Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Thanks all, I think some kind of Sonos set up is the right way for us, we have a pretty low tolerance for bad UX and I need this to be fit and forget.

Will probably start with a single Sonos One then add a partner down the line.

So I’ve got my Sony PS-4300, and surprise surprise it’s got a problem. Whatever size I set it to, it seems to just go for 7”, even when set to manual. Is this something that might be fixed if I contact-clean everything?

Fwiw a mate switched to Sonos in their 1 bed flat and it still works well in that space. Their kitchen is separate and I think they have another in the bedroom.

They still have a nice separates set up, but it basically gets no use due to the volume x space x ease of use.

Maybe!

It's probably something that can be resolved by cleaning. If your gonna open it up I'd just clean everything inside, then lubricate with silicone grease all the plastic parts that touch. And if your cable is shit, wire in a nicer one. You'll also be able to see them if any caps need replacing. If it's one of the models that has a tape under the platter to regulate the speed, don't be tempted to scrub it off.

Oh and Vinylnet has the full service manual for your table

Thanks! I’m hopefully getting a partial refund which I’ll probably use to take this to someone to sort out, I don’t have the time to work out how to do it myself. Anywhere you can recommend in London or shall I just trawl the googles?

I've serviced mine myself, I would start with a can of contact cleaner though, and just clean the switches and see where you are then?

Anyone got anything capable of recording from external source onto a cassette tape for sells? Tape deck/not shit portable stereo etc. Ideally something not massive, but also not shit, but also not ££s as it’s just for fucking around/trying something out.

Or, any ideas? Not sure where to start on eBay.

This thing was rattling around loose in the box with my record player. I assume it’s some kind of cleaning brush and looks like it’s weighted or counterbalanced. Can anyone confirm and/or tell me where it goes or how to use it?

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Anyone know a way to stream WFMU to a Sonos? TuneIn app doesn't show it (regional restrictions?) and I can't find a way to manually add the URL.

Edit: Finally figured this out, for anyone that runs into the same thing: on the Windows desktop app, with the TuneIn plugin installed, Manage>Add Radio Station will allow you to add a streaming URL, which then appears in 'My Radio Stations' in TuneIn. For some reason I have two versions of the add on, this seems to work with the older one (black and white logo)

If you're on Android you can do it using BubbleUpnp. Not the most elegant though.

Cheers, I did try that but I get an error trying to stream to the Sonos, possibly Upnp not active on router, and it's at the office so I'm not inclined to change anything (not that I could find it in the router settings anyway).

Does anyone want a nobsound amp?
Needs a dc 9-24v power pack as mine broke!

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I would.

I bought one of those lampy(?) things and when I finally got around to using it, it was broken.

I've got a pair of Ruark MR1s (MK1s) which sound absolutely great, particularly when running aux, but the connection is fuzzy as hell over bluetooth because the technology is so dated. I'm thinking of getting a bluetooth receiver-only adapter that outputs into a 3.5mm aux line - would there be any benefit in shelling out for a branded one (quick google brings up Anker) rather than a cheap chinese gadget?

Anker stuff is very good for the money

something has gone wrong with my digital replay. just played some vinyl which is fine so it's definitely the digital source which has a load of crackle and glitching type noises.

the set up is:
Laptop running Roon, ethernet cable broadband router, local library on a NAS, Tidal streaming via Roon;
Laptop plugged into stand alone USB DAC;
DAC to pre-amp via RCA connectors.

I'm guessing the problem will be the fairly old HP laptop. The DAC is also old, but no reason to think that should be life expired, it's a decent quality bit of kit.

So i'll fiddle around and isolate the issue but it's making me think I could simplify the set up a bit maybe? Also having a laptop in the chain is a pain but I can'r easily see a way around this - don't really want to buy an off the shelf "streamer" as they always seem quite compromised and then you have built in obsolescence in a piece of hifi kit.

Otoh I don't really want to spent £300 or so on another laptop just to sit there and run Roon.

what's the slightly GC pre amp / DAC / ADC that @Velocio has?

one of these maybe?

https://benchmarkmedia.com/collections/hi-fi-preamplifiers/products/benchmark-dac3-hgc-digital-to-analog-audio-converter

Yeah for sure you have obscelence with a streamer, which is a perfect reason to keep them separate from your amp/other kit that will last much longer. Wiim pro is worth a go.
Roon is pretty expensive I think? I'd bin it and go wiim or sonos streamers, you don't need that monthly roon sub with either of those.

“ Laptop plugged into stand alone USB DAC”

Maybe try a different output on the laptop, my audioquest dragonfly dac has clicking if I use the front (usb-3) socket but works fine on the rear thunderbolt socket.

Also the tidal accounts were upgraded recently so there may be a hi-bit or mqa signal being shoved to the dac that is red book CD spec only

yes, Roon is unjustifiably expensive. I already have a licence for JRMC so I could just go back to that.

thanks - i'll try a different socket.

the DAC is hi res capable so that shouldn't be an issue, plus I get noise in between tracks too.

You could make a Roon Rock from an old i5 NUC. I did it a few years ago and it works ok. Of course the newer expensive NUC's are more expensive and fanless cases even more so but it will run quite a lot of stuff on an i5.

I use some Raspberry Pi's with audio hats running Roipeee. They are great via ethernet, faultless.

I got lucky and bought the lifetime membership early doors, spending on the rest of the kit was a slow process but it's solid.

Anything USB audio is likely to have dropouts and other issues from time to time. Cables make a difference sometimes but often it's just the USB bus not having time to poll the ports.

Thanks. I've looked into NUC from time to time and always thought "yeah maybe another time". Maybe now's the time.

What's better than USB, should I go to SPDIF?

Seems ridiculous that it's hard to transmit the bandwidth of 16/64 files reliability.

I want to use a blu-ray player I have, to play cds using it as a transport.

Unfortunately it does not have SPDIF out, only coaxial.

My WiiM only has a SPDIF input.

Are the coaxial to SPDIF adapters any good? Can I get a non-powered one and is there a recommended brand or adapter.

Thanking you..

I have one and it seems fine but it isn't for anything too high quality. Think they are generally USB powered.