[leonthebumme]

I'd heartily recommend Vidar. Plenty of power and mine sounds great. I listen to all types of music.

I was planning to get the Saga/Vidar combo, but then heard about the upcoming Aegir. On paper it sounds like the Aegir will provide better sound quality than the Vidar...but has the trade-off of less power. Other than physically testing the units out, is there a way to determine how much power I actually need? Maybe 20W for my 8ohm speakers would be sufficient in my space? Maybe not? Measuring DBs? Measuring power draw with a Kill-A-Watt?

I currently have two Boston Acoustics CR-75 bookshelf speakers powered by an old Denon DRA-375, in moderate-sized living room space..This setup sounds pretty good with my Bimby MB, but it seems like a new amp/preamp could do wonders for improving my sound quality. I wouldn't want to hold out for Aegir if I could tell ahead of time that it wouldn't work for me...

 

[golfbravobravo]

I've not had too many problems with Win 10. I even run it on a 2010 MacBook Pro 17" in bootcamp (win 10 is supposedly not supported in this model). And while Macs cost a ton they are real easy to work with.... until you use want to use the terminal. Mac/OSX terminal is no where near as well documented as the various flavas of Linux. I've been able to do what I need to, but it requires a greater level of google-fu to find the cmd and modifiers you need to use.

VMWare is your friend too.

I too run Win10 on MacOS, but use parallels, in order to use one app, Quicken, in which I have 25 years of data. I bit the bullet this years and converted the data too Quicken on Mac, so it may be that the only Win10 retirement is to run EAC and MP3Tag! I have a Dell 550 server that is used only for that.

On your Terminal issues, choose a shell that you are familiar with (bash?) and it should be as near to identical as makes no difference. MacOS is a certified UNIX system, so man etc and standard commands work as expected for me. Now talk about home-brew etc and I'll be over with you very shortly!!!

Cheers

PS is anyone running apps in docker? I have a couple of things and need to start experimenting ting with some of the audio stuff.

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

I was planning to get the Saga/Vidar combo, but then heard about the upcoming Aegir. On paper it sounds like the Aegir will provide better sound quality than the Vidar...but has the trade-off of less power. Other than physically testing the units out, is there a way to determine how much power I actually need? Maybe 20W for my 8ohm speakers would be sufficient in my space? Maybe not? Measuring DBs? Measuring power draw with a Kill-A-Watt?

I currently have two Boston Acoustics CR-75 bookshelf speakers powered by an old Denon DRA-375, in moderate-sized living room space..This setup sounds pretty good with my Bimby MB, but it seems like a new amp/preamp could do wonders for improving my sound quality. I wouldn't want to hold out for Aegir if I could tell ahead of time that it wouldn't work for me...

Here's a tip: You can never have too much headroom.

Go for the Vidar.

JC

 

[rlow]

I was planning to get the Saga/Vidar combo, but then heard about the upcoming Aegir. On paper it sounds like the Aegir will provide better sound quality than the Vidar...but has the trade-off of less power. Other than physically testing the units out, is there a way to determine how much power I actually need? Maybe 20W for my 8ohm speakers would be sufficient in my space? Maybe not? Measuring DBs? Measuring power draw with a Kill-A-Watt?

I currently have two Boston Acoustics CR-75 bookshelf speakers powered by an old Denon DRA-375, in moderate-sized living room space..This setup sounds pretty good with my Bimby MB, but it seems like a new amp/preamp could do wonders for improving my sound quality. I wouldn't want to hold out for Aegir if I could tell ahead of time that it wouldn't work for me...

Agree with JC that in most cases more power is better.

To put a slightly different spin on things however, your speakers appear to have been around $300 back like 20 years ago.

And you are taking about putting a $700-800 power amp and as well as a separate preamp on these?

I believe sincerely that you will get a MUCH larger sound quality improvement by spending on better speakers. Amps and preamps will only get you so far based on your current speakers, and probably not as much as you would hope.

My 2 cents.

 

[adydula]

Ok so we have new and improved USB implmentation coming out in the near future "Unison"....and it should fit in a BIFROST Gen5, via a card swap and hopefully no firmware update via sending back to the mother ship?

Would Jason give us the "improvements" or "benefits" of this new technology vs the Gen5 USB which at the time was the "cats meow"!!

I think I would be first in line to buy this new improved USB upgrade for my Bimby!!

Alex

 

[rlow]

Ok so we have new and improved USB implmentation coming out in the near future "Unison"....and it should fit in a BIFROST Gen5, via a card swap and hopefully no firmware update via sending back to the mother ship?

Would Jason give us the "improvements" or "benefits" of this new technology vs the Gen5 USB which at the time was the "cats meow"!!

I think I would be first in line to buy this new improved USB upgrade for my Bimby!!

Alex

Mike is probably the better person to ask about this. However in previous updates from him, he still considered SPDIF and AES to be superior sounding to Gen 5 USB.

However with Unison USB, he actually feels it’s better than those now. That’s probably about as much detail you’re likely to get on sound quality from these guys.

 

[US Blues]

Windows, Linux, Ubuntu, distros, and discos.

I'm glad I'm chatting with y'all on a MacBook, while spinning silver discs of the Grateful Dead on a Friday afternoon. I hope your Friday is just as good!

