[Odin412]

How are you liking it now, after a couple of weeks? I'm considering this exact set up. I have the Omens, but also a Ragnarok 2. Been reading around, and I think I want the same thing as you: smoother and more laidback experience.

In short I really like the Aegir - Omen DW combo. I haven't heard the Vidar or Ragnarok 2, so I'm not able to compare. I'll post some more impressions later, but my favorite thing with the Aegir is how it makes all recordings enjoyable, not just well-recorded ones. It's a great amplifier.

 

[Seret]

I'm starting with Toad, (Fresh Cream)
RIP Ginger

Ginger Baker was one of the very best rock and jazz drummers. He was unique. Cream and Blind Faith were Ginger's supergroup rock bands. Also listen to the Ginger Baker Trio (with guests Bill Frissell and Charlie Haden) as well as his other excellent jazz albums.

And search for the documentary "Beware of Mr. Baker," an in-depth view of Ginger's life. (One of the facts that he revealed was that he was not a "fast" drummer, like Keith Moon, as everyone thought. Ginger had the ability to drum 4 different beats at the same time, using his hands and his feet!)

He was a brilliant musician who really lived a full life. Fortunately, he had a strong constitution to make it to 80 years old.

 

[audio philestine]

Need to figure out how many of my MFSL CDs were mastered with the original Baldr GAIN ADC system. If I remember what I read correctly, the burrito filters in the Schiit multibit DACs are the inverse of that GAIN system.

So much fun rediscovering my music collection! Once again, Thank You Jason & Mike for making real high end audio so affordable!

From another site (not the site that shall not be named), I found:

First MFSL CD done with that GAIN system was UDCD 593 Muddy Waters Folk Singer (Dec 1994)
Last MFSL CD done with that GAIN system was UDCD 734 Jehtro Tull songs From The Wood (Nov 1998)

Cross referencing this with the MFSL list from http://www.mofi.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/goldcds.txt, I get:

