soul curry..

[mpw]

Hi

long time since i started a thread..

a forced move to smaller place meant that i do not ( temporarily ) have the space i need to set up my hardware like i used to and so i have to rationalize on the hardware.

I tried to live without my rig & for a while tried headphones as well... but i guess i needed a small rig and music at home to keep me going and so i present to you my simple ...

Daal Chaawal rig..

Reminds me of the Rama Nayak's sunday lunch we had today in Mumbai ( limited thali ) ... simple soul food.. nothing too fancy and gets the work done..and you keep coming back for more..



Source : An Old Intel Atom laptop lying with me since ages.. battery doesnt work and so works on AC power only..

I cleaned up the laptop of all unwanted files and have filled it with my flacs and also amazon music software . I buy music from amazon and they have free downloads and i have 35 albums in this...

DAC : Lapped up Meridian Explorer DAC on sale recently by FM sidvee..


Interconnect : 1 RCA to 2 RCA - found an old one lying in the house

Amp : Trusty classic - Naim Nait 5i-2

Speaker cable - Rs 28 /- per meter cable in the market. I will most likely change to something more standard ( not expensive )

Speakers - pre owned JBL Control ones fixed with blutack on my speaker stands..

I did want to try the Usher S520 but i dont have funds for it now and so i wanted to keep this as low cost as possible...

And here i am.. back on the track... enjoying the music..

Let the music play !!

:cheers:

Footnote : The pay and park outside rama nayaks ( valet ) cost me Rs 50 and the Limited Thali was Rs 60 itself !!.. So what does that say about this rig ?? VFM ?? :lol:

regards
mpw

 

[regeHA]

Nice reading...

I lived with cans, laptop, and an external 1 TB HDD for nearly a year when I relocated for work.

Of course the Sennheiser HD650 doesn't exactly sound bad... but I'm not a headphone person.

 

[Nikhil]

mpw,

As the saying goes ... "All roads that lead to Rome"
Great to know that you are back to listening to tunes which is the most important part.

Regards!

 

[AVM]

mpw,
on a similar boat. Post the Rethm's departure there was no music for almost 2 months.
A make shift set up of borrowed amp & speakers (thanks to 2 FMs) till I move to the new place.

Music must go on...

 

[Naturelover]

Reminds me of Jaibir's "going in reverse" thread.
How long is this temporary Ram Nayak thali phase expected to be?

And here i am.. back on the track... enjoying the music..
Let the music play !!

This says it all. Keep it flowing...

 

[mpw]

mpw,
on a similar boat. Post the Rethm's departure there was no music for almost 2 months.
A make shift set up of borrowed amp & speakers (thanks to 2 FMs) till I move to the new place.

Music must go on...

On audiogon there is a pair of Merlin TSM - MMM - the latest version - if you are still tempted..



regards

 

[mpw]

Reminds me of Jaibir's "going in reverse" thread.
How long is this temporary Ram Nayak thali phase expected to be?

This says it all. Keep it flowing...

longer may it continue and may i continue to be satisfied with small things

right now - we are all praying for a long rainy season..

regards
mpw

 

[reubensm]

small and simple always is the best, something which I have personally realized after accumulating a lot of expensive stuff (which has show value but does not enhance the pleasure factor, too often)

 

[mpw]

my folks at home like this small rig tons - it saves space and sounds good to their ears too... and i have a feeling where this discussion is going to end up in once we move back to our larger home !!!

hyeah:

Tell you what.. i the motivations for me starting this thread were many :-

a. I wanted to try a smaller speaker than the Merlin TSM. I deliberately chose a 4 inch woofer based speaker as i wanted to keep the speaker profile low so as not to cause too many ripples in the water ( of sound )

b. I wanted to try the Naim nait 5i-2 minus the Naim naca 5

c. I wanted to try a DAC for the first time in my life. I am happy i tried.

The DAC had opened up more avenues for music for my kids - i never used to get the latest hindi tunes on CD and hence the music played was only "my taste "

The kids like the latest hindi numbers being belted out.

d. trying a DAC gives me a perspective on my CD collection and which direction i need to take and what suits my taste ( egos aside )

e. Ofcourse - i like music in the home - all day - if need be..

I still need to figure out the differences in settings of playback formats like 44khz / 96 khz etc... and i do have a decent collection of DSD albums up my sleeve as well.

I am aware my DAC is not DSD compatible but i just want to play it and see if natively it makes any difference.

I might not go deep in terms of separating power lines and data lines etc.. but the DAC is a nice convenience to have..

I will continue to play albums like i used to ( without making a playlist of all "hits" )

As i go along... i will learn and maybe with some inputs from fellow forumers setup the Foobar well too..

I did try the equalizer but the speakers did not like it too much... so i left it as it is..

