[bcowen]

In all seriousness, copper pipe is probably one of the worst things I could possibly use because of its resonant frequency, it is almost as if I were making a vertical xylophone except...

There will be cast iron flanges at each end as well as 3/4 inch of wood attached to each end except for the legs. I am thinking seriously of using Sorbothane under each flange as well as adding some kind of sound dampening material to the inside of the pipes.

There is a formula for calculating the resonant frequency for a given length of copper pipe but as I said, I am adding in some variables. Bill brought up a valid point about resonance and I am factoring that in.

Sorbothane makes all kinds of nice shapes.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019O4D1H...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

I just have to be careful and not overdo it on Sorbothane thickness, I need to be able to keep the top perfectly level.

Eeeeeeeek!!!! Not sorbothane! That stuff is pure evil. It sucks every bit of life out of the music no matter where you put it. The best place for sorbothane is to pack it tightly in your ears if your system is way bright, totally fatiguing, and you can't stand to listen to it because it shreds your eardrums every time you turn it on.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

...working hard for your tax dollars (I'm also trying to practice what I preach to my junior scientists - clear, concise, and coherent [1-3 posts, no 100-300]). Yeah right... let the shooting-the-schiit begin!

@Jason Stoddard Congrats on Asgard 3! I just got mine with the AK4490 card and I'm very happy with the sound, I find it warmer than both Magni 3 and Vali 2 in a very pleasing way. I have a couple of questions however, I was comparing the sound of the AK4490 card against the Modi 3 (DS) using my Asgard's usb and rca inputs respectively, and I noticed the volume was quite higher when listenting to the Modi. My questions are; a) Is this normal?, and; b) Does the AK4490 card "draw" from the amplifier power and thus decrease output wattage?
I'm not electronics savvy at all so please bear with me if these questions are obvious or simple. Thanks!

Welcome to the thread, @Dorian Sternlicht . I'm using the Modi-Multibit (pre-Modi3 release) and might just leapfrog right on over to the Gungnir MB after I buy fancy coconuts at year's end (Audeze LCD-XC [closed] or Mister Speaker, closed back Ether C).

Loving the new Bifrost 2, I'm listening with the HD 800S on the Lyr 3 and the quote someone said before about how "everything is just... more" springs to mind......{{{snip}}}....Schiit really hit it out of the park with this one! I've had some good times with the Mimby and Eitr but it's impossible to go back now......{{{snip}}}}.....Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits) - Great vocals, such a fun solo, and the guitar was so detailed I could feel his fingers on the strings....{{{snip}}}}}....Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) - Amazing separation and detail, the voices were coming from all directions, what a roller coaster!....{{{{snip}}}...Little Wing (Hendrix) - Jimi's crazy voice bouncing can sometimes make me dizzy, but the sound of his guitar had to be heard to be believed, simply wonderful....{{{{snip}}}}....Riders on the Storm (Doors) - I looked out my window truly expecting to see rain, incredible! The high keyboard part always gives me chills but this time it was other-worldy....{{{snip}}}.....Limelight (Rush) - Great drum imaging, it feels like you are in the drummers seat and hits are rolling all around you.....{{{{awesome image snipped out}}}}....

Sultans of Swing, B-R, Limelight. As a Canuck, I think it's a requirement to being a Canadian teenager. Rush. Rush. RUSSSHHHHHHH. Sometimes I have to remind myself of all the tunes hidden in my hard drive. I find that's a disadvantage of boxing up my CDs and using only electronic files - I miss out on the tactile joy of picking through 'discs'. I guess a colourful and animated UI on a player will have to do (Foobar's boring, yet bullet-proof AF... Clementine & Google Play [lossy and data-hog] & VLC will have to do). Or, pshhh. I stawp whining and buy a Pi with a little tactile board on it.

Several of us have been checking out Amazon HD since Monday and being Amazon, it is lossless for the masses. They do have a very good selection of music and I would rate their SQ slightly ahead of Tidal with a similar UI. Since it works well with Amazon devices and Prime members get a discount, it will certainly reach a lot of people quickly. I did find some Chesky recordings and some fairly obscure music.

I'm curious to see how Amazon HD rolls out here in Canada. I can use it (or Google or even YouTube) as a way to discover new tunes. And then I download it (legitimately). I'll still get hosed for high speed cellular data (when I eventually move out of range of copper-wire-broadband). Sheesh.

That's Amazon's business model. Their volume can drive the smaller guys out.

I'm really hoping that Spotify releases lossless. Their catalogue and UI are pretty great.

