The All Purpose Advice Thread

That is not what I'm saying at all, even a good USB implementation sounds shit compared to a decent CD player or Dante/Lynx based interface.

 

No replies the first time so I'll try again.

I figured it was the wall wart, even though I hear no noise at home with the original, only at work and my friend's house. So I asked Schiit to send me a replacement, which they kindly did at no charge. Same result with the new wall wart. No noise at home, but noise at work and at my friend's (nothing connected to inputs). With the new wart, the noise gets quieter as the volume is turned up. Only thing I have yet to try is my Cthlulu at work or my friend's, but it'd be a PITA to dis/reconnect Eitr and Modi from my little cabinet.

Could it be that my Magni is sensitive to something in the AC power that gets transmitted through the wall wart? My friend wants to buy a Vali 2 but is now paranoid that little Schiit amps will be noisy in his home.

I found some discussion about a similar issue here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/magni-3-impressions.860812/page-118#post-14331009

 

From my little experience, recent modi multibit (May production) sound ok with USB and
lil bit improvement with Eitr. I would not spend full price on Eitr unless I could grab a bargain used. Still made me itched to get a better spdif transport though.

But if you insist to connect your dac along with 101 peripheral USB devices. Bad things might happen, YMMV.

 

Agree on that.

Thanks ! Really helpful. The only USB device would be the DAC. I have Thunderbolt 3 devices only.
Would you mind to tell me how little is the diffence? Thanks again.

 

Better background(which I didnt care much), less recording artifacts, little more texture lows, transient on some tracks which you might never notice, take some edges out and make them softer. (not sure, but mayb little bit much?)

Improved some wind instruments from meh to ok. ( not sure if this is only my chain)

 

I usually hear differences in digital inputs most strongly in staging (jitter is a time-domain artefact so it facts that strongly) but that's not a strong point of the 6 series.

That leaves instruments with lots of internal resonances. The more classical wood/brass/string, mainly the higher pitched ones, also electric guitars.

It really depends though, different USB sources are horrible in their own unique horrible ways.

Schiit Gen 5 is not quite perfect - though they say the one they're working on is - but you need to spend like 2k USD on a pro audio card with AES out in a Thunderbolt enclosure fed by a lab-grade Linear PSU for me to really feel there's an improvement.

Pci-e Pro audio out in the main pc case was more of a side grade.

I'd much rather stick with gen 5 and then get an RPi with a nice spdif out addon, or a microrendu, for when I want maximum soundosity. Or a CDP.

Just yesterday Mike said they've got their new inhouse USB to the point where he feels it beats even AES and their CDP will have USB as a primary interface - and this coming from a guy who used to hate all things usb with a deep and abiding passion - so I guess my suggestion now is don't buy anything and save for a Bifrost multibit when the new USB interface is ready.

 

Correct. Apologies for the confusion, and thanks for the helpful response.

My files are on a QNAP.

The majority of my playback involves accessing those files via the Plex app on my phone (I have Plex Media Server installed on my network too). My phone is USB-C out. My cable is the Schiit USB B-to-A. I have a cheap monoprice A-to-C adapter because I can't find any online retailer that will sell me an Audioquest Dragontail A-to-C (lots of Dragontail A-to-micro; no A-to-C).

Good insight on this being the adapter... I'd been worried about that for a while...

 

Not audio, but gear related. My mom runs a bible study group and has got it in her head that should would like to be able to use a projector. At most it would only be for a couple pictures that she wants to share from her iphone. Yes I realize it would be easier to just print and photocopy, but this is what she wants and sometimes we just gotta roll with that.

I'm thinking the easiest solution is to buy a lightning to vga/hdmi adapter, and find a used projector somewhere? (and if I'm buying the adapter, any recommendations for something I can buy in Canada?)

I'm not entirely opposed to trying to figure out some way to stream it from her phone to a tv, but we do not have any smart TV's so I don't know what sort of devices I need to make this work, and then doing that would also require mom remembering how to change inputs on a tv which is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

Well, you said lightning so that means iDevice right?

Because otherwise a chromecast would be an easy recommendation, Google Photos let's you just push a button.

Not sure about apple though. You'd need to confirm if the iStore version can. If you can then it's easily the cheapest option,

 

Yes, she has an iphone (not sure which one, but it's new-ish). If I try to go the casting route, is there a decent cheap device that I can hook up to the tv to receive the signal? It's an old CRT tv; doesn't have hdmi... pretty sure it'll have to be the red/white/yellow cable. Yeah I know it might just be easier to buy a new tv, except the current tv fits into the entertainment console and it's a big square. Newfangled widescreen TVs will actually be smaller to fit into that space.

 

Assuming you *can* cast from iPhone Google images, an early-gen chromecast (you don't need the HD from the newer ones) is like 10 bucks on ebay, and a cheap hdmi to component video converter cable from Walmart or the Canuckistan equivalent for as much or less?

 

You absolutely can use Chromecast from an iPhone, just download the app

 

Managed to free up some space to fit an audio rack in the apartment, does anyone have any experience with these? Likely non-vinyl gear for the foreseeable future.

https://www.amazon.com/Sanus-Systems-Accurate-Furniture-Audio/dp/B00004U8A0

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B077Y34R9X/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A15OOFJ01NGILN

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000...tail_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2763VQ7SN6URD&th=1

Really like the look of the Salamander, and from reading the audio rack thread it seems the brand is well received here but don't think anyone's mentioned this particular model.

Threw in the other two as cheaper options that I've seen mentioned around, in case anyone could chip in with input.

Thanks!

 

I bought one of those Sanus racks a few years back when they were on sale cheap. I haven’t had any problems with it and it’s sturdy. I’m not going to claim it had any effect on sound. It’s a rack...It’s kind of hard to review a rack.

 

I bought the Pangea Vulcan rack a few months back. Can’t beat it for the price IMO. Super easy to put together and very solid and stable. I just bought the black one because I figured the other finishes (which are vinyl obviously for that price) would look cheap and plasticy, but not sure. I wouldn’t put a 200 lbs Krell beast amp on it or anything, but for everything else it seems great.

 

This! (Pangea Vulcan)

I’ve got all my equipment on it (3 headphone amps, big-ass preamp, Furman power conditioner, 3 DACs, 2 4-bay RAID enclosures) and it’s fine. Agree that I wouldn’t put a couple mono-blocks on it, but otherwise, I think it’s a giant killer compared to othe choices. Perfectly functional if a bit Ikea-ish.

 

If you need rack shelve adjustability, you can’t beat the Salamander. Fixed rack spacing sometimes just won’t do.

 

Quite true. There is a kit you can buy for the Vulcan to creat a taller opening (10 inches vs 7) and you can also buy another shelf if 4 isn’t enough, but that’s the limit of its customizability.

 

To buy a Glenn OTL, or not to buy a Glenn OTL, that is the question.

Anyone have thoughts on this amp?

 

The comparison being discussed was the T-X0 versus the ZMF Classic, since they’re based on the same Fostex planar.