 

[Robert Padgett]

I'm not sure that I would call any form of Linux "utter simplicity" if only for the mind change that is needed, For headless pi, I run all my Pi-base Roon endpoints on dietPi. Runs well and has a simple command line (i.e. text based!) app for config and install. (www.dietpi.com)

Cheers

Thanks, I am just so used to Linux now, I forget about anything else. I don't miss MS taking control of my computer to force-feed updates. Everything works, and I am learning that that is a good place to leave things. My Intel NUC is brand new, and it had a corrupted BIOS, it took me some google-fu to figure out the solution. I restored it to a Linux GRUB not Windows, I said under my breath, 'that darn Windows invades everything..."

 

[Robert Padgett]

Windows, Linux, Ubuntu, distros, and discos.

I'm glad I'm chatting with y'all on a MacBook, while spinning silver discs of the Grateful Dead on a Friday afternoon. I hope your Friday is just as good!

No, but thanks for a nudge in the right direction. Al Di Meola gives way to St. Jerome and his wandering tribes... and Be Kind

 

[leonthebumme]

Agree with JC that in most cases more power is better.

To put a slightly different spin on things however, your speakers appear to have been around $300 back like 20 years ago.

And you are taking about putting a $700-800 power amp and as well as a separate preamp on these?

I believe sincerely that you will get a MUCH larger sound quality improvement by spending on better speakers. Amps and preamps will only get you so far based on your current speakers, and probably not as much as you would hope.

My 2 cents.

I hear that, though I'm trying to take upgrading components slowly one at a time. I initially made the switch from CDs to lossless digital with a Bifrost MB. Even with my old receiver and speakers the sound is a definite step up now. I figured upgrading to a better amp/preamp would both improve my current sound and also pave the way for better speakers down the line?

 

[US Blues]

I hear that, though I'm trying to take upgrading components slowly one at a time. I initially made the switch from CDs to lossless digital with a Bifrost MB. Even with my old receiver and speakers the sound is a definite step up now. I figured upgrading to a better amp/preamp would both improve my current sound and also pave the way for better speakers down the line?

Generally speaking, upgrading your speakers will be a more noticeable improvement than upgrading the electronics. Of course, the receiver may not be up to the snuff of upgraded speakers, although you'll still enjoy the improvement. Then the upgraded electronics will finish your new playback chain. The whole thing is a game of chasing our own tail, as we upgrade we can run faster, but our tail is moving faster...

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

How can all you tech guys don't know that the Win7 USB driver can be used with Win10 and vise versa and you can turn off the automatic updates.

And yes. Upgrading audio is Ouroboros.

 

[Rensek]

I hear that, though I'm trying to take upgrading components slowly one at a time. I initially made the switch from CDs to lossless digital with a Bifrost MB. Even with my old receiver and speakers the sound is a definite step up now. I figured upgrading to a better amp/preamp would both improve my current sound and also pave the way for better speakers down the line?

I can say this, I bought my Schiit gear before reinvesting in newer speakers. I have an old set of wharfedales that had only ever been hooked up to an old JVC 5.1 receiver.

Mimby into the JVC made the setup sound better. Mimby into saga and vidar made the wharfedales sing like they'd never sang before. I would now say my wharfedales are the weak link. Previously they were the strength. I'm looking at lores or dirty weekends as my next purchase, possibly magnepans. Should scale nicely with my existing gear.

I understand your logic, but have no idea how good or bad your speakers are.

I know it's overkill, but vidar drives Elac debut B6 2.0 splendidly well. Much much better then the Dayton class D amp that I spent 85 Dollars on. 150 or 300 dollar speakers vs a 699 amp.

If you are set on a new amp, you could always wait till Aegir comes out, and do the 15 day trial. If it doesn't drive your speakers well enough, return Aegir for Vidar. SQ of vidar is awesome.

All of the above posts also makes sense. Hope this helps.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

Eitr is being discontinued? Wow... that makes me sad actually. It's easily the best source I've ever heard. It made such a breathtaking difference fixing the USB from my laptop, I went from disliking the HD800 for being dry and lifeless to loving the HD800 for being full of liveliness and energy. I would totally have taken the plunge on a newer version as well... my laptop's USB needs all the help it can get. RIP.

I had some extra cash to burn and picked up this little EITR box. I can't really detect a difference on my set-up. Meh, no regrets. For me, when I purchased quality headphones... that's where I got the most noticeable improvements, for me. Carefully ripped FLAC, ALAC, or high bit-rate file formats also gave me the improvements. I'll hold onto my EITR for future devices/set-ups (or gift it to someone).
Oh Gungnir2.x and an Asgard2.x and a Valhalla... one of these days... ohhhh yeah..... Heavy breathing.

 

[mp29k]

I can say this, I bought my Schiit gear before reinvesting in newer speakers. I have an old set of wharfedales that had only ever been hooked up to an old JVC 5.1 receiver.

Mimby into the JVC made the setup sound better. Mimby into saga and vidar made the wharfedales sing like they'd never sang before. I would now say my wharfedales are the weak link. Previously they were the strength. I'm looking at lores or dirty weekends as my next purchase, possibly magnepans. Should scale nicely with my existing gear.

I understand your logic, but have no idea how good or bad your speakers are.

I know it's overkill, but vidar drives Elac debut B6 2.0 splendidly well. Much much better then the Dayton class D amp that I spent 85 Dollars on. 150 or 300 dollar speakers vs a 699 amp.

If you are set on a new amp, you could always wait till Aegir comes out, and do the 15 day trial. If it doesn't drive your speakers well enough, return Aegir for Vidar. SQ of vidar is awesome.

All of the above posts also makes sense. Hope this helps.

I have Lore and a friend has Zu DWs. They both sound awesome. Can’t go wrong either way.