pb2 - Member
Completely separate earth circuit ! It cost next to nothing to do and it made a huge difference
Details pls.
My music room was upstairs in a room with two external walls. From memory (I am going back to 2000) I drilled a hole through the wall and ran the largest diameter copper earthing cable I could find through to the outside. The cable was clipped to outside face of the exterior wall and I got a large steel spike knocked up by a blacksmith. The spike was hammered in to the ground so that only 3 or 4 inches were protruding and the earth cable was tethered to the spike. I cannot recollect the fine details of how I did the termination in the music room other the earth went in to something and the earth cables of the various components connected via a common rail to the junction box or what ever I used.
In the same way that we isolate the TT and speakers from vibration and movement, I was in theory partially isolating the hi-fi from electrical interference. I was very tempted to have a separate power circuit for my hi-fi but the fire stopped that. The separate earth circuit is a simple and cheap experiment as long as you have access to an external wall and it follows, its easier and cheaper if your hi-fi is on the ground floor.
Actually some of us use hi-fi to listen to music.
You can do that with an iPod. You don't need a $500 record player made out of kitchen counter top and €1000 loud speakers with €50 drivers.
It's a total joke. Only medium psychic shows take the piss out of the public more.
😀Here you go fellas
You can do that with an iPod. You don't need a $500 record player made out of kitchen counter top and €1000 loud speakers with €50 drivers.It's a total joke. Only medium psychic shows take the piss out of the public more.
As it happens, most of the time I'm listening to music (6Music via BBC iPlayer Radio app and 320Kb AAC) on my iPhone through a pair of £4.50 Apple EarPods knock-offs using EQu with the AAC's to tweak the sound. I don't want to wreck expensive earphones at work, although if I'm doing something noisy I use Etymotic ER6i's with custom eartips.
The music is all that's important.
Best advice I saw on the subject was 'save your money and buy music instead'. Yes.
But, the gear! The wonderful gear!
To be fair it looks like OP has trod that line between budget bargains and overpriced stuff pretty well with that setup.
Or you could buy a Hifi and buy loads of music too, it's not mutually exclusive. I can say for certain that a good hifi is well worth having.
Your earth circuit is the legal requirement for the earth circuit for every house (in France at least), pb2. The chassis of any component that doesn't have an earth will probably benefit from earthing but earth is earth is earth and connecting all the other components to any component that has an earthed chassis will do the same. If no component is earthed then any metal water pipe in the house will do as they have to be connected to earth too.
You can do that with an iPod. You don't need a $500 record player made out of kitchen counter top and €1000 loud speakers with €50 drivers.
Well as a front end I suppose an iPod isn't all bad. Depends on the format of the files on it. I have no problem with the Apple Lossless files in iTunes on my mac as a source. However, you still need something to play the music through.
Speaker stands ordered today!
Folks, I've been offered a Rega DAC for a good price. I literally know next to nothing about these devices, other than this Rega unit has some blinding reviews, plus I'm constantly being told I need a DAC.
My idea is to store my entire CD collection in a lossless format, plus any downloads on a hard drive, and interrogate this via a tablet of some description, creating playlists to send to DAC.
Therefore I think the Rega fits the bill - but is it overkill ?
I like the idea of pairing it with my Rega TT, plus it seems to have plenty of I/O so compatibility with ether my old school marrantz amp or Cambridge Audio amp should be fine.
Thoughts?
If you want a bargain DAC then there is a Maplin one that's well worth a look:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/digital-to-analogue-audio-converter-a14kf
Not the most elegant looking thing but sounds surprisingly good.
Actually, going back to what I said about The Music Works/ Audio Works stands that I like, that isoblue seems to follow a similar vein to their original racks. i.e. a certain amount of de-coupling and a lightweight, but very dead material.
(Music Works started off with Quadraspire and kept modding).
I'm assuming Mr Woppit has an affiliation, but as this seems to be a budget thread, I'll have to leave the company I work for off 🙂
I've just gone out and bought a secondhand pair of Monitor Audio RS1's because of this thread.
Fancied a pair for years.
Setting them up now.