593 Dec-93 Muddy Waters Folk Singer Universal
594 Nov-93 Eric Clapton 461 Ocean Blvd Polygram
595 Jan-94 Pink Floyd Atom Heart Mother Cema
596 Jan-94 MJQ Blues At Carnegie Hall Rhino/Atlantic
597 Feb-94 Heart Heart Cema
598 Mar-94 Emerson, Lake & Palmer Tarkus Victory
599 Mar-94 Charles Mingus Mingus At Carnegie Hall Rhino/Atlantic
600 Apr-94 John Lennon & Yoko Ono Double Fantasy Cema
601 Apr-94 Art Blakey Night In Tunisia Cema
602 May-94 Neville Brothers Fiyo On The Bayou A & M
603 May-94 John Hiatt Bring The Family A & M
604 Jun-94 John Mellencamp Scarecrow Polygram
605 Jul-94 John Coltrane Giant Steps Rhino/Atlantic
606 Jun-94 Alan Parsons Tales Of Mystery Polygram
607 Jul-94 Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto Getz/Gilberto Polygram
2-608 Aug-94 Eric Clapton Just One Night (2 CD Set) Polygram
609 Aug-94 Traffic The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys Polygram
610 Sep-94 Queen The Game Hollywood
611 Sep-94 Steve Winwood Back In The High Life Polygram
612 Oct-94 The Moody Blues Threshold Of A Dream Polygram
613 Oct-94 Jean Michel Jarre Oxygene Dreyfus
614 Oct-94 Rush Signals Polygram
615 Nov-94 XTC Skylarking Universal
616 Nov-94 John Mayall Bluesbreakers Polygram
617 Nov-94 Allman Brothers Brothers & Sisters Polygram
618 Dec-94 Robbie Robertson Robbie Robertson Universal
619 Dec-94 Dr. John The Right Place/Gumbo (2:1) Rhino/Atlantic
620 Feb-95 Cray, Collins & Copeland Showdown Alligator
621 Jan-95 Emerson, Lake & Palmer Trilogy Victory
622 Apr-95 Vangelis Chariots Of Fire Polygram
623 Feb-95 Aretha Franklin Now/Lady Soul (2:1) Rhino/Atlantic
624 Mar-95 U2 Unforgettable Fire Polygram
2-625 Jan-95 Cream Live Vol. I & II (2 CD Set) Polygram
626 Mar-95 Neville Brothers Brother's Keeper A & M
627 Jan-95 Dave Brubeck We're All Together Again Rhino/Atlantic
628 Mar-95 Bob Marley Exodus Polygram
629 Apr-95 Traffic Traffic Polygram
630 Apr-95 Woody Herman Fourth Herd & New World (2:1) Pt Music
631 May-95 Joe Cocker Sheffield Steel Polygram
632 May-95 Modern Jazz Quartet At Music Inn Vol. II Rhino/Atlantic
633 May-95 Rick Wakeman Journey To The Centre A & M
634 Jun-95 John Mellencamp Lonesome Jubilee Polygram
635 Jun-95 Albert Collins Cold Snap Alligator
636 Jun-95 Elliot Lawrence The Music Of Elliot Lawrence (2:1) Pt Music
637 Jul-95 Utopia Oops Wrong Planet Rhino/Atlantic
638 Jul-95 Sy Oliver Oliver's Twist & Easy Walker (2:1) Pt Music
639 Aug-95 Eric Clapton Eric Clapton Polygram
640 Aug-95 Marianne Faithful Broken English & Strange Weather (2:1) Polygram
641 Aug-95 Sonny Terry & Brownie Mcgee Sonny Terry & Brownie Mcgee A & M
642 Sep-95 R.E.M. Murmur A & M
643 Sep-95 The Moody Blues Every Good Boy Deserves Favour Polygram
644 Jul-95 Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster Polygram
645 Sep-95 Howlin' Wolf The Real Folk Blues Universal
646 Nov-95 Joan Baez Diamonds And Rust A & M
647 Oct-95 Jean Michel Jarre Equinoxe Dreyfus
648 Oct-95 Mulligan/Desmond Blues In Time Polygram
649 Oct-95 Cat Stevens Teaser & The Firecat A & M
650 Nov-96 U2 Joshua Tree Polygram
2-651 Dec-95 Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong Again (2 CD Set) Polygram
652 Nov-95 Count Basie April In Paris Polygram
653 May-96 Eric Clapton Backless Polygram
654 Nov-95 Bob Marley Catch A Fire Polygram
655 Dec-95 Oscar Peterson & Milt Jackson Very Tall Polygram
656 Dec-95 Bernard Herrmann The Fantasy Film World of Bernhard Herrmann Polygram
657 Feb-96 Alexis Korner R & B From The Marquee Polygram
658 Jan-96 Billie Holiday Body And Soul Polygram
659 Feb-96 B.B. King Lucille Universal
2-660 Mar-96 Derek & The Dominos In Concert (2 CD Set) Polygram
3-661 Jan-96 Cat Stevens Numbers, Izitso & Back To Earth (3 CD Set) Yusuf Islam
662 Feb-96 John Mayall The Blues Alone Polygram
663 Jan-96 Neil Young Old Ways Geffen
664 Mar-96 Counting Crows August & Everything After Geffen
