[quimbo]

I went with the Allo USBridge Sig, I also ordered Volumio which was prudent as there is a plugin for SubSonic so it was simple to get to my music since I have a subsonic license I purchased many years ago. It supports most of the major streaming services except Amazon. I don't subscribe to any services so cannot speak to how those work. There is an issue with the PodCast plugin

I connect the Allo to a BiFrost 1 using USB. (I connect my Cowan Plenue via CoAx and a Shanling CD Transport via Optical), giving ,me total flexibility on my home desktop setup where i spend a good 10 to 15 hours a day during the week

Bonus time. While pursuing a forum I found that there is a foobar Upnp component - UPnP MediaRenderer Output - and that foobar on the desktop recognizes the UsBridge Volumio Upnp allowing me to use FooBar instead of the Volumio app.

 

[scolfax]

Damn. Does not deliver to Canada.
.

Ships to Canada now.

 

[macdonjh]

an amazing performance of Tower of Power "Squib Cakes" etc etc....

Oooh, I like "Squib Cakes"! "What is Hip" single handedly forced me to give the Drew Carey Show a second chance.

 

[macdonjh]

Enjoying the fruits of spelunking in audio rabbit holes right now. I guess this will be tangentially related to Schiit: I'm using my post- @Jason Stoddard post- @Baldr Theta gear (Casablanca and Intrepid in my living room system) to drive my midlife-crisis Stax SR Lambda (yes, the originals, older than most of the folks reading this thread). I hope my newer Theta gear has at least some JS/ MM DNA in it. Enough about the means, on to the objects:

The new tunes nearly instantly delivered by Bandcamp.com (thanks, guys) are from Ikebe Shakedown from Brooklyn, NY. I'm almost all the way though their eponymous 2011 release. Mostly James Brown, with a bit of Booker T and the MGs and Average White Band (if you only listen to "Pick Up the Pieces"). Solid James Brown-esque rhythm section, they lay down a powerful groove. My only complaint is the same beef (not pork) I have with JB: the rhythm section rides a single riff throughout the whole song. Good horns, trumpet, tenor, trombone, playing the leads. At their best they blow hard while jamming, at their worst they get one-riffy like their buddies in the rhythm section.

Unfortunately the recording is only so-so. It's flat, and compressed. The brass doesn't really have any bite. Drums "thud" instead of "thwack" and "boom". Cymbals kind of splash. Oh well, the music is good, I'll try to put my audio snobbery in the cupboard.

I also have, from other parts of the rabbit warren, the following on the way:
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio: Live at KEXP
Kikagaku Moyo: Masana Temples
Keleketla!: Keleketla!

For those wondering: the Intrepid certainly has enough juice (150W/ channel) to drive the SR Lamda. It is much more detailed with better transients and "bloom" than the Cambridge Audio integrated I used to use when I first got the Stax from a fellow Head-Fi'er. I can't really comment about the DACs in my Casablanca and their contribution, or lack, to the sound. I haven't brought my Bifrost out to compare. That would be interesting, though.

I started thinking about a Modi or Modi MB, a Sys and my Loki mini to drive the two Intrepid channels powering my Stax... I could connect one of my DAPs directly to the DAC, bypassing my big system (which takes forever to boot now, thank you so much Catalina ). Of course, if that works well, would I need a better excuse to move my Bifrost to the living room to make room for a Gugnir multibit or Yggdrasil GS in my bedroom?

 

[Roy G. Biv]

...The new tunes nearly instantly delivered by Bandcamp.com (thanks, guys) are from Ikebe Shakedown from Brooklyn, NY.

Fixed it for ya.

 

[macdonjh]

Fixed it for ya.

Oops. Fixed it myself, too.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

I'd be inclined to agree! It's painful to relate, but my entire vinyl collection was in storage for about 3 years, while moving from Washington State to Oregon, then back. Upon my return, I discovered my "Storage" company had not been paying mortgage or property taxes, despite collecting monthly payments from me. Long story short - entire collection gone. Some treasures lost. "It's a Beautiful Day", Culshaw's Solti "Ring", some Telarc recordings, including an amazing performance of Tower of Power "Squib Cakes" etc etc....

I still have my Denon DP-6000 with DynaVector DV-505 Arm, if I still had the collection I would have ordered a Sol in a heartbeat

Your mention of Tower of Power led me to listen to several of my CDs this afternoon. Not to rub salt in your wound, but I picked up five Tower of Power CDs for a buck at a thrift store last year. The jewels cases were a hot mess but the CDs and inserts were in unusually good shape for a thrift store find. 50 cents each for some new jewel cases brought my total outlay to $3.50.

The story of losing your vinyl sucks. About 20 years ago I got a notice of eviction at the house I was renting. I'd never missed a payment but my landlord wasn't using my rent to cover his mortgage.

 

[cgb3]

The good news is that Amazon's attention so far hasn't focused much on the services end of music, which they very much suck at. But if they do decide they can exploit that market with only a little effort, it'll be a life-changing moment for all of their so-called competitors.

Note: my taste is hard bop jazz, classic rock, and a little classical.

I've had an Amazon HD music subscription since offered. I've tried Qobuz, decent, but a small library. Tidal, larger library, but not as large as Amazon's. I'm using Tidal in addition to Amazon now, they offered me a $4 for 4 month price on their HD service. This after I didn't renew a 30 day free trial. I find Tidal puts a processing spin on many tunes labled as "Master". I won't be renewing.

