End of my tether

Tether 2.0 sounds better.

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Yes but the OP despises me. The end of his #1 original post:

“Apologies for the rant but the past 8 years have been a constant battle against the system rather than enjoyment of the system. I know it can sing. I’ve heard it sing. Then it doesn’t. Enough already.”

I suggested many months ago to him too dump the old stuff he has and just get a new SN3 and maybe a hicap. His Zu speakers are super efficient ( really best with SET’s ) and 80wpc is more than enough to drive them to ear bleeding levels. Then he could add a really good CD player like an Esoteric ( that parts will be available for, for damn near forever) that allows one to use the
CD players internal Dac he could then use any Renderer of his choice, be it Naim or Aurrender, Auralic, Innos, Melco etc…and BANG bob’s your uncle. It’ll sound killer and be easy to use, and dare I say, stay sounding great for many years with out headache and angst. I know he doesn’t believe me but I really do feel badly for him. Again as I’d mentioned earlier I really value my time and would have started over months ago, I simply don’t have his patience.

But as I said he thinks I’m a git, troll, meanie… So on with the thread which I’d mention is quickly approaching it’s 1year birthday. :slight_smile:

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Additional

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:slight_smile: I see

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Tether Reloaded?! :scream: :rofl:

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The original post should have been ‘I have a vague sense of ennui,’ then this bit could actually be tether ending territory.

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Hi Mike, super 20 nightmare here, still fighting my speakers. your not on your own

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The OP is entitled to listen to whoever he wants to, and to ignore/block those he chooses to as well. I may well fall into the latter category - I’m not going to lose sleep over it although I might observe that sometimes you learn more from those with a different viewpoint to your own…

I don’t often agree with you @Svetty but you definitely fall into the category of always worth listening to. The irony here is that I love gathering different perspectives but there are an increasing number in this thread intent on rowing their own boats to no great purpose beyond trolling and abuse and I’m not interested in anything they have to say.

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Tether Infinity, by the sound of it

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Is it the beginning of the end, or only the end of the beginning?

Roger

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I think the reason that the thread has taken an unexpected turn is because a year ago, before Covid was even a thing, the OP expressed extreme frustration and was on the brink of throwing away his equipment and changing to a less esoteric brand. Some were horrified and explained how to keep the faith, others shrugged and said, ‘if it’s bust, fix it.’ The people that would vote to name an exploration vessel Boaty McBoatface, of which I was one, are probably Monty Python, Young Ones and Man Down watchers that find themselves expecting a tether to be less than a year long. I hope the OP has plenty of joy from his system, I am absolutely enthralled by mine on a daily basis. But tether was mentioned a year ago and so some fun will be had.

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Mike, I think I have figured it out. Right now you just play CD’s and run TV sound through your system. You haven’t ripped your CD’s to any type of storage device. Innuos or a NAS correct? Seems that all your equipment is kind of old, certainly the CD :cd: player which is your primary and apparently only source. You say that you do some IT work professionally and adamantly don’t want to add that to your home environment, I understand that. So if we do this the accepted way ( Naimies approved method :wink: ) it should be Source First, correct? In this case it seems a really good CD player makes the most sense. And a really good one that won’t break the bank and will have parts available for a long time, and has a great internal Dac that you can access as a Stand alone Dac. Well Naim does not make one. So here’s my suggestion for a really kick ass system that will be easy to operate and give you the Naim sound:

Source : Esoteric K05Xs… it’s not as crazy expensive at 8000. pounds as one would think since it’s both an awesome CD Player, SACD Player, and a DAC that can even do DSD .

Amp: Naim SN3 3499.00 Pounds
Naim HCDR 1499.00
So you’ve spent less than 13,K for a awesome front end and a great new school amp. You have speakers you like , and you can probably off set some of the 13K with your old gear.