PS : One of the pocket dynamos i have heard is the dali mentor menuet - i wish i could get hold of a pair for a few days just to try. I know what the effect will be but i want to feel the wave hit me..

regards
mpw

 

[Nikhil]

c. I wanted to try a DAC for the first time in my life. I am happy i tried.

The DAC had opened up more avenues for music for my kids - i never used to get the latest hindi tunes on CD and hence the music played was only "my taste "

The kids like the latest hindi numbers being belted out.

+1 One of the strong points of computer audio.
Explosive convenience with access to a much larger music selection.

 

[ghatgepatil]

Your previous set-up, in safe storage or at Audiogon ?

 

[jls001]

As i go along... i will learn and maybe with some inputs from fellow forumers setup the Foobar well too..

Since you have USB DAC, try Hysolid player. Supposed to be very good. Not tried myself as I don't have USB DAC.

 

[Hari Iyer]

If you are looking for a desert along with Ram Nayak lunch you can have my micro-TL speaker as a second option for the JBL, they are being used as my surround spkrs in my HT.
They are small foot print H-13", W-5",D-9". Its perfect for a small setup.
Technically, it has a perfect step response, square wave response and impulse response. Alo it goes as low as 45Hz.
Currently I amat Bangalore and you can pick them from my home as they will be practically idel for ciuplr of months now. Do let me know.

 

[jls001]

Since you have USB DAC, try Hysolid player. Supposed to be very good. Not tried myself as I don't have USB DAC.

Works even without USB DAC. And sounding gobsmackingly good:licklips:

 

[venk61176]

I was contemplating similar move with Tidal and Spotify on VPN based initial install[Found tidal quality very good and sounds heavenly on my Audeze].

What I found is line out gain from Meridian wasn't giving the weight or bite. Was forced to crank up volume and still was not satisfied.

How does it compare in your case? Chord Mojo might be better because of +additional gain???

 

[mpw]

I was contemplating similar move with Tidal and Spotify on VPN based initial install[Found tidal quality very good and sounds heavenly on my Audeze].

What I found is line out gain from Meridian wasn't giving the weight or bite. Was forced to crank up volume and still was not satisfied.

How does it compare in your case? Chord Mojo might be better because of +additional gain???

Hi venk

I have wanted to listen to the Epos M16i for a while.... it was my wish speaker ( along with M22i ) some time ago and i guess i retain a desire to listen to it... maybe at someones place if i get lucky.

At the what hifi show i heard the Creek 50W amp with an AE Classic standmounter and boy... i was in heaven.

Maybe a Creek Destiny with with Epos M16i or M22i and i could disappear from all hi fi forums :lol:

I am too new in the DAC arena to tell you anything at all..but my get feel tells me Gain is a double edged sword - have too much of it and you could lose resolution..

Maybe other owners of meridian explorer can chip in..

regards

 

[mpw]

Works even without USB DAC. And sounding gobsmackingly good:licklips:

will try joshua.. thank you !

 

[mpw]

If you are looking for a desert along with Ram Nayak lunch you can have my micro-TL speaker as a second option for the JBL, they are being used as my surround spkrs in my HT.
They are small foot print H-13", W-5",D-9". Its perfect for a small setup.
Technically, it has a perfect step response, square wave response and impulse response. Alo it goes as low as 45Hz.
Currently I amat Bangalore and you can pick them from my home as they will be practically idel for ciuplr of months now. Do let me know.

Hari

when you are back from bangalore - we can try.

You wanted to try these at the end of the Naim nait 5i didnt you ?

regards

 

[mpw]

Your previous set-up, in safe storage or at Audiogon ?

Hi GP,

good to have you around..

The merlins are safely packed up and so is my TT setup and CDP.

To date - i think the Merlins still have potential to be exploited. I need to try an amp with more power and also tubes..

So i am not done at all with them..

In fact - the present setup tells me how much more the TSM's bring to the table.. indeed... its a revelation but an unfair comparison.

I would love to have a Dali Mentor menuet ( or Amphion Ion+ or a PMC DB1i) at the end of my Naim but my fancies and monies have its limits..:lol:

rergards

 

[regeHA]

Since you have USB DAC, try Hysolid player. Supposed to be very good. Not tried myself as I don't have USB DAC.

Works even without USB DAC. And sounding gobsmackingly good:licklips:

Would be interested if you could do a comparison of it along with the Bug and HQP.

Our friend Rikhav has been singing praises of HQP.

And then there are Wtfplay and Snakeoil OS... an endless list actually.

But I've been extremely reticent of trying anything not on the NAS OS. I've spent too much time getting the PC out of the audio chain... now I don't want to jump back in and get into all the s/w and filters. Also, I've been playing a fair bit with a couple of NOS DACs and they are killing it for even RBCD in the vocals, timbre, etc.

@mpw - Apologies for going off topic...