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Top tip: Write "broadcast" in the description of any piece of electronics and you can quadruple the price.
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Feb 22, 2016 23:15
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"Broadcasts your porn history to the NSA."
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Feb 22, 2016 23:19
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KozmoNaut posted:Top tip: Write "broadcast" in the description of any piece of electronics and you can quadruple the price. Same goes for "pro" photography gear. You want HOW MUCH for that Arca quick release plate?!?
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Feb 22, 2016 23:41
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Now even Archimago (he of reasonably objective observations and measurements) has been suckered into believing the Chromecast Audio does some kind of dynamic range compression when the High Dynamic Range/Full Dynamic Range switch is turned off. I fully expected him to do some kind of measurement to show how that's actually not true, but he just theorizes about it instead of actually measuring it. http://archimago.blogspot.dk/2016/02/measurements-google-chromecast-audio.html#comment-form It is literally just an output level switch, I can't understand why that's so hard to grasp for so many people. The superlative audiophile praise apparently knows no end when that switch is turned on. E: And I actually figured out why I was seeing clipping when recording from a CCA with Full Dynamic Range enabled, in case anyone cares. FDR on means an output level of 2Vrms, but my onboard sound can only handle up to 1Vrms input level before it starts clipping 
KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 00:54 on Feb 23, 2016 |
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Feb 23, 2016 00:38
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Crosspost from the Stupid Music poo poo thread. Seemed appropiate here.
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Feb 25, 2016 12:02
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 Digital guru Dan Lavry (Lavry Engineering) listening to the rig I brought, which included a MacBook Pro with lossless files optically feeding the Lavry DA11 (as DAC), which, via Cardas Clear interconnects, was feeding the Ray Samuels Audio Raptor which was driving the Sennheiser HD 800. Power cables were Cardas Golden Reference AC and TARA Labs RSC Air AC. Perfect power was courtesy of PS Audio's PowerPlant Premier. This rather simple rig produced some of the best sound I heard at the show.
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Feb 25, 2016 13:03
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"rather simple"
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Feb 25, 2016 14:18
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...and a decent set of headphones plugged in direct would get you a good 95% of the way to that level of quality and save you tens of thousands.
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Feb 25, 2016 19:39
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88h88 posted:...and a decent set of headphones plugged in direct would get you a good The same headphones with a Schiit or Fiio amp would sound identical.
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Feb 25, 2016 19:47
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I like to imagine this is the same guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oZkB5GSZeM
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Feb 25, 2016 19:50
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I don't know about the current MBP, but the noise levels kicked out by the jack output on my iMac are through the roof. It definitely needs something between it and your headphones, but yeah definitely not that rig. The Jack doubles up as a s/pdif output too at least.
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Feb 25, 2016 19:54
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Reminder that iPhones and iPods have a DAC that tests within the margin of error of some of the best DACs on the market. You may want an amp if you find the impedance limiting, but you can plug some very nice cans into any of them and get a very nice sound.
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Feb 25, 2016 23:12
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Not just limited to placebophiles, there's a Chinese saying of "A cent spent is an additional cent of quality received" which is great advice to subscribe to if you like getting ripped off left and right. I really don't get the logic of how people think a cheapass product is surely going to suck but others that cost hundreds or even thousands times more to do the same job will not. "Surely the expensive stuff is better is always because the seller put more actual well thought effort into it, and never because the seller is trying to rip me off!" Palladium fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Feb 26, 2016 |
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Feb 26, 2016 17:38
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Palladium posted:Not just limited to placebophiles, there's a Chinese saying of "A cent spent is an additional cent of quality received" which is great advice to subscribe to if you like getting ripped off left and right. I really don't get the logic of how people think a cheapass product is surely going to suck but others that cost hundreds or even thousands times more to do the same job will not. Because there are cases where this is true. There is a price:performance curve, and that curve levels off very sharply for most things. The problem comes when you refuse to believe that "this is as good as it gets" and so you're willing to throw money at snake oil salesmen.
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Feb 26, 2016 17:48
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Lord knows I've been in situations where I think "eh, something cheap is fine" and it isn't. At all. Even though middle of the road might be plenty acceptable, full stop cheap rarely is. All the little corners that get cut really add up fast.
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Feb 26, 2016 17:57
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A really good example is camera tripods. A cheap one (which is all you're going to find at Best Buy) is literally worthless, it does *not* do the job you're getting a tripod for.
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Feb 26, 2016 18:14
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Phanatic posted:A really good example is camera tripods. A cheap one (which is all you're going to find at Best Buy) is literally worthless, it does *not* do the job you're getting a tripod for. But on the same token, a tripod can only be so good. A $100,000 fixed tripod isn't going to do anything a $100 can't.
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Feb 26, 2016 18:36
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KillHour posted:But on the same token, a tripod can only be so good. A $100,000 fixed tripod isn't going to do anything a $100 can't. Yes, but a $1,000 tripod can.
