wetowne

I use dBpoweramp with Accuraterip, also my cd's were well cared for and in pristine condition. I really can't tell the difference between my rips and Tidal 44.1/16.

Today Steve Guttenberg the Audiophiliac posted a link on his YouTube channel to a free download of high quality audiophile recordings that are very very good sounding. Minimal production two microphone, two track, uncompressed recordings of some interesting jazz and ethnic stuff. There's twelve tracks and the files are 44.1/16bit wav. Worth a listen and a good work out for your system.

I ripped my whole collection of cd's to flac files and store the files on a micro-sd card. That card sits in a slot in my wireless router which acts a NAS device. I stream over WI-Fi from the router to three different systems in my house either using Chromecast Audio or a HifiBerry Digi+ Pro into whatever dac I choose. I use a tablet or phone to control everything. No PC involved except for the initial ripping. It all works great and sounds great and was a very cost effective solution. My cd's are now in a box in the basement and my cd players are decorative.

Probably not helpful to the OP but take some time to you rip your CD's to FLAC then stream them. IMO, a good streaming device with a good dac beats a cd player every time. My player sits on the shelf for looks only or to play a cd I haven't ripped yet.

Easy Peasy.

Nice post. I thought about getting one of those back in the day, opted for an omnidirectional outdoor halo mounted in my attic instead. I miss good quality FM broadcasting it's pretty much a thing of the past

https://www.ebay.com/i/292630824158?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=292630824158&targetid=886140166958&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9002262&poi=&campaignid=9426387570&mkgroupid=98549529271&rlsatarget=pla-886140166958&abcId=1140476&merchantid=101678628&gclid=Cj0KCQjwy6T1BRDXARIsAIqCTXqFzIpensnjcXzhEG0RifpfmnHlHzquHkmMPm3rfbmGrGUcgSFJyiQaAtd5EALw_wcB Plug and Play

Thanks for the suggestion. I just ordered a matched pair NOS Voskhod Rockets for 20 bucks shipped. We'll see how they sound in a couple of days.

Glorious Mono! I love it. I listen to lots of mono recordings. I do feel there is a benefit to listening on a well placed set of stereo speakers though. Sit in the sweet spot and you get a good sense of depth that you don't get with one speaker.

Let me share my experience so far. The 5z4p rectifier is for the power supply side and is not really in the direct audio stream, if it's defective it could introduce noise into both channels but unlikely, so rolling those isn't going to do much for you. You might want to get some spares for backup just in case. I went with the originals they're cheap on eBay. The 6n2's are a bit of problem, they sound just fine but there are really no substitutes available for rolling, for that you'll need to go with 12xa7 variants, to use those tubes you will either have to rewire the tube sockets or get an adapter. You can find the adapters on eBay also. I got some JJ ECC83s and these are a definite improvement on the originals, they give more detail and space to the music that I listen to, which is mostly small jazz combos and chamber music. The original output tubes are not bad at all but so far I've rolled JJ kt-77's and Mullard el34's into the mix. I've experimented with almost all the possible combinations and I like the ECC83s with the Mullards the best. The ECC83s play really well with the Shuguangs also. With rock music the kt-77's might be better, they're more aggressive and have a little more bass. I got everything from Amazon and eBay.

I am generally in the bits is bits camp but I do admit there are some variables to be considered. Here's a link that is informative even if some of it is suspect. Consider the source as they do sell expensive cables https://upscaleaudio.com/pages/bits-is-bits

I love raspberry Pi for audio. Currently running a 3B with a Digi Plus Pro hat into a Schiit Modi 3. It runs Volumio. I stream flac files from a micro-sd card loaded into my wireless router and from Tidal using the built in Tidal interface, it'll do Qubuz too. It all works flawlessly, sounds damn good and is easy and inexpensive to do. Assembly of the unit and loading the Volumio operating system took about an hour. Use my phone or tablet to control it. Great stuff indeed.

