Personal Introductions: Please Make This a Sticky!

[chiefersone]

My name is Matthew. I so love music becuse it evokes the Spirit in us if you know what I mean. zthat's why I'm a praise and worship music fanatic. Only trouble is not mucch out there that doesn't all sound the same, need more synth stuff the christian alternative genre's got some good stuff and yea I do like hymns too. the home i moved into just a time ago has the in wall and in ceiling speakers...i believe them to be from Elan. they sound pretty good and handle some pretty good pushing since I use a sub. I currently have an old Adcom gtp 600 pre amp with a 6 zone HTD 50 W/channel amp. Sounds decent enough to me. zthe only thing I'd like to change is I'm using a pair of Definitive BP-2's for front music on a shelf. I'd like to be able to get ahold of some large floorstanding speakers instead. I'll pupt the BP's back downstairs where they belong with my Denon surround sound system.

[barrygordon]

My name is Barry Gordon. You can find out a lot more about me at www.the-gordons.net. My Hobbies are Music, Movies and building things. When my late wife and I designed our home we put in a "Home Theater". The room was desinged as an adult playroom.

The video details are front projection at 720P to a 10 foot wide screen. There are twin DVR's, Twin DVD megachangers, A PS2 game system and a Photobridge Hidef media player.

The audio side of the room has seven B&W Signature Seven in wall speakers with matching (volume and padding) enclosures plus a 12" Vellodyne sub. The Sub has its own 1200 watt amp, and the other seven speakers are fed by an Outlaw 200 watts/channel seven channel power amp. The audio processor is a Lexicon MC-1 which only does audio as video processing is handled by a DVDO VP50 scaler.

The transporter went in last week replacing a Turtle beach Audiotron as the Theater music source. Major difference in sound quality. The Audiotron now feeds the house background music system. The Transporter feeds the MC-1 through its coaxial S/PDIF output.

The music is all stored as FLAC or MPG3 files on a server that is in the electronics room of the house. It is up 24x7 and also handles my web site. The FLAC files are from DTS CD's while the MPEG files are from normal CD's. When I get some time I will re-rip the CD's to FLAC. All of my music is stored on the server and can be played via the Transporter in the Theater, Through the Audiotron or Transporter in the Great Room via the house music system, or through a Squeezebox in the Master bedroom.

The Slim Server (ergo all of the players) is completely controlled by either the iPronto remote in the Theater or the in wall touch screens throughout the house. In the Theater the library can be displayed on the big screen along with the current playlist and full control is provided via the iPronto remote using the CLI TCP/IP interface to the slimserver. The iPronto actually communicates only with the PC that controls the Theater components which does all of the heavy IR, RS232, or TCP/IP lifting for the whole house.

A high quality TelARC DTS CD sounds absolutely awesome in the Theater/Music room. All seven channels are active and the sound is just what I was looking (Listening?) for. My tastes in music run from semi classics (Arron Copland, Boston Pops) to blues in a club environment (Nora Jones, Dianna Krall, etc) to good Jazz. My SO is into Rock so she often exercises the room.
I guess thats enough for now.

[Georgie]

My name is Georg and I live in Switzerland. I like all kind of classical music, jazz, folk and complex rock/pop music.
My cd collection grows and grows so I decided to build a music server, with synology DS106x disk server, slimserver and sqeezeboxes 3.
After playing around with different file formats I found that the wave format has still the best quality, followed by the flac format. Therefore I have two directory structures on my server: one with flac for the "normal" use and one with the same pieces in the wave format for audiophile listening.
I also modified my squeezebox 3 with a new power supply (this is a different story, I made a lot of experiences with it, please ask if you are interested in) and a converter from S/Pdif to AES/EBU. From there I use an Aqvox D/A-Converter and a symmetrical connection to the Stax SRM-007t and the SR-007 (omega2)earspeaker.
I often got good ideas from this forum, so I decided to introduce myself.

[Codmate]

Hi - I'm Andy
I'm thirty years old and lead guitarist with Smokehand by night; software developer for a large media organisation by day.

I've been an avid listener since a young age. I love the vast majority of music and, although I don't have a large collection, it covers a lot of ground!
You can see my listening habits here:
http://www.last.fm/user/Codmate/

I love avant garde, jazz and experimental music the most.

I started playing the guitar at about age 14, learning a little classical before moving to jazz, blues and rock styles.
Some of my main influences on the instrument are Marc Ribot, Lenny Breau, Jimi Hendrix and David Gilmour.