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Feb 26, 2016 20:25
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KillHour posted:But on the same token, a tripod can only be so good. A $100,000 fixed tripod isn't going to do anything a $100 can't. Croc Monster posted:Yes, but a $1,000 tripod can. Yeah, I'm not aware of any $100k tripods (probably exist to some degree), but a $100 tripod will literally be garbage that doesn't hold your camera still. A $1,000 tripod will do the important thing of keeping your camera still, plus have a bunch of other stuff ranging from the system used to extend it, the type of head it has, hookups to weigh it down further, accessories to allow you to do overhead shooting etc. It's not just better quality materials, although that of course is a big part of it.
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Feb 26, 2016 22:22
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If you're talking audio stuff the curve is more roller coaster shaped though, as you'll have snake oil sellers peddling garbage for a lot of money.
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Feb 26, 2016 22:24
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Collateral Damage posted:If you're talking audio stuff the curve is more roller coaster shaped though, as you'll have snake oil sellers peddling garbage for a lot of money. This is true.
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Feb 26, 2016 22:27
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Croc Monster posted:Yes, but a $1,000 tripod can. At least. Especially when you're talking Gitzo or Manfrotto carbon fiber tripods. It's the same with shoes. Or cars. Or a million other little things. At a certain point this gets turned on its ear. Goods are priced and packaged in a way that you're biased into assigning it greater quality than more reasonably priced goods. And for their customers, well of course they can detect the quality. They're usually highly educated, successful professionals. There's no way they could be bamboozled, therefore it's empirically better to them. Makers of high end audiophile gear count on this.
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Feb 26, 2016 22:31
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I have no idea how much tripods cost. My point is you can't just keep making a better tripod by throwing money at it. You will eventually get to the peak of what a tripod will be. Same thing with speakers.
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Feb 27, 2016 04:56
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KillHour posted:I have no idea how much tripods cost. My point is you can't just keep making a better tripod by throwing money at it. You will eventually get to the peak of what a tripod will be. Same thing with speakers. Well yes, correct. Sticking Swarovski crystals on a tripod and saying that they will magically stabilize your camera resulting in sharper, more color saturated photos would be the analog (pun intended) here.
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Feb 27, 2016 05:19
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And then you get to something absolutely ridiculous like this US$2.2m behemoth: http://www.gizmag.com/pivetta-opera-only/29824/ When at rest, the 1.25 x 1.9 x 1.25 m (4.1 x 6.2 x 4.1 ft), 1,500 kg (3,307 lb), 12-sided power amplifier can sit monolith-like in the corner of a room, showing no visible connection boxes or inputs. A radio remote brings the Opera Only to life, its six outer doors dividing and opening out to overall dimensions of 1.85 x 2.5 x 1.85 m (6 x 8.2 x 6 ft). Once the transformation is complete, LED lights help reveal the power electronics within. It's a goddamn work of art. Ugly as sin though 
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Feb 27, 2016 08:53
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My minidisc player came! Gonna spend the night making mix discs and seeing what the quality is like. That said I'd like to record from an optical in because I've been brainwashed into thinking it'll sound way better than recording from the headphone jack on my laptop (or my fiio dac). Can you buy a USB optical out for laptops?
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Feb 27, 2016 16:33
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Your headphone out might already double up as an SPDIF, all the Apple stuff has done for years and I know a bunch of motherboards have a similar thing in place. Just need to get a TOSlink cable with the little 1/8" adapter that goes on the end and you're golden.
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Feb 27, 2016 16:37
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Cool! Well I've got a brand new laptop that has a hole that looks like a headphone jack with a red light coming out of it, which says to me that surely it must be something special. So I just this need this cable that has the audio jack one end, and a SPDIF on the other, then plug an audio cable into that? Edit: this cheeky chappy? http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...EfXL&ref=plSrch
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Feb 27, 2016 16:43
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Yep, the red light indicates that's exactly what you have. The Amazon link looks right too but I'm off a very small thumbnail as Amazon is being a bit of an arse on my connection today. You can sometimes get cables with that as a fixed end, sometimes they're adapters. Make sure you get the right one to connect to the Minidisc end too (I've never had a Sharp, but I think all my Sonys needed the 1/8" adapter too from memory except for my non-portable one).
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Feb 27, 2016 16:48
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That's awesome, you've been a big help! I'll post back with results in a couple of days. Of course I wonder if even it'll make nay difference in terms of quality. I mean minidiscs are compressed anyway, and how can it even tell if the signal is analogue or SPDIF? The connection going into the player is the same.
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Feb 27, 2016 18:34
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Alan_Shore posted:That's awesome, you've been a big help! I'll post back with results in a couple of days. Of course I wonder if even it'll make nay difference in terms of quality. I mean minidiscs are compressed anyway, and how can it even tell if the signal is analogue or SPDIF? The connection going into the player is the same. Run a test and see.