665 Apr-96 Sonic Youth Goo Geffen
666 Mar-96 Nirvana Nevermind Geffen
667 Apr-96 The Searchers It's The Sreachers/Take Me For What I'm Worth (2:1) Castle
668 Apr-96 Queen A Day At The Races Hollywood
669 May-96 Traffic Shootout At The Fantasy Factory Polygram
670 May-96 Bing Crosby & Buddy Bregman Bing Crosby & Buddy Bregman Polygram
671 Jun-96 The Moody Blues To Our Children’s Children's Children Polygram
672 Aug-96 Bernard Herrmann The Four Faces Of Jazz Polygram
673 Jun-96 The Jam All Mod Cons & Sound Effects (2:1) Polygram
674 Jun-96 Steve Winwood Talking Back To The Night Polygram
675 Jul-96 Iron Butterfly In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida Rhino/Atlantic
2-676 Jul-96 Canned Heat & John Lee Hooker Heat & Hooker EMI
677 Aug-96 R.E.M. Reckoning A & M
2-678 Sep-96 Peter Frampton Frampton Comes Alive (2 CD Set) A & M
679 Aug-96 The Kinks You Really Got Me & Kinda Kinks (2:1) Castle
680 Sep-96 The Bee Gees Trafalgar Polygram
681 Sep-96 Cream Goodbye Polygram
682 Mar-97 XTC Oranges & Lemons Geffen
683 Oct-96 Red Hot Chili Peppers Mother's Milk EMI
684 Oct-96 Robin Trower Bridge Of Sighs EMI
685 Dec-96 Thelonious Monk Monterey Jazz Festival Vol. 1 Storyville
686 Jan-97 Thelonious Monk Monterey Jazz Festival Vol. 2 Storyville
687 Feb-97 Ten Years After Ssssh & Cricklewood Green (2:1) EMI
688 Dec-96 Ben Sidran Mr. P's Shuffle Go Jazz
689 N/A Not Released Not Released Not Released
690 Jan-97 Nirvana In Utero Geffen
691 Feb-97 Steve Winwood Steve Winwood Polygram
692 Nov-96 Bernard Herrmann Mysterious Film World Polygram
693 Mar-97 The Searchers Meet The Searchers & Sounds Like Searchers (2:1) Castle
694 Mar-97 Zoot Sims & Kenny Drew Zoot Sims In Copenhagen Storyville
695 Apr-97 Velvet Underground Nico Polygram
696 May-97 Harry ""Sweets"" Edison & Eddie ""Lockjaw"" Davis Storyville
697 Jan-98 Blue Oyster Cult Agents Of Fortune Sony
698 Apr-97 Dinah Washington What A Diff'rence A Day Makes Polygram
699 May-97 Guns N' Roses Appetite For Destruction Geffen
700 Jun-97 The Moody Blues Long Distance Voyager Polygram
701 Jun-97 Bernard Herrmann Music From The Great Film Classics Polygram
702 Jun-97 Ted Hawkins The Next Hundred Years Geffen
703 Jul-97 Bud Powell Bouncing With Bud Storvyille
704 Jul-97 John Hiatt Riding With The King Geffen
705 Sep-97 Don Henley Building The Perfect Beast Geffen
706 Aug-97 Herbie Hancock Man-Child Sony
707 Aug-97 Warne Marsh & Lee Konitz Live At The Montmarte Club Storyville
2-708 Sep-97 Jethro Tull Living In The Past (2 CD Set) EMI
709 Aug-97 Cheap Trick Live At Budokan Sony
710 Dec-97 Louis Armstrong Master Of Jazz Live In Chicago 1962 Storyville
711 Oct-97 Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion I Geffen
712 Oct-97 Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion II Geffen
713 Nov-97 Jimmy Buffett Son Of A Son Of A Sailor Universal
714 Nov-97 Steppenwolf Steppenwolf Universal
715 Dec-97 Edgar Winter White Trash Sony
716 Jan-98 Sountrack Saturday Night Fever Polygram
717 N/A Not Released Not Released Not Released
718 Feb-98 The Moody Blues Seventh Sojourn Polygram
719 Feb-98 Duke Ellington Jazz Party In Stereo Sony
720 Mar-98 Jethro Tull A Passion Play EMI
721 Mar-98 Don Henley The End Of The Innocence Geffen
722 Apr-98 The Byrds (Untitled) Sony
723 Apr-98 Stevie Ray Vaughan The Sky Is Crying Sony
724 May-98 Velvet Underground White Light/White Heat Polygram
725 May-98 Benedictine Monks Of Santo Domingo Chant EMI
726 Jun-98 James Taylor Dad Loves His Work Sony
727 Jun-98 Jeff Beck Blow By Blow Sony
728 Jul-98 Don Mclean American Pie EMI
729 Jul-98 10cc The Original Soundtrack Polygram
730 Aug-98 Tears For Fears Songs From The Big Chair Polygram
731 Aug-98 John Coltrane Ballads Universal
732 Sep-98 Simon & Garfunkel Bookends Sony
733 Sep-98 Loggins & Messina Full Sail Sony
734 Oct-98 Jethro Tull Songs From The Wood EMI

