[dstrimbu]

what about damp cardboard ? - its a good point actually , I would be looking at some kind of rubber boot or similar

Ahhh, the smell of moldy cardboard... kinda like BCowen's stash, after a spring thunderstorm.

 

[Erratic Gravy]

reflection and absorption - easy to get too much or not enough, the real quieter of obnoxious sounds is getting the early and late reflections tamed. Diffusion and decetn sized rooms with solid floors, walls, apertures, and any sloping surfaces is the way - and wall to wall carpeting is the devils spawn - along with too much glass, and big giant equipment racks between the speakers, in particular taller than 18" - but - its a vast subject - to vast to get into at length here....

Yup - we mostly have to live with the least worst setup we can achieve in reality , sometimes that means that the usual best practices make things worse in a tricky room !!

 

[Erratic Gravy]

.... ergo? .... a properly treated head means you will listen to more of your headphones and less of your head.

well that goes without saying - I always pull the drapes in my head when using headphones !!

 

[Timster]

I’ve grown fond of birthday pies with each additional trip around the sun, but birthday desserts are perhaps best served like Schiit gear: one of each!

Enough dogs and cats ... time for chickens

 

[AstronomerXI]

A big Billy Cobham fan too. Also, Billy turned 80 on May 16th...!

I was introduced to his "Spectrum" album in the 80's by a friend who also introduced me to Frank Zappa and John McLaughlin/Mahavishnu Orchestra. My home village, now a major golf destination, was fairly culturally isolated back in the day, especially musically. He came from New York City with his mom and sister, and brought a lot of fresh music to sample.

 

[AstronomerXI]

Know any tubes that can drive Apogees? Yeah, see that’s the issue for me.

They are literally the ONLY reason I don’t have any current tube amp/gear… but a good tube pre could easily change that. Alas, I’m not likely to ever find any tube amp that could remotely drive them, at least not at less than TOTL Lexus LS price points…

I had a roommate for a year that had stacked quad ESL63s driven by all tube ARC gear. Orgasmic, indeed. Yeah, no real bass, but the musicality of the mids? <shudder>

In college, frat brother’s father in law had an amazing 15ips R2R feeding a Levinson ML2 and thence into small tube monoblocks (alas this was 1979? 78? And don’t remember brand) thence to OG Klipschorns - the biggies. OMG, that was what launched my high end journey.

I get tubes, I love tubes. But I love me my ribbon planar speakers even more. But you can bet I’m watching what @Jason Stoddard and his boffins might be up to in re: statement tube preamp extremely closely.

My Freya N Pre and Gumby will have to be pried from my cold, dead hands. Seriously, the Freya with certain tubes has been (to use an over-used cliché) game changing. I can't imagine a system without either the Freya or Gumby. I'm sorely tempted to move most of my headphone stack components down to the big, calibrated, speaker system to hear that audio goodness out loud.

 

[mystaiced]

My Freya N Pre and Gumby will have to be pried from my cold, dead hands. Seriously, the Freya with certain tubes has been (to use an over-used cliché) game changing. I can't imagine a system without either the Freya or Gumby. I'm sorely tempted to move most of my headphone stack components down to the big, calibrated, speaker system to hear that audio goodness out loud.

 

[US Blues]

My Freya N Pre and Gumby will have to be pried from my cold, dead hands. Seriously, the Freya with certain tubes has been (to use an over-used cliché) game changing. I can't imagine a system without either the Freya or Gumby. I'm sorely tempted to move most of my headphone stack components down to the big, calibrated, speaker system to hear that audio goodness out loud.

I wish I could see the look on your face when you sub out the Gumby for an Yggy.

 

[Paladin79]

I wish I could see the look on your face when you sub out the Gumby for an Yggy.

I have done that, and still use the Gumby far more. I still switch the Yggy and four other DACs into my system on occasion for long listening sessions.

 

[bagwell359]

I wish I could see the look on your face when you sub out the Gumby for an Yggy.

Depends on which versions. I found with the initial versions of both the Gumby to be more to my taste. Not true with several of the newer Yggy. Either way R2R (multibit) seems to me to be the true path (W.R.T. digital) to musical truth - as close as recordings can get that is.

 

[Paladin79]

Depends on which versions. I found with the initial versions of both the Gumby to be more to my taste. Not true with several of the newer Yggy. Either way R2R (multibit) seems to me to be the true path (W.R.T. digital) to musical truth - as close as recordings can get that is.

That is precisely how they finished in both of my DAC comparisons. Second time around a Yggy finished in the top five. Naturally large groups listened and we did not know which DACs we were scoring. I am not in a position to check the data right now but from what I recall Yggy did well against some higher priced DACs so it is a very good buy. There was a ChiFi DAC that was about $2000 in the top five but had it been built here it might be $3,000 and there was a long wait to get one. Also you have to factor in warranty.

 

[bagwell359]

My Freya N Pre and Gumby will have to be pried from my cold, dead hands. Seriously, the Freya with certain tubes has been (to use an over-used cliché) game changing. I can't imagine a system without either the Freya or Gumby. I'm sorely tempted to move most of my headphone stack components down to the big, calibrated, speaker system to hear that audio goodness out loud.

Curious if you ever heard the Kara vs your Freya? I know the OG Freya - which is certainly very good, and I heard the Kara at a meet - but not long enough to form a useful opinion. Thanks.

 

[Bowmoreman]

A pair of Audio Research Ref 750's will drive yer Apogees...easily

Yeah, see “not priced like a new Lexus LS”…

Had I those funds, i might check them “in home”… but, nope…

 

[Bowmoreman]

I would have to dispatch the guys in white lab coats to @Bowmoreman 's house if he ever tried to desecrate those Apogees with sorbothane. But the fact that he owns Apogees indicates he's much too smart for that.

Only good use I ever found for sorbothane was as a footer under a particularly noisy aquarium filter/pump…. Aka, good for Fisch-Schiit.

 

[AstronomerXI]

I wish I could see the look on your face when you sub out the Gumby for an Yggy.

What is this "sub out" of which you speak? In my world, one acquires and accumulates (gear for audio, astronomy, photography; books, animal beds, garden plants) until the walls explode or a larger accommodation is found.

Seriously, the Gumby utterly smokes destroys every D/S DAC I've tried and is the best I've heard by far. I recall reading way back that Jason preferred the Gumby to Yggy for headphones (at the time), and mine is in my headphone stack. While I'm in no rush to get one after the vehicle purchase and with planned renos, I'm eyeing a YGGY sometime for the big basement system.