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In Reply to: RE: Hi-Rez "Flagship" Digital Music Player/Streamer/Preamp and Headphone Amplifier posted by zacster on February 23, 2024 at 18:07:18
"For that money though you can buy a MacBook Air with an M2". TRUE!
Or.....
Or an entry model Mac Mini with M2 chip for only $499 (typical BestBuy, BH Photo, or Micro Center discounted price). Of course you'll need a good outboard DAC for it.
When not streaming Qobuz or Tidal our Mini drives our big screen TV for YouTube or Apple TV+ streaming. We watched a couple episodes of "Masters of the Air" last night, a great series on American WWII B-17 bomber pilots and their missions.
Follow Ups:
I'm wondering if you subscribe to YouTube. Every time I begin watching YouTube, they ask me to subscribe and the subscription price seems awfully expensive. Therefore, I just keep watching for free with ads continually interrupting the program.
I just connected the audio output from my HDTV to my FiiO R9 via Toslink optical, and it really sounds good through my Mini Maggie's. I also listen through a pair of Dynaudio XEO 20 Bluetooth speakers, but the Mini Maggie's sound a lot better.
Anyway, do you subscribe to YouTube or continue to watch it for free like I do with ads continually interrupting the program?
Thanks!
John Elison
I have been using a program called "4k video downloader" to download YouTube videos I know I will play often. I play the files through JRiver 20 and thus never have to deal with the ads. YouTube videos play as 48k files while the downloaded files are at 44k. Some videos can be downloaded as 4k files, as long as the 4k source file is available.
Edits: 04/23/24
No YouTube subscription here. I just deal with the Ads.
Also, I believe there are two YouTube offerings. Regular YouTube as we know it and YouTube TV. YouTube TV is a streaming service that gets you a bunch of channels like CableTV plus they give you a handful of network stations like your local ABC, NBC, CBS, etc., and unlimited DVR recording. My ex-Boss gets YouTube TV and he like it.
I replaced my cable package with YouTubeTV and while I like it, it is also expensive. And the thing that pisses me off is that it doesn't include the regular YT subscription so I get ads, except that I also run AdblockerPlus. There's been a cat and mouse game going on between YT and ABP. ABP will put in a new way to block the ads, YT will catch up, and then ABP will do something else. But it really sucks that YT will insert ads into a video at such random places. It appears there algorithm looks for a break, but what it considers a break in the action just isn't, especially when it is music.
I can understand the Ads in YT but does YTTV also have Ads? I would imagine that it does just like regular CableTV? Yeah, I was pricing out various TV streaming services like YTTV, Fubo, Sling, hulu, etc. and none of them were cheap. I would still need ala carte internet access from my ISP at almost $100. Add the streaming service and there's a savings but it's not huge. Neighbor dropped the Cable company as ISP and went with T-Mobile. He says it works but its significantly slower than Cable. I'll have to check back and see if T-Mobile is getting the job done for him. I think its $50/month.
I switched to FIOS from cable and have much faster speeds for less, and that's what prompted the switch to YTTV. It has ads from the channels being watched just like cable does. It only inserts its own in the breaks left over for the local provider. The one thing it does better than cable is I get 1080p on most stations, cable was 1080i. Can you see that difference? Nah. My TV is an old plasma though and it looks good. 4K TV? Not exactly a rousing success. They sell the TV and never mention the lack of content, and the fact that at normal viewing distance you can't discern it.
Thanks for the info.
I'm not sure what our CableTV resolution is but when I'm watching regular network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.) and switch to the antenna and over-the-air HDTV it looks sharper than CableTV.... not by much but it is sharper.
Some of our AppleTV+ series and movies are 4K and we do see the difference but it's not a necessity.
I only say a MBA because you can pick it up and use it anywhere on its own. I was eyeing a mini myself as an upgrade to an older iMac, but ended up with an M1 MBA from my daughter with a cracked screen that I paired with a nice Dell 27" 4k monitor. I use it as my indoor cycling setup right now but when outdoor cycling season starts I'll swap it with the iMac. And lest you think the MBA was "free" I ended up having to buy my daughter an M2 MBA. Fixing the cracked screen just wasn't worth it.
Yep. I run Zwift with my Kickr Core smart trainer. The bike is my regular road bike, a Kuota Kredo from 2005. I have since added a keyboard and mouse to the setup and keep the laptop closed in the back. The speakers are my DIY Lance speakers with Fostex FF85WK drivers which sound surprisingly good.
Nice setup!
I wouldn't mind getting a smart trainer but I might want one that is friction or roller drive. I'm not sure if they're any good.
The direct drive units from Zwift and Wahoo seem like the best way to go but will require me to remove the back wheel from my bike. Mine doesn't have a quick release and I'd have to mess with the chain and gears taking it off and putting it back on each season. Maybe not a big deal but seems like a hassle. The other alternative would be to find an inexpensive used bike to permanently mount to a direct drive trainer.
I have the rear wheel and trainer perfectly aligned so I don't need to adjust the derailleur to swap. It takes about 15 seconds, no exaggeration.
Direct drive trainers are the way to go. The friction ones tend to slip when the riding gets hard. If you need a bike though to use one it'll get expensive really fast.
I put 100 miles on this week, the first time this year. It isn't the difficulty of it, it is the time spent on a mostly stationary bike seat that's the issue. After about an hour I've had enough but it'll take more than that on occasion to make up for the easy days during any given week. I did 26 miles today to accomplish this in an hour and a half. Not a blazing speed but also involved some climbing.
I'm at that stage where I'm still on the fence and just need to pull the trigger on a trainer. Getting any amount of riding in the winter even if down in the basement on a trainer has to beneficial vs sitting here on the computer!
Edits: 03/05/24
Ha! I think your daughter got the better end of that deal but what are Dads for? After retiring I had to return the company issued laptop so I bought a 13" MBA M2 about a year ago. It's my go to portable / travel laptop.Just for grins I connected the MBA to a Dell curved screen LCD and launched Zwift software. I setup a Zwift account so I can explore and watch various bike rides but I don't have a smart trainer or a paid-for Zwift subscription. Zwift software is compatible with a variety of indoor bicycle smart trainers and they sell their own. I came close to buying one but never did as I wasn't sure if I would take full advantage of a $15/mo (or $150/yr) Zwift subscription.
Do you have a different setup for indoor training? My bike has been hanging in the garage for the winter.
MBA connected to Dell curved LCD + External Logitech Keyboard + External Mouse:
I don't have a smart trainer or Zwift subscription so I just lurk around and watch different rides.
Zwift software runs on PC/Mac/iPhone/iPad/AppleTV/Android devices but looks better on devices with decent graphics processing.
For example, it works on AppleTV but the graphics aren't quite as realistic. Shadows look real on MBA but are lacking on AppleTV.
Edits: 02/29/24 02/29/24
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