It's my Christmas Prezzy, traded in my old Missions too. 🙂
nice one Rusty Spanner. Glad I could be of service 🙂
i've had my stereo on pretty much non-stop for last three days. TV is dead to me now (although i nearly bought one of those Maplin DAC's yesterday to get my TV signal to the amp - but plumped for a £10 jobbie on ebay instead)
Don't know anything about digital sorry. What stands did you go for?
Atacama Moseca 7 in white. Love the look, reviews are great. Will probably last me 20 years!
I'm in no position to change anything about my audio system, a Yamaha DXP-AX2 with Sony SA-VE835ED 5.1 satellites and sub, music sources are my Cambridge Audio DVD-99, an old Sony MDS-JB940 Minidisc recorder, and my Mac Mini, inputs from all of them into the amp are optical.
I've wondered for some time whether any advantage is to be had from using a DAC, probably between the Mac and the amp, as that's the primary music source.
I don't have the funds for anything fancy, something like the Maplins one would be optimum, so, any significant advantage to be gained, or is the Yamaha's on-board DAC perfectly adequate for what I'm doing with it?
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Santas visited early
Edit: shit, someone's gone and listed an RP25 minus arm for £200 on ePay.. I love the look of them, I wonder if my RB250 can do it justice?.. Would be a nice potential upgrade from my plinth and motor
Thanks for that, I bought it......
Back to rub it in!
CZ - just buy it, open it carefully, try it and if you don't like the sound, take it back 🙂
You'll love this guys.
A man of my virtues.. I only went and bought the RP6 mentioned earlier in the thread..
''rolling eyes emoticon''
I carried out the upgrades on my trusty Planar 2, and after settling in the sub-platter has given me a better soundstage and much better lower and higher frequncy response - bordering on astonishing.
But..
I cant fit the twin belt arrangement, as when I do the suspended nature of my Planar motor means there is too much torque provided by both belts and the motor wobbles - visibly. Which in turns results in wow and flutter on playback.
So..
new 24v motor? new isolated motor mount, plus new TT-PSU? or for just a few more pennies.. a new Rp6 with even more theoretical performance to be gained (with TT-PSU included)
I viewed the RP6, it looked simply marvelous, so the Planar 2 sell-off begins.
What the hell. I can't wait to spin some vinyl on it.
CZ - the general consensus is that a DAC will improve the sound. Smaller and cheaper options specifically for computer based systems would be the Dragonfly. Again, had good reviews but I haven't heard one myself.
Personally, I sit somewhere in the middle of the hifi debate. I love the look of a lot of the more expensive kit and it is sometimes nice to go and listen. However, it all feels a bit like the laws of diminishing returns as yes, they can sound a "bit better" - bus it is better enough to warrant spending hundreds or thousands of pounds on it? My view is no. It helps that I don't really have the cash to be able to do much about it anyway! Having said that, I did acquire a pair of B&W CM6 S2 speakers recently and I have to say that they really are very nice. I was surprised at myself as I have generally not been a fan of B&W at all. However, their new S2 speakers are significantly improved over their previous offerings and really rather good. During my demos I was playing music through my 19 year old Rotel amp and, all things considered, it did a bloody marvellous job. Yes, at some point I would like to change it but for now it is doing a very admirable job. I did contrast it with a new Arcam FMJ A19 and the difference was not very noticeable at all.
However, spending "a bit" of money on reasonable hifi equipment will deliver a sound that helps you to appreciate the music more. You do miss out on some of the pleasure of music if you insist on listening through cheap equipment. But you don't need to spend a fortune to get something that sounds very pleasing.
Question - what's the best source for a quality DAC other than a PC?..
I'm interested in going a DAC route, but don't want to use a PC/laptop as the interface.
Ideally i'd use a tablet or similar to create playlists etc, and access files via a portable hardrive.
Is this a common set-up and easily achievable? What software is required?
(oops, that's 3 questions)
What i'm getting at is (having never used or seen a DAC system set-up) I don't understand how you categorise your music - review it - add to it - and stream it - unless you're logged into a PC with a Media Player type program running.
