[caecillius]

Thanks to @Jason Stoddard and everyone at Schiit for sending a Schiit Kit to the meetup in MD this past Saturday and for sponsoring the event. I had a great time listening to some great Schiit and now am confident in my choice to jump up to a Mjolnir 2 from my current amp.

 

[DigitalFrontEnd]

I've used Jil to archive two LPs. Even though I'm a registered user of GoldWave, I installed Audacity for the second conversion. Recording is pretty straightforward for both programs. The post-recording stuff was easier with Audacity, particularly adding metadata.

Did you have problems? I can at least look at setups and try to remember my process.

Jon

Hi John:

Thanks a bunch! No problems. I actually have not ordered the unit yet, I will today or tomorrow.

I was just looking for feedback from someone about the process. Seems like it stress free.

I am used to using stand alone ADC's with internal storage, and have not yet used Audacity for recording,
but I have used for a decade for editing and mastering.

Appreciate your feedback.

 

[rlow]

A suggestion for new product area that Schiit could disrupt majorly I think (probably suggested previously I realize):

AUTOMATIC ROOM CORECTION

Most people agree that your room is one of the most (if not the most) important factors for great sound in many situations. Yet most audio companies neglect to address it. Perhaps this is because DSP is not something that many audio companies have enough expertise in, or perhaps it's just really hard and expensive to develop good correction algorithms, I'm not sure, but the lack of choices out there, and the prices being charged for the ones that are currently available (very high) seems ripe for a Schiitruption.

 

[valiant66]

A suggestion for new product area that Schiit could disrupt majorly I think (probably suggested previously I realize):

AUTOMATIC ROOM CORECTION

Most people agree that your room is one of the most (if not the most) important factors for great sound in many situations. Yet most audio companies neglect to address it. Perhaps this is because DSP is not something that many audio companies have enough expertise in, or perhaps it's just really hard and expensive to develop good correction algorithms, I'm not sure, but the lack of choices out there, and the prices being charged for the ones that are currently available (very high) seems ripe for a Schiitruption.

Hmm. Dirac is $500, but REW is free. 2-channel miniDSP hardware is only a couple of hundred bucks. Hard to compete meaningfully with that.
.

 

[rlow]

Interesting. Didnt realize Dirac was available for puchase seperately, although I'm not really sure how it will work in my setup (NAS + Microrendu - no PC/Mac).

Do you have any specific examples of lower cost ARC hardware that can tie into an existing setup?

 

[wout31]

Interesting. Didnt realize Dirac was available for puchase seperately, although I'm not really sure how it will work in my setup (NAS + Microrendu - no PC/Mac).

Do you have any specific examples of lower cost ARC hardware that can tie into an existing setup?

If you have no PC / Mac you have no choice than to go for MiniDSP.
The whole series of devices containing Dirac are listed here: https://www.minidsp.com/products/dirac-series.
Best choice to use it in the digital domain. For 2 channel that is DDRC-22D for $ 800,00 including the UMIK-1 microphone.
I use Dirac on my PC for quite some time now. Same software as in the MiniDSP boxes.

 

[Pandahead]

A suggestion for new product area that Schiit could disrupt majorly I think (probably suggested previously I realize):

AUTOMATIC ROOM CORECTION

Most people agree that your room is one of the most (if not the most) important factors for great sound in many situations. Yet most audio companies neglect to address it. Perhaps this is because DSP is not something that many audio companies have enough expertise in, or perhaps it's just really hard and expensive to develop good correction algorithms, I'm not sure, but the lack of choices out there, and the prices being charged for the ones that are currently available (very high) seems ripe for a Schiitruption.

Work on positioning your speakers and arranging your room and then get Manhattan Project when Mike finally releases it

There are some expensive technologies out there that do more than just room correction that are many thousands of dollars.

 

[LarryMagoo]

I source my files from a MAC Mini that runs on 12 VDC. I also use a Dirac DDRC-88A that offers 8 channels of custom Room Correction. It blows Audyssey (that comes on my Marantz Pre/Pro) into the weeds IMO... It's one of the most dramatic changes ever made to my system....Though the Yggy is very close second....

