[MIKELAP]

  Hi All,
 
Many thanks for all the different suggestions on how to improve the sound. At one point I loaded in some 300 CDs to iTunes, but that took weeks. Is there a way to simply transfer over this music library to another program that can play these tunes in a format that is easy to use? It has to be able to display songs/artists/albums in alphabetical order, and it has to be easily searchable.
 
I bought a Toshiba Chromebook not long ago, and I did notice that the sound card on it sounds quite good.
 
Just tried a YouTube video now on the Chromebook connected to my system. THERE IS NO HUM UNLESS I PLAY AT EARSPLITTING LEVELS - WOW! Anything up to loud levels is free of hum. In addition this computer sounds better than my old Vista PC.
 
How can I play my iTunes library through it since the ss hard drive only has 16GB of space? If I understand correctly, you cannot load programs onto the Chromebook but apps instead. It seems to me that the apps must be supported by Google. (I saw that Google let you play iTunes via a cloud server, but I don't feel like paying $10/month for the privilege of listening to my own CDs.)
 
The Chromebook has a USB port.  Would it be possible to put the music that I have on iTunes on an external hard drive and play it through the chromebook?

Like i said if you decide to try just install the program ill tell you where to get what you need ,rip a couple cd 's to the player familiarize yourself with it and  ill send you photo captures of my settings ,my settings are  very basic im talking about tagging and all of that .alot of stuff on that player i dont know about, after all i just want to listen to music not rack my brains . If you need help send me a  PM .ill help you best i can .

 

[mordy]

More thoughts on humming in my system: Tried my iPhone 4S connected to my receiver - the hum is louder than the Chromebook but not bad. Unplugged the USB charging cable and the hum level became quieter on a par with the Chromebook. It seems very clear that the hum comes from my Windows Vista PC.
 
Now I hooked up an old Toshiba XP laptop that has my iTunes files on it. (Old = from around 2002). This laptop has about 10 min of battery life, so it is always connected to the wall outlet. Very low level hum, only noticeable when playing way too loud; same as the Chromebook.
 
At this point I have this solution to the hum problem: Play iTunes on my old XP laptop (the sound card is prett good), and use the Chrome book for YouTube and the Internet. Not elegant, but it works - sort of....
 
When time permits I am going to try other solutions to clean up my PC based on the suggestions received.
 
I thank everybody who contributed for their help - thanks!

 

[MIKELAP]

  More thoughts on humming in my system: Tried my iPhone 4S connected to my receiver - the hum is louder than the Chromebook but not bad. Unplugged the USB charging cable and the hum level became quieter on a par with the Chromebook. It seems very clear that the hum comes from my Windows Vista PC.
 
Now I hooked up an old Toshiba XP laptop that has my iTunes files on it. (Old = from around 2002). This laptop has about 10 min of battery life, so it is always connected to the wall outlet. Very low level hum, only noticeable when playing way too loud; same as the Chromebook.
 
At this point I have this solution to the hum problem: Play iTunes on my old XP laptop (the sound card is prett good), and use the Chrome book for YouTube and the Internet. Not elegant, but it works - sort of....
 
When time permits I am going to try other solutions to clean up my PC based on the suggestions received.
 
I thank everybody who contributed for their help - thanks!

Are you using your PCsoundcard because before i installed my ASUS Essence STX soundcard things where alot noisier with STX soundcard power is connected separately soundcard is isolated from main power source in PC .

 

[TrollDragon]

Hi mordy,
So have you actually taken the LD out of the equation to see if it is the cause of the hum? Computer or Chromebook, etc directly plugged into the receiver to see if any hum is still present?
 
My first guess would be the flying wires on the LD hookup to be the main source of your hum.

 

[tjw321]

  More thoughts on humming in my system: Tried my iPhone 4S connected to my receiver - the hum is louder than the Chromebook but not bad. Unplugged the USB charging cable and the hum level became quieter on a par with the Chromebook. It seems very clear that the hum comes from my Windows Vista PC.
 
Now I hooked up an old Toshiba XP laptop that has my iTunes files on it. (Old = from around 2002). This laptop has about 10 min of battery life, so it is always connected to the wall outlet. Very low level hum, only noticeable when playing way too loud; same as the Chromebook.
 
At this point I have this solution to the hum problem: Play iTunes on my old XP laptop (the sound card is prett good), and use the Chrome book for YouTube and the Internet. Not elegant, but it works - sort of....
 
When time permits I am going to try other solutions to clean up my PC based on the suggestions received.
 
I thank everybody who contributed for their help - thanks!

 
If the hum isn't caused by interference over the mains, then an external USB DAC might be a quick and dirty (well, clean signal-wise, hopefully) and cheap way to carry on using your PC as a source and tame the hum. The cheapest one that I use is this one:
 
http://hifimediy.com/DACs/ready-made-dacs/U2-DAC
 
For a little more cash, I also like the ODAC (available from several manufacturers - mine is Epiphany) or UD120. The form factor of the UD120 doesn't work that well with my dodgy laptop ports, though, and it gets a little hot - but it is probably the best value for money of the three.
 
