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Anybody know a good way to have all the audio from my PC stream to my amp without physically plugging the amp into the PC? We use a desktop computer hooked up to our living room tv for movies, music and gaming but for various reasons(reorganizing living room, concerns with grounding) I'd like to no longer run a 3.5mm to RCA from the line out of the PC directly into the preamp. I know there are things like Chromecast audio but unless there's a way to make that stream every sound from the PC it seems like more of a "just music" thing
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Mar 27, 2021 03:08
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Does your pc have Bluetooth? You can get powered Bluetooth dongles that pump audio from a Bluetooth source into an amp. If your pc does not have Bluetooth, you can get USB Bluetooth transmitters. I know there's better options with better tech, but you could grab both of these for under $40 on Amazon right now. If you want, um, a vintage solution I don't think I can help you.
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Mar 27, 2021 04:36
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I have some dongles floating around. I'll Google Bluetooth RCA audio receiver and see what I find, thanks!
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Mar 27, 2021 05:18
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http://jlsounds.com/i2soverusb.html Go for the option with galvanic isolation and run a competent DAC (I can help) and you’ll have it made, electrical isolation and all.
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Mar 27, 2021 05:41
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Discernibly Turgid posted:http://jlsounds.com/i2soverusb.html While I enjoy tinkering, I just saw this guy on sale, looks like it would fit the bill with minimal effort, no?
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Mar 27, 2021 05:53
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Yes that would work and probably/hopefully have lower latency than Bluetooth.
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Mar 27, 2021 13:12
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I stopped in a consignment shop a few months back and bought some records. I also spent some time explaining to the owner how she should go about pricing them and how to look them up on discogs. I told her to keep me in mind if she has any old stereos come through. Apparently some guy came in and tried to sell a stereo to her and she just gave him my number and said talk to this guy. He called me up and said that he had some old Panasonic stereo and the lady said that I was interested in Old stereos. I said I'm not really into Panasonic and most of it's junk but I might be able to give you like a hundred bucks for it if I can come take a look at it and it's something I want. Seller apparently can't tell the difference between Panasonic and Pioneer.   He also said he had a box of tapes was going to throw in the trash.  He said he looked it up on ebay and there was a couple hundred bucks worth of value but he would take $100. I don't know poo poo about pioneer and had no way to test it so I said how about $150 if he threw in the tapes. Thinking there was probably a few bucks in the tapes. Got home, plugged it in and aside from needing a good cleaning on the controls everything works. Reel to reel probably needs belts and the tuner string was binding so it will need something adjusted. Then I checked ebay and it looks like the seller was on Crack, the pre and amp sell for $1200 as a pair. Then I added the reels to my discogs and most are $50-$100 each and there were 38 reels. First time I have ever scored a complete stack for anything approaching a deal. I'll probably spend more on deoxit getting all the pots cleaned than I spent on everything. Edit: video of the test flight https://youtu.be/tQCFNz3vWFw my turn in the barrel fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Mar 28, 2021 |
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Mar 28, 2021 04:35
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Is there any conventional speaker that would be as transparent and amazing as my Quad ESL-63’s, but for a small apartment? Maybe a compression horn thing? I love the transparency and whatnot but the positioning is a nightmare and I’m moving to a smaller place soon.
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Mar 28, 2021 04:53
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my turn in the barrel posted:I stopped in a consignment shop a few months back and bought some records. I also spent some time explaining to the owner how she should go about pricing them and how to look them up on discogs. 
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Mar 28, 2021 05:10
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That's amazing. Did he inherit the Pioneer from a deceased relative or accept it for payment from someone? It's hard for me to imagine anyone running a reel to reel and that system without knowing its value.
