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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2010 9:02:41 GMT -5
We spent a lot of time comparing CD players and DAC's (six in total), which I thought was great. Anyone who says that all CD players sound alike is wrong! I was quite impressed by Barry's 14 year old Sony. Which Sony model was it? Looking forward to your thoughts of the event and pics. |
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Animo
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Post by Animo on Apr 11, 2010 9:16:07 GMT -5
Damn, I just made a post and as I was trying to preview it, my browser took a dump. Gotta try and remember just what I wrote. And this is all before breakfast......I need help!!!
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Post by barrynj on Apr 11, 2010 9:18:21 GMT -5
Animo, thanks for hosting a great GTG!!! I truly enjoyed the day, meeting fellow audio geeks, and experiencing your system, very impressive. Rather, it's a Sony cdp-xa20es not my picture, but this guy did a nice job...  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2010 9:21:28 GMT -5
^^thanks Barry . . . didn't want to wait for Animo to take a dump, I mean his computer to take a dump to find out. Nice looking player . . . never had the opportunity to listen to one
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2010 9:22:33 GMT -5
And this is all before breakfast......I need help!!! I agree  |
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Post by Indycolts on Apr 11, 2010 9:38:55 GMT -5
where's the pics?
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Post by BillBauman on Apr 11, 2010 12:51:28 GMT -5
We spent a lot of time comparing CD players and DAC's (six in total), which I thought was great. Anyone who says that all CD players sound alike is wrong! I was quite impressed by Barry's 14 year old Sony. Man I'm sorry I missed that! I'm such a CDP / DAC freak. ;D |
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Animo
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Post by Animo on Apr 12, 2010 16:43:42 GMT -5
OK, sorry for the delay, my computer and I both took a major crash yesterday. Anyway, First I just wanted to thank everyone that was able to attend, and I am sorry to the guys that had to cancel at the last minute because of their jobs. We had 6 guys for most of the day, and even my plumber (#7), who was a day late, came and hung out for a while. Again, I just wanted to thank Cathy and the crew at Emotiva for helping to put this day over the top. I had called Cathy to buy some items for my guests as a way of making the day special for them, since I knew several traveled 2 hours or more to get here, and I didn't want them to go home empty handed. In this respect, I should have known the treatment and service from Emotiva would be exemplary, and the package arrived to my door in 2 days .... WOW!!!! ;D ;D    In attendance were....on the couch Jedinite24 and BarryNJ, and standing in back from left to right, behind my eD Dual 13 Av.2 DIY is Wideawake, me, MrBen, and Nicholas322. Sam Adams is on the little table to the left!!! ;D  Being the thoughtful host, I provided some snacks.... multigrain crackers with Blue crab spread, humus, and shrimp cocktail.  And of course to wash it down some soda and local brew, Brooklyn Lager, Pilsner, and my new fave...the Winter Ale!!  Basically we checked out 4 different CD players, using their respective DACs, and then using the Dacs in my Outlaw processor, and also MrBen's amazing little DIY Dac in no box!!! The ERC-1 Oppo BDP-83 Barry's Sony CDP-XA20ES And MrBen's perennial audiophile Sony Playstation, (the one you can buy online for a $1000).....LOL  All connections were made with my DIY version of Kimber PBJs which can be seen below in the close up of Ben's DAC.    I'm not going to get into a big post about reviews and comparisons. Everyone that owns the ERC-1 knows how it sounds and performs. The same goes for the Oppo BDP. However, those that attended that didn't have an ERC yet, were able to hear it for themselves. I must also point out that Barry's Sony was quite an impressive unit, given it's age, and it's also the first player I have seen that uses a tray with a weight above the CD. (You can see a close up in the post made yesterday by Barry a little higher up on this thread.) I have seen this feature many times before on some high end Top Loaders, but never with a tray. I will also state that this day proved to be quite the eye opener for all of us in regards to the performance of Ben's DIY DAC. It's amazing what a little handiwork and a few dollars can achieve. Here's a close up.  Of course my main goal was to finally show my home made main speakers and my DIY eD subwoofer. I hope some of the guys will give their impressions for the rest of you. I think they all agree that my main speakers perform quite well on their own. I played them full range without the sub, and also crossed at 40Hz with the sub. They agreed the sub also performs quite well with music, and that it also gives a very tactile performance once I gave a theater demo with the campus battle scene from "The Hulk". I also played the scene from Transformers 2 , where the Decepticons capture Sam and tear the car apart. Personally, I think I scared Jedinite24 out of buying this sub for his system... Here's a simple glam shot of the top of my sub...  On an unrelated topic, the biggest eye opener for me came when Nick found my corkscrew/bottle opener on my table and asked where he could get one. I told him I had another in my van, and went out and got it for him. When he saw it he told me that it was not a cheap item like the one on my table. He did a quick Google search and showed me that this little item goes for upwards of $150. It's a Capage Laguide, made in France. **Nick just informed me that this is considered a Somelier's Wine Opener**  To sum things up, it was a great day, with great friends. I hope everyone chimes in with their thoughts. One other thing..... I think I will host a movie night this Saturday. I have plenty of beer and popcorn left over. Anyone that couldn't make it for the GTG is welcome to come by for a movie....GFs and wives included..... Let me know!! |
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Post by Wideawake on Apr 12, 2010 17:15:39 GMT -5
