Hi from down under.

[Jamtoast]

Hi everyone.

My current setup is

a Mac Mini 2010 running OSX Lion and Plex as a media centre
music collection ripped to Apple Lossless and living on a Thecus NAS in the basement running RAID5 and networked via gigabit Ethernet
Onkyo TX-NR808 Receiver
Dual audio out from Mac to SPDIF and HDMI
SPDIF into a Beresford Caiman then to the Analogue input of NR808
HDMI to main on NR808
Zone 2 out to Bose Acoustimass 5 series III satellites and passive sub in the kitchen (not my choice but came free with the house so I'm not complaining)
Main out to 5.1 setup in the(tiny) lounge: B&W 685 fronts and 687 centre.
Paradigm Ultracube 10 v2 sub and Paradigm Cinema ADP v3 satellites


All fairly pedestrian compared to a lot of the gear I see here, but I'm waiting for the day when I have a bigger house. Oh, and more cash. Loads more cash.

I'm principally a music lover - very eclectic taste (everyone says that don't they - but I REALLY DO :D) from Jimi Hendrix to Arvo Pärt and everything in between. Also a certified gadget nut and tweaker and a closet radio ham. IRL I'm a doctor specialising in remote & expedition and tele-medicine (refer cash comment. Should have done surgery).

My foray into surround sound has been a recent one and I admit so far a bit disappointing. Movies sound incredible but I have discovered that I actually spend more time listening to music than watching movies! A bit of forethought would have probably revealed that :doh:. Whilst a very clever gadget I find the NR808 fairly lack luster musically. Surround modes for music are novel, but ultimately distracting and I inevitably come back to stereo which does not sound as good as it did with my Onkyo A9755 which is now sitting gathering dust until such time as I get a bigger house. The NR808 certainly sounds better for music via the Caiman incidentally - big fan of StanleyB's gear - have a 7510 lying around along with a couple of A&R Cambridge A60s - which I loved for many years and just can't bear to part with. Oh and some Wharfdale Diamond Vs.

Nice to be here.

[prestonchipfryer]

Hi Graham, welcome to the AoS. Hope you enjoy your stay.

John :)

[MartinT]

Hi Graham and welcome to AoS. You certainly hail from afar and although I know Australia I've never been to Tasmania. Get ye into the DIY section of this forum and start modding your Caiman: you have no idea how good it can sound :)

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Graham, welcome to AoS from me also :)

As John said, I hope you enjoy your stay with us as well :cool:

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hi Graham & welcome to AoS from me.
You're not related to one of our other members called 'hoops on toast', are you?!

Cheers

[Jac Hawk]

Hi Gaham, and a warm welcome from me, i notice you're not too pleased with the Onkyo for music, does it have an SRS Circle surround setting? i've been through all the different setups on my A/V amp and found the SRS setting is by far the best for music

[AlfaGTV]

Hi Graham and welcome!

I see there are quite a few of us using the MacMini as a source for music these days!

Best regards form another newcomer!
/Mike (in Sweden)

[Jamtoast]

Get ye into the DIY section of this forum and start modding your Caiman

Martin I actually e-mailed Stan about getting the Gator board for my Caiman, and of course he did a bunch of :eyebrows: about the Bushmaster - it was the extensive thread on the Bushmaster that actually brought me here! So very torn now about whether I should save my $ for the new device or mod my Caiman.


does it have an SRS Circle surround setting

No SRS Surround on the Onkyo (proprietary Yamaha mode?) but has THX and Neo 6 music modes, and a bunch of others. I just find them all a bit fussy and very 'digital sounding'. Also my rear surround speakers are pretty cr@p - good for movie sound fx but not a lot else. And so end up listening in stereo (the way it was recorded so unsurprising I guess). By stereo I mean 2.1 - the Paradigm Ultracube 10 powered sub is very musical (part of the reason I chose it) and somewhat makes up for the fact that the Onkyo TX-NR808 doesn't really have the goods to make the B&W 685s sing to their full potential. So overall sound not too bad.

That said, my sitting down and writing that I have an Onkyo A9755 sitting around doing nothing got me thinking and I might have a solution to improve matters. There are pre-outs on the NR808, and the A9755 has power amp inputs. Both devices also have the Onkyo remote interface. So I should be able to use the A9755 as a power amp for the 685s (L&R front), as well as using the NR808 to switch the power.

This will largely take the NR808 out of the equation for listen to music in stereo - the Caiman does the DAC* and the A9755 will do the leg work. A behemoth to be driving little 685s, but bought it originally with an eye to grander speakers when I have a larger room (my lounge is about 4x4 metres!).

Will try it this weekend and report back. Suppose it should go in a new thread? Not sure of the etiquette.

Thanks again for the warm welcome all.

*P.S. The difference between using the Caiman and the DAC in the NR808 is night and day when it comes to music. The NR808 sounds positively anaemic.

[MartinT]

Martin I actually e-mailed Stan about getting the Gator board for my Caiman, and of course he did a bunch of :eyebrows: about the Bushmaster - it was the extensive thread on the Bushmaster that actually brought me here! So very torn now about whether I should save my $ for the new device or mod my Caiman.

Ah, same dilemma as me. However, the Caiman with Gator, Elna Silmic II caps and Paul Hynes internal and external regulators certainly kicks butt.

For the price of the Gator board, I think you should upgrade anyway.

[Jamtoast]

So, I did it and took the pre-outs for the L&R channels and sent them to the A9755 in power amp mode. Big difference. The bottom end of the 685s has reappeared, detail and warmth both significantly up.

So there you go, membership of AOS has already inspired one change for the better. Now just need to work out how to get the receiver to switch the A9755...

[MartinT]

Nice :)