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Mar 28, 2021 10:41
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RIP Paul Walker posted:Is there any conventional speaker that would be as transparent and amazing as my Quad ESL-63’s, but for a small apartment? Maybe a compression horn thing? My opinion/experience, of course, but I get to hear a LOT of speakers and I do a little building/designing on my own, which helps one suss out which things are and aren’t making a difference. Compression horns will get you immediacy, but not transparency. There’s a lot of “there” in a well-executed compression horn, but there are a lot of reasons it doesn’t vanish (ie become transparent.) Find a way to hear either version (V1or V2) of the Totem Fire. As far as being transported away, there’s very little I’ve heard that’ll get near it. Marketing garbage aside, there are three very real design aspects of this that make it work: 1: while arrogant, the designer is a good kind of obsessive when freed from “entry level” constraints, resulting in the best dynamic woofer I’ve ever heard, in no small part due to having been designed so that each element contributes to its ability to run without a crossover in this design. It’s not like the (very fun and good at some things) Lowther or Fostex full-range, which have wildly uneven responses and are out of puff a handful of watts in (and a lot of immediacy,) but instead this thing is also designed and spec’d in a way that looks like it’s intended to resist a black hole. Insanely in colored and can produce incredible bass as well. Without the crossover storing energy, this thing is nuts. 2: Similar care (although a bit easier to execute) to this tweeter. The crossover cap (the only crossover component in the entire speaker is all that’s needed, because all of the standard design problems typically remedied with impedance compensation and thermal drift have been built into the tweeter. 3: Cabinet is free of parallel sides and built like a brick outhouse. If you have that flavor of OCD-ishness that causes you to become physically uncomfortable at the site of non-parallel lines in what your brain feels should very much be a parallel line situation, they may not be for you. In fact, it’s the subtlety of it that’s so insidious. I know nothing about your finances, so I’ll just point out they come at a price whether new or used. If you’re using large subs with your 63s, you should consider the Totem Metal, as it’s a dual-woofer version of almost the same speaker, with changes to the woofer parameters that allow the main woofer to be freed from compensating for the baffle diffraction effects on the low end (below, at a guess, 400Hz or so,) instead being augmented by a second woofer in that range. Sort of a modified 2-1/2 way approach. Priced below that, I can recommend the latest Monitor Audio Gold series (they are transparent but tend to be a bit laid back, which is a taste thing. Driver quality and cabinet design/build are superb. As a nice bonus, any dynamic speaker you try will be considerably more efficient than the Quads. The ESL63 is a special experience when you can situate and feed them well. Sucks sacrificing a speaker like that. Gave up my customized Tannoys when we bought this house. Still stings sometimes.
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Mar 28, 2021 11:38
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Yuns posted:That's amazing. Did he inherit the Pioneer from a deceased relative or accept it for payment from someone? It's hard for me to imagine anyone running a reel to reel and that system without knowing its value. I got the impression the dude was a storage unit flipper. He was probably later 20s age. He had a bunch of other random poo poo he tried to sell me. I asked where the system came from and he said he bought a lady's "business" and she had all kinds of stuff. He also told me everything works but the RCA connectors on everything are caked in dust which crumbled off when I hooked it up for the first time. He could have always found it on a curb or something too. I had the impression he had no money in it.
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Mar 28, 2021 16:20
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Reminds me of a story a goon told here a few years back of watching some rando toss a working Marantz or maybe McIntosh woodgrain (apparently a high end one) unit into a transfer station because he’d replaced it with something that “had an iPod dock” for presumably an older family member. IIRC it was one of those “I told him he’d just tossed a thousand dollars and walked away” stories, so maybe take it with a little sodium chloride. But there’s definitely a long history of fancy gear getting trashed. My $90 CR-2040 was covered in goop, its case was gouged up, and it needed about $100 in TLC and replacement knobs before it became a centerpiece. It’s still rat-roddy tho. It needs its case either refinished or replaced and probably a visit to the technician. Holy poo poo it’s been 8 years.