Ideally i'd use a tablet or similar to create playlists etc, and access files via a portable hardrive.
Is this a common set-up and easily achievable? What software is required?
I've just bought one of these: http://www.whathifi.com/cambridge-audio/minx-xi/review
Half price from Richer Sounds - £300
It's bloody great - you can use your phone to make playlists from a NAS or portable hard drive, stream internet radio and listen to iplayer/ podcasts. I downloaded a 24 bit album (Daft Punk) and it sounded fabulous.
I also have my bluray and tv recorder connected via digital, and they sound great too.
Typically the best "source" is a NAS device on your home network. That way it is always on and not dependent on your PC being switched on to access it. Most new streamers will happily read content from the NAS. The streamers have the DAC built in to them.
The software bit for playlists etc can be either something provided by the NAS (that can be used to create playlists etc) or you use the app that is associated with the streamer / DAC you are using.
Some streamers will provide a basic UI / screen interface that will let you scroll through the content it is finding on your NAS.
All depends how far you want to take it really.
For example my Yamaha AV receiver can connect to my NAS and play the music presented to it. However, I am not sure I would want to use it as a pure music player as the quality will be better going through a better DAC into my hifi ie I am not wowed by the quality. Not purchased yet but I anticipate buying a hifi based streamer at some point to allow me to stream from the NAS where I will have my CDs that have been ripped to FLAC.
As a general observation I am not convinced that the DACs provided in most computers / laptops is all that good when compared to those dedicated to music systems.
I am sure a host of more knowledgeable people will be along shortly to provide more detailed advice / observations. 🙂
Not purchased yet but I anticipate buying a hifi based streamer at some point to allow me to stream from the NAS where I will have my CDs that have been ripped to FLAC.
I've started doing that - my observation is they do sound exactly the same as the original CD - whether good or bad. The 24bit recording is a noticeable step up though.
I am sure a host of more knowledgeable people will be along shortly to provide more detailed advice / observations.
my god, if that's the dumbed down version then i'm doomed.
Where is the best place for idiots to learn all about DAC / NAS etc? Until last week I had no idea what DAC even stood for..
I'm lead to believe the sound quality surpasses CD - and there is a considerable convenience factor to consider when set-up correctly. I just don't know where to begin.
I like the look (and probably the sound) of the REGA DAC for example. I was thinking about looking into one of these as an addition to my Hi-Fi - and a way to play my CD library once successfully ripped in high format.
where does one access 24-bit files? what's the associated cost? am I too old and curmudgeonly for all this? would a CD collection not easily suffice, or do I need to embrace DAC/24 bit for all its benefits?
I've started doing that - my observation is they do sound exactly the same as the original CD - whether good or bad. The 24bit recording is a noticeable step up though.
Which streamer are you using and what did you use to rip the CDs? EAC or MediaMonkey?
A CD player has a DAC built in to convert the digital dots to an analogue signal to feed to the Hi-Fi amp and speakers. The main reason to use a NAS and stream the music is convenience-no racks of CD's cluttering up the lounge. A NAS is only a hard drive which is also wi-fi enabled so music can be accessed either wirelessly or via cable to a player of some sort.If you copy your music to FLAC files and put them on the NAS it still has CD quality. To listen you need a Streamer ,PC or player to access these files. This must have a DAC built in or enable an output to a separate DAC to feed the Amp.If it is a cheap streamer then something like the Rega DAC is a good upgrade. If it is a more expensive streamer then it's probably good anyway. I don't know but I would assume a PC doesn't have a particularly good DAC. I use a Logitech Squeezebox Touch (now inexplicably discontinued) with an Audiolab M.Dac and it sounds superb.
Re-above post-I use EAC
My buddy in Northants has a Slim Devices Transporter, and it sounds fantastic. It finds and plays tunes from the NAS.
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It was the early model, pre Logitech.
Now that looks cool.
I live the idea of streaming high q files. I'm just not sure I can do it without spending a small fortune, sounds like lots of devices needed to get end result with benefits over CD
Where is the best place for idiots to learn all about DAC / NAS etc? Until last week I had no idea what DAC even stood for..
