Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Connect Transporter Directly to Focal Solo6 Studio Monitors
It's kind of funny I came back to this board to basically ask the same question for the same monitors. My main concern is whether the Transporter will always remember the volume or the volume limiting works without any issues. Because I can't afford an accidental full level playback in my apartment even for a few seconds lest I damage the monitors/wake up the neighbors. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=87335 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Transporter digital out won't sync with DAC at higher than 48kHz
jfeldt;580567 Wrote: Hey guys, I just wanted to give an update: using the loop mode worked with 24/96 material and either coax cable I had on hand, both via RCA and BNC. I still can't get a lock on my Theta DAC using the original cable or a Kimber DV-75 that I also have on hand for highres material. The Transporter is new, but open-box so used briefly by some other customer from Crutchfield and unmodified as far as a quick visual inspection goes. Mnyb, the higher sampling rates work fine out of the analog outputs. Theta has gone through an ownership change and I'm fairly certain they could care less about my DAC at this point :( I spent a little time doing a few A/B comparisons between the analog output of the Transporter (with the same power cable as my digital lens and with the same analog interconnect) compared to a SB3 into a Genesis Digital lens to the Theta DAC and end up preferring my previous Theta signal chain for redbook material, and still even prefer the Theta playing redbook over the transporter playing 24/96 versions of albums I have highres versions of, though the difference is closer there (and the masterings are different between the 16/44.1 and 24/96 versions and I'm too lazy to trick out my convert.conf to resample the 24/96 down and compare, which I did a few months ago when I had the touch). To me, the Theta has more realistic timbres, much better soundstaging, and is more dynamic. I want to love the Transporter, since it would save me some money over keeping my Theta DAC and Genesis digital lens and it would also simplify my system, but I feel I'll probably be returning it soon. I still need to compare its digital output to the lens' output for 16/44.1 material, and I'm still hoping I'll figure out a way to run 24/96 to my DAC from it before the return period is up. So you're the one who snatched up that Crutchfield transporter? I had my sights set on it but it was sold. Got mine from Ebay. When I try to play a 24/96 file I get decoder out of memory myself but I later read that happens if you try to play a multichannel 24/96 file. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=82341 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Transporter?
The Crutchfield outlet ones are gone and the soundscience ones are gone as I found out. Anyway the reason I want one is to have AES/EBU outputs and word clock input for SBS. The Transporter is the only device to do that. Found one on Ebay. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=81342 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] DACs : unmodded Transporter vs Perfectwave DAC?
Honestly having tried out the PWD, it does sound good and I have not compared to a transporter, I don't like the concept of using straight DLNA. To me the SBS/iPeng interface is MILES ahead. Sure its not perfect but man with trackstat and MusicIP it just kills what any DLNA based interface could offer. It beats out iTunes/Remote handily as well. I mean with iPeng you could be listening to something and one click later you have access to Trackstat, MusicIP, songs by the same artist or from the same album or genre or year. With iTunes there is no such direct access. You have to manually search out the artist or album or year or genre. Also SBS/iPeng gives you one touch access to lyrics, track info etc. Yes audiophiles may feel that such things are icing on the cake but my feeling is that if I am going to switch from CD transport to computer audio I may as well enjoy the full benefits of the transition. Why limit myself to a DLNA based track selection and clunky interface? SBS offers far more. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=82155 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] How to keep lossless and compressed libraries
I EAC ripped to FLAC and used dBpoweramp to convert to ALAC and 256kbps AAC. I use the AAC versions for the iPod and the ALAC versions for iTunes and FLAC for Squeezebox. A WHS houses the 3 libraries. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=81007 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] What outboard DAC do you use with Squeezebox?
Henry66;561879 Wrote: How do you like your Nova and have you compared the Nova's DAC to your Squeezebox's DAC? What speakers are you driving with the Nova? Sorry I didn't see your question until now. I'm driving Genelec HT208s. I haven't really made the comparison but I'm happy with how it sounds. Just got a PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=72018 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] What outboard DAC do you use with Squeezebox?
Currently Peachtree Nova, but plan to move that to the bedroom and get something else for the main system. It's nice to see what others are using. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=72018 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Which DAC to Use?