 

[valiant66]

Interesting. Didnt realize Dirac was available for puchase seperately, although I'm not really sure how it will work in my setup (NAS + Microrendu - no PC/Mac).

Do you have any specific examples of lower cost ARC hardware that can tie into an existing setup?

https://www.minidsp.com/ Is a good place to start. They’ve branched out to fill a number of different "room" correction niches, including automotive.
.

 

[rlow]

If you have no PC / Mac you have no choice than to go for MiniDSP.
The whole series of devices containing Dirac are listed here: https://www.minidsp.com/products/dirac-series.
Best choice to use it in the digital domain. For 2 channel that is DDRC-22D for $ 800,00 including the UMIK-1 microphone.
I use Dirac on my PC for quite some time now. Same software as in the MiniDSP boxes.

Ok thanks. Again I guess I come back to whether there is opportunity for disruption here - $800 seems a bit steep for something that A/V receivers seem to just "throw in" nowadays - perhaps this system is extremely good at what it does, but is there not a more basic way to do this as an an add on component, similar to what they just did with Gen 5 / Eitr or Jil?

 

[rlow]

Ok thanks. Again I guess I come back to whether there is opportunity for disruption here - $800 seems a bit steep for something that A/V receivers seem to just "throw in" nowadays - perhaps this system is extremely good at what it does, but is there not a more basic way to do this as an an add on component, similar to what they just did with Gen 5 / Eitr or Jil?

Maybe that is a question more for Mike's thread. I'm also curious what he thinks of the current negatives of doing ARC like this with some of the existing stuff out there.

 

[axle_69]

Thanks everyone for the answer to my question about why Schiit and other amps can't drive electrostatic headphones. It makes sense now.

@Jason Stoddard and @Baldr, heres an idea to bring Xappie back and maybe totally disrupt the electrostatic headphone amp market. I am not an amp designer so this idea may be dumb.

Looking at the Acoustat model 3 and Martin Logan CLS full range electrostatic home speakers, there's basically a giant panel and a box full of "electrostat specific" electronics. The electronics box bolts to the speaker back and an umbilical cord hooks to the panel. Both play with the box unbolted from the speaker, but still plugged in to the panel. Used normal highend power amps to do it ( VTL, Classe, Pass Son Of Zen).

Schiit already makes great headphone amps. Why can't there be a Schiit Xappie stand alone interface box that holds the audio transformers and the high voltage supplies needed for the headphones? Hook the Ragnarok speaker terminals to the interface box. Plug interface into wall outlet and electrostatic headphones into interface. Enjoy.

By the time Schiit owners gravitate to electrostatic headphones, they probably already own a great Schiit amp. Why buy that part again? Xappie interface box could probably be less than $1000. You would have to decide if people could buy Xappie to use with other amp brands.

If it is a dumb idea, sorry. Enjoy all your stories and tips.

An energiser? There are good Stax amplifiers to drive the lambdas, but it would be great to see an alternative capable of driving the 007 and 009 that could even compete with the DIY Gilmore's designs taking advantage of mass producing ir order to bring the price to the 2000 range.

 

[Ableza]

IMO, ARC systems can do wonders to help set up a home theater multi-channel system, especially in non-ideal setups like a living room. But I don't want one anywhere near my 2-channel system. If I have room issues to deal with I'll treat them acoustically, thanks. EQ, maybe. Crossover, as needed. ARC for stereo? Nope, not for me.

 

[rlow]

IMO, ARC systems can do wonders to help set up a home theater multi-channel system, especially in non-ideal setups like a living room. But I don't want one anywhere near my 2-channel system. If I have room issues to deal with I'll treat them acoustically, thanks. EQ, maybe. Crossover, as needed. ARC for stereo? Nope, not for me.

Interesting. Why?

 

[Ableza]

Interesting. Why?

I don't want to insert unnecessary DSP into my 2-channel setup. I don't need speaker level control or time delay between channels. I don't want frequency boost or compression or channel limiting like Audessey does, I prefer the signal to be as unadulterated as possible.