Blogs

Saturday evening was a testing one.

The setup of the device via Bluetooth using the WiiM HOME app did work smoothly. But I rather like BubbleUPNP for playback cues. JRIVER and FOOBAR detected the device sans fault. Checking out the killer feature of the WiiM, the 24bit 192 hz digital output to an external DAC. It didn't work at the beginning with native bitrates, but worked well with 24bit 96hz, though. Or with down sampled streams from JRIVER or BubbleUNPN. As it didn't work out with the Toslink cable provided by

DuckToller in Streamer - DAC

September 6, 2022

DuckToller's Sonic Encounters

TOSLINK - I stand corrected!!!

I stand corrected: The Toslink cable provided by WIIM does work with 24bit - 192 kHz files. Just tested it together with the two new short digital cables that arrived yesterday, no difference by performance except for my personal Bias for the shortest one of 50 cm. It's quite handy ;-) Possible reason for my fail: Firmware update in the meantime or multiple human mismatch. Prefer the first option ;-) However, it is important to underline that you won't need to add another cable to

DuckToller in Streamer - DAC

April 14, 2022

DuckToller's Sonic Encounters

Pretty much excited to get the WIIM mini Airplay 2 in my hands tonight.

What's that ? It's kind of chromecast on XTC for music lovers. A lightweight puck of 48 gramms, infused with technology of from Linkplay Technolgy Inc, Newark, California, who owns the brand Wiim, which once was called WiimU and has its home in Nanjing, China, somewhere between Shanghai and Wuhan. Funny thing is, I bought it at Amazon.fr from a company called Arylic-Eu.com, which is the brand name of Rakoit.com, another Chinese enterprise from Shenzhen. This company has contact

DuckToller in Streamer - DAC

April 9, 2022

The Art of Audio Conjuring

Interesting Conversations Elsewhere ...

Just came across this thread, on ASR, https://www.audio “science” review/forum/index.php?threads/those-of-you-who-believe-measurements-arent-the-whole-story-do-you-have-a-hypothesis-why-that-is.25416/. This has the usual round of non-thinking comments, but at least a couple of posters are putting up some interesting contributions. In particular, escksu. And, atmasphere - as a manufacturer of tube amps, he's game to want to join in, .

fas42 in Creating Stereo Magic

January 2, 2022

Qhwoeprktiyn's blog

The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Jazz

What a better way to celebrate the passage of time (New Year), from a musical standpoint, than with Loren Schoenberg, musician, Jazz scholar, former director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. His book "The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Jazz" (https://www.amazon.com/NPR-Curious-Listeners-Guide-Jazz/dp/039952794X) is a great introduction to Jazz, and an opportunity to discover or learn to appreciate many artists through Schoenberg's insightful and informative comments.

Qhwoeprktiyns in Jazz

December 28, 2021

DuckToller's Sonic Encounters

PuRiFi based Surveyor by JGC & Rose Handwerk

Joachim Gerhard Collection & Rose Handwerk: PuRiFi based speaker design Some of you may have heard about Joachim Gerhard, the créateur of Michael Fremer's beloved Audio Physic Virgo speaker and founder of Audio Physic, Sonics and Suesskind Audio. In Europe he is often referred to as the "German Pope of High End Speakers" ... Nevermind, this century there has already seen a German Pope of the Catholic Church - from Bavaria - whose reign didn't last as long as Joachim G

DuckToller in Loudspeaker

November 24, 2021

Qhwoeprktiyn's blog

Ellington at the Sunset Ballroom, 1957

Duke Ellington's "All Star Road Band" album was recorded live at a dance in the Sunset Ballroom, in Carrolltown, PA, in June 1957. It is not among his most famous, but is interesting in several aspects. -- The Music -- There are relatively few albums of the Ellington band performing at dances, the most famous being "Duke at Fargo", recorded in 1940. Fast-forward 17 years and we have with the "All Star Road Band" album another dance date, but with a more "modern" vers

Qhwoeprktiyns in Vintage Jazz

October 18, 2021

Qhwoeprktiyn's blog

Audio for dummies (part 2)

