 02/24/2006 12:45 PM: Below is the layout for the circuit board. I moved things around to get the film capacitors on the same copper pad as the pins of the IC as you suggested. Do you see any egregious errors? In this illustration, the copper pads are on the bottom of the board and all components and jumpers are on top of the board. +---+ |Filename: layout.gif | |Download: http://forums.slimdevices.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=942| +---+ Out of interest, what did you use to produce that diagram? R. Adobe Illustrator. A tool from my previous life as a graphic designer. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
Robin Bowes Wrote: jonheal said the following on 02/24/2006 12:45 PM: Below is the layout for the circuit board. I moved things around to get the film capacitors on the same copper pad as the pins of the IC as you suggested. Do you see any egregious errors? In this illustration, the copper pads are on the bottom of the board and all components and jumpers are on top of the board. +---+ |Filename: layout.gif | |Download: http://forums.slimdevices.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=942| +---+ Out of interest, what did you use to produce that diagram? R. By the way, I use your ReplayGain Perl script. Love it. I also enjoyed poking around your web site, although I think your photo albums are currently busted. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
John Stimson Wrote: Hi Jon, The one change I would make is to eliminate the big loop that goes around the world from pin 2 (op-amp output) to pin 6 (op-amp -in). Just run a short wire between the two pins on the bottom side of the board. Another suggestion: get an 8-pin DIP socket for the op-amp so that you can remove it. That way you can replace it if it gets fried, or experiment with other op-amp models if you feel like doing so. By the way, did you know that I'm Robin's evil twin? We both write the same perl scripts and don't tell each other what we've done ;) John, I was planning on using the DIP socket. I figured I'd probably barbeque the chip itself with my Neanderthal soldering technique. I don't know how I'll keep the glops from running together as it is. So you've got a ReplayGain script? It's all very confusing. I poked around your web site, too. I'm from your Southern California neck of the woods. I attended Cal Poly, Pomona many moons ago. There used to be a really good record store in Claremont, the name of which I can't remember. I'm not sure if it was there when you were at Harvey Mudd, or not, but since you have a lot of vinyl, I thought you might know about it. The Pomona Valley area has changed DRASTICALLY in the last 25 years. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Where is the incredible sound?
Zacko Wrote: I started all this, and it went somewhere I couldn't follow anymore. It's har for me to understand that the powersupply could make any difference but in this room it seems to be so many intelligent people so I go for it. So I sum it up: 1) New power supply. Stabilized, around $25 in Sweden. 2) New Amp with digital line in. Any suggestions? Don't want to spend more than $650. 3) New cables. Could do that. 4) Go Flac. Don't think so. What about Apples lossless? 5) New hardware equalizer. Don´t want to have another box on top of all the others. Did I miss something? Best regards Mats How about giving up and going back to iTunes. It seems that you are looking for a sound that is emphasized at certain points across the spectrum. Sorry, but unequalized, the SqueezeBox just ain't gonna do it for you. It's built to be flat. If you're not willing to add an equalizer, I'm afraid there's not much anyone can do for you. Cut your losses, sell it on eBay. You'll get a taker. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21173 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
John Stimson Wrote: 1) The grounds should all be tied together, preferably at the same point. 2) For short connections, I trim a piece of the resistor leads to bridge between the connection points. You can bridge with just solder, but I feel like having the wire in there is a more robust connection. Use insulated wires for longer connections or if you have to go around another connection point. 3) I typically use 1/4 W resistors since they are easy to find. These resistors are not carrying much current due to their high resistance. 1/8W is probably okay. Don't use high power resistors becase many of those use coiled wire, which is inductive. 4)Ideally, the film capacitor should be as close as possible to the IC. Its job is to handle the high speed transients that the electrolytic capacitor can't respond to. You want to minimize the resistance and inductance between it and the IC. The electrolytic capacitors can be wherever you want on the board. In between when I asked about prototyping boards and your answer, I attempted to do a little learning on my own. I bought a spool of tinned, non-insulated bus wire from Radio Shack (I think it's 24 gauge). I had intended to use it to route the circuit around the board. This particular board has two rows of holes down the middle, the copper pads of which are connected. I was going to use those rows as my ground. There are also numerous groupings of two and three holes, the copper pads of which are also connected. I was going to install the parts in these group hole pads, and then run jumpers of the bus wire between the group hole pads to complete connections. Because of the configuration of the groups, in some instances, say between the film capacitor and the +V lead on the OpAmp, the connection might require three little jumpers (six solder connections), and might run a total distance of and inch and a half. Will this distance/soldering result in too much resistance/inductance? I could make more direct and shorter (but less neat) connections if this is an issue. Does insulated jumper wire lower inductance, or just prevent shorts? I am fairly ignorant about electronics, as you can see. I don't even understand how the capacitors effect the condition of the power supply, as they seem (from the schematic) to be off to the side of the circuit bewteen the power supply and the IC. Again, thank you very much for your help. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: A photo of your Squeezebox setup (please)
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 Question: Should there be a new forum for photos? - yes - no - maybe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wrote: Each speaker weighs 350 lbs each. *Holy Shit*ake mushooms!! -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Where is the incredible sound?
