[artur9]

Once, we replaced old equipment with new and it came with 5 isolation transformers that we already had. They weigh about 50 lbs each and would have looked right at home on the Battleship New Jersey. The installer was unwilling to swap the old ones out, so I took them home and, of course, used them on the stereos. My wife put up with them for about 2 months before she made me get rid of them. I still regret that I did.

Nice.

On a separate note, one of my kids visited the battleship parked in Philadelphia. The size of that thing, judging from the pix she took...

 

[artur9]

... when my jaw hit the floor. Because -108dB THD+N is better than the Magni 3+!

I read this whole thing and my take away is quite simple, given recent discussions here.

People have asked for someone to take an electronic audio device and measure it after burn in.

Here we go, a Magni with like 10y of burn in. Case closed :-D

 

[Alcophone]

Hmm, not that much, really. [...] Sorry to disappoint.

That's okay! There's always Electroboom if I want to see some sparks flying.

But, if you want to get into building, here's how you can avoid a lot of pain:
[...]

Thank you for that, truly! Nice shopping list.

Yes Sonos Connect only does 16/48. At lossless CD quality Amazon Music does sound different from Apple Music does sound different from Qobuz (with the latter two both sounding very good).

Interesting, okay.

I am not technically knowledgeable (to put it mildly) but from what I've read streaming services sound different because of how they're streamed, i.e., the "containers" (?) the audio files are transferred in. Assuming of course that the files are even bit perfect to begin with.

Qobuz and Amazon should both use FLAC, Apple probably ALAC, but either way that gets decoded to PCM and buffered (I'd expect). If you cut the internet connection and it keeps playing for several seconds that aspect should be removed from the equation. Well, unless they buffer the compressed version and decode it at the last moment. Probably doesn't really work that way, though, the nature of compression is such that you can't just get the next sample, say.
But it's surprisingly tricky to make sure the bits are ready when the driver asks for them, so that may still play a role.

If you feel like sending me yours I can record the digital output when playing the same track via each service (provided you're still a subscriber, I only have Spotify at the moment) and see whether it's at least the same on that level. Just a thought.

Spotify has a tremendous catalog (as do Amazon and Apple) and probably the best interface but I became fed up with the delays in delivering lossless files; which it appears they may not even implement now as their business model has shifted so much to podcasts.

Yeah, same here. I looked into Apple Music after receiving yet another Spotify update that didn't contain the word "lossless" or "Hi-Fi". Too bad the competition also sucks in its own way, at least enough to not win me over completely.

 

[OldRoadToad]

Wasn't it the same technology that eventually lead to MP3...?

It may well have been but I just recall that they used some sort of algorithm or Voo Doo to drop the sounds that in the real world would have been masked by louder ones. The tapes I bought and the tapes I made all sounded fine to me but then since I do not strain to hear that which must surely require aural effort above the norm, both DCC and MiniDisc were likely tailor made for such as I.

Even via headphones I could not tell a difference in the source CD and the DCC tape I made from it and I did give some of them a comparison listen and finally realized that either I am the two legged equivalent of the rare sighted mole rat (not to be confused with the more enlightened/egalitarian Star-Nosed Mole!) or just someone that simply cannot hear poop for a difference not even with quality gear by Schiit. I like tubes because they GLOW. I like Schiit because I know their stuff is quality made and assembled here in my Homeland, a lot of it looks cool and I have full confidence in their equipment because they have not only a sense of pride in their work but also a sense of humor. Huzzah!

ORT

 

[Plautus001]

Hmm, not that much, really. But I am very, very, very paranoid until all the protection systems are in place--variacing things up, watching on a Flir, checking output volts/waveforms before anything's connected, etc. There's a prototype in CC right now that has a big sign on it: Don't plug in prized headphones! May blow them up! Not kidding! And that just doesn't have the protection systems running, it's perfectly listenable if you're careful. The big speaker power amps are the scariest, but even those have been pretty mild. Sorry to disappoint.

But, if you want to get into building, here's how you can avoid a lot of pain:

1. Treat any new device as if it's a bomb and might blow up until proven wrong.
2. Get a variac (a device to vary the AC line from 0 to full voltage) and use it religiously. On everything. Even wall-wart powered products.
3. Get a Flir (infrared thermal camera) and watch the board as you variac it up slowly. If something lights up like the sun, confirm it's within the range of typical operating temperatures...unless you're running tubes, or big power resistors, anything over about 60 degrees C should be looked at. It's either a fault, or you need to bring the operating point down a bit.
4. When it's up and running and not running too hot/smoking/etc, run it through the modes, especially low gain (typically higher feedback) to see if anything goes bonkers. "Goes bonkers" means smoking parts, bright LEDs, bright like sun on Flir.
5. Check output for lots of DC. Fix if lots of DC.
6. Check basic I/O (does it output a sine wave if you input a sine wave, is the square wave relatively free from overshoot, etc. You can do this on an inexpensive scope, some even have signal generators built in.
7. If it passes all those tests, make sure volume works (and turns DOWN), turn it down, and then maybe have a listen.

Remember all of the above are very crude tests, just to get you to something that's kinda-sorta working without smoke. There's still tons of work to do to get to something you want to use everyday.


It's info@schiit.com -- if you don't receive an immediate response saying you're in the queue, check spam. If we missed your email in the holiday craziness, ping us again. We'll get you taken care of.

So classic... your writing style is great.

Am I the only one that hears your voice while reading ?

 

[OldRoadToad]

@Jason Stoddard thank you for the long read #104,304
I'm messing around with my own DIY CFA headamp, and you experience should help me in compensation wars that are ahead of me

At first glance I thought you had said "...my own DIY CFA headCLamp" and I thought, "Ahhh...Something new has been added!".

Regardless, thank you for the laugh! Headclamp? Cool!

ORT

 

[Plautus001]

Go ahead and share it then.

Why is it ALWAYS the new Head-Fi'ers?

 

[OldRoadToad]

I'm in Georgia right now.

I understand Sam went into hiding when the alert went out....

Has the lert returned yet from where ever it went out to?

ORT

 

[OldRoadToad]

5x ~ 14dB
6x ~ 15.6dB
0.35x = -9.12dB
1x = 0dB

IMO, a dB or so gain-wise amounts to tiny, tiny, tiny nudge of the volume knob

Sooooo...Would you estimate it now goes to say, 10.3?

ORT

 

[rkw]

You’d think after “A Decade of Progress” they would have a phone number.

The website did use to list a phone number, but they removed it about 6 years ago.
Check the history of the contact webpage (https://www.schiit.com/contact/) on the Wayback Machine.

Each business must decide what makes sense for them. Schiit's business has become large enough that handling customer phone calls would require hiring several employees only for that purpose, or contracting it out to a call center.

 

[Godaisan]

Why is it ALWAYS the new Head-Fi'ers?

Sorry to interrupt your Schiit love fest. Carry on

 

[Plautus001]

Thank-you for your feedback.

 

[433521]

Sorry to interrupt your Schiit love fest. Carry on

They're working on it.

They just figured out you can raise prices!

 

[433521]

One benefit of these proposed small, low power, low gain, Class AB/Continuity speaker amps: totally dead quiet. NO HISS.

Hissing desktop speakers drive me insane.

Desktop speaker/headphone amplifer?

I've been looking at the Burson FUNK.

 

[darkarn]

May want to contact Schiit on that for specific product. The Vidar can be re-voltaged:

That is what I did for the Eitr (still the best Schiit I ever seen in the audiophile world) and Lokius, requested for 230V wall warts and all is good

Am surprised to hear that the Vidar can be revoltaged