This is exactly how I see it. Amazon doesn't sound as good as Qobuz, but it has market reach. It will do more than anyone else to boost high-res content and awareness, so it's a super important player. I also like, personally, that the first major into the high-res fray isn't doing MQA....This is a big deal, even if the SQ isn't up to Qobuz. I just hope Qobuz survives.

I wonder if CBC Radio did episodes on this topic... in particular on SPARK or UNDER THE INFLUENCE.

Amazon can still sell products with Roon endpoints, so they may see the synergistic value.

$13/mon individual -- $10.75/mon if $129/yr
$20/mon family - up to 6 members -- $16.58/mon if $199/yr
Non-HD Amazon Unlimited
$8/mon
$15/mon family

Sigh, that's in USD. I shudder to think how much it's in Canadian dollars. Ah well, discs and Google Music (with some HDtracks snuck in for the GOOD stuff) for me.

.....{{{snip}}}}...Get the UK Schiitr up and running!

I'm spoiled for choice here in Toronto. If I'm unsatisfied with my selection, I can go on a road trip to Buffalo. My challenge is finding places to try out gear before I buy it. And I still feel like a shmuck walking into a place, trying out a $500-1500 piece of hardware, and then buying it online. Hell, when I visit my relatives back west, I could do an overnighter roadtrip to Northern LA and visit the Schiitr in person. UK Schiitr?! Yes, "would someone PLEASE give that man a [British-imported] gun[nir]" (say that in the same voice as LF's character in John Wick 2).

The frustrating thing here is if you want to buy a track for download you still get an mp3 despite the fact that they could offer a flac download with much higher source quality if they wanted to. I suspect licensing rights play a part as the rights are no doubt negotiated separately here vs. the streaming platform (gotta keep everything as complicated as possible of course....), but in the year 2019 the selection of music you can purchase and then download to keep in a lossless format is still amazingly small and looks to always remain that way.

@Xcalibur255 ... would you still feel that way with the latest and last version of MP3? {{{link to a 2017 How To Geek Article about this format}}}

^ re: Darko's review... getting good at editing and nice video, do wish he'd mention the possible impedance matching that preamps can provide.

I like his posts. They're very slick. I'll always make time to watch (in my mind's eye) a martini-laced presentation from the creator! Mind you, I prefer @Currawong 's detail and (with respect, sir) quirky humour.

I will stay with Qobuz until they go dark. SQ is king.

Solid copy, sir.

If there is no streaming services available for roon, then I'll be back on buying lots of downloadable music and CDs to rip.

10-4.

A big fish will buy small fishes Qobuz/Tidal once lossless is commodity. Most important with these services for me are the GUI. The quality is secondary. From stream service companies point of view: 99% is listened through a 'mono' bluetooth speaker and/or mobile phone/tablet speaker ...they will only change if bandwith is out of the equation and/or majority of their customers are demanding lossless. I'm afraid that is reality and that is why I see steaming as radio so far, mainly because I am not willing to pay a monthly fee for music content where it is unclear who is the owner. I have Spotify because my family has it and they do not care about my Schiit.

Signal boosting this comment.

I fell in love with Roon way before I decided to try a streaming service, and I think it is well worth the cost regardless of streaming. To me, streaming is a fun way to expand my library, not to BE my library. So I don't really care what service might come or go I just want the best SQ available, and if they all dissolve into the ether it will be fine, it won't affect my library.

It's almost a core-belief, religious-type world view. I want permanence. When I croak, I want a collection of discs and (burned-to-discs-from-my-elderly-hard-drives) to be left on my estate for the Bruce Trail Conservancy. In 50 or so years. Stay tuned!

......{{{{{snip}}}}.......

There's some clear brick-walling going on here. It appears to be another victim of the dynamic range compression wars. FWIW, my copy was the non-extended single CD. The code on the CD hub appears to be 56983962/1ck67912rd1 21. The dr14t score for this track is DR9, but as I understand it, those scores aren't accurate for some bass-heavy tracks, and I assume this section qualifies.

Audio Analyzer outputs. I'm a late bloomer (and one who also appreciates) such graphical analysis. Somehow I can keep 2 minds sets at play = objective and subjective analysis. Sheesh, just like a Canadian.

Initial Bifrost 2 impressions....{{{{snip}}}}.... ...I've run it for about 3 hours so far, and it just sounds better and better.....{{{snip}}}}....Until the sound cut out and all three input lights started flashing.....{{{{snip}}}}.....Thank goodness Schiit support has been fantastic in replacing my Modi 3 times, so I trust this will be handled with aplomb ... but I was hoping not to go through this again with Bifrost.

