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Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

naughtycomputer.uk

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Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#341

Post by dcbadacd »

z3t4 wrote: post #337
notacoward wrote: post #29

Interesting point buried in here: since Android is open source, you could go in and fix the bug, but then because you're not running an official Android version you'd lose access to the Play Store and other services. Something's not really free if there's a penalty for doing it. Since freedom to run a modified version of software yourself is one of the four freedoms of free software, this highlights the difference be…

Mobile technology moves so fast Android can't keep up with the support of all hardware out there, so you can't simply buy any smartphone and expect everything to work with the latest Android release.

It's not Android that can't keep up, it's SoC manufacturers that are lazy.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#342

Post by jacquesm »

mindslight wrote: post #335
jacquesm wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, in battery powered stuff it is pretty common. When working from a single supply it is a quick and easy way to use operational amplifiers. That the author used two batteries in series did not change much in that respect (and internally those 9V batteries are a stack of 6 cells anyway). The alternative would be to use the common rail between the two batteries as a ground and then two regulators (or simply a Zener…

> But in this case I suspect the voltage required to drive those headphones properly was the major deciding factor in using two stacked 9V cells Maybe it was the deciding factor for whomever designed the original circuit. But in this incarnation with the 11x attenuation, the input signal would have to be above 80V for this to matter! It's obviously modified from some folk audio design, I'm just trying to figure out h…

Yes, it definitely looks like a 'stacked hack', not something that was designed with purpose by someone who really knew what they were doing. No mention of distortion, no bias adjust, DC coupled (could be good, could be really bad depending on the bias...).

There are some pretty good headphone amplifier circuits out there, most of them a little bit more complex than this but with what I would expect to be far superior specs.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#343

Post by soundwave106 »

anotheryou wrote: post #201
013a wrote: post #156

I have a pair of powered studio monitors (Mackie MR5), and I completely relate to this problem. Many PCs and phones will emit an audible hissing noise while plugged in. I've tested on a dozen different devices, with integrated and external DACs, five hundred dollar sound cards, massively shielded cables, practically every modern OS you can name, tweaking every audio setting exposed to me. The only devices that work p…

Did you do a blind test on spotify's high quality vs lossless? At least with 320mp3s I could only get it right with certain songs and not too consistently. I'd say my room treatment has a far bigger impact. (but regarding hardware I'm totally with you and haven't found the source of my rather high noise floor either)

What I will say about lossy MP3 audio is that in a blind ABX style test, I imagine I would not be able to point out which is which if the bitrate is high enough. However, if you play the lossy audio and lossless audio back to back in a good critical listening environment, there will often be small detectable differences between the two.

The difference is usually very, very subtle (my description for it is "soundstage differences", like slight differences in audio imaging) and if you are in the situation you are 99% of the time where you are not in a critical listening environment, you probably won't be able to even hear this. But if you are absolutely gung-ho about preserving the full spectrum of the recording, MP3 won't work. It's not an archival format by design.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#344

Post by Wowfunhappy »

jstarfish wrote: post #329
wilsonnb3 wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except you’re leaving out all the positives and only focusing on the negatives. Sure, Google can revoke my access to a movie at any time but I can watch on any of my devices and I dont have to worry about finding it in stock at the local store. I can carry literally thousands of books with me in a device smaller than a paperback. I can’t stream lossless music from Spotify but I can stream high enough quality that mos…

Those aren't positives. It does nobody any good to have 1000 books on a single device if the whole thing is subject to revocation, especially when you paid full retail price for the privilege of being allowed to read it. This is regression. Previously you paid your $10 and received a paper book. You could read it, re-read it, lend it, sell it, or burn it for warmth. You owned it for as long as you kept it dehydrated.…

> Whether most people can tell the difference between 320k and lossless is irrelevant-- the retail price is the same for a technically inferior product. This is a regression.

My camera can save images as either raw files or maximum-quality jpeg's. I know for a fact that I will never need to edit these photos later on. Which format is superior?

Useless data is of no value to anyone, and data we cannot perceive is useless.

If you're worried about license revocation, you should focus on obtaining DRM-Free digital media instead of killing trees. And make backups, of course. DRM-Free is standard for downloadable music nowadays. DRM-Free eBooks are less common, but they do exist, e.g. https://www.kobo.com/us/en/p/drm-free

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#345

Post by pard68 »

leshow wrote: post #240
pard68 wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey now! I had been using Arch and Debian om different machines. All non-prod machines have since been moved to Arch because I was having more issues with Debian. Granted I require running the newest stable software, but the act of getting that software onto my Debian machines was breaking other things. Arch? Never had to mess with anything I didn't want to mess with (I use i3 and write most of my own utilities)!

> (I use i3 and write most of my own utilities) You're kind of confirming his/her point here.

