> Yes, you can use the preamp as a brute-force and simplistic gain > control. I was not saying that you cannot do that. But it mostly not a > good solution for listening to music.
This is a solution that all of the music-listening world uses. You need a gain control of some sort. Period. If you want to do some sort of dynamic leveling then there are many solutions for that from live dynamic compression to solutions like replaygain. I, for one, don't want a dynamic compressor in line with my music listening. > > While the preamp does allow you to set a maximum gain, it has no > knowledge of the volume of the incoming music. So you will have some > music that is too quiet and some that is too loud. I will have some music that is louder than others, that is true. But your assessment that that is not what I want is presumptious. Besides--this is far removed from the issue that started this thread so I don't really see your point here. I'm not going to bother addressing all of your other statements one by one. Sean's recommendation of running your SB3 into a preamp before an amp stands as making sense. I agree that the only absolute way to avoid damage from spikes like this is with a limiter. However, that doesn't mean a preamp won't *help* the situation (and help it tremendously). You seem to be in the my-way-or-the-highway camp of arguing. There's no middle ground with you, no shades of grey. You seem to say "if a solution leaves even a remote possibility of damage being done then that solution has no merit at all--you're all wrong and only my solution is right". A preamp can be a natural limiter of sorts as parts of its gain stage are likely to clip before allowing the full brunt of a shrieking SB3 through to the amps (by the way, for the benefit of anyone reading this post out of the context of this thread it should be noted that this is apparently an extremely unusual problem). This is not to say that there's no potential for damage, just that a preamp would help mitigate possible damage. And, by the way, any piece of electronics can malfunction at any point in time. A limiter can go bad and start feeding crap into your amps. There's no guarantee against that. I'm not saying that that doesn't make a limiter a good solution--I just wanted to remind you that it's not fail-safe. > > All I know is that the SB puts out bad data far more often than any > other digital source that I've tried. It is something to be aware of > and take appropriate measures, however compromised those measures may > be. > I've been involved in this mailing list (and forums) as either a "lurker" or active participant for over 2 years now. This is generally a very helpful and friendly community of folks with similar interests. I've watched your posts over the past couple of days and you seem to have come on here with an axe to grind. The tone of your posts seems designed to irritate and agitate. I obviously can't stop you from participating and don't desire to censor your comments, but perhaps some self-censoring is in order on your part. If this is a community that you desire to be active in then please treat people with respect. Your comment about the SB3's digital output seems pretty baseless to me and that's why it's disrespectful to all of the people on here who have tried to make this device great. Have you had the problem described? What problems have you had with the SB3's digital outs? What use does your comment serve if you're not going to point out what's specifically wrong that needs to be fixed? I think we can all acknowledge that this is a device that's on the bleeding edge. All devices have some problems and I trust SlimDevices to fix the problems with their devices more than any other company. There are occasional problems with it, but most of us are here because we love the product and we love being geeks and figuring stuff out and improving the product. I'm willing to do this because I've seen SlimDevices show incredible receptiveness to constructive criticism and fresh ideas. Their products are improved at breakneck speed. In this particular circumstance it would appear that the problem isn't any kind of Slim engineering error, but rather an error by one of their suppliers. I'm sure they'll do whatever's in their power to isolate the problem and work on getting a fix or making it right with those who are seeing the issue. Repeatedly offering disparaging comments, a big ego, and whining aren't a way to endear yourself to the community. If you don't like the SB3 then return the thing and leave the forums--that's your perogative. No one's forcing you to live with an SB3. It has a full, 30-day money back guarantee and if you don't like it you can send it back and go tell all your friends how crappy the SB3 is. If, however, you decide to keep the device then don't act like you've been duped or swindled. You had 30 days to assess the device. You know its (in my mind relatively few) shortcomings and if you have constructive criticism and a respectful attitude towards the members of this community then come on in and we'll work together to make the thing even cooler. Remember: I'm not saying don't criticize the device--just do it the right way. _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
