Sk1Bum

Will Bernard, Freelance Subversives was released on May 1, 2020. "Will Bernard’s new recording is titled Freelance Subversives; the title itself is the best description of his method, his mindset, and his storied career. His journey began in Berkley California, itself a hotbed of both freelancers and subversives. Listening in to underground radio as a young man he picked up on the greats - first in rock and roll with The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Dr. John, The Rolling Stones - and then the typically Bay Area sounds of The Grateful Dead, Santana, Tower Of Power, and more. Sent off to a culturally diverse school courtesy of the the US busing program, Will was exposed to some great teachers as he picked up the guitar as his choice of musical expression." You can read the rest of the review here...

Once your reputation gets to 6, you'll be able to upload pics.

Hello Matthew, and welcome to thecarversite.com. We're glad you're hear. There is a lot of information here, much technical know how, and a pretty good bunch of folks that are happy to help. While I know next to nothing about the MXR-130, there are several here that do, and I'm sure one of them will chime in and help you sort out your issues. Once you get to Novice status, please consider uploading some pics of your gear in the Members Systems area. We all like pics of all kinds of audio gear. In the meantime, kick your shoes off, turn up the music, and welcome aboard.

Victor Wainwright & The Train, Memphis Loud was released on May 22, 2020 "Call it jump-blues, boogie-woogie, honky-tonk or plain old rock ‘n roll, the music which Grammy nominee, Savannah-born pianist Victor Wainwright records and so clearly adores, practically crackles with electricity. It’s a force summoned from the deep roots of the earth and channelled through the spirit and into his fingers, powered by American history and informed by decades of roots music." You can read the rest of the review here...

Kandace Springs, songs from The Women Who Raised Me on PBS, The Kate. This album is covers of songs that Kandace grew up on. https://thekate.tv/season-5-episode-505-kandace-springs-full-episode/

Trombone Shorty on Austin City Limits. Check out his trumpet solo! https://www.pbs.org/video/trombone-shorty-orleans-avenue-2ndplm/

Slow Is The New Fast, Slower was released on May 22, 2020. "Slow Is The New Fast is back with their second album "Slower". An album where both the music and the ensemble has gone through a bit of change since the debut "Slow" in 2018. Håkon Aase on violin and Henriette Eilertsen on flute is the new contributing duo that takes the music to higher grounds." You can read the rest of the review here...

Bob Dylan, Rough and Rowdy Ways was released on June 19, 2020. This is his first new material since 2012. "The great Bob Dylan made a sensational return to form with the release of his 39th studio album Rough and Rowdy Ways. The record, which debuted at number two in the charts, once again delivered yet more records as for the iconic singer-songwriter as he became one of the first artists in history to have a charting album across six different decades." You can read the rest of the review here...

The Alligator Wine, Demons of the Mind was released on April 24, 2020. "A twisted haven of creative sounds and fresh thinking. Delightfully dark in places whilst fantastically Funkadelic in others. Let Rob Vitacca and Thomas Teufel take you on an inspirational and experimental mind trip with this incredible album. A rising of organ notes and a cackle of birds. A deep voice draws you in with talk of suffering. It sucks you down and then spits you out with a shout of “Shotgun” and the music takes off. It is upbeat, drum-heavy Rock ‘n’ Roll but there’s a hint of something else. A clip-clop of cowbell, a gesture of Jazz in places? One track in and it is already difficult to believe that there are just 2 members in this band and no guitars."

Soul Asylum, Hurry Up & Wait was released on April 17, 2020 "Hurry Up and Wait, the twelfth album by Minneapolis rockers Soul Asylum, doesn’t tread much new ground, but it is a good representation of frontman Dave Pirner’s vision. The album is sonically similar to the band’s output since its 1992 breakthrough Grave Dancer’s Union, melding rock intensity with sing-along melodies while lacking much of the raw riff-heavy sound of the band’s 1980s work." You can read the rest of the review here... I have to agree with Mr. Lukens review. This album doesn't break new ground for Soul Asylum, and it gets a 6 on the Sk1Bum 10 point scale. I wouldn't change the station if I heard this on the radio, but I probably wouldn't turn it up either. This album would make good background music if I was working on something I needed to focus on, as it certainly wouldn't distract me.

Hello Ln310, and welcome to thecarversite.com. We're glad you're hear. There is a lot of information here, much technical know how, and a pretty good bunch of folks that are happy to help. That's an interesting assortment of gear you have there. Like RodH said, the Advent sub with a Sunfire amp caught my attention. I look forward to seeing pictures of all your gear. Once you get to Novice status, please consider uploading some pics of your gear in the Members Systems area. We all like pics of all kinds of audio gear. In the meantime, kick your shoes off, turn up the music, and welcome aboard.