konut Wrote: Why don't you just buy a hardware EQ? A friend of mine with a pretty decent system has been happy with this model: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?DID=7Partnumber=245-882 -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21173 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Can I use a 6 amp regulated power supply?
Paul Sop Wrote: Hi all. I have a 6 amp regulated power supply (I can dial in a 5V voltage) that I found in my basement. It's a laboratory sort of supply, and weighs about 40 pounds. Can I use this lab supply for my squeezebox? Pics of Squeezebox tubes at: http://www.paulsop.com/gallery/cocoonatorium Cheers, Paul Sop Those massive tubes a quite scary, indeed! -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21164 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Volume bug - can you really hear it?
jonheal Wrote: Well, heck, I don't know then! ...I was having a bad night. But really, I should just stop pretending like I know what I'm talking about. I'd save myself a lot of trouble. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=18439 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Where is the incredible sound?
Zacko Wrote: I read the tests, I liked the cool look of the Squeezebox 3 and there it was, shiny and bright, rather easy setup. But where were the true clean crispy sound? Not in my speakers. iTunes/Airport Express sounds much better thanks to that simple equalizer. It's an old BangOlufsen amplifier, small Infinity speakers, no supercables, no way BO has a digital line in. So what could I do except for hoping for a software equalizer solution or a plug-in wich will let med play music through SB3 from iTunes? Mats Goteborg Sweden Maybe you're listenting to stuff you bought on iTunes or 128kpbs mp3s, which happen to have no high end, no bottom and a nice flat and muddled middle. (They *need* an equalizer to even begin to sound proper.) You know the sayings ... garbage in, garbage out... and You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear... and all that rot. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21173 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Where is the incredible sound?
joncourage Wrote: Lots of information in this article, provides a good summary of what to expect. Sort of a reader's digest version of going through many of the threads on this forum. http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1205/slimdevices_squeezebox.htm Short version: the SB is indeed capable of high-quality audiophile grade sound but to some degree depends on a) what you feed it (format and quality of rips); b) what you output it to (DAC, interconnects, electronics, speakers). The consensus seems to be that the out-of-the-box SB is comparable at least to most consumer-grade CD players. Add a decent DAC, you're looking at least at mid-grade audiophile-oriented CD players as a comparison. Have some mods done on the SB and you can get it into high-end audiophile territory, provided you're feeding it lossless music and outputting it to a decent stereo system. Given the same source material, how could the SqueezeBox's (with an outboard DAC, if you wish) sound quality *possibly* be any less than that of *any* CD player with a DAC of similar quality?!? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21173 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
John Stimson Wrote: It won't, but tied together like they are, the averaging resistors and the highpass filter interact with each other. The main effect is that the 21.5k resistor cuts your gain by more than half. DC isn't a big deal going through a single buffer stage. The power amp for the sub probably has a DC blocker on its input. If you want to include a DC filter, put in a second buffer amp. Okay, screw the DC blocker. John Stimson Wrote: You want to have the voltage supplies exceed the maximum signal you wish to reproduce by about 2V. Otherwise, anything within the specified range for the op-amp is fine. +/-9V is easy to achieve with batteries. Which reminds me -- you will want some sort of power supply reservoir capacitors between +V and ground and between -V and ground. Something like a 100uF electrolytic capacitor in parallel with a 1uF film capacitor should work for just one op-amp. My revised schematic is below. Did I understand what you recommended for the power supply reservoir? Two more questions: 1. I assume all of those grounds get tied together? 2. I've never used one before, but the little perforated project boards that you can buy at Radio Shack, etc. ... the ones with lots and lots of copper-edged holes... are you supposed to connect the dots to make connections by dragging solder across them? Or are you supposed to use bits of wire to make connections? +---+ |Filename: schematic2.gif | |Download: http://forums.slimdevices.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=897| +---+ -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Volume bug - can you really hear it?
