[theeclone]

wheels ‘n heels…

Much less wholesome

 

[roadcykler]

And... let's not forget the AMC Pacer and Gremlin or the Chrysler PT Cruiser!

I drove a 1973 Gremlin X for a year or so that had a 304 cubic inch V-8 putting out a whopping 153 horsepower. The car I drive now with a 4 banger has 20 more than that.

 

[Festive56]

 

[Hofy]

Or the ugliest car ever...



The AMC Matador. I'll take a Gremlin or Pacer over this bloated behemoth, anyday.

I'll see your Matador and raise you a Citroen, it may have been way ahead of its time with features but ugly as hell!

 

[Cliffh93]

Good quality, made in America, customizable to your preferences (choice of wire, termination), transparent pricing, no bullshiit marketer speak, straightforward product.

There are other similar cable makers (@Paladin79 used to work for one). It's just that i flat out don't trust cable companies that promise you audio nirvana at elevated prices with no evidence. I'd rather get something made to my needs at a fair price.

Note that I use Monster Cable interconnects - they were one of the first to offer marketeering nirvana, but their bulk cable was well made and functional, and my local dealer had everything needed to build the lengths I need for my listening room and office needs. Almost all my gear has changed since then, but I've never felt the need to swap out my cables.

These are pretty much what I had built -- and yes, they are directional, although I've never been able to hear the difference.

So I guess I'm saying I don't suffer from audio nervosa when it comes to cables. I'm satisfied that most carefully built cables are better enough from the ones they used to include in the box that I don't need to obsess over them.

I'm sure the ones you picked will work well, and better than the el cheapo ones you buy at the gas station. Enjoy!

( I do think that there's enough synergy to keep your cables to one make, however, rather than mixing and matching. YMMV. And as always, listen for yourself and make your own choices.)

Sorry about your wallet. ☺☺
.

I still have several sets of Monster interconnects, all purchased 20+ years ago. Too cheap to throw them out.
I will look for Blue Jeans the next time I need some.

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Initial impressions of Syn with headphones. I’m using the DCA Stealth since I’ve been listening to it the most the past couple weeks.

The Syn headphone out not as powerful as I’d thought. I had the dial at the 3:30-4:00 range compared to the FV with impedance matching and high gain at 12:00. Don’t get me wrong, the Syn has plenty of power. I ended up using Syn driving FV for most of my impressions though. I’ve been using FV extensively over the past couple weeks.

The width and presence controls are a blast. I can widen the soundstage and still keep the center stage focused. It’s pretty cool. Take DMB “Crash”. I can dial in Dave’s voice as close or far as I want with presence. Think going from 40th row to right in his face. There is a limit to the stage width. At some point you go from cavernous to weird. I can’t explain it. There’s obviously a sweet spot.

For classical music, it’s crazy cool. You go from an intimate recording studio to a massive concert hall. From behind conductor to dress circle.

I can see the appeal for music for this thing. So far I’m impressed. Nice job Jason! You convinced me to buy something I didn’t know I needed and now can’t listen to music without.

It’s going to be a long time before this hits my HT. It’s just going to be too complicated. I’ll be curious to hear other’s impressions regarding that.

 

[cycler2]

I use JRiver now. I think they've been working on integrating streaming services. Most of the development recently, though, is integrating Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. Perhaps Spotify/ Quobiz/ etc are better integrated now. My Library doesn't need much maintenance as long as I keep up with cover art and tagging as I add media files. It's not hard to use different software for different tasks. If you prefer Plex for video, just don't include video files in your JRiver Library, or ignore them if they're there. I stopped using JRiver for ripping and now use dBPowerAmp and MakeMKV. No troubles there as long as I direct the ripped files to the correct folder. There are tons of features I haven't even tried to use: multi-zone playback, DSP, TheaterView (their customizable home screen, sort of), etc. I also like JRiver's pricing model. You pay your fee and then never have to pay again, unless you want an upgrade to the latest version. When you do upgrade you pay the same price as everyone else, so "penalty" for not staying current. I skipped v29 and so far v30: no meaningful upgrades for me.

I think Audirvana's graphics/ UI are much better, but then if that mattered a lot to me, I should learn about TheaterView, then I could make JRiver look any way I want to.

Just my experience, I'm not campaigning for one server program over any other.

One small correction: Whenever JRiver introduces a new version they offer upgrade discounts to those who have licensed versions of prior programs. So there's no penalty to falling behind the latest version. I use V. 29 and did not upgrade to V.30, because there was little if anything of interest to me. JRiver seems to pay more attention to video enthusiasts than us audio guys. I hope Jriver fully integrates popular streaming services such as Prime HD.

