Author Topic: G2G @ Rich's October 9  (Read 32655 times)

Offline stereofool

  • Obsessively Audiophilic
  • ****
  • Posts: 453
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #45 on: October 10, 2010, 02:09:50 PM »
I'm going to do this the 'easy' way...photos are here  :)

http://www.audionervosa.com/index.php?action=mgallery;sa=album;id=71
Steve
Have you ever noticed.... Anyone going slower than you is an idiot...and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

Offline richidoo

  • Out Of My Speaker Cabinet
  • ******
  • Posts: 11144
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #46 on: October 10, 2010, 03:14:42 PM »
Good idea Steve!
Here's mine, most taken by my daughter.
http://www.audionervosa.com/index.php?action=mgallery;sa=album;id=72

evan1

  • Guest
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #47 on: October 10, 2010, 05:06:09 PM »
Thanks . Puts faces to the names. Whats up with the makeshift acoustic panels ? Any info on them?

Offline richidoo

  • Out Of My Speaker Cabinet
  • ******
  • Posts: 11144
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #48 on: October 10, 2010, 05:59:30 PM »
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5817992.html
It's a compromise treatment, mixing amplitude diffusion of high freqs with bass absorbtion and midrange echo control. This is a do it all method that is not great at any particular task. Specific treatments designed for each task will work much more efficiently. But these sound good, and can cover a lot of area, without too much deadening. A lot of work to DIY. But you can buy them from RPG, via bhphoto. GIK makes more powerful treatments to fix specific problems.

Offline Carlman

  • Audio Neurotic
  • *****
  • Posts: 3037
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #49 on: October 11, 2010, 06:26:44 AM »
And The Meet Goes On... ladda dadda dee.. ladda dadda dah

Day 2 of the meet was very small... Basically Rob dropped by my place for a nice bike ride and to take a listen to my system.. which was non-playable last time he was here.  (My speakers were getting new crossovers.)  Sorry, no photos, but it looked pretty much the same as always..

It was the first time I'd heard my own system in a month so I was very pleased to be able to sit back and enjoy some tunes.  Everything was as cold as it gets when I booted it all up but it opened up after about 30-45 minutes.  I really enjoyed just listening to the music, I found myself getting taken away a bit.

Rob brought a really cool concert DVD also.. I couldn't watch it all but it was stunning and a real treat to see... So, thanks for sharing that. 8)

-Carl
I really enjoy listening to music.

manaox2

  • Guest
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #50 on: October 11, 2010, 09:29:38 AM »
I was dead on Sunday, but it was worth it. Just what I was looking for to do some serious DAC comparisons and learn some nice stuff about crossovers and room effects in the process. :) I don't know if I want to continue down my path of tweaking the Buffalo DAC DIY designs much more. The tranquility DAC was a winner in the price vs benefit category, relaxing and involving even if it wasn't uber detailed and exactly true to the recording. Good stuff. The PWD was the reference DAC of the evening. It commanded my attention which was entertaining, but I can see how that can get tiring after an album. Think the preamp was possibly on to something.

Also noticed my musical tastes may lean towards the warm to hot midrange tracks. Might have something to do with being intimate with headphones for so long.

Thanks so much for hosting Rich. The great food and conversation made it worth any wait. :)

Bigfish8

  • Guest
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #51 on: October 11, 2010, 01:18:13 PM »
Guys:

Ted Brady (Ted_B on AC) owns or is currently evaluating the Zodiak+ DAC and made the following comments about it after I posted comments in the Tranquility DAC thread this morning:

Good stuff Ken.  I'm amazed the Zodiac Plus was even listenable at 20 hrs break in.  That DAC is glorious, but not until 200 hours plus (others who have it will attest).  Until then it is harsh, flat and midfi.  Over 200 hours...wow! (but also 2x the price of the Tranquility standard).



It will be interesting to hear additional comments from Shane as he adds more break-in time to the Zodiak+ and to its performance versus the PS Audio Perfect Wave.

Ken
« Last Edit: October 11, 2010, 01:20:05 PM by Bigfish8 »

roscoeiii

  • Guest
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #52 on: October 11, 2010, 01:32:09 PM »
Even if not copletely broken in, I'd be interested in others' impressions of the Zodiac+ at your g2g. Not a lot out there on this DAC yet.

Offline richidoo

  • Out Of My Speaker Cabinet
  • ******
  • Posts: 11144
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #53 on: October 11, 2010, 01:59:28 PM »
Excellent!! Thanks Ken, (and Ted)

Roscoe, I have been following Antelope for more than a year.  I finally heard one with headphones at Charlotte canfest in summer. It was pretty good, but not as good as the best dedicated head amps there, as expected.  Maybe it wasn't broken in yet either. But this was my first time hearing it in a speaker system.

