https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087

Best cookbook you can get with everything youre looking for. The guy was a chemist I believe and decided to combine it with his love of cooking. It tells you why cooking an egg a certain way will give a certain result. What happens the the proteins inside the egg, what cookware to use, how to improve already popular dishes. Great shit in store for you my friend.

Also, The Food Lab is a good book to read as well, has similar information on cooking I assume as the book you've suggested. I actually have it next to my bed right now and it's a pretty good cookbook / reference.

For learning methods and the science behind cooking I would say The Food Lab by J Kenji Lopez-Alt. It is a textbook of cooking methods, analysis, and expliantion of the science of how cooking works and how to get the best (or just different) results from recipes. It also contains a ton of excellent recipes.

For just recipes, I would say The New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne. It has hundreds of incredible recipes from a variety of cultures. Some of them are quite complex, but most are very approachable for cooks of all levels. It is not an advanced cookbook for the most part, but has a lot of solid classic recipes. One does need a basic grasp of cooking terms and techniques to get the best out of it.

People already linked the other two $150 stereo receivers from Best Buy but there's also this one that you should be able to price match to Amazon for $130 (or just buy it from Amazon).

If you don't want a gigantic amplifier I also recommend the Topping MX3 for $94 at Amazon.

You're also going to need some speaker wire which is probably overpriced at Best Buy and some type of cable to get sound from your computer to an AV receiver if you don't want to use bluetooth.

wait only $1000? please that is peasant change

https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ

I would recommend this: DAC/AMP in one unit for under $100.

Flio E10K

A decent system if it all works. The turntable is just OK, but perhaps that's all you need.

The Key to a turntable is the Tone Arm and Cartridge (stylus/needle). Your turntable appears to be a P-Mount, meaning the entire Cartridge assembly just plugs into the tone arm. There are many replacement P-Mount cartridge available. The tone arm look like a generic DJ tone arm similar to that found on Stanton, Technics, Audio Tecnica, and Reloop. That's not the absolute best, but still decent; no problems.

http://www.needledoctor.com/Audio-Technica-92ECD?sc=2&category=16684

http://www.needledoctor.com/Audio-Technica-311EP?sc=2&category=16684

This appears to be a more consumer version of Technics DJ turntables. And assuming it is in good condition, and well oiled, it is probably very good considering the price you paid.

Generally Technics are considered good equipment, and they are now re-entering the audio market again with a new line of equipment.

You can give us the model number of the amp and we will look up specs on it, or you can simply use Google to look up information on the amp. You should be able to determine the power, and the range of years in which it was made. If the amp is at least ~50w/ch, then it is most certainly worth having and using assuming it is in good working condition.

It is difficult to see the Amp Model number but the closest I can determine is SU-V78 - 100w/ch to 8 ohms.

http://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/technics/su-v78.shtml

Oddly the Technics SU-V76 is also 100w/ch -

http://www.highqualitymanuals.com/images/large/products/HD/HD84//HD84_2.jpg

The AM/FM Tuner should still work, and will pick up radio stations just fine even with the most basic antenna.

The Cassette Player is an Antique unless by chance you still have a stack of Cassettes available to play.

The CD Player, assuming it still works should be fine as the standard for CD has been locked into place since its inception.

The speakers are fine; good sided. The key with older speakers is the Surrounds, the foam or rubber ring that attaches the actual cone to the frame. If foam these can deteriorate, and sometimes disintegrated over time. Gently touch or rub your finger on the surround and see if it is gritty or crumbling. If so the surrounds can be replaced for a fairly modest fee.

Given that you got this for FREE, there is one other aspect you could consider. It is possible to use a Stereo system to enhance the movie watching experience very considerably. However, modern TV do not have analog audio outputs, most have Digital Optical Audio out, though a few have Coaxial.

Given that you got a pretty nice system for free, you could spend some money, assuming you are into movie watching, and get a DAC (digital to analog converter) to allow you to plug the TV into the Stereo. These can range from about $25 for just the basic DAC, up to about $500 for a more complex multi-input DAC.

You can see a range of possibilities here -

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=DAC

The output of the TV is limited to a 48k Sample Rate about CD quality, so a very basic $25 DAC is probably adequate if you are not too serious.

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Analog-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1468898121&sr=1-2&keywords=DAC

Some thing like this will give you one channel that is either Optical or Coaxial, another Coaxial only Channel, and USB-PC for connecting directly to a computer.

https://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Audio-Azur-DacMagic-100/dp/B0078Q35PG/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1468898121&sr=1-10&keywords=DAC

The speakers, though I can really determine, appear to have at least 10" woofer, and they should sound pretty good. I think this will make a fine movie and music system.

I'm not Mr. AB, but my go-to cookbook is The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt. It's my favorite for a couple of reasons:

1. It's freaking huge. Seriously, it will take up a lot of room on your self.
   
2. It covers a huge array of topics. Whole chapters devoted to breakfast, roasts, salads, veggies, etc.
   
3. It tackles the science behind the recipe. Why does it taste so good? Why do you need so much salt? It turns out that for thousands of years humans just did trial and error and found that x amount of y made it tasty. Kenji figures out what happens on a molecular level and perfects the recipes based on that. He also tells you how YOU can recombine these base on what you have lying around.
   
4. There's a lot of relatively quick and easy meals, as well as a few big meals like Thankgivings as well.
   
   On top of that, the author is now experimenting with a Youtube channel!
   
   Hopefully this will make dinner a bit easier for you.

I would recommend The Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. It covers a lot of techniques and dishes-out the science behind them.

If you’re willing to spend a little money, buy The Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez Alt. It is amazing. It’s a beautiful book with detailed documentation of experimentation with various methods / times / ingredients.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393081087/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.GhIAb1F6S6CG

Edit: misspelled dude’s name

ha. You buy gold plated?!
The real quality comes from [diamond](http://www.AudioQuest.com/ Diamond 16m (52.49 feet) Braided HDMI Cable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IL3TZSQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_eVLZzbM83Z16H)

Here is a nice backgrounder on the sciency side of the chemical effects - and it should be a basic part of your understanding of salt effects. The Food Lab's chapter on the science of ground meat opened a whole new avenue of cooking fun for me, just by understanding why when you add how much salt to ground meat yields totally different products. You can generally access the basic ideas by googling "food lab", including the ground meat product you want to make as a google term, if you do not have access to the book. I commend buying it, because it is the kind of reference work that cries out for annotating and browsing.

...and now for a much less technical reasons: (1) salt lightly early on, because you may want to concentrate stuff down and (2) if there is some salt there, you can easily say, "that is under salted but what else does it need?" - with no salt on board the lack of salt is all you will notice.

Balance out final heat, acid, umami, finishing herb stuff, all of which can affect final salt preference, then correct the salt if needed.

Yup, I like when my HDCP DRM circuit on the bigscreen I have broke, and I couldn't watch LEGAL purchased HDMI content (like Netflix off my Roku).

Instead, only torrents and "non legit" content would play through the laptop over hdmi at 720 and 1080p.

Something I paid for broke, and made me unable to watch high rez content that I PAID for.

If it breaks, it should stop defeating piracy, and not stop defeating legal use. The people who make this crap are idiots.

I finally bought a $15 Splitter that had the side effect of stripping their shitty copy protection out, and now I can watch ALL my media- especially the LEGALLY PAID FOR CONTENT.

Thanks for nothing DRM.

Hey n00b...hit me up when you're ready to step up your game. You haven't lived until you step up to a $13,500 AudioQuest Diamond braided HDMI cable, wrapped around some $12,500 Naturelle Plus Maxi Pads with Wings. Be sure to get the ones with wings, as they add flavor. Us "pros" call them "flavor wings".

You're not really a serious vaper until you've stepped up your vape game like the rest of us adults.

Ok, maybe not amazons basics but you can acquire a cable which...somehow someone will buy.

Behold, beyond your wildest dreams does the ultimate ripoff exist


____

BUT WAIT

Could it possibly get any worse? YES

People really need to spend a little bit more money on sound in their setups. A real 5.1 surround setup can be had for <$300 and even the cheapest option will blow any soundbar out of the water.

Go with a slightly smaller TV even if it means getting a receiver and some speakers, way more immersion for your dollar than anything else. And modern stuff with CEC keeps controlling everything super simple, i dont even need my Harmony remote anymore.

In this case a $50 2.1 set of computer speakers is an improvement over the tvs built in, but not by much, and not helped any having them all on the same little shelf like that either.

EDIT: https://smile.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-S3800-Channel-Theater-Package/dp/B01F3ENAOU/
https://smile.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-16-Gauge-Speaker-Wire-Feet/dp/B006LW0W5Y/
https://smile.amazon.com/Mount-MI-1214-Surround-Satellite-Capacity/dp/B003R0AXPW/

$303 with enough wire to go the long way around and speaker stands, so no drilling even. Even if you dont have the biggest TV itll make everybody want to have movie night at your place.

Oh!!! I just read about this in The Food Lab!

Directly from the book: “Eggshells are porous: they lose about 4 microliters of water a day to evaporation while simultaneously taking air into the space between the sheep and the inner membrane near the fat end. In very fresh eggs, the air space is tiny and the egg will sink to the bottom of the bowl and lie on its side. As eggs get older, the air space will grow, so old eggs will sink and then stand on their points as the air in the larger end tries to rise. If you’ve got an egg that floats, it’s probably past it’s prime and should be discarded.”

The book really is an incredible read, whether you cook a lot or not. I would absolutely recommend it.

Edit: between the SHELL not sheep

The food lab. You can also buy Modenist Cuisine at Home.

DO NOT USE THESE, they make it VERY easy to break your 3.5mm jack.

Instead, use something like this that separates the 1/4" section from the smaller jack:

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-MHE-100-5-Right-Angle-Headphone-Adaptor/dp/B000068O6B/

Alternatively, you can get this aftermarket cable:

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Audio-upgrade-Sennheiser-Headphones/dp/B00KAKBHKM

I'm glad I had an extra $13,500 laying around for the 16m one. And silly me had the side with the down arrow connected to my monitor. Everything started working once I switched both ends.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MFDT894/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These things are a godsend, not quite sure about the headband though

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

Surprised no one has mentioned The Food Lab given how popular it is on Reddit. Not only is every recipe in it a certified banger, it also does a great job walking you through the scientific reasons behind each recipe, so in addition to the recipes in the book you gain a ton of skills and techniques applicable when coming up with your own recipes.

What book?

edit: The Food Lab. Thanks u/Imnotveryfunatpartys

I haven't seen anyone do this in years. It was somewhat common about 10 years ago when good headphones were becoming popular, but external DACs and headphone amplifiers didn't really exist. I mean, yeah, headphone amps have been around since at least the 60's, but they were always expensive audiophile or recording studio products. So for PC audio you either modified your sound card or built a CMoy amp, because the cheapest actual headphone amp was $1000.

Also, a good DAC is about $20, not $120. A good headphone amp is around $100 though so it would be $120 for both, but most headphones do not need an amp.

For anyone shopping for a good home chef, I would recommend The Food Lab. It's got a cult-like following for a reason; there's even a subreddit—r/seriouseats

The Food Lab!!!

Techniques are explained really well. It doesn't just tell you what to do, it tells you why to do it. There are good recipes, but the best part is that you learn the howsand whys, which make the skills transferable and it will bring your cooking to a new level. It is designed for home cooks, and Kenji is the best, you can't go wrong.

Thanks for all the great comments and compliments! Woke up to a full inbox. To answer a few of the questions:

1. Here is the link for the containers on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07N2BPQC3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
2. Recipes:
   
   1. Pasta Salad with dijon vinagrette, olives, capers, shredded mozzerella and sundried tomatoes
      
   2. Black eyed pea salad with red onion, celery and ceasar dressing.
      
   3. The egg salad, roasted broccoli with bread crumbs, and marinated kale salad are all from The Food Lab book.
      
3. I'm doing this mostly for health reasons. Not to lose weight, but just to eat better. I work in a hospital and the cafeteria food is pretty unhealthy (oh the irony). I have very little self control when I go there, and I wind up getting a slice of pizza or chicken tenders or something equally unhealthy.

Or Amazon.com
Edit for link.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004F9LVXC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1458459359&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=viewhd&dpPl=1&dpID=41OoScmjAQL&ref=plSrch

There is such a thing as "zero" latency, but only with AudioQuest Diamond HDMI Cable, found here. (Technically, it has negative latency since it uses time warping technology).

It is a bit pricier than your average cable, but it comes with free shipping.

I got part one (part one!) of my gift this week! Not near my phone to take a picture, but it's this bad boy! I'm fucking stoked, I love Serious Eats and it's gonna be fucking awesome to have an actual physical cookbook I can leaf through instead of bullshit allrecipes and stupid mommy blogs where you have to read through twenty pages of stupid sanctimommy bullshit before you even get to the recipe!

And holy shit, it's HUGE! It talks about everything! There's chapters on pasta, steak, chicken, all the fun stuff! And there's conversion charts right inside the cover so I don't need to ask google how much a cup of flour weighs (for the thirtieth fucking time!)

I love it! <3

Kenji's book.

https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087

• The Food Lab: Cooking Through Science by Kenji Lopez-Alt
  
• On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee
  
• The Flavor Bible
  

Topically relevant. Check the reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-feet-Braided-Cable/dp/B003CT08E4

http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ

this one cost 13,000

Make sure it is one of the very high quality ones.
Like this

But please, continue with this type of reviews.

> Price "cheaper than a cable"

That's not too dificult

Yes, the cord that comes with it is crap imo. I got this cord recently for mine and it's fantastic.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KAKBHKM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

• Denon AVR S530BT - $150
  
  
• Micca MB42X-C Center Channel Speaker - $70
  
  
• A Pair of Micca MB42X Bookshelf Speakers- $90
  
  
• Dayton Audio SUB1200 subwoofer - $164
  
  
• 100' of 16ga AmazonBasics Speaker Wire - $11
  
  Granted this is a TINY bit over budget but I really think a subwoofer and a center channel are important to give you the home theater experience.
  
  This would support modern codecs, Bluetooth/AirPlay etc be able to take hdmi in from your devices then send a single hdmi to your projector to feed it video.
  
  Later on when you have the $, buy another pair of the MB42X and use them as surrounds.

$30 DAC - Link - Please know these aren't game changers, it's only offering better quality sound than your motherboard. If your headphones or speakers aren't that great, it's not doing to do much. Weakest link type of thing. If your headphones suck, these wont help. But if you have a decent set of phones, many people have sworn by these.

$75 DAC - Link - More expensive, better sound output. Again, should be paired with even higher quality sound gear. $100+ speakers/headphones.

$115 DAC - My Dac - Link - I needed a dac with a little power. I use speakers with my setup instead of headphones. This one is 2x25. It's honestly the most anyone should need for a 2.0 system.

$80 Speakers - Link - These are mine. I love them. Best combined $200 I've spent. Instead of a CPU that will need to be replaced in two years, these will out last many builds if I take care of them. The reviews are through the roof compared to the price. And I'd have to agree.

There are a million reviews about the topping DAC + Micca speakers. Things feel more immersive. I think that's the simplest way to put it.

Hard. Like the diamonds used in the best HDMI cable ever! Only $13499.75! Shipping only $3.99! Get yours now at https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ

That's what I say. These non-grilling fuckboys don't know. You can buy a grill like that for $600-700 and you can also buy one that looks like this for $2000.

You can probably even get the exact same one from 2 different retailers.

this is a $14,000 hdmi cable. There's a sucker born every minute

$1000? That's entry level. Try this guy.

I don't know a lot about baking, but one of my friends does and she recommended the below book.

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393081087/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_CkmZxb6RN2F39

Also, there is a great show called Good Eats I recommend for this. :)

Nothing particularly good in this bundle.

If you want take up cooking and treat yourself, I would give my highest personal recommendation to The Food Lab and Bravetart. They are great because they go over technique and fundamentals and provide a good base that you can build from once you get more comfortable in the kitchen. Once you hit that point The Flavor Bible is also a great resource for experimentation.

You can connect the Magni with a 3.5mm>RCA cable to the line out (green port) of the motherboard. Mobo audio should be at 100% and only the knob on the amp controls the volume. If that gives you clean sound without any distortion or constant electrical noise, you don't need to get a DAC.

Don't cheap out on HDMI cables, get those diamond grade cable from amazon.

> just because you're paying more for it doesn't mean it's better

Are you saying this cable isn't worth it?

I also really like these, great headphones at a great price. However the stock cords suck pretty hard unless you like grippy rubber cables. I picked up these as a replacement, and fully recommend them for anyone else who doesn't like the stock cable:

http://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Audio-upgrade-Sennheiser-Headphones/dp/B00KAKBHKM?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02

It's a cable I got from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Audio-upgrade-Sennheiser-Headphones/dp/B00KAKBHKM

Everyone here is making this so unnecessarily complicated. I just picked up DJing last year myself and it's not hard to start at all. I did quite a bit of research on what DJ controller would be the best for someone who is just starting, but also wants to have something more than a simple mixer.

1. Build a music library and download Serato
   
   
2. Import your music library and organize it to your liking.
   
   
3. I bought a Pioneer DDJ SB2 and it's awesome. You can do really basic stuff but at the same time you have the ability to do some higher level mixing as well.
   
   
4. While you wait for your controller to arrive, watch this https://www.youtube.com/playlist?annotation_id=annotation_2381793899&feature=iv&list=PLk1VCXHnvPLDLbKTvHacpo6tQDzp4OS38&src_vid=W1OCHTWqc_w. It's a full on tutorial on how to use your controller along with Serato.
   
   Good luck and have fun! It's a blast to get into
   
   I FORGOT you obviously need a laptop and some speakers. Any speakers will do, just make sure it's RCA output. Here is a cheap converter if you currently have a 3.5mm output.

https://www.amazon.com/RCA-Compact-Outdoor-Antenna-ANT751E/dp/B0024R4B5C

This is all you need for your UHF/VHF needs. It picks up all local affiliates: NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and CW.
RCA also has a Signal Finder app that will show you where to point it for maximum reception.

I cancelled DirectTV Now when Sling picked up Discovery. Now Sling lost Fox Sports SW. I’m probably going to head back to cable.

Also, you are not dumb. Good luck!

I'd highly recommend this dac if you care about sound quailty. It is doing an amazing job for the money.

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Analog-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_107_tr_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KH2BW8ZS5XZQCS2VPB7K

edit: sorry this dac will only work for base ps4 and ps4 pro owners.

He's the culinary director of the blog Serious Eats. Used to work in the Cooks Illustrated test kitchen before starting out on his own. He's very beloved on Reddit, partly because he's often participating in community threads, partly because he's a fantastically detailed & process-oriented chef who helps you understand why it's important to do X step or use X ingredient.

Link to his book which is also awesome.

I think you are starting from the wrong place if you think it will be like Texan chili [con carne]. Mole negro and soft cheeses are the main culinary exports of Oaxaca and they are fantastic. This is one of my two favorite culinary regions in Mexico!

Mole negro
First off, the famous mole negro using the regional pasilla de Oaxaca pepper (aka "chile negro" when dried). There are many recipes for that; find one that has ingredients you can pick up at your local Mexican supermarket or order online. You can cook meat (often chicken) in it or use it to make enchiladas enmoladas. They're soft, cheesy, and the rich, black sauce has a great pepper flavor but also a complex mixture of spices that lend subtle notes to the flavor like a fine wine. Every abuelita in Oaxaca has her own special variation on the recipe.

Traditional meal: nopales + meat + oaxaqueño cheese + guajillo sauce
Another personal favorite coming straight out of restaurants in Oaxaca is often called the Conquista Plate. As you can see, a thin steak over grilled cactus, Oaxaca cheese and chile guajillo sauce. The cactus is nopales; learn to love it's mild flavor, as it's in tons of authentic Mexican dishes. Guajillos are a fairly mild chili with a distinct, tart taste. They're also used all over Mexico so you should be able to find them pretty easily. Oaxaca is famous for cheese, so you can also easily find that in most Mexican markets.

Recipe for the sauce (use only guajillos and ancho). You can find your own instructions on grilling nopales and the steak or whatever meat you want to go with it. That red sauce can basically go on anything.

Chile verde: more like a SW "chili"
Although it's not from further south than Chihuahua and Sonora and has become a staple in New Mexican cuisine, chile verde is probably going to be the best marriage of rich Mexican sauces and a more traditional southwestern US "chili" where chunks of tough meat are stewed or braised in the sauce until tender. I've tested and approve of this recipe as a basic starting point. However, in The Food Lab, Kenji goes into detail about why it's better to let this dish braise in the oven. Here is his final recipe, which is amazing and pretty simple once you get through it a couple times (and usually provides leftovers for days). I do believe he is a bit misinformed (in the book, in particular) about how unique Hatch chilies are; the exact same chilies are widely available as "Anaheim peppers" in addition to other sub-cultivars of the classic "No.9 chile". But I digress.

More about chile verde and SW food
I collected about a dozen cookbooks when living in NM trying to find more chile verde recipes to try. Two more recent ones I highly recommend are New Mexico Cuisine: Recipes from the Land of Enchantment and Red or Green: New Mexico Cuisine. For authentic Oaxaqueño recipes, I have only read Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy but it's very good and sub-divides the region to give you a sampling of coastal seafood, cheese from the mountains, and about a thousand mole recipes!

Finally, I want to say I agree with your friend: Tex-Mex is a mistake and traditional Mexican food is where the good eats are at!

My Santa was /u/havingaraveup and he absolutely knocked it out of the park.

I received The Food Lab cookbook that I've been wanting for some time (how did he know?!?!). It's already on display in my home and I used it for dinner last night (slow cooker bbq steak tips)!

He also included some shoe care products and this homemade Aaron Rodgers candle that I shall sacrificially burn next year when the Lions defeat the Packers on their way to the Super Bowl.

Thank you so much for your generosity!

Also, shoutout to /u/aype for putting this on.

Purchase this
This
And this

They sell a 16m one too...

I'm sporting the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x and a FiiO E10K. I also use the Fidelia music player on a mac. It's definitely an upgrade from standard audio equipment but still under $250. You can easily go nuts and drop $1,000+.

FLACCs are still difficult to find from digital sources for lesser known bands. Not everyone's on bandcamp. I buy the physical CD then rip it to FLACC. 320kb/s MP3s are ok but if you opt for a higher fidelity setup I'd stick to FLACC, ALAC, WAV, or AIFF.

I will leave a note here for those wondering what a DAC/Amp is and when they are needed.

-----------------

DAC

A DAC is simply a digital to analog converter. A good DAC will minimize the amount of noise that is introduced into the system, noise being hissing, buzzing, ringing, etc. In more technical terms this would be errors made by the DAC when converting a stream of bits coming from your computer to an analog signal.

It doesn't cost much to produce an accurate DAC. Most on-board DACs are good enough that you won't notice any noise. If you do notice noise it's likely because of interference from other components on the motherboard. In that case a cheap external DAC, such as the Fiio D03k, should clean up the signal.

TL;DR: Don't notice any noise, don't buy an external DAC

------------------

AMP

An amplifier does what the name implies, it amplifies the analog signal going to the headphones. Some headphones are easier to power than others. The SHP9500s are just fine running off your motherboard, which probably has a relatively weak amp, but something like the HifiMan HE-6 requires a lot of power. My recommendation would be to try out the headphones without an amplifier first, then purchase an amp if you aren't reaching the listening volume you would like.

Let's say you need an amplifier, which one do you get? First you should know that there are two major types of amps: solid state and tube. Solid state amplifiers aim to provide clean power to the headphones. Tube amplifiers intentionally introduce distortion to the sound to make it sound more natural. This tends to cut down on harsh treble.
You want to make sure the amp you purchase has enough power for your headphones and will provide clean sound. A great entry level amplifier would be the FX Audio DAC X6 which also happens to have a built in DAC. If you require more power than that the Schiit Magni 3 is exceptional. Anything beyond that, I would recommend heading over to /r/headphones.

TL;DR: Happy with your listening volume? Don't buy a separate amplifier.

The PS4 still has optical audio output, so if your headset supports that, you can connect it with that.

I recommend getting something like this, which will convert optical to red/white RCA cables.
A clumsier option would be to plug this cable into your controller.

I think Serious Eats would be a great starting point for you. It's got the recipes, but it's also got the why. Learning why the food does what it does, and learning why recipes work or don't, is very important.

As an avid cook and collector of cookbooks, I have three recommendations -

1. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat
   
2. The Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez Alt
   
3. The Flavor Bible
   
   The first two will teach you the essentials of cooking. How salt, fat, acid, and heat work together to make delicious food. J Kenji Lopez Alt has a popular serious eats blog and his book will teach you everything you need to know about cooking perfect meat, eggs, burgers, etc.
   
   Once you learn all of the basics from those books, use the Flavor Bible to be creative.

DO NOT buy this rig....

...unless you make sure you have the right HDMI cables to prevent digital signal degradation for your video output!!!!

Boom

IMHO: A subwoofer isn't optional when it comes to dubstep. You'll be missing all the low-end (which let's be honest, is why we're all here) if you omit a decent sub from you set up. As far as amps (I call these receivers) go, you'd probably be best off visiting your local pawn shop or anywhere you can get pre-owned electronics and picking something up. I got mine for under $100CAD and it has power to spare. For ease of set-up I'd suggest finding something with dedicated subwoofer outputs on the back. As for speakers, these or these will do right by you. Personally I use this subwoofer, and it has the juice to have my entire house shaking. Wires are pretty much standard in my experience as long as you're talking about a simple home listening system. These wires would do fine for your needs. If you want a proper listening experience dont use bluetooth speakers, and dont skimp on a subwoofer.

Hope that helps, my dude!

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/How-to-capture-HDCP-encrypted-HDMI-sources-Vudu-Netflix-Directv-Virgin-Media-etc/topic/15179/

http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/334145-HDCP-strippers/page11

It's not all splitters that have this "flaw", but some do.

EDIT: For example, this one does, as you can read in the comments.

Incredibly low prices on HM5 pads (all of them- pleather, velour, angled, hybrid, etc.) as well as some IEMs.



HM5 pleather - $16.50 (usually $22.50)


HM5 Velour - $16.50 (usually $22.50)

HM5 Angled Pleather - $22.50 (usually $27.50 or $29.50)

Brainwavz S0 IEMs - $19.99 (usually $45.00)

Angled Hybrid pads - $25.00 (usually $29.50 or $37.50)

I own a pair of these, they're phenomenal for the price, especially this sale price. Extremely comfortable, great mic and great drivers. I recommend ditching the USB dongle it comes with and using the 3.5mm jack (you may or may not need a splitter).

If you want to use the center channel you’ll need more than a basic 2-channel amp - you’ll need a home theater receiver. Any old 5.1 system will do. You should be able to get them used for well under $100. Their main downside is their size.

You’ll also need speaker cables - 16 gauge is fine unless you want to run them over 15-20 feet or so, then 14 ga may be an improvement.

Then run an aux cord from the PC sound out to auxiliary input on the receiver. You may need an adapter like this to go from 3.5mm to RCA inputs (or something that does a similar job).

No special audio interface needed if you’re not doing surround sound. Stereo input for the left/right/center channel is fine.

Welcome. You'll be blown away. For real.

What is your budget? For fun, I'll assume that it is just over $200.

For better all-around speakers, I recommend the Elacs.

You'll need speaker wire too. To cut it, a pair of wire strippers.

This amp is an extremely good budget amp. That is an ebay listing for an open box one. You'll save like $20 doing that. I have a few from this seller and they're great.

