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

[Harry]

Not Marantz they are a shell of their former self.  I don't know your budget but I've heard good things about Outlaw Audio for the $1k range for an integrated amp.  I myself didn't go the integrated amp route (but separates).

A real audiophile, with the budget at hand of course, must eventually go for the SACD players of Esoteric, simply the best on the market. I know this by experience.....

[Ian]

Not Marantz they are a shell of their former self.  I don't know your budget but I've heard good things about Outlaw Audio for the $1k range for an integrated amp.  I myself didn't go the integrated amp route (but separates).

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll take a look.
I don't really have a budget in mind but both McInstosh units together would be around my self imposed upper limit. I'm not particularly looking for really high end stuff but I would like a very nice sounding system that will last. I tend to follow the buy once, buy well philosophy. Which doesn't necessarily mean expensive. The Musical Fidelity A1 amp I mentioned is around the £1500 / €1600 mark.

[Valentino]

Does your 78 player play only 78's or is it more versatile?

I have modified this Thorens TD 125 Mk. II to spin 78 instead of 16 2/3 rpm. One for all speeds.

[DavidW]

My low volume listening experiment hit gold today.  Suddenly the music sounded normal instead of quiet.  The detail and sound stage were suddenly way improved.  I also felt like it was much closer to how music sounded like when I was younger and I couldn't afford equipment that jacked the equipment up to live levels.  I think the former was due to using 1x gain which reduced harmonic distortion and the noise floor (on both my stereo preamp and my headphone amp). 

I'm pretty happy, especially since I'm middle aged and want to conserve my hearing for as long as I can.

[Fëanor]

I've just received and am configuring one of the these 'MeLE Quieter3Q' mini-PCs to function as a streamer and player for my main stereo system.



This device is almost incredibly small and silent for being fanless;  it runs Window 11;  my old mini was Windows 10.  It will be streaming music files from my Synology NAS device;  it will send signal via USB to my Topping D90 DAC and thence to my preamp.

As as music player I'll be using Foobar2000 which I've used for many years;  this time version 2.1, 64 bit.  I use Foobar's 'Columns UI' interface version.  My personalized configuration looks like this:



I'll be using the 'Mathaudio Room EQ' plug-in for Foobar2000 to do some frequency response smoothing.

[Daverz]

I've just received and am configuring one of the these 'MeLE Quieter3Q' mini-PCs to function as a streamer and player for my main stereo system.



This device is almost incredibly small and silent for being fanless;  it runs Window 11;  my old mini was Windows 10.  It will be streaming music files from my Synology NAS device;  it will send signal via USB to my Topping D90 DAC and thence to my preamp.

As as music player I'll be using Foobar2000 which I've used for many years;  this time version 2.1, 64 bit.  I use Foobar's 'Columns UI' interface version.  My personalized configuration looks like this:



I'll be using the 'Mathaudio Room EQ' plug-in for Foobar2000 to do some frequency response smoothing.

Looks like a neat little machine.

I'm still using a Raspberry Pi4 running Ubuntu as my streamer.  This also runs CamillaDSP to do room correction and the crossover for my 2.1 system.  The Pi4 is connected to a Motu M4 audio device that has 4 output channels, 2 mic inputs for room measurements, and a line input that is hooked up to my phono pre-amp.  So even my analog playback is converted to digital and gets the room correction filters applied to it.  I use Acourate to create the room correction filters. 

[Ian]

A real audiophile, with the budget at hand of course, must eventually go for the SACD players of Esoteric, simply the best on the market. I know this by experience.....

Thanks for the suggestion. As mentioned I'm not an audiophile, real or fake, I'm just looking for a more than "good enough" sound.

[Fëanor]

Looks like a neat little machine.

I'm still using a Raspberry Pi4 running Ubuntu as my streamer.  This also runs CamillaDSP to do room correction and the crossover for my 2.1 system.  The Pi4 is connected to a Motu M4 audio device that has 4 output channels, 2 mic inputs for room measurements, and a line input that is hooked up to my phono pre-amp.  So even my analog playback is converted to digital and gets the room correction filters applied to it.  I use Acourate to create the room correction filters. 

Sounds pretty neat.  So if I'm understanding properly, Acourate will produce FIR convolution files;  how/on what device do you apply these FIR files?  Is that using CamillaDSP on the Pi4?

So is your repro'd sequence:  computer source -> RPi 4 with CamillaDSP -> Motu M4 -> amplifiers?

As for FR correction, I'm sure the Acourate>CamillaDSP solution is more refined, but the MathAudio Foobar plug-in is certainly easier for the lazy person.

[Daverz]

Sounds pretty neat.  So if I'm understanding properly, Acourate will produce FIR convolution files;  how/on what device do you apply these FIR files?  Is that using CamillaDSP on the Pi4?

So is your repro'd sequence:  computer source -> RPi 4 with CamillaDSP -> Motu M4 -> amplifiers?

Yes, I copy the FIR filters to the RPi, and CamillaDSP does the convolution and channel routing for the main speakers and subwoofer.