But, as with all audio gear, you can spend as much as you like. It quickly gets to the point where you may as well replace your PC 

. 

 

[David.M]

I've milked this amp for 5 years now.

Probably one of the best bang for the buck amps I've ever spent.
 
But i think I'm going to have to let it go.
 
I've rolled several mullard driver tubes on this amp. But i stuck with the EF95 M8100's.
 
The Power tubes that i tried were
 
Sovtek 6H30 P-I : Excellent after some burn in time. Clarity pops, but not in your face and bass reaches and extends decently.
 
But guess what? The right driver of these sovtek's died on me 14 months in.
 
No biggie, then i ordered the . . ...
 
Electro-Harmonix 6H30pi ; Again, these were superb at voices and bringing everything closer and tightening up the whole audio chain.
 
 
But guess what? 9 months in on these, I saw a spark/electricity type lightning/thunderstorm type scary bolts of flash coming out of the right tube one day.
 
And apparently, that tube went out as well, and despite the face that i heard crackling noises after it went out, nothing serious happened to my headphones.
 
Everything works great now on stock power tubes.
 
But unfortunately, I'm not sure if i want to mess with it, cause i don't really want this amp taking down my headphones if something like this happens in the future.
 
I might order some of the 6n6p-IR or the 6n23p voskhod(like someone recommended here) and try them as my power tubes, but I might just be thinking of upgrading to the Woo Audio line instead.
 
Thank you little dot, you guys held me for this long, but i think it might be time to move on.

 

[gibosi]

  I've milked this amp for 5 years now.

Probably one of the best bang for the buck amps I've ever spent.
 
But i think I'm going to have to let it go.
 
I've rolled several mullard driver tubes on this amp. But i stuck with the EF95 M8100's.
 
The Power tubes that i tried were
 
Sovtek 6H30 P-I : Excellent after some burn in time. Clarity pops, but not in your face and bass reaches and extends decently.
 
But guess what? The right driver of these sovtek's died on me 14 months in.
 
No biggie, then i ordered the . . ...
 
Electro-Harmonix 6H30pi ; Again, these were superb at voices and bringing everything closer and tightening up the whole audio chain.
 
 
But guess what? 9 months in on these, I saw a spark/electricity type lightning/thunderstorm type scary bolts of flash coming out of the right tube one day.
 
And apparently, that tube went out as well, and despite the face that i heard crackling noises after it went out, nothing serious happened to my headphones.
 
Everything works great now on stock power tubes.
 
But unfortunately, I'm not sure if i want to mess with it, cause i don't really want this amp taking down my headphones if something like this happens in the future.
 
I might order some of the 6n6p-IR or the 6n23p voskhod(like someone recommended here) and try them as my power tubes, but I might just be thinking of upgrading to the Woo Audio line instead.
 
Thank you little dot, you guys held me for this long, but i think it might be time to move on.

 
In each case you reference it was a tube that failed. And guess what? Woo amps use tubes too! So the only way to avoid blown tubes is to go solid state....

 

[mordy]

Hi David.M,
 
Agree with Gibosi - it does not seem that the amp is at fault. A number of us on this forum have tried all kinds of things and modifications of this amp, and even when the amp was suspect in causing problems it turned out that was not the case. IMHO the LD MKIII is built like a tank and holds up very well.
 
May I suggest that you do a simple upgrade to 6SN7 octal power tubes (needs adapters) + 6HM5 Ei driver tubes (plug and play). It will cost you a fraction of what a Woo amp costs, and will be a significant upgrade, requiring no special DIY skills.

 

[mordy]

Hi TD,
 
The LD amp is plugged into an external loop on my receiver, and I can switch it in and out with a switch on the back of the receiver. When I use the ss receiver to play, using my PC as the music source, the hum decreases in volume, but it is still there.
 
Based on this I would say that the main source of hum comes from my PC and not the LD amp. However, the C3gS tubes do increase the hum (less so with C3g tube). With other music sources, laptop, Chromebook and iPhone, the hum decreases significantly and is not a problem unless I play crazy loud.

 

[mordy]

Hi Mikelap,
 
When I priced the ASUS Essence STX soundcard it was in the $180 range. To me it does not seem cost effective to upgrade an old Vista computer with the soundcard, although it would be nice. Meanwhile, I am exploring different solutions using what I have on hand. We'll see how successful I will be...
 
Thanks for the tip on the Musicbee player. I installed it and like it. It picked up some 11.000 tunes from my computer (iTunes has some 6,000). Have to learn how to use it, but it looks like a good program. Is there a user's manual somewhere?
 