I dislike almost everything about Amazon's business model, and I'm not too enthused about Bezos. That said, Amazon HD is the best streaming music choice for me at this time.

 

[Rensek]

So.... Life is damn busy with 3 kids, and 50-60 hr week job. As such I have less time for my usual long, drawn out posts. My ramblings will be more concise. Much to the relief of many, I'm sure.

A handful of thoughts...Edit - bucketfull.

A few weeks ago I was woken to my old furnace misfiring and shaking the house. New furnaces are expensive. 5k ish.

Magnepan LRS's are fantastic with both Vidar and Rag 2.

Focal Clears/Rag 2/Bifrost 2 is crazy good. For everything.

Can we talk fried chicken, or pizza styles for once? Chinese or other Asian cuisine? The (constant) BBQ wars are as bad as the loudness wars, and worse than Abba.

Focal Clears/Magni 3/Modi Multibit sounds way way better then it should, when compared to the above.

After a month of not using any
Sennheisers, they feel like featherweights next to Focals..

I just watched John Wick for the first time... Used the Senn HD600s/Asgard 2/Bifrost 4490.

That might be the most enjoyable way to watch a movie that I've experienced in quite awhile. Full dynamic swings, zero fiddling with the volume knob.

Anyone else really appreciating the magic of Tom Brady right now?

Ive been seeking out allocated and expensive (to me) bourbons.. I currently have 35+ different varieties scotch/bourbon/rye/canadian whisky in house.

Eijah Craig Barrel Proof (12 yr) is very tasty. But so is cheap assed Evan Williams, white or black label (4yr). Good time to be a whisky drinker.

Its cold as H E double hockey sticks here..-40 with the wind chill...

Tomorrow I'll turn boiling water to snow in the blink of an eye.

Anyone else hate themselves for admiring Tom Brady now that hes on a new team?

Schiit is good, life is good, happy Super Bowl weekend...

Please share one of the following

Favorite Super Bowl Commercial

Favorite drink recipe (for any party)

Favorite food recipe (for any party)

Favorite live performance (available on you tube if possible)

 

[wout31]

Can we talk fried chicken, or pizza styles for once? Chinese or other Asian cuisine? The (constant) BBQ wars are as bad as the loudness wars, and worse than Abba.

I couldn't agree more. 10 thumbs up.

 

[Timster]

This has been bothering me for a while, but I have finally been able to put my finger on it:

Yiggdrasil sounds like a feminine hygiene product!

I think I'll leave this one off the sine wave

 

[bifcake]

I think I'll leave this one off the sine wave

We can both cosine the wave(r)

 

[StimpyWan]

Can we talk fried chicken, or pizza styles for once? Chinese or other Asian cuisine? The (constant) BBQ wars are as bad as the loudness wars, and worse than Abba.

I couldn't agree more. 10 thumbs up.

Sure. How about BBQ Chicken...!

But I do love veggie pizza. That's safe.

I can identify with having no time. 45hr work week, 10hr's of drive time, errands and choirs after work. It makes me happy that I have a Lyr 2/Modius short stack feeding HiFiMan HE-400i's, to listen to while I work, as my home system isn't used as much as I'd like!

I'd like to hear those Magnepan's, since they do get rave reviews. But I must admit that the first Maggie's I ever heard were a 3 Series with ribbons, driven by TOTL Audio Research tube gear, and I was bored! No dynamics. I fell asleep. I did the same during a demo of a Magnepan surround setup, in another room.

John Wick!!! Good popcorn action stuff. All 3 actually.

Oh, I don't drink, so I can't divert the conversation back to alcohol. It's either cats or BBQ, with an occasional side venture into Spam or Star Trek. Sorry, I'm not very deep.

Oh #2, I'm antisocial. Just my immediate family, which is my wife and son, and 3 cats. No parties, no nightlife. No recipes to share. Which makes me think maybe I feel asleep during the Magnepan auditions because I'm the boring one, and not the Magnepan's...?

 

[macdonjh]

Can we talk fried chicken, or pizza styles for once? Chinese or other Asian cuisine? The (constant) BBQ wars are as bad as the loudness wars, and worse than Abba.

I just watched John Wick for the first time... Used the Senn HD600s/Asgard 2/Bifrost 4490.

That might be the most enjoyable way to watch a movie that I've experienced in quite awhile. Full dynamic swings, zero fiddling with the volume knob.

Anyone else really appreciating the magic of Tom Brady right now?

Schiit is good, life is good, happy Super Bowl weekend...

Favorite Super Bowl Commercial

Be my guest, if you can find a cuisine with as much regional loyalty as barbeque...
John Wick, to me, is by far the best of the three. Once they were done with the "origin story" all they had left was fighting.
+1 to watching movies with head phones, especially late at night.
I have given up hating the Patriots and Tom Brady, I have to appreciate what they did. Perhaps this season ends the debate about who was responsible for the Patriots' success: Belichick or Brady. But maybe not. I hope Toom Brady hangs it up before he looks as bad as Brett Favre and Payton Manning did in their last seasons.
Weird as this is, I haven't watched a single down of football this year and I haven't really missed it. I may forgo the Super Bowl, I'm not a fan of either team. But I do realize tomorrow's game has the possibility of being a storied match-up of old-guard vs. young Turk.
Super Bowl commercials haven't been good in a long time. Terribly disappointing.

 

[ev666il]

We can both cosine the wave(r)

Priceless.