dwc Wrote: Jon, in the first post in this thread, Sean says the change is in the firmware. (i.e. not the server code) Second question, is this change implemented in the 6.2.2 line? If so in what server/firmware version did the change appear? Thanks, Dan Well, heck, I don't know then! -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=18439 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
Skunk Wrote: I think it's a great idea to go with an active setup Jon, but at some point did you plan on moving to speaker/sub cabinets that did not include a crossover of their own? I know there is a debate on active vs. passive xovers, but I didn't think anyone recommended both. Is there really that much of an advantage to adding hiPass xovers before full range speakers with their own built in crossovers? Thanks for the help John, Pat, Skunk and others. I intend to build a little circuit that sums and slightly amplifies as I have discussed with John. I'll connect it to either Y-connectors at the Preamp-outs of my preamp or its Tape-out jacks. From there, I'll run a single mono RCA cable to the low-level input (there's only one) of the sub, an Outlaw Audio LFM-1. The LFM-1 (and most subwoofers with crossovers, I've learned) contains a low-pass filter only. As I've said before, my mains are fairly large and go fairly low (http://www.theheals.org/jon/hi_fi.asp), but wherever they roll off naturally, I'll attempt to intersect that curve with subwoofer's low-pass cutoff curve. The curves probably won't have the same slope, but I'm sure I can get close, and hopefully it'll be at a pretty low point (50Hz) where they intersect. I'll post a picture of the circuit when I've finished it. Also, I'm hoping that I can impose on John Stimson to doublecheck my schematic before I actually start soldering. :-) -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
John Stimson Wrote: Nah, those are more like the quick dirty way. They're specific to 1/4 plug audio cables too. I assume that you're going to be using RCA cables. In that case, you want to put the resistor in series with the center conductor, and leave the outer conductor intact. The wiring for the center conductor is: Code: R---(1kOhm)---\ ---Sub L---(1kOhm)---/ R and L are the subwoofer outputs of your crossover. The fancy way would replace the two 1kOhm resistors with, say, 47kOhm, and insert an active buffer circuit between the Y and the subwoofer. John, I have a limited knowledge of electronics. Is the example found at the link below indicative of the buffer circuit you mentioned? http://www.linkwitzlab.com/filters.htm#9 I'm assuming that the triangle in the schematic is an op amp. True? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: A photo of your Squeezebox setup (please)
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 Question: Should there be a new forum for photos? - yes - no - maybe John Stimson Wrote: Top to bottom of rack: Technics SL-D2 turntable Squeezebox2 Classe CAV-75 6x75W amp Home-brew preamp active crossover MSB Nelson Link III DAC FM tuner Cassette deck Top to bottom of speaker: Hippo Focal TC90Tdx tweeter Vifa P13WH midrange Audio Concepts AC10 woofer I'm very curious about your active crossover. I need one. Did you design it yourself? From a plan? Kit? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Active Crossover
I think we need a Components forum for this sort of post, but be that as it may, I'll proceed. I have an older preamp that does not include any internal circuitry or connections to accomodate a subwoofer. Nevertheless, I would like to get a subwoofer, but I would prefer not to string miles of speaker cable in order to use the subwoofer's high-level inputs. So, I'm looking for an active crossover to put in between my preamp and amp. Now here's the rub: I want it to be of high quality AND I want it cheap. I don't want to spend much more than $100.00. I realize that at that price point, I'm probably looking at a kit, or maybe just a schematic. I've done some research already and found these two links: http://www.snippets.org/filters/crossover.htm http://kahuna.sdsu.edu/%7Etucker/diyaudio/xover.html Does anyone else have any other ideas? Thanks in advance. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
Skunk Wrote: Doesn't your current pre have a 'tape' output for recording to cassette? Maybe you could run that to the sub, and use the subs crossover. The problem there is that 100% of the signal would still proceed into the power amp for the main speakers. I need a low-pass filter between the preamp and the amp so that I don't have the lowest frequencies coming out of both the main speakers and the subwoofer. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
