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Well, I just got a thumbs down because I like listening to the 109 pro on PiMax and it made me sad.

The very essence of yucking someone else's yum. And lol, it's from someone who hasn't posted since September and hasn't rated anything else in the last week. I guess he was that offended.

Hahahaha, damn I am wowed!

No you will not make me curious for round 3 with the HD800. NO!

‘Room a Thousand Years Wide’ is appropriate for HD800s.

Pretty close to my setup!

Which headphones are you using? With my ZMF Atticus, I definitely don't get enough of that snap, but with Audezes, I feel like I get enough most of the time. I'd agree, though, the softer transients are about my only complaint for MJ3.

@Grattle I'd try Woke Up Dreaming - Joe Bonamassa from Live at Carnegie Hall. It's revealing for transients, plankton, and "hear the room" stuff

@gsanger HD800 S mainly, but also HD650 and ZMF Aeolus. I say that about the transients knowing full well that that this is likely one of the reasons why it synergizes so well with the HD800. it’s really a dynamite combo. I don’t own any planars at the moment.

Is it an ATX version? If so, that's a good part of the reason. There aren't many LPSes out there that have an ATX spec built in. JCAT makes one, but it's way, way more expensive.

How are you planning to use it?

Right now using it for my streamer and FMC converter box, may also use it for my network switch. Loving the versatility of multiple outputs, some with variable output voltages.

To answer your question, the OpticalRendu specifically is better than the Sotm units. However the Sotm units are better than the lower end Sonore units. However you need to also have get an Ethernet to optical converter for the Sonore (there’s no wifi happening here) and yes they both output USB. Roon can stream both Tidal and Qobuz, but also has a yearly or monthly fee.

If you’re this new to all this stuff, you may want to start on something more entry level and basic to get you feet wet. If you did go with Sotm, you’ll likely need to peruse other forums to do some research about them and/or to get any support using the operating systems (they each have their own, but they’re pretty similar).

My bad brother. This site is different than headfi. I'll stick with the mercury 3 for now and learn there. It just arrived today. Appreciate the help.

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650152401-sotm-sms-200-ultra-neo-streamer-with-external-clock-option/

But if you use Roon and want what I’m using now (which is better) buy one of these (this is a crazy good deal): https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650164902-sonore-opticalrendu-lite-free-shipping/

I do a combo of Spotify for convenience/exploration and Plex for stuff I really really like

Ive never been a streamer. the way I look at it I don't like the weird downtime that can come with streaming, or changes in metadata etc on those platforms. By the time streaming became a thing id already spent well over a decade curating and maintaining my own library, I just kept doing that.

I stream most things, but I buy digital downloads of music I either never want to lose access to, or of smaller bands from Bandcamp to support them.

North Korea hasn't invaded so I assume everything is fine

Nothing, it's been taken care of. :)

Where is Admiral Yi when you need him? Even in death his enemies feared him. Fascinating man.

Next up: IoT fridges and smart cars

https://images.app.goo.gl/CMkKertVD1WCjJb1A

@joch Make that walkie-talkies now. Next up I think will be more HAM radios and CBs ;)

Checked my source (Yggdrasil) just to make sure no issues and it works fine with other amps.

No signal coming from the pre-outs either.

Any advice?

I will say the gain switch has always been a bit of an issue trying to get it to go into low gain correctly (usually have to fiddle with the switch just a bit to get the channels to equalize). Other than that, no issues. The amp made no noise or smoke either.

Bad gain switch might throw it into protection mode. Seems like the prime suspect.

@roshambo123 I worked at Best Buy for a brief moment and we would get things at cost +5%. AQ cables were like $10-30 each.

And what was retail on those? $150?

@roshambo123 Dude the $30 ones were legit like $375-400 retial at Magnolia. Crazy.

Looking more to FPGA esp if they tier it under the Yggdrasil for mb. I thought FPGA was more bang for the buck because less chip costs

Great! Some public announcement I missed?

@Cspirou all Jason said was “a bit of a different take on our current approach” so we’ll see. FPGA D/S Dac will be next year: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/schiit-happened-the-story-of-the-worlds-most-improbable-start-up.701900/post-18214921

Rick completely skipped over all the terribly recorded music from the 80s.

The 80's definitely had a lot of "but let's do it with synthesizers!"

People can only listen to so much. The more music that is made, the more bad and unheard music there will be, and the runaway winners will still be only a few.

Seen mixed reviews on those, but it's cool they're an option. 800 stock pads are kind of an anomaly in the headphone world, seems that most people prefer them.

@fraggler it’s the solid lambskin HD800 replacements.

@roshambo123 its a good question that im sure is important for many. I am just not that person unfortunately- I’ve been such a speaker guy for so long I don’t pay attention at all to headstage - every headphone pretty much sounds the same to me- sound at my ears or in the middle of my head. Although I can tell some subtle diffs between say the HD800 and HD650, it’s not that significant to me that I pay attention to.

If you are up for diy i made a switchbox a while back with a non shorting Elma 4x6 switch. Used it to switch between 3 devices with one set being hooked up to transformers for se. But ofc you can design it however you want.

Simplest is just a pair of XLR splitters like this:
https://www.amazon.ca/SiYear-Balanced-XLR-Splitter-Cable/dp/B07VM4NV2C

Good Y-splitter is least degrading the sound.

The game has changed and solar sailor

It’s on a very short list of soundtracks that are as good or better than their movie.

... So they "called" them sun, planet, star and moon!

I'd like whatever they were smoking, lol.

The thing I'd watch out for on "vintage" amps/etc is proprietary parts like electronic controls and ICs.

As mentioned, I got one recently from eBay "from a seller who's uncle died in possession of high end audio equipment."

Been working great, love the sound. Ordered a new remote for it from Ayre. I expect (and have heard) that Ayre's support is among the best. You may still be able to upgrade it.

Last thing, all Ayre much prefer balanced input.

Other reviews also seem to agree that this is the opposite of the Denafrips sound (more analytical/incisive/resolute) but without the harsh drawbacks (a la most Sabre DACs) apparently.

Desktop friendly dimension with global voltage selector makes it travel friendly.

So when's the loaner tour?