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About pooger

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  1. Doh! Thanks so much. (I could swear that I had tried this, but obviously not...)
  2. correct typoHave been really enjoying 3.5x and most of the new remote version. Thanks Damien! I'd love to be able to have the remote (on iPad) display a grid of album covers, like the earlier remote app did. Right now I get a scrolling list of albums, with the album cover on the left, line by line. I didn't see a way to modify this display (in album mode)—is there one? Unless I'm using the far right alphabet index to hone in on a location (or the search functions, which are improved in this latest remote), I tend to scroll through the gridwork of album covers to pick what I want—usually because I don't know until I see it. With thousands of albums, this is too tedious. (In all fairness, probably most of the time, I do know what I want to listen too, and the new remote is fine for that—it's more when I'm truly browsing.)
  3. Neither of you replies really answer the questions. In terms of the volume control, is it attenuating the output, or using the internal ESS volume adjustment? In terms of balanced out, I'm assuming that one can hook up an XLR but it will be single ended—if it is balanced, please correct me.
  4. I have the ID22 (b+h has a great price on this, but it is more than your budget) and have been very impressed with both the ADC and the preamps in it. I'm thinking that the ID14 would be worth the extra $ over the focusrite, etc. that are about $100 less. The ID22 does benefit from a better power supply.
  5. As I started my answer with, I'm not an expert. However, I think the 1v/pa is the reference standard, and the out put is between -46 and -42db of that 1v. So, more like 5mv, or 1/200 of a volt. Am I completely misreading the data?
  6. I'm by no means an expert. I don't think you need to worry though, unless that mic has a really high output level. A typical line stage +4db input is equivalent to only 1.2 volts or so, so a 5 v signal would be very hot. You could always test with a meter and a loud noise to make sure your not getting near the 5 v max. The auto gain gain is a nice feature, but may also create problems, if the analysis also is using dynamics, since the auto gain would tend to squash levels pretty much.
  7. My last preamp (still owned, and gets occasional use) was a Pass Aleph P. It did cost (ahem...) more than $50. Chosen at the time based on listening comparisons with other top preamps, using a pair of Rowland Ones (ditto), with a Wadia DAC that let me by pass a preamp altogether. It was the most transparent, and added the gain necessary for that system. Current Dac is a Buffalo, with heavily modded Legato output. I feed a pair of The Wire amps, with the gain structure built to give me a volume I want with quiet recordings (i.e., plenty loud with most). The difference between having a preamp in line v. Going straight from DAC to amps is not subtle. This is is not a yes or no question—it's going to depend on the specific DAC, the specific amp, and possibly the speakers. For many, a preamp will improve the sound, but for some, it just adds additional veiling and noise.
  8. So, if you have a correct impedance, and the front end gain of your amp matches the output of your DAC's output stage, you honestly think that adding additional interconnects, passive and active components,along withb their associated power supplies, is going to do anything but add noise and /or alter the signal — be careful about who you say is out of touch with reality...
  9. I've had my equipment on a shelf in the room next to our living room, with the speaker wires run under the house, for years. I still use anti vibration methods on pretty much everything. It seems like a no brainier to me—the common placement of equipment racks centered between speakers, on the rear wall, has always seemed a real compromise. The only downside used to be needing to walk a bit further to flip the disc over, but with CA I did seem to be wandering from room to room more often—until I started running things from my iPad, and now I only get up for more refreshments.
  10. When you write " the preamp stage in my Mac is better" are you trying out the digital volume by bypassing the preamp stage? If so, then try keeping it in, and if you want, with the volume as high as you want; and then compare to the digital volume control. It is very possible that bypassing your pre amp stage completely wouldn't sound as good.
  11. Ok, if you want to do this, then use foil resistors. Vishay makes some of the best. You will need to use a surface mount size to fit into the connector; typically the higher the tolerance, the better the noise specs get also. Mouser has a huge selection. If you have the room for a through hole resistor, the the vishay naked foils are the ones to get. You can use the smallest size, but they are still physically large. I totally agree with using the 32 bit digital control though; I run my amp full on, and haven't found any electrical attenuators (including ladder laser trimmed arrays in quality switches) that sound as good as the digital volume.
  12. Why do you think you need to attenuate the signal? If your normal listening level was at 11 o'clock or full on, then this might make sense. As long as you are not overloading your amps input stage, you will get a cleaner (higher s/n ratio) the higher you set your amps volume. There will be recordings that need more attenuation than others, and if your loudest is overloading the amps input, then you would want to cut the signal some. think of it this way—the lower the input signal is, the more it needs to be amplified. Unfortunately, there is also a noise floor in the amp, that also gets amplified along with the signal. your amp is integrated, so let's assume that the Mac designers have set the internal gain blocks at optimum for the circuit topologies. Your job is to feed the loudest signal you can into the input stage without overloading it in any way, then use the volume control to set your listening volume.
  13. I'm a prototype machinist. I have a modest shop, largely because I send out anything that requires more than 3 axis etc. Especially with the Internet, finding shops that have highly specialized, expensive equipment is not a problem. That said, if you want something like a rare earth magnet machined, that might be a problem. But designs that don't involve coned dynamic drivers, like electrostatics, have many people building DIY drivers.
  14. The bamboo that is used is very heavy. Think fiberglass, but instead of glass fibers in resin, it's bamboo fibers. Very rigid and dense. but don't discount materials because of weight. Aluminum hexcel panels are great, other than very hard to join and machine in general.
  15. Rigidity and liveliness. It's the best (biologically based) panel material, with Finn style ply second, and something like MDF is way to the "bad" end of the scale. There red are also builders using non panel (solid wood) boxes, with the typical sound woods being favorites. On topic, but off this question, there are many more "box less" designs being built DIY, along with linear arrays, and other designs that are not seen often commercially. Construction quality and finish can often get into the Sonus Faber level. There are a lot of talented builders out there.
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