So I will throw this out. I have recently discovered a pile of gift cards here and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations as to laptop brands that have decent USB output or which ones to avoid. The laptop needs only to have good WiFi performance and good USB output since its sole purpose is to stream music to my main system. Windows 10 is probably best since I use Tidal, Qobuz, and Amazon streaming services. I am interested in the more compact models given the space it needs to fit. The current Lenovo Yoga there has had an unfortunate encounter with liquids and now is very unhappy.
Right now that system has a PS Audio Nuwave 3 as a DAC so it's probably not as robust on USB as the Bifrost 2 but since I have a perfectly good Bifrost 2 sitting in my office (California, naturally) where I haven't been in 6 months this might change. It would be interesting to compare the two...
...welcome to the thread, @NewSchiithead ! I had all kinds of signal dropouts (resulting in audio pops and gaps in music ) when feeding my first external DAC (a Modi Multibit). My laptop was a Lenovo T440 with a mechanical hard drive. I upgraded to a Chromebook with a solid state HD and superior WiFi circuitry (MIMO). Result: my audio issues Vanished.
My vote: ensure your digital source has a robust wireless kit. And a solid state hard drive.
Proud owner of a new Freya+ and loving every minute of the pairing with the Gumby MB Unison and a Vidar feeding my Kef Q950s. Question for you all - ok to leave the Freya+ powered on with it in passive mode, or should I power it down? I leave the Vidar and Gumby powered up, but not sure if its ok to do the same with the Freya+.
Proud owner of a new Freya+ and loving every minute of the pairing with the Gumby MB Unison and a Vidar feeding my Kef Q950s. Question for you all - ok to leave the Freya+ powered on with it in passive mode, or should I power it down? I leave the Vidar and Gumby powered up, but not sure if its ok to do the same with the Freya+.
should be OK to do so, I think the tubes shut down when in passive mode. easy to check by looking at the filaments after selecting passive mode and waiting a bit.
Proud owner of a new Freya+ and loving every minute of the pairing with the Gumby MB Unison and a Vidar feeding my Kef Q950s. Question for you all - ok to leave the Freya+ powered on with it in passive mode, or should I power it down? I leave the Vidar and Gumby powered up, but not sure if its ok to do the same with the Freya+.
I always leave my digital part of the system on.
So DAC, transport etc are always on.
The rest is off and warms up in just enough time for me to do the dishes.
should be OK to do so, I think the tubes shut down when in passive mode. easy to check by looking at the filaments after selecting passive mode and waiting a bit.
You are right ; tubes do shut down on the Freya+ when not in use.
I have a Freya S and turn it off when not in use.
My Yggy is the only audio device which is left powered on all the time.
Thank you for all the advice gentlemen; I feel a new streaming laptop is in my immediate future! I had not thought of the surface pro, but I know the owners like them. And it certainly doesn't take up much space...
Thank you for all the advice gentlemen; I feel a new streaming laptop is in my immediate future! I had not thought of the surface pro, but I know the owners like them. And it certainly doesn't take up much space...
Does Dolby Digital have a core PCM track that can be extracted and played without a Dolby license?
Then our fav DACs could do that and be hooked up to TVs.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
