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OldAudioNut

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  1. My question for this forum is whether ethernet and coax are likely to be supplanted in the near future for network audio and/or cable TV applications. I currently have a network audio system (Lumin U1 based). As background I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to do a complete renovation of my entire house. It is currently gutted down to the studs. Lucky me, I will get a small but dedicated listening room out of this project, while my wife gets to have the rest of the house. I want to install media cables that will keep the house current for the foreseeable future. I’m thinking of CAT6 Ethernet for network audio and computer applications to multiple locations; a dedicated ground wire into the listening room; a dedicated AC circuit and audiophile grade electrical outlets in the listening room; and coaxial cable for tv in multiple locations. One big decision is whether to “hard wire” these cables, e.g. simply run cable where it needs to go, or to run the cable through conduit. Conduit is more expensive but it enables fairly easy wiring change if, say 10 years out a new wiring technology comes along. If I thought Ethernet and coax technology were reasonably mature and stable I would go the hard-wire route and save a couple of bucks. Conversely if something new is around the corner I’d suck up the cost and go conduit. Any thoughts?
  2. Hello FWIW, as I'm looking to replace my mac mini/audirvana, i've been looking at the U1 as one possible server replacement. I had the chance to play with one for a couple of days, thought it sounded great through SPdif but the app lacked some features that I want. I've been intrigued by Roon, so I've also been looking at the Sonic Transport / MicroRendu, a much less expensive option but it would lock me into Roon. A 3rd option I'm considering is the Music Vault, which I think is a souped up CAPs that would have both Roon and JRiver as app options. Don't yet know which way I'm going to go. Interestingly the U1, or Lumin for that matter, doesn't seem to get much press, so its hard to get much info about it.
  3. Hi Larry Thanks for the info. I thought maybe this wasn't going to be easy, and you've confirmed it is out of my league. best Howard
  4. lmitche I'm thinking about the Synology 214+ because it has 2 LAN ports. I want to go Synology. 2bays with 10tb WD red drive storage will last me 'till infinity and beyond, and use dedicated HDD backup. I'm interested in playing with the concept of using 1 port to connect NAS to my network through a switch, and the 2nd port to connect NAS directly to a music renderer (Aries/Aurender/Sonore to be named later). My question: what is the role of "port bridging" in your setup. Does it enable you to manage the NAS via the network? I am a networking newbie. thanks Howard
  5. Hi Dave Thanks for the information and reco, I'm definitely going with Synology. Only issue is whether the 214+ or 214play. Both are identical cost, and per their website seem to have similar (not identical) hardware specs. The 214play does seem to have some optimization for video/media streaming, but i'm not interested in that. Also the 214play has an sd reader, again not an issue. According to Minimserver site, minimserver can be installed on the 214+. Seems that with the 214+ the extra LAN port is available in case I wish to futz around with direct vs switched connection to the renderer. best Howard
  6. Anybody tried, or have experience, with the Synology 214+? I, like several others, am considering moving from Mac Mini/Dedicated HD to a renderer (not sure yet which of Auralic/Aurender/Sonore etc.) and NAS. As I am a newbie to networks, i find I'm spending quite a bit of time pondering the design of the new system. The NAS will be wired via Ethernet to the renderer. I'm thinking 8-10 TB, not mirrored, with HD backup will last the rest of my life. Regarding the NAS, i'm leaning towards Synology 214+ for several reasons. Synology has been written about very positively on the CA forums. Another reason is that the 214+ has 2 ethernet ports. Several folks have commented that running the NAS through a switch leads to a lesser sound quality, and one person uses a QNAP NAS with 1 port connected directly with the renderer and the 2nd connected to the switch. Seems simple to me (remember i don't really know what i'm doing yet). Anybody have experience trying this, and what are the details to be considered?
  7. blaven I'm coming from an almost identical place, and am probably six months behind you in this process, so i'm eager and hopeful for good response from our more seasoned colleagues. For what its worth, i found this thread a while back on your question Computer Audiophile - Guide To Converting From iTunes To Dedicated Music Server
  8. I saw the press release in August while i was scanning around the internet. I then contacted my dealer to get access to the upgrade. It took him about 3 months (!) of consistent inquiry to EMM, but we finally received it in November. The installation went flawlessly in the XDS1 v2. I did have to study the instructions carefully as they weren't clearly written. The unit sounds terrific.
