Where do you guys need help?

[dBe]

We all need help in some aspect of audio.  I'm ignorant about many things, like tone arms and cartridges. I sold all of my analog playback some years ago.  Duh.

How about room acoustics?  Brian Pape has checked in and I'm sure would love a good discussion.

Psychoacoustic so, why should we care.

Building or renovating a room for audio?

Need help with a Mac mini as a music server?

Non-resonant speaker cabinet construction?

How about mechanical grounding or component isolation?

Measurements: which ones really matter?

Is flat response desire able or even musical?

How much does group delay in a speaker matter?

Speaker design?

Is a funk range driver cool or what?  If so, which ones work for you and why?

Subwoofers?  Why, which and what ones?

Materials and their characteristics.  What does that matter.

Are shielded interconnects necessary or even matter?

There are ton of subjects. Do we are or trust others opinions?

I could go on and on...

[pumpkinman]

My head just exploded 

[Nick B]

We all need help in some aspect of audio.  I'm ignorant about many things, like tone arms and cartridges. I sold all of my analog playback some years ago.  Duh.

How about room acoustics?  Brian Pape has checked in and I'm sure would love a good discussion.

Psychoacoustic so, why should we care.

Building or renovating a room for audio?

Need help with a Mac mini as a music server?

Non-resonant speaker cabinet construction?

How about mechanical grounding or component isolation?

Measurements: which ones really matter?

Is flat response desire able or even musical?

How much does group delay in a speaker matter?

Speaker design?

Is a funk range driver cool or what?  If so, which ones work for you and why?

Subwoofers?  Why, which and what ones?

Materials and their characteristics.  What does that matter.

Are shielded interconnects necessary or even matter?

There are ton of subjects. Do we are or trust others opinions?

I could go on and on...

Wow, lots to digest. My area of interest would be unshielded cables. My cables are unshielded and have a slight hum occasionally.  Move them a slight amount and I can no longer hear the hum. But, on a micro level, would the right shielding erase noise even more. It's hard to fathom decreasing noise more as the Uber has been terrific in that regard. Unfortunately, I don't have quality shielded cables to compare to.
Nick

[StereoNut]

Nice thread, dBe 

SN

[tmazz]

Yeah, I think we all need help.

Just step over here and lay down on this couch. Exactly how long have you had this obsession........   

[dBe]

Yeah, I think we all need help.

Just step over here and lay down on this couch. Exactly how long have you had this obsession........   

Since 1963.

Hi.  My name is Dave and I'm a high end audio addict.

Where is my 54 year coin?

[dBe]

Been a very long day for da' Geeze.  Back tomorrow.

[bpape]

We all definitely need help!  I'm no longer with GIK and back out on my own getting my acoustics biz back going.  I'll be happy to help however I can.

[rollo]

We all definitely need help!  I'm no longer with GIK and back out on my own getting my acoustics biz back going.  I'll be happy to help however I can.

  Hey man great to have you back. You always helped out here.


charles

[djdube525]

So I'll bite... with a move that seems at times recent, but in reality a few years ago... we ended up having to downsize a bit, and now have a single room for video and audio (converted spare bedroom)...

Due to space constraints, have migrated to a 2.1 setup...

Sources: Oppo BDP-83, Apple TV Gen 4 and 3 feeding an HDMI switch. Video feed sent to a projector, audio optical out to an old Marantz SR7000 receiver. Speakers: Onix Mini Strata, and an old HSU Research Tube Subwoofer.

Room has an alcove that looks something like

         |---------|
-------|            |
                      |

Screen is centered in the alcove... speakers out from far back... front of speaker are in front of the horizontal wall to the left.

Technology has long passed us by, and it's time to make some improvements. I tend to like to keep things "simple" and don't want a ton of separates. The plan is to keep the stereo configuration, with likely a sub. Another constraint -
 I'm cheap.

A couple options:
1) Do nothing approach - room constraints abound... throwing a bunch of money is probably not warranted. Could be better put to upgrading the 10yr old projector.

2) Mini Evolution - Get an inexpensive DAC (Possibly Schiit Modi Multibit)... have optical out from HDMI switch feed the DAC, and then add a RPI3 for streaming music, and feed that to USB input of DAC. DAC could then feed existing receiver. Probably a fair upgrade for $300-$350 across for the DAC and RPI.

3) Do #2, but replace the Marantz with a "new" stereo integrated amp - Did I mention I want/need volume control? Remote would be nice, but since this is a converted spare bedroom, it's not a ton of effort for me to pick my lazy tush off the couch and turn a knob.

4) Buy a refurb Marantz SR70XX from accessories for less, get rid of the HDMI switch, ditch the idea of a new DAC, and then feed all the sources into the Marantz. This would be the cleanest option. Seems like a waste of $$$ for all the extra channels, and HT Room correction SW that will never be used.

5) Similar to #4, but look for an Arcam Stereo Receiver... this is way over budget.... but I like the concept of a simple stereo integrated with a modest # of HDMI inputs.

6) Something I haven't even considered...


Opinions? Thoughts? Advice?

[P.I.]

