What audio system do you have, or plan on getting?

Started by Bonehelm, May 24, 2007, 08:52:55 AM

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The new erato

The Norwegian Freia chocolate has slowly spiralled downwards in quality (at least for some of their products) since being taken over by Kraffts 20 years ago, igniting various discussions in the media.

71 dB

Quote from: Ratliff on December 17, 2019, 10:42:44 AM
My wife has family in Finland, who she has visited often in the past. She says she has had Fazar chocolate and it is nice, but rather generic. She described it as the Finnish version of Hershey's. Looking at the web site, it seems a notch or two above Hershey. That tends to confirm my impression, that mass market stuff in Europe is better than in the U.S., although the U.S. has the greatest variety available, including very good stuff.

My favorite European chocolate products are Anthon Berg Fruit and Marzipan candies, and Niederegger Marzipan.

Yeah, one would think a country of 320 million people might have "greater variety available" than a country of 5.5 million people (same as Oregon - How about Oregon vs. Finland chocolate competition?). I did mean mass market stuff.
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Ratliff

#1622
Quote from: The new erato on December 17, 2019, 12:13:35 PM
The Norwegian Freia chocolate has slowly spiralled downwards in quality (at least for some of their products) since being taken over by Kraffts 20 years ago, igniting various discussions in the media.

The British brand black and green was likewise taken over by Cadbury, which was then taken over by kraft foods, with similar results. Fortunately new companies seem to pop up to replace the ones consumed by the corporate giants.

Ratliff

Quote from: 71 dB on December 17, 2019, 12:23:08 PM
Yeah, one would think a country of 320 million people might have "greater variety available" than a country of 5.5 million people (same as Oregon - How about Oregon vs. Finland chocolate competition?). I did mean mass market stuff.

Finland is a great place to live, as my wife's family confirms, but the U.S. is not quite a the dystopia you think it is.

About Oregon chocolate, I don't know. There's this:

http://www.oregonchocolatefestival.com/

:)

71 dB

Quote from: Ratliff on December 18, 2019, 05:11:09 AM
Finland is a great place to live, as my wife's family confirms, but the U.S. is not quite a the dystopia you think it is.

About Oregon chocolate, I don't know. There's this:

http://www.oregonchocolatefestival.com/

:)

The US is a great place to be if your socioeconomic status is upper middle class or higher. Below that not so much. The US does a poor job considering it's potential as the richest country in the World. So much resources and still 10 % of population doesn't have access to healthcare and in some areas tap water catches fire thanks to crumbling infrastructure! That IS dystopic from Finnish point of view.

Oregon has some nice chocolate! So has Finland:

https://suklaatehdas.com/en/?v=f0aa03aaca95
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

ritter

#1625
You might have a point, Harry, but I'm afraid definitely so does Andrei in this instance. The member 71 dB's constant posting of uniformed and extremely biased political rants and disparaging comments about the U.S. are tiresome, annoying and, most importantly, unbecoming of this forum we all cherish.  >:(

Best regards,

Harry

Quote from: ritter on December 18, 2019, 06:51:23 AM
You might have a point, Harry, but I'm afraid definitely so does Andrei in this instance. The member 71 dB's constant posting of uniformed and extremely biased political rants and disparaging comments about the U.S. are tiresome, annoying and, most importantly, unbecoming of this forum we all cherish.  >:(

Best regards,

Sure that may be, but that does not warrant such a reaction. Not to react at all is better, and if than through PM'S and keep away the conflict of the forum.
Quote from Manuel, born in Spain, currently working at Fawlty Towers.

" I am from Barcelona, I know nothing.............."

71 dB

Quote from: "Harry" on December 18, 2019, 06:36:24 AM
Andrei this is not as I know you, using such harsh words, especially if Poju is right. I have many friends in the States and have visited the country often. Pojus is right, and you are crude and unpolite, so kindly remove this unasked for attack. If you will not do it for Poju, do it out of respect for me.

Thank you Harry! Sorry about the off topic stuff. I stop it here now as this is supposed to be about audio systems.

My NAD T758 V3 is coming tomorrow or on Friday.  0:)
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Mandryka

My latest purchase, £10 from ebay,  to help me decide which one to keep, Spendor SP1 or Mission 770.

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Florestan

Quote from: "Harry" on December 18, 2019, 06:36:24 AM
Andrei this is not as I know you, using such harsh words, especially if Poju is right. I have many friends in the States and have visited the country often. Pojus is right, and you are crude and unpolite, so kindly remove this unasked for attack. If you will not do it for Poju, do it out of respect for me.