I would be interested to hear about why you switched from JRiver to dBPower amp rip tunes. Features? Improved sound quality?

 

[golfbravobravo]

Boots as in cars. But yes, kinky boots. For those of ermm, a certain age, Ms Honor Blackman..................

 

[golfbravobravo]

I'll see your Matador and raise you a Citroen, it may have been way ahead of its time with features but ugly as hell!

Noooooooooooooooo

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Gratuitous tube and Syn Porn

 

[Roy G. Biv]

Gratuitous tube and Syn Porn

Nice! Betcha not many are running in that configuration.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

Good quality, made in America, customizable to your preferences (choice of wire, termination), transparent pricing, no bullshiit marketer speak, straightforward product.

There are other similar cable makers (@Paladin79 used to work for one). It's just that i flat out don't trust cable companies that promise you audio nirvana at elevated prices with no evidence. I'd rather get something made to my needs at a fair price.

Note that I use Monster Cable interconnects - they were one of the first to offer marketeering nirvana, but their bulk cable was well made and functional, and my local dealer had everything needed to build the lengths I need for my listening room and office needs. Almost all my gear has changed since then, but I've never felt the need to swap out my cables.

These are pretty much what I had built -- and yes, they are directional, although I've never been able to hear the difference.


So I guess I'm saying I don't suffer from audio nervosa when it comes to cables. I'm satisfied that most carefully built cables are better enough from the ones they used to include in the box that I don't need to obsess over them.

I'm sure the ones you picked will work well, and better than the el cheapo ones you buy at the gas station. Enjoy!

( I do think that there's enough synergy to keep your cables to one make, however, rather than mixing and matching. YMMV. And as always, listen for yourself and make your own choices.)

Sorry about your wallet. ☺☺
.

Nice post!
Anytime I see BJC and Monster mentioned in the same post I always go to these articles -
https://www.bluejeanscable.com/legal/mcp/

 

[Mr Rick]

Initial impressions of Syn with headphones. I’m using the DCA Stealth since I’ve been listening to it the most the past couple weeks.

The Syn headphone out not as powerful as I’d thought. I had the dial at the 3:30-4:00 range compared to the FV with impedance matching and high gain at 12:00. Don’t get me wrong, the Syn has plenty of power. I ended up using Syn driving FV for most of my impressions though. I’ve been using FV extensively over the past couple weeks.

The width and presence controls are a blast. I can widen the soundstage and still keep the center stage focused. It’s pretty cool. Take DMB “Crash”. I can dial in Dave’s voice as close or far as I want with presence. Think going from 40th row to right in his face. There is a limit to the stage width. At some point you go from cavernous to weird. I can’t explain it. There’s obviously a sweet spot.

For classical music, it’s crazy cool. You go from an intimate recording studio to a massive concert hall. From behind conductor to dress circle.

I can see the appeal for music for this thing. So far I’m impressed. Nice job Jason! You convinced me to buy something I didn’t know I needed and now can’t listen to music without.

It’s going to be a long time before this hits my HT. It’s just going to be too complicated. I’ll be curious to hear other’s impressions regarding that.

Daniel has put onto words what I hear using my Philips Fidelity X2s. The effect that it has, goes from mild to downright weird. I own another headphone amp with cross feed and the Syn is similar, but provides a much greater spectrum of effects.

As to its use in a stereo setup, I'll give a description that is sure to help no one.

It sounds like nothing I've ever heard. That's because I literally have never heard the effects of a multi channel system of any sort. It's definitely not for the "as the artist intended" audiophile. But, for the music lover, of which I am one, it's a very pleasurable experience. Now that I've heard the effect, two channel stereo sounds positively flat by comparison. I'm a convert.

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Daniel has put onto words what I hear using my Philips Fidelity X2s. The effect that it has, goes from mild to downright weird. I own another headphone amp with cross feed and the Syn is similar, but provides a much greater spectrum of effects.

As to its use in a stereo setup, I'll give a description that is sure to help no one.

It sounds like nothing I've ever heard. That's because I literally have never heard the effects of a multi channel system of any sort. It's definitely not for the "as the artist intended" audiophile. But, for the music lover, of which I am one, it's a very pleasurable experience. Now that I've heard the effect, two channel stereo sounds positively flat by comparison. I'm a convert.

After further listening, If you go too “wide” it’s like you walked through the band and were listening with your back turned. Trippy.

 

[OldRoadToad]

Or the ugliest car ever...



The AMC Matador. I'll take a Gremlin or Pacer over this bloated behemoth, anyday.

So that's a Matador!

ORT