Not really. I made that choice. I also run/ran the exact same setup on my Debian machines. Could use my wife's machine as an example. Runs Arch, uses Plasma for a WM and never has any problems.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#346

Post by lotsofpulp »

pdimitar wrote: post #74
thanatropism wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Apple premium has gone so damn high though. I got my first Mac when the Mac mini came up. It was a little more expensive than same-generation PCs but besides being OSX it was a PowerPC that never made any fan noise, and was small . I've subsequently had three Macbooks and two iPhones - but I can't afford this somewhat-better-somewhat-more-expensive racket anymore. Prices have risen too much; to boot, the quality…

Disclaimer: not trying to convince you, just sharing an anecdote like you did. - I agree Apple pricing has gone out of control. I should not have to shell out 1500 EUR for a 256GB phone with a bigger display no matter what (XS Max). I mean okay, it's probably the best phone out there but come on. It's a mobile computing device, not a life's insurance bill. - I fully agree MacBooks and desktop Macs haven't had good ye…

>I should not have to shell out 1500 EUR for a 256GB phone

Yes, we're lucky that a lot of people in the world are not in a position to fight for higher quality of life for the resources coming out of the land near them or their labor, nor do we have to pay for environmental damage from manufacture and disposal of our devices, otherwise it would be much more than 1,500 EUR.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#347

Post by jf- »

jf- wrote: post #71
baxtr wrote: post #2

> Right now I'm absolutely astonished at how difficult it appears to be to just listen to music with a good pair of headphones. Is it not 2018? The media is full of talk about preposterously ambitious ideas such as AI and self-driving cars and yet I can't even listen to a fuck-damn music track? O_o I enjoyed reading this. The whole time I thought however: that’s not an issue on my Apple devices. Then I read: > If any…

> APPLE IS A SYMBOL OF PRETENTIOUSNESS AND IGNORANCE - YOU DO NOT EVEN KNOW HOW YOUR PHONE WORKS Is this guy for real? I don’t know the nitty gritty of how most of the things I use work, I’m only concerned that they work. Sounds like sour grapes.

After re-reading the blog, I feel a bit bad about the negativity I and others expressed here. If you do read this xylon, don’t take it to heart! Also thanks for sharing your circuit, it certainly provoked an interesting discussion.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#348

Post by manyxcxi »

jstarfish wrote: post #329
wilsonnb3 wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except you’re leaving out all the positives and only focusing on the negatives. Sure, Google can revoke my access to a movie at any time but I can watch on any of my devices and I dont have to worry about finding it in stock at the local store. I can carry literally thousands of books with me in a device smaller than a paperback. I can’t stream lossless music from Spotify but I can stream high enough quality that mos…

Those aren't positives. It does nobody any good to have 1000 books on a single device if the whole thing is subject to revocation, especially when you paid full retail price for the privilege of being allowed to read it. This is regression. Previously you paid your $10 and received a paper book. You could read it, re-read it, lend it, sell it, or burn it for warmth. You owned it for as long as you kept it dehydrated.…

To agree with you and wilsonnb3 at the same time- I highly value OWNING the things I buy and am also willing to pay extra for the privilege of convenience.

When I buy movies I generally buy the Blu-Ray with digital download. If it’s a kid’s movie I usually just buy the digital download. I almost never pull out the Blu-Rays, but I know I’ve got them. They usually come with the DVD as well, for even more compatability in a pinch.

When I buy books I generally buy the Kindle version first. I generally only take time to read on planes, trains, and travel/vacation. I’m good for maybe one a month. If I really like the book, I’ll buy a hardbound copy for my library.

Music is the part where I have internal consistency issues. I love music. I love all kinds of music. Motown, classic rock, hard rock, EDM/Electronic in general, classical, folk, rap. I have music on ALL the time. Probably 6-8 hours a day on average. I own no music. I pay for Apple Music because it’s convenient to share a subscription with my wife. I last bought physical album in probably 2008-ish. I buy an album or two on Apple Music a year. Where I really spend my music money is concerts. I’ll pay hundreds of dollars without thinking twice to see my favorite artists up close and in person.

So yeah, I agree that all the convenient ways of purchasing media are nothing but a long term lease and I would not consider anything I’ve bought through those channels as something I own. But if I flip it around and consider that I’m paying some third party to host a copy of the content in a convenient way, I feel okay about it.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#349

Post by Scramblejams »

dcbadacd wrote: post #338
013a wrote: post #156

I have a pair of powered studio monitors (Mackie MR5), and I completely relate to this problem. Many PCs and phones will emit an audible hissing noise while plugged in. I've tested on a dozen different devices, with integrated and external DACs, five hundred dollar sound cards, massively shielded cables, practically every modern OS you can name, tweaking every audio setting exposed to me. The only devices that work p…

> If you want lossless audio, you literally can't find it, What audio could you get lossless before that you now can't that you're claiming there has been a regression? > Watching movies sucks; you now pay full price to effectively indefinitely rent movies You can buy most movies on physical disks. The old physical copy ownership option still exists. There has been no regression, just new options you personally don't…

> What audio could you get lossless before that you now can't that you're claiming there has been a regression?

Compact discs. You should look them up. :-) Lots of music out these days that you can't find on a CD.

Re: Do I really need to get out the soldering-iron again?

#350

Post by dcbadacd »

Scramblejams wrote: post #349
dcbadacd wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you want lossless audio, you literally can't find it, What audio could you get lossless before that you now can't that you're claiming there has been a regression? > Watching movies sucks; you now pay full price to effectively indefinitely rent movies You can buy most movies on physical disks. The old physical copy ownership option still exists. There has been no regression, just new options you personally don't…

> What audio could you get lossless before that you now can't that you're claiming there has been a regression? Compact discs. You should look them up. :-) Lots of music out these days that you can't find on a CD.

I know well enough what CDs are :) could you please give a few examples of songs you can't get?
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