Happy listening!

 

[Alexnova]

Looks like we're going to be blind A-Bing delta-sigma and True Multibit this coming week at the Schiitrmeet

Is this the Delta Sigma DAC baldr said he really likes?

 

[Ableza]

Tapping tubes to change their sound? Right up to the point where they fail I assume.

 

[US Blues]

Tapping tubes to change their sound? Right up to the point where they fail I assume.

The closer to failure, the more euphonic the distortion characteristics!

 

[Odin412]

More Aegir impressions

I’ve used the Aegir with my Zu Omen Dirty Weekends for a couple of weeks now, so it’s time for some more impressions. The TL; DR version is simple: I really like the Aegir. This is not a high-strung amp that can only be used to listen to a carefully curated short playlist of well-recorded audiophile demo tracks. In fact, my favorite thing about the Aegir is how it makes even less well-recorded tracks enjoyable to listen to.

Sometimes I wonder if the Aegir is a bit bass light on some tracks, but I don’t think that’s really the case. Listen to ‘Crack Baby’ by Mitski and tell me if any bass is missing. ‘My Love is Your Love’ by Whitney Houston also has a deep and juicy bass line which really comes out using the Aegir.

One of the aspects of the Aegir that stands out to me is how it presents the layering of music without drawing undue attention to details. For example, on ‘Awoo’ by Sofi Tukker you can easily hear the various vocal tracks. On ‘Gone for Good’ by Samantha Fish you can hear the back-and-forth between her and the band, but it’s fun to listen to and not distracting in an overly analytical way. Another thing the ‘Gone for Good’ track illustrates is the rhythm or drive the Aegir has. The Brits call this Prat (pace, rhythm and timing) and I’ve never understood what they were talking about until now. It’s about getting caught up in the rhythm of a track and tapping your feet or nodding your head along with the flow of the music. ‘Done Got Old’ by Buddy Guy is often used at hifi demos. Skip that track – instead, play ‘Tramp’ and revel in the distorted guitar solo at the beginning. The Aegir doesn’t analyze the odd vs even-order harmonics of the guitar but instead lets you enjoy a great guitar player doing what he does best.

What struck me when I first listened to the Aegir was how well it presents vocals and piano. Listen to ‘Nevermind’ by Leonard Cohen or ‘Slow Disco’ by St Vincent – it’s like the singer is standing right in front of you. I’m also happy to report that tracks where I’m usually bothered by sibilance are listenable with the Aegir. ‘Claire Cadillac’ by Malia is a great example. Whoever mastered this track must be nearly deaf – it’s very sharp and sibilant. The Aegir manages to make it listenable – you can still hear that the treble is overly sharp, but it doesn’t pierce your ears.

To my ears the Aegir presents a wide stereo image. On ‘Steady Me’ by Sandra some of the instruments are placed to the left of the left speaker, so it’s outside of the speaker-listener triangle. I remember having heard this before on a previous system, but it’s been a while.

Finally, I wanted to highlight how wonderful the violin sounds on ‘Ave Maria’ by Arve Tellefsen. This track was controversial among critics when the album ‘Pan’ was released – how dare he mix classical violin and modern synthesizer! I like this track and you can really hear the beautiful inner glow of the violin over the deep synth bass. Very nice!

 

[Varejao17]

The closer to failure, the more euphonic the distortion characteristics!

A well-known phenomenon - guitar tube amps sound the best right before they blow.

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

A well-known phenomenon - guitar tube amps sound the best right before they blow.

Wasn't that the moment a guitar player gets electrocuted?

 

[Varejao17]

Wasn't that the moment a guitar player gets electrocuted?

Getting a shock off the microphone is more common...which is more of a mis-grounding problem.

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

Getting a shock off the microphone is more common...which is more of a mis-grounding problem.

Ah, I thought that often came together.
The guitar grounding the current coming from the microphone.

 

[Varejao17]

Ah, I thought that often came together.
The guitar grounding the current coming from the microphone.

Exactly - but it's the player's lips that get the shock, which can be deadly esp. in 220VAC countries!

ed

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

Exactly - but it's the player's lips that get the shock, which can be deadly esp. in 220VAC countries!

ed

As a doctor I do not concur completely with that.
But hey.. it does hurt waaay big.

 

[Ableza]

A well-known phenomenon - guitar tube amps sound the best right before they blow.

Distortion artifacts being much more desirable in a guitar amp than in a hifi one,.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Hey guys, here's the official announcement:

SchiitrMeet October:
Delta-Sigma vs True Multibit Blind Test

You asked for it: a DAC face-off between Delta-Sigma and True Multibit. So here you go. We'll be pitting the AK4490 DAC module against our True Multibit module, to keep things as closely matched as possible. If you want, we could also throw in a Modi 3 and a Bifrost 2 as well. And yes, we'll be matching levels precisely...heck, maybe I'll bring an Avermetrics.

So, join us for a blind DAC challenge this week, and let us know what you think:

The Schiitr
22508 Market Street
Newhall, CA 91321

Thursday, October 10
6PM-10PM

As usual, I'll be there, and I hope to see you there too.

All the best,
Jason