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I took about 3 yrs off, mostly due to health and other priorities (Corvette). The most noticeable thing I've seen is how old many of the conversations (posts) are. It's not uncommon on A'gon to run into a thread from 07-08. Haven't been around here much. Sorry for the interruption. this used to be my home base. But times change and people change. I miss Muzikmike, LWR, Bagsgroove, etc. I guess the audiophile is mostly old farts like myself.
On a positive note, I installed a hardwood floor in my LR which is where my system resides. It may be one of the best upgrades I ever did. The music is so much better its unbelievable. Power conditioning is my next project. Then a music server. As with most things audiophool, there is a lot to consider.
Its also amazing how many LP's are being brought back (remastered). Just got Skynyrd "Gimme Back my Bullets" on 45. great sound, as is the 33 of "Nuthin Fancy".
To my old friends still posting I say hello for the time. To those new to this lifestyle/hobby, I say, enjoy. Hope I can be of some assistance or be assisted when needed. I'll be hit and miss in posting. Some days the curvy back roads of east TN call. Its top down weather.
arte
ENTP
To some PITA
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
Follow Ups:
Art-
post some pics of your system. Otherwise, Welcome!
Yeah. I need to update the picy. Just looked. It still shows the CJ 2500 amp and Wright phono preamp..., both long gone.
I may have to relearn how to post pictures to this site again. Its been several years since I did so.
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
been in jail for a while, eh?
...regards...tr
Happy to see you here.
-Wendell
reaching out to me. Sorry I didn't get back in a timely manner, if at all. Age 60 + is a strange era to me. too many doctors. Too many head games. Too many memories, more good than bad. Missing the good. And on and on.We have talked a lot about things which, in the scheme of things, weren't really that important. The one thing that did catch me by surprise is your son's death and how recent it was.I recently went to your son's memorial page thru the link in your email. I was surprised to see that he had passed on just prior to the time when we discussed so much stuff of so little value. I had assumed he had passed on many years prior and that you had had the proper time (whatever that is) to deal with it.
My bad. I want to apologize to you if I hurt you in any way in speaking about his death. Even though I would never talk cruel to someone who has gone through the tragedy you have, there is a way that I might talk to someone who has had time to process and get past the cruel hurt which life can bring, that I would not talk to someone who's hurt was fresh as your's was. I may not have had the proper sensitivity of your hurt at that time. For that I am sorry. He sounds like my kind of guy. I can relate to what you have written about him. It is obvious that ha had a big impact on you and I suspect you on him as well.
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
Edits: 07/09/17 07/09/17
Hit me that I was officially on the backside of 60. Not obsessed but it did strike me. Micheal has been gone 11 years. Sometimes it seems like yesterday. I hope you are dealing with all your challenges. I believe I understand. Glad you are back. Try to stay in touch.
-Wendell
It hit me also that I am closer to 70 than 60. Funny. My 25th birthday party seems like it wasn't that long ago. My friends surprised me with a keg party.
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
Then a music server.
That's what has been drawn to the forefront in the past three years at least for me.
The convenience of accessing anything instantly in your digital library or that of Tidal's million odd album content is truly a beautiful thing.
I have some research to do on that. I'm pretty computer literate and have a couple laptops. But they might not be the right choice if I have read properly. NAS is a new acronym which I recently learned. I can't talk very much about it because.....I just learned about them. It looks like a better way than laptop. and external drive
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
There are five different approaches to playing computer based music. The common elements are storage and an intelligent endpoint that actually does the playback. Pretty much all of them allow for smart phone / pad based remote use. I leave an older iPad upstairs for that purpose and use my phone in the garage. Perhaps someone will chime in if I've missed something.
1. Sound card/on board chip in computer sends digital signal to external DAC or uses internal DAC to send line level signal. Playback via Windows or Mac OS X application such as JRiver, Foobar, Roon, iTunes, Tidal, browser based internet radio, etc.
2. Computer is used only for network accessible storage and file serving. It runs software like Logitech Music Server, Roon, etc. to send data stream to streamer device(s) located elsewhere. Playback is via software loaded on streamer.
3. NAS is used as file server to feed streamer(s).
4. All-in-one "network appliance" audio component like an Aurender.
5. Network enabled or local USB fed disk player such as Oppo 103/105, etc.
Takes your pick.