I was wrong, there is hope - though I'll never fit the Duke Ellington Orchestra in my living room, I may be able to get in the studio with them. Well, not quite, because they would have had to record with modern technology in high-resolution (192 kHz ?)... Here's a session I would have enjoyed: "Jazz Party", at Columbia's 30th Street studios. Dizzy Gillespie dropped in, as well as Jimmy Rushing. The original LP was released with applause added in. Another version is available without

Qhwoeprktiyns in Audio critique

September 23, 2021

Qhwoeprktiyn's blog

Audio for dummies (part 1)

Monday was not a good day for me. I was told this: My hopes to recreate the Duke Ellington Orchestra in my living room were shattered... I knew my 2000€ speakers were not quite up to the task, but I was hoping that perhaps investing a little more in my system would somehow get me there. Reading review after review on this very site (and many others) I had been led to believe that I would experience the music as if the performer was in the room. Maybe I should fin

Qhwoeprktiyns in Audio critique

September 22, 2021

Qhwoeprktiyn's blog

ECDesigns' PowerDAC-R - wrap up

Five months after posting my initial "preview" of ECDesigns’ PowerDAC-R I would like to offer some concluding comments on my experience with this unique product. I will also include additional information that was provided by ECDesigns in answer to some of my questions. Some of this information may already have been mentioned in the long ECDesigns thread on this forum, but it will be convenient to have it available here for future reference. Even if one does not grasp all the techni

Qhwoeprktiyns in Equipment Review

September 20, 2021

The Art of Audio Conjuring

Video clips of interest ...

Just noted this one, demonstrating an nominally high performance DAC, Unfortunately, very strong system signature - quite obviously this is playback; has a "boxed in" quality, for a start. Unlikely to be caused by the DAC - note how the backing strings lack the sheen that this part of the mix should have.

fas42 in Creating Stereo Magic

August 11, 2021

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The Art of Audio Conjuring

The Purpose of Audio Reproduction

Time to crack this back open again, 😄. Yes, what's the point? There could be a zillion answers, but my answer is to be true to the contents of a recording ... I was going to post this to that unloved thread, now gone to zombie land, but I'll do it here, instead, Bit of a mess, eh? And, this is the remaster, from 2015!! - I've got it on a double CD from 1998 - a low cost release - sludgy, plus? ... You bet! What should a system do to, for this?

fas42 in Creating Stereo Magic

July 30, 2021

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Qhwoeprktiyn's blog

ECDesigns PowerDAC-R preview

It’s been a long time coming… ECDesigns is a two-person operation run by brothers John and Gordon Brown; John handles circuit design and Gordon oversees the programming aspects. They are based near Eindhoven in the Netherlands, and products are sold directly through their website (www.ecdesigns.nl). John Brown introduced himself on DIYAudio in 2006 with these words: "I have spent my entire life designing, repairing and building electronic equipment – electronics is my passion...

Qhwoeprktiyns in Equipment Review

April 20, 2021

Qhwoeprktiyn's blog

Objective subjectivism

Objective: expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations (Merriam-Webster) Arthur Salvatore is an old-timer with an outdated website that contains many fascinating insights into audio. My favorite section describes his "audio philosophy". One aspect which can be put in practice by all of us, concerns his description of "levels of audible improvements": http://www.high-endaudio.com/philos

Qhwoeprktiyns in Audio critique

April 13, 2021

Qhwoeprktiyn's blog

A speaker cable to rule them all ?

Ever tried copper foil speaker cables ? I have experimented with a couple recently: - DIY model - Silversmith Audio's Fidelium cables 1) DIY copper foil cables They are easy to make yourself - here is a recipe someone gave me. All you need is: - Kapton tape (https://www.amazon.com/Temperature-Resistant-Polyimide-Sublimation-Soldering/dp/B08T74TCFS/ref=sr_1_14?dchild=1&keywords=KAPTON+Tape&qid=1618095371&sr=8-14) - Copper foil, 16AWG

Qhwoeprktiyns in Speaker cables

April 10, 2021

Qhwoeprktiyn's blog

A custom music application

I am always curious to understand how people manage their music collection, and often surprised by the creativity deployed by some. Perhaps reading about what I have designed will be of interest to others, though it is build "from scratch" and hardly replicable "as is". I'll admit that I am quite proud of my work: the results meet my specific needs. I gave Roon a try for a couple years, then gave up, explaining why here (good background on why I embarked on this project):