JJZolx;499827 Wrote: Jeez. Who replies to four year old posts? The issue is still relevant. Besides if the intent was to never have anyone reply to older threads then we shouldn't be able to find them. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=14599 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Beatles 24 vs 16 bits...
Stratmangler;499634 Wrote: EMI did future proof the Beatles remastering project as far as was possible - see this article http://www.theinsider.com/news/2102658_Re_Mastering_the_BEATLES_Catalog_The_Process I agree that the sample rate seems to be the key to improved audio - most of the music DVD's that I have are AC3 on the stereo tracks, which transcodes to 16/48 files. The audio on these discs is better than CD with no exceptions - perhaps I've been lucky in this respect. That said, I've also noted the improvements brought by HDCD when the files have been ripped using dBPoweramp with the DSP plugins installed. The resultant files are 24/44.1 . The audio improvements are worth pursuing. Back to The Beatles - it is perfectly feasible for EMI to release the albums at 24/192, all that is required is the will (on EMI's part) to do it. I can't imagine that this will happen anytime soon, for reasons of copyright security if nothing else. The potential of hi-res release does still remain. Chris:) Well after the death of SACD (which was never cracked) and DVD-A (cracked but has watermarks) the word out there is that a new Blu-Ray based Audiophile format may be born. The key is to get all those plebs hi-rez multichannel equipment by putting on high-res multichannel movie soundtracks and then launching the music format. You can't sell hi-rez audio to these plebs, but you can push it through movie soundtracks (which IMHO do NOT need hi-rez - I don't care if my explosion was recorded in 192/24 or 16/48). These people are happy with MP3. Now with Blu-Ray and people buying receivers capable of hi-rez D/A conversion we have a shot again, but in truth most people don't care. The biggest concern of course is content protection. Whatever they roll out will be cracked and the more popular the format is the sooner it will be cracked. The digital age has made content unprotectable. At the end of the day these clowns need to understand that they need to offer a product at a fair price. The days of private jet-setting and extravagant expense accounts in the recorded music business are OVER. I think they need to find greener pastures. They made hay while the sun shined with LP, Cassette, 8-Track and CD. The recorded music business is not that kind of a rip-off the customer business anymore. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=72852 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Beatles 24 vs 16 bits...
Stratmangler;499634 Wrote: EMI did future proof the Beatles remastering project as far as was possible - see this article http://www.theinsider.com/news/2102658_Re_Mastering_the_BEATLES_Catalog_The_Process I agree that the sample rate seems to be the key to improved audio - most of the music DVD's that I have are AC3 on the stereo tracks, which transcodes to 16/48 files. The audio on these discs is better than CD with no exceptions - perhaps I've been lucky in this respect. That said, I've also noted the improvements brought by HDCD when the files have been ripped using dBPoweramp with the DSP plugins installed. The resultant files are 24/44.1 . The audio improvements are worth pursuing. Back to The Beatles - it is perfectly feasible for EMI to release the albums at 24/192, all that is required is the will (on EMI's part) to do it. I can't imagine that this will happen anytime soon, for reasons of copyright security if nothing else. The potential of hi-res release does still remain. Chris:) Well after the death of SACD (which was never cracked) and DVD-A (cracked but has watermarks) the word out there is that a new Blu-Ray based Audiophile format may be born. The key is to get all those plebs hi-rez multichannel equipment by putting on high-res multichannel movie soundtracks and then launching the music format. You can't sell hi-rez audio to these plebs, but you can push it through movie soundtracks (which IMHO do NOT need hi-rez - I don't care if my explosion was recorded in 192/24 or 16/48). These people are happy with MP3. Now with Blu-Ray and people buying receivers capable of hi-rez D/A conversion we have a shot again, but in truth most people don't care. The biggest concern of course is content protection. Whatever they roll out will be cracked and the more popular the format is the sooner it will be cracked. The digital age has made content unprotectable. At the end of the day these clowns need to understand that they need to offer a product at a fair price. The days of private jet-setting and extravagant expense accounts in the recorded music business are OVER. I think they need to find greener pastures. They made hay while the sun shined with LP, Cassette, 8-Track and CD. The recorded music business is not that kind of a rip-off the customer business anymore. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=72852 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Audiophile ripping software
Do a comparison with the wav files. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=72916 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Is my logic correct here? Arcam DAC vs. CI AUDIO
It's very likely the Arcam mutes the output when nothing is being decoded in its DAC. Many devices do this. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73099 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Which DAC to Use?
