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Apple has crammed a lot of functionality into a $99 Airport Express. One of the things it can do is use its internal DAC to send analog out its 3.5mm headphone jack. It actually does a pretty good job at this. However, you should notice an improvement when you avoid the AE DAC by connecting an optical cable to your HK and using the DAC inside the HK.

Correct.

Schiit SYS is my pre-amp. It's a passive pre-amp with two inputs and a volume knob. I use it to switch between a turntable and a DAC. The DAC receives its data via an Airport Express with a toslink-digital cable like you guys are talking about above. volume is controlled in the digital-domain from my MAC. It's a very minimalist setup.

Yes, when you use the USB option, the DAC inside the R-15PM is doing the conversion to analog. iTunes does a good job of shaping the sound in the digital-domain with its built-in EQ, and it also can be configured to stream bit-perfect to your DAC if you disable all the options under playback preferences and turn off the EQ. (Sound check is a good option to enable on the latest versions of iTunes though.) The other requirement for iTunes bit-perfect playback is to ensure your DAC sample rate (set using the Audio Midi Setup application on your MAC) matches the sample rate of your digital audio file so that iTunes does not have to do any sample-rate-conversion (SRC). iTunes does a good job with SRC though too. But, like you said, sometimes it's fun (or necessary) to play around with EQ, SRC, or other sound enhancements in the digital domain and bit-perfect is not the desired goal in this case. iTunes can do many of the basics but there are other boutique streamers out there. Have fun and enjoy your new speakers.

The calling card of a Bose Acoustimass attack for sure.

I have a MBP and R-15PM speakers as well. I just use Bluetooth which is convenient and sounds very good for background listening in my office. On occasion for more critical listening, I have used both flavors of digital-in as well as analog-in, and I think (no scientific evidence) they are both a step up from Bluetooth. Whether analog-in or digital-in is better depends on if you prefer the DAC in the R-15PM or the DAC in your iMAC. I would just hook up either the USB or optical (not sure if there's an advantage either way - both appear as 96/24 digital-outs on your iMAC), max out the volume on your iMAC, and let the R-15PM do it's thing - control the volume via the klipsch remote.

I heard they're having trouble closing the lid on the coffin...

I use Audirvana too, if that's what you mean? If so, check the preferences to make sure the output device is correctly selected under "audio system". I was going to suggest to look at the 'forced upsampling" options under the 'audio filters' tab, but there is no 32khz option, so I don't know what is selecting 32khz on your system, keep me posted.

Ok, Bitperfect is a new wrinkle you didn't mention before. It will over-ride any settings in Audio Midi Setup - i.e. hog mode - so if you are using Bitperfect, forget everything I said above. I'm not to familiar with this app, but you can enable/disable it to see if it helps. Or check the Bitperfect preferences to see what it has for "output device" and SRC/up-sampling options.

Your old Mac Mini should be able to send 24/96 through the digital optical (mini-toslink) output. I'm not sure what FIIO dac you have, but the $24 one on Amazon uses the same Cirrus Logic CS8416 digital receiver as my DAC, so it should be able to lock at 44.1 thru 96 khz. When I connect my MBP to the DAC via mini-toslink, digital-out becomes an option in the Audio Midi Setup application, and I can select any bit depth and speed from 16/32 to 24/192. Try selecting 2-channel 24/96. Then in iTunes, select digital-out as your output device. Should work. Core Audio on the Mac should upsample any audio file to 24/96 and stream it to the FIIO.

I didn't think 16/32khz was a valid option. Check the Audio Midi Setup application and see what the optical-output is set at.

I enjoy reading his "reviews" but his ability to straddle a fence would make old Julian Hirsch proud: "Of all the speakers I've ever heard, they were certainly one of them..."

Couple of questions and ideas before you start jacking around with the crossovers: 1) When you said you "run the bass through an old Cambridge Soundworks Cube," you're using the SW-pre-out on your Yamaha, correct? (Not actually running speaker wires to your sub and then from your sub to your RP-150M's) Just want to be sure. 2) Have you adjusted your subwoofer volume and crossover point after installing the new speakers? I know you don't want to make a V with your sound, but the new speakers are probably more efficient than your old ones and your sub will need to increase its volume to match. Crossover point might need to be changed too. See #4 below. 3) I know you said 'all eq and tone controls are turned off' but double check to make sure DSP effects are off and there's no funky playback settings configured for your source-input. 4) What about YPAO? Did you re-run it with the new speakers? It's unclear from the manual if YPAO is disabled with "straight" mode, so make sure YPAO has been run with your new speakers and/or they are set properly - levels, large/small, distances etc. 5) Speaker positioning - how do you have them set up? 'Straight mode' appears to be the most direct sound option for this receiver. It should disable your SW and only output 2-channel sound to your fronts. However it appears like some sound processing is still done in straight-mode - like YPAO and speaker-settings - so there really is no way to absolutely turn off all EQ and tone controls on this unit.

