blessingx

Thanks for all the Roon information. It's definitely helped bring me up to speed. Feels like beyond all the useful metadata advantages, depending how you're spread out over USB, UPnP, Airplay, etc. libraries and endpoints, Roon tames that complexity. In a simple, direct setup, as others have said, adding middle hardware and centralized software, may add to it. I admire you guys keeping extensive libraries and having favorite masterings, etc. Beyond vinyl, I've gotten lazy and once a decent quality streaming service showed up, and it covered 90% of my library, I stopped the local storage, probably a decade ago. That's also when I stopped using the Squeezeboxes I still love and would make excellent Roon endpoints. 🤕

RIP John Saxon. Moving on to other worlds.

Magnum’s Square Print sale is back on. Theme is Solidarity and 50% of proceeds go to NAACP. https://www.magnumphotos.com/shop/?rfsn=610537.fb00b&subid=IG

^ This. Hope it’s a great one.

Thanks for the above. That makes a lot of sense. It comes after some earlier hardware choices though, no? Are you directly streaming (services) from mobile? Do you run a media server (possibly on a dedicated machine) with networked drives? I know you were talking generally, but concerning Roon specifically, maybe, likely, I don’t understand it outside of mixing local files and streaming services. I’ve never used. If you don’t mind me asking (as in my case), does anyone run Roon as a UI for just Tidal or Qobuz? And if so, do they just not use Roon to stream directly from mobile (electing to remote drive back to a Roon machine)? And in that sense they need a dedicated machine always on? If you don’t mind, just let me know if I’m way off there. Edit: Just found the B-Fi specs: Airplay 1 and maxes at 16/44.1

Same with the Bluesound and Sonos. There’s the Audioengine B-Fi and the discontinued Arcam rPlay too. Thanks for all your help guys. Much appreciated. Welcome any other suggestions. In case it’s wrapped in your question also, I’d love to play YT, Netflix, SoundCloud, podcasts and internet radio on the fly, etc. along with Qobuz, and being on macOS-iOS, focused on Airplay support for effectively OS-level, not only app-level, audio. Support for Qobuz, internet radio, etc. in the device itself is icing. Coming from the $150 Airport Express or $20 Chromecast Audio, many of these come with more options, but have to be willing to pay for functionality you may not use. Please correct me if I’m wrong on the following, but here’s my initial take... Researching last night, the Bluesound seems perfect for several times the APX price. Pootie Pi gives up Airplay 2 for Airplay 1 (which isn’t a show stopper), does so much, and great for USB output, but need to convert/add on to if looking for coax/toslink (which I am). Sonos Port is the most simplistic out of those three, but the Bluesound price. Arcam is discontinued and discontinued is how I ended up in this mess. Audioengine is the most unknown, but also the most APX-like in simplicity. I’m sure there are others. And then there’s the Head-Case (or is it anti-Head-Case?) solution (for my specific use case) - scrap the whole system. Move the vinyl to dedicated simplified rig in another room. Goodbye CD player, streamer, DAC, amp and pre-amp and hello sources (smartphones, laptops, AppleTV) and KEF LS50Ws. Just give up the chase and welcome a Lifestyle lifestyle. I have to admit I’m tempted, even though I still like looking at the Zu Gloss Prismatique Orange Souls. If I’m honest my ratio of HomePod listening in the kitchen is much higher than the focused listening with the main rig in the living room... in an open plan layout about 25 feet between. 🤔

This again. Just assume this is on constant rotation for the next month. Doesn’t rise to Jenny Lewis’ last, but perhaps more fitting in these smaller, breakup-with-the-past, Corona-days. Shades of Kathleen Edwards.

Actress Olivia de Havilland, possibly last of Old Hollywood, dies at 104 https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-12717233 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53546021 Born in Tokyo, grew up in California, settled in Paris. De Havilland’s specialty was the demure, soulful beauty. “Playing bad girls is a bore,” she once claimed. “I have always had more luck with good-girl roles, because they require more from an actress.” But the actor’s soft exterior concealed a core of steel. In the 1940s she successfully sued Warner Bros in a landmark ruling that helped break the stranglehold of the US studio system. As a side note, when younger and I needed an alternative name for a variety of reasons, it was Max Havilland, the last name from her.

Okay, I'm behind the times, but needs are simple. My analog and limited physical media needs are met and otherwise only stream Tidal/Qobuz. No need for everyones favorite Roon at this point or support for media stored on a HD. Used an Airport Express to get a digital signal to a DAC until Apple retired and it eventually became a little flaky, then Chromecast Audio until Google retired and it eventually became a little flaky. Just looking for a simple way to stream audio over wifi (ideally with Airplay2 support) to a digital out. Know Audioengine has a similar device, though next to no specs. I'm sure there are Raspberry Pi options as when are there not? Anyone have a recommendation? I mean besides the Brooklyn Bridge.

Courtney Marie Andrews' Old Flowers

This

^ That's a good suggestion.

In case you'd enjoy a Hassy Lunar camera hunt... Gene Cernan’s Missing Moon Camera

On the note of premieres, VOCES8: After Silence

Here's a review of last night. "So this is where we are with live music: a man, a piano and a socially distanced film crew in a space that could feasibly house a commercial aircraft. Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace is technically a concert film, shot last month, though it is also a ticketed event that is being broadcast as if it were live. None of this is what we’re used to – there is no expectant crowd, no light show and not a Bad Seed in sight. Roaring your approval from a sofa clearly isn’t the same as being there. But if this is the gig of the future, Cave is the man to show us how it’s done." There was definitely a light show though. It may be because I always respected Cave more than liked him, but coupled with the times we're in, call this a transformative concert for me. I'm now a fan, though his lyrics can still inspire awe and cringing in the same song. He certainly walks the line (and into the light).

In case this virus lasts a few more years, maybe time for a dedicated virtual concert thread? Besides the wonderful SFJAZZ Fridays at Five and SFOpera's weekend streaming, there's also an interesting Nick Cave show today. IDIOT PRAYER: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace

Zizi Jeanmaire, French Star of Ballet, Cabaret and Film, Dies at 96 “Without her,” the French poet Louis Aragon is reported to have said, “Paris would not be Paris.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/arts/dance/zizi-jeanmaire-french-star-of-ballet-cabaret-and-film-dies-at-96.html?referringSource=articleShare https://www.vogue.com/article/zizi-jeanmaire-and-yves-saint-laurent

Which Gary Moore?

Chris Frantz: 'If you knew David Byrne, you would not be jealous of him' The ex-Talking Heads drummer talks about his revealing new book Remain in Love and a contentious relationship with the band’s frontman https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jul/21/chris-frantz-talking-heads-david-byrne?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Boots #1. Likely following up with Boots #2.

As they just appeared elsewhere in the space/time continuum...

^ Also which instrument did he play in The Band?

Honestly, I had trouble getting through the trailer, but if you have a timestamp I'll jump in. Trying to catch up on Space Ghost the most efficient way possible.

Friday's at Five Afro-Cuban All Stars

shirley scott & the soul saxes