Try and find a used Chromecast Audio device. They are a discontinued item that is still very popular. Prices for used run about 50.00, new unopened box around a 100.00, which is a shame because I got mine new for 15.00 when they were closing them out. They are popular for a reason, they stream beautifully, sound great and work with most everything. For price and versatility there was really no competition. I still don't know why Google stopped making them and didn't replace them with a similar device. But I digress. They are simple to use, you can use it on it's own without a DAC using a 3.5mm stereo male to RCA cable and it sounds better than ok, pair it with a decent DAC using an optical cable and it will sound excellent. I show it here with a 20.00 DAC which is designed primarily for use with a TV that only has an optical output but sounds very good in a stereo setup as well. You could even try just using a cell phone running Spotify with the aforementioned RCA cable, you might be pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't abandon that nice old Pioneer just yet.

I got some 16ga lamp cord at Lowes, found another relic in my basement ( NAD C521i cd player), hooked up the Chromecast audio dongle straight up without a dac and everything is working fine. Sounds very good as is. Even the FM works well with the one and only good classical station in the area. This receiver was inherited from father in-law who bought it new in 1979 for a bedroom set-up and passed two years later, it was used very little. I used it for a few months with my Fortes and then made the switch to tubes. There's probably less than 200 hours of actual use on it, I did an inspection of all internal components and cleaned and lubed all pots and switches and everything works perfectly so I have no plans for an overhaul unless it fails or the performance level should drop significantly. I went to the "If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It School" and graduated with honors. The setup is temporary, just to make sure it all works. Got a little better DAC (FiiO Taishan) coming this week. I don't plan on spending more than 50 bucks on this whole deal, it's just for grins and giggles. It might end up in my down stairs office or back in the closet. (Attached photo of cd player before it went through the dishwasher.)

You could try this solution. It's cheap and sounds way better than you would think. Good enough for Spotify. 20.00 DAC and 15.00 Chromecast. I'm going to use this setup for my Pioneer SX-780 (1978).

Gotta go get some decent wire. Probably have time tomorrow. I'll keep those interested in the results informed. Barring any problems I expect things to go well.

They're WO, they darkened a bit with the polish I used to clean them. The turntable thing is a rabbit hole I'm not sure of just yet. We'll see.

I decided to drag this one out from the darkness. I used this for a short time with my Fortes before I made the switch to tubes for both my systems. I figured I'd give it a try with my old Heresys that I just retired in favor of some new Heresy IIIs. The Heresys are from 1977 and this was made in 1978 so at least from a purist vintage aesthetic point of view they are a good match. It cleaned up nicely with a little tlc and crc. Haven't hooked it up yet, probably use Chromecast audio for streaming and cheap folded dipole for FM. This has a pretty decent phono stage and though I swore off of vinyl in 1983, lord help me I'm thinking about a turntable. I need another system like I need a hole in the head.

That's a good deal. Congrats!

Here's my cheap cd player: Synology RT2600ac wireless router with a 200gb micro sd card, a Chromecast Audio into good DAC and Hifi -Cast on my phone.

It'll take me another two weeks of being cooped up and bored to be ready for this guy. I ain't there yet.

It's matte black. I believe this special edition run was the only way to get matte black. The grills are unique too being platinum with the script logo at the top. Makes them look a little like IV's.

It's actually a Topping rack, perfect fit for the schiits. Complements the look of the amp too.

Azur 350C. Seldom used . I mostly stream flac files ripped from my cd collection. Special edition matte black for the finish

It's like this. 35 years ago I wrapped up my Heresys that I bought new in 1977 and put them way in the back of a closet and there they sat...until 15 months ago. On a whim I dragged them out, cleaned them up, hooked them up to a small tube amp with a Chromecast audio and wow, I was smitten. Gradually over the course of a year I improved things by experimenting with better streamers and dacs, a better amp and then last month, the ultimate upgrade, I replaced the old girls with a nice new set of Heresy III SE speakers. I really had no intention of building a second system and here I am. The final configuration you see here. My main system downstairs isn't getting a lot of use these days. I think I'm done for awhile but we shall see.