Since I have a powerful desktop in my office that stays up 24/7, I use method #1 to feed the multi-zone in-ceiling speaker based system. Primarily, however, I take #2 approach as server also runs LMS to feed a "headless" (no native UI) microRendu streamer for the main system upstairs via ethernet, the garage based headless Raspberry Pi system via WiFi and my iPhone and iPad using iPeng player app via WiFi for listening in bedroom. I can also use #5 as I have a network connected Oppo 103, but rarely do as the playback software is comparatively crude and limited in functionality.
I prefer to isolate the general purpose file server from the main listening areas. The beauty is you can centrally store your digital library and have access to it from myriad devices located in and around the house. Instantly find any piece of music you have or is available on services like Tidal, Spotify, stc. I have a Tidal HiFi (16/44 lossless) subscription that can be used with any of my players.
Thanks for the info. It will make a good starting point for me. I need to make a move. I've been acquiring FLAC files for years. Burnt a lot to disk. But I have way too many to burn.
I thought about the Oppo 205 (It being the newest version). It has the advantage of still allowing me to play CD when I want. Kind of the best of both worlds....that is, if its as good as my Theta Miles player. Thats questionable. My problem is that I'm running out of rack space.
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
...that are read by a friggin' laser beam !
I have no idea how they work ...its all very Star Wars.
Did you know 8-tracks have fallen out of favor?
Welcome back.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
`
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
...ate all the tapes I fed it.
But the machine, it kept running.
;-)
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
the sarcasm around here can be. I love sarcasm. But its not popular where I live and gets me into trouble
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
There are many people who have paid millions for receptacles so don't sweat the price of an Oyaide. T456
"The Borg is the ultimate user. They're unlike any threat your Federation has ever faced."
- Q, 2365
I felt really silly, almost stupid for paying so much for the Oyaide R1. After I installed it, I was glad I bought it. Its worth the improvement which it made.
I'll get another for the 2nd dedicated circuit. But others outside the a'phile circle would never understand
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
I haven't popped for it (yet?) but the newer RO version gets excellent reviews. You might want to read up on it. T456
"The Borg is the ultimate user. They're unlike any threat your Federation has ever faced."
- Q, 2365
.
If anything, the email volume I get is 10-20% more, versus the audio heyday of the 00s. The big difference is, audiophiles have reached a plateau, and now turn their attention to music. There's an enormous demand for popular music (primarily because, within the audiophile world, it had been suppressed for so long). As far as genres go, the strongest demand is for thrash metal and EDM (electronic dance music). As far as time goes, I have two evenly-matched branches of audiophiles. One branch argues that 1987 was pop music's finest. The other branch counters that 1992 displayed the most variety.
Speaking of variety, of all AA's forums, Rocky Road arguably exhibits the greatest variety. We have enough Inmates, to cover a wide range of time periods and genres. Audiophiles beg me to make a selection, and write about it. Give some background information. When, where, and with whom did I first hear it? What was going on then? Do I have any photos? Did the song move us? Did we use it as an audio reference?
I just can't keep up with demand. So I'm going to disappoint the branches in favor of 1987, 1992, thrash, and EDM. During the Fall 1990 quarter, I went to my college radio station, UC Santa Cruz's KZSC (above), and bought Prefab Sprout's excellent Jordan: The Comeback , which included "Moon Dog." In the early-00s, an audition with that song inspired one of my audiophile friends to buy Moondog Audio's Yote monoblock amplifiers.
-Lummy The Loch Monster
jazz. I've tried. It just doesn't work for me. I don't criticize those who enjoy it though. For me, female vocals consist of Sass Jordon, Nancy Wilson of Heart and Dale Krantz (Rossington Collins). OH, Janis too. But the stuff they play to show off their systems at the audio shows is pretty much blah to me. Is it any wonder that audiophilia is almost dead?
Most people listen to pop music. Make it sound good via a good system and show it at the shows and maybe audiophilia may survive. but then the cost factor comes in. many are glad to listen to 256kbps music over crappy headsets. They don't know that much of the music is missing. They don't know they are even missing anything. And with so many toys to buy, the $$$ for a good system is scarce and even non existent.
OK. i'll put away the soapbox now.
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
Same old farts and some newbies here since you've been gone. Welcome back.
My concrete floor large basement listening room with big rug sounds better than my smallish wood floor office. I attribute the better sound in the basement due to the spacious area.
Looking forward to some updated photos of your listening room.
I remember you from way back. We had a kindred spirit about CJ gearat one time IIRC. I still have the PFR preamp. But the 2500 amp gave way to tubes from Bob Latino. Maybe the 2nd best move other than the hardwood floor.