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Feb 27, 2016 20:37
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Are you ready for some of the most amazing audiophile cable-related twaddle? Including: quote:http://www.theabsolutesound.com/buyers_guides/31/?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email-460 And: quote:http://www.hifiplus.com/buyers_guides/3/ Don't miss it!
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Feb 27, 2016 21:14
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OK this is the last question I have about this whole process (man this audio stuff is complicated and an endless hole!). So my laptop does have a SPDIF out cos when I plugged my headphones into it a dialogue box popped up asking me if it was speakers or SPDIF (on another tangent, sound came out of my headphones when I select "Front speakers" but no sound when I select "SPDIF", and also no sound when I plugged my headphones into the headphones hole. Sigh). Anyway my research indicates that to get digital sound to my minidisc, I need a coaxial cable. But I can't seem to find a cable with 3.5mm connectors on each end with the coaxial cable in the middle. Shouldn't this exist? Or am I going to have to by a coaxial cable with two 3.5mm adapters, or buy a SPDIF cable with an adapter? drat this should be way easier than it is. All this just to get the best audio on a drat MINIDISC. It's me. I'm the audiophile EDIT: So I'll get this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/TOSlink-Fibre-Digital-Toslink-Optical/dp/B008N15ON6/ref=pd_bxgy_23_img_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0C3GXB5QYGNJB5BJMT69) and see what happens Alan_Shore fucked around with this message at 22:01 on Feb 27, 2016 |
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Feb 27, 2016 21:54
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Alan_Shore posted:OK this is the last question I have about this whole process (man this audio stuff is complicated and an endless hole!). Addressing this part - No sound will come out of your headphones if you select SPDIF - they most likely don't accept a digital signal natively, do they?
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Feb 27, 2016 22:20
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Alan_Shore posted:EDIT: So I'll get this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/TOSlink-Fibre-Digital-Toslink-Optical/dp/B008N15ON6/ref=pd_bxgy_23_img_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0C3GXB5QYGNJB5BJMT69) and see what happens See the 'Frequently Bought Together' items? Those are the converters, you just clip them onto the cable non-3.5mm end. However, I just noticed you're in the UK - are you near a Poundland? I've had success picking up 'meh' quality Optical cables from there before. If it was a month ago, I would've just sent you mine as I don't need them anymore, but gave everything like that to a mate including a few of the adapters.
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Feb 27, 2016 22:34
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e: Soundly beaten, I see. You seem pretty clueless, but that's alright  You shouldn't expect audio to come out of the headphone hole of your laptop when it's in SPDIF mode, because the transmission is supposed to happen digitally and optically, by blinking that light you saw, essentially. You didn't mention specifically which Sharp player you got, but best guess, if this is going to work at all, you don't need coaxial cable at all. What you'll be using is optical cable. Coaxial spdif transfers digitally and electrically and generally the hole will look like one you plug an rca cable into. These weren't commonly used on portable recorders and wouldn't work with the optical out you've got on your laptop anyway. The cable you got is the right one, but you'll need an adapter piece to make it 3.5mm to 3.5mm, such as those linked in the frequently bought together section.
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Feb 27, 2016 22:41
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Cool, thank you everyone! Yeah I ended up getting that cable and the converter. Also a few minutes after I posted I figured out that yeah, of course there wouldn't be any sound coming to my headphones. I'm getting there slowly! This is all so pointless too, I mean I have a pretty amazing MP3/FLAC player (Cowon M2) and all this effort I'm putting into recording the best sound possible on a drat minidisc is crazy... But I just started recording some songs onto my Sharp MD-MT15 and it was soooo exciting haha
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Feb 27, 2016 23:02
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Alan_Shore posted:This is all so pointless too, I mean I have a pretty amazing MP3/FLAC player (Cowon M2) and all this effort I'm putting into recording the best sound possible on a drat minidisc is crazy... But I just started recording some songs onto my Sharp MD-MT15 and it was soooo exciting haha A lot of people (including me) still buy LPs, even though they're clearly inferior to CDs or downloads. A lot of people really like cassette tapes, or reel-to-reel tapes, or even 8-track. Personally, if I bought a used car and it came with a tape deck, drat straight I'd copy a bunch of music to tapes just to use them in my car. Because why not? E: And if it somehow came with one of the super-rare MD car stereos, you'd better believe I would be recording a ton of MDs. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Feb 27, 2016 |
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Feb 27, 2016 23:09
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Whatever, MD are fun. I use mine all the time when I'm snowboarding because if I end up breaking it I won't be heartbroken. Cheers!
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Feb 27, 2016 23:12
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Sonicstage killed any love for the format for me. By owning a Sharp you have avoided this. Sharp MDs were generally the goto gear for people bootlegging gigs on a budget. The format has its uses.
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Feb 27, 2016 23:27
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