Andy Schaub, Author at Positive Feedback

The MOON Neo 280D and the MiND of Simaudio

Andy Schaub — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 04:46:37 +0000

"Shine on you crazy diamond" - by Pink Floyd First of all, I should say that I like the Simaudio MOON Neo 280D ($2200) very much and that, with the optional MiND module, it provides for a one-box media server solution, WiFi support, DSD256-capable DAC, and all. Having said that, I did run into a... Read More »

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The Aurender N100H and The Well-Rumored Death of the Mac mini

Andy Schaub — Mon, 07 Mar 2016 08:14:42 +0000

"Help!" —The Beatles In memory of Lee Weiland, the man who introduced me to the concept of a digital music server and whose Locus Design cables I still use All my audiophile friends have NAS clusters. There's tremendous peer pressure for me to have one, too, and I tried an inexpensive one to see how... Read More »

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Musings on Building a Digital Music Server Goes Portable: The Chord Mojo and the Importance of Synergy

Andy Schaub — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 02:51:47 +0000

"I know it's only rock 'n roll but I like it, like it, yes, I do" —The Rolling Stones Not that long ago, I was working under contract at a big software company in Silicon Valley. However, I had been having tremendous pain in my right knee, largely from a sports injury, and got the... Read More »

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Musings on Building a Digital Music Server: The Next Generation

Andy Schaub — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 08:14:38 +0000

"How can I even try I can never win Hearing them, seeing them in the state I'm in" —"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" by Lennon–McCartney I haven't written a column on digital music servers in a very long time, and I think that's because I haven't really had anything new to say. Everything... Read More »

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The Electric Recording Company and Their Reissue of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major

Andy Schaub — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 22:23:31 +0000

"The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older, Shorter of breath and one day closer to death." —From "Time" by Pink Floyd So, first, you might ask, where have I been and why I am not talking about digital music servers, instead reviewing a vinyl reissue you can't buy anymore—at least... Read More »

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The Rega DAC-R: Will the Circle be Unbroken

Andy Schaub — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 01:17:17 +0000

Avec l'assistance de M. Bastille "We sang songs of childhood Hymns of faith that made us strong Ones that mother Maybelle taught us Hear the angels sing along" —"Will the Circle be Unbroken" by Johnny Cash OK, first I have to admit something. I'm about to receive an Ayre QB-9 DSD as my new reference... Read More »

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The Woo Audio WA7tp and the Future of Two Channel Home Audio

Andy Schaub — Thu, 21 May 2015 03:03:12 +0000

The Woo Audio WA7tp and the Future of Two Channel Home Audio "It's just a kiss away It's just a kiss away" —"Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones A while back, I wrote that the Woo WA7 high-resolution DAC and all-tube headphone amplifier was possibly the most linear combination I'd heard, particularly for a combined... Read More »

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Musings on DSD: Using Offline Conversion from DSD to High-Resolution PCM Files Rather Than Using a DSD-capable DAC

Andy Schaub — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 08:14:12 +0000

"I don't know where I'm gonna live I don't know if I'll find a place I'd have to think about it some And that I do not wish to face I guess I'm counting on His Divine intervention" —"Divine Intervention" by Matthew Sweet I was looking at the Berkeley Audio Design's new reference DAC via... Read More »

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Musings on Building a Digital Music Server: Catching Up on Portable, High-Resolution Audio with the RAL REX-KEB02iP

Andy Schaub — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 00:12:38 +0000

"A smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth you said that irony was the shackles of youth you wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh I never understood the frequency, uh-huh" —"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by REM As Slim Pickens' character says in the film Dr. Strangelove, "Well, I've been to one world fair, a... Read More »

The post Musings on Building a Digital Music Server: Catching Up on Portable, High-Resolution Audio with the RAL REX-KEB02iP appeared first on Positive Feedback.

When New is Really Great: The Stunning AudioQuest Diamond Ethernet Cables

Andy Schaub — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 01:22:08 +0000

"By the time I got your letter I had lost my mind I was trippin' ‘When you gettin' better?' It's a jagged line Nothin' lasts forever when you travel time I've been sippin' that cool aid of the cosmos" —"The Voyager" by Jenny Lewis I wrote a while back about the AudioQuest Forest Ethernet cables,... Read More »

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When Old Is New and Streaming Media: The iBasso D12 Anaconda (Among Other Things) and the AudioQuest Forest Ethernet Cables

Andy Schaub — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 03:19:46 +0000

"Oh help me, please doctor, I'm damaged There's a pain where there once was a heart It's sleepin, it's a beatin' Can't ya please tear it out, and preserve it Right there in that jar?" —"Dear Doctor" by The Rolling Stones So, first, I wanted apologize for jamming two sets of commentaries, the latter of... Read More »

The post When Old Is New and Streaming Media: The iBasso D12 Anaconda (Among Other Things) and the AudioQuest Forest Ethernet Cables appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Musings on Building a Digital Music Server: Revisiting the Rega DAC

Andy Schaub — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 10:39:22 +0000

"The muses dance and sing| They make the children really ring I spend the day your way Call it morning driving thru the sound and In and out the valley" - "Roundabout" by Yes As you may remember from an earlier article, I recently moved to San Francisco and had to scale down my... Read More »

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When Moving Requires That You Scale Down, At Least Temporarily: A Personal Story

Andy Schaub — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 17:00:09 +0000

"Say it ain't so, I will not go, Turn the lights off, Carry me home" —"All the Small Things", Blink 182 So this all started with a big argument that my girlfriend and I had, the resolution of which was to move in together up in San Francisco, where she already lived. The problem was... Read More »

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Musings on Building a Digital Music Server: The Ayre QB-9DSD and the State of the Art

Andy Schaub — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 22:55:50 +0000

"And you may ask yourself How do I work this? And you may ask yourself Where is that large automobile?" —"Once in Lifetime" by David Byrne, Brian Eno, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth It took a really long time to get to review the Ayre QB-9DSD and even then they had to send... Read More »

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Musings on Building a Digital Music Server: The AudioQuest Diamond USB and Stealth Varidig Sextet versus the Synergistic Research USB Active SE and their Element Copper, All with a Manley Skipjack

Andy Schaub — Sat, 12 Apr 2014 04:20:11 +0000

"Listen as the wind blows from across the great divide voices trapped in yearning, memories trapped in time the night is my companion, and solitude my guide would I spend forever here and not be satisfied?" —"Possession", Sarah McLachlan This does look back a long time. After a conversation with Josh Heiner of Sonicweld about... Read More »

The post Musings on Building a Digital Music Server: The AudioQuest Diamond USB and Stealth Varidig Sextet versus the Synergistic Research USB Active SE and their Element Copper, All with a Manley Skipjack appeared first on Positive Feedback.

More Musings on Building a Digital Music Server: the KingRex UPower, uArt Y USB Cable, and UD384 High-Resolution DAC

Andy Schaub — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 15:41:51 +0000

"Then you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin'" —Bob Dylan, "The Times They Are A-changin'" Sometimes, less is more, and innovations come from unexpected places. One example is the KingRex UPower and uArt Y USB cable. Although the UPower is very small (about the size of... Read More »

The post More Musings on Building a Digital Music Server: the KingRex UPower, uArt Y USB Cable, and UD384 High-Resolution DAC appeared first on Positive Feedback.