Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Those Cambridge Audio amps have an integrated preamp/poweramp IC which if I remember back fifteen years ago or so, is a TDA somethingorother. De-solder chip and replace. It's in an SIL (single in line) package, so pins only on one side.

cable talk>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Won't somebody think of the capacitance?

Resistance is futile.

Ah but which pair has optimal twisting at audio frequencies?

Yes this, exactly.

Really? Cat5e solid core is so fragile.I understand the idea of solid copper for speaker wire but surely 1.5mm T&E would be more robust?

Sure, but once installed my speaker cables never move so a solid cable is fine. Due to its CSA there's still enough 'flex' if I feel the need to swap speakers over to suit different amps/moods/satisfy my tweaker gene!

Ohm y God.

Resistance is futile.

No it's not, it Voltage divided by Current! Arf arf arf! I've got the tee shirt.

Re-optimal twisiting and dilectric debates.... pfffftttttttt! :) Lordy knows! Also, What may work for an amp with a high damping factor may be totally wrong for a Transformer coupled SET output stage. AFAIK the thinking is that the Capacitive effect is diminished by the Inductive twisting which allow the cables to work at the mahoosive bandwidths and frequencies they were originally designed for.

my dad has an all in one amp/CD player/DAB which he connects to some speakers.

He's killed it.

Any recommendations for a replacement?

Any recommendations for a replacement?

How much does he want to spend?

I've recently bought a headphone amplifier (Fiio E10) to make sound quality passable from a chromebook, however it seems to be messing with streaming services and every 5 minutes or so will get into a 2 second sound loop which you can't get out of without refreshing the page. Any solution?

not too much. used is fine. ideally around £100

Just ordered a BK Electronics xls200 sub woofer to replace my Mordaunt Short one that died yesterday. Am quite excite.

not too much. used is fine. ideally around £100

Used is probably going to be the way then for £100.

For an extra £70 then this is a good generic system.

Denon DM39

Sweet. cheers, that's exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for as it's similar to what he had

Don't suppose anyone has experience of this:
http://massfidelity.com/products/core
Seems too good to be true. There aren't any reviews from this country that I can find. Though I think an order did go out a while back so someone somewhere can confirm or deny claims made.

"better than stereo sound" erm...

aren't they just airplay speakers?

in other news, i finally got the raspberry pi/iqaudio DAC to work, but i had to run a cat5 to the router. i could not get it to work wirelessly without bugging out.

it sounds absolutely amazing. i would seriously recommend it as a DAC, if anyone is looking.

i also heard some royd minstrels playing queen on vinyl through an old trio amp at a classic old hifi shop in wincanton. it was ace. i am now on the lookout for some minstrels.

Well done on getting the RPi DAC duo working. I had similar prob's getting mine to work via WiFi, I run PiCorePlayer and there's a list of Wifi dongles that do and don't work. They're brillyunt little devices aren't they?

yeah, having any kind of computer experience would have made it all a lot less frustrating. the sound is remarkable. it really is. i thought i had the right wifi dongle - maybe i should try it with another type.

The dongle in that piccie above didn't work in the Pi, hence the red Ethernet cable! Later on I found that a TP-Link TL-725N worked fine and thats whats been in use day in day out in the Conservatory sound system, Dub n Dinner sessions are great :)

Proper minimal innit, RPi running PiCorePlayer-> HiFiBerry Class D piggy back amp thats fed I2S direct from the Pi powered by an old NEC LCD display PSU -> 2 x Gale passive 2way BR Bookshelf speakers. It streams from the Vortexbox Server which does the transcoding for anything above 16Bit 48Khz FLAC files. I've got various Squeezeboxes all over the house but only the EDO'd tweaked Touch's can play 24Bit 192KHz files natively.

if i ever need a 'second' rig, i will using a similar set up.

i haven't mastered it, but there is a remote app for some of the media players, which removes the need for screens. ace

There's ALWAYS a need for a 2nd/3rd/4th/5th 'rig'! :-) Compare and contrast innit!

Yeah, I run the Conservatory Pi headless (no screen). I run Logitech Media Server (its free) on the VortexBox and thats controllable via an app, a web based GUI, Infrared remotes and Logitechs cute little wifi connected 'Controller' which has a clunky software feel but is ace in other ways (eg-cover art on the LCD screen) plus iPlod stylee scroll wheel menu's. Like this -> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Logitech-Squeezebox-Controller-for-Duet-Classic-Boom-Transporter-/231627323936?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35ee107a20

Cover art on screen of remote controller, schweet!

good choice of tunage!

i just use mine as an airplay receiver, running osmc > iqadio dac > the pioneer amp

it seemed to be the best wireless audio solution and some nerds on a hifi forum were raving about the dac. now it is wired and i have spent about 1000- years trying to set it up.

Aaaah, the joys of digital audio. I sympathise with you BRM, I only got into streaming and rendering about 4 years ago and had help from a DIY Audio tweaker forum I've been on for years. Before that I was Valves'n'Vinyl4lyf. Still am but Valves and Vinyl in the Conservatory.... nah... 'rigs' 2 and 3 , yes!

Don't start me off on Hawkwind and Gong :)