Voltron

Thanks all. Jim, are you using the pre/pro for 2-ch listening or just multi/HT? I'd really like your thoughts on their capabilities for dual purpose use.

Awesome, Steve, thanks for the thoughts and the links. Does Emotiva make a phono pre or rather make one that is worth considering?

I don't think he wants to stream from a phone or tablet, but he wants to be able to play digital files from a hard drive or computer. Thanks for asking the question to remind me of that.

A friend who is into music but not up to speed on gear and not an audiophile wants a new system but doesn't know what to get. He is looking for a new stereo/home theater setup that can also feed a couple of other rooms. He installed speaker wire and CAT5 cable to various spots when he remodeled awhile back and now wants to take more advantage of the multi-room music idea. The primary location will be a living room 5.1 home theater setup that will double as his 2-channel stereo listening location. He also has speakers for the den/kitchen, a back deck, and an upstairs bedroom that he would like to be able to play as a separate zone or zones from the living room/HT. He would also like to have some level of control of the downstairs system from the other rooms if not too costly or too quirky. Budget is $10-20K, and he is willing to buy some things used if that helps the budget and can be accomplished. Here are the details and requirements as I understand them, making an effort to avoid tl:dr responses or lack of any responses: Living Room 5.1 Home Theater Surround/Stereo System (16’x12’x9’ tall) Gots: JVC QL-Y55F turntable (seems decent and he doesn't need more) Panasonic DMP-BDT210 bluray player (may or may not be used) Needs: A/V Receiver -or- Preamp/Processor + one or more amps CD or Universal disc player with DAC input, and streaming capabilities. Phono preamp (if AV receiver doesn’t have it built in) 5 Speakers (fronts capable of quality 2-ch listening) and a Subwoofer RF universal remote control or else smartphone/tablet remote control Other Rooms: Gots: Dahlquist DQ-8 Speakers for den/kitchen B&W WM6 outdoor speakers for back deck B&W DM 1200 bookshelf speakers for the bedroom With that stuff in mind to the extent it makes sense, I would like to recommend a couple different options for the main system. One key question is powering all of the extra speakers. Even if he has a second or third zone, he still has to power all of those speakers. Perhaps he could wire both the den/kitchen and the deck to the same pair of speaker outputs on a mulit-channel amp or receiver, but that is hard to know if it will work. Maybe he needs a couple multi-channel amps or perhaps just a separate amp for the other zone(s) would work. I think he may need to forego the upstairs bedroom connection and just have a separate setup there because that would make 3 additional pairs of speakers, but I guess we should leave that option available for now. I have thought generally about the Marantz receivers and pre/pro/amp setups but I want input from people who use them for 2-ch listening too. I wondered about Emotiva gear but I don't know any of it personally. Although it may be out of balance with the budget and other gear, I thought about an Ayre universal player or an Oppo. I also wondered about smartphone or tablet control as a concept. I have no good ideas on speakers although I wish I had listened to the LREs that were at the California Audio Show recently because they supposedly sound good and are meant to be driven by AV receivers. I had been thinking of Sonos for wireless control and possibly wireless speakers but he insists he wants to use the in-wall wiring and doesn't want a fancy wireless setup. This still might be worth recommending as an alternative if anybody has a good solution based on Sonos or similar gear. You get the point. Any recommendations for components, speakers, control schemes, or the whole enchilada will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Steampunk 7 of 9? I'll take the original please.

^Like. Too bad this isn't new material (post-2003 B sides and outtakes), but giving a listen anyway:

How tall the 6 to 8 black men are. Antonio, have you ever seen Santa at his summer home or shared some tapas with him?

Same. Exactly.

Separated at birth?

Jonathan Tinn from Playback Designs was telling me there would be some big DSD announcements this summer and fall and this is one of the biggest. Glad to see the Acoustic Sounds Super HiRez store is live on day 1 and that they have a nice variety of music in DSD. I have not looked into how they have been made and cannot attest to the sound or quality specifically, but I think if Chad Kassem is going this deep into DSD he would do it right for the most part.

I want a SLAM SE with tube adapters and a fun switch.

Wishing you Phishy Phun on your big day and the year ahead. Cheers!

Jeff always gives a great deal but I don't know shit about bikes and whether that one would make any sense for me. I should inquire (and even thought about it previously).

I dont even know what that is

You NEED a bike. Congrat Vicki!

This was on the bargain shelf today so Santa must be extra pickled by now. Thought if Wayne but did not buy.

What is your proper HE90 amp?

You don't remember the so-called Caribbean Season?

So Biggie, the 009s have an "upper midrange shout" or "honk," the "bass is messed up," and the "top end is rather artificial"? That's an awful lot of problems for one TOTL flagship headphone to suffer. Fortunately, I don't hear them.

The 009s are better cans all around to my ears, but I don't know exactly where it falls on the bee -> bull spectrum. Maybe a large dog. Anyway, I have never been a big 007 fan and thought they pretty much sucked on anything before the BHSE and DIYT2. The darkness and more "distant" presentation of the 007s is not too much to my liking -- especially on anything other than the BHSE or DIYT2 (I haven't heard a KGSSHV). Those two amps made me want 007s again, however, because they bring the 007s to life and yet the more laid back presentation is fun sometimes. Plus, you can rock out on 007s easier because of that less detailed and less forward presentation. Now, Birgir says my 007BL are the worst of the 007 lot so I guess I may have to compare some better ones for the hell of it. I hate the 007 Mk2 so they don't even make it onto the spectrum for me. The Omegas are much closer to the 009 in presentation, but they do not have the accuracy or control of the 009. Again, the bit of flab or lushness, depending on how you want to characterize it, is something I still love about the Omegas and makes them more fun on some level. I would never dream of getting rid of the Omegas given that I already have them, but I don't think you need Omegas if you have 009s. I think the best combo is 009s plus 007s for a change of pace. Of course, it is also nice to have 4070s when you need a closed can, but that is another conversation altogether for most people.

Head: 009 > Omega > 007 Heart: Omega > 009 > 007

It takes a Spaniard to find the NPR stream! Now listening to Neko. Thanks Antonio.

My head hurt bad and my mouth was a desert this morning. Excedrin is keeping me awake and mostly out of pain.

Not a chance

You're servicing all of the ladies in the book club and Joann brought you candies on their behalf? So Marin!