Quote: What did you use for polish? I'm going to give Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish a try. I've never used it; hope it works.

I have an order placed, and I've started thinking about how I'd like to finish the wood. My plan is to polish the aluminum plate and treat the wood to look like this     adapting from these step-by-step instructions for finishing a guitar body.   I feel much more comfortable with...

Thanks. I guess I was really just interested in how much different a tube amp was from a SS amp. Is it night and day, or more subtle than that?   I'll be able to answer that question for myself in a while. I have a crack on order.

Although I'm not an equipment junkie (yet, heaven forbid ), I am curious about the tube sound.   I currently have a music streamer II DAC and a Matrix M-Stage amp. If I were to get a Crack OTL amplifier, would the experience be more than subtly different?   I have a Sennheiser HD 600...

;) That applies to so many things on this board.  

I'm trialing Amarra on my system (iTunes with Apple lossless on a hackintosh, Music Streamer II, Matrix M-Stage Headphone Amplifier, and HD600s).   My issue is, after careful listening, I can't tell the difference with Amarra on or off. They sound exactly the same in both cases.   Some...

Quote: No, it's Reiner/CSO paired with Scheherazade. Funny you mention Resphighi; I get to hear Festa romana live with Muti and the CSO this Saturday. :)

I've just got my first pair of HD600s in today and have done some very brief listening and comparison with the Q701s. Using a music streamer II and matrix m-stage.   I noticed that the bass detail is actually quite superior in the HD600. My test track was the first movement of Debussy's La...

Most USB DACs seem to support multiple bit rates. For example, the Music Streamer II which I have says "Supports 32k, 44.1k, 48k, 88.2k & 96k sample rates".   Does anyone know how the reconstruction filters for these are handled? Is there a single reconstruction filter for the lowest sample...

I found out how to do this. So for posterity, the change needs to be done in the Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup utility where the max sample rate and the max resolution can be set.

Quote:   I have an order with him waiting for fulfillment. He emailed me saying he was on vacation until about today. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed for quick shipping.

I downloaded a sample 96k flac to test with my Music Streamer II. The DAC's 44.1k LED is lit during playback. I tried with a couple of flac players, including cog. Anyone have an idea why this is?   Stephen

I have a hrt music streamer and a Matrix M-stage on order. Anyone know if any RCA cables are included with either product?   I'd also be interested in hearing opinions on whether this setup would be a step up from a total bithead for a Q701. Thanks!   Stephen

Thanks for the suggestions. Would the AKG Q701 sound as though the orchestra were out in front of you? I'm trying to stay away from headphones that place the musicians in the middle of your head.

Thanks for the reply. My collection is 70% classical, but the rest is very diverse (jazz, indie, folk, rock). I'm thinking $200-$700 for a price range, and I have a total bithead amplifier.