  9. Bingo Bingo. My listening room, which doubles as my wife's living room, has been pretty much maxed out with as much acoustic treatment, speaker placement etc. as is possible. I'm convinced that I still haven't heard all the capability lurking in my current McIntosh, EMM, Avalon system.
  10. I don't like talking about taxes Yes, it is the D3020. It hit all the right notes: Compact, integrated amp/pre/dac, Bluetooth. Good sound. Somebody at NAD has been paying attention to the emerging consumer. Reel 'em into the boat slowly. Nope. The magazines are paying attention to the world as it is emerging, but which applies to only a small percentage of the population. Which is kinda how the world works in most domains.
  11. I think folks are being a bit harsh in their criticism of the review magazines. I find them quite helpful for my "audiophile" needs, and when used intelligently can provide insight to those with less lofty aspirations. My son, a professional clarinet player, recently asked me for advice on purchasing a stereo. His "system" had been Mac computer with headphones, and he was feeling the need to listen to orchestral works in a room space. His budget was $1000 for the entire system, a big chunk of money for a struggling musician, but a spending level I haven't been at since the '80's. Through Stereophile recommended components I was able to identify the new NAD integrated and the Wharfedale Diamonds as potential solutions, which he could drive using the bluetooth from his iPad. Spelunking through the internet reinforced the attractiveness of this option, as I read good things about these pieces in multiple sites. Never having actually heard this stuff, I was a bit nervous in making the recommendation, but he also did the research and he got excited. He ordered online, tied it together with SignalCable speaker cables and a pair of cheap speaker stands. We had fun talking about some tips/tricks about initial setup. 3 days later he is absolutely delighted. And most interestingly, he's now starting to think about how he could make the sound better! "Hi End" audio is a niche, and always will be a niche. My budding audiophile was born out of his passion for music and his need to hear it as music. Not background noise. And I think that is the key. Those who love music enough to spend time in focused listening can be receptive to the message of quality sound. But those will always be a small niche, because there are so many different entertainment options that vie for attention.
  12. Getting to the point where you cannot really listen to anything unless it is a pristine recording played back over super expensive gear in an utterly silent environment is a *bad* thing in my opinion. -Paul +1 To build on this, I've found that with a good system in place I am able to enjoy my music regardless of the medium. I'm a digital guy, and I can get that "Lost in" feeling with 44/16, 96/24, 192/24, and DSD. It's driven by the music, and it doesn't have to be an audiophile recording. I'm amazed at just how tight the Benny Goodman Trio and Quartet were, even though I'm restricted to mono cds from the '40's. Still, having a good system helps a lot.
  13. I'd echo a couple of comments: In general the music was too loud. Mostly to drown out the other rooms I suppose. Couple of the rooms, like the Magico/Pass, simply had too much bass or too boomy. An exception was the Cabasse. At least for a while they played music at a listenable level. I thought the sound was clean, coherent and musical with a broad sweet spot. The subwoofer seemed reasonably well integrated.
  14. KnockKnock I do have some bass traps and absorption panels up, i think that helps with the left/right speaker similarity. I tried your suggestion about fitting the curve to the speaker response, that certainly made the voicing much more similar to unfiltered. I also tried moving the low filter cutoff up to 45Hz, that didn't seem to make much difference. I'll keep playing with these ideas, as I have a couple days more on the trial. This stuff is fascinating. Flavio: I do think I notice that the volume is slightly lower when the filter is applied compared with when DAP is shut down. I used the gain slider to increase gain a bit on the filter. I also tried adjusting the preamp volume control up a notch with DAP engaged. I didn't use a SPL meter so I'm sure I was imprecise at matching levels. These narrowed the dynamics differences a bit, but I can still hear the difference. To me the major improvement of the DSP is a tighter focus, mainly on the center image, especially female voice. The major drawback seems to be that i can hear the extra layer of control, the music doesn't seem to breathe as well. The big benefit I'm gaining from this exercise is knowing that my starting point is pretty good, specifically there are no real bad problems with elevated low freq room nodes which kinda corroborates my sense of no boom in the room. The little bits of deviation from flat in the higher freqs may be some interaction of speaker voicing and my difficult room. My conclusion may turn out to be: leave well enough alone.
  15. Well, scratch my last post, i figured out a way to upload a screenshot of my frequency plot. Kinda small image, though.
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