seanadams;41172 Wrote: Before getting into which DAC is better, the thing to find out is whether your receiver is putting all of its signals through a digital path internally (a quick googling didn't tell me specifically about your model, but there's much mention of ADCs so I suspect so). If that's the case, you're better off using a digital connection into the receiver to eliminate a D-A at the source and another A-D into the receiver. By the way, the A-D-A conversion that is common in modern receivers is not inherently a bad thing. For something with a lot of channels in/out, it's probably cleaner to get it straight into zeroes and ones rather than switching the analog signals and passing them all around inside the box from one PCB to another. I'm sure on some forum there's a lengthy and well-informed debate that could be cited here... It's not a bad thing considering the purpose of an A/V receiver and what it does but it's unacceptable for an audiophile setup. Which is why consumer level A/V receivers are not audiophile components. I would run a Duet into an A/V receiver for convenience but a separate Transporter into a simple audio grade pre-amp for quality. The SB system lets you switch them easily anyway. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=14599 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Half speed master vinyl
rgheck;498953 Wrote: That kind of processing does terrible things to the sound. Listen for example to the Hendrix reissues done several years ago. In cleaning up the sound, they rolled off all the detail that gives it life. Something similar is what's wrong with most reissues. The tapes are ancient and the records can't sound anything but dark compared to the originals. There are exceptions, of course, and 1970s/80s MoFi's are among them, often because the MoFi didn't follow the original by very much. There are also some great reissues of Atlantic material, because the Atlantic originals were often terrible. (FWIW, the best pressings of the great 1950s-1960s Atlantic stuff are often the mid-1970s Warner pressings.) I agree noise is the least thing to worry about. Is it distracting? Yes, but the alternative is usually worse. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=71764 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Any audiophiles got a SB Touch to beta test?
JohnSwenson;498605 Wrote: The connector and voltage for the Touch is identical to the SB3. If you have a bus powered USB device plugged into the Touch (such as a USB hard drive) it can draw more current than an SB3. So a linear supply that has more than enough current capability for an SB3 will probably run the Touch with no problems as long as you don't have a bus bus powered drive connected. If you do want to run a bus powered drive make sure the supply can handle at least 2.5 A and you should be fine. I have personally used the DIY linear supply I use for my SB3 with the touch, it works fine. But I have not noticed any improvements in sound. The switcher that comes with the Touch is significantly better than the one for the SB3 so going with a linear supply is not nearly as big a deal. But you certainly CAN if you want to. John S. I head the voltage is different and the shipping touch will use a different connector so people don't plug in the wrong PS. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=70167 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Why Reclock If Using Low Jitter DAC
Phil Leigh;427831 Wrote: I agree with Newbuyer, but I'd point out that an A/B dealer demo is absolutely the worst method of choosing (top-end) gear. You need an extended home demo. Our brains and our senses are tuned to identify tiny differences - that's what kept the species alive to-date. Difference!=better. Difference=different. You can easily detect differences in an A/B of some gear. Only by living with the gear over time can you decide if it really is better to your taste. Totally agree with that and is the reason why I don't believe ABX testing really works as well as some people believe. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=63796 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Focal Dome speakers - any thoughts?
My honest thoughts on surround sound is that it is served just fine with a cheap home theater in a box setup. Put your good money into 2 channel. I don't need a $1000 speaker to reproduce the sound of a chainsaw behind me or something. I realize this is pretty dismissive stance on cinema sound but sound effects don't need nice speakers. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=63952 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] SB3+ External DAC or Transporter...