Animo, thanks for hosting this event. I had a blast and it was fun meeting a few new lounge members. Cathy and Emotiva, thank you so much for the wonderful Emo gear. From my perspective 3 things stood out for me as highlights of the day: 1). Animo’s Speakers – I had briefly heard these speakers at Nick’s house during the previous GTG about 1 year ago and I remember not being very impressed with them at the time. They were not placed correctly as their design requires them to be. At Animo’s place they came alive as the boundary walls provided the support that these speakers were meant to utilize. Bass was full bodied and taut. The midrange is to die for. It has one of the best midranges that I have heard in a boxed speaker. The rest of the presentation is also very coherent and I was truly impressed by these speakers. They do double duty for music and HT and perform very well at both. These babies were being driven by the venerable XPA-2. 2). Animo’s Elemental Sub – Ahem, Ntrain is going to kill me but I have to say that this sub is simply amazing. We listened to it with music and with movies. It performed beautifully for both. For music it filled in the lower octaves perfectly providing a full bodied and musical low end. I could not localize it even though often I was standing right in front of it. I had to put my hand on the sub’s enclosure to feel if it was on or not. For movies, it takes you to another realm altogether. Most in the lounge know that I’m not much into HT but after listening to Animo’s HT, with the XPA-2/XPA-5 combo, ERM 6.3 center, ERD surrounds and the ED sub, I will be paying a little more attention to developing my own HT. We watched parts of Hulk II and it was an incredible experience. The LFE effects were rendered superbly by the sub. The deep growls and rumbles felt so real without it being over the top. I got totally immersed in the movie and had a truly memorable movie watching experience. 3). Ben’s DIY DAC – Ben’s DAC amazed us all with its finesse and clarity. Music seemed to come alive with his DAC and had a presence that was engaging. Jedinite and I were imploring Ben to build us each a DAC. I must have asked him a zillion times to please build me a DAC and he remained non-committal  So, one more time; “Ben will you please, please build me a DAC?” |
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Post by Mr. Ben on Apr 12, 2010 19:44:07 GMT -5
3). Ben’s DIY DAC – Ben’s DAC amazed us all with its finesse and clarity. Music seemed to come alive with his DAC and had a presence that was engaging. Jedinite and I were imploring Ben to build us each a DAC. I must have asked him a zillion times to please build me a DAC and he remained non-committal So, one more time; “Ben will you please, please build me a DAC?” lol - I'm sure I can put one together for you. The question is if you want it as-is, or if you want to wait for me to improve it. If you want it as-is I can just put it in a box and sent it to you, and start with a fresh board. I have no idea when I'll be making improvements, or how good they will be. |
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Animo
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Post by Animo on Apr 12, 2010 20:00:45 GMT -5
3). Ben’s DIY DAC – Ben’s DAC amazed us all with its finesse and clarity. Music seemed to come alive with his DAC and had a presence that was engaging. Jedinite and I were imploring Ben to build us each a DAC. I must have asked him a zillion times to please build me a DAC and he remained non-committal So, one more time; “Ben will you please, please build me a DAC?” lol - I'm sure I can put one together for you. The question is if you want it as-is, or if you want to wait for me to improve it. If you want it as-is I can just put it in a box and sent it to you, and start with a fresh board. I have no idea when I'll be making improvements, or how good they will be. Just like that, and as I said before, call it DAC in no box!!! |
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Post by Wideawake on Apr 12, 2010 20:22:49 GMT -5
I'll wait for the new and improved version, whenever you decide to do that. Thanks!!!
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Post by jedinite24 on Apr 12, 2010 20:31:17 GMT -5
Hey everyone.
The Brooklyn GTG was great for me and a lot of fun. Meeting fellow audio enthusiasts was great. These guys helped expose me to music I wouldn't normally listen too. It was a great time of listening to different music and equipment.
Mr Animo's sub is amazing. Really packs a wallop and his home made speakers are out of this world.
Mr. Ben's DAC was excellent too. I hope the next GTG will be the battle of the out board DACs. Mr.Ben's being the incumbent champion of course. I've got one (not DIY), BarryNJ has some nice ones from Audio Alchemy I believe and if we can get an XDA on loan we'll have a nice rumble.
I look fwd to another GTG.
take care. JD
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Post by bigred7078 on Apr 12, 2010 21:33:00 GMT -5
very cool!!! looks like you guys had some fun!!!!
HA! I've always imagined Mr. Ben as some old man... ;D
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Post by jlafrenz on Apr 12, 2010 22:37:40 GMT -5
very cool!!! looks like you guys had some fun!!!! HA! I've always imagined Mr. Ben as some old man... ;D I always kind of pictured him with a mustache |
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Post by monkumonku on Apr 12, 2010 23:06:10 GMT -5
very cool!!! looks like you guys had some fun!!!! HA! I've always imagined Mr. Ben as some old man... ;D You must have been thinking about his uncle. ;D |
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Post by hemster on Apr 12, 2010 23:11:17 GMT -5
very cool!!! looks like you guys had some fun!!!! HA! I've always imagined Mr. Ben as some old man... ;D I always kind of pictured him with a mustache You must have been thinking about his uncle. ;D ...Somehow I thought he'd be sporting a 10-gallon sombrero... ;D |
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Post by moodyman on Apr 13, 2010 9:06:57 GMT -5
Being the thoughtful host, I provided some snacks.... multigrain crackers with Blue crab spread, humus, and shrimp cocktail. Sorry I had to miss it.... I hope everyone tried the Blue Crab spread..its awesome stuff.. |
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pitbullmike
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Post by pitbullmike on Apr 13, 2010 9:52:49 GMT -5
I pictured Animo being bald with big ears
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Post by BillBauman on Apr 13, 2010 11:44:00 GMT -5
You guys are terrible (but cracking me up) about what people would look like.
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So, one more time; “Ben will you please, please build me a DAC?” 