Qhwoeprktiyns in Music Application

March 21, 2021

Qhwoeprktiyn's blog

RIP Marvelous

Marvelous Marvin Hagler, one of boxing's all time greats, just died, aged 66. His boxing record: 67 pro fights, with only 3 losses (all controversial). He elevated boxing to an art form as few have ever done. From his interviews after his retirement, he seemed like a kind man. He remained bitter about the world of boxing, having been robbed in his last fight of a well-deserved victory against the more popular Sugar Ray Leonard. Anyone interested in the "Sweet Science" sh

Qhwoeprktiyns in Sports

March 14, 2021

Qhwoeprktiyn's blog

More Ellington Gems

The Pittsburgh Jazz Festival organized on June 20, 1965 a "Jazz Piano Workshop" which was luckily recorded and issued on CD by Mosaic Records: https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Jazz-Piano/release/5260834. Here is a picture of the "cast" on that day: https://collection.cmoa.org/objects/cfcdaea2-de64-4f61-92cf-8f4e6d9db60f Ellington plays two numbers (in addition to a duo with Earl Hines): a spirited version of "Take the A Train", with bass and drum accompaniment, and another piece "

Qhwoeprktiyns in Ellington

March 6, 2021

Qhwoeprktiyn's blog

Lady Day

In 1946 Hollywood made a film about Jazz - "New Orleans" - and cast Billie Holiday, arguably the most influential singer in Jazz, in a secondary role as a servant. Yesterday, Hollywood celebrated Andra Day's depiction of Billie in the biopic "The United States vs Billie Holiday". Times have changed (though it could be argued there is still much progress to be made), but Billie Holiday is still remembered today as a "tragic" figure, somewhat obscuring her lasting contributions to Ame

Qhwoeprktiyns

March 2, 2021

Describing the Technologies in Computer Audio

ADNACO-S3B USB 3.0/2.0 OVER FIBER OPTIC EXTENSION SYSTEM

https://www.adnaco.com/products Adnaco Remote host USB system is a PCIe to USB extender. There is a PCIe card that provides two USB 3.0 ports extended remotely by Fiber Optic Cables. In an audio PC, this removes the USB interface from the noisy PC motherboard. For better audio, use a high-quality power supply on the endpoint. I have found that this interface provides significantly improved sound quality vs. the USB ports on a typical PC Motherboard. Adnaco

bobfa in Servers

February 6, 2021

DuckToller's Sonic Encounters

THE AIRPULSE A80 - short review with measurements

THE AIRPULSE A80 active desktop speakers - short review with measurements The Airpulse A80 horn-loaded Ribbon Tweeter design active desktop speaker is the youngest and smallest sibling of the Airpulse family designed by Phil Jones, produced and marketed by Edifier International. It may be available in the US starting 599 $. European prices are around 699 €. While her inner values are broadly identical with the recently reviewed Airpulse A100, the Bluetooth stack of the A80 has evolved

DuckToller in Speaker

January 3, 2021

DuckToller's Sonic Encounters

The new Airpulse A80 & Airpulse A300 pro

There had been members suggesting more reviews on active bookshelf speakers after the Airpulse vs Kanto reviews and when Airpulse asked me about reviewing the new A80s I felt it would make sense to report about them here in the forums. Last week I have received the fancy blue coated A80 active desktop speakers from Airpulse, they are the smaller sibling of the already reviewed A100 and sell for 699 USD. These two may have some smaller technical differences only, wh

DuckToller in Speaker

November 24, 2020

DuckToller's Sonic Encounters

Like a late November afternoon sky: About DACs and smartphones - an opinion:

Could we relate to DACs performance somehow like to a fall afternoon’s beautiful cloudy sky? I assume It may lie in the eye of the beholder which picture carries more beauty for him or her while obviously there are objective criterias to define a picture's qualities. For example, I’ve selected 2 fall sky images I took with my then smartphone in 2016 and 2018 The technical quality is limited, the impression may suit you or not. But is as much in line how I saw the sky as I could c

DuckToller in Opinion

November 23, 2020