This RCA cable will plug it into whatever you want. That thing is crazy good quality for the price. I mean it.

So, that is all you will need. And trust me. You'll be blown away. For real. If you've never heard good speakers, those elacs will sound like a whole new world to you.

You seriously cannot go past Kenji Lopez-Alt’s book: The Food Lab. It’s several hundred pages of how to cook basic things properly, then apply those techniques to more complex dishes. It even covers things like equipment, knife skills, etc. I understand that he’s launching a second copy soon, too.

https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087

Some ideas that have worked well for me/others:

Aging Parents - Kind of expensive (fluctuates a ton) but if you have a parent with a ton of photos who talks about scanning them all in someday, this scanner is fantastic. I have the older version and it's literally so easy to use that even my mom and dad could figure it out when I let them borrow it. Not a great bulk doc scanner but exactly what you need for photos. Pair with a case like this to store the originals in and you've done a great deed.

Newlyweds- If they don't have specific interests, a picnic blanket goes over well. I have the one linked and it's nice for the cheap price. Pair with some wine, maybe some other picnic accessories. I'm also giving a minted gift for a custom designed print for wedding photos to my brother/new sister-in-law.

Teens- Move beyond the selfie stick - some phone lenses go a long way, get a self timer for the phone, or a PowerCore. The powercore isn't sexy but super loved by all. I usually hit up BaubleBar or Sephora for deals too.

Handyman- I shoved this cheap light in my husband's stocking last year and he loves it. It's super handy.

Homebody- This is out of stock in the best size right now but it always comes back in. It is the softest blanket ever, doesn't shed, and we bought them for every room of the house.

Dog- What dog doesn't love bully sticks? A good deal, really good quality and my dogs have loved them.

On my wishlist- A milk frother, The Food Lab cookbook, a magnetic pincushion, maybe some Ugg slippers, a bunch of Etsy art and Essie gel couture nail polish. Debating a special purchase for myself with a bonus I received, I'm thinking a camera for a big trip coming up if I can find the right holiday deal.

I worked briefly as a butcher and, as a rule, I thought all minced beef was the same, aside from the fat content (I didn't say I was a good butcher). Eye of Round vs. Brisket? They're both extra lean, right?

Nope. After reading an article Kenji had wrote about the different kinds of beef cuts, I learned that I could make my burgers exponentially more flavourful by mixing and matching cuts.

Kenji knows what's up, and I'm heavily considering buying his book on Amazon.

No, this isn't a paid/undisclosed promotion... but if Kenji wants to throw a couple bucks my way, I won't say no.

Ganz klar: The Food Lab!
https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087
Ist zwar Englisch aber trotzdem ganz klare Empfehlung! Einerseits sind die Rezepte gut, wenn auch klar amerikanisch andererseits habe ich noch aus keinem Kochbuch so viel mitgenommen und gelernt!

Incoming list of surprisingly easy recipes.

Cornish hens though can easily be used for any whole poultry

Chic-fil-a style sandwiches but easier than the site's actual replica

no bake cheesecake

similar to the first cornish hen but with chicken

super easy carne asada (need decent blender though)

my go to asian chicken recipe because it's easy

if you don't love chicken satay we can't be friends

fusilli a la vodka easy and delicious

easiest mac and cheese recipe other than the box

if you're feeling real fancy this short rib recipe will be expensive but my god is it amazing (spend $50 just on the meat when I made it last week) and you get to look like you're a master french chef with minimal effort

I also suggest checking out The cookbook the Food Lab by J kenji lopez-alt

Harmony Hub is currently on sale at Amazon too. Hub plus the basic remote for $80

Harmony Hub. Get the package that included the physical remote also. It's currently available for $60 right now on Amazon.

This Harmony remote and Hub is my go-to recommendation. It just went on sale for $69.99, which is the lowest I've ever seen it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQ5RYI4/

You mean 13449.75?

£90 is nothing

What about $13,500

FiiO E10K Olympus DAC / Amp on Amazon

I am using it to drive a pair of Sennheiser HD 598 SE headphones at work.

Before you chastise me for open back in an office space, I listen at a relatively low volume, the ambient noise here is pretty loud, and I've okayed it with my cube neighbor who is rarely even at his desk.

Some initial thoughts:

• The Bass switch is subtle enough (depending on the music) that I actually find it pleasant. Edit: Probably won't use it much long term, but it's nice for some kinds of music.
  
• Size is smaller than I expected. Pencil for scale. (Sorry, no banana available)
  
• Sound quality is quite nice for this purpose. You'll hear from others that this is basically an entry level DAC and they're not wrong. It works for me because I'm just using it to listen to lossy music (320mp3) at work and wanted something a little nicer than this old laptop's onboard DAC.
  
• I have Gain on Low and wouldn't dream of raising it. OS volume sits around 70-80% and the physical knob on the amp doesn't rise above 3 most of the time.
  
• Installation was dead simple, but I'm running Arch Linux (ALSA + Pulseaudio) so there is no driver installation. I just plug it in and tell the media player which device to use.
  
  The biggest issue I've been having so far is not the DAC's fault, but the fact that my laptop is quite old and has a weak CPU. This led to some crackling when the CPU was under heavy load, so I've had to tweak a number of things (process priorities, disable "smooth scrolling" in my browser, etc) to eliminate it.
  
  Otherwise it seems like a solid purchase.

Volca beats uses a dual unbalanced mono signal. When you use headphones, the same mono signal is going to the left speaker and the right speaker using the left and right connections of the cable, which causes no problems. When you use an audio interface, you're plugging a cable carrying two identical signals into a jack that's expecting two identical signals but with one of them phase inverted. Your audio interface is probably expecting a mono balanced input, which is not what it's getting. Normally with a balanced input, the signals are sent phase inverted. The receiving hardware then flips the inverted signal and the signals are combined.

With the dual unbalanced signal, since neither signal is being sent phase inverted, when the receiving hardware inverts the signal it becomes phase inverted. When the signals are combined, you're left with just the noise/distortion that a balanced cable is normally trying to eliminate.

Korg really should've made this more clear with the Volca series. FYI - here is the cable I'm using, which works fine (I only use one of the 1/4" plugs).

In my opinion, the best option is to buy a regular pair of great headphones, then buy a mic to go with them. No gaming headset will sound as good as a pair of headphones for the same price. Get a pair of headphones in your price range, then a mic and the audio splitter will be an extra $18.
I currently use a pair of Audio Technica M50x's, which I bought to listen to music with and wound up using them for gaming. They are very comfortable and sound fantastic, although I personally wish they had a bit more bass, for gaming. For a microphone, I prefer the Pyle-Pro PMEM1 Headworn Mic, because it sounds far better than any other microphone I’ve used. Some people like the Zalman Clip mic, but in my experience it didn’t capture my voice clearly and picked up a ton of ambient noise. I just wear the mic underneath the headphones, which is perfectly comfortable. MAKE SURE YOU BUY A SPLITTER! The mic won’t work on the PS4 without one. I use this one. Overall, it’s ~$180 for a great gaming setup, and you get an amazing pair of headphones that you can listen to music with and wear out of the house.
If you want to look into a different pair of headphones, The Wirecutter has some phenomenal advice on headphones. They also have a list for gaming headsets, and I would take their advice on those if you have your heart set on a headset.

Consider getting a cheaper pair of headphones The Wirecutter recommends if you won’t use the M50x’s for anything else other than gaming, but they are among the best headphones for listening to music, and work great for gaming.

Headphones:
https://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Pro-PMEM1-Headworn-Omni-Directional-Microphone/dp/B003D2S7HA/ref=pd_ybh_a_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=8HYQKPP2BHCSX3M8WW8N

Mic:
https://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Pro-PMEM1-Headworn-Omni-Directional-Microphone/dp/B003D2S7HA/ref=pd_ybh_a_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=8HYQKPP2BHCSX3M8WW8N

Splitter:
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-headsets-separate-headphone-microphone/dp/B004SP0WAQ/ref=pd_ybh_a_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=05264WVDYHC2FG0SSX1W

Other Headphones:
http://thewirecutter.com/leaderboard/headphones/

no thats just a headphone splitter

you need : http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-headsets-separate-headphone-microphone/dp/B004SP0WAQ

Based on all the research you put in, i don't think that you really need our help :p

But just in case you just need some re-assurance, the R7 series is definitely going to get you the best bang / buck, although it'll be interesting to see how Intel prices SkyLake X / KabyLake X.

You'll also have to look into if their block supports AM4 since they only say that they support AMD.

Why even bother with your SoundBlaster if it's going to complicate the build. I'd just sell it an get an external solution like a FiiO E10K or a Scarlet Solo (Although i guess that depends on what headphone you have).


Even with something like this, you still have quiet a bit leftover for some sleeved cables and a keyboard / headphone upgrade.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD RYZEN 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor | $319.75 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | MSI X370 GAMING PRO CARBON ATX AM4 Motherboard | $178.98 @ SuperBiiz
Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $119.88 @ OutletPC
Storage | Samsung 960 Evo 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive | $129.99 @ B&H
Storage | Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | Purchased For $0.00
Storage | Crucial MX300 750GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | Purchased For $0.00
Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Superclocked Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card | Purchased For $0.00
Power Supply | SeaSonic 520W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular Fanless ATX Power Supply | $126.50 @ Jet
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $875.10
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-10 14:41 EDT-0400 |

These are cheap and cheesy, but they strip HDCP.

https://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Powered-Splitter-1080P-Model/dp/B004F9LVXC/

We use these to rid a signal of that godforsaken protocol

They're powered speakers, meaning you don't need an amplifier or receiver.

You can plug them straight into a computer using this cable.

I had this problem a while ago when I bought new speakers, the solution for me was to buy a cheap external DAC and plug that into the optical port on my motherboard, since it's just light there is no electrical interference.

13K for a cable.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IL3TZSQ/ref=pd_aw_sbs_1?pi=SL500_SS115&simLd=1

Oops I did it again. Posted a recipe from The Food Lab that I can't find published online. So i guess instead of a recipe I'll implore you to buy the book because it's awesome https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087

Kenji did not pay or bribe me for this plug btw..

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393081087/

https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ/ref=sr_1_1?srs=13979917011&ie=UTF8&qid=1497510686&sr=8-1

It'll definitely need an amp so look into this that's also on sale

Obligatory have these headphones, AMA.

I replaced the ear pads with hm5 velour pads, (got them when they were like half off) no modifications required (once the stock earpads are removed, they can’t be reused, just a warning)

I have the m50, so no detachable cord, and they are still treating me well to this day. I eventually upgraded and my new set has velour ear pads, which are awesome. Even though my m50s don't get as much use anymore, I got some replacement pads for them and it was like getting a whole new set of headphones. So much comfier, no more getting sweaty by wearing them too long, and they have a slightly improved soundstage imo by adding these new pads. Might be worth checking out, they're only $20 right now.

velour ear pads for ATH-M50X

I believe that he was talking about these: http://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Velor-Memory-Replacements-Earpads/dp/B00MFDX4YO

Actually connect this
StarTech.com Headset adapter for headsets with separate headphone / microphone plugs - 3.5mm 4 position to 2x 3 position 3.5mm M/F https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SP0WAQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_RtNiybQBKJPYG

Then the mono adapter to the headphone side

Then this,
Maeline 3.5mm Female to 2 Male Gold Plated Headphone Mic Audio Y Splitter Flat Cable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PYZ2BT4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ewNiybTP946EB

Take a look at The Food Lab by /u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt . He covers a lot of the science without relying on so much of the BS conventional wisdom.

I didn't know she had a cookbook. When I look for recipes, /u/j_kenji_lopez-alt is my first choice (and his book, his serious eats) but he doesn't really do desserts. Bravetart is professionally a pastry nerd and I've been using her primarily for desserts recently. When I found out she had a cookbook I ordered it immediately!

1: Use a RCA->1/4" M-M cable

2: Buy some of these super handy adapters and use them with a regular RCA cable

I have never heard of "cinch cables", and a web search only turns up what are basically zipties, so I don't know what your friend is on about.

Bring an RCA-to-RCA cable, definitely, since you'll most likely be plugging your controller's RCA output into one of the RCA line inputs on the club's DJ mixer. But I'd also bring either an RCA-to-phono cable, or a pair of RCA-to-phono adapters, because sometimes you'll need to plug into a PA style mixer instead, which will use 1/4" phono jacks for its stereo line inputs.

I also carry an RCA-to-XLR cable - I don't need it very often, but it's nice to know that I'll always be able to plug in, no matter what kind of crazy situation I encounter.

Plug in to audio out-
Hosa CPR-202 Dual 1/4 inch TS to Dual RCA Stereo Interconnect Cable, 6.6 feet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000068O17/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_eTqIzbXYC6G3A

• I started out with just trying to get it going on my laptop with kjams & a microphone.
  
• But that didn't sound good and look good, so I hooked up my laptop to my tv through a receiver
  
• But using my mic through the laptop mic hole, caused a delay between the audio of the song and the mic
  
• This is why you need a mixer. You need the sound of the laptop and the sound of the mic to arrive at the same time. I got this one. Mic goes in channel one, laptop goes in channel 3 or 4 (get the right cable)
  
• That mixer's output goes into my receiver now. My receiver allows to get the audio from a different input than the video. This was essential in my setup. I have a basic yamaha 4 hdmi receiver. I turn it to hdmi1, but get the sound from one of the audio inputs, where the mixer goes into (get the right cable)
  
• sweet, now I have music and mic arriving in my receiver, and it's going to the speakers and the tv is displaying my laptop
  
• now people are tripping over the mic cable and they want a second mic
  
• get yourself some wireless mics. the ones i bought are no longer for sale but they are "dual channel" and "uhf" or something
  
• now you need some songs though I have to say, just opening youtube and searching a song title + ' karaoke' works pretty darn well as well
  
• and some disco lights!
  
• my friends like it and say it's the best home setup they know
  
  
  Btw, nice effort on the è but you want the other one: fiancé
  It's easy to remember: é the stripe goes on and so does the sound. è the stripe stops and the sound is short
  
  

I don't really have a recommendation, but make sure you decide on how you'll setup your audio connection. Like if you want to use speakers get a monitor with a audio out port, or you could plug them directly into the ps4 controller but I got annoyed being tethered so I ended up buying like three adapters

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Digital-Optical-Audio-Toslink/dp/B001TH7GSW/

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Optical-Analog-audio-converter/dp/B004C4WPXA/

https://www.amazon.com/30S1-01260-Stereo-Female-Y-Cable-6-Inch/dp/B000I23TTE/

Get this bad boy:

http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT751-Quality-Durable-Compact/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1382280571&sr=8-4&keywords=antenna

My only problem was it was TOO good for my area (I have some green channels). It would catch the signal AND the little bit of signal bouncing off the buildings near me would cancel it out and cause interference.

I fixed it by pointing it in the wrong direction at a weird angle, which meant it now only picks up the small reflected signal on those good channels. My picture has been crystal clear since that day on every channel, rain or shine.

Not to say you will have that experience exactly, but it's a good antenna.

I got this antenna. I average about 30 miles to all the major stations in my area and I mounted the antenna inside my attic with a low noise amp. Looking at the signal map you provided I think a similar setup should work for you. Good luck!

You're gonna want a powered splitter, I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004F9LVXC/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And it works fine. I use it on a monitor, and a television with noticeable extra lag.

If you're using a 1080p or a 1440p monitor, you can use a HDMI splitter to bypass HDCP. Been getting a lot of audio issues with my capture card because of HDCP so I bought this and it seems to fix it. A lot of streamers use the same splitter to stream PS3 games since you can't turned off HDCP.

Years ago, someone recommended that I buy this HDMI splitter to get around the PS3's (or any system's) HDCP protection. I've used it many times and have never had any issues recording PS3 gameplay through it. It's been mentioned quite a few times in this subreddit by various people, all of whom say it's worked well for them.

According to this your TV has an optical audio output (SPDIF). You'll get much better sound quality if you use that instead of the headphone output.

Use this to convert that digital into analog (output over RCA cables): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F4ORTZ6/

Then an amplifier to output to speaker wires: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0049P6OTI/ (or, slightly cheaper in black: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C2P61FO/)

Cables you'll need, if you don't have them already, are a Toslink/SPDIF cable, a stereo RCA cable, and speaker wires. Buy them from Monoprice, or get ripped off buying them from somewhere else.

If you want even cheaper, you can forego the digital-to-analog converter and connect the headphone output straight to the amp, but if it were me I'd spend the extra $20 on the DAC.

Edit: after some more Amazon searching, I'd go with this DAC instead. A few bucks more, but much better reviews, includes a Toslink cable, and is powered by a standard micro-USB (cell phone charger) plug.

How big is your room? What are you using this system for primarily - music, movies, video games? A mix? Are you looking for a 2.0 system (two front speakers only), a 2.1 (front speakers plus subwoofer), or something bigger (adding in another front channel speaker, subwoofer(s), etc.)? Are you located in the US or elsewhere? See below for some start-up recommendations, from a fellow newbie located in the US..

• You'll need a receiver for your speakers - here's a good, budget-friendly recommendation - Denon AVR-S530BT 5.2 - that gives you the option to grow if you want to add more speakers later on
  https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrs530bt/denon-avr-s530bt-5.2-ch-x-70-watts-bluetooth-a/v-receiver/1.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw2dvWBRBvEiwADllhn8_oJ4E863EeDHkxQq-pwS5Arqe8KszbfNru2guYIJQfnCzLYYgqUBoCwCkQAvD_BwE
  
  
• You'll also need some speaker wire to connect your speakers to your receiver - this will work fine:
  https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-16-Gauge-Speaker-Wire-Feet/dp/B006LW0W5Y/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1524063706&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=speaker+wire&psc=1
  
  
• You'll probably need an HDMI cable to hook up your receiver to your TV. If you have one already, you'll be good to go. Otherwise, Amazon or any other electronic retailer will have one for you.
  
  
• If you want more bass, you'll need a subwoofer. Depending on your budget, a BIC Acoustech F12 ($212) or a PL-200i ($300) are often recommended around here. I picked up mine from Amazon.
  
• Also consider some speaker stands so that you can position your bookshelf speakers at the correct height/location depending on your desired listening location.
  
  That's really all you need to get started. There are tons of more recommendations/options out there - just throwing out what I recently learned when getting my set-up going. Good luck!

You don't need anything special https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-16-Gauge-Speaker-Wire-Feet/dp/B006LW0W5Y

I have 598s and use this. I've never used the Schiit stack but used my FiiO E10k every day for two years and love it.

Here are my favorites http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IL3TZSQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1458584294&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=hdmi+audioquest+diamond&dpPl=1&dpID=41cGG7FbEwL&ref=plSrch

Congrats! I love my 598Cs. They're going to be my go to headphones until Massdrop ships my K7XX :)

Now every I see the 598Cs I recommend getting this replacement cable.

It's worth every penny. Enormous upgrade over the stock cable.

I've been using Beyerdynamics DT 770 Pro 80 ohm paired with a Fiio E10k DAC and the sound quality is incredible. You'd be under budget with this setup too and the E10k also has a bass boost switch if that's your thing ;)

That's more of a desktop setup, though my phone does drive the 770s pretty well. If you're looking for headphones for on the go listening, I'd recommend Sony's WH1000XM3, they're the best noise cancelling headphones I've ever owned.

hey friend, i recently wrote a "how to" setup APRS with a HT, Direwolf, and YAAC on linux. copy paste is below ...

edit:

If audio is getting from the radio to direwolf, check the volume levels on the radio output, and check the mic gain on your computer. These are really the only two settings that will affect how direwolf can rx and decode. Direwolf logs out when it receives something, and it tells you on a scale of 0-100 the volume level. I try to shoot for 50-60 and I get very consistent decode.


Tutorial: APRS software user interface, with software based audio TNC, and RF gateway

Overview:

APRS is a tool that was designed to convey information about objects, telemetry, and reporting, as well as communicate between individuals and groups with direct, and group messaging. Many people have the experience, or mindset, that APRS is used primarily for location tracking. This is partially due to the limitations on many hardware implementations of APRS that vendors have provided. One way to learn more about APRS as a broader, and more powerful system is to utilize software to visualize, and interact with other stations, and objects. This short tutorial will discuss how to setup a software based user interface (UI) for APRS that will provide you with mapping, messaging, and object manipulation abilities, as well as how to connect that UI through a software based audio modem, or TNC, directly to a radio, so that other users within your immediate range, as well as the range of any digipeaters will be able to interact with the same local APRS data without any reliance on the internet, or internet gateways.

User interface:

There are several different user interfaces available that have been designed for APRS.

UI-View is a popular piece of software which is no longer being maintained as the original author has passed away.

YAAC is a successor/replacement to UI-View which is cross platform (Java) with a intuitive interface, and many capabilites. We will be using YAAC for this tutorial.

Xastir is primarily a Linux application built on the X windows library system. It is quite functional, but is less intuitive and is currently less activly developed than YAAC.


Audio Modem (TNC):

TNC's originally were AX.25 packet assembler/dissasemblers with the addition of a modem to convert baseband digital signals into audio tones. In the case of a software TNC, it has the same capabilites, encoding and decoding both the AX.25 layer, and data layer to and from audio so it can be transmitted or received from a radio.

Direwolf is the premier audio tnc, which is documented to run on Windows, OSX, Linux, and single board computer Linux environments such as Raspberry Pi BeagleBone Black etc.

RF Gateway:

The RF gateway is probably the simplest piece in the equation. You need only a radio that supports audio in, audio out, and VOX. There may be some complexity if you choose to make your own cables, however there are ready made cables for popular and inexpensive radios (Baofeng) which are available for under $20 from amazon, which feature isolation to protect both your computer, and your radio.

Here is a link to a high quality cable available on Amazon, which works for Boafeng radios: https://www.amazon.com/APRS-K2-Connector-BaoFeng-APRSDroid-Compatible/dp/B01LMIBAZW


Supplementary:

It can be very helpful to have a radio that is capable of broadcasting an APRS beacon to test your setup as you go.

Your laptop may have a single plug for both headphone and microphone (TRRS) or it may have two seperate plugs. If you have two seperate plugs, you will need a splitter to seperate the microphone, and headphone connections from the cable linked to in the above RF gateway section. The cable linked below will split the two should you need it.

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-MUYHSFMM-Headset-Splitter-Adapter/dp/B0058DOWH6/


System setup:

We are going to build the APRS system from the ground up, starting with Direwolf, the audio modem/tnc and the RF gateway. If you are a Linux user, there are packages for direwolf in ubuntu/debian as well as yum based systems:

sudo apt-get install direwolf or sudo yum install direwolf

For Windows and OSX go to https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf and follow the instructions to download the latest release and run direwolf from a command window.

direwolf does not need any configuration for our initial setup, simply run direwolf, connect the audio and microphone jacks between the computer and your radio, and tune your radio to 144.390.

Be certain that you do not have any rx-CTCSS or DCS tones setup. Set your squelch as low as it will go, and enable vox with the lowest setting possible on your radio. Now is the time when it is handy to have a HT that is capable of beaconing APRS data. If you have one, set it to beacon and you should start see data coming in on the terminal where direwolf is running. You may need to adjust the volume on the output of your radio, the output of your computer, as well as the microphone gain on your computer to get everything decoding properly.

Once you can reliably decode becons from a local HT, or from a digipeater within range, you can move on to setting up the YAAC user interface, and connecting it to direwolf.


YAAC, the APRS user interface software we are using, is a Java program and requires that your system has the Java runtime environment installed. For Linux users, be certain that you install the full JRE, and not a "headless" JRE, as the headless versions do not come with the graphical libraries that YAAC requires to run. Also as of this writing YAAC did not work with Java 9, however I experienced no problems using the OpenJDK Java 8 JRE so be sure to check the version you are installing.

After you have the Java Runtime Environment installed, download the self upacking binary for your operating system from the YAAC website at http://www.ka2ddo.org/ka2ddo/YAAC.html#install

For linux users, the file was not set as an executable, so I had to chmod +x YAAC_linux_x86.bin before running ./YAAC_linux_x86.bin

NOTE: YAAC does not extract itself into a directory - so you likely want to create a directory first, then move the self extracting file into that directory so that you dont end up with a bunch of files all over.

After the package has extracted, simply run the YACC.jar program. You can do this from the command line with: java -jar YACC.jar

YACC will ask you if you want help configuring it, select yes and walk through the steps configuring your call sign, latitude/longitude etc. When you get to the part about adding and configuring interfaces, select the option to "Add AGWPE Port". YACC will create a new window with default information populated - you MUST add your callsign, and change the transmit dropdown from "disabled" to "enabled". Click finish, and on the next screen you can decide whether you want to beacon or not (I chose yes) along with any free form comment you want, then click finish.

That is it - you have a basic APRS software station set up that can transmit, and recieve via RF link. You should see objects start to appear on the YAAC map view, and the direwolf command line output should match up with data YAAC is displaying.

Homework:

From here you can learn how to create message groups, chat directly with stations, place objects on the map so that they are only visible to other local RF stations, or so that they propegate out through the internet via a digipeater I-Gate (if one is in range) so that they show up on the APRS-IS backbone (e.g. aprs.fi).

You'll want a DAC or audio interface to get the most value out of these.

You can run these with a 3.5mm to 2xTS adapter but you'll be much more susceptible to grounding issues/noise.

The best solution would be to get a device that has balanced TRS/XLR output (both are electrically equivalent, pin-for-pin).

https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrs530bt/denon-avr-s530bt-5.2-ch-x-70-watts-bluetooth-a/v-receiver/1.html

Micca MB42X Bookshelf Speakers With 4-Inch Carbon Fiber Woofer and Silk Dome Tweeter (Black, Pair) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E7H8GG2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_0KIMAbACJDP4B

AmazonBasics 16-Gauge Speaker Wire - 100 Feet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006LW0W5Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_vLIMAbNV7J12N

Setup Specs:

• Asus VN247H - Monitors x3
  
• Corsair Vengeance K70 - Keyboard
  
• Razer Mamba 2016 - Mouse
  
• ATH M40X - Headphones
  
• Antilon Modmic 5.0 - Microphone
  
• Steelseries Qck+ - Mousepad
  
• Xbox One Wireless Controller (With PC dongle)
  
• RGB-W LED Strip
  
• Vonhaus Monitor Arm
  
• Desk Chair
  
• Dell XPS 15 Laptop (Old model, not available on www.dell.com anymore
  
• Logitech MX Anywhere 2 - Laptop Mouse
  
• PC Build
  
   
  
  Posters:
  
  
• Witcher 3 Poster
  
• Overwatch Poster
  
• The Division Poster
  
   
  
  Wallpapers can be found here
  
   
  
  The desk is a long story:
  
  I purchased this desk, but I turned out to dislike the white color and decided to paint it black, the paint job completely failed and ruined the table top(s). I decided to purchase 2 Ikea tabletops and attached them to the legs with kit making the desk bigger then the original with a smoother finish!
  
   
  
  Things I want to change/add:
  
  
• Purchase some kind of AMP/DAC because my motherboards soundcard is really bad. Ordered this amp/dac.
  
• Purchase headphone stand/hook. Ordered this headphone hook.
  
• Patch up holes in the wall under the middle and right monitor.
  
• Do something with the right side of the desk because it's ugly af.
  
   
  
  EDIT: I apologize for the poor quality pictures, I don't have anything better then my cellphone (Nexus 5X) to take pictures with.