ezkcdude Wrote: The description says they are active crossover simulators. What exactly does that mean? Who knows? The bottom line is that they are supposed to either roll-off the high or low end at 12db per octave at a given frequency. It's difficult to find authoritative reviews of these items on the Internet. I've looked. I did stumble across another active crossover at a good price by Marchand Electronics. They have a range of products. The one I'm looking at is 40 bucks, but it needs a box, jacks and a power supply. I could probably still do it for $100.00. http://www.marchandelec.com/xm1.html -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
Robin Bowes Wrote: jonheal said the following on 02/09/2006 12:34 PM: I think we need a Components forum for this sort of post, but be that as it may, I'll proceed. I have an older preamp that does not include any internal circuitry or connections to accomodate a subwoofer. Nevertheless, I would like to get a subwoofer, but I would prefer not to string miles of speaker cable in order to use the subwoofer's high-level inputs. So, I'm looking for an active crossover to put in between my preamp and amp. Now here's the rub: I want it to be of high quality AND I want it cheap. I don't want to spend much more than $100.00. I realize that at that price point, I'm probably looking at a kit, or maybe just a schematic. I've done some research already and found these two links: http://www.snippets.org/filters/crossover.htm http://kahuna.sdsu.edu/%7Etucker/diyaudio/xover.html Does anyone else have any other ideas? Thanks in advance. Your sub will most likely have a low-pass built in and your main system will most likely not go down very low. So, try a Y-cable first and see how it sounds. If it sounds OK, buy yourself another SB with the money you save. :) R. Robin, Actually, I think my system goes fairly low as it is. I haven't put an SPL meter on it yet, but I think it's safe to say that it's no more than 3db down at 60Hz. Maybe 50Hz. (I'll find out for sure with a meter before I proceed too much further.) (I'm looking for that extra octave with the sub.) I was under the impression that it was not acceptable to sum the channels with a Y-connector because you mess up the impedance. Is this not true? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
http://www.rane.com/note109.html -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
pfarrell Wrote: jonheal wrote: I have an older preamp that does not include any internal circuitry or connections to accomodate a subwoofer. Nevertheless, I would like to get a subwoofer, but I would prefer not to string miles of speaker cable in order to use the subwoofer's high-level inputs. Doesn't your sub have speaker level imputs? Most do. Then you can run cables from your speakers to the sub and be done. Altho it sounds like you don't want to put the low freq signal thru your amp. So, I'm looking for an active crossover to put in between my preamp and amp. Now here's the rub: I want it to be of high quality AND I want it cheap. I don't want to spend much more than $100.00. Hey, this is the audiophiles list. Here, we think nothing of spending $100 on blocks of wood to hold the speaker cables in proper alignment. Look in the 'pro audio' world, go to your local guitar center. Not that they have anything that is audiophile quality. Of course, if you are running miles of speaker cable, you have other problems. 10 feet is a fairly long way to run speaker cable, unless it is just for background or effects. You do realise that any crossover or EQ will screw up the phase, and that is one of the most important things for quality reproduction. -- Pat http://www.pfarrell.com/music/slimserver/slimsoftware.html Pat, 12 ft. of four fat speaker cables draped across the room? WAF: -80. Now, that, I'm sure you can understand! -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
pfarrell Wrote: jonheal wrote: Actually, I think my system goes fairly low as it is. I haven't put an SPL meter on it yet, but I think it's safe to say that it's no more than 3db down at 60Hz. Maybe 50Hz. (I'll find out for sure with a meter before I proceed too much further.) (I'm looking for that extra octave with the sub.) An octave is only half the Hz. So if you go down to 60Hz, an extra octave is only to 30Hz. But that would let you hear the low E on a bass. IMHO, it is not a subwoofer if it makes any signal above 50 hz. And I could agree with folks arguing that sub woofers stop at 40hz. I was under the impression that it was not acceptable to sum the channels with a Y-connector because you mess up the impedance. Is this not true? It is correct, you do not want to use a Y to sum, It is fine (usually) to use a Y to drive two outputs from one source. To mix, you need an