dsavitsk

You might not be, as you could be the conduit to ground. The probabilities are certainly low of anything happening, but it just doesn't seem like a risk worth taking, particularly for no demonstrated benefit.

CE certification is a floor, not a ceiling. Just because something is approved by a certification body doesn't mean it is safe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rofecoxib. And, the Reddi is not strapped to anyone head.

That's how my Melos was until I fixed it. I have no problem with floating transformer secondaries, or even floating outputs, in low voltage circuits, but definitly not in anything over 24V or so.

I think it is a terrible idea, and something I won't do for myself or anyone else. Particularly in the case of something you are connecting to your head Your 100volt plus moment - Page 2 - diyAudio

Considering a different direction -- my current HTPC, which is about 5 years old now and wasn't spectacular when new, has a reasonably quiet (Nexus) PS and a sata raid card with reasonably quiet drives that could all be reused. That means perhaps just retrofitting a decent ATX board + processor + vidcard + memory might be a workable option to keep me going. Anybody have a particular mobo/processor suggestion -- probably a generation or two old -- that is a particularly good value and can get by with a minimal fan or passive sink (with the quiet PS fan venting the case)?

It's a pretty nice case. It, plus a dual core Atom/ION mobo, some memory, a decent HDD, and a DVD drive, adds up to ~$500. Compared to the Q700 which is dual core 2.5G, 4GB, etc., comes with Win7, and is available from $470, it doesn't seem to make sense to build this. Lenovo used to have multiple configurations and models that seem to be dwindling. I'm guessing that waiting until after CES would be prudent.

It looks like a fanless atom/ion platform is just what I am looking for. The trick seems to be that it doesn't exist. The Q100 lacks the ion, and while the Q110 adds it, it also adds what is said to be a quite noisy fan making it not workable, either. So, can anyone recommend a specific fanless atom/ion configuration for around the price of the Q110? Prebuilt or home built doesn't really matter. I can't find anything, though. Pinetrail looks like it is more for power savings, but if that turns into heat savings then it could be workable. Any specific suggestions? You and I appear to have a different definition of "gorgeous".

Both look like interesting possibilities Looks a little more spendy than I want. I can get academic pricing on the mac, so $550 is probably the ceiling, with less certainly better.

Guys -- I could use some help putting together a new living room computer. This started out as thinking a mac mini running win32 would be OK, then thinking that new Dell thing would work, and as always happens, has devolved into building a system myself. I am basically looking for small and silent -- totally fanless if possible. Probably a solid state drive, though the dvr already makes enough noise that this might be an unnecessary luxury. This will get used for watching Netflix and other downloadable TV, playing music, and RMAA testing. It will also be used as a headless workstation via remote desktop -- in order to avoid digging through and updating 100K lines of old code that I maintain, I basically need to be able to run two different versions of Python, and the easiest way I have found to do this is to just have two different systems, one of which I can run remotely. The video stuff probably requires a decent video card, but nothing spectacular (it will connect to a 32" 780p TV). It is conceivable that a USB Blu Ray drive might be added someday, so enough power for Blu Ray playback would be useful. Music will be via winamp mostly, and the files all reside on a NAS in another room. Optical drive of any sort is sort of optional -- all it would get used for is installing software (for which an external drive is fine) and ripping CDs, which can be done on another computer. For RMAA, a decent soundcard would be useful (probably an audiophile 2492 or 192). Built in sound that would just be for TV might also be a possibility as I can use a USB card for music/RMAA. I'll probably run XP as I have extra licenses and no real reason to "upgrade". I also think keeping the PS outside the box would also be good. I think this might mean miniITX, but I am lost in all the different models and specs, which is why I need the help. For cases, I found this review of the Coolermaster's Fanless TC-100 mini-ITX case | silentpcreview.com but the cases don't seem to be for sale anywhere. They also make a "Cube" and a TC-100A that both look pretty good, but are also unfindable. More available are the Serener Fanless Cases For those, I am not sure what I am looking for in terms of mobo - they mention heatpipes for Via motherboards, but not whether those work with other motherboards. And, I don't know whether Via's are worth trying, or if they are even fast enough. Any suggestions?

Yeah, well, I doubt there is anything that will work with every amp. But, you can probably come close. Pretty much any off the shelf amp can drive a 300 ohm headphone. So, with a 300:32 step down and you can probably get decent results.

I take that back. It looks like power transformers on both sides, and tubes in the middle? Does it really take 2 power cords? Odd. Anyhow, it looks like a solid state bridge rectifier sunk on the side and a CRCRC filter for B+. It also looks like AC heaters. Either of those could cause hum. To lower B+ ripple, you could add a choke -- it will not only reduce ripple, but it will also take some edginess off the sound. Heaters are a little harder as the 6080's draw a lot of current which means big diodes and a lot capacitance. It is also tricky to get 6.3VDC out of a 6.3VAC winding. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd bother.

It looks like it's already transformer coupled. The proper solution is to just fix the hum. It could be power supply noise, heater noise, grounding, or magnetic coupling.

Why? That's all a parafeed amp is. Or the Maple Tree stuff. Or the L'espressivo. It's just a matter of using the right transformer.

I think you listened to an amp of mine using this sort of pot at the Chicago meet, if that helps you believe that it works.

The spikes that came in my old B&W's were the same spikes I used to put in the bottom of my shoes when I ran CC -- they helped me run faster, so I assume they'll make your speakers respond faster, too ...

It's called a Gaincard Amplifier

Sorry to pollute the forum -- does anyone have any Blackgate N 4.7u/50V or 10u/50V caps? I could use either 3 or 4 of the 4.7's (I have one) or 4 of the 10's. I am happy to pay the going rate, or I have lots of DIY stuff to trade (including some new WM8741 based DAC PCBs arriving in a couple of days). Thanks

Nothing magical from me -- I've used these but I can't vouch for the quality. Realm of Excursion - Audio Downloads I've also downloaded tone generation software and used it to make tones -- but I can't remember which software. Oh, and I have one of these:

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Maybe this will help

Ryan is borrowing Asr's Ayre, and since he was over to pick up an amp last night, we gave the Ayre a quick listen. Basic impression was that it was OK but not great. It was a little flat sounding, and there was an overall fuzzy and unfocused nature to the sound. Bass was there but mushy. At it's price point, I'd guess that it is an OK deal. To be fair, we didn't do any special computer optimization. Just plugged it in and played FLAC files through Winamp. Though, another USB DAC that just uses a simple USB to SPDIF converter sounded better. That isn't to say that the digital signal was better, but rather that IMO the analog is more important to the overall sound, particularly when there are plenty of easy ways to clean up jitter. So overall, while it didn't sound bad, if I'd just built a DAC that sounded like that, I'd probably keep working on it.

Yes, a glob of epoxy will fix that, and probably make it stronger than it was to begin with. But, use a 24 hour epoxy -- not one of those quick set types. Also, don't be tempted by the Gorilla glue as it expands as it cures. Finally, get a small clamp to hold it while it sets -- it will need to be held firmly for a long time (hours) to make a good bond.

They look a little like the headphones used for hearing tests when I was in elementary school.

This one was there which I hear was very nice

Welborne hasn't actually sold those cases in years. I once posted to AA that I was looking for someone to make a few wood cases for me and ended up getting about half a dozen emails of willing builders.