I believe their customer feedback and trackability has improved (since I took up this ridiculous hobby) ~2 years ago.

And...Dave just found it. We have a bad batch of surface mount capacitors (ironically, the same 1206-sized part that we have used for years in other products). When they fail (shorted), they can cause one of the internal cards not to be detected. If you have the "three flashes" problem, contact us so we can swap out your Bifrost. Apologies for the trouble.

....I think it was a Star Trek Deep Space Nine where the Ferengi empire and business ethic was explored. While my spouse would look at it as anti semitic nonsense, I still remember a recurring theme -- do you have the LOBES for business? Now excuse me as I beg her for some oo-mox (or however it was spelled [yeesh]).

Thank you sir; greatly appreciated....{{{snip}}}}....

Loved that image, @liquidsmote ... If I'm a productive stand up philosopher today, I'll also treat myself to an after-dinner snort.

I'm sure we'd make any firmware revisions available for anyone.

Sir, I'll just keep in mind that you are a HARDWARE vendor. OBVIOUS CONSEQUENCES: I shudder think about the bricking, dicking-around, flashing-the-ROM, DIY-toasting, waranty-voiding Bifrost 2.x boards are going to experience in OUR collective hands. I sincerely hope you were able to encrypt those flash files we can download and install into that slot. And I really REALLY hope Schiit won't honour device repairs from jail-broken software. If I want to screw around with it... that's fine. But I expect to deal with the ramifications. OUTCOME: With the launch of the flashable Bifrost, I doubt I will buy them off E-Bay or Kijijii used or from non-Schiit distributors.
Mind you... open source software flashes to Bifrost WOULD be pretty cool.

Are you leaving me out on purpose?

You sir, are the OTHERS. And a kewl one at that.

+1

I just got done sorting all the CD’s in my garage. Between those and my record collection I may have to add more shelves.

During the brief time I had a Valhalla I also thought it was too warm. I did a paper chimney for it. I just folded a paper making a square shaped tube. It worked. If I've kept it I would've done something more fancy made from acrylic, like this:
http://www.deyuanco.com/wp-content/...for-packing-ligthingadvertising-purpose-1.jpg

I reinstalled my silly little box fan creation beside the VH2. A paper chimney?! I'll look that up (intrigued by the elementary thermodynamics laws at work).

I'd love to have the space to do things like you do. But unfortunately I live in a "shoe box" apartment.
Since we are on the copper pipe season, maybe you could try something like this to set the ambience for the music listening:

I built something like that in college, all parts were functional though, and electronic components. In the end it was an FM radio.

I'm a sucker for this steampunk or dieselpunk designs. There was a coffee/sweet shop in Canterbury that had this art all over the place...

That reminds me of a bong I once had...

As a representative of the YRDSB, I shall not condone the use of such substances at workplaces or educational facilities. Mind you at home, off duty, away from a motor vehicle, in a certain chill-out spot or at a listening nook or in the middle of SOMEONE's woodland retreat....

....{{{snip}}}....its resonant frequency, it is almost as if I were making a vertical xylophone....{{{snip}}}...
I just have to be careful and not overdo it on Sorbothane thickness, I need to be able to keep the top perfectly level.

A vertical xylophone. So that's what the thread was going on about (filling the voids with foam, sand, cat fur). 10-4. NICE.

 

[tincanear]

@ScubaMan2017 foam and sand yes, but no one said anything about cat fur (maybe it was implied that Finnigan would help in that area)

 

[bcowen]

You sir, are the OTHERS. And a kewl one at that.

Whew. I was getting ready to make a doctor's appointment for some antidepressants.

 

[bcowen]

@ScubaMan2017 foam and sand yes, but no one said anything about cat fur (maybe it was implied that Finnigan would help in that area)

ROFL! The new audiophile damping tweak. Tom should bag it and sell it for $1k per pound. Probably best to filter out any dander though, as that would add variable mass with no audible benefit. Dogs have owners, cats have staff, and Finnegan may be a revenue generator...

 

[Paladin79]

why not solid cherry as the base and top?

I am using solid cherry for all shelves so they match. It really is not super expensive here, there is a very large lumber yard not far from me that sells all kinds of hardwood, seasoned and sanded.

