whell

That little streamer is actually a pretty elegant solution. Nice! Wireless isn't an option for me. So, the set up here is slightly more complex. But for those who don't want or can't use Wi-Fi for this purpose, and your router isn't near your music setup, power line networking is a nice option. Example: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tp-link-powerline-av600-nano-adapter-starter-kit-white-white/2080136.p?skuId=2080136&ref=212&loc=1&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1268652&gclid=CjwKCAiAiML-BRAAEiwAuWVggoAFmVyRFeA9k0STBzDZXUnCxdGpy-oIG0AJeoqIH3iw93q4WAPV5xoC6q4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds This makes getting a hardwired internet signal to wherever in the home you need it, and it's easy to set up. In any case, love the convenience that streaming my CD's and hi res files brings to the listening experience.

A little elmers glue and a refoam kit ought to fix those right up....

Schitt has it's advocates and detractors, some of those detractors likely have not given their gear an extended listen. I waited for a time before jumping in with a Bifrost (1st generation with USB 5 that I bought 2nd hand). There was a lot to like. I compared it to my older Antelope Zodiac. The Zodiac was considered a pretty good DAC for its time and I paid a handsome sum for it, and it still sounds quite good. However, the lowly (by price comparison only) Bifrost bested it. Not at first, though. On first listen, without giving the Bifrost a chance to warm up, the Bifrost sounded much worse by comparison. I compared it to my older Antelope Zodiac. The Zodiac was considered a pretty good DAC for its time and I paid a handsome sum for it, and it still sounds quite good. However, the lowly bested it. Not at first, though. On first listen, the Bifrost sounded much worse. However, given an hour or two to warm up - tpared it to my older Antelope Zodiac. The Zodiac was considered a pretty good DAC for its time and I paid a handsome sum for it, and it still sounds quite good. However, the lowly (by ayhese multibit DAC's seem to benefit from warm up - the Bifrost really started to shine. I can switch back and forth between the two DAC's with the same source (PC based audio). The Bifrost throws a bigger sound stage. The bass has a bit more detail. Vocals are centered and sort of jump out a bit at you. More than that, though. The Bifrost had a bit more natural, "sweeter" sound to it. At least in my system, it did. Now, that's not to say the Zodiac sounded bad by comparison. Not all all. On its own, it really sounds great. However, the Bifrost isn't going anywhere. I'm also really tempted to see what the Gungnir Analog 2 w/Unison USB will sound like. There's one on the way! 😉

The F5 is still killin' it here. Now I know what the "class A fanboys" have been talking about all this time. The guy who built this really did a nice job. The case, and thus the heat sinks, are fairly oversized. As a result, this particular Class A amp gets warm, but not hot, to the touch. Unlike my tube amps, I have no concerns about leaving the amp within range of kids who might touch it. I use it for music only, with an occasional movie. If the kids want to watch a Star Wars or Marvel Comics movie, I connect one of my other amps so there's no break up or distortion when the movie soundtrack is cranked up and a deep base note accompanies something getting blown up in the movie. No sub here - the RF-5's don't really need it (though for this reason I often wonder if the RF-5's rating of 99 db efficiency is over-rated.

Sexy beasties at a great price. GLWS

New music that is mastered at high bit rates and then released with the higher bit rate are as rare as hen's teeth. Maybe this will change over time.