blessingx;206138 Wrote: Heuer, mind if I ask what do you mean 'by every other sample'? Non-24/96? Sounds like a quick and dirty downsample to 24/48. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=35775 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Audiophile power supply / conditioning
Nonreality;338652 Wrote: So what do you hear when you get noise from AC. I do run filters but didn't notice any sound difference but my plasma display improved enough to be noticeable. It got rid of the occasional blocks that happen on screen changes. Any sound quality that I may have perceived could be written off as imagination or wishful thinking. It's a monsterpower (yeah I know not a popular name) but it was almost half off and seems to be very well made and provides nice protection and a clean way to plug everything in. It has various vidio and audio filters and like I said the video surprised me in that I actually noticed the improvement. But does what you see on your oscilloscope really translate into sound defects? How much does noise in power translate into noise in sound? I've heard both sides, a ton and very little unless you live in a very bad area. The main reason I bought the monsterpower was for surge and lightning protection, the other stuff was a bonus. I didn't trust the strips and after reading up on it, it seemed to be a nice unit the size of a small amp. Your idea of running all battery I guess might help someone with very high end equipment but I guess the question is where is the point that you will see the benefit? At least you are reccommending something that is useful and will work for sure instead of the magic cables and such. I just wonder how much the power in a good area affects the sound. Oh sorry about the troll thing, was thinking you were talking about a different idea, my mistake. Yeah but people buy $5000 power cables and useless crap like that which couldn't make 5% of the difference of regenerated power. I saw an online UPS for $399. I'll bet anything it will make more of a difference than any snake-oil impregnated power cable you can find. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=52348 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Blue Train AKA format wars
darrenyeats;365058 Wrote: I thought I'd take some of my own advice and seek out alternative releases of Blue Train by John Coltrane. I own this on CD already but I have found two alternative masters of it online (one mono). Here's the rub: I'm listening to this mono release which is in MP3 256k and it sounds way better than my ripped CD. When I say way better I mean I refuse to listen to my CD anymore! It annoys the hell out of me by comparison. The main reason, as usual, is compression. To compare like with like visually I 'quick mixed' the stereo CD into mono. Also, did the same with another stereo master I found online which was worse than my CD. [image: http://www.yeats.co.uk/public/Audio/coltrane-waveform.jpg] Top waveform is the worst master - note the very evident compression from about 4:00 to 5:00. Middle waveform is my CD. Bottom waveform is the MP3. Note the lack of compression on every scale including the quieter passages 6:00 to 7:00 and 9:00 to 10:00. This translates into a more relaxed and realistic presentation. BTW you still get a kind of stereo effect even though it's mono. This experience has cemented my opinion that formats (MP3, FLAC, hi-rez) are nowhere near as important as other factors, such as original recordings and loudspeakers. Darren PS: I live in Europe and I own a legit copy of Blue Train. As soon as I can find this mono release on CD I'll buy that too. Any pointers? Without a doubt the recording is far more important than the format within reason (no 64kbps mp3). -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55737 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Finally I can play my 2 Channel SACD's on Transporter
mswlogo;365181 Wrote: I agree. It's the closest I can get though. Especially since my speakers are PCM themselves. By the way when I mentioned bitperfect earlier I did not mean to imply the SACD extraction was bitperfect. Just the path through the mod was bit perfect and that the PS3 does not do any funky bass management, tone or levels adjustments. Do we know anything about how the PS3 handles the conversion compared to some of the high end multiformat players? -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55729 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] The Nutcracker
eLR!C;349847 Wrote: I got this one (Valery Gergiev / Kirov orchestra) : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tchaikovsky-The-Nutcracker-complete/dp/B0A1GL/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8s=musicqid=1224056806sr=1-1 Sound quality is excellent, but some find the interpretation too fast ... (we should be able to share squeezeboxen streams so that you can have your own judgement before buying :) ) The one I have. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=53770 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Direct to power amp?
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55246 Question: Direct to power amp? - Yes - No Well at $180 you really have no other option. A preamp to top a simple attenuator is going to be well into four figures and it seems not even the low four figures. Well, I've decided on the Endlers + Behringer DEQ + Endler's Mods to the DEQ. It will be my DAC and my stepping stone into room EQ. The whole thing will be around $700 roughly what I could get the Lavry DA10 for - any thoughts anyone? -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55246 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Transporter versus SB3 with Beresford DAC
mswlogo;364039 Wrote: I didn't buy it just for looks and never said I did. But it definitely factored into the equation. And I suspect it does for quite a few even if they are not willing to admit it. I bought it for: Looks Build 24/96 Capability Dual Displays And a much more flexible design thay may be enhanced further. I could care less about it's analog capabilities and I know that is a waste but you don't have much choice. When I saw Sean was able to add 88.2Khz support after the fact I was convinced this is one hell of well designed machine and had to have it. The lack of 88.2Khz was also holding me back. I also got it brand new $1200.00 Fair enough. The expandability is a plus. Also when I learned that you can feed a clock signal to it that made it a bit more interesting. I would in the future consider getting it and slaving it to an external DAC. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=54947 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Direct to power amp?