You could try somewhere like AVForums to get a learn yourself background. Or, if you prefer the face to face approach think about popping into your local Richer Sounds or hi fi shop to have a chat with someone. I agree, it can all seem a bit bewildering at first!
I'm lead to believe the sound quality surpasses CD - and there is a considerable convenience factor to consider when set-up correctly. I just don't know where to begin.
I'm not sure I would go that far. If done right it should be able to give the same sound quality as the original CD. The key will be how the CDs are ripped. You need a program such as EAC (Exact Audio Copy) or MediaMonkey to copy (Rip) the CD into a target file format. The use of something like FLAC or WAV is that they are known as lossless formats. FLAC is compressed (so smaller file sizes) whereas WAV is uncompressed (so around the same size a the file on the CD is). Apple do their own version of lossless (ALAC) if you have a lot of Apple kit already and want to "keep it in the family". If you use something like iTunes today the chances are any files you have ripped from D will be mp3 which is both compressed and lossy. It keeps the file sizes down (good) but at the expense of some (ok, a lot) of the digital content (bad). Overall, mp3 does a reasonable job of keeping the detail of the music by trying to remove the stuff that may not be humanly audible. However, the result is if you compare playing an mp3 file with a CD or vinyl you very quickly work out that there appears to be a lot missing from the overall quality of the sound and, when played through reasonable quality equipment, sounds really quite poor.
For the most part a lot of this has bypassed us in the past because when we bought a CD player it included the DAC. It is only since the advent of digital streaming and the convenience of storing and playing the digital files directly rather than via a CD player that the need for external DACs appeared. If you have a CD collection and are happy to play CDs and fish them in and out of the payer then you could save yourself all the hassle of learning about DACs and streaming because you don't need to know it. The advantage of ripping CDs and storing them on a NAS is that it makes it quicker and easier (possibly) to navigate your music collection and play whatever you want. Or to create playlists composed of tracks from a variety of CDs - but to be able to play them at CD quality rather than the good old days or recording them all to tape. Oh, and then we get streaming music services such as Spotify or Qobuz and internet streaming radio stations which can benefit from DAC before they hit your hifi system.
So, after all that, it will come down to how you plan to listen to music which will determine what you do or don't need to buy. 🙂
Wow-that looks neat,never seen one of those before. I assume it has all the same functions as my Squeezebox but just a different form factor
They're hard to come-by these days. Many people think their sound is as good as anything ever made.
I doubt he'd ever sell his!
Which streamer are you using and what did you use to rip the CDs? EAC or MediaMonkey?
Cambridge Audio Minx xi and dbpoweramp.
Thanks for the answer BC.
In short, I listen every day, for between 2 and 8 hours. The TV barely gets a look in anymore.
Where does 24bit come in to this? I keep spotting reference to sound quality that surpasses CD.. Is this 24bit?
I will hit Richer Sounds with my ignorance at some point soon, just waiting for a quiet period as I know I'll be taking up a fair amount of their time 🙂
http://www.trustedreviews.com/Slim-Devices-Transporter-review
Great layman review of that squeezebox of tricks here.
Clears things up no end for me :-/
I know it's one subjective review , but makes me happy not to give up my CD player just yet.
I have also seen great reviews of the Rega DAC.
"I like budget giant slaying equipment" he says..
Never believe a word I say.
This months mortgage payment blown (and then some)
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Earlier comments were right. Spend a bit more on a better TT rather than upgrade old one. I reckon this lot will end up costing me no more than £200 once I've sold my now redundant TT and bits off.
And I have my dream TT.
Couldn't believe it when I got home with the RP6 and found my fave colour plinth listed at half what I was going to pay. It's like I was meant to buy it..
Oh yeah, and then there were these..
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Enjoy, dude 🙂
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Here's the Rega Planar 25 I got thanks to the earlier thread, thanks, its very nearly mint!
Also a 956BX Discrete and an Audiolab Pre/Power Combo?
I had the regular 965BX and it was ace. Me ol'man used a 8000A for ages and he really rated it.
Cool beans.
