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

[drogulus]

You don't need a lot of weight to get a lot of clean power with modern switching power supplies like those in Ncore and Purifi amps.

     You do in a budget AVR. You can have quite good amps in a budget AVR, but they won't be properly designed.

     If I wanted to use the pre outs for more power I'd probably get a properly designed amp like maybe a QSC.

[drogulus]

    On another audio front I'm thinking about getting a headphone amp/DAC that I'd use with my PC. The one I have in mind is the Essence HDACC II-4K.

   

[DavidW]

On another audio front I'm thinking about getting a headphone amp/DAC that I'd use with my PC. The one I have in mind is the Essence HDACC II-4K.

   

Why do you need a 4k hdmi device just to use with a pc?  It looks like a home theater solution.

[DavidW]

I'm sorry Harry, I didn't know how important it is for you to be normal.

He is normal.  Don't be jealous.  At the end of the day, you guys both have great gear for listening to music and enjoy what you have.

[drogulus]

Why do you need a 4k hdmi device just to use with a pc?  It looks like a home theater solution.

    I might get a universal disk player and use this for SACD decodes. I'd put the player under my PC and do headphone listening there.

    I have another reason to get such a player. I don't actually own a UHD/BD player. My "Chinoppo" doesn't play disks. So with 2 not very expensive pieces of kit I patch holes in my system. The SACD idea is just something to play with.

[71 dB]

He is normal.

For almost all people in the World spending $4-5k on a streamer is far from normal, but we can of course pretend it is totally normal.

Don't be jealous.

I am not jealous. I don't even use streamers, so why would I be jealous?

At the end of the day, you guys both have great gear for listening to music and enjoy what you have.

Yeah, I have nothing to complain about the sound quality of my gear, but I have a feeling Harry would find my gear "lacking in quality." 

[Todd]

For almost all people in the World spending $4-5k on a streamer is far from normal

This is an objectively accurate statement.  Spending $4-5k on an entire stereo or home theater system is also abnormal.  And that's in the developed world. 

[KevinP]

Main home: A Marantz receiver, Klipsh tower speakers for stereo, other Klipsh for surround. Also Sonos Ones.

Second home/crash pad: relatively inexpensive Onkyo home theatre set, and neighbours (all co-workers) have complained about that so no point in upgrading.

Oddly, I can only play blu-rays in the second home.

[The new erato]

Normality is overrated in my opinion.

[71 dB]

Normality is overrated in my opinion.

Yep. It's much cooler to be weird. 

[Todd]

Normality is overrated in my opinion.

And yet some people so desperately want to be seen as normal.

[Spotted Horses]

And yet some people so desperately want to be seen as normal.

People want to believe that their abnormality is voluntary.

[Harry]

This normal or abnormal or raving lunatic will receive the Lumin T3 streamer on Thursday-YAY, and that rimes, or not....
A self made Nuc, by the firm that delivers it, with intel 3 on board which is said to be enough to open the many facilities on Roon without delay, but hey common, Intel 3, that's so outdated and pretty slow I know, too slow for the software and streamer.
Anyway with experience about this?

[Kontrapunctus]

I hope my system doesn't qualify me as "abnormal"! While not exactly humble, it's not as rarefied as some systems here. Regardless, it provides me with great musical joy.

Harbeth 40.2 speakers
Sennheiser HD800S headphones
McIntosh C22 pre-amp
McIntosh MC275 power amp
Pro-Ject Signature 10 turntable/ Soundsmith The Voice ES cartridge
Mark Levinson No.5101 SACD player

(I did buy a gently used MC275 and No.5101, so that helped a little with the expense.)

[DavidW]

This normal or abnormal or raving lunatic will receive the Lumin T3 streamer on Thursday-YAY, and that rimes, or not....
A self made Nuc, by the firm that delivers it, with intel 3 on board which is said to be enough to open the many facilities on Roon without delay, but hey common, Intel 3, that's so outdated and pretty slow I know, too slow for the software and streamer.
Anyway with experience about this?

An i3 on a laptop running Windows would be slow.  On a streamer running a stripped down OS should be pretty zippy.  The 3 doesn't refer to age btw, just performance tier.  Usually you would want a cpu like that in a streamer because it will run cool and quiet and still deliver the necessary performance.

[Harry]

An i3 on a laptop running Windows would be slow.  On a streamer running a stripped down OS should be pretty zippy.  The 3 doesn't refer to age btw, just performance tier.  Usually you would want a cpu like that in a streamer because it will run cool and quiet and still deliver the necessary performance.

Yes you are right of course, I had to many hot Toddies when I wrote that. Apologies are in order!

[Valentino]

My new tonearm, ordered 15th August, arrived earlier this week. An Alfred Bokrand (Ortofon) AS-230.



That's Baker/London SO/Barbirolli doing Elgar's Sea Pictures.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

My new tonearm, ordered 15th August, arrived earlier this week. An Alfred Bokrand (Ortofon) AS-230.



That's Baker/London SO/Barbirolli doing Elgar's Sea Pictures.

So, how do you like it?  And what about compared to your old arm?

PD

[Fëanor]

An i3 on a laptop running Windows would be slow.  On a streamer running a stripped down OS should be pretty zippy.  The 3 doesn't refer to age btw, just performance tier.  Usually you would want a cpu like that in a streamer because it will run cool and quiet and still deliver the necessary performance.

Usually purpose-built devices run a version of Linux.  For one thing it's free.

The Raspberry Pi is a popular streamer device and it uses Linux.  I had one up and running with my NAS upstream and feeding my Topping DAC;  it worked fine with Volumio but I preferred my Windows 10 mini-PC as a streamer.

[Irons]

My new tonearm, ordered 15th August, arrived earlier this week. An Alfred Bokrand (Ortofon) AS-230.



That's Baker/London SO/Barbirolli doing Elgar's Sea Pictures.

Congratulations! I have followed with interest via eBay Alfred's musings. I recall that he is running out of Ortofon tonearms to work his magic. Get in before ship has sailed, you have, well done!