I did it for you.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Florestan

Quote from: ritter on December 18, 2019, 06:51:23 AM
You might have a point, Harry, but I'm afraid definitely so does Andrei in this instance. The member 71 dB's constant posting of uniformed and extremely biased political rants and disparaging comments about the U.S. are tiresome, annoying and, most importantly, unbecoming of this forum we all cherish.  >:(

Precisely. And thank you.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

aligreto

Quote from: Mandryka on December 18, 2019, 08:13:45 AM
My latest purchase, £10 from ebay,  to help me decide which one to keep, Spendor SP1 or Mission 770.



Good luck with the A/B session and ultimate choice. I personally like the Spendor sound. Once upon a time I did own a pair of Spendor A 4 speakers. I still regret selling them even if it was to help fund an upgrade at the time. They had a wonderful, well rounded and warm sound.

Harry

Quote from Manuel, born in Spain, currently working at Fawlty Towers.

" I am from Barcelona, I know nothing.............."

Mandryka

#1633
Quote from: aligreto on December 18, 2019, 08:55:59 AM
Good luck with the A/B session and ultimate choice. I personally like the Spendor sound. Once upon a time I did own a pair of Spendor A 4 speakers. I still regret selling them even if it was to help fund an upgrade at the time. They had a wonderful, well rounded and warm sound.

Yes Spendors are better, that became immediately clear.


Why would anyone use the A+B option on the switch?
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Irons

Quote from: Mandryka on December 20, 2019, 12:35:59 AM
Yes Spendors are better, that became immediately clear.


Why would anyone use the A+B option on the switch?

My first serious speakers were Spendor BC1. Very well made but a difficult load for a power amplifier.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

aligreto

Quote from: Mandryka on December 20, 2019, 12:35:59 AM
Yes Spendors are better, that became immediately clear.


Cheers and not surprising. Spendors have a very good pedigree.

71 dB

If you are wondering why I haven't posted much here it's because my NAD T758 v3 came on Friday and I have been trying hard to make it work the way I want/need. It's hell. If it was only speakers this would be somewhat easy, but I use headphones a lot and I have crossfeed adapter. My previous NAD T762 had B-speaker terminals which I used to feed the crossfeed adapter, but NAD T758 doesn't have. So I use surround back speaker terminals for that (I have only 5 speakers). The problem is ONLY stereo analog sound can be directed to "Zone 2" for headphones. I thought I can program the inputs so that everything works, but it seems impossible! HDMI ARC sound doesn't work the way I need, and most of the time it isn't working (or my setup is wrong - these are VERY confusing) at all. I get picture without sound or sound without picture. At one point I was able to get TV sound on headphones WHILE speaker played DVD sound, but not DVD sound to headphones. Crazy! Turns out in my tests that if you use HDMI ARC sound the tv doesn't give sound any other way: no optical output, not even the headphone jacks of the TV!! So there is no way to make the sound analog for Zone 2!! So stupid!!

So now countless of hours later I feel defeated. I made a setup where everything (except analog SACD multichannel sound  :) ) is stereo sound!!! At least I have sound! On all sources and both speakers and headphones. I payed for "Atmos" and got stereo, but this is what it is nowadays. These home theatre receivers do not serve well those with special headphone arrangements. If they do the price tag makes me run away!  ???

The amplifier itself is stunning! Awesome sound quality and power. So, I want to keep it and I can always make alternative setup re-arranging the HDMI cables etc. for real multichannel sound with extra work, but I think stereo is to way to go. Makes life easy. This is my LAST multichannel amp. The next one will be a stereo amp with B-speaker terminals. So much easier than fighting with stupid CEC-protocols and "no analog sound if digital is available" crap!  >:(

Home theatre gear has gotten too complex. You should be able to just hook up the cables and start using the sound system. That's what it was back in the analog stereo days. Now you have to read the manual for sentences like:

CEC/LAN/BluOS IN STANDBY
Indicates the status of CEC, LAN and BluOS activity while the unit is in standby mode.
On
• Enable CEC feature. Audio and video will continuously stream from a CEC-enabled HDMI source to a CEC-enabled TV (with both devices connected via T 758).
• LAN and BluOS connections continue to be active.
Off
• T 758 will not pass through any CEC message. Audio and video will not be streamed from a CEC-enabled HDMI source to a CEC- enabled TV (with both devices connected via T 758).
• LAN and BluOS connections are idle or inactive.