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55246 Question: Direct to power amp? - Yes - No pablolie;363458 Wrote: Sean - I can't recall claiming I knew what *your* position was. I went by the manual and the wiki. If there is an official statement as strong as the one you made in this forum in the SB3 or Transporter manual, I must have missed it. I know your word carries enormous weight, but in that case, why does the Transporter User Guide provide users on page 24 with a guide to attenuation, stating .. If you are connecting Transporter directly to an amplifier that does not have an input gain control, you may need to change the attenuation level .. - which doesn't sound quite as strong as you worded it here. The manuals for products do not make as strong a statement against connecting the product directly to a power amp, so I would content that while it is great users reading this thread now know that you specifically and strongly are against such a configuration, those users out there who only have the manual to go buy probably see far more ambiguity, since the manual states the product can be connected to a preamp or amplifier (SB3 user guide). I think it makes a lot of sense to issue a strong warning to users who chose to go that way. But I don't see that warning written in the relevant analog connection guide in the manual. What do you think non-audiophiles do? Do you suspect they use the digital volume control? Of course they do but this is the audiophile forum. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55246 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Direct to power amp?
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55246 Question: Direct to power amp? - Yes - No pablolie;363483 Wrote: I am not sure what you mean or how this refers to anything I have written. The audiophiles in here that are connecting the SB3 or TP directly to a poweramp (attenuation or not) are using the digital volume control as well. That is what you do if you eliminate a preamp, whether you are an audiophile or not. I use digital volume control on all secondary systems, but not on my primary audio one where I use a classic SB3-DAC-integrated amp configuration. In any case, I think you'd be surprised by how many audiophiles use digital volume control, and how skillfully they'd argue that it does not necessarily negatively affect audio quality. Fine you could argue that the volume control algorithm operates at 24 bits internally and hence will not adversely affect a 16 bit signal at least to an audible level. Some people believe in keeping the bits perfect until the DAC but I could see some people arguing that a well implemented digital volume control is nothing to worry about. However, no matter what digital attenuation will reduce your S/N ratio. It's just a given. You are no longer operating at the full output of the DAC in relation to baseline noise levels. I want to use a stepped attenuator, but I need to know how it will affect my impedance matching before I do that. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55246 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Direct to power amp?
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55246 Question: Direct to power amp? - Yes - No cliveb;363011 Wrote: You could take a look at this wiki page: http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/DIYPassiveAttenuation. It includes a link to an Excel spreadsheet that can help you work out the resistor values required, but that link seems broken. (The link to the web-based calculator is also no longer valid). The original spreadsheet is at http://www.delback.co.uk/general/atten_calc.xls. Rather than build a stepped attenuator, it would be far simpler to build a simple fixed attenuator which provides the loudest possible volume you'll ever want when the SBR's volume is at maximum, and then use the SBR's volume control for day-to-day adjustments. It works at 24 bit precision, and IME does not introduce any audible degradation. And of course being remote controllable it's far more convenient. Thanks! That spreadsheet is pure money! I've been given to understand that the Squeezebox duet measured with an output impedance of 593Ohms worst case and my amp input is at 32KOhms. I think I can use a nice Goldpoint 50K. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55246 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Direct to power amp?
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55246 Question: Direct to power amp? - Yes - No seanadams;363651 Wrote: absolutely - that's exactly what they are for Okay so you set the attenuator to the maximum listening level you would ever want and then you're stuck with digital volume control again. So what's the solution? Preamp? Stepped attenuator? -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55246 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Squeezebox upgrades
harmonic;354220 Wrote: Run while you can Best thing I've read all week seriously. It's a real maze navigating the options and seriously wondering if even the research is worth it. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=54335 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Transporter versus SB3 with Beresford DAC
pkfox;358804 Wrote: Hi there, this topic has been done to death ( maybe not with your DAC - but plenty of others ) it all comes down to personal opinion - my friend prefers his standard SB3 with no external DAC to my TP - I rest my case... cheers What are you really trying to say? -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=54947 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Direct to power amp?
