The Syren

Special offer on stereo packages & bundles.
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I'm ashamed to say that all my FLACs are illegally downloaded from torrents. In a perfect world, I would be ripping my CD collection to FLACs but unfortunately, I never built a collection and don't intend to start now.

As far as the websites you've mentioned go, while I'm sure the quality is outstanding, the pricing is prohibitive. 40 dollars for a single album! In that price I can actually start a CD collection :)

About not finding what you're looking for - I guess that is the best reason to go and buy a disc and then rip to your digital collection. I'm hoping that as the trend of listening to high-res digital music increases, the prices become more reasonable. iTunes is planning something for this and I'm sure that the moment Apple gets involved, we can expect a radical change.

Venkus_Narelius said:
Hi Bluu...how do you gather your flacs? other than torrents, you have anything else to share? because on torrents, some times you don't find what you are looking for...

I know of www.hdtracks.com and Download Lossless FLAC APE music - biggest online archive but, I have not tried them. Any info on this would be helpful

cheers!!
Click to expand...
 
Found this thread on Last.fm about online FLAC stores:

FLAC Online Stores Free Lossless Audio Codec Discussions Last.fm

The musicishere store seems promising. 99cents a song irrespective of format! If someone could try some of these services and post their feedback, it'll be very useful!

Also, I'm upgrading my cables from generic speaker cables to better quality Usher Rapport today. Will post about the difference in SQ as soon as I can get a good listening session in.
 
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Since I got a couple of queries -

The Syren is the younger brother of the Odyssey audio Lorelei -

6moons audio reviews: Odyssey Audio Lorelei which itself is a clone (except for the finish) of the Symphonic Line Legato - a two way speaker. The Lorelei is definitely better sounding but the Syren retains the house sound and is similar in nature.

The Syren that Bluu has picked up is the upgraded version with the Scanspeaker drivers, the stock one uses the equivalent Usher drivers. This also uses upgraded speaker terminals as well as upgraded Groneberg internal wiring as well. I believe there was some better components on the crossover as well but I cant be sure now.

Bluu, you need to get some spikes under the speakers with some double sided sticky tape - contact Magma on this forum, the improvement will be huge and more than worth it.

happy listening

cheers
 
Thanks Sridhar. Yes, I'll be contacting magma shortly. Can you clarify what effect the spikes will have on the stability of the speakers? I have a hyper dog and I worry slightly that adding spikes may increase the chances of him tipping them over.
 
A lot if these websites only have independent and non-mainstream artists. While I don't mind exploring them, sometimes one just wants a known band's albums.
 
Update:

My system has been upgraded with new Usher Rapport cables and the Logitech Squeezebox Duet.

First listening impressions with the new cables point to a cleaner, richer and fuller sound. My previous cables were generic, splayed copper cables while the Ushers are single piece of much thicker gauge and better material. There is a slight openness to the sound now. As if a fabric covering has been removed.

The S'box is just pure genius. Setup took 5 minutes and it has been a lifesaver. Having your entire library and internet radio (heck, even Facebook!) on the remote makes life so much easier! The Wolfson DAC chip has definitely added to the SQ. In fact, I can easily tell that my poor Denon, which is doing amplifier duty till I pick up a proportionate amp, is a weak musical performer.

I have my eye on an Italian hand-built Audio Analogue Primo Cento hybrid amp which I will be auditioning soon. Will post updates about the overall experience and also about the difference between an AVR used as a stereo amp and a genuine integrated stereo amp.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the S'box, cables or the Syrens themselves.

Next upgrade will be Magma's speaker spikes which will help in isolation and improving the sound signature.

Till then!
Cheers!
 
Bluu said:
Thanks Sridhar. Yes, I'll be contacting magma shortly. Can you clarify what effect the spikes will have on the stability of the speakers? I have a hyper dog and I worry slightly that adding spikes may increase the chances of him tipping them over.
Click to expand...

If the spikes are not too high (an inch or so), it wont be a problem. You can experiment with 4 spikes instead of three per speaker. In the end, the dog or the kid can tip the speaker over if they want to, spikes or no spikes, not much you can do about it :D

cheers
 
One thing you should be prepared for - the AA amp is a hybrid. In that sense you may miss the grunt and the distortion of a rock guitar which you listen to a lot. The AA may end up making it a bit smoother (unlike the Khartago which will give you a more neutral presentation).

cheers
Sridhar


Bluu said:
Update:

My system has been upgraded with new Usher Rapport cables and the Logitech Squeezebox Duet.

First listening impressions with the new cables point to a cleaner, richer and fuller sound. My previous cables were generic, splayed copper cables while the Ushers are single piece of much thicker gauge and better material. There is a slight openness to the sound now. As if a fabric covering has been removed.