active component. The SPL meter will not tell you if the signal is correct. Lots of systems double at low frequencies, and the SPL will look right. Doubling is when the woofer can't reproduce the fundamental, so it does the second harmonic instead. Any audiophile speaker should go into the 50s or even 40s without doubling, even mini-monitors. A rolloff of 3db/octave starting at 50 is fairly typical unless you have big drivers, or lots of watts. -- Pat http://www.pfarrell.com/music/slimserver/slimsoftware.html Pat, There is a free program at: http://www.marchandelec.com/fg.html ...that will generate a sine wave at any frequency between 1Hz and 20kHz. My assumption is that any doubling my main speakers do will be audible to me as I pass through various frequencies between, say 40Hz and 70Hz, and then I can try to take that into account in attempting to determine where my mains start to lose it. What do you think? The second harmonic is twice the frequency, yes? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Active Crossover
John Stimson Wrote: Because if a bass sound is hard-panned to one side or the other, you may miss it completely. Bass may be fairly nondirectional but that's no guarantee that the left and right channels of all recordings will be identical in the 20-80Hz range. A quick dirty way to blend the channels would be to put a 1kOhm resistor in series with each channel before going into a Y-connector. If your preamp can safely drive a 1kOhm load, then this will average the two signals, with a small amount of attenuation. The fancy way is to use larger resistors that tie together to feed the input of the buffer amp, which eliminates the problem of attenuation and allows you to present a higher (more friendly) load impedance to your preamp. John, Is your fancy way represented by the schematic on this page? http://www.rane.com/note109.html -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20907 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: A photo of your Squeezebox setup (please)
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 Question: Should there be a new forum for photos? - yes - no - maybe Here's our rig: * SqueezeBox 3 - wired connection * Vintage ADCOM GFA-535 amplifier and GTP-400 preamp/tuner * Dayton Audio interconnects * DIY speaker cables * PSB Stratus Bronze loudspeakers with custom bases SlimServer's running on a Windows box in the basement. Our FLACs are on a drive controlled by a Linksys NSLU2, also in the basement. I refer to the ADCOM components as vintage because I purchased them way back in 1987. It's a little funny (an depressing) to think that when I bought that stuff, the creators of the SqueezeBox were practically still crapping in their pants. You can follow this link to some ramblings and more pictures of the system on our web site: http://www.theheals.org/jon/hi_fi.asp +---+ |Filename: hifi.jpg | |Download: http://forums.slimdevices.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=870| +---+ -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: A photo of your Squeezebox setup (please)
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 Question: Should there be a new forum for photos? - yes - no - maybe Kyle Wrote: Very nice, Jon. Zen-like in its simplicity, except for those whopping speakers. Did you have to drill a hole in the floor to hardwire? Fortunately, the floors came pre-drilled, courtesy of the previous owner. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: A photo of your Squeezebox setup (please)
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 Question: Should there be a new forum for photos? - yes - no - maybe ezkcdude Wrote: Finally got everything in place now. Those are nice looking speakers. Where did you get the parts? Did you make the stands, too? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Hosfelt Power Supply
Heuer Wrote: The -ve is indeed on the outer sleeve, check with a meter after you have soldered the new lead and plug.. The SB3 minature power plug is a generic item and can be bought from any electronics supply shop (Radio Shack, Maplin etc). Best to take the stock supply with you and ask the shop to match the plug. They may have an already made up lead you could use/modify. The connector is not quite that generic, there are quite a few differnet sizes that look very similar. They are labeled as C, L, N, etc. I think the SB uses size N. Maybe someone at Slim could confirm. And yes, you can buy another power supply from Slim: https://secure.slimdevices.com/order/upgrades.cgi -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20829 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Any one know anything about the little isolator blocks you put under the feet of cdp?