It has an optical out so if you want a cheap dac/amp combo you could use the SMSL SD 793II and if your PC has an optical out you can use it with that too.

http://www.amazon.com/SMSL-SD793-II-PCM1793-DIR9001-Amplifier/dp/B00A2QLPJM

Also according to this thread on gamefaqs

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/691087-playstation-4/69310423

It does support USB dacs but I have no experience with this so you should do more research.

As for the 'flat' sounding of headphones I'm fairly certain the 598's are fairly efficient though I think an amp could possibly help tighten the bass region due to the 300ohm peak at 100hz IIRC.

http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD598.pdf

Something like E10k also has a bass boost which may be helpful if you find them too bass light. But that's usb so you should do research on that.

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2

Not to one up you, but there's this.

Something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/3-5mm-Stereo-Female-Y-Cable-6-Inch/dp/B000I23TTE/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1410806118&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=rca+-+1%2F8+femail

RCA - female 1/8 inch, assuming your computer speakers have the 1/8" connector.

It may not have a 3.5mm audio out, but does it have a component audio out (red and white plugs)? If so you can get one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Male-3-5mm-Stereo-Female-Y-Cable/dp/B000I23TTE/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1332977123&sr=8-7

That's really not a good way to do it. Line level audio is intended to transfer an audio signal between devices, not to drive headphones. You would be overloading the PS3's audio output, which is designed for loads of around 10k ohm, if you connected some headphones which might have an impedance 100 times lower. It would be quiet, you'd have no volume control and you'd likely get some distortion.

The right way to do it - the way which wouldn't overload the PS3's audio output and would give you adequate volume which you could control - is to use an amplifier. Practically any stereo will have the required line-in and headphone out, or you can buy a dedicated headphone amp. You'd need, say, an amp like this and a cable like this(if you wanted to connect it directly to the PS3).

I use this headphone amp to split my signal to RS, an amp, and a third line for recording raw guitar output.

With individual amps I can set levels for each output.

I have a couple audiophile quality headphones (newest being my Hifiman HE-400i). I use a cheap lapel clip-on mic along with a 4-pole y-splitter adapter. Plug the headphones and mic into their spots on the splitter and then plug the splitter into your controller (or Mixamp, which I use). Works great.

My current setup is A50s and a Modmic plugged into a Y-adapter that plugs into the adapter and so far it works amazing. Let me try to get you links:

-Modmic (incredible quality; built to last and made by a guy who's just starting up):
http://www.modmic.com/

-Y-Adapter: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004SP0WAQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1394242076&sr=8-1

-Sennheiser (better for gaming, however the sound leaks so others can hear your music at a low volume (cant be used in public places)) http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004FEEY9A/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1394242127&sr=8-1

-A50s (what I have; perfect for music and great for gaming; very private and doesnt leak sound very much):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000ULAP4U/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1394242250&sr=8-2

The modmic is magnetic and will stick
To your headset while having the ability to be taken off with ease to leave the headphones bare. The a50s are awesome for music and pretty good for gaming, but if you do gaming at about a 80-20 ratio to music listening than I would go with Sennheiser 558s or 598s. The y-adapter just allows you to combine both the headphones and the mic into one 3.5 mm AUX jack.

Total cost was about $165 (not including xbone adapter). Fairly good price for better headphones (structurally and sound-quality), ability to use everywhere and not look dumb with an attached mic, listen to music that sounds phenomenal, and speak in crystal clear quality to my buddies (who have already noticed how well it sounded in comparison to the xbone chat headsets).

TLDR: Get audiophile headphones, a modmic, and y adapter for a better and cheaper headset that can be used as normal headphones and as a headset (removable mic).

You need to 4 to 3 splitter. Then you can plug in the mic cable into the mic port and the speaker cable into the audio port. Here's a link StarTech MUYHSFMM 3.5mm 4 Pin to 2x3 Pin 3.5mm Headset Splitter Adapter - F/M https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058DOWH6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Y5BRub08HK731

I bought a 4 pole to 3 pole splitter (they can be found on ebay for cheaper) for my earbuds that have a mic on them. My tower only has a dedicated mic and dedicated speaker jack, so this is the low cost solution.

Turns out the splitter flips the audio channels on my earbuds so I have to wear them backwards while gaming. Took me about 3 games to figure out why I was calling out every position wrong.

MLB.tv

NHL Gamecenter

MLS Live

NBA Gamepass

NFL Gamepass

You can also watch NFL games free over the air with a cheap antenna depending on your location / how close to the broadcast towers you are. In my case I had to use this $45 outdoor antenna that I simply mounted in place of the old DirecTV satellite. I'm about 30 miles from towers and I could probably use a slightly larger one because occasionally I get a little bit of static or signal drop.

Even if you paid for every one of those streaming services and bought a $100 antenna you'd be paying less yearly than a cable subscription.

am i allowed to recommend Food Lab? I know there was some controversy with Reddit and Kenji on his participation (and whether it constituted free advertising or not).

Oh well if you have a cooktop, I use a great recipe I found. I just use a regular stainless steel pan.

1. Salt generously, then let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes
   
2. Heat to med-high heat with 1 tbsp ghee, let it start to smoke just a little bit then throw on the steak.
   
3. Cook, flipping every once in awhile, generally about 6 minutes.
   
4. Add 1 TBSP of butter and cook for another few minutes. Turn down temperature if it starts smoking too much.
   
   I do this almost every day and LOVE the ribeyes I get out of it.
   
   If you want the official recipe buy this book, it's changed my cooking life.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087/

Aight girl-

Foreign Cuisine-
How to Eataly - Oscar Farinetti - We made the most AMAZING brisket meatballs and a super simple yet completely delicious red sauce out of this book
Around My French Table - Dorie Greenspan - Where the Cornish hens and gougeres came from.
Real Korean Cooking - Maangchi - Korean Fried Chicken. We've made them twice now because they're so good and can't wait to do more.
Mexican Everyday - Rick Bayless - Learned how to make perfect guac from this book and so far we've made these v tasty chorizo/mushroom/potato tacos. The recipe is SO cheap and SO voluminous that we had it as a taco filling, a quesadilla filling, and we're making a hash with it for brunch this morning.
Every Grain of Rice - Fuchsia Dunlop - We haven't tried anything out of here yet but there are sooooo many good-looking recipes in here.
Entice with Spice - Shubhra Ramineni - Likewise, haven't made anything out of here yet but looking forward to trying it all out soon.
Jack's Wife Freda - Dean & Maya Jankelowitz - This is actually a book from a restaurant that my fiance and I LOVED when we last visited NYC. It's got a lot of fusion recipes. Mediterranean/Israeli/South African/etc. Really unique flavors and also v comfort-food based. We're making rosewater waffles out of this book tomorrow!


Baking-
Rose's Baking Basics - Rose Levy Barenbaum - This book is incredible. She has tons and tons of step-by-step photos which is SUPER helpful. We made the dark chocolate caramel tart out of this book, but pretty much everything in here looks amazing.
Modern Baking - Donna Hay - I mean... There is some INSANELY decadent looking stuff in here. We haven't tried any of these recipes yet but I can't wait to!


Misc-
Cook Like a Pro - Ina Garten - It was really hard to pick just one Ina book but I liked most of the recipes in this one. She has this ridic recipe for a dijon mustard chicken that is INCREDIBLE. Also, this bitch knows how to cook some veggies. Big fan of this one.
The Food Lab - /u/j_kenji_lopez-alt - I just love this guy, tbh. We've made a really fantastic beef tenderloin out of this book and an incredible red wine sauce to go with it and of course, his famous roasted potatoes which are now my holy grail recipe for roasted potatoes. This book is like a science textbook only instead of boring stuff it's FOOD science, which is my favorite kind.


Those were all the ones we purchased ourselves (though technically Eataly was a gift BUT we love it and plan to use it often.) We have other cookbooks in our stable that we've received as gifts, which is what resulted in my fiance and I deciding we wanted to embark on this journey. We kept being given cookbooks and never doing anything with them. But man, do people love it when you send them pics of stuff you cooked out of a book they gave you. If people give you cookbooks, use them!! It will make their day to see it's being used. Here's what else is on our cookbook shelf-


The Forest Feast Gatherings - Erin Gleeson - This is a vegetarian book my fiance's mom gave us a few years ago for Christmas. We have a bunch of veggie friends (and friends with a lot of different allergies) so we turn to this book to have a few things that are edible by all of them when we have them over, as we often do. This book has a really delicious salad that has pomegranate seeds, pear, and hazelnut that is out of this world good. I also got my HG salad dressing from this book.
The Salad Bowl - Nicola Graimes - Another gift from my fiance's mom. Is she trying to tell us something?? Honestly haven't looked much into this book yet but it sure is pretty.
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook - Dinah Bucholz - This was a gift from the assistant in my office. Everyone in my office knows me as the Harry Potter girl because I have a lightning bolt tattoo, haha. We haven't made anything out of this yet, but we probably will have some sort of epic feast with recipes from this book when GoT starts back up later this year.
Talk About Good - Louisiana Lafayette Junior League - My boss gave this to my fiance and I as part of an engagement gift. My fiance went to school in New Orleans. It's primarily New Orleansian/Cajun food. Haven't made anything out of it yet, but we are looking forward to it.

And that's what's on our cookbook shelf for now.

edit also omg thanks for the gold!! <3

I love cookbooks, and have probably fifty in my collection.

The ones I keep going back to are:

• Anything by Yotam Ottolenghi - He's an Israeli-born chef in London, and his recipes are a great combination of creative, relatively easy, and unique. He has a knack for combining unusual flavors, and I've never disliked anything I've cooked from him. If you're relatively green, don't get Nopi (too advanced). His other three or four books are all great.
  
  
• Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless. Bayless has a PBS show and owns several restaurants in Chicago. He's a great chef and his recipes are accessible and fun.
  
  
• The Food Lab by u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt. I was skeptical at first, since Lopez-Alt's website is so comprehensive, but the book is absolutely beautiful and contains both recipes and explanations of technique and science.
  
  
• Modernist Cooking at Home - It's expensive and many of the recipes are challenging and/or require special equipment, but the book is truly groundbreaking and never fails to stoke my creativity. It's the home version of his 6-volume tome which many think is one of the most innovative cookbooks in the last 20 years.

Well you can't go wrong with The Food Lab cookbook. It doesn't get too complicated and explains things very well.

A Victorinox Chef's Knife is about 40 dollars and will last him a long time and it can be cool to have one for him.

Jacques Pépin New Complete Techniques

The America's Test Kitchen Cooking School Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Become a Great Cook

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

From here you can move on to:

Institut Paul Bocuse Gastronomique: The definitive step-by-step guide to culinary excellence

&

Larousse Gastronomique: The World's Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia, Completely Revised and Updated

These are all great resources. Also look for culinary school text books and always youtube.

The resources are out there and with everyone having a different way to learn and adopt information the variety in options is tremendous. Good luck and keep cooking. If you have any questions please reach out and if I can help I will.

Food Lab.

Dude, don't be rude to people in your own thread.

How about the $14,000 hdmi cord. Don't forget to read the reviews. My favorite: a reviewer gave it 1 star because "it doesn't work with my VCR."

Just a heads up, you'll want to purchase one of [these] (https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Audio-upgrade-Sennheiser-Headphones/dp/B00KAKBHKM) to go along with it. The wire that comes with it is 10 feet long and the 3.5mm adapter is huge and clunky.

So this came to a surprise to me, just because I haven't had that much experience with this kind of gear.

Here are my notes:

1. Plugging in headphones (TRS) to the volca works fine.
   
2. Plugging in a stereo cable (TRS) to a normal stereo system works fine.
   
3. Plugging in a stereo cable (TRS) to a mixing board = huge amounts of white noise.
   
4. Plugging in a mono cable (TS) to a mixing board = works perfectly.
   
   I don't have enough details, but I think you're connecting your volca (stereo) to a line in (mono) and it's getting messed up because the mixing board is expecting mono.
   
   I figured this out by taking one of my 3.5mm TRS to 6.35 mm TS cable only using the T and it worked fine.
   
   My final solution was to buy a TS 3.5mm to TS 6.35mm cable for each of my volcas and everything works fantastically now.
   
   edit: if you're using a volca sample, which is actually stereo, you'll want to split the TRS to 2x TS and put it into two channels on your mixing board.

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-D3-Digital-Converter-Optical/dp/tech-data/B005K2TXMO

that will do what you describe.

That said, unless some labeling is obscured on your TV pic, it looks like that coax jack is an input.

Refurbished Yamaha RX-V473B 5.1 Receiver $299.95 (Free Shipping)

Monoprice Premium 5.1-Ch Home Theater System ~$270.00 w/ shipping

Monoprice speaker stand pair $15.01 (included shipping above)

100ft AmazonBasics 16-gauge speaker wire $9.43

15ft RCA Cable $9.99


Total = $604.38

You might want to consider changing those pads on the m40x. Went from stock to Brainwavz on my m30x (same pads) and the difference in comfort and sound is substantial.

Something like this

You can spend more and get one with balanced inputs, but even these cheap little ones work well.

You could always just get a headphone amp and separate powered speakers. In order to not break the bank but still have quality products, I recommend:

Headphone Amp


Powered speakers

Have owned both and can say you’ll be happy, especially for the price point.

In my opinion, you should only do that if you already have a good set of headphones/speakers that can actually take advantage of the increased sound quality from a card. If you're running WoT with a $20 set of stereo speakers, you'd get more "sound-quality-per-dollar" by getting a better set of headphones than you would with a sound card.

The other reason I came here is to recommend that you get a DAC that's external to the computer. They're undoubtedly more convenient for headphones (who's going to run their headphone cable to the back of the PC?), and arguably you reduce the amount of EM noise by taking the DAC outside of your computer rather than have it sit next to all of the computer's electronics on the PCI-E slot.

The last time I looked, the FiiO E10K was highly recommended for entry level price-to-performance.

Gaming headsets suck, period.

https://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-770-PRO-Studio-Headphone/dp/B0016MNAAI

Get yourself a nice pair of well reviewed closed back headphones. Open back leaks more noise and tends to have a little less bass.

Then you need a mic you can attach to the side like a regular 'gaming' headset, only except now your audio is high quality.

https://www.amazon.com/d/Computer-Microphones/Antlion-Audio-ModMic-Attachable-Microphone/B00R98JVVU

Then if you want to improve the experience a little more, grab an external DAC and headphone amp.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LP3AMC2

Best answer is probably/maybe. Here are some options at different price points:

$30 UCA202

$76 FiiO E10K

$100 Modi 2

$150 ODAC

So all speakers need to be 'driven' by an amplifier- meaning fed electric power to do their magic in addition to the sound signal. Powered speakers have the amp built-in so you just need to send the line-level sound (typically over RCA connectors) and the built-in amp will take care of the rest. Passive speakers, by contrast, do not have an amplifier, and expect one to drive them in addition to the sound signal. Almost always they are both carried over speaker wire like this (https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-16-Gauge-Speaker-Wire-Feet/dp/B006LW0W5Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503097133&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=speaker+wire&psc=1).

Those Dayton speakers are passive, so you will need an amp like the one you linked. I'm not familiar enough with that amp to give an informed judgment as to whether that amp is powerful enough to drive those speakers.

Also, for background, what the pre-amp (or phono stage) is doing is converting the very weak signal coming from your turntable cartridge to the line-level signal that external amps or powered speakers would expect. It also reverses the RIAA equalization put on records to sound better- it boosts the bass an diminishes the treble compared to what's cut on the record itself (if it was pressed without equalization, the stylus would bounce around in the groove because of the bass, and the treble would be too faint to play back reliably).

$80 would do it: Logitech Harmony Smart Control with Smartphone App and Simple All In One Remote - Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQ5RYI4/

You will need one of these cables

A little pricey but you will have the best AD4K experience.

What, you don't want to pay $13k for an HDMI cable?!

I have this this harmony remote and hub and until your comment, didn't know it worked over bluetooth. Thanks!

Looking at the details page of the Shield TV (non-Pro 2017 model), and in the customer Q&A, a person says:

> I have used that with a Logitech harmony elite remote which uses a remote hub to control the shield tv via Bluetooth. Looks like i should be good to go!

I'm just using the basic Logitech Harmony Smart Control.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQ5RYI4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8

Works like a charm and controls my TV, AVR, and Shield.

https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ/ref=sr_1_3/154-4758909-6057755?ie=UTF8&qid=1484137065&sr=8-3&keywords=AudioQuest+diamond#customerReviews

https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ/ref=pd_sbs_23_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00IL3TZSQ&pd_rd_r=DGEKYJ4BC9NDJTWP1B7B&pd_rd_w=W6dlo&pd_rd_wg=Kiyho&psc=1&refRID=DGEKYJ4BC9NDJTWP1B7B

Logitech is r/PCSound.

r/BudgetAudiophile is for better bookshelf speakers.

>This subreddit is for the budget minded audiophile that wants to grow out of boomboxes, bluetooth speakers and PC branded audio solutions (Logitech).

Lowest budget are:

• $50 6-1/2" 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker Pair and Hi-Fi Mini Amplifier Bundle
  
• $60 Edifier R980T Powered/Active
  
  If your 3.5mm analog output is giving you noise/interference, then use the optical output. You can add an optical DAC to anything with an Aux input: FiiO D3 (D03K) Digital to Analog Audio Converter $23.
  
  Home Audio Guides: Intro to home stereo systems • Zeos Tutorials, Diagrams and Videos • Guide to Home Audio • AverageJoeAudiophile's Guides
  
  Get Those Speakers Off Your Desktop/Shelf

Ideally, if you're connecting a PC to anything that makes noise, use an optical Toslink. Those are not electrically conductive, which means the only thing that gets transferred across is the digital sound data. Ground loops become impossible.

This obviously requires that whatever you connect to (an amplifier, or powered speakers) have an optical in. Alternatively, you could go with something like this https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Digital-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO

Without an optical out, you might wind up needing one of these, too: https://www.amazon.com/Signstek-Coaxial-Converter-Convert-Analogue/dp/B00FEDHHKE or something along those lines.

This all does cost more than a ground loop isolator, but it also doesn't do serious damage to the quality of the audio. It's better to break the electrical connection between the units than to try to filter out the 50/60 Hz line noise.

The Antlion Modmic would fit this need really well.

Or are you looking for something like this?

Something like this

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=sxts_kp_bs_tr_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=8778bc68-27e7-403f-8460-de48b6e788fb&pd_rd_wg=dbvVV&pf_rd_r=RBNP7VWXFTWQEFFDDP75&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-top-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B005HGM1D6&pd_rd_w=URFvj&pf_rd_i=3.5+mm+to+1%2F4&pd_rd_r=07adf82d-8513-4aec-8728-7bc3131f30fe&ie=UTF8&qid=1543252309&sr=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_0eCJwbBQKJXP3

A pair of LSR305s and this cable.

I bought these and put them on my m50s and now I can wear them forever. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MFDX4YO/ They do leak a tad more sound now, but nothing crazy.

They are solid, but just be aware, that Z only recommends those with different ear pads. https://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Velor-Memory-Replacements-Earpads/dp/B00MFDX4YO. It's an extra expense (only $20) but it might put you out of budget.

​

Also, you will want to eventually save up for an amp/dac combo unless you have a great motherboard. Most motherboards will be able to power the m40x, but you won't get the most out of them. A solid entry-level amp/dac is here: https://www.amazon.com/FX-Audio-Optical-Coaxial-Amplifier/dp/B072JJT7SF/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1549221478&sr=1-3&keywords=fx+audio+dac-x6

​

Also, the Cloud Hyperx 2 are actually some decent headphones. I'm not sure you will be getting that much of an upgrade going to m40x. If it's an option, wait, save up $50 and buy the Sennheiser hd58x Jubilees on Massdrop. You seriously won't regret it and your mind will be blown.

Yes you can

Doubtful, since desktop cases have so much more room compared to laptops or smartphones (where this is used), that it doesn't make economical sense to retool/redesign. Maybe some mITX cases?

You'll have better luck just getting a splitter.

> our HTR (Sony STR DN1030) does not have a true analog input that he can connect his phone to using a 3.5mm cable.

This is not correct. Your receiver has plenty of RCA analog inputs. A simple 3.5mm to RCA cable will connect the phone to one of the line inputs. You have at least two sets of RCA analog audio in's on the lower left (looking at the back).

$8 on Amazon or available at any Best Buy, Walmart, Target, etc.:

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-3-5mm-2-Male-Adapter-Cable/dp/B01D5H8KO2/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1497064068&sr=1-4&keywords=aux+to+rca

Check the link below:

AmazonBasics 3.5mm to 2-Male RCA Adapter Cable - 8 Feet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D5H8KO2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_mpfaCb2WZ9XBZ

It’s cheap and works well, if you don’t plan on using external DAC that cable should be all you need :)

Enjoy your Magni :)

You're going to need an amplifier to use them on your pc. I personally use a powered subwoofer that connects my speakers to my pc. You can find cheap amps on Amazon for like 20 bucks.

This one for example seems like it would work. Just plug your pc audio out into the audio input on the amp and connect the speakers via speaker wire to the terminals. I've used very similar devices with my bs22's and it worked great. You just may need an rca to 3.5mm adapter to connect your pc to the amp, like this one.

I'm bad at explaining things, if you have any more questions let me know!

On Amazon, search for "microphone splitter adapter" and find one that looks like this:

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-MUYHSMFF-Headset-Splitter-Adapter/dp/B004SP0WAQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1411316777&sr=1-3&keywords=microphone+splitter+adapter

Then connect the headphone part to a set of speakers. (if your sound system accepts Red/White cables as input, you can buy a 3.5 mm stereo jack to Red/White cable converter at many different lengths.) Then connect your pin mic to the mic connector and connect both to the controller via the adapter.

As the audio from the TV and the headphones might be different, I'd recommend connecting the headphone part to a separate set of speakers.

I feel for your condition. I don't like headphones either, but I don't have some condition.

Both will work, you just need to get one of these adapters if you don't already have one: https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-headsets-separate-headphone-microphone/dp/B004SP0WAQ

The surround sound (Windows Sonic for Headphones or Dolby Atmos for Headphones) will work on everything. No worries there. It's the mic monitoring (being able to hear yourself talk) that doesn't work with the original headphone adapter: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/accessories/headsets/stereo-headset-adapter

Mic monitoring DOES work on the newer Xbox One controllers that have a built in 3.5mm jack or the mini-keyboard attachment. I use the keyboard attachment on my old controller to get mic monitoring.

Here is the keyboard attachment I'm talking about: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/accessories/communications/chatpad

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-headsets-separate-headphone-microphone/dp/B004SP0WAQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1500711129&sr=1-1&keywords=StarTech.com+Headset+adapter+for+headsets+with+separate+headphone+%2F+microphone+plugs+-+3.5mm+4+position+to+2x+3+position+3.5mm+M%2FF

That's the problem. Here's what you will need: http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-headsets-separate-headphone-microphone/dp/B004SP0WAQ

Notice that this one has four conductors and yours has three. Don't waste your time looking in stores because it's very rare that anybody has it. Unfortunately you're gonna have to wait for shipping. You can find the same adapter on Newegg and Walmart.com if you would prefer.

You'll also need one of these. The splitter isn't going to work unless the bit that plugs into your controller is four pole (three black lines).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004SP0WAQ?ie=UTF8&at=&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

I use this to connect my Siberia v2 headset to the chat adapter and it works perfectly :)

If the microphone has a standard output in addition to USB, you could always try something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004SP0WAQ

It looks like it has 3.5mm mic and 3.5mm headset connectors. You'd need a 2x3-pole to 1x4-pole connector. I use this one from Amazon.

$13,500*

The questions section on Amazon for it are pretty great

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IL3TZSQ/ref=pd_sbs_23_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BA1259NXSAFFBVV7HPBD

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IL3TZSQ/ref=pd_aw_sim_sbs_23_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9K87MXWTXYRJKYT9Y0PA

At least you get free shipping.

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Audio-upgrade-Sennheiser-Headphones/dp/B00KAKBHKM/ref=pd_bxgy_23_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=EHKPX2AWKNBQKM46QMSZ

IIRC the HD598 uses a non-standard connector for the plug that goes into the headphones. It's actually not 3.5mm that plugs into the headphone but rather 2.5mm.

The HD 598SE (black version on Amazon) comes with a shorter cable that is 3.5mm without adapter if that interests you.

Otherwise, I believe there are unofficial "replacement cables" for the HD 598 that you can buy (I believe there are some official ones too but you have to scour the Sennheiser parts site) that are 2.5mm/3.5mm

http://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Audio-upgrade-Sennheiser-Headphones/dp/B00KAKBHKM

2.5mm is simply a size for the plug. You can do TRS (or TRRS) on a 2.5mm jack for balanced stereo audio.

As an example Sennheiser uses a 2.5mm end on their headphone cables to plug into the headphones themselves. Here's a replacement cable for Sennheiser headphones that is a 3.5mm male to 2.5mm male.

Or just a new cable like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Audio-upgrade-Sennheiser-Headphones/dp/B00KAKBHKM

This cable is a great replacement for the stock, preference for shorter high quality cable for your desk to amp/dac.

https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-LYSB00KAKBHKM-ELECTRNCS-Replacement-Sennheiser-Headphones/dp/B00KAKBHKM/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

If you want a recommendation, I have the FiiO E10K DAC, and it's great. The bass boost switch on the front is a nice touch.

Then just get a good set of regular headphones + a DAC. Head to r/headphones and get a good recommendation at your price point + Buy this DAC. Sennheiser HD 598's are a very popular "budget" option.

audio technica m40x/m50x's are also very good.

Are they 32/80/250 ohms? I'm guessing they're not 32 considering the amp in the back. What amp is that, also? Looks like this guy https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ but it's hard to tell for sure.

If you're willing to spend a decent chunk of money on a sound card, don't. Get an external DAC- it does the same as a sound card but is further isolated from interference in your computer. Some also have built in volume controls and mute buttons.

I use a Scarlett Solo with audiotechnica M50X headphones.

This is a good small DAC.
FiiO E10K Headphone Amplifier and DAC https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_Sh8FxbGKRG5TQ

And this is one which I use.
Focusrite Scarlett Solo 2nd Gen 2 in 2 Out USB Audio Interface https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01E6T56CM/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_Xi8Fxb55YAY5D


Edit: It's not worth it unless you have a good quality headphone set. I would recommend the audiotechnica M40 or M50 headphones for very good quality at low prices compared to other brands.

Why not get an external DAC/AC like this?

Yeah you need a larger antenna. Those flat antennas have never worked for me. There's a lot of marketing hype on antennas, but it usually comes down to height and direction. I've got one of these on my roof and I went from spotty signals with 3-4 channels to around 40 channels. I live like 20 miles from the signals I'm picking up too. I ran coax to every room in the house with a tv, sending them all to the basement, where I connected them all together with a splitter and sent the one coax up the side of the house to the roof.

WESH is the toughest to get, from my experience. I live near downtown Melbourne and here's what I did:

I have this antenna mounted to this pole and run into this amplifier, which then goes to all of my TVs. The pole must be placed as high as possible where the antenna can point towards the northwest.

I used this website to get the number of degrees the WESH tower is from my location, then used a standard compass to point the antenna directly at the WESH tower.

Not only do I get WESH, but I get every other OTA channel that I know of, and a whole bunch that I wish I didn't.

These should still strip HDCP: https://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Powered-Splitter-1080P-Model/dp/B004F9LVXC

​

Been using them for years to get DirectTV box HDMI into older switchers.

This is probably because of HDCP. You might be able to get it to work using an HDCP-compliant splitter like this one to strip the HDCP protections from the signal.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004F9LVXC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This will strip hdcp from any hdmi

The food lab is the book. The blog is serious eats.

