Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

You're right it is, now i reread it, i meant the opposite. I was trying to say that i'll add an amp to drive the speakers, so passive.

Thanks for this, yea i've seen Q Acoustic mentioned before. Budget might be ok as I always err on the conservative side then try stretch the budget if i need to. Cheers

It’s about 750 records.

Thanks, I’m poring over the current policy tomorrow and was looking up Hiscox today, thanks @Velocio.

A rough estimate I saw was 2% of value pa.

My amp (Technics SU-VZ220) has always been a bit unreliable. Latest issue is channels randomly dropping, only restoring themselves with a firm thump.

What I originally jumped on it for was the ability to run and independently control two pairs of speakers, and I have a set of Eltax floorstanders and Gale Silver bookshelfs.

I’ve noticed I never turn the floorstanders on and am going to get rid of them to save space.

If I am to get a new amp, I might as well consider some new speakers too, if I’ll notice any benefit over the current Gales.

The set up is almost only for DJ use, so I’d thought about some active speakers like the Yamaha HS5, but I need three inputs - DJ mixer, PC and CD deck.

It is in a small room (2.3m x 2.8m) with lots of stuff in it.

Any advice on what I might look at and how I might configure it would be welcomed.

set up is almost only for DJ use

I assume you mean DJ LARPing rather than actually playing out?

There are a million ways to build a system which can switch easily between three inputs, but the easiest and cheapest is just a replacement integrated amp to go with your existing passive speakers. Find one with a pre-out if you think you're going to swap to active speakers later.

Yeah I won’t be taking it anywhere - just for that room. The speakers are never more than about a metre from my ears, really.

A lot of the amps I’m looking at are quite over-featured with bluetooth and streaming integration etc. Think I might just get this - https://www.richersounds.com/hi-fi/amplifiers-receivers/cambridge-audio-axa25-lunar-grey.html

For your PC input you might want an amp that takes USB in, it will sound better than going from the headphone socket on the computer, unless you’ve got a nice sound card.

Good shout. The USB on the Cambridge Audio AXA amps is power only.

In my shop I play music upstairs from a MacBook. Downstairs there’s an iPad, can I link those together for multi-room? Is that what Plex does?

you can group some players together but not apple devices IIRC. Get a couple of chromecast audio devices, that should allow you to multi-room

Plex can play to multiple sources at the same time and works well for that but it doesn't do simultaneous playback to multiple devices (i.e. in sync over multiple devices for true multi-room).

It's been a feature request for donkey's years but I wouldn't hold your breath on it, the plex business plan appears to be introducing the features that they think people want, not the features they actually want.

Thanks, that’s a good shout. I’ve got a couple kicking about now. Does chromecast do higher than 16/44? Not that it’s an issue but I’m enjoying the hi-res stuff on Qobuz.

Cool, that’s what I wanted to know, ta.

The exception is if you're using Plex to cast to Chromecast Audios, then it will use the chromecast multiroom feature.

Anyone got a set of DT770’s they want to get rid of? Casheesh waiting.

CCA does whatever/96 with Qobuz..

How did your research go. I have a decent number too and I've always assumed they are not properly insured but unlikely to be stolen and the way they're stored fire would be the most obvious risk.

I've considered install a sprinkler or mist system but that seems like next level junkydom.

Not much progress to report. I had planned to call Barclays after I sorted out something separate with Legal & General which involved 45minutes on the phone without resolution and being posted a password that is going to take five days to arrive... for something they are chasing me on, despite me confirming it all with them on the phone two weeks ago.

I couldn’t face any more of the same so will do it on Tuesday.

Sounds similar. I was also a bit worried the floor might collapse while some building work was done.

Mine are on shelves secured to the wall!

I was going through the process of annual insurance decisions over lockdown and found that some policies had clauses that would leave you without cover if you didn't carry out certain works during an initial period. i.e. If you didn't have an alarm system fitted within a month. Scary to think that a lot of people won't read those details leaving them with no insurance should the need to claim come up.

A friend of mine has an excellent built-in set of shelves. I'll send you some pictures in a DM as not sure they necessarily are happy with them being posted online.

I came to the agreement with Barclays that I would exchange some existing out-of-home bike cover (theft) for additional contents insurance, which was probably on the low side anyway, and got into a discussion on records specifically, which they don't have a category for.

What came to mind as a scenario when discussing with them was 'what happens if I discover that a curtain is left open for whatever reason and a number of records are warped and destroyed' - which they will not cover as it would be considered gradual wear and tear. I suppose you could argue that accidental coverage could apply - the curtain being left open by accident - but I wouldn't fancy the chances of arguing that with a loss adjuster - or arguing anything for that matter.

They did acknowledge that I have catalogued them and could use that in the event of a claim, so that felt somewhat reassuring.

Anyone want a Denon DRM-550 cassette deck? Very lightly used, fully working. £40 picked up from SW London in the next 10 days.

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A (kinda) on topic freebie:

A JBL Flip 2 Bluetooth speaker. In white.

Used condition, but works perfectly. Sounds great, rugged as hell and has a good battery life.

Works brilliantly strapped to a bike.

Free to any forumenger, collection in SE24 or possibly delivery in London if it's convenient for me.

Guess who got himself a white Sonos Roam for daddy day...

Can anyone help me get my head around my setup that I'm slowly piecing together? Co-opted this unused chimney breast as a cable riser, but any cables still have to pass through a 12mm hole. I plan to get a NAS or maybe an NUC that will sit on the left next to router and act as Plex server for a Raspberry pi client in the back of the AV unit (it has DNLA but the interface is bad).

I'd also like to be able to record vinyl to digital if possible, preferably without going through two DACs which would be the case if I run an RCA between AV and NUC.

Best option so far feels like some kind of optical in hat for the PI writing over network to the NAS. Even that might be above my pay grade though.

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I feel like I only just understand you but this is pretty niche stuff for this forum! If you are recording vinyl you need an ADC to record it and a DAC to play it back, there's no getting around that.

Can you get the software side sorted in the Pi to make a hat record to whatever you want to store it to? I don't do that kind of thing with Plex so I don't know much about it.

Personally I record vinyl using Logic and add tags using Yate. I can't think of an easier way to get digital versions of albums with all the track names etc. If you just record sides into a Pi hat how are you going to split the tracks and tag them all?

Some interesting equipment in my local Cash Converters.

https://www.manley.com/hifi/neo500

Looks like they are on sale here for £16,599 each here, so eight grand for a pair seems like a huge bargain. https://www.eliteaudiouk.com/product-page/manley-neo-classic-500-monoblock-power-amplifier

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