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Mar 28, 2021 16:34
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Awesome, thank you for the suggestion! There is one Totem dealer near me, I’ll see if they have anything they can demo. My electronics are pretty top-notch and shouldn’t be a limiting factor for any speakers. For a little more context, right now my Quads are in the living room of a large apartment, and subs are a couple strategically placed Yamaha YST-somethings (the S in YST means “servo”) equalized by a Behringer DCX2496. Even at low apartment volumes, the experience is mesmerizing. I should have mentioned that a good low-volume listening experience is a non-negotiable requirement.
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Mar 28, 2021 16:37
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I have found a couple pioneer sx recievers on the curb back in the ipod early 2000s era. Both had lost the veneer on the side wood panels and needed bulbs and pots cleaned. I've never been that into pioneer and neither were cosmetically worth restoration so I just got the pots cleaned and passed them on to friends for garage stereos. I'm mostly pumped that I got a complete matching stack for so cheap. The only other time I have gotten decent gear as a package was the 30 piece collection I bought to get my partial Marantz stack. I got the luxman suckface reciever and matching cassette/cd/turntable and the remote for them all. Still have those and it's probably time to get them sold to a good home. Honestly I have been picking up stuff when I find a deal for the last 20 years and could probably start a hifi shop with the stuff I have squirreled away. Was going through a divorce for a few years and couldn't sell anything but it's time to get some space back. If any Chicago/Milwaukee/Rockford area goons need gear hmu and I'll dig around.
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Mar 28, 2021 17:08
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RIP Paul Walker posted:Awesome, thank you for the suggestion! There is one Totem dealer near me, I’ll see if they have anything they can demo. My electronics are pretty top-notch and shouldn’t be a limiting factor for any speakers. I’ve really liked their non-intro offerings since I first heard the Mani-2 in the 90s (when they were using a mix of customized Dynaudio woofers and SEAS tweeters. The Fire is in a whole different league than the Mani-2 (a statement without any shade.) When they’re available used they run anywhere from $3-4k (depending on how fickle the seller is) and I haven’t checked the retail pricing in a bit. 
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Mar 28, 2021 17:25
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RIP Paul Walker posted:Is there any conventional speaker that would be as transparent and amazing as my Quad ESL-63’s, but for a small apartment? Maybe a compression horn thing? Stereophile posted:Warning to Purists: Despite certain qualities about the ESL-63 speakers which you will probably like, Quad equipment is not designed primarily for audiophiles, but for serious-music (call that "classical") listeners who play records more for musical enjoyment than for the sound. Gotta love it.
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Mar 29, 2021 18:00
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Your point?
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Mar 29, 2021 19:51
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RIP Paul Walker posted:Is there any conventional speaker that would be as transparent and amazing as my Quad ESL-63’s, but for a small apartment? Maybe a compression horn thing?
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Mar 29, 2021 20:25
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Yuns posted:It's hard for me to imagine that any conventional speaker is going to match the type of sound you're getting from large electrostatics. Have you considered any of the new compact planars or ribbon speakers? Are you talking about the mini Maggie’s or are there others out there that I’ve missed? I have had full-size Magnepans in the past but hadn’t thought to consider the mini Maggie’s. pork never goes bad posted:Gotta love it. My Quads are the speaker that normal people seem to like the most, so I suppose that weird statement checks out.
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Mar 29, 2021 20:32
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pork never goes bad posted:Gotta love it. At least they're being honest that a lot of their readership is probably more interested in listening to their equipment than the music. In their review of the lintons I wound up buying the writer noted that it was hard for him to analyse the speakers because he was having such a good time enjoying the music through them. To me that's a ringing endorsement but I guess others might feel otherwise
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Mar 29, 2021 20:49
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RIP Paul Walker posted:Are you talking about the mini Maggie’s or are there others out there that I’ve missed? I have had full-size Magnepans in the past but hadn’t thought to consider the mini Maggie’s.