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087

I don't really have advice on your original post, but I used to be just like you when it came to cooking. Cooking for me consisted of throwing a piece of chicken on my George Foreman grill until it was burnt (no salmonella for me!) and eating raw vegetables because they required no cooking.

There is so, so SO much info out there on how to cook. If you love watching videos, look up videos on YouTube. If you love reading, invest in some cookbooks. If you have a friend who loves to cook and does it well, ask him/her for some basic lessons.

Aside from my boyfriend who loves to cook (thankfully), I've learned the majority of my cooking skills through some great cookbooks. The Whole30 book has so many great beginner tips and delicious, obviously healthy recipes; even when I'm not doing Whole30, I constantly refer to this book for recipes! If you're a science/chemistry person, The Food Lab is pretty amazing.

I think a lot of people get scared of cooking because YES it can totally be daunting and time-consuming and hard! But it doesn't have to be. You don't need to make gourmet meals for yourself every night; just figure out some flavor profiles you love and recipes that are easy.

Kenji Lopez-Alt has perfected the perfect scambled eggs in the book The Food Lab

it is basically salting the eggs, waiting 5 minutes, then stirring as little as possible for a couple minutes and it makes the perfect fluffy scrambled eggs

https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1491628494&sr=1-1&keywords=the+food+lab

He's not being pretentious, he actually knows his shit. This is the guy who wrote a #1 bestseller cooking book (New York Times & Amazon)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Food-Lab-Cooking-Through/dp/0393081087

And was called a "cooking savant" by NPR

/r/seriouseats has a lot of his recipes.

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393081087/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_0ZLZBbEQMDFEA

If you love to read, then I completely back up those who recommended J Kenji Lopez-Alt's "The Food Lab". He also spends some time on /r/seriouseats, which I think is really great. Food Lab is great because it explains not only HOW to make a recipe, but the WHY a recipe works the way that it does, and allows you to expand your cooking skills. His is not the only book that does this, but I've read Salt Fat Acid Heat and The Science of Cooking and a good portion of the tome that is Modernist Cuisine, but Kenji's style of writing is exceptionally approachable.

But my actual suggestion to someone who wants to go from never cooking to cooking healthy meals at home is to watch the recipes on Food Wishes, because he shows you what each step of the recipe is supposed to look like, and his food blog is not filled with flowery stories, but helpful tips.

Another great online resource that I used when I started cooking about 5 years ago was The Kitchn. They offer up basic technique videos on how to cook proteins and vegetables that are really simple to follow for beginners.

My advice to you is this: don't feel like you need to dive immediately into recipes. First learn how to season and cook a chicken breast or steak consistently, and roast the different kinds of vegetables. Then just start jumping into recipes that you want to try. And don't be afraid to ask questions here :)

It's the recipe book written by Kenji Lopez

Das dazugehörige Buch ist aber wirklich das Geld wert. Da gehts nicht so sehr um Rezepte, als um Techniken die man ohne Probleme übernehmen kann um Sachen die man eventuell seit Jahren auf ne bestimmte Weise macht, noch ein wenig zu verbessern.

I had Kenji's cookbook in my hands last week and reluctantly put it back down. It's not running related...it's just geeky food science related. I'm a fan of Kenji and the whole group at Serious Eats

Lately, I've very much been enjoying Kenji's The Food Lab. I think it's worth the (ebook) price just for the chapter on fried foods.

I also keep coming back to The Flavor Bible, which has lists of how to combine ingredients for different cuisines.

If you want a valuable collection of recipes and have $50 to spend, get Cook's Illustrated's The New Best Recipe. It's supplanted The Joy of Cooking on my shelf.

EDIT: Corrected diagram based on suggestions below.

Made your solution plan into a diagram for clear graphical representation. The cables needed that Destiny probably doesn't have/didn't order yet:

• ORANGE line - RCA to 1/4" mono TS jack
  
  
  
• BLUE line - 3.5mm stereo to dual 1/4" mono TS jack
  
  
• PINK line - 1/4" mono TS jack to 3.5mm stereo jack

You'll need an amplifier, since those speakers are not powered.

This is a cheap amplifier, if all you want is for your setup to work.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007VMA6OU

And one of these 3.5mm to RCA cables to connect your turntable to the amp.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000Q6LSWM

And some speaker wire to connect the amp to your speakers.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006LW0W5Y

edit: listen to rpbtz's response. The sidebar has everything you need to know at this stage.

Alright, the problem here is your TV has no variable or line level RCA outputs. I'm going to offer a couple of options:

1. An optical DAC with a remote line level controller and powered monitors. DAC, Remote volume control, Really good sounding powered monitors. Wait til they go down to about $240 for the pair or buy them on massdrop now, you have 9 hours to decide. Totals to $300
   
   
2. Same setup as above, but will switch out the JBLs for something cheaper and totals to about $200. Wait til the Micca PB42X are in stock at amazon. They run $120. If you can swing for the JBLs, do it though.
   
   
3. The best option in my opinion, would be to get a cheap 5.1 receiver with an optical input. You can pair this with any pair of passive speaker you want, you can purchase a used receiver from craigs or ebay, you can add a center channel at a later date, and more importantly, you can add a subwoofer when your budget allows and have proper bass management with high and low pass filters and eq.

Here's a cheaper option for the OP if he isn't using anything fancy.

as far as cheap dacs this thing sounds pretty good to me, way better than it's $20 price tag

https://www.amazon.com/D03K-Digital-Analog-Audio-Converter/dp/B009346RSS/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=fiio+dac&qid=1563877792&s=electronics&sr=1-7

I use one at work so if it get's stolen I won't be heart-broken

Does the the tv have phono/RCA on the back? If yes you should be able to use something like this to get sound to the docking station and still get sound from the TV speakers.

A full setup that will record four local mics, max, or two local mics and a Skype caller. A choice of mics.

Behringer UMC404HD interface for $100 (needs a USB cable I think)

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UMC404HD-BEHRINGER-U-PHORIA/dp/B00QHURLHM/

Behringer HA400 headphone amp for $25

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-HA400-BEHRINGER-MICROAMP/dp/B000KIPT30/

Needs two TRS 1/4" stereo cables, one for the headphone amp and one for Skype. $10

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CSS-105-Balanced-Interconnect-Cable/dp/B000068NYF/

Behringer XM1800S three pack of good enough mics for $40

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-XM1800S-BEHRINGER-ULTRAVOICE/dp/B000NJ2TIE/

or a slightly better Behringer XM8500 at $20 each

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Ultravoice-Dynamic-Microphone-Cardioid/dp/B0002KZAKS/

or a very nice Blue enCORE 100 at $60

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-enCORE-100-Studio-Grade/dp/B002SQJL9U/

A couple 9-foot XLR cables for $12 or vary as you see fit

https://www.amazon.com/2-Pack-Cable-Male-Female-Microphone/dp/B074KYQ66J/

On-Stage, desk stand for $13 (lots of options)

https://www.amazon.com/Stage-DS7200-Adjustable-Microphone-Stand/dp/B0002M3OVI/

You need some RCA to 1/4" TS cables. Technically two though there are reasons up to four and this six pack is cheap at $8. Wish they were shorter.

https://www.amazon.com/GLS-Audio-Patch-Cable-Cords/dp/B0010XVYGA/

or you can get by with one of these.

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CPR-201-Stereo-Interconnect-Cable/dp/B000068O16/

and my personal favorite, the UCA202 for $30

https://www.amazon.com/BEHRINGER-U-Control-Low-Latency-Interface-Digital/dp/B000KW2YEI/

This gives you full Skype access to the other rig for Two local mics.

!

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-HA400-Ultra-Compact-4-Channel-Headphone/dp/B000KIPT30/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=monitor+mixer

If you're talking about something like the Behringer HA400, then there should be minimal (if any) effect on the sound when it comes to your monitors.

That said, your headphones might be another story. A lot of cheap headphone amplifiers have a resistor in between the amplifier chip and the headphone jack. Because headphones are low impedance (16Ω-60Ω) and this impedance changes with frequency, this can cause the frequency response to be different from what it should be. Your monitors have high-impedance inputs that won't be affected by this resistor.

Really, the only thing you can do (aside from opening up the headphone amp, if you're familiar with electrical engineering) is to do a listening test.

I pulled the dish down and mounted one of these on it's bracket.. I get every channel around. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_aEHwDbTXYGPB5

If your channels are all in the same direction just get a directional antenna as it will do better pulling in stations from further in that direction than an omni-directional antenna. Something like this RCA Yagi antenna.

I personally prefer -- uh trust -- something that resembles an old school antenna, but maybe that is just my bias and how well the antenna in my attic works that is an "old school" (pre-HDTV era) antenna.

Game engines use their own 3d stereo sound processing so virtual 7.1 isn't really worth much. I would recommend getting an external sound card (DAC/AMP). I would recommend this http://www.amazon.com/AUDIOQUEST-DRAGONFLY-V1-2-USB-DAC/dp/B00H00VLZQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1426275640&sr=1-1&keywords=audioquest+dragonfly or this http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1426275640&sr=1-6&keywords=audioquest+dragonfly

You could also peak around /r/headphones. There's a ton of discussion there about these things. There's no upper limit to quality or what you can spend on Digital to Analog Converters and Amplifiers.

You could also just search amazon for sound cards, but if you're only using it for headphones make sure you're not wasting money on cards that have speaker outputs. The one's I recommended aren't cheap, but you will appreciate the quality.

Black and Brown

Yep, just got myself some Brainwavz memory foam pads:
Brainwavz Replacement Memory Foam Earpads

Much nicer for my big head.

With the stock ATH-m50 pads, do they rest on your ears? The stock pads are rather small and round, not well designed for people with larger or sensitive ears. I replaced them with Brainwavz HM5 http://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Replacement-Memory-Foam-Earpads/dp/B00MFDT894

The pad is much more comfortable than the stock pad as it is more oval than round and my ears actually fit inside of the pad instead of touching it. The pleather is more supple and the memory foam more conforming to the side of my head. It makes a better seal and is more isolating.

I had a pair and they look very nice! The earcups are very striking in appearance. Kinda regret selling them.

The drivers are dynamic and are 20mm in diameter. According to a source, they were released in 1976 and ended production around 1982-83. They originally retailed for 6,000 yen or about 55 USD. I measured the impedance and they were around 50-60 ohms - I forgot the exact number.

Believe it or not, these are semi-open - there are some vents along the circumference of the brown backplate. Here's a picture of the location of the vents. If you open them up and tilt them at the right angle, you can see there are openings/vents.

Here's how the drivers look like. Surprisingly heavy drivers - weighs a bit like a D battery. The weight is possibly due to the thick magnets.

In one of the pictures I linked, I used Brainwavz earpads on mine when I had them. With the Brainwavz pads, not too amazing but warm and pleasant. With the original pads, I found them to be very honky and bass light. Might be worth a shot if you may be interested. Oh, and the original earpads are just adhered on - if you wanted to open them up or try the pads I linked, you can peel them right off though do it slowly so that the fabric underneath don't rip. The original earpads can be re-adhered with some glue-stick.

Awesome find btw! You don't see those around very often!

Nice. Something I did with my Pok3r was buy a set of the white keycaps.

Also, something you might want to look at for the Clouds is a pair of Brainwavz Pads.

An 1/8" (laptop/iPad) to RCA (KRK unbalanced in) cable. Don't try to go stuffing an unbalanced out into the 1/4"/XLR ins.

Optionally, a pair of HS8s.

One of these cables in the Red & White jacks on Channel 7-8 will work https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-3-5mm-2-Male-Adapter-Cable/dp/B01D5H8KO2?th=1

https://blog.jdslabs.com/2018/11/jds-labs-atom-amp-official-release-benchmarks/#comment-23006

they say "this year". If you can wait, you could wait for sure yeah :) you could just get the affordable Fiio E10k for now. It has line out which you can connect to Atom https://www.amazon.de/FiiO-E10K-Olympus-Digital-Kopfhörerverstärker-schwarz/dp/B00LP3AMC2

A good enough temporary solution for sure, there's plenty of people on /r/headphones still using one!

The HD598 were my first 'real' headphones. I did like them. But I felt they needed more. These have been my favorite auxiliary equipment. Before you completely give up on the HD598s give a DAC/AMP or even just an AMP at try. (unless you are using one already)

I had the same problem. Best way to get ride of this static would be to remove your analog audio from the inside of your computer.

I would get an external DAC/AMP or DAC/AMP combo. I use the FiiO e10k. $75 on Amazon It's a pretty good little DAC/Amp.

Do you have problems with any other headphones?

I haven't used the M40X's myself, but "headphones not getting loud enough" is generally one of the few, reliable, markers that you would benefit from upgrading to an amp.

The JDS Labs Atom is pretty much the gold standard for cost/performance at $100. You would probably want a dac too, or at least someway of switching from speakers to the amp without having to reach around your computer to the back to swap.

The FiiO E10K works pretty well, and is a dac/amp combo at $75 if you want an affordable all-in-one.

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2

I have a modest mid/hi fi collection going with my Shiit stack, THX-00, HD6xx, and HD598 (used with a mod mic as a headset for gaming). I told myself I was at my end game for a few years as I had a nice variation, but couldn't pass on a planar headphone for 300. The M1060 should be a nice addition to my collection.

The M1060 has a 50ohm impedance, so it isn't entirely possible that these don't need a robust DAC/AMP to drive them, but I'm sure a modest DAC/AMP would improve the sound quality of the headphones over your Macbook. I sometimes use my Macbook to drive my 6XX's (300ohm impedance) at work and it does alright, but the 6XX's do sound a bit better on my home setup.

I think a $100-200 investment in a DAC/AMP is worth while for a $300 headphone. Fiio E10k or the Shiit Fulla 2 would be good entry level options in the 100 or less catagory with numerous options in the 100-200 catagory. I'm sure you can get another 100 recommendations on other DAC/AMP combos, but I do feel you will notice an improvement over any phone or laptop.

Anyone know if $85 is a good deal for a [FiiO - E10K] (https://www.amazon.ca/FiiO-Olympus-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ref=gbps_img_m-5_ecbb_a1e6c9ea?smid=A2M1T9YSBKVQUY&pf_rd_p=84340fbd-d685-467b-9af3-676095dfecbb&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=14403644011&pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_r=N39KSQYZ8EYDJJR6N53C) dac? EXPIRED!

I want to point out that you don't necessarily need a RCA out. A standard 1/8" is fine as you can use a 1/8" to rca cable. My previous setup was Fiio e10k as a DAC into Topping TP22 into those micca speakers.

Properly powered, the 770-80 can deliver very deep, textured, powerful bass when the music calls for it. So, something is very wrong here :), but, it's an easy fix.

Low volume and poor bass response are the first indicators that headphones are being underpowered. You need an amp. Might I suggest a FiiO E10K? It has excellent quality and is cheap.

If you want the best HD signal on ALL channels I would recommend http://smile.amazon.com/RCA-ANT751-Durable-Compact-Outdoor/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417019675&sr=8-1&keywords=rca+ant751

The Rabbit Ear and other ones like the one mentioned by /u/barefootbandit8 are ok for getting a few channels to come in clear. However, you will find that you are constantly trying to adjust the antenna depending on what station you are watching.

By installing the RCA ANT751 in your attic, you will get more than 90% of your channels to come in crystal clear and you will never need to adjust your "rabbit ears". Take the time and money to install a long term solution. You and your family will be happy, trust me.

I would try a better antenna. I have used this in my attic for over 5 years. Make sure to use a quality coax RG6 quad shielded cable (something like this). Use AntennaWeb to help you aim your antenna.

With this I've been able to pick up CBS in College Station from Katy

Do you have issues with WXMI (FOX) and/or WOOD (NBC)? Those two are fairly close to the WWMT tower so it would be odd if you are experiencing problems with one but not the others. Check with http://tvfool.com and see if your antenna is pointed in the right direction, or something.

Joining two antennas could cause issues as the "static" from one might combine with the perfectly good signal from the other. They do make filters for this, but they are now hard to find in stock. For example Channel Master CM 0578 JOIN-TENNA. These will pass a certain channel from one antenna, ch 8 (which is ch 3.x, WWMT; Slightly confusing), and everthing else from another antenna.

I use a small yagi in my attic, but I'm not in a wooded area and have a good line of sight.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0024R4B5C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

I had great success with this antenna. My stations (all 28 available) are spread all around me. This antenna picked them all up, with the farthest away being GPB (PBS) 43 miles.

1. You need an HDMI Splitter that supports HDMI 1.3 to bypass the encryption. Like this
   
   https://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Powered-Splitter-1080P-Model/dp/B004F9LVXC?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00
   
   2 - Nope. You can't stream the PSTV to the Vita.
   
   3 - Sorta. The PSTV's PS4 Link doesn't have the second screen option. It only uses Remote Play.

Second one is what I have (or very similar I think they are all made by the same supplier) and it works perfectly, for the PS4 as well.

The one I use is this. Amazon link so you can compare to your eBay ones. It doesn't necessarily say that it removes HDCP, but It's the one everyone recommends. The reviews do say that some didn't work, so it's usually a small chance you'll get an upgraded model that doesn't strip the HDCP.

PROTIP: Many cheap Chinese HDMI splitters strip HDCP. Its usually an unadvertised feature, so check the reviews to make sure it works. Here's one I've used before.

If it's new enough and it only has a single jack it's probably a TRRS plug, meaning headphones and mic on the same connector. Simple adapter has that covered. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SP0WAQ

I've personally never heard of retasking a normal TRS headphone only port.

Actually your first image shows an adapter you would need on airplanes where they have those weird double plugs (whoever came up with those must've had a bit too much of something, amirite?).

What OP probably needs is this. This thing enables you to turn a single plug headset into a dual-plug headset so you can plug in the headphone-jack and microphone-jack separately like you would on most computers.

The opposite would be this which would enable you to use a regular pc-headset with 2 plugs to plug it into your single headset jack on your smartphone or macbook etc.

Here's the female to male connector version: https://www.amazon.com/d/Audio-Video-Cables/StarTech-com-Position-Headset-Splitter-Adapter/B0058DOWH6/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1481915575&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=3.5mm+4+position+to+2x+3+position+3.5mm+F%2FM

Here ya go

TRS cable out of your headphone jack -> split to two TS cables -> inputs of the 4 track cassette recorder

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP-159-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B005HGM1D6/

If you don't get the CCA, would a cheap TOSLINK DAC work? Something like

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009346RSS

for $20?

Imho, a DAC is the least of your worries at this price point. Use your onboard DAC and spend the money on speakers and amplification.

If you aren't satisfied, add the dac later when more funds become available.

$200 for amplified 2.0 IDM setup is still kinda tight, but it's a lot more to work with than if you spend half to a third of that budget on a dac.


How are you on space?

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/JBL/LSR305-Pair-Powered-Monitor-114697963.gc

alternatively you could get a starter dac if your pc output is terrible.

https://www.amazon.com/D03K-Digital-Analog-Audio-Converter/dp/B009346RSS/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1538513731&sr=8-9&keywords=fiio+dac


I've personally used this dac and found it quite acceptable with a nice system costing about 5 times what you are looking at. Truth be told, I'm now using a minidsp 2x4 hd and i doubt I could apples to apples tell the difference on just the dac functionality.

I bought one of these for the same purpose. There are some cheaper ones but I went with this one because I know the brand. It sounds great to me.

The FiiO Taishan is a good cheap DAC.

You could even power it from your TV, if it has a USB socket.

maybe try getting a simpler harmony remote? https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Control-Smartphone-Simple/dp/B00BQ5RYI4/

I recently got that one for my mom. it has no screen and looks like just another remote. maybe that'd help your wife get over her dislike since it doesn't look nearly as complicated as a 950.

Also, as another fix, you could just set the activity so the power button for the cable box is on the screen, or is one of the buttons on the remote that you don't need for something else. Then you just go to that activity, and if the power state is wrong, it's a single button press to fix.

Here ya go: Logitech Harmony Smart Control with Smartphone App and Simple All In One Remote $69

The Logitech Harmony remote and hub are back down to $70. It was this price last week.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQ5RYI4?psc=1

I was a longtime Harmony One user. And I decided to try the cheaper Logitech Harmony Smart Control (after the One finally kicked the bucket). And I love it. Give it a look and see if itll suite your needs.

Edit: link

I guess I shouldn't have let my mind go in that direction. There is also this HDMI cable on amazon priced to sell at $13,499.75 to consider: https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1472771011&sr=8-2&keywords=diamond+hdmi+cable

> AudioQuest

I really like their US$14,000 HDMI cable from amazon. :)

I would recommend you just get a small DAC with an optical input and RCA outputs. If you don't need anything but a stereo, digital-analog audio converter then it is very overkill. Fiio has something really small I was using at work, and it's perfect for this situation. Just run the optical cable from your motherboard.

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Digital-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO

Using an external DAC with optical will provide the least noise of all options (internal sound card, external DAC through USB, or optical) because no conversion happens within the PC. This also allows you a little more freedom of placement because you can get a longer optical cable and place the DAC where you need, closer to your speakers.

You can always get a Digital to analog audio converter, that is what i'm planning to do.

here's an amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/D3-Digital-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1376701898&sr=8-3&keywords=digital+to+analog+audio+converter

Here's Exactly what you are looking for. LINK
there are more inexpensive options, but this one is highly rated and comes with the optical cable

And then one of these to convert the Output (RCA) to 3.5mm
LINK


I'm going to be honest with you. By the time you buy this you would probably be better off buying an inexpensive surround souind with an optical input. Sony also makes wireless headphones that are compatible with the PS3 and PS4
I have this one and they work and sound awesome

Elite Version

Not unless you have a "headphone out" on your screen or you could use a DAC: http://www.amazon.com/D3-Digital-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1382205551&sr=1-1&keywords=DAC
That DAC would convert Optical to RCA then you could use a normal speaker set.

Yes, and far more expensive ones as well

Thats just an example.

That's amateur stuff.

"A lot better "ones" and more "zeros" in this cable!

I especially like the "ones", they are more "one" than what you normally would see in other cables. Very cheap cables tend to run out of zeros after you have been using them for too loud audio or video with a lot of blue in them. Not this cable, it has an abundance of zeros in reserve. It will keep feeding those zeros to your TV or Receiver like it's no tomorrow!

Very good cable WITH FREE SHIPPING! "

Pretty much any review on this. Though I guess they may not be in the spirit of this thread as I doubt anyone would take this seriously.

The reviews are just how one might predict, lampooning:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IL3TZSQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

First, find the right cable... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IL3TZSQ

I bought these a few years back. Turned me into a huge Sennheiser fan boy. The comfort and durability alone are notable. Add-in that the sound quality brings you into the realm of audiophile-grade and you have a huge reason to buy whenever they go on sale.

I have the 558 in my laptop bag for gaming on the go, a pair of HD518 for use with the Vive, and the Massdrop HD6xx on my main PC setup.

I've been wanting to grab another set for work, was hoping to grab the 598 and "complete the set." But this is tempting.

-----

I use the following replacement cables with mine:

• https://www.amazon.com/gp/B01IRCXC9S/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KAKBHKM/
  
  Along with this compact budget DAC/Amp for the 558 (Schiit Stack for the HD6xx):
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009WN7QT4/
  
  

https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-Replacement-Upgrade-Sennheiser-Headphones/dp/B00KAKBHKM/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1542952049&sr=8-2-fkmr1&keywords=Newfantasia+hd+598+cable

I have that one. Doesnt get tangled, sounds fine.

Get this:
http://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Audio-upgrade-Sennheiser-Headphones/dp/B00KAKBHKM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419909124&sr=8-1&keywords=hd+598+cable

If you have a phone case or something that restricts the 3.5mm jack, get this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Replacement-cable-with-Remote-Mic-connect-iphone-to-Sennheiser-HD598-HD558-HD518-/261280639444?pt=US_MP3_Player_Cables_Adapters&var=&hash=item3cd58a29d4

Give this cable a try.

I'm really enjoying the new Metallica album. The mastering/production is quite good. Death Magnetic borders on unlistenable with my 598's so I appreciate that they didn't make that atrocious mistake again.

Happy to be able to enjoy another Metallica album. Now if I can just stop wanting another pair of headphones...


Edit to include a link to the replacement senn cable for those curious.


1.2m Replacement Audio upgrade Cable For Sennheiser HD598 HD558 HD518 Headphones https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KAKBHKM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_dYfmybV2RS73V

I got these a few weeks ago and the cable it comes with is pretty long...

Got these to replace the original cable, they work great.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KAKBHKM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use this. It works for both my Sennheisers and M50x. Although, you'll probably have the same issue as it's only very slightly smaller.

I would recommend an adapter like this. Just leave it on the end of your cable all the time and you won't notice it.

Hey there! A few bits of advice from someone who's had M50x's for a while now.

• The ear pads that they come with are uncomfortable after extended use. I suggest purchasing these.
  
  
• If you haven't got one already, I highly recommend picking yourself up a DAC. Maybe this one.
  
  
• They should have come with three cables. One straight short, one straight long and one coiled cable. Use the coiled cable, because it's extremely durable. You can't accidentally tug it at an awkward angle and potentially damage something because it's like a damn spring.
  
  
• You can also purchase additional cables, even braided ones if that's your preference.
  
  
• Don't be a scrub and carry it around in the leather bag it comes with. Buy a hard case.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00MFDT894/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520265449&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=hm5+pads&dpPl=1&dpID=41vuwIZESZL&ref=plSrch

can i use one of these to use with this headset with the adapter for chat and game sound?

There are literally thousands of products on Walmart's shelves. You can't really expect minimum wage employees to have intimate knowlege of everything in the store. More than likely he just wanted to get you moving.

And jeez, how much did you spend on the thing? Here's one for six dollars.

Exactly, really need to watch out for the splitters. Even though this is the Canadian link, this is basically the one I'm using. Hope this helps OP.

You just need one of these adapters

The port expects a 4 pin connector (combined headset and mic), but you have two 3-pin connectors. You need to combine them with something like this -

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-muyhsmff-adaptador-divisor-auriculares/dp/B004SP0WAQ

The Q&A says it works with the console.

It will work with TRS/TRS to TRRS adapter like this one.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004SP0WAQ/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 get this.

An optical audio to analog converter box (http://www.amazon.com/Portta-PETDTAP-Digital-Optical-Converter/dp/B005DIRI6I/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1413822076&sr=1-1&keywords=optical+to+analog+converter) . I use one and it works fine, the only thing is the converter has a L and R output so unless your speakers each have their own input, you'll need an Audio Splitter (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I23TTE/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687542&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00004Z5CP&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0J626PGQ0VAXYV955QC0

use the deafult old school playstation out. take those red and white RCA cabes and run them into an Adapter don't worry about the yellow video one, just leave it out.

then plug your computer speakers into that adapter.
in Audio Settings you can chose to make the audio come out of the RCA connection and the video through hdmi.

I did this when I only had a computer monitor, works great. also allows for headphones.

You should probably be fine with your motherboard's built in audio, but if you're looking to get a little clearer low ends, this is a pretty good one for the price. Alternatively, you could purchase a DAC, which would function as an external sound card, and many have built in amplification as well.

A distribution amp is definitely the way to go - if you want to stay economical, you probably need something like this.

Hmm... Headphone amplifier maybe?

http://amzn.com/B000KIPT30 (or something like this)?

