[macdonjh]

I wish more people understood that and I wish more people understood more watts does not equal better sound, only louder.

Hush your mouth. THEY are listening...

So, the undeniable fact of the matter is:
If you design headphone and power amps and you can't make the first one or two watts count for something? Then what the hell are you even doing.

Sam Tellig (Stereophile, '90s) used to write something very similar in his column when he championed "flea-powered amplifiers".

All that said, from my experience, I agree in general with Bob Carver. Lots of power is required for lively dynamics and especially transients. The kind of signals which would confound VU meters and make you think your amplifiers never have more than a couple of watts of output.

Unless you're tall and fat like I am. I would totally rock a Miata, but it's just way too cramped.

Given your self-description, I think you might be putting too many pennies on the MX-5's head shell.

Case for a Syn here got a little better: I did some searching and got reminded JRiver can down-mix (as well as up-mix) before sending the audio signal out. So my home theater chain might look something like: computer (down-mixing to 2.0 if necessary) -> Eitr -> Syn -> amps. I guess for convenience I'd leave my HDMI output connected to my pre-pro to send video to the TV. I've also got a Gungnir I don't use every day, so I could add that to the chain to see if it helps or hurts or doesn't add anything to playback. Initial assumption is it would be more noticeable to me during music playback. Maybe not at all during TV show playback.

Maker's Mark has an even stronger flavor than Balcones. I like the Balcones I had better (not the blue corn). I think it's Maker's Mark which has several batches with different profiles: sweet, spicy, etc. I'd be interested in trying a couple of those. I also have samples of Woodford Reserve and Bulleit on deck.

 

[adias]

I enjoy that album as well. Might be worth your time to find her album "Nightbird" which is from the same concert but includes 20 additional tracks.

Available at Amazon Music Unlimited (CD quality):

 

[jhixx]

Bluesound Node owners - I am having problems with the Node not responding after a period of non-use. As short as a few hours. I have to unplug it to restart it and then it shows up and works fine until the next time it stops responding. Super frustrating!

I have been back and forth with Bluesound support about this for weeks. Now, the latest from them is "I can see multiple errors within your Diagnostic Log in regard to your USB DAC. Can you please advise the Make and Model of the USB DAC you are looking to connect to the NODE?"

A) Is anyone else having this issue after upgrading the firmware?
B) Is this a thing that can happen - the errors in my Gungnir - that would affect the operation of the Node? And is this something that Schiit can/should fix?

Thanks for any input.

Same issue, Node 130 usb into Denafrips Iris ddc I2S out to Musician Pegasus. Reboot (pulling the plug) seems to be the only solution.

 

[Bonehead7171]

Same issue, Node 130 usb into Denafrips Iris ddc I2S out to Musician Pegasus. Reboot (pulling the plug) seems to be the only solution.

Gah! So annoying!!!

Did it start only after the firmware update?

 

[Roy G. Biv]

Available at Amazon Music Unlimited (CD quality):

Nice. It's on Qobuz & Spotify as well.

 

[bcowen]

Well, there's a reason why that little "kitchen table"-side-gig-slash-passion-project thing that Nelson Pass has going is called First Watt.
Same reason why I'd take an MX-5 over any super and hyper car in a heartbeat: If the first horse power isn't designed to put a smile on your face, then who cares about the other 599.*

Doesn't mean that there aren't any high(er)-powered cars that are capable of putting a smile on your face on the regular and for longer than just the first two weeks of ownership. Some Caymans and Boxters, the 2nd and 5th gen Vipers, the AMG GT, and the C8 Corvettes, among very few others, have certainly earned their place in this world. But if your 800hp, quarter million Dollar super car can't make you smile while you're on a mere grocery run, then what's the point?**

Which is precisely why I own (and remain decidedly crazy about) my outrageously-overpowered-for-what-I-use-them-for Tyrs: a year in, and their first watt still puts a big smile on my face.

So, the undeniable fact of the matter is:
If you design headphone and power amps and you can't make the first one or two watts count for something? Then what the hell are you even doing.

* And anyone who insists that the Miata is a secretary's car either has never actually gone canyon carving in one or has to admit that those secretaries seem to have a better understanding of what makes a good drivers' car than they have themselves. Or they buy their cars for reasons other than to actually enjoy them from behind the wheel. To each their own, of course, we all have to take care of our insecurities in one way or another.
** My personal benchmark for car purchases. And again: You should feel free to have your own.

Except that those with quarter million dollar supercars don't do grocery runs. They have people.

I drove a Miata before deciding on the RX-8. The special sound of 9K RPM got me.

 

[Ripper2860]

I drove a Miata before deciding on the RX-8. The special sound of 9K RPM along with the sudden lurch and throwing of a piston right through the Miata's hood got me thinking that maybe I wasn't meant to drive anything nice.

FTFY.

 

[JamminVMI]

Having driven both a Miata and a Z4 I can say that my preference if I was buying another an open-top roadster would be an Audi S5.

The TT is the closest thing to a roadster that Audi has, the S5 is more a Grand Coupé. As much as @ArmchairPhilosopher loves his Mazda 3, I love my S5. Great car!

 

[streaml1ne]

Except that those with quarter million dollar supercars don't do grocery runs. They have people.

I drove a Miata before deciding on the RX-8. The special sound of 9K RPM got me.

Piston engine goes boing boing boing boing, but the Mazda goes Mmmmmmm.

 

[jhixx]

Gah! So annoying!!!

Did it start only after the firmware update?

It happened occasionally but after the update it is daily.

 

[Plautus001]

BMW
More
Well-regarded

Brave
Mechanic
Wanted

 

[Sinister Whisperz]

Brave
Mechanic
Wanted

Blinkers
Musn't
Work

 

[Ripper2860]

Brings
More
Women

 

[JanMc]

I'll take my Subaru WRX Wagon over both the Miata and the Z4. It handles better (is stiffer) and has more power and isn't a fat pig like all BMWs have become. When I see a BMW these days I think 'ahh, the ultimate sitting and riding in machine...'. They have long lost any right to call themselves a driving machine.

Worst handling car I ever owned was a 1953 MGTD. But then it didn't go fast enough to get in any real trouble.
Most fun was probably my 1969 Datsun 510 that had just about anything you could do to it to improve the handling. Amazing how much fun you can have with 90 horses.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

My daily driver is a Wrangler and I realized I wasn't aware of any Jeep acronyms. Turns out I had just never looked.

Just Empty Every Pocket
Just Expect Every Problem
Just Enough Essential Parts
Just Eats Every Part
Just Every Expense Possible
Just Eats Every penny
Just Everyone Elses Parts
Junk Engineered, Executed Poorly
Just Expect Excessive Problems
Junk, Each & Every Piece
Just Empty Each Pocket
Just Enough Education To Perform
Just Entering Electronic Principals

This, from the same site, gave me a chuckle

GMC - Gay Man's Chevy

The site - https://www.allacronyms.com