There's an Ubuntu Server box in the loft running Logitech Media Server that has my music library on it and the RPi4 runs Squeezelite, the streaming client for LMS.  The chain is

LMS --Ethernet-> RPi4 -> 2 channels in to Squeezelite -> CamillaDSP out to 4 channels --USB-> Motu M4

I also do volume control in the digital domain with CamillaDSP.  I use a FLIRC infrared reciever to get volume up/down from a remote and the volume is displayed on a small monitor.

[Atriod]

The only aspect of Roon I dislike is its playlist format. With JRiver, I could create playlists by historical eras (Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary) or whatever I chose to title them. It would display the cover, but the individual tracks were not visible until I clicked on the cover image. With Roon's user-created playlists, all of the tracks are in a vertical list under the album's cover image, and since some recordings have literally hundreds of tracks, and some playlists have hundreds of albums, I'd have to plow through maybe a thousand or more tracks to get to the recording I want. So, with Roon, a work around is to use its bookmark tool. I can title it whatever I want, and as long as a recording contains that word, then it groups them together and like with JR, the individual tracks only appear once I click on the cover image. Instead of historical eras, I created one for guitar, piano, symphony, sonata, trio, quartet, quintet, concerto, etc. If the key word does not appear in the title, then I can edit the name and add it. I also created a separate bookmark for my Qobuz files and my downloaded files. Otherwise, if I want to view my entire library, I'd have to scroll through nearly 5,000 albums! Roon allows sorting by all sorts of criteria, including recording resolution! So, once one gets familiar with its possibilities, it's quite an impressive program. With JR I often found myself gravitating toward the same historical era fairly often, so having them sorted by my two favorite solo instruments and musical forms instead, I tend  to explore  more of the recordings I have. Another plus is since it's Linux based, there are no drivers, which caused me no end of headaches with my HP laptop.

If I haven't addressed any particular question you have about Roon, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks, that was indeed helpful. The last time I tried it with 2.xx it's like I had to "trick" it in order to find specific works, this tip from someone on another board like to find a specific concerto - "click on My Library > Albums. On the left, Focus on Genre Classical and Composer (name). Then on the right, filter by the word concerto."

I don't mind JRiver's poor networking capability because for the time being I only have a single stereo in a dedicated listening room and I can do fanless PC (same room as the stereo) -> network switch -> (AES67) Merging NADAC.

But I want to add several speakers to both living rooms and a loft lounging type living room on the second floor that overlooks the main living room. That is where Roon would be a major benefit, where I can have just a single server with all my music rather than having to have a computer at each setup.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

It occurred to me after spending probably about an hour plus dusting my stereo equipment, cabinet, tv and cable box (including lifting the t.v out of the cabinet, dusting and then putting it back) that there is something to be said for "less is more" in terms having "things" (meaning equipment).  And I also realized that I still have to dust my speakers (which also means carefully sliding them so that I can vacuum the wood floor under them.  And the little feet that the spikes sit in...well, at least one of them always comes off in the process (floor is old and uneven).

I know...I'm lucky to have such problems! 

PD

[Florestan]

some recordings have literally hundreds of tracks

I am truly baffled. What recording do you have, that contains hundreds of tracks? 

[Daverz]

I am truly baffled. What recording do you have, that contains hundreds of tracks? 

This is not that unusual with downloads where all the tracks in a set are offered in a single folder.  The Maria Callas Live download has 736 flacs.

[Mapman]

I am truly baffled. What recording do you have, that contains hundreds of tracks? 

This (single) CD has 73! Each variation has its own track.



A CD of Bartok's For Children has 84 tracks. And a CD of Mikrokosmos volumes 1-4 has 98 tracks.

[Florestan]

This is not that unusual with downloads where all the tracks in a set are offered in a single folder.  The Maria Callas Live download has 736 flacs.

Ah, boxsets of tens of CDs, that makes sense indeed. I was thinking in terms of individual recordings.

[Florestan]

This (single) CD has 73! Each variation has its own track.



A CD of Bartok's For Children has 84 tracks. And a CD of Mikrokosmos volumes 1-4 has 98 tracks.

Okay but that's literally tens, not hundreds of tracks. I can't think of an individual CD I own that has hundreds of tracks. Boxsets are a different matter.

[Bachtoven]

I am truly baffled. What recording do you have, that contains hundreds of tracks? 

A lot of box sets do. This recent addition to my library has 136 tracks.
EDIT: I didn't see your comment about box sets before I posted my response.

[Bachtoven]

Okay but that's literally tens, not hundreds of tracks. I can't think of an individual CD I own that has hundreds of tracks. Boxsets are a different matter.

I wasn't referring to a single disc with that many tracks, just recordings in my Qobuz library.

[Florestan]

A lot of box sets do. This recent addition to my library has 136 tracks.

I wasn't referring to a single disc with that many tracks, just recordings in my Qobuz library.

Got it now, thanks for clarifying the issue.

[Florestan]

EDIT: I didn't see your comment about box sets before I posted my response.

No problem, the matter is settled. Now that I think of it, monsters like the Philips Complete Mozart Edition or the Warner Callas Complete Studio Recordings must have literally thousands of tracks. I will check tomorrow.