stiben

I like the sound of that Marc ?

Perhaps. I'd ask 3 things. And I'd say the convention is tweeter at ear level (and measuring position) rather than above. When sitting in your normal movie position on the sofa (ie reclined) is there a direct path from the tweeter in the surrounds to your ear? When measuring for Dirac, is there the same direct path from surround tweeter to the mic? Do you have a good mic stand that lets you place the mic exactly where you sit? In any case it would cost you nothing to raise the rear stands on blocks, redo Dirac and watch a movie

Hello, from your post I'm not 100% you have the complete picture. If you run a separate phono preamp its outputs should be routed to a normal CD, line or tape level input. The article you quoted suggests a separate phono preamp offers better performance than one built into an integrated amplifer. It's not about "double" in any way. They are trying to upsell you. You have to preamp a phono signal, to bring the level and EQ back to a standard baseline: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA_equalization

I just read through the manual for the C658. SHD still better for my requirements but a mix of both units would be the bee's knees. My stereo is on my TV so the one area the C658 wins outright is the optional MDC adding HDMI in and out with ARC. But more $$$ I run a HT processor at fixed volume to the SHD's RCA input.

I have a terrible room where treatment is not an option. Dirac in my SHD made the same huge improvement ?

They outsourced the design of that section to an enternal consultant. I seem to remember they're a regular on diyAudio. There's only one main thread for the SHD over there but if I find the references I'll link them. Well that was easy:

4) Other: I have a miniDSP SHD as my pre which has all that and more in one box, under $2k landed. The integrated Volumio will connect to LMS or Roon. I bought it for Dirac but the whole unit is impressive and sounds great.

Rick has posted DC #2 and I like it much more than the first

Exactly Several metres from my stereo there are 16 x 295W micro-inverters on my roof. If you're in Australia I suspect there's somewhere between 1 and 20+ inverters running on your 230V from the street. If I noticed the inverters, the problem would be with my components. It's also the only part I could do anything about.

I love Rick's channel and have listened to most WMTSG episodes

I didn't suggest they didn't I only posted better value options

No Before buying from Jaycar at least do these two searches on eBay and consider your options "canare 2m rca" and "mogami 2m rca"

Warning: do not play Machine Head - Burn My Eyes That always gets turned up to 11

The day Lateralus came out I was quite drunk when purchasing it at 12:01 am from a now defunct record store in Brisbane. Went home, played it and was very "meh". Of course that was terribly short sighted Tool albums should not sound catchy on their first listen. That is why they have longevity and return the investment you put into them

Dance is a physical manifestation of movement involving music. In the right moment, dance can transcend music. I'm no dancer but have been in that zone when clubbing or moshing. That does not diminish the role of music, it is an essential catalyst. Sir, clearly I don't know your wife, or you, however the physical aspect would seem to be the key difference. That said, your intrigue is something I've also considered. I met my wife at 31, we had /have extremely similar listening backgrounds when it comes to genres and bands but to this day she would be happy listening to $5 ear buds plugged into her phone at the gym. She will never sit down and listen through an album with me. Perhaps the hifi element we're interested in allows us to satify the technocrat inside. I know I am one. To quote someone I respect from a different audio forum: You don't need hifi to get that from music. IMO music feels like a base instinct. (so good) Great question

The first song from the album is now on YouTube

That's interesting! I feel the same way yet one of my favourite Metallica songs is Orion...

IMO every PC should have one, it makes a huge difference and they are cheap these days

No SSD in that one kills it for me. Lenovo have a few deals, this one for the E580 https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-edge/ThinkPad-E580/p/22TP2TEE580 Customised with 16GB RAM is $1030. Doubling the SSD to 512GB adds $150.

Do you have it configured with a static IP address in your router?

Digikey list the Peerless STW-350F as long as you're going to have a lot of power. Several AV threads about that model if you Google

Is there anything at: Settings > Advanced > Logging Then open the server log or the scanner log?

minidsp.com, shipped from HK and just shy of $2k landed. Most mentions of miniDSP are regarding something like the 2x4 for multiple sub integration especially in HT. The SHD is relatively new and is an all-in-one streaming preamp for a system up to 2.2. As I've said elsewhere some of the best $ I've spent on hifi. As a preamp its design suited me perfectly to fit between my sources and amplifier/subs. The fact that it sounds as good as it does is surprising. Several comments in other forums have given the same feedback. If you have questions about your system, what you want and where to go you could start a thread in the "Beginners & Purchasing Advice" section to get a good spead of advice

A pair of SVS SB13U with the crucial element of a miniDSP SHD preamp for integration (DSP, xover, delay and Dirac). I can dial in the target curve I desire from 20Hz and up and switch between presets depending on the material being played. The preset with the most added bass is used for movies. My curves are only slight deviations from the Harman Target and the bassiest one might add 4dB below 200Hz. Adding the subs did not alter the character of the sound. As the Focals are high passed they do what they do well more effortlessly. I also had a corner loading issue with the bottom & front ported floorstanders which has vanished. I mostly listen to rock and metal. An in-law was visiting recently who is a cello player so I put on some classical. Her comment was "it's so lifelike".

How much more I enjoy them with a good pair of subs ?