GoldfishX

I need to check out blackmores night more. Huge Blackmore fan but never listened to all those albums yet.

Truthfully, you can listen to maybe 5-10 songs on Youtube to get a a feel. There are few surprises in the catalogue. Biggest (pleasant surprise) is the Christmas album was really good and they made some killer classic rock covers (1-2 on each album...Diamonds and Rust, Celluloid Heroes really stand out)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81lMARebyzM There's also bits and parts of classic hard rock Ritchie in there. This is probably my favorite rocker of the catalogue (and probably the heaviest BN gets)

I'm feeding it with SOtM-sMS 200 (OG, not neo, not ultra) with Uptone UltraCap LPS-1. USB out to iFi micro iUSB 3.0 (ipower 2) and BADA USB Series 2 (Pangea AC-14SE). I'm using Diretta protocol from my PC -> iFi Omni LAN switch (fiber isolated from router) -> NA eno2 streaming system (2.0m streaming cable)

The ethernet filter + fiber treatment and 2x USB decraps really help maximizing 3Dness without sacrificing dynamics. Add lots of propulsive sound to the DAC. Yggdrasil+ MIB doesn't sound relaxed with that upstream setup, but rather very articulate with more dynamics on both macro and micro dynamics

Interesting setup. I had started on that path (messing around with Fidelizer), but I couldn't wrap my head around it. I found I was getting a better and more focused soundstage with the Soundaware than PC/Fidelizer, so I switched back to it full time. Having the single box helps the nervosa aspect. At some point, will A/B it with an Eversolo.

Same. I was very close-minded with music early on, so a lot of early tunes I've heard thousands of times.

Still use my white pack-of-gum Shuffle while I mow the yard. Honestly can’t believe the battery still holds a charge.

Remember the "Do not eat iPod Shuffle" warning label? This was at least a decade before kids were eating Tide Pods.

That’s why I’m a cable first audiophile

And how expensive was this life-sucking POS?

About $300. For context, I'm using it in an A1 Yggdrasil and while it did open the soundstage a bit, the dynamics are gone, the bass "rumble" effectively died, words are unintelligible and details I know are there aren't resolving. It's losing to both a fairly generic optical cable and another AES cable. Minor nitpicks on these, but they run circles around the Gamma.

Just taaaaap it in! Give it a nice little tappy tap.

I agree they showed it too early at Munich last year, but they haven't launched it yet and any pricing is just guesses.

Well, I'm just a deaf old fart anyway... but I have never done anything other than have just one general-purpose PC that does everything. Simultaneously.
I haven't hear an hdd in quite a few years, at all. (Honestly though, that could be me) and I think they are still rated best for write few read many data storage...

...ie you add a song once but play it often.

NVME, though, is of course best for speed, which is not even necessary for an audio box. Oh... can't get much neater if one wants small.

The Chord streamer modules (Poly/2go) do exactly this. It’s not a built-in solution per se, but it’s the closest thing I can think of short of a streamer box or RPi.

I got some Shunyata RCA's used and found them way too smooth sounding. I preferred my much cheaper Audio Envy IC's. But those Shunyata models are now discontinued. I'm not sure how different the new models are, they have the same designs. but cables are like fairies God knows

AE is on my short list. They are the cheapest I've that use OCC. Cable Company didn't have them for audition. $150 for an RCA and $250 for a PC, I might take a flier on them. I just feel like I got burned on cables in the past, so trying to tread carefully. Smooth is definitely the Gamma line!

Only thing with AE is they tweak the design with each batch. The batch I bought a bunch of was much better than a previous batch. So it’s a bit of a gamble but they can sound very good at least. My favorite I’ve heard.

I wil take 10 of them thank you!

Speed holes make the music go faster!

Good luck!

I cannot believe anybody using hot glue in anything but super-cheap stuff of any kind!

Sorry, post in wrong place

Time to upgrade to the LS60!

I think that's the one thing that's missing from Schitt's current lineup. Rag2 was always a solid package. I never bought one, but probably considered it a few dozen times (I've preferred their tube amps to their SS amps for headphones)

I wish for a Rag3 with a slimmer profile and sounds like a MJ3, but that would probably compromise the power. The toroid in the 2 is huge. The Rag2 also darn good for headphones.

Thanks @Armaegis, I never see profile posts. I have the LS50 Meta hooked up to an Arcam A15, and my DIY Soekris. I really like it.

Maybe you can try a DC blocker and RFI filter? I'm building one of these https://www.atlhifi.com/shop/bare-pcb/pcb-for-dc-trap-blocker-and-emi-rfi-cm-filter/ Though they have ready made ones and there are other alternatives.

Older light fixtures? good chance it's a fluorescent with a nasty ballast inside which is like the angry caveman cousin of a switch mode power supply.

I'd say that a PC, however beefy, is well shielded from things around it.

Nothing in it works direct from mains. Do PC PSUs provide some measure of isolation? Never thought about it but I suspect they might.

I heard the 1.7 at CAF and found them bright and fatiguing; they had a shit room though, long and now, with the speakers facing across the narrow side. I wonder if they'd have sounded better 15' back, not 6' away.

My potential room is long and narrow, but the audition room was wide open. In the middle of a large square (I was right in the sweet spot, maybe 6 feet away). I'm skeptical if their nature changes that much, to overcome the overall meh.

I also want to be clear...I'm a fan of their look and affordability and their business model/longevity. I think people should give them a try. They just didn't cut it for me, sound-wise.