Regg

I don't know how I missed that but thank you for directing me to it. I should mention that I'm also a Metric Halo user, which I know is very old news around here. I'm not sure if anyone else is still using their Metric Halo box, but I just got a response from Jon Stern, which he may or may not have posted elsewhere. He said as follows: It's actually the case that the non-mixable streaming (integer mode) is disabled in our driver and will remain so until bugs in various apps that use integer mode are resolved. We are working with those developers to assist them, but because those apps are not under our control, we are not in a rush to support integer mode. In particular, some of the bugs that affect these apps can potentially result in full scale noise being output to speakers which can damage or destroy them. My understanding is that these bugs affecting integer mode came about due to changes made in the Apple OS. For the vast majority of users who do not use this esoteric mode, we have elected to prevent the risk of destroying their speakers. As we move forward, we can potentially provide you with test builds that you may use at your own risk. At the moment, however, we do not have a timeline for when they will be available. In the meantime, if you continue to use the unit with Sierra, the latest driver is recommended: Installers In addition, we recommend you take the following steps to prevent another potential bug in the OS that can cause the system to hang: 1) reboot and hold cmd+R until the progress bar appears 2) when you are in recovery mode (macOS Utilities window), choose Terminal from the Utilites Menu 3) in the terminal, enter the following exactly (followed by the return key): nvram boot-args='dart=0' 4) Select Restart from the Apple Menu I hope this is helpful. Best regards, Jon Stern Metric Halo Support So no Integer Mode for me either I'm afraid....

Since there are a good number of Audirvava Plus users here (including myself), I was wondering if anyone could give some direction in replacing IOAudioFamily.kext to enable Direct Mode in Sierra? Also is the latest update for Sierra worth downloading or will it make things more problematic? Just thought I'd ask....

The Metric Halo ULN-2 was the DAC that had me convinced that computer audio was the way for me to go. I still own it, as well as an Amarra Model Four/LIO-8. I'm sure there's better out there, but at what cost and in what way? I've always wondered what 'transport' and playback software sounds best with the MH boxes, since it does seem make a difference. I don't think I've seen a discussion about that, even after all this time.

My Mac Mini has 8 Gigs of RAM, but since I prefer the overall SQ of my old Powerbook I haven't really made the move to check out Amarra, just yet. I have compared Audirvana Plus and Fidelia Advanced though. I like the user interface of A+ and it seems to operate smoothly for me, while Fidelia can be a little buggy here and there, although it's not a major inconvenience. In terms of sound, I think A+ is slightly drier sounding in my system, while Fidelia Advanced is more liquid and more natural to my ears. Of course this is just personal preference, and I don't think you could go wrong with either one.

Watch 'Live at Pompeii'. Watch their KQED performance from 1970, with the abridged version of AHM. Watch 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' with the sound off and sync up Gilmour's arpeggiated Gm13th from "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" with the pentatonic 'communication' at Devil's Tower for an interesting effect. Go on down the list: Saucerful, More, Ummagumma...etc, etc. Rinse & Repeat. I've been a Pink Floyd fan for over 30 years, and nothing in recent memory comes even close to being a replacement, IMHO.

I have recently been looking into ways to keep the heat down on my Mac laptop and have been wondering about these cooling pads: http://www.thermapak.com/products.php?category=heat-shift-pad Looks interesting, but this video from last year shows that the HeatShift pad doesn't really keep a laptop much cooler than a sheet of plywood: Any thoughts on cooling solutions for the laptop would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Regg

It may be a long shot, but I was wondering if anyone here has ever used a commercially available UPS as a means of protecting and supplying their audio equipment with clean power, if such a thing is possible. I've seen a few recommendations on various other audio forums for computer grade UPS devices from Liebert, Tripp Lite, CyberPower, APC, etc. It's usually suggested that the important thing to look for in a UPS for audio-related applications is that the device should be a True Online, Double-Conversion system, which supposedly ensures pure sinewave form output and the cleanest, most compatible AC output for computers and any other critical load, which hopefully includes audio equipment. But is that just marketing fluff? It's not like most of us have an oscilloscope handy to confirm the 'Pure Sinewave' claims. And are these devices comparable to the AC regeneration systems from the likes of APS PurePower and PS Audio? Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated.