Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Now it's all working, it's sweet as.

Even with previous semi dysfunctional laptops I was using, I was getting little glitches. Now it's spot on. Perhaps the cable has had a fault for a while.

So happy ending!

CRXN470D

is a mini system..

This is madness.

Got home today, and it doesn't work again.

Spent an hour fiddling around with cables etc, had just about decided that there must be a fault with the USB connection at the back of the dac. Then had another thought, and eventually worked out that the USB connection to the dac fails when the laptop is plugged into the mains.

It's fine when running on battery.

I guess I need to check if this is the same for all USB devices or just the dac. Any idea why this could be the case?

It's a goddam pita to have to try and send the laptop back.

Not me.

Revo stuff is nice for all in ones. Similar to Ruark but you can often get a bargain on their eBay outlet store.

It may not sound quite as good as an amp with separate speakers but it looks much neater.

What laptop? Windows or Mac?

Earthing issue or some weird battery/performance management settings.

Can someone point me in the right direction for cleaning out my amp?
Is it really as simple as:
unscrew
spray air in
spray contact cleaning solution
wiggle dials
wait to dry
put lid back on
turn on

?

Yeah, frustratingly I can't find the bloody thing I was talking about.

Check if it’s all devices and then see what the power management settings are (especially if there’s any non-windows manufacturer crap on there).
Earthing issues would probably show up as noise but it could be a faulty motherboard cutting things out.

Sounds like its a power management issue - I know for a while my desktop would do the same - but only on the front ports.

Do you have another device you could try? Phone or something? At least that way you'll be able to ascertain whether its the USB or DAC.

It's a Dell running Windows 10

Thanks all, will try some other USB devices this evening.

If it is just analogue I'd just unplug it and vacuum it. There is 'some' static risk with digital.

Cheap canned air can have a lot of moisture in it.

Are the pots sounding scratchy when you use them? Most carbon track pots are sealed so cleaning fluid isn't going to do much.

If you haven't already I'd try all the usb ports. There's normally one that's designated as Always on which may work or be the one that doesn't work.

There may be some funky settings in the bios as well. If the same thing happens with multiple USB devices and you can't find any settings that change it I'd try a Ubuntu liveUSB and see if that has the same issue.

i'm on the lookout for some speaker-stand-come-record-storage shelves.
these have cropped up at as a cheap option (was thinking about just adding some adjustable rubber feet to get things level and isolated to an extent).
https://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?Sec=19&Sub=8&PID=7571&qclr=4548718121694

anything else similar out there?

I know there's Ikea kallax, but quite like that the Muji ones above aren't as chunky and have a slimmer footprint that closely matches my speakers.

I like the look of those Mujis.

What's the consensus on the pro-ject rpm turntables? I'm after something with a smaller footprint than my aging marantz 6025, which keeps getting slid off it's perch by my kid, so much so that the rear legs have almost been knocked off

Pro-jects are pretty much all great. The rpm series have a separate motor, which will need setup and tensioning again if your kids moves it around. A single-box design might be more practical?

Anyone want my Meridian 204 tuner? Classic kit, sounds great, no FM reception where I am.
Chip on fascia. Got the manual somewhere. Memory battery might need replacing soon, soldering iron job but done it myself before piece of piss. £100 .... Hertford or can meet North London, City way.

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Nice. Meridian gear from that era is excellent.

I had a 500 series tuner at one time, sound was just great.

if you get these share some feedback and pics, looking for somethibg sinular

Have to start ripping cd’s as my music library went tits up!
What’s the recommended file size/file format for ripping music now. Want to do 320kbps, too low? Have downloaded music from bandcamp which I can use to start the collection again and they are all 320kbps, though could redownload bigger file sizes.
Would be playing back probably through plex from a NAS, unless I can find a decent player that’ll play nicely with OS X and iOS, as well as work with my NAS and network streamer?
Worth saving in two file sizes? Smallish for mobile use and bigger for home use?
I’m looking at you @freddo
Any other thoughts let me know..

I ripped everything to FLAC and keep those files on a NAS.

If I want stuff for car / mobile, I just run a batch converter to mp3 for whatever albums I want (lame codec vbr works well).

http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=LAME

Just do Flac. Storage is cheap.

If you're using Plex that can transcode when you sync to mobile, or you can have a second copy of everything as MP3 (some rippers can rip to two formats simultaneously or just batch convert everything).

My ears are oldish and my playback equipment is middling, so 320kbps is perfectly fine for me, though I regularly play CDs and LPs as well.