The S'box is just pure genius. Setup took 5 minutes and it has been a lifesaver. Having your entire library and internet radio (heck, even Facebook!) on the remote makes life so much easier! The Wolfson DAC chip has definitely added to the SQ. In fact, I can easily tell that my poor Denon, which is doing amplifier duty till I pick up a proportionate amp, is a weak musical performer.

I have my eye on an Italian hand-built Audio Analogue Primo Cento hybrid amp which I will be auditioning soon. Will post updates about the overall experience and also about the difference between an AVR used as a stereo amp and a genuine integrated stereo amp.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the S'box, cables or the Syrens themselves.

Next upgrade will be Magma's speaker spikes which will help in isolation and improving the sound signature.

Till then!
Cheers!
Click to expand...
 
Sridhar has raised a valid point here. Audio Analogue "House sound" is a very smooth sound and very often accompanied by rolled off highs. vocals will sound great but the rasp of a trumpet and the steely twang of a guitar string may get mellowed
 
Thanks for the inputs. I will try all the various genres and decide. I really hope I can lay my hands on it this weekend. I do listen to a lot of vocals as well so it may be a good stepping stone to something better in the future.
 
Ultimately Bluu, you need to keep in mind the cost factor and see what you get, for the price on the AA, you shouldnt be able to find much fault with it

cheers
 
That khartago is a very good amp. You can spend a lot of money and basically not gain all that much. Look elsewhere for optimization.

Since you are using a pc for your audio, pick up this sound card:
E-MU Systems - 1212M PCI - PCI Digital Audio System

Use the volume control from the pc and run direct to the amplifier.

An AVR preamp is the worst one can introduce into a two channel setup. Believe me, this is a rather huge bottleneck. If using multiple sources, try and pick up a simplistic preamp. Even a used one would do.
 
Agree with you on all counts. I'm using a laptop so cannot drop in a sound card. I am using the Duet. Will be auditioning the AA Primo Cento this weekend. It's a hybrid integrated so that would take the AVR out of the equation.

Believe me, I completely agree that the Denon is neither a good amp nor a good preamp but I'm doing this completely out of desperation. I want to pick up a decent quality preamp but even those are not in my budget currently.

Hopefully, I'll not need to wait too long before picking up a decent preamp. Thats provided I don't end up with the AA:PC. Else, I'll get the Khartago first and start looking for a good preamp.
 
Bluu said:
Else, I'll get the Khartago first and start looking for a good preamp.
Click to expand...

If you are planning the Khartago - then do consider the Promitheus TVC passive pre - $550 - $600 delivered from Malaysia. Fantastic synergy with the Odyssey series IMO.
Cheers
Sid
 
The Syrens finally have the amplification they deserve! The Audio Analogue Primo Cento 100wpc integrated hybrid amplifier.

p178_1_03.jpg


I've spent a weekend with this amplifier now. The physical dimensions are uncommon as it is "half-width". Think Cyrus but with Italian engineering and design. Build quality is top of the line. The sound is incredible. It is best suited to vocals and non-distorted instruments. However, even though is has a slightly mellow and laid back sound, it does great justice to almost all genres including rock. It shines brightest when asked to reproduce intricate instrument work (Knopfler's guitar, Davis' trumpet etc), vocals (Leonard Cohen, Sarah McLachlan etc), percussion (Neil Pert, Zakir Hussain etc) and western classical.

So, while it does not cater to my favorite genre (super heavy thrash/death/prog/symphonic metal) it pairs supremely well with the Syrens to produce an exhilarating musical experience for everything else. Besides, I wouldn't listen to metal on this setup anyway.

Last words - a match made in heaven. The Primo really brings the Syrens to the party. Watch this space for a potential addition of the Primo CDP as well.
 
Bluu said:
Agree with you on all counts. I'm using a laptop so cannot drop in a sound card. I am using the Duet. Will be auditioning the AA Primo Cento this weekend. It's a hybrid integrated so that would take the AVR out of the equation.

Believe me, I completely agree that the Denon is neither a good amp nor a good preamp but I'm doing this completely out of desperation. I want to pick up a decent quality preamp but even those are not in my budget currently.

Hopefully, I'll not need to wait too long before picking up a decent preamp. Thats provided I don't end up with the AA:PC. Else, I'll get the Khartago first and start looking for a good preamp.
Click to expand...

Buy this gadget here. Dont go by its appearance, it is pretty much hi-end.

http://www.m2tech.biz/hiface.html

Now try and get hold of a DAC which has a volume control. Do some research; you will find many good ones under a decent budget. Now get your audio out through the usb port and connect the dac with volume control directly to the power amp. This will sound far superior than having a used/mediocre preamp in the setup.

Here's a discussion.

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Best-DAC-Volume-control-under-100
 
Audio Technica AT-LP60X Fully Automatic Belt-Drive Turntable
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