PBS is the most difficult channel to get in the Savannah area. I sometimes will get it with my ghetto "rabbit ears ziptied to the roof" setup here in midtown. PBS is 32 miles away (vs. 16 or less for most others) which is out of the range of the Leaf.

Get yourself a TVFool report: www.tvfool.com

A good economy antenna is the RCA/Audiovox ANT751. If positioned properly (WNW), you should have no issues pulling in PBS.

http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT751-Durable-Compact-Outdoor/dp/B0024R4B5C

Edit - /u/thebassdude is the local DIY antenna guru as well. Give him a shout, and/or check out some of the "build your own antenna" tutorials online. You don't need much more than some old wire coat hangers and a scrap piece of wood.

If you are a new cook, I really recommend The Food Lab. Sure, it has recipes, but it also tells you how things work and why instead of just “cook at 350 for 1 hour.”

The intro section has a great starter guide for tools and equipment as well. Basically, here’s a tool that you absolutely need. Cheap version, pros and cons, then high end version. Or here’s a tool that’s really handy if you like to whatever a lot, but if you aren’t cooking that much, you can get by without it.

Highly recommended. I bought most of my tools from these recommendations, and they’ve been great!

I put down 1491, not because I wasn't enjoying it, but because my BFF gave me The Food Lab as an early birthday present. I didn't think you could write a food book that reads like a novel, but I've been swept up in it since last Saturday. Anybody else read this?

The Food Lab by Kenji Alt-Lopez is a must own cookbook in general

Nå folkens, der er snart gået et år siden Skodbil sidst mæskede sig i fødselsdagskage, og det betyder at successen skal gentages. Fødselsdagsgaver er for lang tid siden gået fra at være Lego og våben, til at være sokker og bøger.

Derfor skal der nu nogle gode kogebøger på listen. Jeg er ikke så meget på udkig efter opskriftsbøger, men mere ude i at ville have kogebøger som jeg rent faktisk kan lære noget af. Jeg har allerede følgende på listen, men hvis DU kender en helt vildt god bog jeg bør læse, så sig til.

Sølvskeen

The Food Lab, Kenji Lopez

Chocolate at Home

Paul Bocuse Institut Gastronomique

The Professional Chef

The Flavour Bible

Mastering Cheese

Der er med vilje ingen vinbøger på listen, for det gør jeg mig ikke specielt meget i - endnu.

I use an ultra basic setup to connect my LSR305 to my desktop PC which does not have a dedicated sound card (motherboard audio jack only).

I plug a 3.5 mm to stereo RCA female into the motherboard's audio jack and then use these RCA male to 1/4" TS male cables to connect to the speakers.

I've set up numerous jenky make-it-work turntable-to-soundcard lines to sample so I'll try to give you a few options...

(1) Any decent turntable without a built in preamp (look at beginner turntable guide) and this could be new or used --> into a preamp (this is necessary for this setup) --> run RCA-to-1/4 lines into the back of the Apollo Twin (line 1 and line 2), this will keep your left and right channels separately. You need to make sure you can record into both at the same time. You could buy adaptors for your RCA line or a specific RCA-to-1/4 cable. Note: I'm giving you links to cheap ones.

• With this option you could probably buy a decent used turntable for about $100 and a decent preamp for $50-100.
  
  (2) Buy a turntable with a built in preamp and do the same set up without a dedicated preamp. So, it would go turntable with preamp on running RCA-to-1/4 cable straight into back of your soundcard. Best options for a new one would be the Audiotechnica LP120 which is about $300 or the Stanton T92 for about $250-300. I personally think the stanton is slightly better on its stats but not by much and the stanton doesn't come with a hardcover, which kind of sucks. However, the stock cartridge on the stanton (Stanton V500) is a DJ cartridge that can take more damage and you can stop it, start it, and back cue and not worry about damaging the stylus or your records. The stock cart of the LP120 (AT95E) is a much better listening cart but you cannot back cue anything or start or stop on the fly without damaging the stylus.
  
  (3) Buy a turntable with a USB connection and plug in straight into your computer or the USB port on your soundcard (Edit: just realized not all of the Apollo Twin versions have USB inputs, so this might not be feasible, unless you plug straight into your computer). You could pick up Audiotechnica LP120USB which is about $300 or the Stanton T92 for about $250-300. USB port on turntables do not give the best sound quality however and you would probably better to go with one of the other options.
  
  Overall, I think option 1 would be the cheapest route and be a good option if you eventually getting into vinyl as a medium for listening. Also, these three options are specially tailored to your setup and there are other ways to do this. The best quality for vinyl to digital is to have a nice soundcard on a desktop that has dedicated RCA inputs and then you don't have to use adaptors.

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CPR-202-Stereo-Interconnect-Cable/dp/B000068O17/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1522242911&sr=1-3&keywords=rca+to+1%2F4

Surely my friend.

For those wondering what you'll need to get this setup, here's the other items I chose to purchase:

Table: Audio Technia 60 non blue tooth edition

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-LP60-Automatic-Belt-Drive-Turntable/dp/B002GYTPAE

Speakers:
Micca MB42 Bookshelf Speakers With 4-Inch Carbon Fiber Woofer and Silk Dome Tweeter (Black, Pair)

https://www.amazon.com/Micca-MB42-Bookshelf-Speakers-With-4-Inch-Carbon-Fiber-Woofer-and-Silk-Dome-Tweeter-Black-Pair/dp/B009IUIV4A/ref=cm_cr_dp_mb_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8


Speaker wire:
AmazonBasics 16-Gauge Speaker Wire - 100 Feet
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-16-Gauge-Speaker-Wire-100-Feet/dp/B006LW0W5Y/ref=cm_cr_dp_mb_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8


Mini-Amplifier:
Seeduck Lepy lp 2020a Class-D Hi-Fi Audio Mini Amplifier with Power Supply Lepy Amplifier LP2020A
https://www.amazon.com/Seeduck-Lepy-lp-2020a-Class-D-Hi-Fi-Audio-Mini-Amplifier-with-Power-Supply-Lepy-Amplifier-LP2020A/dp/B01HRR5AWQ/ref=cm_cr_dp_mb_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8

It was about $230 all together from amazon.

You're going to need the following.

1. Amplifier - no amp no sound. You can use something like a Lepy mini amp $25 if you're going for a desktop set.
   
   
2. Speaker wire $10 - You can use speaker wire to connect the speaker and the amp as the Dayton has high level inputs. Run the speaker wire from the amp to the Dayton then from the Dayton to the speakers.
   
   
3. 3.5mm to RCA $10 - You'll need this to hook the phone to the amp.

Basically a USB sound card (DAC/AMP)

That is static noise from your PC. It happens because you propably have an onboard sound card. Your other PC parts interfere with it and disrupt your sound. The only way to fix this is to get an external sound card. Something like this. I had the same Problem after i got New speakers.

http://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Replacement-Memory-Foam-Earpads/dp/B00MFDT894/ref=pd_bxgy_23_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1FCF8R3ZN881WM3K6J4T

They look kind of brown in the picture but they're really black

These are earpads i use for my m50x's they are really comfortable.
Brainwavz Replacement Memory Foam Earpads - Suitable For Many Other Large Over The Ear Headphones - AKG, HifiMan, ATH, Philips, Fostex (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MFDT894/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9vnCCbC56HZ82

I finally got my X2's and wowow for gaming these are a must. Thank you for the recommend and videos. Wanted to follow up woth a questing regarding an AMP for my PC. The PC can drive the headphones with my onboard but for music via itunes or movies I can't get the level in volume i like which is generally loud. I know you mad an AMP video, but I was wondering if i get a USB amp like a AMP
There wouldn't be a problem using an AMP with a headset that also is using a mic? Would the microphone function still work if I have the headset plugged into an AMP?

I believe this satisfies your criteria.

This was my first dac/amp.
https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2

I still keep it for travel.
Will drive up to 250Ω.
Sounds fantastic too. Would recommend.

I can't wear earbuds for more than a few hours at a time, so I have Koss Porta Pros. Unbelievable sound in a very portable package, and I have them paired with a Fiio E10K that filters out any line weirdness. I used to have a shitty work laptop that had awful grounding, so the amp was super useful. Now I just use it because it sounds good :)

Welcome the the Grado club - three actual Grados have passed through my collection, and three hybrids as well.
For tinkering and modding, there's nothing better, IMO.

I found several reasonable DAC/amp units that improved the ride, as it were.
My early favorite being the Fiio E10K - compact, USB-powered, not hard on the budget.
If you can leave it on the desk, the Massdrop O2 + SDAC DAC/Amp is a winner,
but beware of Massdrop - their temptation fu is strong. :-)

To do both DAC and DAP, lurk eBay for an iBasso DX90 - I never go anywhere without mine.


Agreed that they really shine with 'classic' production - late 60s to mid 80s analog path,
but also considerate modern artists like Spoon and Andrew Duhon,
maybe Isis and Animals as Leaders on the heavier side.

The folks at Head-fi.org have a couple opinions about the Brooklyn Sound, too.

I would recommend a pair of HD 598's and a headphone amp. Or the AKG k701/q701.

I own the HD558, and Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro, and I use them in conjuction with a Schiit Magni. My favourite for comfort and overall audio quality is the HD558. If I want some more bass in my music I switch to the DT770 Pro.

Take a look at this

Edit: I'm assuming you're using onboard audio. If so, take a look at a amp/dac combo like this

Edit2: You guys in the UK get some great prices. Here's the DT990 Pro. Definitely want to get a headphone amp with this guy.

Depends on your price range. Check out fiio dacs for entry level. Schiit modi and magni for mid/higher level. There are many options for dacs and amp/dac combos. I use the e10k which is an entry level amp/dac.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00LP3AMC2?pc_redir=1413260811&robot_redir=1

Pads are easy to replace. These should fit and not alter the sound too much.

Also is this the ones you bought? There are many that show up on Amazon but I can't find one with the exact model "HM5" (I think that's just a headset they make) https://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Replacement-Memory-Foam-Earpads/dp/B00MFDT894/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2Q827FRQS425L&keywords=brainwavz+hm5+pleather&qid=1563778855&s=gateway&sprefix=brainwavz+hm5+pleathe%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

Don't forget if you want these to FEEL good you have to spend twice as much.. As you need the $19.50 Brainwavz pads to throw on them.

I have these and I love them. The sound quality is pretty decent. No issues hearing anything or with my friends hearing me. In audio lag either. The one thing I will recommend is changing the ear pad. The new pads help change the sound and provide a ton more comfort.

https://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Replacement-Memory-Foam-Earpads/dp/B00MFDT894/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?keywords=brainwavz&qid=1557054224&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&th=1

I've owned several over this generation. Turtle Beach XO Seven, Microsoft Stereo Headset, Astro A40, Sennheiser Game One, HyperX Cloud II, Plantronics RIG 800LX SE, HyperX Cloud Alpha, and beyerdynamic MMX 300. I keep coming back to the Cloud Alpha. $100, and it's the perfect blend of sound quality, comfort, and simple controls. I went a little further and added $30 Brainwavz HM5 earpads. Can't recommend it enough.

An audiophile's review of the Cloud Alpha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDeI4t7sR4g

Here are the main parts:

Bluetooth receiver - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008AGQMQC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3.5 jack - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C3RFHDC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

side button - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYZSEVB/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You could probably find cheaper options. I just bought a lot because there wasn't really any tutorials out there on doing this. Other stuff you would need are a soldering iron, a dremel, and some wires, Also, please get better earcups if you haven't already - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MFDT894/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here are the internals: https://imgur.com/gallery/N91espA

I have the m50x with the Brainwavz HM5 pads. The difference in comfort is night and day. The default pads on the m50x hurt like hell after about an hour of wear for me. The HM5 pads are little heavenly pillows. Sadly, the bass really suffers.. and I had to ramp it up a bit in software to compensate. Using mine with a Fiio E10k, even with bass boost enabled, it isn't enough to balance things out back to stock.

For those that have big ear and head. Here are the the [Brainwavz Earpads] (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MFDT894/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) that should work well with these.

From personal experience, the padding's are a must for any pair of headphones. They're just so comfy.

Edit: Check the additional promotion underneath the price. There should be an additional 15% when you purchase one or more of the padding.

The only real answer:http://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Velor-Memory-Replacements-Earpads/dp/B00MFDX4YO

its a bit of a pain to put them on properly.
But I did it to my older set of HD598s and it brought them back to life.

Definitely recommend these ear pads for the 598.

Have tried both - the fuzzy versions of these are so much more comfortable IMO - subjective of course, but with the fuzz you don't get ever sweaty, they breathe.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MFDX4YO

They are actually amazing if you replace the pads with these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MFDX4YO

https://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Velor-Memory-Replacements-Earpads/dp/B00MFDX4YO

The cable is a mile long, you could walk across the room before it yanked. If you're playing at your desk (PC?) then you'll be fine, the cable won't wear or fray. These headphones are amazing, I love them. In about 8 months your ear pads will start to feel like they suck, that's because the foam has broken down. I just got these and my 700Xs are brand new again.

I have the M40x which I think is pretty similar. How do these go on? Do you take off the old pads first or do these go on top of the ones already on there?

Was thinking about buying these velour pads, been on my wishlist for 24 dollars forever.

http://amzn.com/B00MFDX4YO

On amazon it's from mp4nation.net's amazon store front.

You need one of these...

https://smile.amazon.com/Maeline-Female-Plated-Headphone-Splitter/dp/B00PYZ2BT4/ref=sr_1_7

Uhhh... Maybe.

I'd go with something like this...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PYZ2BT4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_TDQOybBVYZNSS

Like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PYZ2BT4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Ryw5CbGQ99V9B

The Kraken Pro has a 3.5mm combojack, usually found in cellphones and laptops. You'll need a splitter for your PC. Something like this.

You can use an audio USB adapter. If the headset cable terminates in one plug, get a Y-splitter or another adapter with a single TRRS jack. If the cable isn't long, then just use an aux extension cable or a USB extension cable.

HyperX Cloud Stinger

Steel Series Flux

And this cable

I have both and use them pretty interchangeably. Don't let the price $25 fool you on the Flux. It is an excellent headset (https://www.engadget.com/products/steelseries/flux/scores/).

The description is wrong. The PS4 uses a 4pole 3.5mm connector. To use the headset with a PC just get a splitter

Is this what you are looking for?


Maeline 3.5mm Female to 2 Male Gold Plated Headphone Mic Audio Y Splitter Flat Cable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PYZ2BT4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wCl3Db8CKATWZ

Yeah.. there are adapters to turn the single aux on your headphones into 2 separate mic/headphone connectors.

You need something like this

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PYZ2BT4/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_vS8Xzb3M6HSCV

You actually have one of the best android devices for that second to the LG v20. It supports Bluetooth and USB microphones. Otherwise get a splitter like this

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00PYZ2BT4/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1486925540&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Headphone+mic+splitter&dpPl=1&dpID=41p4oX5fWXL&ref=plSrch

Go to the galaxy apps store and get the stock voice recorder it works great. It'll record with dynamic gain so no matter how loud it still won't distort. You can scream into it and it'll sound fine. It's amazing.

There are also great Samsung pro audio solutions too that'll let you do professional 24 bit recordings with live processing

Should work with something like this: https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-MUYHSFMM-Headset-Splitter-Adapter/dp/B0058DOWH6

That splits the single integrated 4 pole 3.5mm from the headphone/mic into 2 separate 3 pole 3.5mm. One for the headphones, the other for the mic. Then you just have to plug those two into their respective ports on the Mobo.

Something like this might work

What your headset has is a 4 pole TRRS jack, which means that it combines both headphone output and microphone input in one wire. The way to have both elements recognised by your computer is to get a 4-pole TRRS to 2x 3-pole TRS adaptor so that you can plug the headphone output and mic input into separate jacks.

Something like this would work:https://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-Position-Headset-Splitter-Adapter/dp/B0058DOWH6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1480274772&sr=8-5&keywords=startech+4+position

Guessing the headset only has a single jack? If so you'll need an adapter like this (4 pole to 2x3 pole) to split it into mic+headphones.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-Position-Headset-Splitter-Adapter-Black/dp/B0058DOWH6

My setup is quite simple

• StarTech MUYHSFMM
  
• StarTech.com 2m 3.5mm 4 Position TRRS Headset Extension Cable
  
• Skullcandy Smokin Buds 2 Mic
  
  The beauty of this setup is that you can use any headphones with inline microphone and it'll work well for the most part, which is nice.
  
  Still cheaper than most gaming headsets and you can have a nicer sound quality :)

You have a balanced XLR input and it's only playing the difference between the left and right channels. You're playing a track that has the instruments panned left and right, and the vocals relatively centered.

First, what you want is something more along the lines of this 1/8" to 1/4" breakout cable. If you have a free stereo channel, plug both 1/4" plugs into there, otherwise just plug it into two adjacent mono channels, pan them all the way left and right, and adjust them together.

Second, you should know that most mixers can supply 48V on their XLR inputs. Condenser microphones need that, dynamic mics don't care, but laptop audio ports can fry. 1/4" jacks are safe, though, so always prefer them above XLR for computer/phone/iPod type input.

It will be easy to find out. Plug your headphones into the female end. Plug one of the two male plugs into your keyboard and play something. If you only hear sound in one ear, you're good to go.

If you want to go dual 1/4" male into a single stereo male mini plug, you can buy that cable here.

Keep in mind that depending of the quality of your keyboard's internal grounding circuitry, you could get some hum and/or phase issues, but probably shouldn't have any problems.

Yamaha HS monitors have 1/4inch TRS and XLR inputs (no RCA as far as I know), so if you wanted to use them with a desktop without any/minimal extra hardware, you could get a 3.5mm to dual 1/4 inch cable (like this); 3.5mm goes into your computer's headphone jack, 1/4 inches go into the monitors.

Someone else can probably give better advice on whether or not to buy a DAC/interface. I use HS7s and I plug them into a Scarlett 2i2, which has 1/4 inch monitor outs. There's also a 1/4 inch headphone jack with separate volume knobs, so I can switch between monitors and headphones without much fuss. I'm pretty happy with that setup, but a 2i2 might be overkill just for that alone (I use it for recording from XLR mics as well, that's its main purpose).

If you're using a USB headset, you can keep them plugged in for both of the above approaches and switch audio devices via your OS when you need them.

Gotcha, so something like this then?


https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP-159-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B005HGM1D6


Thanks for the quick reply!

I think there is a tech support sticky...but...my thought is that your 3.5mm to dual 3.5mm is splitting the stereo signal into two separate stereo signals (like for plugging in two sets of headphones for two people to listen at the same time). You want something that splits the stereo signal into separate left and right to go into your speakers, or just a cable like this.

You're going to need a mixer, to take the audio from the microphones and the karaoke backing track and then put out the final version (also some people sing louder than others so you'll need to be able to adjust individual volumes).
This means you'll also need an amplifier, as most TV's don't have an audio in connection.
This means you'll also need speakers.

You could look at getting some decent amplified speakers, you only need one if you're doing this in a home.

Lastly, look into something like Karafun initially as the software. You can take out a 48 hour subscription for about £5 and then you have access to all their songs. Just read about no internet at farm, not even wireless data that you can tether via mobile phone?

So to recap, you need to purchase:

• Microphones (those KAMs will be fine)
  
• 2 XLR cables to connect microphones to mixer (two of these for instance http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stagg-High-Quality-Microphone-Cable/dp/B002YUAK54/)
  
• Mixer (only needs to be a small four channel one, something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-802-Input-Bus-Mixer/dp/B000J5XS3C/)
  
• Cable to connect audio out on laptop to the mixer (this needs to be a stereo 3.5mm connector to dual mono 1/4" connectors like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/HosaTech-CMP-159-3-5mm-Stereo-Breakout/dp/B005HGM1D6/)
  
• Either an amp + speakers, or, a powered speaker (something like this http://www.whybuynew.co.uk/speakers/qtx-sound-paj12a-paj-12a-active-speaker.htm)
  
• A cable to connect the mixer to the speaker, or amplifier, so a 1/4" to phono cable (make sure it's a long one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stagg-STC3PCM-Twin-Phono-Cable/dp/B0030LWZDG/
  
• A long HDMI cable for your laptop (I'm assuming based on your post that the laptop has HDMI out)
  
• Software, look at Karafun, it's likely to do what you need and has all the songs
  
• Look at http://KaraokeDownloads.ca, it works out about £0.62 a song if you buy a 75 song credit pack from them
  
  Random question, I gather you're UK based, are you anywhere near London?

To send/receive MIDI you need MIDI to USB interface.

To receive audio signal you need dual 1/4 TS cable to 1/8” TRS cable.

Option1: Money is not an issue:

OP you’re best bet would be a audio interface as it allows you to connect your keyboard plus so much more.

Something like this:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Scarlet2i4G2--focusrite-scarlett-2i4-usb-audio-interface

And midi cables and TS cables




Option 2: Money is an issue/not ready to for a audio interface:

MIDI to USB built into MIDI cable:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0719V8MX1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UBGmDbDYWDC3D

1/4 TS to 1/8 TRS:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_XCGmDbF1750Q2

If you like to pump your bass, then I recommend the JBL LSR 305 for $89 each. https://www.amazon.com/JBL-Professional-LSR305-First-Generation-Powered/dp/B00DUKP37C/

The LSR305 are studio monitors that compete well in overall SQ with the best powered speakers <$500. IMO, they have better midbass and deeper bass extension than many other speakers their size. For example their lower end rated response is 43hz for their 5" drivers vs. 60hz for those Edifiers with the smaller 4" drivers. I think realistically, they have solid 50hz performance (and likely the Edifiers would be more like 70hz).

Tons of professional reviews for those speakers as they have been popular for years.

You would need to also purchase a special cable to plug it into your computer: https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP-159-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B005HGM1D6

Do you have a headphone jack on your TV? If so you could get something like this and run it from that into the Aux on that speaker.

Then for power, it looks like a standard power connector which you could use something like this.

Obviously since it is a single speaker, you won't get any L/R separation.

http://www.jblpro.com/www/products/recording-broadcast/3-series/lsr305#.VtfW7pJriM0

Click the 2nd picture. It uses XLR or TRS (1/4" mono) connectors. You can use a 3.5mm to 2x 6.3mm mono (read: 1/4") Y splitter.

Translated: You need a cable that takes your 3.5mm stereo and makes it into two 1/4" mono.

(You should have a 3.5mm output from your motherboard's audio. But hopefully you'll buy a dedicated DAC if you want better audio.)

http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP159-Stereo-Breakout-10-Feet/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=pd_bxgy_267_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1MRSZFN3VTTRTHXTX1PW

That kind of cable. You can use 1/4" mono audio extension cables if you've got longer cable runs.

NOTE: Your link is for ONE JBL LSR305. You'll need two if you plan to run it in stereo. Just sayin'

You just need this - https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP159-Stereo-Breakout-10-Feet/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1403569361&sr=1-1&keywords=hosa+3.5+stereo+to+dual+1%2F4

Connect it to both speakers and the jack goes to pc and configure your soundcard to output stereo instead of 5.1 (I am not sure about this part since ive never used 5.1)

Also your speakers will work in single ended mode which is ok if the cables are not too long.

Yes, using adapters like this or this you can connect them to unbalanced sources using 3.5mm TRS or RCA respectively.

Purchasing them individually will be fine. Each one should come with a power cable. Using them as a pair, each one will need to be plugged into power, and you'll need to connect each one to a signal. The speakers operate completely independently of each other. So to plug it into a normal 3.5mm source, a 3.5mm to 1/4" TS (mono) cable is what you want. XLR should only be used when your source is balanced, which a 3.5mm port from a computer motherboard or phone for instance is not. I used this exact cable with my BX5 D2s for a while until I got an audio interface and went XLR.

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP-159-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1500337888&sr=8-4&keywords=3.5mm+to+1%2F4+ts

My Christmas gifts have complicated my computer setup and I am wondering if a Schiit Uber stack is the answer.

I got myself a pair of JBL LSR305's and was gifted some Sennheiser 598's.

Currently using this cable to connect the LSR305's to my computer with no easy way to use the headphones or connect my ps3.

The way I picture it working is the computer connecting to the Schiit Modi 2 Uber via USB and the ps3 via optical, with the output running to the amp.

The amp is where my questions are. With the 305's connected to the Magni 2 Uber, will the volume knob control the speaker volume when no headphones are connected? Also, will the output automatically switch over to headphones when I plug them in to the Magni?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HGM1D6/

since you need to get it tonight, i would check at a music equipment store, like Guitar Center, or similar.

Those included cords will not cover all of your needs since the Scarlett Solo does not have TRS or XLR output. You could actually just plug this into your computer's headphone jack (if the DAC is good). What's the point of the Scarlet interface other than a volume control knob? It just seems like a lot to spend at your budget if that's its main use.

I'd recommend to stick to reputable brands -

• https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP-159-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B005HGM1D6/
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-3-5mm-6-35mm-Breakout/dp/B07PJTP7DR/
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/GLS-Audio-Y-Cable-Splitter-Cord/dp/B0064P4F88/

You need one of these cables.

yes.

Depending on your mixer, all you need is this: https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP-159-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1522086784&sr=8-4&keywords=1%2F8+to+trs

plug into headphone jack, plug into 1/4 inputs on mixer.

I personally recommend the Klipsch ProMedia as the best sub-$200 option. Sound is really solid and it's definitely got the bass. Plugging your computer in is straightforward and I believe the newest version has bluetooth as well. Best Buy used to have it as a demo with their computer speakers, not sure if they do anymore.

A better option might be studio monitors like the JBL LSR305/LSR30X which are also an insane deal. You'd need to get a bluetooth adapter and you'd need to worry about inputs (many studio monitors take 1/4" or XLR, which would require janky adapters (probably won't sound great out of a headphhone out without something like this) or a dac/audio interface like this or this. The JBL approach will get you a better sound (more accurate to the music, more balanced sound, magical amazing beautiful and perfect imaging) but will probably be a bit above what you'd like to spend. Most of that stuff can also be bought used if you are okay with that.

I would try and stretch or save up a bit for the monitors. They're a pretty solid step up from most all "computer speakers," and the JBLs in particular are one of the best bang-for-buck deals in audio that I've seen.

Best of luck, and feel free to shoot me a PM with more questions or what you decide to do!

Yup.

these are my favorite for hand held PO noodling since they keep the cable neat cooked up like that. Takes up less room than a straight 3’ cable would.

And these guys are great for a nice solid desktop setup.

Depending on how you record or mix the output, you may want to pickup a 3.5mm to 1/4” breakout cable to deal with any stereo/balancing issues you might encounter.

Those loudspeaker jacks on the left side are for attaching another cabinet (speakers without an amp) to your amp. That "internal off" switch means you can drive a separate cabinet (treating your amp as a head) or you can run both the speakers in the combo and external speakers.

Which adapter are you using from your computer currently? The normal input jack on an amp (usually) takes a 1/4" TS (mono) cable in, so your adapter might be a 3.5mm TRS (stereo) male -> 1/4" TRS female cable.

What you really want is the stereo signal from your computer's mini jack to be split into two 1/4" male jacks.

If you have the adapter as I described above, you can use the cable you listed to go into the aux in on the amp. That's what I would do. Alternatively, if you have a different adapter (like 3.5" male-> 1/4" male, which wouldn't plug into the one you listed), you could use this cable instead:

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP-159-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=sr_1_4?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1520265704&sr=1-4&keywords=TRS+to+TS

Keep in mind that your amp cabinet has two 12" speakers and there's no tweeter to handle high frequencies. You're going to get a low-range response and the drums (particularly the hi-hat) are going to sound muffled no matter what.