 

[Paladin79]

I really think you will not hear any resonance from the copper piping, even when not filled up.
Try using a piece of copper pipe and beat it with a small metal stick like you use a triangle in percussion.
You'll hear no resonance.
Make a square out of copper pipes and hang it in front of one of your speakers.
Again you'll hear no resonance.

Yes I was not expecting a lot, after the weight of the wood and equipment is added there is little chance of movement.

 

[bcowen]

I really think you will not hear any resonance from the copper piping, even when not filled up.
Try using a piece of copper pipe and beat it with a small metal stick like you use a triangle in percussion.
You'll hear no resonance.
Make a square out of copper pipes and hang it in front of one of your speakers.
Again you'll hear no resonance.

Can't say I agree with that. Hold the pipe in your hand and beat it with a stick, and you probably won't hear any resonance as your hand is damping it out. Hang it by a string and whack it and I doubt you *wouldn't* hear it ring. That said, everything resonates. The trick is finding the resonance that is either consonant with the music or doesn't intrude on it. Over-damping something can lead to worse results than no damping at all. I'll never claim to be any kind of expert on this subject, but I spent a lot of time (and money) many years ago experimenting with all sorts of different devices, racks, damping materials, etc. and learned a lot while doing it. This isn't the place to go on further about that though...

 

[Paladin79]

Huh?!? Who are you, and what did you do with Tom?



Sadly no, and I only wish it was due to time hoarding with tube hoarding. The week from hell at work, and then I spent 3x the time planned yesterday putting a new catalytic converter on the Mazda. While I prefer doing work on my cars myself, I loathe exhaust piping work. But after the Stealership quoted $1900, the local shop (one of few I actually trust) quoted $900, and a suitable replacement from Ebay was $179, an afternoon of 4 letter words in the garage was warranted. Haven't even had time to listen to your cooked cables yet. Sigh.

Hey I like beauty and functionality, Frank Loyd Wright and I share the same birthday, (not year mind you). Geminis also do things in two's so I am torn between two choices.

Just be sure you do not confuse the cooked cables for pasta when you have the wine and you will be ok. I would tell you which pasta I enjoyed with the wine but Pietro is liable to tell me it is equivalent to Chef Boyardee's spaghetti from a can and I will have to slink off and hide somewhere.

I had to work on a car the other day myself. I changed the battery in a key fob. There was electronics involved, and um plastic, and a screwdriver, and polarity but I survived it.

 

[Paladin79]

Eeeeeeeek!!!! Not sorbothane! That stuff is pure evil. It sucks every bit of life out of the music no matter where you put it. The best place for sorbothane is to pack it tightly in your ears if your system is way bright, totally fatiguing, and you can't stand to listen to it because it shreds your eardrums every time you turn it on.

Have you ever noticed how I only listen to some of your advice? I try to just walk away when you start talking about standing in the middle of a pentagram and sacrificing chickens and such for audio improvement.

Shoes, if you want to give me advice about shoes I will listen, maybe sandals, but that is it. When we were doing the Coaster amps Jason even used Sorbothane under the tubes as I recall instead of just laying them on the circuit boards. Come to think of it, I think Sorbothane was originally used inside shoes or some such, ok forget giving me advice on shoes. Ice cubes, I will let you tell me how to make a perfect round, clear ice cube.

 

[Paladin79]

ROFL! The new audiophile damping tweak. Tom should bag it and sell it for $1k per pound. Probably best to filter out any dander though, as that would add variable mass with no audible benefit. Dogs have owners, cats have staff, and Finnegan may be a revenue generator...

You know of course Ripper is allergic to cats, I did build him a headphone rack using copper pipe but that is about all I should say at this time. Maybe he will eventually build up an immunity.

 

[bcowen]

Have you ever noticed how I only listen to some of your advice?

Actually, I'm kind of shocked you listen to *any* of my advice. I've always considered you to be smarter than that.

 

[bcowen]

I had to work on a car the other day myself. I changed the battery in a key fob. There was electronics involved, and um plastic, and a screwdriver, and polarity but I survived it.

I would never attempt something that complicated on my own. My hat is off to you.

 

[bcowen]

You know of course Ripper is allergic to cats, I did build him a headphone rack using copper pipe but that is about all I should say at this time. Maybe he will eventually build up an immunity.

You probably should have left the dander in his for best effect.

 

[Paladin79]

Actually, I'm kind of shocked you listen to *any* of my advice. I've always considered you to be smarter than that.

College basketball, you can advise me on that. Your favorite team is Duke right, you can advise me on how to spell and pronounce their coaches name.