[valiant66]

We bought a new car in December. It did not come with a manual other than a brief "selected topics" booklet. One can look at an e-manual online or in the car itself. However, there is literally no way to read it cover-to-cover if one is so inclined. Pick a topic, it gives you a link. Want to see the next topic? Back to the index because there is no way to go directly to the next page. Absolutely frustrating.

I got a new-to-me Chevy C-30 1 ton dually camper last Fall. It still has the owners manual. I spent some pleasant time reading through it. And no problems with the index...
.

 

[Tbone289]

Yes and whoever thinks that electronic storage is permanent is fooling himself. Computer systems and file formats come and go. A lot of data stored digitally by individuals has been lost and inaccessible for many people over decades.

Similar to data stored on paper...

PDF format has been around for 30 years. It's not likely going anywhere soon, and will likely be accessible after I'm gone. At least I have multiple backups of my data in more than one location. I don't make photocopies of all the paper manuals I have and store them in multiple locations, but maybe others are more diligent about that than I.

 

[valiant66]

I respect your opinion, but I feel just the opposite. All my pdf manuals eventually go onto my NAS and are indexed in my DevonThink app/server on my MAC with associated phone/iPad app. Paper, for me, is a waste and the convenience of a pdf outweighs a physical copy by an order of magnitude. YMMV.
.

DevonThink is still a thing?
.

 

[Ripper2860]

Competing to a sale with original shipping box and original printed manual you will lose...

I was kidding!!! I have the manuals and original boxes. Given the small number of GHorns I've seen on the 2nd hand market, I suspect that I'd be fine either way. I've sold a lot of gear in the last 60 days and none had manuals. No concern was expressed by any buyer, so I think it's less of a factor than some are making it out to be. Either way, I should be fine.

 

[wout31]

@Jason Stoddard Would the Aegir 2 be suitable for driving a pair of original Quad ESL-57s? They have a difficult impedance curve and require a 33 volt peak limit.

The Quad original ESL dips to 2 ohm or less in the high frequencies. It is almost a short circuit to the amp. That goes for most electrostatic loudspeakers.
The lowest EPDR is 1.5 ohm also in the high.
Difficult load? Not really, it is quite predictable because of the step-up transformer. There are many modern 4 ohm speakers that are a much more difficult, bumpy, complex load
In stereo mode (1 amp| it worked fine on the Aegir 1, so you're likely to be OK with the 2 model.
In mono it is no dice.

The efficiency of the original ESL is quite high (in comparison to the 63 and later models), some 90-92 dB, although the folder reads only 86 dB.
Make sure you use clamp boards to protect the mid/high panels against over driving. The bass panels are not too sensitive to some extra power.
But remember it is a 15W speaker, so you should listen at moderate levels, near field, in the sweets spot and don't move your head.

Quad ESL impedance curve
Green = impedance, Red = EPDR, Dotted = phase. The low frequency bump is volume dependent.

 

[jonathan c]

Thank you for clarifying this, as many of us were left wondering what your feelings were.

Shouldn't you be sitting on your front porch waiting for the FedEx guy?

... .... "I'm sittin' on the porch all day, hopin' FedEx will come my way ..." [ by: Ripper Redding]

 

[valiant66]

Also, video manuals would be very cool. Not instead of actual, printable material.

Please, [insert deity of preference here] no!

A video manual no no no. Imagine trying to skip back and forth in YouTube on an old chrome book trying to find the exact only frame where they explain the icons or the specs or the test charts.

Just.... No.
.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

@Jason Stoddard -- Is Aegir 2 still biased at 10w Class A?

More like 5W now.

 

[mjstealey]

I was kidding!!! I have the manuals and original boxes. Given the small number of GHorns I've seen on the 2nd hand market, I suspect that I'd be fine either way. I've sold a lot of gear in the last 60 days and none had manuals. No concern was expressed by any buyer, so I think it's less of a factor than some are making it out to be. Either way, I should be fine.

Some of the manuals are worth hanging onto merely for the snark factor!
e.g. From the "anti-social media" days

 

[Roy G. Biv]

Yes and whoever thinks that electronic storage is permanent is fooling himself. Computer systems and file formats come and go. A lot of data stored digitally by individuals has been lost and inaccessible for many people over decades.

Indeed. I got a scare last month when my NAS "died". Fortunately it was just the power supply so I didn't lose anything. Regardless, I still keep an 8TB drive in a safe deposit box at the bank that I bring home 3-4 times per year to backup the NAS.

 

[jonathan c]

I got a new-to-me Chevy C-30 1 ton dually camper last Fall. It still has the owners manual. I spent some pleasant time reading through it. And no problems with the index...
.

... are there blank pages with the heading "Notes"?

 

[valiant66]

Manuals:
pdf versions to fit both 8.5x11 and A4 paper sizes (wide horiz & vert margins)
+1 about the printed copies in each box (these get saved with original packaging & carton). Especially when purchasing a pre-owned product from HF classifieds, etc., the online manuals may be for wrong product generation, (e.g. Jot 2 has only "Jotunheim" silkscreen on the front panel, user finds Jot 1 manual online).

This I think is a serious problem that Schiit would have to solve. With so many different products sharing the same name (is it a DSD thing or an EQ thing or a + or a ++ ??) someone getting the item down the line runs a real danger of finding the wrong manual.
.

 

[Brubacca]

Indeed. I got a scare last month when my NAS "died". Fortunately it was just the power supply so I didn't lose anything. Regardless, I still keep an 8TB drive in a safe deposit box at the bank that I bring home 3-4 times per year to backup the NAS.

Just lost one drive in my main NAS from my Raid 5 Array. Also have a full backup NAS. Need to do a backup in a Fire proof safe or something.

 

[adias]

deleted

 

[AstronomerXI]

DevonThink is still a thing?
.

Niche, for sure. Law firms that are all Mac, researchers/authors, or educational institutions would be markets for it. It does have quite the devoted fan-base. It keeps getting updates and a 3rd-party book or two, so it's a viable business. It's an impressive program.