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Mar 29, 2021 21:26
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large hands posted:At least they're being honest that a lot of their readership is probably more interested in listening to their equipment than the music. In their review of the lintons I wound up buying the writer noted that it was hard for him to analyse the speakers because he was having such a good time enjoying the music through them. To me that's a ringing endorsement but I guess others might feel otherwise
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Mar 29, 2021 21:28
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I don’t think it’s an insult if you point out someone’s speakers are THE speaker for music listeners and, as such, don’t suit equipment fetishists.
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Mar 29, 2021 21:45
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Picked up this Dual 506 at goodwill today. The stylus is pretty trashed but other than being dusty it runs great. 
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Mar 30, 2021 23:10
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I have that same turntable. My dad bought it new decades ago and then gave it to me a few years ago. Looks like yours has the adapter that lets you use other cartridges. Which is good, because the ortofon cartridges it is supposed to use are very expensive, and the knockoffs are still kind of pricey.
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Mar 30, 2021 23:33
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Cojawfee posted:I have that same turntable. My dad bought it new decades ago and then gave it to me a few years ago. Looks like yours has the adapter that lets you use other cartridges. Which is good, because the ortofon cartridges it is supposed to use are very expensive, and the knockoffs are still kind of pricey. Yeah, it has the adapter. Which I guess throws off the balance of the whole tonearm a bit, but I’ll play around with it. I might run with this as my main deck for a while. Swap the cartridge out.
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Mar 30, 2021 23:40
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Yuns posted:Yes I was specifically thinking about the Magnepan LRS. The Martin Logan ESLs would all be too big. I had a set of .7’s a couple speakers ago and liked them but they don’t do low-level listening like the ESL-63’s. I thought you were talking about : https://www.magnepan.com/model_mini_maggie Which I am kind of kicking myself for never investigating. I feel like they may actually be great and exactly what I’m looking for. My girlfriend has MMGW’s and I have been pleasantly surprised by them. Discernibly Turgid posted:I don’t think it’s an insult if you point out someone’s speakers are THE speaker for music listeners and, as such, don’t suit equipment fetishists. “Oh maybe that’s why I like them so much” I’ve gotten my system to a point where I’ve almost completely stopped shopping for upgrades and it’s a nice feeling.
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Mar 31, 2021 15:51
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RIP Paul Walker posted:I had a set of .7’s a couple speakers ago and liked them but they don’t do low-level listening like the ESL-63’s. I thought you were talking about : https://www.magnepan.com/model_mini_maggie FWIW the LRS are apparently a totally different beast from the old MMGs. Also your experience with the .7 seems to echo what I’ve heard from a lot of people. You go into it thinking that it’ll be a good balance between the small Maggie and the 1.7 but it’s actually too small to meaningfully provide value vs either. Like either you want small (with or without a sub) and can do arguably better now with the new LRS or you want bigger and step up to the 1.7
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Mar 31, 2021 16:03
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Discernibly Turgid posted:Your point? I mean, I think some other posters covered it, but it's a nice and clear admission by the rag that "purists" and "audiophiles" aren't in it for musical enjoyment, but for something nebulous called "sound." They are, as you said, equipment fetishists. It certainly makes me (a person with a fair few old classical, blues, and swing records) more interested in those speakers, which before I had not heard of. Eta Discernibly Turgid posted:I don’t think it’s an insult if you point out someone’s speakers are THE speaker for music listeners and, as such, don’t suit equipment fetishists. To be clear, I was trying to insult Stereophile. pork never goes bad fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Mar 31, 2021 |
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Mar 31, 2021 17:33
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anybody tried these? https://www.amazon.com/JBL-Studio-590-Floorstanding-Loudspeaker/dp/B0060IG3R0?th=1 apparently an absolutely insane steal. they're on jbl's site for a grand a pop, and even apparently that's a steal.
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Mar 31, 2021 17:42
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abelwingnut posted:anybody tried these? yeah, Zeos loves them. I think they’re ugly as all hell, the finish materials do them zero favors. If I had a grand to spend on speakers I’d still probably get something else
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Mar 31, 2021 17:51
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yea, i agree they're ugly, but not impossibly so. and given the sound everyone seems to rave about, i think i might be able to hide them enough... gonna give them a whirl. can always resell them.