I have a small home studio and am interested in music production. I'm lucky enough to have friends who have worked with the likes of Coil, Richard D James and Luke Haines - so I have picked up lots of interesting recording and musical tips over the years

As a member of the band, I'm also a keen arranger, and I guess good arrangements are really one of my main passions!

At home I use Cubase3 SL, Active Whafedale Diamond 8.2 monitors, M-Audio Delta66 + OmniStudio Soundcard/Mixer for music production.
I have the usual sorts of guitars - LP Studio, Strat (with SCN pups) and a few nice acoustics, including a Burguet flamenco guitar.
I use a Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb amp, which I consider to be as much an 'instrument' as the guitar I happen to be playing.

In other rooms around the house I have a few different rigs:
Kitchen - Wharfdale Diamond Pro, NAD 3020i, SB3
Bedroom - Quad L-ite, Sonic Super-T-Amp, SB3
Lounge - Quad ESL57, Quad 77, Cambridge DACMagic2, Cambridge CD4

They are a bit of a mess! I know the lounge set-up is particularly weird and unbalanced, but I plan to rectify it soon - and treat the ESL57s to a refurbishment!

They are all set-up pretty badly right now - apart from the bedroom set-up.
I have plans though... lots of plans...

I keep all my music on CD, and have recently encoded it all to FLAC

My audio philosophy...
Well - for a start, I'm not much of a believer in high-end cables. If it rejects RF well and has good connectors - then it's OK with me!
I like XLR for this reason. It goes 'clunk'

I've been in quite a few recording studios now and seen the dodgy cables they often use! I figure that there isn't much point in spending more than £10 a meter on a speaker cable for home, when the cable between the desk and studio wall-box1 has to be tweaked by the engineer to get any kind of reasonable signal

I think anybody trying to achieve 'the original sound' is possibly a bit misguided. I mean - what is 'the original sound'? 3" from the soundhole of the guitar? Inside the piano? Behind the piano? In-front of the piano? Also, engineers use EQ, and many other techniques, to give each instrument its own place in a mix. This is a good thing IMO. A good mix is an art form in itself.
When I get audio reproduction gear, I'm just trying to get a clear re-representation of the performance(s). You're always going to be several stages removed from the musicians' performances, especially with studio-produced material, and rightly so IMO. The engineers' jobs are just as much performances as the musicians, especially in the old days when you had to 'ride the faders' - often with a friend.
Ahh - the old days of "you take the bass and the strings, and I'll take the guitar and kit" *nostalgia* =D

That said, I love the electrostatic sound. The perceived speed of response of a speaker is important to me as I really pick up on detail.
I'm a bit of a stickler for stereo field. As a teenager I spent hours trying to adjust my budget gear to get a half-decent image.
I'm looking for transparency I guess. Whatever's on the medium - I want to hear it!

I'm here to give and get advice - and that's all really

Cheers!

[el_hefty]

I have an insatiable love for music which i have had since i was a wee tacker. Music is my escape my nirvana.

With a collection of around 3000 cd's and growing 3000 albums and shrinking (but never to be lost) i was after a better way of playing my music. The vinyl is a different kettle of fish and i love the ritual involved, it was more the Cd's on the floor and the room they take up. also i wanted good quality 'convenient' music i that makes sense.

Being an member of some audio group discussion in Australia the Squeezebox has come up a few times and i thought it time to investigate. On the recommendation of a friend and without listening to one i bought a SB3 and had it modified at Bolder before shipping to Australia where it has since blown me away.

I joined this forum i guess to keep up with what advancements are going on and what my next step will be most likely will be guided at some stage by this forum and the associated products.

My setup is in my signature, im a skeptic when it comes to 'snake oil' which abounds in HiFi, but each to their own. I also understand that for me nothing is more important than the music and my passion is driven by that.

[jbc]

Jason - from Canada.

I have a Linn-based system with the emphasis on 2-channel but the capability to do five. I'm still a fan of vinyl (around 1300 or so albums) but want to introduce a convenient non-compressed digital library - hence a USB drive full of flac files and a squeezebox!