No. There is no problem. The 305's hiss by themselves though, so get ready for that.

Although I reccomend purchasing these:

http://www.ghentaudio.com/part/c02.html

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-5-Pack-Plated-Adapter/dp/B0141KPE50/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1481487496&sr=8-6&keywords=3.5mm+to+rca+adapter

over:

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP-159-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481487534&sr=8-1&keywords=hosa+3.5mm+to+1%2F4

just for quality/lasting reasons

Hola! I set all this up last year so it’s a bit rusty!

This is a shopping list for an Xbox One mixer setup similar to mine and you may need some help filling in a few gaps and the wiring!

So the idea is to build a setup to be able to use an awesome mic to talk to the stream as well as party chat ‘at the same time’ (which I prefer over using a headset) but to also be able to hear game/chat/PC audio though a single pair of headphones and control their volume levels in one place with ease.

I don't need sound going out to my PC as the Cap card is getting that from the Console via HDMI.
Streaming Xbox to PC then the WORLD!

Xbox – hdmi into a cap card in the PC Avermedia live gamer hd
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AverMedia-61C9850000AE-Avermedia-Live-Gamer/dp/B007SRYAPO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1447858313&sr=8-2&keywords=live+gamer+hd
This grabs the game audio and that’s that bit done, stream using OBS and boom!

Here's is my shopping list for party chat:

Mixer

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415150891&sr=8-1&keywords=behringer+mixer
Headset Buddy (Real name, I didn’t make that up!)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Headset-Buddy-Adapter-PC35-PH25-Computer/dp/B002D41HKS/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1421341934&sr=1-3&keywords=headset+buddy

Xbox Chat Thing:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Xbox-One-Stereo-Headset-Adapter/dp/B00IAVDOS6

Cable from Buddy to Mixer:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hosa-CMP159-Stereo-Breakout-10-Feet/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415150937&sr=8-1&keywords=hosa+cables

Cable from Mixer to Buddy!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HosaTech-CMS-105-3-5mm-Stereo-Interconnect/dp/B000068O35/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447857349&sr=8-1&keywords=3.5mm+TRS+to+1%2F4+inch

Xbox Mixer(s)

Astro Mixamp (I use)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASTRO-Gaming-3AM99-HBU9X-975-ASTROGAMING-MIXAMP/dp/B004L6C6BK/ref=sr_1_4?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1447856882&sr=1-4&keywords=astro+mixamp

Earforce DSS (an option!)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Force-Channel-Dolby-Surround-Processor-Mac/dp/B003O0KICS/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1421378828&sr=1-1&keywords=dss1

Ground Loop things:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Headphone-Ground-Isolator-Filter-Stereo/dp/B00INV5LB6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_23_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41-9H3Hc3mL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1TTNMJANJDTK26VVSAE7

Although I have used these ones because I didn’t see the ones above!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AV-Link-201-086-Skytronic-Isolator/dp/B000NVWB9O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447857227&sr=8-1&keywords=Ground+Loop+Isolator

Mic wise any XLR mic is fine!

Here is a link to a image i found that kinda helps piece it all together! http://imgur.com/UYaQQUZ

Here is a quick vid of my setup, happy to help if i can! http://www.twitch.tv/drunkiemunkie/v/26306849

Heres is my latest Xbox One vid with party chat but it picks up the Public Lobby if they speak!
http://www.twitch.tv/drunkiemunkie/v/31799799

dM

I have the JX-8P and Juno106, which were pretty similar to the JX-3p and the stereo out is for their chorus effect (slight movement between the channels). In the originals, if you didn't want stereo, you could just plug in a 1/4" into the left and it would work just fine, chorus and all, then you can plug into whatever guitar pedals. I guess you could do the same by getting a Stereo Breakout, 3.5 mm TRS to Dual 1/4 in TS.

If you don't mind swapping the 3.5mm plug to whatever device you are using something like this will work

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP-159-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B005HGM1D6

If your phone has a regular headphone jack, all you need is this type of cable. Rip the red and black 1/4 plugs apart as much as you need, plug the red into the right speaker and the black into the left, and the other end into your phone.

Right...http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP159-Stereo-Breakout-10-Feet/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1376223966&sr=8-8&keywords=1%2F4+to+1%2F8

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=fiio&qid=1563565779&s=gateway&sprefix=fiio&sr=8-3

Its 70, but worth every penny. I used it with my AKG k712 pros for about a year before upgrading to a soundblaster g6.

im rocking this one https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2 and it is very nice.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-Olympus-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2

These are highly regarded by /r/headphones as a industry standard in budget headphone amping for any listening types (home, studio, etc)

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1416507419&sr=1-3&keywords=fiio

like justanotherdickweed mentioned, just get yourself a little USB/DAC and that should help.

the one i linked is a bit more than his link, but is more powerful/better in my opinion.

ive had a similar Fiio dac/amp for about 3 years, use it almost 7 hours a day 5 days a week at work and it has been worth every penny. they also have more portable versions like the e07 if you care to take it with you at any point.

If you want to do WiFi streaming, install $3.50 BubbleUPnP on the phone and use the Windows 10 built-in DLNA streaming. If you're on Ubuntu you can install pulseaudio-dlna and use it as output from sound settings. I'm sure there's something for Mac as well.

For USB, what you're looking for is called a USB DAC. If you're really strapped for cash and don't have fancy tastes in sound quality, or quality headphones, then one of these $5-7 puppies will take care of it. Quality is touch and go, some may be DOA and need replacing, but they'll get the job done. You can also go for a $20 Signstek (PCM2704), but I wouldn't recommend more expensive ones without knowing what headphones you're using and what you want from them.

If you do, I can recommend the $40 FiiO K1, $65 SMSL SD793-II or $75 FiiO E10K, but if you do that you should also look into putting $50-200 into decent headphones and you're probably not looking for that.

Whatever you do DO NOT get USB headphones. Decent ones are expensive, cheap ones are absolute crap. A $5 DAC like above and a $25 pair of Sennheiser HD202 will be better and can be replaced separately or even taken apart and repaired if they break.

Am a good friend, helped him pick out about 90% of this stuff.

Headphones are Sennheiser HD 598 special edition (the amazon exclusove ones), but those are discontinued, newest version are the HD 599

https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-599-Open-Headphone/dp/B01L1IICR2

Mic is Blue Snowball USB
https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Snowball-Microphone-Gloss-Black/dp/B002OO18NS

He also uses a FiiO e10k DAC for headphones also
https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2

> is a sound card worth it in today's age?

NO.

Most games don't support Creative's proprietary sound like they used to in the old days.

Most modern mobo's have the basics to get you buy.

If you absolutely think you would benefit from external sound then at least get a portable DAC that you can use for other things/take with you.

My goto suggestion is usually Fiio E17K ALPEN 2 USB DAC Headphone Amplifier which when plugged in via USB will be recognized as a windows sound card, provides excellent sound for the price, has an electronic 3 band EQ and you have the benefit of unplugging it and taking it with you to power your cans on the go.

If you're stuck at 75 bucks then FiiO E10K USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier

Also, Creative software to this very day SUCKS. It is very rarely updated and sometimes does not play nice with when you try to use proprietary creative sound profiles within specific games.

I forgot what the specific profile was for "enhanced enemy footstep" detection but it muffled other game sounds that were really needed in Overwatch and in TF2.

Bottom line. Pass on this shit. There are better alternatives in the same price range.

Hey mate, i hope this isn´t too late for some advice.

​

So first and foremost, congrats on a nice pair of cans. your motherboard has a dedicated audio solution, which shouldn´t be to bad in the first place, but to improve upon that i would recommend the fiio 10k

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543003652&sr=8-1&keywords=fiio+10k

it´s a pretty nice headphone amp/dac combo, which competes with a lot of pricier solutions, and for listening to music and gaming, you won´t find anything better under 200 bucks.

​

while the guy at the music store is technically correct, the sterling is of course a headphone amp as well, but as soon as he heard the words gaming and pc, he should have known this ain´t what you´re looking for...so return it, thats the wrong kind of device...you need a digital analogue converter, that has an amp integrated.

Get these, now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=26-138-190

The SHP9500 are open, neutral, sharp and precise.

They are very, very comfortable and if need be, you can replace the pads.

Just search the subreddit and you will see people drooling about these cans.

They do not NEED amplification but greatly benefit from it. I recommend the FiiO E10k: http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2

P.S. They also have a removable cable, which is always nice to see.

Edit: While they are not wireless, they are the best bang-for-the-buck cans, at this very time in the 0 - 100 range. And for the time being, wireless is just a gimmick.

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417173201&sr=8-2&keywords=fiio

Or if you're more on a budget, this will do but the quality will reflect the price. I'd go with he first one if at all possible.

I bought the Fiio E10k a little while back. I love it, definite upgrade from the onboard audio. It's not too expensive and it suits it's purpose.

I don't have any experience with them, but I've seen a lot of Schiit set ups. There's a Schiit DAC on Amazon US right now for about $85. Definitely check out /r/audiophile and /r/headphones as well, utilise the resources they provide and you'll more than likely find what you're looking for.

I feel like you could just run it from your motherboard but I'm not 100%. I bought one of these because I read the sound quality would be better and I didn't want to waste the headphones.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-Olympus-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2

Yeah, I have a fancy motherboard too (MSI Z170 Gaming M7) and it doesn't do it justice, but you're right. The DAC is usually the last thing you get to finish your setup and untrained ears might not notice anything. Headphone > Amp > DAC. If you get any hissing or electronic interference, then you especially might want to invest. Entry level DACs and Amps go for a minimum of $50 each and I would at minimum recommend this DAC/Amp combo.
I should also mention that headphones can have high impedance and you would need an amp to provide the gain necessary to reach your desired volumes. However, all of the headphones I've listed (and the 700X) have a low impedance and do not need the amp for volume. I regard anything lower than 40 ohms as low impedance.


Regarding virtualization, I typically avoid sound enhancements and spatial sound on Windows and let the applications speak for themselves. You're correct that the quality will depend on the game, but overall you don't have to worry with modern titles. The only game that I actually enjoy virtualization with is in Overwatch where Blizzard integrated Dolby Atmos. It lowers the quality of the sound, but does make spatial cues more discernible.

This may be due to your on-board sound. Before spending, I would test out the headphones on a different PC/source. Make sure it isn't just the headphones themselves.

Then, when you are ready to buy, get an external dac/amp, basically an external sound card. Check out the Micca Origen($100), Fiio E10k($76), Monoprice Dac/Amp($80), and SMSL SD793-II($63).

you could get a fiio e10k.

If you want something inexpensive but powerful, look no further than the FiiO E10K. Especially since you have the 250 ohm edition, a decent amp is pretty much necessary.

As an aside, the DT990 are the complete opposite of flat. They are very v-shaped, with boosted bass and treble. Especially treble.

I'm guessing the output from this (16-bit, 44.1k) isn't as good as your on-board sound. If you're serious about getting a nice pair of headphones, I would at least look into something like this or this. There's no point in spending cash on a good pair of cans when you're going to be putting a less than optimal signal through them.

>Edit: Updated SMSL link.

>Edit 2: Third option.

In my experience unless you live close to the TV stations those "black rectangle" antennas are at best mediocre for UHF stations and terrible for VHF stations. Do you have an attic you could put an antenna in? If so you could try getting something more directional like this design. If you don't have the space for a larger antenna I'd recommend looking for something that at least has a traditional "rabbit ears" element that you can extend to pick up the VHF channels better.

I spent $45 or so for the RCA attic/outdoor antenna and it works great and I get all of the channels you mentioned with perfect quality. Here is the antenna.

> ?

Hey Antonio, figured you may find my post interesting. I used to live around the Riverside/Hurdman bus station, with a set of VHF/UHF cheap antenna, I used to get most channels since I was up high in an apartment. 5 years ago, I moved to the burbs of Barrhaven (townhome). My tv was in the basement, so I interconnected coax cables up to my second story and had that same antenna there and barely got anything.

I proceeded to invest in a better antenna. After some research, I settled on this one: http://www.amazon.ca/RCA-ANT751R-Outdoor-Optimized-Reception/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1419899680&sr=8-2&keywords=rca+ant

It's a little large, but for myself, I was able to install inside my attic so it's completely out of sight. Pointed it at the Gatineau hills (the source of the signals) and programmed my tv.

I get a VERY SOLID set of channels that work through all weather.

They include channels: 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 14, 24, 30, 40, 42, 43, 60, 65.

The Winegard Pre-Amp is what made the biggest difference for me.
https://www.amazon.com/Winegard-LNA-200-Preamplifier-Antenna-Amplifier/dp/B00DQN3R9O/
I use the RCA Yagi for my antenna, and it has been solid.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0024R4B5C
This site can help you aim and know what you should get pretty easily as well.
https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps

Good Luck!

Get one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Antenna-Satellite-Broadcast-Epicenter-Reception/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1YO4M03HRGQRA&keywords=antenna+tv+digital+hd+outdoor&qid=1570114501&sprefix=antenna%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-4

And one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/SiliconDust-HDHomeRun-HDHR5-2US-Splitter-Reusable/dp/B077H1XKLX/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=silicondust+homerun&pd_rd_r=1325f7af-b7c2-4b27-a0ff-0e58a5aa6ab1&pd_rd_w=dv5KC&pd_rd_wg=puSLG&pf_rd_p=7be70e42-b5c0-4077-873a-35a472a6fbd4&pf_rd_r=SGH7QN4K5K18242HAQ0S&qid=1570114537&sr=8-5

If you live in an area that's too far from the antenna, you can get 2-14 from your cable provider for $10 per month (that's what I do. I got all the channels with my antenna expect for FOX)

Sign up for the DVR service for $5 per month, and you're all set.

Oh, I forgot the hardest part.

During the giants game, you have to cut yourself off from the rest of the world. No cell phones, no social media. A glimpse of the score ruins everything.

https://smile.amazon.com/Antenna-Satellite-Broadcast-Epicenter-Reception/dp/B0024R4B5C

I've used this antenna with great results. Installed in attic with all channels clear. I'm on the edge of third ward.

Here is it mounted to my fence, and this is the amazon link. It can be pole mounted, but what I would do is grab a 4x4x8' and put it in the ground 3 feet, then mount it to that. I am sure your landlord won't have a problem with that.

I had directv previously. went up to the roof, took the dish off. put this guy (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0024R4B5C) on the mast and reused the wiring directv conveniently dropped throughout my house. works perfectly, get all the channels on all the tvs without an amplifier. I live in cedar park.

The specs on that Omni Antenna

VHF Gain 4.5dBUHF Gain 4.3dB

Problem you have is Fox

It is stronger from Toledo but your best group of stations is from Detroit.

Since its a weak antenna and they suggest an ampthe situation with that is... it is always best to go with the largest antenna that you can because more signal is better than boost.

All your stations for now are UHF except Fox Detroit which is VHF 7

So I am only considering your Good and Fair signals because the Poor signals are weak and if you try to get them you would need an amplifier and you might boost your stronger signals too much by the time you could get the really weak ones.. I do use amps and strong antennas in my setup .. over amping can be an issue.. it can shutdown your tuner and you get no signals.

So that Omni antenna at 4db of gain is kinda weak .. better or best antennas are from 8 to 16 db of gain every 3.5db of increase in gain is doubling .. so going from 4 to 8 is like 125% stronger not 100%

If I was you I would get at minimum a VHF High antenna and point it at toledo where the weaker signals are coming from and then your signals from Detroit that are strong should come in anyway... if that doesn't work well for you then point it at detroit and you should get good reception

right now you can get one of these for $29 used acceptable from Amazon.. probably in perfect condition but you can always return it .... Or pay $10 more for a new one .. its up to you .. New might be worth it buy I bought my antennas from amazon warehouse and they were in great condition.

​

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0024R4B5C/?ie=UTF8&condition=all

​

If you are supplying signal to more than one tv you might want a distribution amp

My HDHR Prime works near perfectly with a good attic mounted antenna.(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0024R4B5C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) My Plex DVR is pretty good but I'd say still a work in progress. Many people do not realize that the right antenna mounted high is EVERYTHING.

About 14 miles out all in the same direction but ABC, PBS and CW are high vhf channels that an indoor antenna may have issues with.

I use this and have a similar situation in relation to the closest tower. I went from a paper clip (nothing) to rabbit ears (had to keep adjusting them, PITA) to putting the linked antenna in the attic. I get about 55 channels now. My attic is 45 ft above ground.

If I had ONLY wanted uhf channels I'd have been fine with some sort of indoor antenna but for the occasional sports - NFL games, College football and basketball an antenna with vhf elements was necessary for CBS in my area (also about 14 miles away and LOS). Not a huge sports fan anymore but its nice to have the option.

I was going to try a winegard freevision which I could have mounted in a window but I went straight to a bigger antenna in the attic. You can get the freevision at Home Depot and if its not right for you return it.

I live 11 miles outside of Nashville, and had problems picking up anything besides NBC and PBS with a set-top antenna. Upgraded to a setup like you are looking at; outdoor antenna that fit in my attic ( http://amzn.com/B0024R4B5C ) and added a preamp ( http://amzn.com/B003P92D9Y )

I pointed it towards the ABC/CBS/FOX towers and crossed my fingers. Fortunately, I was picking up all the major networks, PBS, and a bunch of independent stations. somewhere around 45 stations/substations total. Works great, couldn't be happier.

The problem you may is that the broadcast towers are on the far side of Nashville from you. You may have to go with a large outdoor pole-mounted antenna to pick up anything.

Not sure if my setup is good enough to work in Murfreesboro. You could order it from amazon, hook it up without mounting anything to test it, and if it doesn't work, return to amazon.

absolutely! it would be impossible without one. i use this one.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004F9LVXC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1WJB9ENBT626G&coliid=I2436BH94BFSGU

Could be a problem with the HDCP handshake. You could try running it through an HDMI splitter like this which will give the directv box a consistent HDCP handshake.

I use an Elgato HD60. Your going to need an HDMI 1x2 splitter to remove the HDCP like this one as well.

I don't know if there are (m)any capture cards that ignore HDCP, but you can easily strip HDCP instead using a splitter, such as this ViewHD one

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004F9LVXC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_vkGzCbN4GVKMD

Is a splitter that also strips HDCP.

Don't listen to these other people telling you it wont work. It will, its just hit and miss. the splitter you bought is not one that is known to scramble the HDCP signal. This one had yeilded better results if you can I say return the one you bought and try the viewHD one. what you've got to do is connect one output to ElgatoHD60 and one to your tv. so a flow chart would be like:

PS3->HDMI Splitter Input

HDMI Splitter Output 1-> TV

HDMI Splitter Output 2 -> Elgato HD60

This should be enough to scrable the HDCP signal but like I said it is hit and miss.

Edit: I've re read your post it sounds like you are only using one output. for the splitter to work you must use both outputs. I suggest you try my flowchart with your current splitter before returning and purchasing another one. To make it a but more clear, you will need a total of THREE (3)
HDMI cables for the splitter to work.

Here.

I use the "ViewHD" HDMI splitter. I was into game capture stuff on PS3 and literally everything that comes out of the PS3 HDMI is HDCP protected.
Here's an Amazon link
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004F9LVXC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T1_ec7GzbV5GZY03

Also, I would highly recommend the Elgato Game Capture HD60 Pro, the video latency so low you can game while viewing the capture software on a pc monitor instead of having a second tv/monitor to view the live gaming video and a pc monitor to view/record from a game capture device, if that makes sense.

I had the same problem with my TV, ordered this and now it works great.

What was happening? This sounds like it could be a HDCP issue. You can bypass most issues with one of these if anyone was wondering. Apple devices cause tons of these issues in conference rooms, especially when splitting signals. Good to know you saved the day!

I ordered this one a few months ago, works like a charm!

The issue with capturing video from your PS3 through HDMI is the HDCP in the signal. Certain splitters happen to also strip the HDCP from the signal, making it a-ok to be captured, so yes, you'd want a splitter for this and not a switcher. (A splitter takes one signal and outputs it to multiple while a switcher takes multiple signals and allows you to choose which one is passed through to a single cable.)

This is the one I use for that purpose: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004F9LVXC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are ways around the HDCP. I use [this] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004F9LVXC/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1) with my Elgato HD and it works great!

FireTV (I think every version that exists these days) requires HDCP shortly after boot. I don't think they can be used at all with a display that doesn't support HDCP.

Assuming that this is the cause of your problem, my recommendation would be to buy something to sit between the FireTV and SCART adapter that will strip HDCP. I've heard rumor that this device will do it, but have not yet confirmed.

You can try using an "HDCP stripper" such as this. Essentially it's a device that will report back to your AppleTV as HDCP compatible, but the signal it sends out to your TV/monitor will lack HDCP altogether. It's not marketed as such, but that's what most people buy them for.

Why don't you just get one of these?

you can just get a splitter adapter. No need to take the headset apart. https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-headsets-separate-headphone-microphone/dp/B004SP0WAQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1484808195&sr=8-3&keywords=headphone+mic+splitter

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-MUYHSMFF-Headset-Splitter-Adapter/dp/B004SP0WAQ

I just use a pair of over-the-ear headphones that I really like along with a Zalman mic and it works fine. Put them together with this and pop it right into the controller like a dedicated headset. Haven't had issues yet, and I can easily swap between open-backed headphones and closed-back headphones.

I'm very dumb with these things but shouldn't you be using it with something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-MUYHSMFF-Headset-Splitter-Adapter/dp/B004SP0WAQ/ref=cm_cd_ql_qh_dp_t

I would get a headset / adapter personally. I think you can get a much better deal. I got the Steelseries Siberia v2 with this spliter cable for the 2 3.5mm jacks, and the sound quality is AMAZING. For under $100 (headset, adapter, cable) these bad boys are well worth it. I even checked out the XO 4 and 7's as well as other various TB headsets (at gamestop) and imo the sound quality was not nearly as good. Not to mention having gamed for years I haev had a lot of freaking headsets in the past, these are sooooo comfortable you wont realize they are on (I fell asleep with them on last night listening to a movie and fiancee had to take them off me lol). They self adjust to fit your head (but not toooo snug and tight), the mic pops back into the earcup when dont need it, and the ear cups are HUGE, my ears are completely covered, it really dampers outside noise, with them on (not even listening to music) I can barely hear the person speaking thats next to me

Companies will advertise that their HDMI cables produce a "Clearer Picture" and such when that is physically not possible, as the signal is digital and not easily degraded by noise. (Seriously you would probably have to run the thing through a microwave, and even you have more things to worry about, like it catching on fire)

They also charge, $50, $100, and in one hilarious case $10,000 for cables that will fare no better than a $2 cable off monoprice.

The $10k one if you're curious: http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ

Are you insinuating that I may have overspent when I bought my $14000 HDMI cable?

Wow that's cheap! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IL3TZSQ/ref=pd_aw_sim_sbs_23_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=58XG1WDDEYRX6FKWJW5Z&dpPl=1&dpID=41cGG7FbEwL

Ahem

Here's a $13,499.75 HDMI cable

A couple things:

I highly recommend the HD 598s. I've used them for over a year now and I still love them like the day I got them. Everything sounds good on them and they are super comfy - you could wear them for 24 straight hours. I got this replacement cable for them and It's very high-quality and well worth the $16

All that being said, I would not really recommend using them in public. Firstly, while I love the the tan and brown look, they will look kind of goofy in public since they aren't really your "normal" headphone colors (unless, or course, you get the ones in black). Aside from aesthetics, there is not really a good storage solution (I think there's a case you can get for them, but it's really bulky), so they might get broken if you put them in your backpack and aren't careful with it. Finally, they are open-back. You will be able to hear everything around you, and everything around you will be able to hear you. If I'm without speakers and don't want to wear headphones, I'll actually just set them on the desk and turn them up a bit and they double pretty well as makeshift speakers.

Anyway, they're really best for home use (I use them for gaming, music, and everything in between).

Your welcome, unfortunately the only affordable replacement cables come from China, so the shipping time is long.

The only US replacement cables I've seen are overpriced and hyped up for audiophiles.

The seller is on Amazon as well and has some variants with phone mics built in.

Edit: Fixed Link.

You want this.

I got this one for use with my HD558s. I'm then running a 30 ft long headphone extension (15ft from computer to link box, 15 ft for Vive cable) back to a Behringer headphone amp and then a DAC. I also have other 15 ft extensions (DisplayPort, USB, power) from the link box back to my PC.

The end result? 30 ft of Vive leash, headphone cable is cable-wrapped back to a proper headphone amp and DAC. No plugging/unplugging, and good sound quality to boot.

Granted, take everything I just said above with the understanding that I don't have a Vive yet, and it might work great...or not!

Most of the comments here are correct in regards to silver/copper with all else being equal. But these cables increased the max volume I was able to reach with my phone because of the lack of an inline mic, which adds enough resistance where I was able to notice a VOLUME difference(NOT SOUND QUALITY, that stayed the same once volume matched). The HD598cs cable comes with an inline mic that adds resistance and confirmed that the hd598cs cable added the most resistance out of the other 2.5mm - 3.5mm cable options I had at my disposal(hd598 cable, hd598cs cable, akg k545, 3 audio technica cables from m50x). The regular 598 cable, all 3 m50x cables, and the aftermarket cable akg k545 cable(all of which didn't have inline mics) all reached significantly louder volumes that the cables that had inline mics.

Keep in mind that this experiment was performed with a phone, which has a combined mic/headphone jack. When a TRRS jack with inline mic is inserted into the phone's headphone/mic combined port, this was the only time I noticed the differential in volume. When I tried performing the same experiment on my desktop's headphone jack, which has a separate mic jack, there was no noticable volume difference between the cables with inline mics and without them. Performing the same experiment with all my laptops(combined single mic/headphone port) produced the same results with my phone.

edit: I also remember reading a couple of posts here about the button being all fucked up, where some redditors were experiencing left/right issues after unknowingly damaging the multifunction button on the wire. If you feel like you're not getting the proper volume, get these cables if you didn't use the inline mic much.

I have no idea how you did not find this, but here goes:

1. google: sennheiser 558 cable
   
2. first hit 'accessories' > http://en-us.sennheiser.com/audio-headphones-high-end-hd-558
   
   you can directly order from sennheiser us or look for part:
   542192 or the shorter cable without part-id on the website.
   
   second hit is amazon, with a 3rd party cable:
   http://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Audio-upgrade-Sennheiser-Headphones/dp/B00KAKBHKM
   
   .. and the list goes on
   
   edit: the smaler cable has article number: 505638

I got these a few weeks ago and it's been fantastic so far, really nice build quality and shipping was quite a bit faster than expected which was another plus.

> My assumption is that closed headphones adds more presence since it isolates you more from the real world.

This is true. But with closed headphones you get less sound stage and it feels more like you're wearing headphones than it feels like sounds are happening around you. Open headphones allow sounds to feel like there is some space between your ear and where the sounds is coming from. It's kind of a balancing act.

I'm going to be using my Sennheiser HD 558 for personal use. They're the most comfortable thing I put on everyday. I could probably wear them 24/7 and not notice them. They just kind of melt into your head and onto your ears... and they sounds great for the price.

I did buy a shorter cable and plan on ziptieing the Vive cables so I get a snugger fit without more cable flopping around. The cable that comes with Senn HD5XX headsets is at least 8 feet long. Great for at your desk, not great to be dragging around behind you in VR.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KAKBHKM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Relatively inexpensive, good cable. Not silver or anything super fancy, but it's built well and is braided

EDIT AT BOTTOM

No problem, if for some reason you want to go with the senns considering I can give you a first hand review that they sound great, are pretty durable (I only say pretty because I take good care of stuff and am not hard on them, but I've had no problems) and are comfy, this is the cord I bought https://amzn.com/B00KAKBHKM

The long one has it's uses, it's nice for plugging into a pedal and playing guitar at night or plugging into a pc, but it's impractical for most day to day and portable use.