My listening habits - I don't often get a chance to set aside time for the sole purpose of listening to and enjoying music. However, when I do get the chance, I want to be able to jump in, enjoy, not wait for equipment that might have "warm up time" etc. Gear - Antelope Zodiac DAC that's fed by PC running Daphile OS, which is a dedicated Linux based OS / music server. The DAC feeds into a Rotel RC 1090 preamp, and out to the amplifier. Speakers are the RF-5's. One of my favorite amps so far have been a home-brew EL-84 amp. Great for listening at low to normal volumes, but tends to be less effective when the kids come down to watch movies with me. I also have an Audio by Van Alstine Dynaco - updated amp. Sounds great but not as transparent in the upper registers as the EL-84. Been reading up on Class - A amps. But finding one that met my other requirements that included fast warm up was not easy, not to mention that the good ones are pricey. On another site, an individual was selling his own build of this http://www.firstwatt.com/f5.html This amp is very simple in design and doesn't run real hot like other Class A's might. Nor does it require much warm up time, and actually sounds quite good within a minute or so of power-on. The sound so far has caused a bit of a "wow" factor. Whenever new gear has been plugged into my system over the years, I expected that I might hear something "different". "Different" doesn't always equate to "better", though sometimes it does. This is one of those cases where "different" is definitely "better" to my ears. I've only had this amp for a couple of days. The focus has been to listen recordings that I'm very familiar with to see what those recordings sound like with the new amp. What seems to be the primary differences (from either of my other amps) are the following: - Localization of instruments and vocals seems far more precise. - Detail retrieval - not just in the treble but across the spectrum - has increased. - The EL-84's bass has always been a bit pronounced, sometimes in an enjoyable way and sometimes it just seems boomy. Might be my listening area that contributes to this. However compared to the EL-84, the First Watt's bass is not as pronounced but is by comparison very accurate. Bass has detail compared the EL-84. Compared to the ACA amp, bass has less volume and detail is about equal, with the First Watt has some detail advantage. - Compared to the AVA amp, the vocalist steps forward into the room. Placement of instruments / vocalists seems far more accurate. It seems far easier to discern details in the recording: the vocalist "p"s popping, sticks tapping the rim of the snare drum or hearing the stick striking the cymbal. - Not sure if the F5 clone comes off as "brighter" or if its a characteristic of the amp to be more revealing at all frequencies. So far, so fun.

Looks like a remote could be had for about $20 on Ebay.

You've probably got more $$ tied up in one of those tape decks that I do my whole system. Yowza! One thing this "shelter at home" thing does is get me back in touch, not with my gear, but with my music. I've been pulling out stuff that I've not listened to in years. Very enjoyable...even through my mighty 4 watt homebrew (OK, somebody else brewed it, but it's still homebrew) amp.

Some of the best amps I ever heard was back in 2006. Oh wait, they were yours!

106!!! Holy crap!

First, sorry about your illness and glad to hear that you're recovering. 👍 You're correct, far to early to know if reinfection is possibly or not. I suspect the epidemiologist - types will be interested in ongoing follow-up with folks like you who have recovered to study that possibility.

I'll second that. 🙂

Budget?

I've got a vintage Pioneer TX-9500 Tuner that was refurbished and aligned a few years back. These days, it sits idle in my equipment rack. My digital setup allows me to access many of my preferred FM stations via their internet broadcast. Given the convenience, and in some cases better audio quality, that's become my preferred method of listening to FM these days. Sign of the times, I guess....

The action/setup you've described doesn’t sound like bi-wiring. It sounds like what you're actually doing has the effect of wiring the speakers in parallel. See slide 10. https://cie-wc.edu/Series_Parallel_9_14.pdf

No. Unless the objective is to improve the bottom line for wire manufacturers and retailers.

Not getting around well these days so I'll have to beg off. Have a blast y'all.

You're killin' me! 😉

Blows my mind that these are still available. I wish I could bring another set of speakers into this house without my wife kicking me to the curb. GLWS!!

These probably won’t last long. 🙂 GLWS

Sounds like fun. I'll have to pass though. Ripped up my knee recently so I'm pretty immobile. Maybe next time?

This is what its like to be broke and have a great pair of speakers for sale right in your neighborhood. GLWS!

Fascinating read, thank you for that. Does this describe the reason that the "Reference Series" and most of the newer, later-day speaker designs from Klipsch have been two - way designs - even though they're not fully horn loaded?

Yeah, I think $1200 is a BIG TIME wish in this case.