My wife says leave it alone..It sounds great. But she did also mention the power conditioner as if she wanted it.
Trying to decide between another dedicated circuit (making 2) and 2 Oneac conditioners, one for each line. Or should I bite the bullet and go the PS Audio route? I've heard the Oneacs have a hum. Don't know. They are cheap enough on Ebay. maybe I'll chance it.
Picys need updating for sure. Still shows the CJ amp which is long gone.
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
Edits: 07/08/17
If budget allows, take a look at the PurePower 1500+. I've been very happy with mine. It lacks some of the ability to fine tune output voltages and frequencies to the degree that the PS Audio units do, and it is significantly larger (although it still fits in a standard rack), the wet-cell battery non-stop operation is pretty sweet. As far as I know, PurePower is the only one to do an AC to DC conversion, run it through a battery, and then convert it back to AC again. Link below.
I've never tried power conversion stuff. Power cords and strips, sure and they make a difference. But I looked at the cost and whoa, that's a lot of other toys.
The 1,500 VA unit from PurePower is not unlike a UPS that I just bought for several of our computers after the last power outage. I wonder if anyone has ever tried one of these. Like the PurePower box and others, AFAIK, these also generate 'perfect' AC from the batteries.
-Rod
I'll give that a look. One thing I'm wrestling with is shelf space. I was going to get a PS Dectet or something which fits in back of the rack. But i know the better stuff takes a shelf. Decisions decisions?
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
Weird but I think I prefer solid-state CJ gear more than their tube offerings.
I had the CJ PF-R which was an outstanding preamp. The only minor issue with it in my setup was the Volume knob had most of its useful range down toward 7 O'Clock to 9 O'Clock if I recall. It made adjusting the Volume a little touchy with the Remote control. I would often over-shoot or under-shoot my ideal Volume level.
I also had the CJ MF-2250A power amp which I liked a lot although it could have had a bit more 'slam'. The very dynamic PF-R made up the difference so the combo was very good.
I have no experience with more recent power conditioners or AC regenerators. I have an older PS Audio Power Plant P300 which I use for source components.
In any case, welcome back to the Asylum!
If one actually gets to live with this stuff, and evaluate it with her own terms, music, room, tastes, and habits, she can set aside the usual SA prejudices.We found the CJ PF-1, PF-R, and Premier 18LS to offer not just an alternative to CJ's tube gear, but to the solid state competition. However, only the Sonogrpahe SC-26 had enough volume control range. You are correct; with regular gear, the PF-R (and PF-1 and Premier 18LS) had way too much gain (or not enough volume control range).
Audiophiles always ask the wrong question. They always ask me how the PF-R "sounded." No, the correct inquiry is, "How did the PF-R deviate from true invisibility/transparency?"
Unlike, oh, 85% of the competition, the PF-R did not interfere with the sources' energy, momentum, and propulsion. Alas, if we had downbeat or otherwise poor-sounding sources, that's what the PF-R revealed. But is that the PF-R's "fault?" Of course not.
I remember going over to an audiophile's house in the Oakland hills in the mid-90s. Instead of using $$$$ front ends, he switched between some modestly-priced JVC and Sony ES CD players, whose 2V outputs worked better than the usual high-end audio spread. Moreover, the lack of boom and bloat from the JVC and Sony players worked better and very well with the popular music we loved and still love.
The PF-R didn't do anything to hold back the fun of Ace Of Base's "Beautiful Life." At that point, the host's teenage daughter and her friends came in, and kicked us audiophiles out. Nah, that's a lie. "Beautiful Life" was what kicked off the party, which multiple generations could enjoy.
Looking back, that system could have been even better if we had (a) a Cable Cooker to treat the Kimber PBJ and 4TC; and (b) the Hi-Fi Tuning Silverstar fuses. So if Artemus can overcome the excessive gain, it's easy to see why he still has the PF-R.
Edits: 07/08/17 07/08/17
I set out to replace the PFR with an LS17. LS16 was my dream. That was about 10 yrs ago. I've had a tube phono pre and a tube amp. But providence has kept the PFR in my system. I just went back recently and read the Stereophile review of it in '97(?).
It definitely is a very transparent Preamp. But as both of you say, the volume control is quite touchy. 9 o'clock is my default. 8-8:15 when my wife is here.
I'm thinking about having the PFR evaluated and serviced and having parts replaced if needed. Then too, unless CJ does it with original parts, it may be a bad move.
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You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
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