An try to figure out what the f**k all that means in YOUR setup.
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Ratliff

Quote from: 71 dB on December 21, 2019, 01:02:25 PM
If you are wondering why I haven't posted much here it's because my NAD T758 v3 came on Friday and I have been trying hard to make it work the way I want/need. It's hell. If it was only speakers this would be somewhat easy, but I use headphones a lot and I have crossfeed adapter. My previous NAD T762 had B-speaker terminals which I used to feed the crossfeed adapter, but NAD T758 doesn't have. So I use surround back speaker terminals for that (I have only 5 speakers). The problem is ONLY stereo analog sound can be directed to "Zone 2" for headphones. I thought I can program the inputs so that everything works, but it seems impossible! HDMI ARC sound doesn't work the way I need, and most of the time it isn't working (or my setup is wrong - these are VERY confusing) at all. I get picture without sound or sound without picture. At one point I was able to get TV sound on headphones WHILE speaker played DVD sound, but not DVD sound to headphones. Crazy! Turns out in my tests that if you use HDMI ARC sound the tv doesn't give sound any other way: no optical output, not even the headphone jacks of the TV!! So there is no way to make the sound analog for Zone 2!! So stupid!!

So now countless of hours later I feel defeated. I made a setup where everything (except analog SACD multichannel sound  :) ) is stereo sound!!! At least I have sound! On all sources and both speakers and headphones. I payed for "Atmos" and got stereo, but this is what it is nowadays. These home theatre receivers do not serve well those with special headphone arrangements. If they do the price tag makes me run away!  ???

The amplifier itself is stunning! Awesome sound quality and power. So, I want to keep it and I can always make alternative setup re-arranging the HDMI cables etc. for real multichannel sound with extra work, but I think stereo is to way to go. Makes life easy. This is my LAST multichannel amp. The next one will be a stereo amp with B-speaker terminals. So much easier than fighting with stupid CEC-protocols and "no analog sound if digital is available" crap!  >:(

Home theatre gear has gotten too complex. You should be able to just hook up the cables and start using the sound system. That's what it was back in the analog stereo days. Now you have to read the manual for sentences like:

CEC/LAN/BluOS IN STANDBY
Indicates the status of CEC, LAN and BluOS activity while the unit is in standby mode.
On
• Enable CEC feature. Audio and video will continuously stream from a CEC-enabled HDMI source to a CEC-enabled TV (with both devices connected via T 758).
• LAN and BluOS connections continue to be active.
Off
• T 758 will not pass through any CEC message. Audio and video will not be streamed from a CEC-enabled HDMI source to a CEC- enabled TV (with both devices connected via T 758).
• LAN and BluOS connections are idle or inactive.


An try to figure out what the f**k all that means in YOUR setup.

I don't understand the reasoning of paying top dollar for a high end multichannel amp and using it for stereo, when a much cheaper 2 channel amp would serve as well. Why not just get a modestly priced 2 channel amp to run your headphone crossfeed setup and let the multichannel amp do what it is designed for?

71 dB

Quote from: Ratliff on December 25, 2019, 04:09:04 PM
I don't understand the reasoning of paying top dollar for a high end multichannel amp and using it for stereo, when a much cheaper 2 channel amp would serve as well. Why not just get a modestly priced 2 channel amp to run your headphone crossfeed setup and let the multichannel amp do what it is designed for?

Well, stereo can be extended to multichannel, but it's not real multichannel sound. If I use a separate stereo amp for headphones, I'd have to get the signal to the amp and it's not simple either.
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

71 dB

Finally figured out on Friday how I get real multichannel sound for speakers AND downmixed stereo sound for headphones with the same setup. It turned out when the main part of NAD T758 (Z1) is ON and ARC sound is functional, my tv refuses to send the sound out any other way (optical out), but when Z1 is OFF and Z2 is ON, ARC sound stops working and my tv sends the sound out "normally" including optical out. So, when I listen to the movies with headphones, Z1 must be OFF meaning the HDMI connectors of my amp just passively let signal through from Blu-ray player to TV as if I had connected the Blu-ray player directly to the TV (the setup I had previously because my older amp didn't have HDMI). This is me finally using ARC sound and hence I must learn new things. It doesn't help that the manuals for my Sony TV are extremely bad and even if the manual of the NAD amp is 100 times better, it doesn't address the situation where one uses Z2 for a headphone adapter (because there's probably a dozen people in the whole world doing something that "strange"). Luckily it seems to be possible after all and the system works beautifully.  :)

Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"