My main impression was that my attention was always drawn to the sibilance in the recording. Others sitting closer to the center said the soundstaging was confusing. Iirc the upper bass was a bit bloated compared to the others. It will be interesting to hear how it ages. Ted knows what he's talking about, and owned just about every great DAC there is.
Rich

manaox2

  • Guest
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #54 on: October 11, 2010, 02:02:22 PM »
The Grado GS1000 and PS1000 headphones they were using with the Zodiac + are odd ducks too that I don't really care for so much as well at the Charlotte Canfest. Certainly better though then the Ultrasone Edition 8 they had connected to them in Chicago back in June. I had a listen to them with my own Sennheiser PX-100 mkII phones, wasn't very impressed by that either. I'm noticing that they are constantly picking low impedance phones to put with the internal headphone amplifier at these events. I wonder what would have changed if I had had my Sennheiser HD650 on hand. They might have done themselves a good favor had they connected a separate headphone amp as you say.
« Last Edit: October 11, 2010, 02:06:23 PM by manaox2 »

Offline Rob S.

  • Obsessively Audiophilic
  • ****
  • Posts: 278
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #55 on: October 13, 2010, 08:18:13 PM »
Took a few days to iron out some home duties, and some system setup with new tweeters, but I must mention.....

DAY 1:  GTG at Rich's was a blast for me.  I enjoyed meeting some new people, Scott and Roger, along with all the other regulars.   Many thanks to Rich and his awesome family for letting me stay there, and also for feeding me.  Got to sleep in both mornings with no screaming kids to wake me up,  how do you do it Rich? fear of beatings?  or superb parenting?  lets here your tips....

DAY 2:  mini GTG at Carls house.....  just me, and Carl popped his head in occasionally.  First time hearing Carls system and loved it.... well thought out system integration and of course fantastic room for it.  Carl hooked me up with my own personal popcorn bowl and I had free reign of his music library.  :)   Followed by some more real food.....  Prior to the tunes/food, Carl led me on a guided mtn bike tour of some local mtn bike trails,  great weather, great riding, great company.  Doesn't get much better (unless you're in better physical shape)   Thank you Carl for carving out some time for me on Sunday.  I'd love to return the hosting should you head up this way.

Any of you AN guys up for a trip up to WV this fall or winter?

Rob S.
No new money spent on audio!!  but starting in 2012!!

Offline hometheaterdoc

  • Obsessively Audiophilic
  • ****
  • Posts: 667
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #56 on: October 14, 2010, 06:22:17 AM »
Guys:

Ted Brady (Ted_B on AC) owns or is currently evaluating the Zodiak+ DAC and made the following comments about it after I posted comments in the Tranquility DAC thread this morning:

Good stuff Ken.  I'm amazed the Zodiac Plus was even listenable at 20 hrs break in.  That DAC is glorious, but not until 200 hours plus (others who have it will attest).  Until then it is harsh, flat and midfi.  Over 200 hours...wow! (but also 2x the price of the Tranquility standard).



It will be interesting to hear additional comments from Shane as he adds more break-in time to the Zodiak+ and to its performance versus the PS Audio Perfect Wave.

Ken

I'm still exhausted from Saturday.... man, that seriously wiped me out... other than seeing Carl for a few minutes, I slept the entire day away Sunday.  It's Thursday and I still feel like I haven't caught up and got my energy level back up.

To Ken's response....  I hooked the DAC back up on Monday evening as I was too zonked to do it Saturday night or Sunday.  It's been running 24/7 since then.  I listened for about 20 minutes last night and it sounds much better than it did on Saturday (and it really didn't sound all that bad on Saturday, for what it's worth... not top shelf, but not at all unlistenable)... the extra 48 hours of burn in has helped.  

The PS Audio Network Bridges are en route to me from CO.  I'll get that loaded into the unit and then have to do a comparison between a PC feeding the Zodiac versus a stand alone streaming unit in the PS Audio.

Ken, want to do our own comparison this weekend or next?  We've got the exact same amp, speakers, and cabling here and at your place.  Only difference is the room acoustics.  Plus I'd like to fiddle a bit more with the Zodiac+ being fed from a Mac product to see if there are any differences.  I'm PC only here.....
« Last Edit: October 14, 2010, 07:33:18 AM by hometheaterdoc »
Shane Sangster
Used to be Night & Day Audio.......

Offline richidoo

  • Out Of My Speaker Cabinet
  • ******
  • Posts: 11144
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #57 on: October 15, 2010, 06:19:14 PM »
I can't seem to find my red 1.5M BlueJeans Cable coax IC. It has Canare RCAs, bright RED outer jacket and connector covers. Can you guys look through your stash? Thanks
Rich

Offline stereofool

  • Obsessively Audiophilic
  • ****
  • Posts: 453
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #58 on: October 15, 2010, 06:28:34 PM »
Com'on Rich...how else do you expect us to build up our systems  :twisted:!!!
Steve
Have you ever noticed.... Anyone going slower than you is an idiot...and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

Bigfish8

  • Guest
Re: G2G @ Rich's October 9
« Reply #59 on: October 15, 2010, 07:13:37 PM »
Rich:

I hope they turn up!  I only brought home the two Black Sands Silver PCs that I took into the house.

Ken