Anyhow, here's the current set-up:

Sources:
Linn LP12 turntable (akito 2B/adikt - maple plinth); Graham Slee Era Gold Mk V phono stage
Linn Unidisk SC universal player/preamp (acts as DAC for SB3)
Slim Devices Squeezebox (wireless)

Power:
Linn AV5125 5-channel amp - 4 channels for active mains
Linn LK85 2-channel amp (for surrounds)

Speakers:
Linn Ninka speakers (with active crossovers in amp)
Linn Trikan centre channel
Linn Classik Unik surrounds (on walls)
Linn Sizmik sub

Video, Boxes & Etc.:
Hitachi 42HDX99 Director's series Plasma TV
HD Cable, DVD-recorder, tuner, CD-recorder and other associated stuff
Transparent power conditioner for audio
Monster cable power conditioner (cheap one) for video
2 x 20 amp dedicated outlets.

All housed in a BDI avion (highly recommended).

[RalphO]

I guess that it is about time that I posted an introduction. My name is Ralph which I supposed you have already guessed.

1. You post about your music experience, your audio experience, what drives you in this hobby, what brings you to Slim Devices, etc.

I have been a music nutcase since I can remember. I have spent a lot of time in folk clubs, concert halls etc and play Guitar, Mandolin and Appelachian Dulcimer, all very badly. I have ripped about 600 CD's to my PC and I am very slowly working my way through 200 vinyl albums. I have been pretty into HiFi for years.

What brought me to Slimdevices is a little stranger. I am a Brit living in the US and I still wanted to get radio from the UK and other places. The internet and later a squeezebox turned out to be the route I chose. I then discovered the benefits of storing my music on a hard disc. Have not looked back since. In fact I am constantly suprprised at what I can do these days. Tonight I am in a hotel in Mexico City streaming from my music collection in South Carolina.

2. You post about your current, past, and future (hopefully!) rigs. Discuss your room, speaker placement, cables, whatever.

As a student (early 80's) I had lots of secondhand gear. When I got a job and had a few more pennies I wanted to get a better system and took the opportunity of buying a whole system that a workmate was selling as he upgraded to a Linn/Naim system. It was my first proper system. The turntable I cannot remember the name but it had an SME arm, the amp was a Cambridge A60 and I think the speakers were B&W DRM4's. After that my system went through a lot of changes as I tried different makes like Tannoy, Tresham (anyone remember?), Audiolab. Todays system has a Transporter which I prefer to play balanced to a Brystom ST4. The speakers are Magneplanar MG1.6's, yes I am mosty definitely a Magneplanar type of person. I still have an Adcom CD player and a Thorens TD321 turntable. When I bought the Transporter I moved the SB3 to my garden system. That means that I can sit by my Koi pond and listen to whatever I want.

3. Say something about your audio philosophy. For example, do you believe in blind testing or not? Why?

Audio philosophy. Listen to more music, all types.

In truth I think that blind testing is just too contrived. Listening to music is an emotional experience and you have to give it time to come to conclusions.

4. Say something about what brings you to the forum and what you hope to get out of it.

I first started coming to this forum just to learn about the device and the software and I am grateful for all the help others have been to me. Nowadays I visit the site most days just to see what is going on.

[mswlogo]

1 - Music Experience: I don't play an instrument or can sing a tune.
1 - Audio Experience: I’m not recording engineer.
1 - Work Experience: minored in EE, majored in Computer Science and write software to control mass spectrometers (lots of switching power supplies, DACs, ADCs, Lasers, Coax, Stepper Motors/Worm gears and Jitter [all the same stuff as audio :-)]).
1 – Hobby Drive: Laziness (tired of flipping CD's w.r.t SqueezeBox). Home Theater/Enjoy Music (General Music system).
1 - Slim Devices: Heard about it on http://meridianunplugged.com, figured if it was good enough for those guys it is good enough for me. I’m also interested in Sonos because of user friendliness (Wife won’t touch squeezebox).

2 – Past: Lexicon, Krell, B&W Nautilus, Matrix (I liked Matrix Better, hard for me to admit that, but true)
2 – Current: All Meridian, 861V4, DSP-5500 Left, Right, Center, DSP-33 rears running “Trifield”
2 – Future: Maybe add HDMI Card to 861 for SACD from PS3. Maybe check out Sonos.
2 - Cables: All stock Meridian Digital Cables. Cables don’t matter in this setup. Really they don’t.
2 – Room: Untreated living room.
2 – Placement: 3 in front and 2 at sides.

