Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up

[RickB]

My wife’s pottery shed was untouched but our house, two cars, were damaged and a storage shed got demolished. Four people worked on my trees today but an excavator is needed later on to remove large sections.

One friend offered to bring a chainsaw and then haul off all the limbs. He had no concept of how bad it was.

Tom, I'm so sorry that this happened to you, but I'm glad that you, your wife and cats are OK.

 

[docBliny]

Burn racks on Tuesday night.

This explains the Texas heatwave...

 

[earnmyturns]

Wow, that is a LOT of generation capacity! How big a propane tank ya got feeding those brutes? I’ve an (only) 10K (peak, nominal constant more like 8K). Fed by 120 gal propane.

Sonoma shore house, which has not-so-infrequent power outages from Pacific winter storms and PG&E fire prevention cutoffs summer and fall: 500 gal underground propane tank, 14KW Generac. Fiber internet stays up almost always even with power out. No AC, Pacific marine layer and breezes keep it cool. In-floor propane-powered heating.

 

[Syan25]

This morning. This happened.

 

[fidgeraldo]

I'm drinking this lovely ale.

With diabetes issues?

Cheers!

 

[Les Strat]

Latest Schiit….

A couple of weeks ago I ordered a Kara.

I had been running my ‘second system’ without a preamp- using the digital volume control from Logitech Transporter to a Gungir MB and active ELAC speakers.

It sounded really good, but Martin’s excellent post about digital vs analogue volume controls helped make up my mind to add a very nice balanced preamp.

Initially I didn’t think I noticed much improvement with the Kara in the signal chain.

I was using it on 1x gain setting.

At the excellent suggestion of @Roy G. Biv (who also uses Kara and the same active ELAC speakers) I tried the 4x gain setting.

Eureka!

It now sounds fantastic.

I previously owned a Freya S and preferred its 1x setting to 4x (as did @Roy G. Biv ) but for whatever reason, there is real synergy between the Kara and ELAC when used at 4x gain.

There is a bit more clarity at the top end, and generally more ‘body’ to the music.

Poor descriptions, I know.

Anyway, the upshot is that I am delighted with the Kara.

I didn’t go for the Forkbeard option as the remote suits me fine.

I always thought that the Freya S was an audiophile bargain; the Kara is an absolute steal!

Hats off to Jason for yet another superb design.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

I'm glad you're enjoying the setup!

 

[AstronomerXI]

Oh dear. Someone on the Schiit Heads FB page can't wait to "...discover the effects on their system" of a shiny new power cable from Amazon. They weren't appreciative of the obvious statement that the effect of it will be that their components will receive a flow of electrons, thereby allowing them to power up and the music to be played.

 

[sam6550a]

Tom, I'm so sorry that this happened to you, but I'm glad that you, your wife and cats are OK.

I hope that the demolished shed was not where you kept your tube hoard!
Oh, I just remembered that you had a warehouse for the tubes.

 

[Northeast]

I got some B&W PX7 S2*. Its headphone cable is USB-C on one end and 3.5mm on the other. The USB goes into the headphone and the 3.5mm is going into my Fulla.

There's gotta be an ADC/DAC conversion on there, right?

* Great for wandering away from boring meetings and making popcorn in the kitchen...

They dont say it clearly but no matter how you connect it you’re using the onboard dac. Fortunately it’s a very good sounding dac. I have a pair and enjoy them, plugged directly into a usb c on a phone or computer for audio, or via bt with aptx. Great option when portability is wanted.

 

[adydula]

A fantastic CD wit many awesome cuts!

In particular the track "Regular Pleasures"...
What a great recording.
Deep accurate bass drums.
Vocals.
Mix is expansive...
Hi-hats...
Lucious!!

 

[45longcolt]

This morning. This happened.

Two great musical stars of the '60s improve their minds (!?) with a little light (very) reading...

Wait, did he say musical stars??
Yup.
Look either up on Discogs and prepare to be surprised, maybe even appalled. Shatner's contributions may be more famous (or should that be infamous?) but Nimoy was no slouch when it came to releasing vinyl. Then again, it's never been a long journey from the movie/tv set to the recording studio and vice versa. Consider all the video stars that have made albums. Then all the music artists who have done everything from cameos on tv dramas to impressive movie careers. Remember Miami Vice from the '80s? Seemed like every rock star wanted to be on, from Phil Collins (of course) to Ted Nugent to Frank Zappa.
Sorry, Sunday morning nostalgia overload got to me...

 

[docBliny]

If you're into Nils Frahm, Qobuz has Paris and Day on discount to promote his latest release Night (discounts also on some other artists on the LEITER label).

 

[Syan25]

Shatner's Tambourine Man and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Classic.

 

[WeepingGuitar]

I was using it on 1x gain setting.

At the excellent suggestion of @Roy G. Biv (who also uses Kara and the same active ELAC speakers) I tried the 4x gain setting.

Eureka!

It now sounds fantastic.

I previously owned a Freya S and preferred its 1x setting to 4x (as did @Roy G. Biv ) but for whatever reason, there is real synergy between the Kara and ELAC when used at 4x gain.

There is a bit more clarity at the top end, and generally more ‘body’ to the music.

Congrats. Sounds like you've found a nice combination.

Further thoughts, I've always wondered what, if anything, the pre-amp is doing in the different gain settings to have an effect on the end sound. Is something inside reshaping the signal in some way? I've always thought that it was just a straight boost in volume and nothing else. I have no technical background and probably won't understand the reason anyway if it's too technical, just curious. Cheers.