Phillip Sayce, Spirit Rising was released on April 24, 2020. "Philip Sayce comes out swinging on his brand-new record Spirit Rising, a hot-handed, career-making effort that drops April 24th, 2020 via Warner Music Group. Sayce is an immensely talented guitarist and vocalist with a mind-bending blues/rock style that invokes the giants of the past while simultaneously bringing the idea of rock music into the present and beyond. The record covers a ton of stylistic ground and genuinely expresses all that Sayce is and does. This time out, he worked with songwriters including Richard Marx, the L.A. writing team/band Distant Cousins, and Toronto’s Gavin Brown and Maia Davies, resulting in an album that seamlessly moves from blazing guitars to deep soul music. Through it all, Sayce brings listeners the kind of thrills that lead to stardom."

Welcome back Brian, and I am sorry for your loss.

That spike is a fold-down handle, or I guess you could tickle your tonsils with it.

Lots of them, and the way the prices keep climbing, speculators too.

It's on the rig in my HT, and the best analogy I can think of is, it's a video graphic equalizer. When I played around with it, all I could do was make the picture worse. Fortunately, I took a picture before I changed anything, so I could set it back to "flat." There may be an option to turn it off... I don't recall. When I fire up the TV, I'll bring up the Darbee settings page, take another pic, and post it here. It will probably be either very late tonight or tomorrow. Here's a link to the user manual. It has several mentions of Darbee, and on page 59 it starts going into more detail. http://download.oppodigital.com/BDP103/BDP-103D_USER_MANUAL_English_v1.2.2.pdf

From an unofficial oppo FAQ at: http://watershade.net/wmcclain/BDP-103-faq.html#what-audio-dac-does-the-bdp-103-use The DAC is the same as the BDP-93, the Cirrus Logic CS4382A (8-ch, 24-bit, 192khz). OPPO says: There have however been some incremental improvements in circuit design that should improve on the audio some: a novel configuration of the DAC chip and a new analog buffer and filter stage following the DAC output. This does not jive with what I've read here. It's been stated here that the DAC is the ESS Sabre, and there is one dedicated for 2 channel, and one dedicated for 7.1/5.1. I know the 105, 203, & 205 have the ESS Sabre DAC(s). For the record, I have 2 103s, 1 103 Darbee, and a 105. I got drawn in the lottery for a 205 in the last run, but I didn't have $1300 at the time, and I gave my spot to another member here. Now, a still in the box 205 is bringing $3K regularly, and some are asking $5K.

Here's the back of the 105, and it has both RCA and XLR analog outputs.

All of the oppos I mentioned have analog outs.

Keith McKelley, Liquid Smoke was released on March 1, 2020. I can't find a review of this album anywhere. This is saxophone led big band smooth jazz. If you like smooth jazz, you'll like this album. It gets an 8.5 on the Sk1Bum 10 point scale.

If it's still available, and in good shape, that's a great price.

Even though they have left the business, I can't sing the praises of oppo players enough. I have four of them. The top tier players 203, 205 have quadruped in price since oppo left the business. The 103, 105 are still affordable. You can get a 103 for about $400, and the 105 is moving up pretty fast. The 105s are getting to the $900-1K range. The 103 shares the analog RCA outputs for multi channel and stereo. The 105 has dedicated stereo outputs in both RCA and XLR. The oppo will play CD, sacd, DVD-a, DVD, blueray, mp3, flac, ogg, and many other digital formats. It has both cable and wireless network capabilities, some built in streaming apps, Netflix, Tidal, YouTube, and a few others. oppo still supports the players, and you can find out a lot more here: http://www.oppodigital.com Good luck with your search.

Orrin Evans, The Intangible Between was released on May 1, 2020. "Pianist Orrin Evans has a deep understanding of the unshakeable bond between fellowship, humanity and the creative process. That knowledge has guided him through creating a remarkable catalog of music as both a leader and sideman, along the way, experiencing the fellowship of a collective of musicians he often refers to as "The Village." You can read the rest of the review here...

Hello ORCA SONG, and welcome to thecarversite.com. We're glad you're hear. There is a lot of information here, much technical know how, and a pretty good bunch of folks that are happy to help. My first Carver purchase was an M-400t from House of Sound here in Springfield in 1983. I still have the receipt, box and packing for that amp, and I may still have that amp. I've bought, sold, and traded about a dozen of them. It may have left in the shuffle. Once you get to Novice status, please consider uploading some pics of your gear in the Members Systems area. We all like pics of all kinds of audio gear. In the meantime, kick your shoes off, turn up the music, and welcome aboard.

Hello Web, and welcome to thecarversite.com. We're glad you're hear. There is a lot of information here, much technical know how, and a pretty good bunch of folks that are happy to help. We have an active tube contingent here, preamps, amps, buffers, cd players... I'm sure y'all will find plenty to chat about. My only foray into tubes is a buffer I run in my external processor loop. Once you get to Novice status, please consider uploading some pics of your gear in the Members Systems area. We all like pics of all kinds of audio gear. In the meantime, kick your shoes off, turn up the music, and welcome aboard.