EDIT: http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/psvr-4-980x654.jpg Apparently that's where headphones plug in half way down the cable (buds are above the move remotes), so it won't be as big of a problem as I thought, and a short one might actually be a problem. Ugh, so many things to consider.

> FiiO E10K

Not saying it's not, but why would you say it's worth 15 bucks more than this one?

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2

I don't know much about DACs but I have seen this one and this one recommended multiple times.

They are a bit pricey compared the one you sent though. And the second one can't work on your motherboard since the mobo doesn't have an s/pdif output.

>I never spring for fancy headsets, let alone custom sound cards.

you don't even need that. A decent USB amp/dac like the fiio E10K and some panasonic rp-ht21 will go a long way.

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00004T8R2/

You'll notice a huge difference with those two alone.

edit: extra info: If you got a little bit more money, go for Grado sr80e or Sennheiser HD 598's. Again, with that amp/dac, killer sound.

Headphones make a difference, but what they're plugged into make an even bigger difference.

Note: this setup is for PC. The amp/dac will work on the PS4, but will switch left and right for some reason, unless Sony fixed that.

If your current audio DAC is fine, there may not be a reason to buy a seperate DAC, but that purchase will completely depend on your current setup.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Amazon says the impedance of your headphones is 50 Ohms. This is an impedance spec that definitely will work fine without an AMP. However, should you decide to purchase an AMP (like the budget-oriented ones I'll post here), such as the 02 from Mayflower, the FiiO E10k or one of the Schiit AMPs like the Magni, you would find that the audio quality of your headphones would increase, since their full potential will be unlocked.

The Schiit combo is very high quality for the money, and I believe you'd be pretty happy with it.

What's your budget? Where do you live? What type of music do you listen to? Are you looking for headphones that can be used for gaming? Do you need a mic with the headphones? What is the music coming from? For example, if you're listening to music through your computer and your headphones are connected to the computer, you would be better off getting a DAC and amp combo (something like the Schiit Fulla/Schiit Fulla on Amazon or FiiO E10K or Audioengine D1 or AudioQuest DragonFly) and then getting better headphones. I personally have tried several different brands and Sennheiser are my favorites. I currently have Sennheiser PC 363D (on Amazon) for gaming, movies, and TV and have the Sennheiser HD 598 SE (on Amazon) for music.

https://www.amazon.de/FiiO-E10K-Olympus-Digital-Kopfh%C3%B6rerverst%C3%A4rker-schwarz/dp/B00LP3AMC2/

sowas

So from my limited understanding of audio equipment I know that a DAC simply converts the digital signal from the computer to an analog signal for the headphones (a separate DAC helps the most with isolating the signal from interference from the computer). If you think the sound coming from your headphones is too quiet or lackluster what you really need is an amplifier to make the signal stronger, or a DAC/amp combo.

Two DAC/amp combos I see recommended often are the


Fiio E10K
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_8bEeAb0CH5BW4


SMSL SD793-II
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A2QLPJM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_ldEeAbHJ9PS48

Both have a DAC to isolate the signal and an amplifier to power higher end headphones.

you can also consider investing in a usb dac & an amp or a dac/amp like a fiio e10 and forgo the onboard audio completely. a bonus is that you can reuse this for future systems without worrying about onboard audio chipsets.

Likely picking up interference from your graphics card. If you can, route the audio cable over the top of the motherboard and then down to the HD audio pins.

Though it might not be avoidable with how compact the case is and how close the ports are to the graphics card.

I think this gets worse with more power hungry cards. I've had the cable sitting right on the back of a 960 and never heard any interference but when I upgraded to a 970 I had to reroute the cable as I was hearing the same thing.

Only other option is buying a USB DAC and Amp like this.

>It achieves making the phone water resistant, allowing for a digital audio connection, giving built in stereo speakers, not having to deal with a wire that gets snagged on things and leaving room in the phone for better laid out internals.

Links added. The last point is completely conjecture and they managed almost a decade without it. Also the lack of option. Every single smartphone can use bluetooth headset. Only iphone 7 cannot use wire headset.

X2HR



E10K

In the video he is using a HDMI splitter to split the signal into two and then converting one of them into analog audio using a DAC (Digital-to-Analog-Converter). However, you can skip the HDMI splitter because, fortunately for us, the consoles already split the signal for us. It's called TOSLINK or optical out. This signal is output with near 0ms delay (cannot get any quicker output). Now we just need to convert it to an analog signal. Fortunately again, most sound receivers do this for you (most will have a optical audio input) and they do it with very good audio delay (it takes a few ms to convert from digital to analog). The issue arises when you don't have a sound receiver and you instead use the TV's built-in DAC. In almost all cases, they are the cheapest DAC the TV manufacturer can find and the audio is ran through several built-in filters before being output (adding quite a bit of audio delay). So here are your scenarios and solutions.

1. Sound receiver (external soundbar or stereo receiver) - Use an optical audio cable ($5-$10) and run it from the console directly into the sound receiver. If you are using a sound receiver, it will have a "Direct" mode. You need to enable that to bypass the sound filters (which increases lag). Most sound bars do not have this feature but the filters they apply are much less extensive and therefore much less lag inducing.
   
2. No sound receiver (built in TV speakers) - Buy a cheap external DAC (Fiio D3 for $20 is a very good choice) and run an optical audio cable directly from the console into the DAC and then a red/white (analog RCA) cable directly from the DAC into the TV.
   
   I would highly recommend #1 over #2. You can pick up a decent sound bar for $80+ and it will blow your mind compared to the TV's built-in speakers. I personally own this one and it's not even comparable to the TV's speakers. It also allows you to connect your Bluetooth devices directly to it wirelessly and use headphones by plugging them directly into the sound bar.
   
   Hope this helped!
   
   

   edit:
   

   
   

• Did some testing for you and pulled out my Fiio D3 and did optical direct from console and then used headphones plugged into the Fiio. My audio lag for guitar was +10ms from the video lag (0ms, TV in game-mode). This would also be comparable to Direct Stereo Mode in a sound receiver. Maybe another +10ms.
  
• The sound bar is around +60ms. Which is extremely fast for it running the audio through a sound filter (to make it sound better / it doesn't have any kind of direct stereo mode). (I need to test this more later though.)

https://www.amazon.com/D03K-Digital-Analog-Audio-Converter/dp/B009346RSS

Good speakers too...I owned almost exactly the same pair. Those hearken back to when Infinity actually made good speakers.

How many inputs do you have on your Amp? If you can take more than 1 analog input, you could get a cheap USB DAC:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=ELE+EL-D01+MINI+HIFI+USB&_sacat=0

and a cheap optical/coax DAC:

http://www.amazon.com/D03K-Digital-Analog-Audio-Converter/dp/B009346RSS

And still stay under $50. Off the top of my head, I'm not familiar with a cheap one that does both.

EDIT: actually, I stumbled on this one here: http://www.parts-express.com/dac-digital-to-analog-audio-converter-optical---coaxial---usb--180-998

I’ll assume by “lag” you mean the latency between when you strum and when the note sounds. If you simply mean the difference between when the note sounds and when it crosses the line on the TV, that can be adjusted in video settings.

Latency, however, and only be fixed in hardware (at least in the context of Rocksmith on XB1).

First, let’s talk about latency. I forget the actual cutoff, but somewhere around 100ms is the point at which your brain will “notice” that the sound of your strum is lagging behind your action of strumming. As long as you can get it under your threshold of perception, you’ll usually be fine. But once it’s over, you’re screwed.

Latency stacks. So every step that adds latency is the enemy. There is latency in the real-tone cable (and indeed any digital interface). There’s latency in the Xbox, as it takes your tone, applied your amp and effect sims, and then sends it out to the optical output. Further, there’s latency in whatever digital to optical converter you plug that optical into. Plus there will be even more latency if that amplifier or sound bar is doing any fancy audio effects (like surround or simulated surround). And if you’re running HDMI to a TV? Fuhgeddabout it. I think that step alone adds like 80ms. You won’t notice it when watching Stranger Things, but Rocksmith will always suck.

So what can you eliminate? On Xbox One, here’s the best you can do (XB360 has analog outputs so you can do a bit better):

Xbox->DAC->Analog Amp

Turn literally every possible effect on that amp off, or even better buy one that doesn’t have any to begin with. Just a stupid dumb analog stereo amplifier. The latency will be gone, or rather it’ll be less than the perception threshold.

Some home theater amps have an option somewhere you can set to get pure unprocessed stereo audio. My friend’s has a single button you can hit for analog inputs that’ll do it. But first things first I’d try to somehow get the setup above going, and see if it fixes your problem.

For the DAC, I use this one with my (optical only) PC:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009346RSS/

That’s a FiiO D3 DAC. Does nothing but turn SPDIF audio over optical into RCA/3.5mm analog. It adds about as little latency as possible. Plug literally any “dumb” computer speakers into it...I’m talking $10 no-frills simple amplified speakers. You should hear no lag. Verify this.

Now, if you then still get lag when you run that DAC’s output into your sound bar, then your sound bar is the problem. Figure out if you can turn off all the processing (surround, SRS, basically any effects at all). If you can’t? Go to Goodwill and get a cheap stereo amp for like $30. And some cheap speakers to match. That’s what I did. Cheap Sony amp with a remote, no surround, only two speakers out and stereo inputs. But it gets the job done.

Good luck!

This is an issue on PC too, btw. It’s just that most PCs, unlike Xbox, have analog outputs. And many users are also using analog speakers, not crazy sound bars and such. So the usual problem hardware isn’t present.

http://www.amazon.com/D03K-Digital-Analog-Audio-Converter/dp/B009346RSS

This is what you want to get audio to your speakers, it's called a DAC, (better, more expensive options are available, but that's the best you're gonna do for under $100 lol) and this is the cable to connect the two devices (you'll also need RCA cables)

This will get you video to your projector.

Unfortunately since it looks like you're using powered monitors, you'll need a pre-amp to control the volume.

You may be thinking wow that's a lot of stuff, and it doesn't even come with a remote! And you're absolutely right. Unfortunately, the only thing that does all that is a full blow receiver, which get quite expensive and are usually aimed at surround sound systems. Most receivers don't like powered monitors though, so you'd have to get a very special one.

This is where you realize that passive speakers are what you really want, and you blow hundreds of dollars on speakers and equipment and you become an audiophile. Luckily there's a bunch of guides to get you started over on /r/zeos. But the stuff I listed earlier should let you jerry-rig a working set up while you save up :P

I usually don't have my PS4 controllers out unless I'm playing the emulators, so I use the Harmony remote more often. That remote looks good, really low price too.

I use this remote: https://smile.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Control-Smartphone-Simple/dp/B00BQ5RYI4/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1485487626&sr=1-10&keywords=logitech+harmony

I got mine on sale at Best Buy for $100ish a while back. A bit pricey, but I wanted a very slim, lightweight remote.

The one downside to going app only is that someone always has to be present with a phone connected to the hub. This could be problematic if your brother had guests staying who needed to watch TV while he (or someone else from the household) wasn't there. For $70 you can get the hub with the simple remote, which would be useful for those kinds of circumstances.

Not less buttons but is very minimalistic.



Extreme Minimalist

Harmony SmartHub

Just set this up in a basement theater with the media equipment in a closet under the stairs. Works great. I used an old HTC Android phone as a dedicated remote control. Works great!

If it's really a big deal you can solve it for $99 with a Logitech Smart Control (it's the same price as the version w/o the small physical remote). While it's not the same and has additional hardware it'll solve the problem and you don't need line of sight for it. Just FYI.

yup, I agree.

Using Wemo plugs to manually shut off your tv and xbox is a terrible idea. The Xbox One runs in a low power state so if you force shut it off you could corrupt your game saves, or worse, your OS and your Xbox. Additionally, if you cold boot it from a full power down, it takes a VERY long time to boot, versus seconds, if its in sleep. Same goes with your TV, depending on your TV.

Wemo plugs should just be used for simple stuff like lamps, fans, coffee makers. Not computers (basically what the Xbox One is), TVs, etc. You wouldn't just pull the plug on a PC that was powered on, would you?

Get the Harmony hub if you dont already, it will do exactly what you want and is compatible with alexa. You can usually find it for $70 on sale:

https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Control-Smartphone-Simple/dp/B00BQ5RYI4/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1499064147&sr=1-6&keywords=harmony+hub

Mine came with a remote too. You can tell alexa, or you can use the remote, or you can use your phone.


This is what I got. Ships in 1-2 months though.
Logitech Harmony Smart Control - Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQ5RYI4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_P6PRzb3QQ0AYA

Its pricey but this is what I use. It controls the roku over ip or you can control it with ir.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Control-Smartphone-Simple/dp/B00BQ5RYI4

I bought the hub+remote combo used on Amazon for $69.99 . I wasnt sure what to expect because I've never bought anything used on Amazon before, but it was fulfilled by them so I thought I'd give it a try. The box was beat up but I was so happy to open it and see a brand new remote + hub still in the plastic wrapping. Best day ever. I'd suggest going to the link below if your looking for a remote too.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00BQ5RYI4/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

If you are interested in something like that (I also highly recommend) the harmony hub is on sale for $50 right now.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQ5RYI4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?tag=slicinc-20&ascsubtag=c99d1e7cb8a011e990aee6a63278c9240INT&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

I personally love this thing because of the alexa compatibility. Also you can use any phone/tablet as a remote along with that one. I bought a cheap amazon tablet as a dedicated remote

$700? Get out of here, cheapskate

Or if Ethernet is your thing...

I'm just curious...

Needed more diamond

Edit: MOAR !!

Here's a 3 ft one that costs more than $1000: https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-feet-Braided-Cable/dp/B003CT08E4

They also have a 52 ft version: https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ/

http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ/ref=sr_1_6?s=audio-video-accessories&ie=UTF8&qid=1421703720&sr=1-6&keywords=hdmi+cable

Only $200? That's a bargain.

Male 1/8" TRS (mini jack) to Dual Male 1/4" TRS cable. Like this one.

If you wanted to go a higher fidelity route than this one, I would use a DAC (digital to analog converter) like the Nuforce uDAC with a USB cable from the computer to the DAC and single RCA cables going from the DAC to each speaker.

PC --> 3.5mm stereo to dual 1/4" phono plugs --> into the sub ==> dual 1/4" to 1/4" cables out of the sub to the mains. The crossover is in the sub.

You don't need a usb interface.

That sub (despite the graphic on the back) will accept (and output) an unbalanced signal using TS plugs, it doesn't have to be TRS or a balanced signal.

Also keep an eye on Monoprice's promo code sales - for Memorial Day they had a code for $10 off $100+, $25 off $250+, $50 off $500+ - they'll prob do the same, if not more, for July 4th.

You could probably find the cables at Monoprice too

Your mixer is most likely a mono input. When I had my volcas, I used this cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005HGM1D6
You just need one of the 1/4" end into your mixer.

FiiO makes a cheap but solid dac ($19.99 from parts-express.com or if you have prefer Amazon it's 24.99 with prime)

1 optical in, 1 coaxial in, 1 3.5 line-out, and L-R output to your amp.

Unless you have a receiver you might be SOL. You could buy a cheap pair of speakers and one of these bad boys.

If you leave the Impedance set on the '4 ohm' selection, play the amp for an extended period of time and see if it heats up. Because the speakers themselves are only 8 ohms, you should not have a problem.

Does the receiver have a tape monitors in/out? that would be the way to hook up an external EQ, that way you can punch the EQ in or out to your liking. Personally, I haven't hooked up my external EQ in over 5 years, they just impart distortion.

If you want a DAC to simply bypass your onboard analog and don't need any amplifications (since you have the receiver) try the FIIO D3

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-D3-Digital-Converter-Optical/dp/B005K2TXMO

It's cheap and guys around these parts that have them say they do a great job

I'm going to assume you want to use this for a desktop, gaming setup. If you could stretch out to $200, you could grab the Audioengine A2s, but if you want to operate on super low costs, try this.

DAC + Vintage receiver + Passive (bookshelf) speakers

You can find a good vintage receiver for cheap at thrift stores or Craigslist. Same with the speakers. You could probably do that on less than $100 depending on where you live. If you need help hooking stuff up, message me.

Something like this?

Is there a better option? I appreciate your help.

Are you sure there isn't a minijack somewhere? Sometimes there are two sets of IOs, e.g. one on the back of the TV, and one on the side.

If there is only an optical out, you'll need a DAC (digital/analog converter) and an amp (you need some sort of amp regardless).

Here's an example of an inexpensive DAC https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Analog-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO . I have no idea if that's any good; you'll want to get recommendations for the best options, but it would certainly work.

Amps are more complicated, and many people will put as much thought into their amps as they do their speakers. For a solid budget option, the Lepai 2020 https://www.parts-express.com/lepai-lp-2020ti-digital-hi-fi-audio-mini-amplifier-with-power-supply--310-3000 will work well. It's a bit underpowered for e.g. the Overnight Sensations, but the higher sensitivity of the C-note should make it suitable unless you want quite high volume.

There are also amps out there with built-in DACs, so will have an optical in and stereo out all in one box.

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Analog-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO

+

https://www.amazon.com/Micca-PB42X-Powered-Bookshelf-Speakers/dp/B00NXAEPDC

You just need something like this. You might be able to find others cheaper somewhere else. This was just the first entry I found.

Wat you need is a digital analog converter usually revered to as a DAC. Now yes you might be able to get an amplifier with one but that would be a rather large change to the system. The alternative is to get a standalone DAC that converts the digital optical source to analog rca outputs. Here is an example of a DAC that would do.

Not if you buy a DAC/preamp, an amp and speakers (a "receiver" is generally a preamp and amp in one unit). He's talking about piecing it together separately. I'm not necessarily recommending these items, but for example:

DAC:
http://amzn.com/B005K2TXMO

Amp:
http://amzn.com/B000VKXLBO

Speakers:
http://amzn.com/B003N18QK4

Hi, I actually had the exact same dilemma as you and about a month ago went for a 2.0 setup.

In the past I've tried a variety of computer speakers and nothing cut it. I never tried a soundbar, but I am super happy with my 2.0 setup.

So here is my $200 set up (big thanks to Zeos for helping me learn and pick out the parts):

$109 manufacturer refurbished Denon AVR 1513 receiver:

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavr1513/denon-avr-1513-5.1ch-home-theater-receiver-3d-ready/1.html?_escaped_fragment_=specifications#!specifications

$80 Micca MB42x bookshelf speakers:

http://amzn.to/188rnsc

$9.43 Speaker wire:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006LW0W5Y/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=YEA53M3RQ14Z&coliid=I31E8R7IOVMB4E

This is the wire stripper I bought but it is no longer available for prime so I would get a different one:

http://www.amazon.com/Irwin-2078305-Vise-Grip-5-Inch-Stripper/dp/B000JNLUQ6/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1394413512&sr=8-13&keywords=wire+stripper

Maybe get this one (but any will probably be fine):

http://www.amazon.com/Gardner-GS-40-Milwaukee-Clipper-Stripper/dp/B00004WLJX/ref=sr_1_11?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1396936022&sr=1-11&keywords=wire+stripper

Lastly, banana plugs for the wires. Optional, but nice to have ($10.96):

http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-109436-High-Quality-Copper-Speaker/dp/B0097JLQVC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394413889&sr=8-2&keywords=banana+plug

Total: ~ $250 with tax and shipping and whatnot.

One last piece of advice:

I originally tried the popular Lepai amp and hated it. I just couldn't get the volume I wanted from it.

I am going to be using this article plus my own personal experiences in the 7 years I have been collecting: https://www.techradar.com/news/best-turntables


Turntable: Audio-Technica ATLP120USB Direct Drive Professional USB Turntable Price $229.00 (On Sale at the time of this writing) it comes with a built in Pre-Amp so you are good to go. This is one I have been eyeballing myself.


Amplifier: Yamaha R-S202BL Stereo Receiver Price $149.95 (On sale at the time I am writing this). This is the one I personally use and I love it. It has multiple channels so you can allow for growth. For example I got a stereo cd player at the local thrift store I am trying to upgrade. I just need RCA Cables to hook it up which I do.


Speakers: https://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-T15-Bookshelf-Speakers/dp/B002RJLHB8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 Price $49.98 (Sale at the time I am writing this)


Wire from speakers to Amp: AmazonBasics 100ft 16-Gauge Audio Stereo Speaker Wire Cable - 100 Feet Price $13.49


Headphone Adapter (Trust me you'll need this if you want to listen to music via headphones) Adapter Price: $7.99


Subtotal: $450.41‬ plus taxes. I think you have wiggle room on the speakers, but I searched for high rated ones. If you need help setting up your Turntable and Stereo please feel free to reach out and I can help! :D

IMO in your home, it doesn't really matter. If you're running like 200 feet, then maybe it would be an minor issue. Everyone overthinks this crap for what, a $200 pair of speakers? If you've spent $14,000 on speakers, then sure analyze the hell out of it, otherwise you'll never tell the difference. If you crack your speaker open you're going to find (assuming there's a crossover) plenty of wiring that's far thinner than speaker wire. I buy this 16g from Amazon and have no issues at all with it.

Okay, you need some speaker wire (I'd recommend 16 gauge 50 or 100 feet like this) and some RCA cables. You can probably find decent cheap RCA cables at a thrift store.

Connect the turntable RCA plugs to the PHONO input jacks on the back of the receiver and connect the ground wire to the SIGNAL GND screw beneath the PHONO jacks. The white plug is left channel and the red one is right channel. Similarly, connect the CD player with an RCA cable from the OUT jacks on the back of the CD player to the CD IN jacks on the back of the receiver. CD players don't require a ground wire.

Cut some equal lengths of speaker wire and strip about 1/2" of the plastic insulator from both ends like this. Connect the stripped part of the wire with the white stripe to the FRONT SPEAKERS red clip on the back of your receiver, and the wire without a stripe to the black clip. Connect these wires to two of the small speakers. Make sure to connect white stripe to red clip and no stripe to black clip on the backs of the speakers. You should have sound now left and right.

You can connect the other two small speakers to the SURROUND SPEAKERS clips if you want to, but those are primarily used for movies.

What does the back of your sub-woofer look like?

Edit: Here is a link to the manual

Those are passive speakers requiring separate amplification, which the Mac doesn't provide.

You could use something like the SMSL SA-50. (I need to make a macro for that sentence.):

https://smile.amazon.com/SMSL-50Wx2-TDA7492-Amplifier-Adapter/dp/B00F0H8TOC/

A cable like this from the Mac to the amp:

https://smile.amazon.com/Hosa-CMR-206-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B000068O3B

Speaker wire from the amp to the speakers:

https://smile.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-16-Gauge-Speaker-Wire-Feet/dp/B006LW0W5Y

The turntable has a built-in preamp, so you do not need one. You will however need a receiver and speaker wire.

Or you can return the speakers and get a set of powered monitors. The powered monitors could be connected directly to the turntable. You will have to adjust the volume using the controls on the speakers.

Buy 14 or 16 AWG. It's just standard every day speaker wire you need. Nothing special. 18 would be fine too if you've already got it. If not, this is good.

If you're after fancy looking stuff, I just picked up a set of these. and they are beautiful.

Amazon Basics (http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-16-Gauge-Speaker-Wire-Feet/dp/B006LW0W5Y/) and Monoprice (http://www.monoprice.com/Category?c_id=102&cp_id=10239) make good, cheap speaker wire.

Good choice on the speaker. Those Chanes are amazing values: http://www.cnet.com/news/the-149-chane-a1rx-c-speaker-is-almost-too-good-to-be-true/ The tower version also won a shootout among $1000 speakers with some formidable opposition.

The next step down for subwoofers is the NXG BAS 500 (IMO the best subwoofer under $300): http://www.radioshack.com/nxg-nx-bas-500-12-500-watt-powered-subwoofer/55058551.html#.VIm1SjHF_T8 review here: http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/speaker-subwoofer-reviews/67178-nxg-nx-bas-500-subwoofer-review.html

However, they sell like hot cakes and they're out of stock everywhere (Radioshack and Amazon are out of them). No idea when they'll come back into stock.

A good option for less than $200 is the BIC F12 and will save you some money: http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-F12-475-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B0015A8Y5M

Get yourself a nice little Amp like an SMSL SA-50, a 3.5mm aux cable to connect your TV's headphone out to the amp, and some 16 gauge speaker wire to connect amp to speakers. Bob's your uncle.

IF money is type, you can go with a cheaper amp, but the first one I mentioned is nicer unit that you can keep when you upgrade to a TV with an optical out.

Yeah just speaker wire and an amp.

This is a good 4 channel amp: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07537PW98/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

and some wire: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006LW0W5Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For cords/wires you will need a RCA to 3.5mm cable something like this to connect your amp to your pc. You will also need 3 speaker cables such as these 1 for your amp to sub and assuming your sub will have a high level input and output, you will connect the other 2 cables to the sub and out to the speakers.

You could also make your own speaker cables as well which is a little cheaper by using this

For sub wise, I would consider a Dayton audio sub 800 or 1000 as a start.

I have no idea whether or not it would damage the headphones or if it would even really work, but I'm curious if you have a standalone DAC or DAC/AMP. usually any noise you get from headphones on your computer would be caused by interference in the motherboards on-board audio. If you don't have a dac or dac/amp, consider getting one as it might just eliminate the noise you experience without having to use a device like this. You can get a cheap standalone dac like this or this. Now, idk what version of the DT770 you have, but if it more than the 32 Ohm, you could also consider getting a cheaper DAC/AMP combo from SMSL or FiiO.

$20 at Amazon for one of these https://www.amazon.com/D03K-Digital-Analog-Audio-Converter/dp/B009346RSS - fixes problems with hum/buzzing you may get from using the analog 3.5mm output.

A2DP is the name for steaming stereo Bluetooth audio. Android is setup as a sender of audio, not a receiver.

Your best bet would be to buy an A2DP receiver (like $50) and hook that up to your speaker system. They'll probably come with a 3.5mm jack but you can change that to RCA audio (the red/white plugs) with an adapter. You'll also want to get one that uses a power cord (usually usb) instead of batteries. I had a setup like this in my car, it worked great, like magic.

For instance:

A2PD Receiver (This is what I used, don't worry about the branding =P)

Mini USB power cord

3.5mm to RCA Audio Adapter (If you need it)

Total is ~$50

You may want to specify what kind of connector the input of your sound system uses. Otherwise, how about something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/3-Way-Switch-Selector-Splitter-XBOX360/dp/B004T8KZCM/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1410823053&sr=8-16&keywords=3.5mm+switch

and then some of these to convert between 3.5mm jacks and composite:

http://www.amazon.com/eForCity-3-5mm-Auxiliary-Cable-Cord/dp/B0042DIZTE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1410823147&sr=8-4&keywords=composite+3.5mm

http://www.amazon.com/3-5mm-Stereo-Female-Y-Cable-6-Inch/dp/B000I23TTE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410823147&sr=8-1&keywords=composite+3.5mm

Headphones. plug these into the back of your tv, then you can plug in your headphones.

Hmm let me try later at home. I bought a Turtle Beach wireless headset recently. It's meant for PS3 and X360 but I've been only using it on my PC.