So I'll bite... with a move that seems at times recent, but in reality a few years ago... we ended up having to downsize a bit, and now have a single room for video and audio (converted spare bedroom)...

Due to space constraints, have migrated to a 2.1 setup...

Sources: Oppo BDP-83, Apple TV Gen 4 and 3 feeding an HDMI switch. Video feed sent to a projector, audio optical out to an old Marantz SR7000 receiver. Speakers: Onix Mini Strata, and an old HSU Research Tube Subwoofer.

Room has an alcove that looks something like

         |---------|
-------|            |
                      |

Screen is centered in the alcove... speakers out from far back... front of speaker are in front of the horizontal wall to the left.

Technology has long passed us by, and it's time to make some improvements. I tend to like to keep things "simple" and don't want a ton of separates. The plan is to keep the stereo configuration, with likely a sub. Another constraint -
 I'm cheap.

A couple options:
1) Do nothing approach - room constraints abound... throwing a bunch of money is probably not warranted. Could be better put to upgrading the 10yr old projector.

2) Mini Evolution - Get an inexpensive DAC (Possibly Schiit Modi Multibit)... have optical out from HDMI switch feed the DAC, and then add a RPI3 for streaming music, and feed that to USB input of DAC. DAC could then feed existing receiver. Probably a fair upgrade for $300-$350 across for the DAC and RPI.

3) Do #2, but replace the Marantz with a "new" stereo integrated amp - Did I mention I want/need volume control? Remote would be nice, but since this is a converted spare bedroom, it's not a ton of effort for me to pick my lazy tush off the couch and turn a knob.

4) Buy a refurb Marantz SR70XX from accessories for less, get rid of the HDMI switch, ditch the idea of a new DAC, and then feed all the sources into the Marantz. This would be the cleanest option. Seems like a waste of $$$ for all the extra channels, and HT Room correction SW that will never be used.

5) Similar to #4, but look for an Arcam Stereo Receiver... this is way over budget.... but I like the concept of a simple stereo integrated with a modest # of HDMI inputs.

6) Something I haven't even considered...


Opinions? Thoughts? Advice?

I figured by now that others would have jumped in on this, but since they didn't I'll give it a shot.

Looking at the ASCII room illustration and knowing about the geometry of most bedrooms, I would go with plan #2.  That DAC is a stone steal @ $250.00 and gives you all of the options.  I'm not a fan of Toslink, but hey: it's what you have.

You are primarily limited by the room restraints, so I'd probably up grade the projector with an eye to the future when and if you get to have a room with better symmetry.

Oh, yeah.  Put some type of absorber on the right hand wall at the first reflection point to kill some of the early return from that wall.  If you don't the image will be skewed to that side.

Who else wants to tak a stab at this?

[tmazz]

I agree, I think a DAC upgrade is you best bet right now.

And if you are going to use a Toslink digital connection you have to  check out the Analysis Plus fiber cable being sold by Audio Advisor. I am stuck with Toslink between my Bluesound Node and the EE DAC.  I have never been a big fan of Toslink, but ths cable was a game changer for me. it may not be as good as a top shelf RCA SPDIF cable, but it sure is better than any other glass cable I have ever listened to. And is is only $55 for a 2M cable. And if the price is not enough to sell you, it even comes with a 30 day return policy.

No reason not to give give it a try.

[malloy]

How about mechanical grounding or component isolation?

Dave, this is one area I'd like help. I've always wanted to build my own rack/shelf/isolation base. Don't know how though. Would even make sense to try to go the DIY route. What I'd really like is something like this:

http://www.timbernation.com/isolationplatforms_popup.html 

But can this be done cheaper and in an environmentally sensible way say with just MDF or other similar materials?

[djdube525]

Looking at the ASCII room illustration and knowing about the geometry of most bedrooms, I would go with plan #2.  That DAC is a stone steal @ $250.00 and gives you all of the options.  I'm not a fan of Toslink, but hey: it's what you have.

You liked the ASCII art eh? I'm showing my age. I'll put together a better drawing over the weekend.

The Toslink would only be for video sources, so I'm less concerned about that. I could leverage USB via a RPI for audio. That DAC doesn't do DSD... seems like if one wants DSD support and switchable inputs, prices on options tend to jump a bit.

The TEAC UD-301 is an option... starting to hit the upper end of what I want to spend at the moment. I'm just starting to look at used options as well.

Edit: And thanks for the advice!

[djdube525]

I agree, I think a DAC upgrade is you best bet right now.

And if you are going to use a Toslink digital connection you have to  check out the Analysis Plus fiber cable being sold by Audio Advisor. I am stuck with Toslink between my Bluesound Node and the EE DAC.  I have never been a big fan of Toslink, but ths cable was a game changer for me. it may not be as good as a top shelf RCA SPDIF cable, but it sure is better than any other glass cable I have ever listened to. And is is only $55 for a 2M cable. And if the price is not enough to sell you, it even comes with a 30 day return policy.

No reason not to give give it a try.

Thanks for the pointer and advice! I have a couple on hand already - actually, I would reuse the cable from HDMI splitter to the Marantz, and then use some RCA cables I made from DAC to the Marantz... a stop gap if you will.