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Mar 31, 2021 17:54
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Ok Comboomer posted:yeah, Zeos loves them. I think they’re ugly as all hell, the finish materials do them zero favors. If I had a grand to spend on speakers I’d still probably get something else Theyre some of the ugliest speakers I’ve ever seen, and I own a really ugly pair of speakers. They look like a butthole.
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Mar 31, 2021 18:00
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pork never goes bad posted:I mean, I think some other posters covered it, but it's a nice and clear admission by the rag that "purists" and "audiophiles" aren't in it for musical enjoyment, but for something nebulous called "sound." They are, as you said, equipment fetishists. It certainly makes me (a person with a fair few old classical, blues, and swing records) more interested in those speakers, which before I had not heard of. Thank goodness (although it also reads like a thinly veiled swipe at some of their readership in a, “and we ALL know THOSE guys are dicks who make us all look bad, RIGHT?,” kind of way) and I say that without any irony. Since starting to hang out in this thread there seems to be a contingency of, “all amps and every non-broken speaker sound the same and you’re an audiophile if you claim to enjoy music more when it’s through nicer gear,” folks. I retract my raised-eyebrow.
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Mar 31, 2021 18:15
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I am certainly closer to that opinion with amps (that measure well) than speakers, but the notion that all non broken speakers sound the same is just wild. You can be objectivist as all hell and it's trivial to demonstrate that speakers don't all sound the same. I should probably clarify the amp comment. I don't think there are hidden effects on sound that sighted listening can detect that cannot be detected by a triangle test.
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Mar 31, 2021 19:38
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Everything else can have pretty clear objective criteria but output devices like speakers and headphones are tough to have a clear objective ranking especially as speakers are influenced by room effects and headphones by ear physiology and even in an anechoic chamber they all have significant differences. Chasing objective performance also got less attractive to me on output devices when I realized that we're chasing subjective preference curves like Harman curves determined through aggregation of subjective testing and not some flat linear frequency response.
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Mar 31, 2021 19:43
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pork never goes bad posted:It certainly makes me (a person with a fair few old classical, blues, and swing records) more interested in those speakers, which before I had not heard of. If you’re this type of person, you’ll find the McIntosh variable loudness control to be invaluable. I adore my C712.
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Mar 31, 2021 19:54
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Well I just lucked out! Father in law just gave us his old Thorens TD-160 that had been sitting in his basement  We’ve been without a turntable for a few weeks since I gave my MCS 6502 to a coworker, and it was a real bummer not being able to play new vinyl that was coming in the mail. Got everything set up and it plays great! Picked up a cheap tube preamp on Amazon and I can feel myself starting to fall down the rabbit hole and wanting a dedicated receiver and cabinet instead of piping it through my bookshelf studio monitors... just have to keep telling myself it’s perfectly fine 
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Apr 1, 2021 02:45
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Ok Comboomer posted:FWIW the LRS are apparently a totally different beast from the old MMGs. They are. I've had MMGs in the past, and the LRSs are much better speakers. I actually liked the .7's a lot, but they weren't great at low volumes and there always seemed to be something off about them compared to the older Magnepans with round voice coil wire versus the flat. My rebuilt MG-I's were brilliant at low volumes, even in a small apartment. I should have kept those, but they're currently being enjoyed by a good friend of mine. After going to an audio store and listening to $17,000 "normal" speakers, I've decided to keep the Quads. Shame, 'cause the conventional speakers look a lot nicer. I do plan to pick up a Magnepan DWM or two, as the used market will allow, to add some bass reinforcement between the Quads and my subwoofers. Probably also going to swap out the Behringer DCX2496 I'm using to EQ the subs for a MiniDSP.
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Apr 2, 2021 14:31
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