Let me begin by agreeing with MikeC: good amps exhibit only minor audible differences. This is not a magic technology. Not to get too Bill Clinton but that all depends on what you mean by "good amps" and "minor". I am probably close to a decade out of date on amp technology but my own experience do...

OK, I finished the Orion 3 speaker article. Added a bit more background about open baffle vs. enclosed systems; a pic of the classic Wharfedale SBL/3 -- found a good photo! http://www.silentpcreview.com/Linkwitz_Orion_speakers

Unlike all other idler wheel drive turntables, the Lenco's idler wheel presses against the underside of the platter, not its rim. This is a pretty significant difference. I see that, and I am curious how this is advantageous. A rim drive idler is concentric, and would seem to be lower friction. The...

Again, beautiful work Mike! I still haven't heard any of the Linkwitz designs but when spring rolls around I'll probably make arrangements to go listen to the pair of Orions available for audition in my state. If I like the Orions I might go for the LX521 since the parts cost is about the same but ...

I don't quite have enough time to digest all of this fully just now, but - wow. That's a work of art Mike. The finish of that 'plywood' is really something & I'll be re-reading this later on. Just out of interest, have you experimented much (or at all) with DIY speaker cabinets? I don't have the wo...

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Linkwitz_Orion_speakers

The second article in this section covers the construction of my Linkwitz Orion speakers. Article isn't quite complete; it'll be added to later.

Hi Mike, Looks pretty sweet - the modified Rega arm in particular. I have not heard of the Lenco, nor an idler wheel drive on a serious turntable. Is the motor AC? I am curious about the platter and the main bearing. tonearm: Audiomods http://www.audiomods.co.uk/ Lenco: http://www.lencoheaven.net/f...

Thanks for the comments, gents, glad to see the piece tickled a few of you. And for that succinct summary of the challenges for a turntable, LostHighway . 8) The BBBL really looks -- and feels -- even better in person -- something about beeswax on tight grained wood makes it feel so smooth and silky...

Electronic whining noise: I expected someone to mention this but no one has so I'll volunteer. A few years ago, I identified coil noise as the biggest challenge for PC silencers and general computer users alike. (see http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=63610) Coil noise is a bi...

For those SPCR forum members who see vendor propaganda everywhere, yeah, well this might be construed as another, but it has my participation & approval, so it's all AOK. :lol: :wink: I'm pleased to see ASUS continuing efforts to improve features that help with PC acoustics, and we've long noted tha...

Nice case -- never even heard of Raijintek till I saw your post! Re the M2 temps. If the main chips are exposed by the hole in the motherboard tray, you could improve cooling by using a block of aluminum or copper of the right size/thickness to conduct heat from the SSD to the side panel. Use therma...

asus strix 980ti -- you do know that as soon as a 980ti is in the system, there's simply no way to keep it quiet under load? Well, there's one method to mitigate its noise, water cooling it (though the right way, of course): weren't you satisfied by your water cooling test? Yes but the OP is lookin...

asus strix 980ti -- you do know that as soon as a 980ti is in the system, there's simply no way to keep it quiet under load?

Excellent review! I am doing my first build in this case. (Have the case, got to save $ for everything else!). Most likely a really silly question... Would the MSI GeForce GTX 980Ti Seahawk fit in the gpu area, with those sideways tubes and thick fan/radiator below? Sorry if this is just dumb to as...

Welcome to SPCR. :) You might consider an even smaller format since your need for plug-in boards seems nil. Top mini-ITX boards have virtually the same I/O and features as full size boards, and if you so desire, can fit into a small fanless (heatsink) case that looks much like a small power amp... o...

WE REALLY NEED TO MAKE SOME ROOM IN THE LAB!!!! The biggest space hogs are the cases, which probably represent our #1 area of expertise and the most popular reviews. But we do enough of them that we're swamped for space once again. So here is the deal for anyone in the Vancouver area : Come and pic...

Keep on truckin' w/ that thang, colm!

The thermal conductivity of pure copper is double that of pure aluminum. But I don't know of ANY audio amps that use copper heatsinks, probably because of the weight -- iirc, copper weighs at least 3x as much (ie, density is 3x). So if a high end amp weighs 40 lbs with aluminum heatsinks (not unusua...

wayner wrote:

MikeC wrote: Among idiophiles....

Freudian slip?

No slip. I am definitely a music lover & audio hobbyist and could be described as an audiophile but imo the vast majority of them have taken leave of their common sense. Hence idio...

Nicely done, looks & probably sounds good.

yup, 49C at load is great.

Just seeing your CPU & heatsink are enough for me to tell you without a doubt: WAY TOO MUCH THERMAL PASTE ! Both times. The correct amount is no more than a BB-sized ball (4.3 to 4.4 mm (0.171 to 0.173 in) in diameter) right in the center. When the heatsink is mounted, it spreads pretty evenly out t...

Sorry for my ignorance, but how does a linear PSU differ from any other PC-PSU we know; and what's the advantage? Among idiophiles, a faction claims switched-mode power supplies create high frequency switching noise artifacts that even after heavy filtering are audible, compared to linear power sup...

The optional GPU cooling is the interesting bit. Gonna get one of these in to test? Not sure yet. There are so many different unique options it's hard to know just how/what to outfit it with. This for example is pretty cool -- http://www.hd-plex.com/HDPLEX-250W-Hi-Fi-DC-ATX-Power-Supply-16V-24V-Wid...

HDPLEX, a long-lived maker of passively cooled cases for computers, is now offering the stylish 2nd Gen H5 heatsink case , big enough to handle ATX, mATX and mITX cases with multiple power options including ATX, SFX, Flex, a tiny 160W NanoATX (with external AC/DC adapter) and even linear PSUs for au...

I'm more worried about the HDD temps. But if I leave that fan in place, which seems sensible given, there won't be space for a 120mm case fan beneath it. If this is the case, then a smaller fan on the front panel would work fine -- a modern CPU in a small server like this does not need that much co...

I realize it's now been a few years, but could you clarify how would mount the fan in the above scenario? Would it be horizontal (beneath the drive cage), as with the stock, or vertical? Yes, a few years of brain clutter to wade through... :lol: I think my comment was to place a big quiet fan as an...

christianh wrote:What's the best passive psu nowadays?

There are only a handful & most are decent. Look here: http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_PSUs

See - you should have bought a house with a bomb shelter and repurposed that puppy. :D Much fewer of those in Canada than in the US. The ICBMs were supposed to crisscross go over us, not land here. :D It was interesting to note that Puget replaced the front Fractal 140mm fan with a Slipstream 120mm...