3 – Philosophy: Blind testing, absolutely. Your head can play more tricks on you than you might ever believe. I also believe in instantaneous A/B testing (not just blind testing). If it takes more the 3 seconds to switch, the comparison is a waste of time (not always easy to do). This is critical for subtle differences (which most differences are). Testing in the store is completely useless as well (in home, in your room only, is all that matters).

4 – Brings me here: Ripping tips, real upgrades that actually help, have not read a one yet that convinced me.

[musiklov3r]

Maybe my name should be musicaddict instead. I've been a music lover since I was two years old and danced to the theme song of the nightly news. I still don't understand why...

Since then, I've played in bands (offered a record deal), recorded demos for amazingly talented musicians, and tried my best to stay away from music professionally. It just never seemed like the "smart" road in life.

After spending most of my life in finance and real estate, I've been attempting to create a music showroom featuring what I currently believe to be some of the best speakers in the world, ATC. I promise I will keep these opinions to myself in the forums as I don't think anyone needs to hear an unsolicited opinion.

It has not been as easy as I expected to create a phenomenal system. Acoustics, electronics, cables, power, it all has an impact on sound as I'm finding out the hard way. As I'm a perfectionist, this has been an extremely frustrating six month experience.

Anyway, back to topic. I love network music players and I think that Slim Devices' Transporter is the best. Being able to create playlists is nirvana.

Initially I will probably ask a lot of questions in the forums regarding how to get the best performance from the Transporter as I'm still not certain that I have everything configured for the most accurate sound reproduction. I will try to do my best to give back by answering any technical questions I can.

Oh yes, I love most types of music. Classical, Jazz, Rock, Blues, Pop, electronica, pretty much everything except for hardcore rap, metal and country.

I'm currently using the Transporter in conjunction with ATC SCM100's, ATC SCM20's and ATC SCM 10's. All active. I do find that the ATC preamp, SCA2 improves the sound of the transporter, although being a minimalist, I don't understand why. I'm also using Audience cables and power conditioning along with some power cables and conditioning from Cablepro. I hope I won't be flamed for "believing" in these types of products. I'm also using an Ayre C5xe Universal player (that I would love to replace if I could make the Transporter perform at the same level).

With regard to blind testing, I think it makes sense. I think we are all influenced by psychological factors and as many of them that can be reduced in testing the better the results. I also think that many people are close minded to the point where they won't try something before they dismiss it as "audiophile pixie dust". I believe everyone should listen with their ears in addition to analyzing with their minds.

I've lived in the San Francisco Bay area for the last ten years and my name is Will.

[golfdane]

Had an education that involved tons of live musical experiences. My interest for HiFi was spawned when I tweaked my first turntable at the age of 12 or 13. Had to make it less susceptible to vibrations, so I made my own floating suspension using rubber bands.
At 14, did I got my first "real" amp. A set of Luxman C12 and M12. The source came to be a STD 305M turntable, which I still have. The arm then, was a SME 3009 Series II. Today it has a Series III arm instead with an Ortofon MC20II. The amp drove a set of Kef Carlton for some years, but a kit of Trapez speakers invaded the house. In between experiences has included Linsley Hood class A DIY amps, and Apogee DIY's.
The first CD was a Philips CD200.
They lived until the foam selfdestructed due to age. I used a fridge size SUB containing a 15" JBL driver until my son killed the driver.
The Trapez were replaced by a set of Bowers & Wilkins CD1's.
The old Luxman became a frequent guest at the kitchen table trying to clean pot's and switches until replacing it with Holfi Pre8/Power8 amp set.
The CD200 was replaced by a Musical Fidelity X-Ray 8 years ago, and has now been replaced by SB3,X-DACv3,X-PSUv3.
Speakers were replaced by a set of Martin Logan Aerius i's about 6 years ago.

Cables has been a mix of DIY's and stuff. Currently, the interconnects is Supra ISL's, and the speakercables are MIT's.

The room is about 4.30 cm wide and 6.30 cm long. Speakers are positioned just about 1m from sidewalls and about 90 cm's from the wall behind them. Behind speakers are some homemade absorbers.

My hope for the future is a new pair of ML Vantage, driven by an integrated amp of some sort.

I focus on clarity and presence in sound. I feel the ML's delivers that in spades, and I really can't see nothing but another set of ML's replacing my Aerius's.

My Slimserver is an old IBM Intellistation M Pro, with a 500 GB drive. It needs some more RAM, but works fine. To be replaced by something with lower power consumption and more RAM.