I'm not a subwoofer guru. I chose the F12G because it seemed to be designed for music. It's a very rigid sealed box with a paper driver and a host of blending, PEQ, and damping options. I set it up so that I barely notice it and it doesn't interfere with the LSII's tight bass - it just extends it deeper. Is it as good as a horn-loaded sub? Not sure. Like you, I don't have the space for one so I'll never know. It doesn't sound a tight as the LSII's bass but then again, it is playing much deeper octaves and other stuff starts rattling around my room. I started out with two subs (an older Yamaha sub in addition to the Rythmik) and I now just have the Rythmik in the front corner. I use its PEQ filter to tame a room node at 31hz but I still have a room null at around 60hz that a 2nd sub could help if I could locate it better. Maybe I'll get a wireless sub someday.

Should be pretty straight forward. Does the problem remain with other sources besides the TT ?

I re-read this thread and can answer some of the earlier questions. I've had LSII's for two years and I've tinkered with them a bit (CT120's) but they are currently stock original. Mine are positioned 2-3 feet away from the corners but against the front wall. I have them about 9 ft apart (center to center) and sit about 14 ft away from the mouths of the speakers. For toe-in, they are pointed to cross slightly in front of my listening position. The room has carpeted floors and 9ft ceilings. Native bass is present but weak below 100hz or so, and I use a subwoofer to augment bass below this point. I'm sure you found about 1000 posts on LaScala positioning. Everybody's tastes and listening rooms are different, but as a generic starting point, make a triangle with the speakers pointed at your listening position, and spaced wide apart about 70% as the distance to your listening position. So if you sit 10 ft from the front of your speakers, make them 7ft apart center-to-center. This should get you in the ballpark. Adjust spacing and toe-in from there to your liking. BTW- the LSII grills are just held on by magnets. Stick a credit card between the bottom center of the grill and the wood frame and pry it out. The only tweaks I currently have in place are 1) a piece of 1/2" thick open-cell foam on the backside of the grill in front of the right tweeter because it natively runs about 2db hotter than the left, and 2) a 2" strip of felt tape neatly placed around the outside of both squawker horn mouths to smooth out the transition area where they attach to the motor board - the tape covers the last 1.5" of horn mouth folded over 1/2" on the face of the motor board. Hope this helps.

It's not Klipsch and it probably isn't the best, but the Rythmik F12G blends nicely in my room with my LS II's. Lots of power and filter/slope/eq options. Good for 2-channel and movies. I'd start off with one and add a second if you feel you need to integrate with the room better.

Yes, insert the USB drive into the MAC. It will show up as a mounted device in Finder. Call up iTunes. Select "File --> Add to Library" and select the mp3 files on the mounted USB drive. iTunes will copy the files into his iTunes library on the Mac. Hit the eject button on Finder to unmount the USB drive. Remove USB drive. Done.

I have a 2000 Volvo V70 with the same issue. Last year, I found a video someplace on the world-wide-intertube that showed how to shim the AC compressor clutch with those square plastic bread ties. I haven't done it yet - I have a bunch of bread ties in my junk drawer ready to go. My son drives the car now so it isn't as urgent.

Did "pure direct" help you at all? It sounds like you are describing a mid-range EQ issue - either the receiver has something dialed-back in the midrange or the Klipsch are just different than what you are used to with the JBLs. However, when I play that song via iTunes over bluetooth to my Klipsch R-15PMs, the voice is definitely out in front of the piano. You shouldn't have to crank your RB-61's to feel like that voice is "present." (Your RB-61's are definitely a step-up from my R-15PMs.)

I'm not a Pioneer expert however I believe "stream direct" may bypass tone controls yet still does digital processing: MCACC, distance, levels, eq etc. As a test, try Pure Direct to see if this helps. Not saying you need to end up here, but it would eliminate some variables. BTW - what did you have hooked up to your pioneer previously? I agree with Dave - you should have plenty of power. Very rarely do we get complaints about Klipsch being too soft :-)

If I could side track briefly, I'd be interested in your experience and opinions on the PS Audio Directstream JR.

I use both iTunes and Audirvana for playback. As far as I can tell, there is zero difference in sound quality with "straight up" playback. "Straight up" = no sample rate conversion, levels matched, no filters applied, no playback options selected etc. The players are just reading the 0's and 1's from the music file and sending them to the output device unaltered. Where I do hear a difference is with the added features that some of these products have way above and beyond iTunes such as automatic (and custom) sample rate conversion, better SRC's like izotope+, all kinds of great filters and sound-shaping features, and various methods to control/hog the sound-path on your computer to prevent other processes from polluting it. Your mileage will vary. My point is running iTunes via a USB cable to a pre-amp isn't such a bad thing and it sounds like you got a nice bang-for-the-buck with the $50 plugin. But, there might be other things to try downstream that offer a bigger bang for the buck such as speaker placement and room layout.

Bass is surprisingly strong for their size. This isn't the most scientific of graphs, but you can see they are voiced to emphasize mid-bass below 200hz down to their rated cut-off around 60hz, and then also a slight emphasis on the highs above 6khz. There are some decent online reviews of them as well.

I can't compare but I really like the R-15PM. Very versatile. Great room filling sound - I've used them to amplify string quartets at a couple of wedding reception cocktail hours. Can add a sub. Nice remote. Buy it from a place with a return policy because there seem to be some QA issues with the internal electrics - search the forum. I had to return my first pair but the 2nd set has been great for over a year. Hopefully they are past this now.