joshua.ryan.larson

I use the Magnepan Mini Maggie Desktop Speaker System in my office, and I really love it. They're powered by a Rotel RA-1570. I want to add a subwoofer, but I am apprehensive, in terms of both integration/balance with the speakers and causing "rumblings" with my office neighbors. I'll take this opportunity for any suggestions. Given the speed and quality of the Magnepans, does anyone have an opinion whether they would integrate with a Genelec subwoofer?

Ok, I finished uploading 1.8 TB of data to Amazon Cloud Drive. I began on March 3, and the last upload completed on April 8. I live in a major metro area with fast Comcast internet. This struck me as slow as F, but, now that it's done, la di da. Ok... here are a couple blips about my experiences so far. The actual Amazon Cloud Drive PC application does not allow any playback, and it doesn't allow you to view your files in their folder structure. It is strictly for uploading folders and downloading folders. I didn't even see a way to download an individual file with the program. With that, I went to the Amazon Cloud Drive website. The website is very quick and easy to use, but there was one significant negative. Fortunately, I can log in and scroll through my folders of FLAC files just as quickly as if the folders were on my desktop, and I can download any individual FILE that I want to download very quickly. But, the negative is that I don't appear to be able to play/stream any files via the web browser. I didn't anticipate the inability to stream. I was hoping that, when I am at work or my studio, I could play individual tracks, just like playing them off of my home computer, iPod, or whatever. In fact, my complete assumption is that any "cloud drive" would allow this. Nope. So, that's not cool. The Android phone app is also pretty quick, and I was pleasantly surprised when I could scroll through my folders very quickly and then, when I clicked on a file, it actually streamed on my phone. That was great. The problem, however, is that the app doesn't allow you to select entire folders or multiple files to play. So, to play music on my phone, I need to select a new song every time the prior song ends. Since I mostly listen to jazz or classical music (where tracks are typically at least six minutes long), that wasn't so bad. I was doing an outside project and was streaming over my phone. Playback WAS great, BUT I had to pick up my phone when each song was over. If I just listened to pop music with much shorter tracks, that would totally not work. I just downloaded ExpanDrive to see if I can stream on a PC with it, but I haven't used it yet because I see that the program is not free. It's just a free trial, and a single license costs as much a year of Amazon Cloud Drive. So, I don't really want to throw down for that at this point. I'll probably download it on a different computer just to see how long the trial period lasts. I'll keep messing around with it, but Amazon Cloud Drive isn't nearly as useful to me as a $60/year Dropbox-style interface would be. Obviously, Dropbox, Google, and Microsoft don't offer the unlimited-storage option for $60/year like Amazon. But, right now, if playback from the cloud drive is this impossible, I'm not exactly getting what I thought I was paying for. Lastly, I imagine that, if I lost my physical hard drives, I will be mighty happy that I have my data stored on Amazon's presumably safe servers. I just hope that, in the event that I would need to download my files to make myself whole again, it wouldn't take 35 freaking days!

I signed up for the Amazon Cloud Drive yesterday and dumped my FLAC folder into the App's to-be-uploaded window. I falsely assumed that my files would begin uploading as quickly as I am able to download files using my fairly-reliable Comcast internet service. Wrong-o... By the looks of it, it'll be weeks for me to complete the initial upload as well. It reminds me of that Breaking Bad episode in which they have to trickle-charge the RV battery. ___ I am uploading using the Amazon Drive App. I bookmarked ExpanDrive for use when the initial upload is over. I was a gig into my upload before I accepted how slowly it was going, and I just didn't have the heart to stop it and try the upload with ExpanDrive, especially if the belief is that my ISP is the likely culprit for slow upload speeds. So, I can't report whether that'd be faster or not. ___ Nonetheless, I hope that this Amazon service is as solid as it sounds.

My favorite ECM recording that is presently unavailable is Old and New Dreams. That version of Lonely Women is friggin' awesome.

No, I'm not sure. I probably would concede that my general desire for an integrated amp with a DAC has more to do with being a newbie, needing simplicity, hating multiple variables, hating paying for interconnects, and being relatively short on money for this "hobby." Fortunately, Audio_ELF is correct that I eventually could abandon the on-board DAC in exchange for an external DAC and still use the amps whenever I think that my ears (which presumably are ever-depreciating in their own quality) tell me that I deserve higher-quality processing than 24-bit/192kHz. Heh.

Thanks for your thoughts and input, everyone. I think that I'm going to keep the Rotel. It's been a pretty good week with this beast. If I want to contribute to the local economy again, I can use my savings to go to a T-Wolves game.

You are correct that the Rotel website provides only one power rating and does not provide a 4 ohm power rating. However, on the Rotel website, there is a link to a review/article from a British magazine called HiFi Choice (I put a link to it in my original post). The magazine tested the amp's power, and the author wrote this: "The analogue amplifier itself is much more impressive, beating its 120W rating to the tune of 2 x 150W/8ohm and a mighty 2 x 250W/4ohm and with sufficient headroom to accommodate 190W, 355W, 630W and a full 970W into 8, 4, 2 and 1ohm loads under dynamic conditions. it’s a real powerhouse! distortion is held in check at 0.0006-0.0014% over a full 1-120W range through the midband, increasing slightly with frequency to 0.007% at 20kHz (re. 10W/8ohm). the response is amazingly flat to within –0.2dB from 20Hz-100kHz." Here's another link to the review.