A poll associated with this post was created, to vote and see the results, please visit http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55246 Question: Direct to power amp? - Yes - No Okay how would one go about designing an attenuator for their system? I have a SB receiver and the input impedance of my NHT M-oo's is 32Kohms. I am considering a stepped attenuator but I want to be able to calculate out my options at different volume levels. Can anyone help me with the formulas used to calculate these values? I need stepped attenuation because I cannot always listen at the same volume since I can't afford to disturb my roommates with loud music in the case of certain tracks. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55246 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Transporter versus SB3 with Beresford DAC
mswlogo;359029 Wrote: When a system looks like this it really doesn't matter. http://forums.slimdevices.com/showpost.php?p=76431postcount=4 But when it looks something like this I do care (by the way I hate the look of the PS3 and the noisy fan and will eventually swap it out). http://forums.slimdevices.com/showpost.php?p=350741postcount=45 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you spend any kind of serious money on audio you are kidding yourself if looks doesn't matter. It also depends where your system is (living room vs say your Home Office). I have some other ugly setups too where I don't care what it looks like and I have the SB3 hooked up. As far as sound they both sound the same on a decent DAC and this board spends way to much energy on debating it. The looks is the most significant difference if you hook them both to a decent DAC. So if looks does not matter and plan to use a decent external DAC you are wasting your money on a transporter. Looks includes the displays IMHO. Looks is a more significant discussion than the non existent diffences when hooked to an external DAC. Whatever, the SB receiver can be hidden. If you'd pay $1850 just for looks and to have the thing in your rack you have too much money to throw around to make recommendations for normal people. Besides I can't stand stupid lights flashing and dancing when I listen to music. I turn off the stupid display on every piece of equipment I have. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=54947 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] SB3 + Cambridge DacMagic ($400) Review
mswlogo;359008 Wrote: I'm always skeptical when I see this. The Default Sound Card Drivers will butcher the sound because it will resample 44.1khz to 48khz and run through the OS's mixer. ASIO or DirectSound (both of which would require drivers from the vender) are the only way to get Native Bitrates out (Or use a SqueezeBox :) ) If you read the Benchmark DAC instruction manual you will learn that in the case of Windows Vista the upsampling routines are excellent. Also Benchmark claims to have a driverless way to bypass the kmixer. I wonder what Cambridge has implemented. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=53985 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] SB3 + Cambridge DacMagic ($400) Review
fuzzyT;359295 Wrote: The other only way to bypass the mixer is to use a Mac. Again read the Benchmard DAC manual and you will see that Mac OSX is very bad at sample rate conversion. I was surprised to read that Vista got it right first. Pretty surprising that MS would do anything good for audiophiles, from the company that killed HDCD. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=53985 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Transporter compared with Linn Sneaky DS
Okay so what was the topic again? -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=54622 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Whole house Amp
DeVerm;345805 Wrote: That's the weirdest post I've seen in this forum :) The whole idea with SB is to stream your music to where you want it and now you want to put them all together in a cabinet with a yekkidiyek amp and run speaker-wires through the whole house? Also, ceiling speakers (!) with very long house-spanning speaker-cables to a central amp in the audiophile forum? You sure must be trolling and I must admit you're better at it then I am :) If you're not trolling, you better re-think your strategy. Like putting a couple of Booms around the house. cheers, Nick. He's new and may not know what the word audiophile means. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=53288 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Powered Speakers Recommendations
pablolie;356146 Wrote: Since we are in a Logitech forum, I'd also like to put a good word in for the http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/speakers_audio/home_pc_speakers/devices/231cl=us,en Audiopjile they aren't, but they are very musical PC speakers that sound amazing for their below $200 price tag, and provide very clear sound if one sets the subwoo up right. Logitech is doing very disruptive things. I for one predict that in less than 10 years we will get better sound quality out of DSP controlled power 2.1 systems than we have from our beloved traditional stereo setups, at a fraction of the price. I look at it with a tear in one eye, and great expectations on the other side. It is an exciting time to love music and its delivery through a balanced audio system. Okay now you lost all your credibility. I would never buy a sub/sat POS and expect it to match powered monitors. -- sxr71 sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=54559 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
