Best Of
Re: You know you’re getting old when…
When you get yourself one of these…. And when you have a pill that says “take with food”, but you realize that the number of pills you take qualifies as a meal…
daddyjt
4 ·
Re: You know you’re getting old when…
. . . when you think it's Thursday but there are still pills in the Wednesday slot and you don't know whether you forgot to take your pills on Wednesday and are you supposed to take your Wednesday pills plus your Thursday pills or maybe it really is Wednesday and why did I think it was ThursdayWhen you get yourself one of these…. And when you have a pill that says “take with food”, but you realize that the number of pills you take qualifies as a meal…
agingboomer
4 ·
Re: Signa S4 not showing as a bluetooth device on Mac Book Air M3 15"
1. Reset Bluetooth on MacBook Air M3
Sometimes, macOS Bluetooth needs a reset.
Try this:
Turn Bluetooth off and on
Go to System Settings > Bluetooth, toggle it Off, wait a few seconds, then turn it On again.
Restart the Mac
A simple reboot can refresh Bluetooth connectivity.
2. Put the Signa S4 in Pairing Mode Again
Even if you removed it from the old Mac, the soundbar might still be trying to connect to that device.
Turn off the Signa S4 and unplug it for 60 seconds.
Press and hold the Bluetooth button on the remote until the LED indicator flashes (this means it's in pairing mode).
On your MacBook Air M3, go to System Settings > Bluetooth and check if "Polk Signa S4" appears.
Click Connect if it shows up.
3. Remove Possible Interference
Since you’re seeing "Video Display" or "Gary’s TV", another device (like an Apple TV, Smart TV, or other Bluetooth device) might be interfering.
Try turning off nearby smart TVs, game consoles, or other Bluetooth devices temporarily to see if that helps.
4. Reset Mac’s Bluetooth Module (Advanced)
If your Mac’s Bluetooth is acting up, a reset can help:
Open Terminal (Press Command + Space, type Terminal, and hit Enter).
Type:
sudo pkill bluetoothd
Press Enter and enter your Mac password when prompted.
Restart your Mac and try pairing again.
5. Factory Reset the Soundbar (Last Resort)
If none of the above work, try resetting the Signa S4:
Press and hold the Bluetooth and Volume Down buttons on the soundbar for 10+ seconds.
The LED should flash, indicating a reset.
Try pairing again.
Sometimes, macOS Bluetooth needs a reset.
Try this:
Turn Bluetooth off and on
Go to System Settings > Bluetooth, toggle it Off, wait a few seconds, then turn it On again.
Restart the Mac
A simple reboot can refresh Bluetooth connectivity.
2. Put the Signa S4 in Pairing Mode Again
Even if you removed it from the old Mac, the soundbar might still be trying to connect to that device.
Turn off the Signa S4 and unplug it for 60 seconds.
Press and hold the Bluetooth button on the remote until the LED indicator flashes (this means it's in pairing mode).
On your MacBook Air M3, go to System Settings > Bluetooth and check if "Polk Signa S4" appears.
Click Connect if it shows up.
3. Remove Possible Interference
Since you’re seeing "Video Display" or "Gary’s TV", another device (like an Apple TV, Smart TV, or other Bluetooth device) might be interfering.
Try turning off nearby smart TVs, game consoles, or other Bluetooth devices temporarily to see if that helps.
4. Reset Mac’s Bluetooth Module (Advanced)
If your Mac’s Bluetooth is acting up, a reset can help:
Open Terminal (Press Command + Space, type Terminal, and hit Enter).
Type:
sudo pkill bluetoothd
Press Enter and enter your Mac password when prompted.
Restart your Mac and try pairing again.
5. Factory Reset the Soundbar (Last Resort)
If none of the above work, try resetting the Signa S4:
Press and hold the Bluetooth and Volume Down buttons on the soundbar for 10+ seconds.
The LED should flash, indicating a reset.
Try pairing again.
haudevbe
1 ·
Re: Building a vacuum tube tape preamp
That sounds like a fantastic build! The Marantz 7 circuit is legendary for its warm and musical sound, and optimizing it for NAB tape playback is a great idea. The high-quality components—Bourns multi-turn pots, Mundorf and Elna caps, and the shielded AC transformer—should make for a very low-noise and highly adjustable preamp.
Are you planning to use tube or solid-state rectification? And will you have switchable EQ curves for different tape formats?
Are you planning to use tube or solid-state rectification? And will you have switchable EQ curves for different tape formats?
haudevbe
1 ·
Re: Noise.
Yo! You're speaking the truth—noise floor is the silent killer of great audio. Chasing that ultra-black background where the space between notes feels like pure silence is what separates a decent system from a mind-blowing one.
When you start eliminating noise—ground loops, RF interference, power supply garbage—you unlock details you didn’t even know were there. Imaging gets sharper, depth expands, and suddenly, you're hearing into the soul of the recording. It’s addictive.
So, what's your current noise-killing setup? Are you rocking power conditioning, star grounding, shielded cables, or some secret sauce tweak?
When you start eliminating noise—ground loops, RF interference, power supply garbage—you unlock details you didn’t even know were there. Imaging gets sharper, depth expands, and suddenly, you're hearing into the soul of the recording. It’s addictive.
So, what's your current noise-killing setup? Are you rocking power conditioning, star grounding, shielded cables, or some secret sauce tweak?
haudevbe
0 ·
Re: Snub Way road test
That sounds like a cool community-driven demo program! It’s always great when audiophiles get together to share experiences and test new gear in real-world setups. The Veri-Fi Snubway seems to have piqued some curiosity—what exactly does it do? Is it some kind of signal conditioner, ground isolator, or enhancement device for audio playback?
If you’ve had a chance to try it yet, what’s your initial impression?
If you’ve had a chance to try it yet, what’s your initial impression?
haudevbe
0 ·
Re: SACD over HDMI cable performance
Great experiment! Using your Sony Blu-ray player for SACD playback over HDMI is a solid move, especially if your DAC supports DSD over HDMI.
As for HDMI cables, the debate over their impact on audio quality is real in the audiophile world. Technically, HDMI transmits digital signals (1s and 0s), so in theory, a well-built budget HDMI cable should sound the same as a high-end one—but in practice, things like shielding, conductor quality, and clock signal integrity can affect jitter and noise, which might subtly impact soundstage and detail retrieval.
Some high-end HDMI cables use better shielding to reduce interference, higher purity copper or silver conductors, and improved internal clocking to minimize jitter. Whether or not you’ll hear the difference depends on your system’s resolution and how susceptible your DAC is to HDMI jitter.
Have you tried any mid-to-high-end HDMI cables, or are you considering one? Something like an AudioQuest Vodka or Wireworld Platinum Starlight could be interesting to test if you’re curious.
As for HDMI cables, the debate over their impact on audio quality is real in the audiophile world. Technically, HDMI transmits digital signals (1s and 0s), so in theory, a well-built budget HDMI cable should sound the same as a high-end one—but in practice, things like shielding, conductor quality, and clock signal integrity can affect jitter and noise, which might subtly impact soundstage and detail retrieval.
Some high-end HDMI cables use better shielding to reduce interference, higher purity copper or silver conductors, and improved internal clocking to minimize jitter. Whether or not you’ll hear the difference depends on your system’s resolution and how susceptible your DAC is to HDMI jitter.
Have you tried any mid-to-high-end HDMI cables, or are you considering one? Something like an AudioQuest Vodka or Wireworld Platinum Starlight could be interesting to test if you’re curious.
haudevbe
0 ·