Yeah, I have soft-spots for Bel Canto and Magnepan, which are Minneapolis metro companies. Of course, Audio Research is in the metro too, but their gear is too rich for my blood.

I'm posting this thread, hoping for some input on choosing between two integrated amps to power my new speakers. I recently purchased the Magnepan Mini Maggie System, and I want an amp that (1) makes the most of the speakers' unique needs (2) has a high-quality built-in USB DAC, and (3) makes the most of my ~$2000 budget. I looked at integrated amps from NAD, Bel Canto, Peachtree, and a few other companies. I already own a Bel Canto C5i for one system, and, when I demoed the maggies, I liked how it sounded with the mini system. So, I was interested in purchasing the similar-but-newer C7R model to be a permanent partner for them. The base price for the C7R is $2599, so, after taxes, it's over $2770. It's a class D amp with 150 watts at 4 ohms. I have been on the precipice of buying it, but I haven't pulled the trigger since it was over my original budget. Meanwhile, I then looked at a much less expensive integrated amp from Rotel, the RA-1570. I appreciate that virtually no one on this message board touts Rotel as a higher-end or even middle-end "computer audiophile" company. However, two of my local HiFi stores sell Rotel, and it was recommended that I at least listen to the RA-1570. As for its suitability for the maggies, I note that it is a class AB amp and has 250 watts at 4 ohms. Plus, it supports audio files up to 24-bit/192kHz (higher sample rate than the Bel Canto supports). On Magnepan's website, they recommend using a Class AB amp with the speakers, and a number of websites recommend pushing the mini maggies with a lot of power. On Monday, I found the Rotel for $1420 (about $1517 after taxes). It was open-box but brand new. I was given a seven-day review period, and, so far, I like it. It is a LOT larger and a more traditional-looking amp than the Bel Canto, but I can make that work. Anyway, I felt good about spending a lot less money for an amp that serves my purposes. However, I have a little nagging feeling that I settled too easily for the Rotel. I wonder if I'd happier in the long run with the Bel Canto. I never got to do an A-B-A test with the Bel Canto. With that said, I have a few more days to review the Rotel before the decision between the two amps would be made for me. So, I'm fishing for input to help me make the decision. Any thoughts?

I dig Rudresh Mahanthappa's two albums on ACT.

I am keeping them. I'm really happy with the purchase. I did bring them to work and A-B-A'd them with my audio engine a5+ speakers. But those are much bigger and less beautiful speakers for my living room. Playing some Glazunov at the moment... Finnish Fantasy, of course. Cheers...

I have been looking for a pair of powered bookshelf speakers to play FLAC files alongside my TV in my living room (a "family room," not my listening room). The system is intended to be distinct from my TV. I will play the speakers at small parties, when I have the TV muted, when I'm reading, when I am trying not to be antisocial in my listening room, etc.. The speakers should be small so as not to... um... raise suspicion that they are too expensive, but I'm prepared to buy a pair around ~$500 to ensure solid quality. With this goal in mind, I looked around a few stores until I happened to stroll through a Magnolia store yesterday (inside of Best Buy). Magnolia had a pair of Genelec 6010A powered monitors on clearance for $390. I've always wanted to hear Genelecs (because of talk on this forum), but I never heard music out of them before. Even though I did not listen to them in the store, because they fit my criteria and were over half off their original sale price, I bought them. So far, I really dig the little speakers, and I listened to jazz and classical music all day while watching football on mute. Actually, I couldn't stop listening to them. While this is a good sign that I am happy with my purchase, I'm still new to audiophile-quality gear, and I'm wowed by a lot of higher-price-point speakers. I also had never heard higher-quality speakers in my living room, so I have done A-B-Aing to truly evaluate them. Before i let my return period lapse on these speakers, i thought that I'd see if anyone had any thoughts about them. Are there other powered speakers at this price point that might obviously be a better purchase? Or should I just be happy that I got a clearance steal (which might be the only way I would have reached into the Genelec price-point territory). Thanks for any input.

Probably the best selection there... but let's imagine that I WANTED to physically flip through some cds today...

Ok, I got a free day in phoenix. What's the best store for jazz cds in the area? Thanks in advance for any suggestions...

At work, I have the AudioEngine A5+. You've ruled them out on price, but I endorse their quality and performance. I have thoroughly enjoyed them. I have spent hours after work in my office (when I should have been heading home) just because I was having fun listening to music on these speakers. I'm now in the market for a new set of speakers or some type of table-top system for a second computer of mine. I could just buy a pair of "computer speakers," like a set from logitech. But I'd like to get something with a little more sophisticated audiophile-endorsed sound. For variety sake, I won't buy another set of AudioEngine speakers, but I don't know what I'll get out. For another idea, check out the recent review from Chris of the Peachtree Deepblue. I will check this out when a store in my area gets it in stock. It's only $400.