[bevanc]

I've got a spare SYS that is sitting around. Although I've got a Rekkr coming in, I will be using the Jot 1 in my office, so, if someone in the US can make use of it as a preamp for a Rekkr, or as part of a Schiit stack, pm me and I'll send it out.

***Edit: This is a silver SYS.***

 

[valiant66]

You have to check out music-map.com if you haven't already. I'm interested to know your thoughts once you've had some time with it.

Thanks! I'm gonna lose some hours in there...
.

 

[33na3rd]

Don't think I want the Vidar sound signature,

And what is the Vidar sound signature?

 

[dstrimbu]

How are you checking SPL on the watch?

It's a watch-face complication on the Watch 8. It's super cool - gives a warning when SPL goes over 80db.

 

[valiant66]

Interesting! I tried a few artists/bands and it seemed OK to very good, but putting in Gentle Giant really nailed the bands I like, which means I'm very interested in the few I don't already know:

Same.

I'm particularly looking forward to checking out Big Ass Potato Meditations
.

 

[corndog71]

Quite the upgrade...! Well done. I've never dug into my SZ's. This might inspire me to do so.

Also, a shame Erse is no longer. At least, in it's previous form. They appeared to have gone under, due to the pandemic, and have now been purchased by a Chinese company. I'm not sure where parts will be manufactured now?

The owner passed away and his wife didn’t want anything to do with it. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

 

[StimpyWan]

The owner passed away and his wife didn’t want anything to do with it. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

Thanks. I hadn't heard that part of the story. A shame too, as Erse was a good company, and made quality products.

 

[StimpyWan]

Same.




I'm particularly looking forward to checking out Big Ass Potato Meditations
.

I'm on a diet. I've been having "Big Ass Potato Meditations", on a daily basis...!

 

[dstrimbu]

Hello. I am looking for a pre-amp/amp for my LS50 Meta's. Are you using the Jotunheim for your pre-amp to Aegir's in this setup? Thank you

Yes, that's the setup - OG Jotunheim (w/True Multibit DAC card) as digital source and preamplifier, balanced out to the Aegirs.
I am pretty sure that you could happily run a single (stereo) Aegir with the LS50s, but I have an obsessive-compulsive personality...

 

[M3NTAL]

I'm sorry if this question has been asked already - on the Freya N, does it normally have pops when you lower the volume quickly with the remote (hold down button) - it's not all the time, just when it seems to go through gain changes or something.

 

[Orange5o]

And what is the Vidar sound signature?

Most of the comparisons have the Aegir a bit warmer or lush in midrange

 

[tincanear]

Planars need current not voltage. A low powered (2W?) speaker amp will do better on an HE6 than a 10W headamp that swings high voltage but is current limited. But instead of believing me, it only costs $150 to find out for yourself

For $109, Magni+ will deliver more power than Rekkr into HE6 @ 50 ohms and as a bonus includes a volume control.

the HE6 is ~83dB/mW efficiency (very low) so 100mW should yield 103dB.

Both Rekkr and Magni+ are powerful enough driving HE6 to cause hearing damage.

Typical full-size dynamic cans with 100-113 dB/mW efficiency need 50x to 1000x less power than HE6 for same SPL

active pre + 2W speaker amp might have more overall gain and hence lower volume control settings (e.g. 9 o’clock is already super loud) vs 10w head amp by itself, leading to a false impression of more power for the 2W amp

Not bashing on Rekkr at all— for speakers or unconventional planars in 4-8 ohm range definitely Rekkr or Gjallarhorn vs Magni / Lyr / Jotunheim. For ultra low z planars (0.5 -2 ohms) or ribbons like lcd-r, sr-1a then Jot A or Jot R.

Transducer first, then find a matching amp.

 

[AnotherBrick]

Tube Noob question:

Why are NOS tubes considered to be better sounding than newer ones?

 

[classfolkphile]

I found my Sennheiser RS195 headphones! I got them a few years ago and at first used them a lot and then...gone?! charged them up over the course of the day and evening and have them plugged into my Denon AVR-X4300H now and am listening to "Classic Vinyl". But as is so often the case with me, I have a question about a music service.

fApple Music. Does any one have it and like it? I have been wary since I last logged onto my circa 2012 (?) Mac Mini and for what ever conspiratorial reason my iTunes libary disappeared. The Denon does not have fApple Music natively but I could use my still happily functioning iPad Mini 4 to get it there. I currently use and enjoy SiriusXM, Pandora Premium (Family Plan!) and Amazon Music Unlimited. I have never gone to the Tidal Bowl as I did not wish to support cRap fArteests and that is who owned it although I think that primary owner ship has changed.

I get a head ache every time I write or TRY to say Qobuz. Childish? Yup and proudly so! But I digress - So honest opinions on fApple Music please. I am again using Carplay in my vehicles and I suppose it would work okie-dokie (?). I do not really care about Codecs as I can not tell the difference between Mp3 (not the cool Piaggio scooter!) and Amazon's UHD. I just want to be happy. A dear friend that uses Bluesound in his home told me he likes the algorithm employed by Pandora and I have been a paying customer for over a decade now. I was a fApple enthusiast during the iPod era and still have a 2nd generation click wheel iPod that is nearly immaculate.

Please excuse the usual toadish ramblin'. I really do value the opinions of all here and just want to know if there is something about fApple Music that would be worthy of me risking the trial period. Oh! Riahnnon Giddons is a Goddess and I really enjoyed her work with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and have a couple of albums of her solo work too.

My sincere thanks to any that provide their thoughts on fApple Music.
I have called it that for quite some time now. Our family, much to the chagrin of my spousal unit, will ofttimes butcher words/names. For example we call Outback Steakhouse, "Outhouse Steakback". My wife claims it is no longer "cute" but annoying. Personally I think she is talking about me. I refuse to grow normal.


"Foot Stomping Music" by Grand Funk Railroad is on! HUZZAH!

ORT

Firstly, I agree about Rhiannon Giddens. She also is now the director of the Yo-Yo Ma founded Silk Road Project.

I have Apple Music and the sound quality is excellent but the interface is clunky and the search function leaves a bit to be desired - from Apple??? The selection is good but Qobuz may have a more complete classical catalog. At least when I search Apple for certain works I get less selections than I expected although it may have more to do with their search limitations. Unfortunately when I had Qobuz their non-classical selection was very limited: their sound quality however is at least as good as Apple's.

I really don't like the sound of Amazon HD Music: much too forward in the upper mids. They're selection is good and the interface is okay. Qobuz and Spotify have the best interfaces, IMHO, and the latter has a great catalog but I've been alienated by their refusal to implement lossless - especially after promising it for so long.

I've never considered Tidal because of their price, the music they pushed (at least years ago) and their promotion of MQA.

So I'm frustrated with the state of the streaming services.

I hope this at least helps somewhat.

 

[theeclone]

Tube Noob question:

Why are NOS tubes considered to be better sounding than newer ones?

If I had to speculate I'd say it's due to the fact that the more people do something, the better they get at doing it. Also, the more competition there is, the better the product tends to be. Back in the day there was a huge industry around tubes. Tons produced with all the associated institutional knowledge. Maybe you could even describe the process as more artisinal than it is now. Meaning, people, even if producing tubes for someone like the military, took pride in their work and had the resources available to really do a good job.

Now there is less competition, less iteration, more about the bottom line. And the companies making the ho-hum sounding tubes can more easily eke out a living due to less competition and perhaps less discerning ears as our culture has moved away from audiophilia being mainstream.