pfarrell Wrote: Skunk wrote: Some people must make a pretty good living selling those feet. I can hardly imagine spending $400 for an interface between a table and cd player, but people certainly do. It made a lot of sense back in the days of yore with turntables. It makes far less sense with a CP player, but audiophiles are not the most rational people. I can't imagine how a solid state device with no moving parts, like a SqueezeBox, would care, Maybe more so if you put the squeezebox on top of the speaker cabinet. But I can believe that someone will swear that it makes a huge difference. If there is any real science behind it, then just floating it on a tire tube or tennis ball is not going to help much. You need to dampen and absorbe the vibration energy, and a spring will just delay it. You really need something of a shock absorber. Or a mass sprung between two or more series of springs. -- Pat http://www.pfarrell.com/music/slimserver/slimsoftware.html Well, you could suspend it in a vat of viscous fluid, or better yet, float it mid-air on magnets! You should also probably position an aluminum foil pyramid over it to reduce interference from alien sub-carrier frequencies (of course it will reduce your wireless signal strength somewhat). (If I keep this up, I'm going to get banned from this forum. All in good fun, mates!) -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20838 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Inwall amplifiers
Skunk Wrote: Your link isn't very precise, unless you meant 'structured wiring' in general. Isn't structured wiring a proactive solution though, meaning you run all wires to every room before the need arises? I was attempting to point to PartsExpress's stock of in-wall enclosures (for the power supplies, etc.). You'd still need to run 110V romex into the box -- not exactly trivial. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20818 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: A photo of your Squeezebox setup (please)
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 Question: Should there be a new forum for photos? - yes - no - maybe agentsmith Wrote: As you can see from second picture, space is dominated by wife's precious Precious moments collection. Compromises Oh, lordy... I reckon turning up the bass is NOT ALLOWED in your household. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: A photo of your Squeezebox setup (please)
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 Question: Should there be a new forum for photos? - yes - no - maybe Mike Anderson Wrote: Music in FLAC on 500GB LaCie hard drive - Squeezebox 2, digital out - Benchmark DAC1, balanced outputs - Pathos Logos integrated amp - Speltz anti-cables, bi-wired - Magnepan 1.6QRs. [image: http://static.flickr.com/25/95506015_927d70d283_o.jpg] Ever misfire and stick a dart in those maggies? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Reality Check: Power Supplies
Since I'm not an electrical engineer, may logic may be flawed, but here's my proposition as it concerns switching vs. linear power supplies, and also choking the power cord with a ferrite core: My assumption is that whatever noise/coloration/etc. the power supply is going to be adding to music will be evident whether the SqueezeBox is playing music or not, because, well ... the power supply is always supplying power. To compare power supplies, I suggest turning the volume up to max on the SqueezeBox -- not while your playing music, mind you, but while the SqueezeBox is idle. Then, turn the volume of your amp up to max. Now, get a good set of headphones and listen. Even with the quietest system, you'll hear noise. Have your wife or someone switch power supplies, or add and remove the choke from the power line while your listening through the headphones. If you can hear a difference, pick the quieter option. BTW, disconnect your speakers during this experiment. switching power supply sends a big spike through my speakers when I plug it in and unplug it. Also, if you happen the get the White Noise of Death during the experiment, it'll probably kill you on the spot ;-) Comments? Am I a little naive concerning These escoteric issues? -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20725 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Reality Check: Power Supplies
CardinalFang Wrote: But how do you tell where the noise is coming from? Amplifer noise could be swamping any SB noise. Paul I'm not an electrical engineer, but I know enough to know that noise is additive (not counting things like out-of-phase stuff cancelling itself out). If there's more noise when one power supply is plugged in vs. the other, than the extra noise is the result of the power supply -- regardless of the preamp's noise level. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20725 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Reality Check: Power Supplies
Skunk Wrote: Is the load presented to the power supply not affected by musical peaks? Surely not as much as in power amps, but I'm *guessing* listening to silence would be inconclusive. My experiment focuses on only one characteristic -- audible noise. Power supplies may have other characteristics that make one more suited to powering audio components over another. But if your goal is to simply inject as little noise into the chain as possible, this experiment may tell you which power supply is better in this one regard. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20725 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Reality Check: Power Supplies