Less Boxes, way better sound, and easier to operate for the whole family! And if you want to just dip your toes in the world of streaming you could easily get a Bluesound Node 2i for about 550. pounds and try out Tidel or Qobuz and internet radio.

Anyway this is my suggestion on a great system that ticks all your boxes. Based on my more than Forty Years of experience as both a hobbyist, CE Professional, Sales Person, and Retailer.

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I could swear posts are being deleted. Maybe we are all at the end of our tethers?

Since this has started, I’ve had to get quite a few tether extensions.

I just cannot understand that after all this time and over 1000 replies, the OP is in exactly the same position.

Some fantastic systems have been suggested and ignored.

Perhaps the true intent of the OPs post is to get a response from every member of this forum.

I think that this post has run its course and it’s tether. Rather than keep extending it, it should be cut and allowed to float off to the IT Cloud.

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I’ve had to step in and apply some moderation here.

Interesting post thanks and I really appreciate the effort but I fear a slight misinterpretation.

I’m nowhere near depression and, having had some experience of it following the traumatic death of my closest friend about 7 years ago, I can say that with some confidence.

Work during lockdown has been exhausting but rewarding and my management of non-work time has been spot on. I’m uncomfortable saying so in public but lockdown for me has had many positives (not least the opportunity to put money aside for hi-fi and other projects).

You are quite right to say I dismissed some views outright but it’s interesting to read back from the beginning as it makes you appreciate just how many people offered a black and white “I am telling you it will be this” without either having read the background or applied logic. The idea it could be anything to do with amplification or speakers for example when TV was fine remains laughable. Sure the pre benefitted hugely from a service but that’s only served to emphasise that the issue is the source. TV sounds impactful and detailed with a wonderful image. The CDX2 of all Naim players sounds dead. The CDX2 is not a dull sounding CDP.

I think it’s also easy to imagine that a long thread means nothing else is going on. I’ve listened to maybe 5 albums in lockdown cos the CDX2 with or without XPS2 sounds “wrong” and inconsistent. Far from dwelling on the subject I’ve largely left it alone and come back it maybe once every few months. In part it’s been because, allowed time, clear perspectives on “what now or next” emerge but also because I’ve never been busier or more engaged with stuff in my life.

So, I’ve come back periodically to update on where I’m at. Some people appear to have real up front issues with my not having spent thousands of pounds or hours to fix the issue immediately but whilst music is something I can’t do without so are books and films. Far from dwelling endlessly on this I’ve allowed myself the freedom to slowly identify my options and I think those are becoming much clearer as described above. Oppprtunities to dem or collect my XPS2 and Burndy are non-existent at present and yet some people genuinely have a problem with a public display of patience.

In that context I have ignored forever a significant number of contributors to this thread and am extremely grateful for the moderation of @Richard.Dane.

There’s no obligation to read or contribute here but some people lack that restraint whilst thinking it’s always others who have a problem.

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As a new owner of Auralic Aries Mini I’d like to through it into the hat only available used now of course but there are other Auralic items.
The best integration with Tidal I’ve used yet, excellent internet radio access and space to fit an SSD hard drive underneath.

Interesting you mention internet radio as that is one of the few items of complaint I have of my Auralic, in the UK. The problem is with BBC Radio where only Radio 3 is available in HR and other BBC stations such as Radio 4 are only available at 128Kbps MP3. I’ve found a workaround using MinimStreamer to access the streams, but it’s a little clunky compared with Naim.

Roger

I don’t use BBC Radio so probably why I’ve not had an issue with it and though I’ve used ND5XS, Unitiqute 2 and a Uniti I’ve not used the new streamers so cannot comment on those but the above streamers where not great with Tidal and cut outs where common.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the Naim streamers I’ve tried and did also demo an NDX against a Raspberry Pi/Chord 2Qute and found the later sounded better but after a while couldn’t like with streaming Tidal via the Pi.

I don’t use Tidal for primary listening but the Aries Mini sounds great and the lightning DS app is a breeze to use.