EDIT:

Just looked through the manual and Google. Yup, the PS3 cannot transmit game audio via bluetooth. My wireless headset has a unit that plugs into the PS3 via optical cable and then transmit it over the 5Ghz range.

There's also a simple male-to-female Y-converter if you don't want a female-to-female converter.

like this?

Search for '3.5mm to RCA' for more options.

Edit: Changed the link to the female version of the adapter.

That sounds like a great setup to me. The DDJ-SB is fast becoming one of the main recommendations for those looking to go the Serato/Pioneer route and Sennheiser makes fantastic headphones with their iconic HD-25s being essentially an industry standard... While I've never used the HD6s I've seen good reviews and that blue is mighty sexy... :D

While computer speakers aren't the best for DJing they're better than nothing for practice at home. You'll need an adapter to go from the RCA master out on the DDJ-SB to the 1/8" TRS connector of the speakers though... This: http://www.amazon.ca/30S1-01260-Stereo-Female-Y-Cable-Connector/dp/B000I23TTE

(You will of course also need a laptop or computer.)

You would probably want something like this RCA to headphone adapter then you can use any headphones you like.

I have a crappy pair of Behringer headphones I got with a practice amp kit I had bought early on in my guitar learnings, but here's some Sennheisers that look pretty nice.

Works with anything that has RCA audio out.

if you're trying to connect a 3.5mm jack to RCA you can use an adapter: https://www.amazon.com/30S1-01260-Stereo-Female-Y-Cable-Connector/dp/B000I23TTE

Yep Schhiit dac and amp are fantastic and the HE400 is as well. Can't go wrong with that combo!


Schitt Modi


Hifiman HE-400

Getting into magnetic planar speakers will get you into a whole other class of audio.

Magnetic planar speakers love power so a Magni wouldn't be bad either but that's over the $500 mark but it's not really required. Also the modi have rca outputs so you'll need something like this http://www.amazon.com/3-5mm-Stereo-Female-Y-Cable-6-Inch/dp/B000I23TTE

EDIT:Skip the modi and just get a Fiio E10 Sorry screwed up on the dac deal but the HE-400 is still worthy by and the Fiio E10 will perform as a good dac and amp.

I agree with pagonda, I'd return them.

The old-fashioned idea is for you to employ a 2 x RCA Male / 1 x 3.5mm Stereo Female, so you can take your stereo sound and plug some headphones into it. It seems like your TV doesn't have any proper audio out for it, so you'll have to use ones straight from the PS3.

http://www.amazon.com/3-5mm-Stereo-Female-Y-Cable-6-Inch/dp/B000I23TTE

you'll need an additional headphone amp/splitter to get more than two hp-out on any affordable interface.

Pretty much the easiest way is a single Bluetooth receiver, connected to the input of an audio splitter (preferably a powered one, such as a multi-headphone amp like this) sending copies of the received audio to the separate devices. There are currently no completely wireless solutions to having truly synchronized audio sent to multiple outputs - at least not available for the common man. It's a topic of much research.

Here is my build list formated for reddit

Group | Name | Price | Quantity | Total | Link
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Pc | (Everything Inside the case) | | | |
$1,601.62 | Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor | $347.00 | 1 | $347.00 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012M8LXQW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Cooler Master Hyper D92 54.8 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler | $44.80 | 1 | $44.80 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NXLYE4G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $171.49 | 1 | $171.49 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012N6EW6G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory | $129.99 | 1 | $129.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OTJZTZE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $97.99 | 1 | $97.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OAJ412U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Hitachi HD​S723020BLA​642 | $58.00 | 3 | $174.00 | EBay
| EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card | $459.99 | 1 | $459.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I60OGUK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply | $90.39 | 1 | $90.39 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KYK1CC6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| XFX AMD Radeon HD 5450 1GB | $29.99 | 2 | $59.98 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005IUW7YE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| PWM Female to 4 x PWM Male Computer Case Fan Splitter | $6.50 | 2 | $13.00 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DYQRFY6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Sabrent 2.5" SSD & SATA Hard Drive to Desktop 3.5" | $12.99 | 1 | $12.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UN550AC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 80MM 5000RPM Fan | $0.00 | 2 | $0.00 |
| 92MM 5000RPM Fan | $0.00 | 4 | $0.00 |
Monitors | | | | |
$744.66 | Seiki Pro SM28UTR 28-Inch 4K UHD 3840x2160 | $195.69 | 1 | $195.69 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013XWQF28/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| AOC e2460Sd 24-Inch Widescreen LED Monitor | $142.99 | 3 | $428.97 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C99MUHQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Dell 17" 5:4 | $30.00 | 4 | $120.00 | EBay
Cables | | | | |
$137.77 | Cable Matters Gold Plated DisplayPort to DisplayPort Cable 10 Feet | $11.99 | 1 | $11.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005H3Q5E0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Cable Matters Active DisplayPort to DVI Male to Female Adapter | $19.99 | 2 | $39.98 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EDT01TO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| DVI Male to Female 90 Degree Adapter Connector | $4.43 | 3 | $13.29 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008X0ZJZ0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 15ft 28AWG CL2 Dual Link DVI-D Cable - Black | $10.47 | 3 | $31.41 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10209&cs_id=1020902&p_id=2760&seq=1&format=2
| 15ft Super VGA M/M | $5.69 | 4 | $22.76 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10201&cs_id=1020101&p_id=3622&seq=1&format=2
| 15ft USB 2.0 A Male to A Female Extension | $1.87 | 5 | $9.35 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030304&p_id=5435&seq=1&format=2
| 25ft hdmi cable | $8.99 | 1 | $8.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SKVMHI4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Desk Accesseries | | | | |
$263.49 | Perixx PX-5200 Cherry MX Blue | $72.91 | 1 | $72.91 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NY45NCY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Logitech C310 Webcam | $31.93 | 1 | $31.93 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003LVZO8S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Lapel Mics | $6.50 | 1 | $6.50 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DJOIHE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| FingerPrint Reader | $12.58 | 1 | $12.58 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HHHP7C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Mouse Pad | $8.99 | 1 | $8.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GB0IF50/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Headset Func HS260 | $79.99 | 1 | $79.99 | https://www.amazon.com/FUnc-FUNC-HS-260-1ST-fUnc-HS-260/dp/B00HH3H83U
| Altec ACS 54 - Speaker | $0.00 | 1 | $0.00 |
| Logitech G700S | $50.59 | 1 | $50.59 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BFOEY3Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Audio Accesseries | | | | |
$58.33 | BEHRINGER MICROAMP HA400 | $24.99 | 1 | $24.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KIPT30/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 5-Pack 6.35mm Male to 3.5mm Female Adapter | $7.99 | 1 | $7.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XAQD4YA/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 3.5mm Male to 2 x 3.5mm Female Splitter Cable | $3.99 | 1 | $3.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081ZBNI4/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Coupler 3.5 mm Female - 3.5 mm Female Stereo or Mono | $3.93 | 1 | $3.93 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000068O4N/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 3 feet Slim 3.5mm Stereo Audio Cable - M/M | $2.71 | 2 | $5.42 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004G3UK5C/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 3-Feet 3.5mm Stereo Male to Female Extension Cable, 5-Pack | $12.01 | 1 | $12.01 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SWOJLSS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Lighting | | | | |
$86.88 | Studio Designs Swing Arm Lamp Black | $24.75 | 2 | $49.50 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I2S7MHQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Lutron TT-300NLH-BL Credenza Lamp Dimmer Black | $14.83 | 1 | $14.83 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00024BJZE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Triple Outlet Swivel Adapter, White | $3.27 | 1 | $3.27 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HJBENG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Daylight LED Light Bulb 15W | $9.64 | 2 | $19.28 | https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-GVRLA1850ND-Great-Value-LED-15W-A19-Light-Bulb/38596922
Cable Managment | | | | |
$18.81 | 100 Velcro Ties | $5.00 | 2 | $10.00 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E1Y5O6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 100 Releasable cable ties | $2.47 | 3 | $7.41 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=105&cp_id=10520&cs_id=1052012&p_id=5795&seq=1&format=2
| Cable Clip nais | $0.70 | 2 | $1.40 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=105&cp_id=10520&cs_id=1052006&p_id=5834&seq=1&format=2
Power | | | | |
$53.13 | Monster MP AV 750 Audio Video PowerCenter | $18.99 | 1 | $18.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ETIKH8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| AmazonBasics 6-Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip 2-Pack | $12.99 | 1 | $12.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TP1BWMK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 3 Outlet Single-Tap Wall Tap | $4.00 | 2 | $8.00 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007XQORTO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 15ft 16AWG Power Cord Cable | $5.20 | 1 | $5.20 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10228&cs_id=1022801&p_id=5287&seq=1&format=2
| 10ft 18AWG Right Angle Power Cord Cabl | $2.65 | 3 | $7.95 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10228&cs_id=1022809&p_id=7677&seq=1&format=2
Network | | | | |
$33.98 | TP-LINK 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch | $22.99 | 1 | $22.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EVGIYG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 5-Pack, Cat6 Ethernet Patch Cable in Blue 3 Feet | $10.99 | 1 | $10.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C2B81K6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Monitor Mount | | | | |
$215.27 | Arm wall mount | $17.54 | 3 | $52.62 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=109&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082821&p_id=12232&seq=1&format=2
| Top wall mount bracket | $4.80 | 4 | $19.20 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=109&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082821&p_id=3005&seq=1&format=2
| Center Monitor Mount | $7.99 | 1 | $7.99 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=109&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082821&p_id=4564&seq=1&format=2
| 2x8 | $7.47 | 3 | $22.41 | https://www.lowes.com/pd/Top-Choice-Common-2-in-x-8-in-x-10-ft-Actual-1-5-in-x-7-25-in-x-10-ft-Lumber/4082916
| 2x4 | 2.55 | 1 | $2.55 | https://www.lowes.com/pd/Common-2-in-x-4-in-x-8-ft-Actual-1-5-in-x-3-5-in-x-8-ft-Stud/1000074211
| 3" clamp | $5.98 | 6 | $35.88 | https://www.lowes.com/pd/IRWIN-QUICK-GRIP-3-in-Clamp/50214643
| 4" Hinge | $2.81 | 2 | $5.62 | https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gatehouse-4-in-H-Oil-Rubbed-Bronze-Interior-Exterior-Mortise-Door-Hinge/4772785
| Wood Screws | $9.00 | 1 | $9.00 | Lowes
| Assorted brackets/hardware | $25.00 | 1 | $25.00 | Lowes
| Case Rack Mount | $35.00 | 1 | $35.00 | EBay
Misc | | | | |
$35.97 | Steam Link | $19.99 | 1 | $19.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016XBGWAQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Bluetooth Adapter | $7.99 | 1 | $7.99 | GRANDCOW Bluetooth 4.0 USB Adapter Dongle for Windows 10/ 8.1 / 8/ 7 / Vista / XP
| 19 Key Numeric Keypad | $7.99 | 1 | $7.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DJSAAU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If on a budget:

I like the Behringer q802usb for a mixer $65

2 ATR 2100 Mics $80 a piece

If you want to spend more on a mic that won't pick up as much noise:

Sennheiser E835 Dynamic Cardioid Vocal Microphone $100 a piece - but doesn't come with stand or pop filter...

Audio-Technica ATH-M30x Headphones to monitor sound or edit. $70

If you want your partner to have headphones, you will need a headphone amp $25 and chord $7

If you have any questions I have a Facebook Group for beginners: Podcasting Made Simple

You'll plug one of these (or something similar) into your mixer's headphone jack:

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Ultra-Compact-4-Channel-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B000KIPT30/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487820405&sr=8-1&keywords=headphone+mixer

I've experienced this issue as well - my workaround is using this headphone amp that I have ($24 on amazon, link below) in between my interface and the headphones, and it provides an extra level of gain, which gets me right in the sweet zone

Behringer Microamp HA400 Ultra-Compact 4-Channel Stereo Headphone Amplifier
by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KIPT30/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_qJR5CbD2RMWYB

Truthfully the in game sound is perfectly fine IMO and up to par with any DAW I've used, the difference is likely in what you're using to output the sound (the two 12" are going to sound a ton better than shitty macbook speakers or not amazing quality headphones).

That being said I'm splitting to the same exact amp for my setup with a behringer headphone amplifier and dehummer.

I've heard other people use tuning pedals or AB/Y pedals which may (probably) are a cheaper and better solution, but I can't personally speak to that.

The downside of this setup is that you're going to still need to keep your volume at 10 and your tone at 10 on your guitar for the best RS note detection.

Funnily enough I have myself just bought one of these for like £20. Well worth it!!

Thank you for the reply.

Do you think these cheap Behringer MX400 and Behringer HA400 will do the job for band practice?

The only problem is that I have a very convenient record function on my drum module that records the mix in and the drums to a wav file on a SD card, by plugging everything to the mixer I lose this function so maybe I should wire like that:
Bass + Guitar -> MX400 -> Drum module -> HA400 -> headphones.
That way I can record easily while jamming, what do you think?

So the satellite dish is on the side of the house then? If the coax cable is coming out of the attic vent near the roof peak you might be able to mount the antenna at the roof peak. This is the antenna I got (they have it at Walmart): https://www.amazon.com/RCA-Compact-Outdoor-Antenna-Range/dp/B0024R4B5C. It works great, for me at least.

So I tried the high end Mohu style indoor antenna, and had to buy a larger outdoor antenna. The indoor had inconsistencies in video quality or video loss. After putting an outdoor one up, we've had no issues.

This is the one I picked up: RCA Compact Outdoor Yagi HDTV Antenna https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_L0DwxbG8DN1A2

It's been up for about a year and a half, great so far

Try r/ota. Also check out tvfool.com I'm in Batavia also and I had to use an outdoor antenna to get more than a couple channels. If you look around town you'll see a lot of different outdoor antennas. We're just a little too far from most of the Chicago transmitters to get a reliable signal indoors. I got a very good outdoor setup from Olmstead's downtown. I installed it myself but they do installs also if you're not the DIY type or have a fear of heights. It was more than $150 for the smaller outdoor antenna they have plus a small mast. I used a chimney mount, they only sell tripod mounts.

You could go the bargain route. I think this antenna may have good results RCA Compact Outdoor Yagi HDTV Antenna with 70 Mile Range https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_-EEhAbKQEE41W

Buy an outdoor antenna. We use this and get like 25 channels:

http://www.amazon.com/RCA-Compact-Outdoor-Yagi-Antenna/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462466424&sr=8-1&keywords=rca+outdoor+antenna

Yup, I live in North Shore (in one of the valleys - bad place for TV reception), mounted an antenna in my attic (not even an exterior one) and I get all the channels in crystal-clear quality.

If you're up on a hill or in a flat area with few obstructions, something like an amplified Mohu Leaf will probably be enough; if you're somewhere like me where reception is a challenge, you'll need something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024R4B5C/ - maybe with a separate amplifier.

Considering these are desktop devices, your iPhone won't be able to connect to the DAC, only to the AMP. The Modi 3 comes with a micro usb cable you can plug into your laptop.

Connecting the DAC to AMP

Connecting iPhone to AMP (headphone jack)

You can get a 3.5m to dual rca male cable or 3.5mm to rca socket for easier splitting but need a rca male to male. Keep in mind to set your realtek driver to max power (differs for different drivers/software). Also a good motherboard is recommended like the modern alc1220 or even alc892-897). Ideally a high snr board (some low end boards are good like the msi tomahawk[except b450 ughh dont know why msi dumdbed it down:(] or mortar with high output for the codec they implemented by implementing good amps). You also need speaker wire or 2 premade speaker cable for sturdier and easier connection process

I don't actually have one of these subs, but I'm 99% sure you will not be able to use the sub to power the speaker outputs. The speaker level inputs/outputs are used to get a signal to the sub after it has already gone through an amplifier, and the sub's built-in amplifier is only used to power itself. You can definitely still use the sub by getting an adapter cable to run from the TVs 3.5mm output to the subs RCA Line In, but you will need to get some sort of amp/receiver for the bookshelf speakers. It doesn't have to be fancy, I've used small cheap amplifiers to power speakers and while it wasn't audiophile quality, it was definitely better than the TV speakers.

3.5mm to RCA cable

Small Amplifier I've used before

Yes, this can easily be done.

You'll just connect your D30 and Atom like a normal DAC/Amp setup, and connect the RCA outs on the back of the Atom to the AUX input on the AD18. The Atom will automatically act as a pre-out once you unplug your headphones and route the input from your DAC through to the AD18, and you can use the volume wheel of the Atom to control the volume of your speakers as well.

So all you'll need to buy in addition to that is a dual-RCA to 3.5mm TRS cable (like this one)

Invest 30 bucks in this, not super loud but its good enough and its a third the price of the cheapest sena headset

Reciever Audio Only $16

Speakers $14

This is my setup and I love it only downside is no microphone but I usually ride alone so it doesn't matter to me

Edit: so I recently ordered these

Receiver Mic and Audio $20

Mic $5

Adapter $6

I'm trying to come up with a bluetooth calling set up if anyone is interested I can make a diy on how I put all this together, I will also report the quality of the new parts at a later date

You could get one cheaper from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-MUYHSMFF-Headset-Splitter-Adapter/dp/B004SP0WAQ/

Somthing like these should do https://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-headsets-separate-headphone-microphone/dp/B004SP0WAQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1467047543&sr=1-1&keywords=Headphone+mic+adapter

Buy the following:

1. Lapel Microphone
   
   

• https://www.amazon.com/Neewerx9886-x53E3-x9EA6-Computer-Microphone/dp/B005DJOIHE/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1519762441&sr=1-3&keywords=mini+lapel+microphone
  
  
  

2. Mic/Heaphone Splitter
   
   

• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004SP0WAQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  
  Plug your headset & a lapel mic into the splitter and plug into your controller. This works on any pair of headphones. I've used this on Sony's, Beats, etc. Game audio comes through the headsets and you use the lapel mic to capture your voice.

[The mic] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DJOIHE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_mh.EAbZBECV82) and the [Adapter that is required] ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SP0WAQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_6h.EAbVZTRWYW)

It would need to be a TRRS, no?

Try this

buy this

The jack has both audio and mic on the same jack. In order to use both a headphone and a mic, you need a cable like this. This is not a splitter for two headphones, one is for a mic and one is for the headphones.

Neither: Get an Audio-Technica M40x/M50x or Sennheiser HD 598 and an Antilion ModMic, both of which will beat the quality of the sound/microphone of the Astros. If you really want surround sound, you can use Razer Surround to virtualize it, similar to what the "gaming" headsets do. Also, if you only have one headphone jack free, you can use an adapter like this.

Hope this helps, and feel free to ask any questions!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004SP0WAQ/

Get one of those. Go into your sound settings on your PS4 and set it to play all sounds through headset. Now you can plug in your existing stereo headphones and a PC microphone, or any stereo PC headset with normal stereo and mic plugs.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004SP0WAQ/

These exist. Small, cheap. And no latency of a USB sound card.

(Not an endorsement for that particular item, I've bought some from clearance bins and it's such a basic piece of hardware it's hard to mess up.)

I think you are in need of this.

You haven't said what your headset's connectors are...

Edit: If I assume your headset uses 2 3.5mm ports, then these would be what you're looking for:
http://amzn.com/B004SP0WAQ . Less than 7 bucks; get it on Tuesday with Prime.

You definitely can use regular headphones. If you have a pair without a built in mic, you can add one. I just added a mic to my AKG K550s with these:
>http://amzn.com/B004SP0WAQ

>http://amzn.com/B00029MTMQ

TRRS -----> Tip (Left Channel), Ring (Right Channel), Ring (Common/Ground), Sleeve (Microphone +)

Yes, you can buy an extension, but unless your computer input panel is 4-pin capable then you will still have the same problem

Heres an extention: http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-MUHSMF2M-Position-Headset-Extension/dp/B008DWGLLO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1406307141&sr=8-2&keywords=StarTech.com+3.5mm+4+Position+TRRS

and here's what I think you need. This will split the signal into two outputs: one for headphones, one for audio. just plug one into the headphone jack on the computer and one into the microphone jack.You may need to switch them around the first time you try them because this one isn't labeled.
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-MUYHSFMM-Headset-Splitter-Adapter/dp/B0058DOWH6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1406307228&sr=8-2&keywords=4-pin+TRRS+to+computer

Replace "male to female" with "female to male" and you get what you're looking for
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0058DOWH6

I have [this] (https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087) and I love it. It uses science to explain why to do things and I need that kind of thing otherwise I'll doubt it.

My recommendations:

Videos:

1. Tasty videos! They’re short, so you can binge a bunch, but they’re also straightforward and usually on the simpler side. https://youtu.be/zcOsz-dHFe0
   
   
2. “Food Wishes” on YouTube. I’ve been watching them for over a decade - lighthearted, fun learning that takes you step by step through TONS of dishes. I cook almost daily, and I can credit this guy for most of my inspiration. https://www.youtube.com/user/foodwishes
   
   
3. Binging with Babish & Basics with Babish. Similar to good wishes, but a little more laid back (which is an accomplishment) and a bit higher production quality IMO. https://www.youtube.com/user/bgfilms
   
   
4. Bon Apetit! Also YouTube. So many fun personalities, everyone has different specialties, it’s like learning from experts that feel like your friends. Carla & Molly have the best recipes and explanations IMO, but they’re all wonderful. https://www.youtube.com/user/BonAppetitDotCom
   
   Websites/Books:
   
   These are more advanced, but Serious Eats (google it) never lets you down when it comes to recipes, but they’re definitely more involved (hours to days).
   
   One of the serious eats writers, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is a PhD Biologist (I think biology...) who wrote The Food Lab. This man is the god of cooking. 100% scientifically and experimentally tested, this book will teach you everything you ever need to know about cooking and then some. HIGHLY recommend getting a copy. The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393081087/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_DgUuDb85KVPJ8
   
   Finally, if you don’t want to drop $20 (it’s dropped by ~60% since I bought it! Definitely get a copy!!!) on that, but want to be healthy and learn easy, flavor packed recipes, pick up a copy of The Thug Kitchen. It’s vegan, but the skills are useful anywhere and I’ve yet to find anyone - carnivores included - that’s disliked a single recipe. I got a copy for myself, my girlfriend, a good friend of mine, and my brother.
   
   Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook: Eat Like You Give a F*ck (Thug Kitchen Cookbooks) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1623363586/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_miUuDb8363PR2

Well, on the extreme side, "The Professional Chef" textbook I believe is the one used by the culinary institute of America. I picked one up off Amazon for $36 just for the hell of it. It's really interesting and reads more like an academic text than a cook book. It can be quite intense though.

A much more popular choice and a much easier read would be "The Food Lab" by Kenji Lopez-Alt who is a writer for serious eats. The book has plenty of recipes but does an unbelievably amazing job explaining the science and reasoning behind the choices that are made as well as various "experiments" that kenji does to answer cooking questions. It definitely teaches technique and really helps put you in the right "mindset" for cooking without a recipe.

Here are links to both.

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Chef-Culinary-Institute-America/dp/0470421355

https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087

I suggest The Food Lab and Serious Eats, by J. Kenji López-Alt

Why not?

The recipe I'm referring to is nothing but salt & pepper, a roasting pan with a rack, and all day, really low and slow. Amazing how well that came out.

I could and it's a pipe dream of mine. However, the author of the original recipe has quite a collection already, and has already published such a cook book.

I dig you're enthusiasm but you're asking a broad question!

I'd recommend the following books to help answer your questions:

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of The Kitchen

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0684800012

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking through Science

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393081087

part 2/2

Second, there are ways to take a more cost-effective approach. I always bring up the physics example of the apple falling on Newton's head, which made him realize gravity existed, and then he dedicated his whole life to figuring out the formula for gravity; then you saunter up to science class one day, learn F=ma, and that's that! Likewise, a lot of smart & persistent people have worked hard to create formulas for food, called recipes, which you can try & learn & get good results at simply by following their step-by-step checklist.

Part of getting good at cooking is learning the underlying tools, technique, and knowledge required for flavor combinations, food pairings, spice mixes, cooking methods, etc., but part of it is also just burning through a bunch of recipes & getting exposure to good results & to various processes, without having to master every single one right off the bat & then think up new ways to use them. So in addition to learning how to cook in general, I'd also recommend simply following a bunch of recipes initially, rather than trying to re-invent the wheel, which can help you get better results initially, simply because you have proven instructions to follow! There are a million great resources for doing this; I'll share just a few here:

• Website: Serious Eats: Most recipes are split into a detailed explanation & then a separate page for the recipe itself. Excellent learning resource!
  
• Book: The Food Lab: By Kenji of the Serious Eats website. This is a really excellent book to learn cooking step-by-step, complete with full-color pictures & detailed explanations.
  
• Website: ChefSteps: An excellent resource for detailed recipes from the company that makes the Joule sous-vide machine (note that not all recipes are sous-vide!)
  
• Show: Good Eats with Alton Brown (on TV or available to purchase online); lots of detailed walkthroughs & tribal knowledge shared in each episode.
  
• Book: Modern Sauces: 150 sauces, plus great explanations to build up your knowledge about sauces. One thing I've realized over time is that most restaurants create amazing flavor through their sauces, whether it's something as basic as Big Mac sauce at McDonald's or a super fancy steak sauce at an elegant, high-end restaurant.
  
• Show: "Wok Star" by Eleanor Ho: She teaches a fantastic, recipe-free workflow for creating stir-fry dishes using a wok & a hi-heat portable burner. Note that you can buy the discs (which are just simple recordings of her classes) & printed materials separately from the wok & burner if you already have the tools. She's put together a really great system for teaching wok cooking, so if you're interested in learning the "flowchart" for quick & healthy meals using the stir-fry method, this is the best resource I've ever come across!
  
  Third, it helps to have some good introductions to the different aspects of food. Here's a few links to read to help kick-start your education process:
  
  
• Basic cooking advice & approach
  
• How to cook a chicken breast so it's good every time
  
• A quick discussion about "master" recipes
  
• Introduction to spices
  
• How our bodies works in relation to food & a bit more on food & exercise
  
• A quick introduction to complete foods
  
• My approach to meal prep & a bit more information on the Look Book
  
• Some tips for getting organized in your kitchen (kitchen part specifically is a few posts down)
  
  Anyway, learning how to cook can definitely be discouraging & can absolutely be a money-drain, because you're going to have to make a lot of mistakes, due to the learning process, and make also a lot of just plain mediocre food before you start hitting some home-runs. I'd recommend making sure that you have a recipe storage system for capturing the recipes & workflows you really like.
  
  I'd also recommend adopting the "growth" mindset when it comes to cooking, because it's easy to quit in the face of setbacks & label yourself as a terrible cook or view cooking at home as hard or dumb or whatever. If you look at cooking from a big-picture perspective, you're going to be alive until you die, and you've gotta eat every day, so imo at least, it's totally worth learning how to cook so that you can save money & enhance the enjoyability of each meal that you cook while you can!
  
  I think part of that is just accepting that it's going to take some time & practice (and money) as you grow & develop your skills, your personal recipe database, and the various workflows available for things like making breads or grilling or stir-frying or whatever you want to dive into. Probably the best way to save money, at this point in your cooking education, is to find & follow top-rated recipes. Pinterest has a pretty good algorithm for bubbling up really good recipes, so if you type in "chocolate-chip cookie" into the Pinterest search & try a recipe (exactly as printed, step-by-step) on the first page of results, then you're likely to get much better results than just winging it...while also building up your cooking skills in the process & getting that background knowledge & hands-on time required to get better at cooking!