Skunk Wrote: Does that translate even indirectly to what people with too much time on their hands describe as 'inky black backgrounds'? I hope you know I'm partially kidding Jon! Well, I'm gullible enough that I will go along with just about whatever escoteric mod the Intelligentsia says works -- as long as it costs less than $20.00 ;-) In the case of this power supply/choke debate, I think I am fairly sensitive to subtle grunge noise in my system. In fact, I was detecting a little, and I wondered if it was attributable to the switching power supply. As it turned out, the mechanical source selector on my ancient preamp must have had a little junk in it, because I turned it back and forth fast a few times, and the noise went away. But it did get me thinking about some sort of empirical test to compare the two styles of power supplies on the merits of the noise they inject into the signal path. I have a linear supply that I bought on eBay. Actually two came with my order, so I have an extra. I don't know a thing about them other than the seller claimed they were linear supplies. They produce 5V @ 2500mA. They're huge. They're big grounded suckers that weigh about three pounds. But I need to find a power adapter plug that will fit the lead coming out of the supply and the SqueezeBox, which I believe takes a size N. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20725 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Anyone using a Shigaraki or Progession DAC?
CardinalFang Wrote: What's natural about HiFi! :-) I have a Musical Fidelity DAC and like it - it's good value for money. I'd never claim that any of my gear is natural though - it generates a sound that is pleasing to my ears is the best you could say. I suppose if you do listen to purely natural sound recordings then you could claim that, but I haven't heard many new groups running free in their natural environment to be able to say whether it's good or not :-) I did see the Sex Pistols and the Clash a few times and they aren't natural on vinyl, I assure you! The thought of Mr Lydon running carefree in the Sarenghetti does present an interesting thought though. Joking aside, is being close to vinyl ideal or have our ears just got tuned to that sound as being right? I have a Pink Triangle setup and often think it sounds smoother and more cohesive, but is that because my ears have got trained to a smoother presentation? Paul I find the image of that arrogant and sarcastic primo don Johnny Lydon sprinting at top speed with a leopard nipping at his bum quite amusing. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=16741 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: piano solos
pfarrell Wrote: seanadams wrote: I am looking for some exceptionally well recorded piano solos - suggestions? In the classical world, a great set is Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould - 1981 CBS Masterworks by Glenn Gould Not quite solo piano, but predominately piano in a jazz trio setting Duke Ellington Album: Piano In the Foreground -- Pat http://www.pfarrell.com/music/slimserver/slimsoftware.html You'll have to endure Mr. Gould's mumbling and humming throughout the Goldberg Variations, however. He's a bit of an eccentric. :-) -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20611 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Best subwoofer for music under $1000?
I was recently at a friend's house auditioning his Outlaw Audio LFM-1. This unit is rated flat to 25Hz. We listened to a variety of music and also to test tones. My friend had the subwoofer positioned behind and to the right of us. I believe he had it crossed-over at 80, or perhaps 100Hz. When he turned the volume up on the sub (while playing music), I could definitely percieve an increase in sound energy to my right and behind, not with pinpoint accuracy, but generally. Playing test tones was interesting. Unless they've heard a test disc, I don't think most people realize what a jarring experience it is to listen to a pure 25Hz tone. It's actually quite uncomfortable, physically. Furthermore, listening to the range of higher-frequency test tones revealed that I could change the apparent location of the source of sound by simply slightly rotating my head or moving forward or backward a few inches. I would offer the suggestion that any directionality one percieves from really low tones, like lowest notes on a pipe organ are due to the harmonics that are are accompaning it (and making it more palatable). I think that extended listening to a pure 16Hz tone without the accompaning harmonics would probably melt your brain, or at least drive you batty. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20197 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: A photo of your Squeezebox setup (please)
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 Question: Should there be a new forum for photos? - yes - no - maybe dwc Wrote: Here's my headphone rig. -Dan http://www.sonic.net/dcarwin/images/P1190247.JPG Dan, I hope you didn't take offense at my smart-assness. Jon -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19817 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