I must say that I am impressed by the broad knowledge of the members on this forum - so many things to learn that I never even heard of! Thanks to all!

 

[Acapella11]

  Hi Mikelap,
 
When I priced the ASUS Essence STX soundcard it was in the $180 range. To me it does not seem cost effective to upgrade an old Vista computer with the soundcard, although it would be nice. Meanwhile, I am exploring different solutions using what I have on hand. We'll see how successful I will be...
...

 
Dear Mordy, the investment in an external soundcard or DAC is not limited by the Vista notebook. The audiophile WASAPI interface was introduced with VISTA and it does not need any performance to play back music files. USB 2.0 would be important for your interface to the soundcard/DAC and enough hard disk space, which you could get with an external USB drive as well.
My guess is that the performance level of your LD is way above the build in soundcards. It seems to me that the price of the soundcard/DAC should rather be compared to the LD than the PC. By upgrading the DAC you can venture into even sublimer SQ territories. Also, you can use the external soundcard/DAC of course with any other PC or device that masters the USB-port properly, maybe even the chromebook. Some enthusiasts entertain the idea that a good source is critical because you can never improve the SQ above the level of the original signal. Good luck on your hunt for better sound 

 

 

[MIKELAP]

  Hi Mikelap,
 
When I priced the ASUS Essence STX soundcard it was in the $180 range. To me it does not seem cost effective to upgrade an old Vista computer with the soundcard, although it would be nice. Meanwhile, I am exploring different solutions using what I have on hand. We'll see how successful I will be...
 
Thanks for the tip on the Musicbee player. I installed it and like it. It picked up some 11.000 tunes from my computer (iTunes has some 6,000). Have to learn how to use it, but it looks like a good program. Is there a user's manual somewhere?
 
I must say that I am impressed by the broad knowledge of the members on this forum - so many things to learn that I never even heard of! Thanks to all!

One of the links i gave you is the  wiki for Musicbee almost everything you need to know is there but it is not entirely finished . i can send you screen shots of my settings if you want just PM me tell me what you  need .      http://musicbee.wikia.com/wiki/MusicBee_Wiki

 

[mordy]

Tried something else to lower hum - nothing earth shattering. Discovered that the Chromebook can accept external hard drives. Connected one of my external hard drives with part of my music library stored, and I can now play music without hum, but something is missing - don't know yet what it is. Could be that the files I am using are in MPEG Audio with some compression of the sound.

 

[bbmiller]

  Hi All,
 
Many thanks for all the different suggestions on how to improve the sound. At one point I loaded in some 300 CDs to iTunes, but that took weeks. Is there a way to simply transfer over this music library to another program that can play these tunes in a format that is easy to use? It has to be able to display songs/artists/albums in alphabetical order, and it has to be easily searchable.
 
I bought a Toshiba Chromebook not long ago, and I did notice that the sound card on it sounds quite good.
 
Just tried a YouTube video now on the Chromebook connected to my system. THERE IS NO HUM UNLESS I PLAY AT EARSPLITTING LEVELS - WOW! Anything up to loud levels is free of hum. In addition this computer sounds better than my old Vista PC.
 
How can I play my iTunes library through it since the ss hard drive only has 16GB of space? If I understand correctly, you cannot load programs onto the Chromebook but apps instead. It seems to me that the apps must be supported by Google. (I saw that Google let you play iTunes via a cloud server, but I don't feel like paying $10/month for the privilege of listening to my own CDs.)
 
The Chromebook has a USB port.  Would it be possible to put the music that I have on iTunes on an external hard drive and play it through the chromebook?

I am wondering if some of the many hard drive docking stations available from someplace like Amazon will have one with the proper drivers for your Chromebook. They work with both USB 2 and USB 3, but USB three is far better if you have one of those on your Chromebook.

Perhaps somebody mentioned this are ready but completely catching up on this thread is going to take me a while.

 

[bbmiller]

  In each case you reference it was a tube that failed. And guess what? Woo amps use tubes too! So the only way to avoid blown tubes is to go solid state....

I heard schiit MJOLNIR at headphone amplifier at the Rocky mountain audio Fest. It comes awful close to the best tube amps, but instead of using tubes it uses more tube like solid-state components. I quote"Mjolnir is the only dedicated headphone amp using an Circlotron-style topology with high-voltage JFET inputs and MOSFET outputs. Unlike other balanced headphone amps, Mjolnir is not simply two of the same amps in a box, with one run inverted. It’s a unique, inherently balanced stage that delivers both low complexity and very high performance."

You don't have to use it with balanced headphone cables there are adapters to let you use headphones of the unbalanced cable type. They could not find the adapter to let me hear it on my Sennheiser unbalanced HD 600s, but borrowed balanced HD 600s from Sennheiser to let me listen to them and I was amazed at how good the sound was coming very close to the best tube amps.

At the Sennheiser booth I really could not hear the difference between balance cables and unbalanced cables though.