Sound System at your Desk

2020, the year of Covid-19.

I've spend most of the year at home working on my computer. 

So I decided to upgrade my desktop sound system for improved performance.

I've had a couple pairs of Stax electrostatic Earphones in my collection - SR-X and SR-Lambda. My device chain used to start on my Windows 7 machine over SPIDIF to SoundStream DAC and then through Krell KAV300i amp to Stax SRM-1/MK-2 headphone energizer to my headphones. I would listen to my FLAC and mp3 rips or would stream radio stations that offered it. Ahh, the early days of streaming.

Enter 2021. I've just moved from 2010 Mac Pro to 2018 Mac Mini and decided to use Toslink digital connector that has been built into the audio jack of many Macs. Well, it is not there anymore so that idea was out of the window. Second I wanted to use USB connection but realized that my SoundStream DAC did not have USB inputs. So I did some research on Reddit and Youtube and ended up acquiring Schiit Modi 3+ for a DAC, then plugged it in to STAX SRM-1/MK-2 energizer and then put on my headphones. Audirvana did sound nice but I kept wondering what would a "better" DAC would sound like. 

Down the rabbit hole with GAS (gear acquisition syndrome).

Metrum Amethyst R2R DAC, KOSS ESP/95X headphones, and a revival of another older DAC - MOTU Traveler via USB-C to Firewire converter. Wow. 

My audio never sounded that good over headphones. Yeah, if I had my space I would play my speakers more, but now it is not quite possible.

Then came streaming service comparison.

I already had YouTube Premium and Amazon Music Prime, both lossy streams but they did sound pretty good to me.

I've tested out Deezer HiFi and Qobuz, in CD or High Res tracks of the same songs. Could not hear the difference. 320/256 mp3/OggVorbis? Still could not tell the difference.

The only difference I could tell was the stability of the app and functionality.

I did like the design of Deezer (I hear Spotify is very similar but more social features) so I might give them a try for a year. Qobuz and Amazon Unlimited are already canceled. I did not try Amazon HD as I felt disappointed in "High Res" moniker. Diminishing returns in quality is very evident in my case.

Youtube Music has excellent selection of music but no dedicated app for OSX. Can't have it all I guess.

Getting a New Car

No, I don't mean a "New Car", just a car new to ME.

Buying a NEW car will happen if there is a ton of money dropped on me and I have nothing better to do with it.

About 2 years ago I picked up a used 2012 Nissan Leaf from Craigslist for $4000 as an experiment. Car had a new battery (changed under warranty by previous owner), and a new set of tires. So far it has cost me nothing - I get free power at the charger at work and near the house. Granted, it does not fit 5 people comfortably or doesn't go too far on a charge (about 65 miles I figured) but compared to Lexus LS400 it has paid for itself just of gasoline costs (read below) alone.

Until then my Toyota made fleet has been serving me quite diligently.

My oldest vehicle, 1998 Lexus LS400, is still running strong but at 168k miles is starting to feel long at the tooth and with a V8 is not a frugal proposition at the pump. Right now, with gas lingering around $3.49, I can easily spend $60 - $70 filling up the tank. If I drove to work and around, it is a weekly expense, and it does add up. But the AC is strong, brakes are good and starter motor has been changed - I could be driving this beast for another 10 years or till transmission failed. But I do not expect gas prices to come down, so even if nothing goes wrong (knock on wood) just the fuel would cost me $70*52 weeks = $3640 a year.

But wait - I do have another car as well! What if my LS400 dies (like the starter went out and I was dead in the water) but I still need to go to work? Well, I have a trusty 2001 Lexus LX470. That's the behemoth I take on camping trips and Costco runs. I move furniture with it when needed, and go out with our family of 5 on weekends with ease. But that's not the car to drive to work - it is very thirsty with a tank size to match. It's a specialist vehicle.

I would have bought an electric Toyota as well, but I could not find anything in my price range - Rav4 EV was around $15k, but I wasn't feeling it. So Nissan Leaf it was.

My conclusion is if you have access to a free charger, you can save a lot on your transportation. Used Leafs are cheap and they are pretty reliable. Battery is the weakest link, but as long as you can charge it for free and range is enough, it is a steal!

Going 10G on home network

I have a MacPro 5,1, 2010. 

10.14 Mojave is the end of the road for this machine. 

But for its last hurrah I wanted to speed up access to my Synology DS3612xs NAS with 10G link, so after researching ended up picking up old stock new Solarflare SFN5161T Dual port 10BASE-T NIC for just under $70. I've could have gotten older card for around $30, but I decided to splurge.

I am trying to do piece 10G on an experimenting budget with mostly used server parts on eBay. The only "new" items are the switch and SFP+ to RJ45 module, 

Drivers downloaded and installed without a hitch from the vendor.

Right now running on a Gigagbit network, waiting for MikroTik CRS305-1G-4S+IN to arrive.

Exciting times!

 

Update: Sticking with Mojave and i7 2018 Mac Mini with 10G ethernet.

 

Tried out MikroTik CRS305-1G-4S+IN and ended up returning it as I had issues with intel X520 card in my Synology.

 

Got a used Dell x1052P switch and it works well with my POE cameras and 10G on Synology and my Mac Mini.