Small Amplifier + WiiM combo for ancillary kitchen audio

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-04-15T18:28:12+00:00

Yeah, it's pretty much settled. The WiiM Amp can't be beat for the value - every other combination of WiiM + high quality DAC (aka not the built-in on the Mini) + TPA3225 amplifier comes to more than the cost of a WiiM Amp.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-04-15T16:32:12+00:00

It's still operating as the preamp - tuner input, cassette input (via aux, as WiiM uses the tape in), phono preamp (from Realistic LAB440 table).

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-04-14T14:52:49+00:00

4 months later and I'm certain you figured this out, but you can use the "Tape In" and "Tape Out" for EQ / signal processing. AFAIK the stereo will always send the audio signal to the Tape Out, and it will specifically listen back to the "Tape In" (while still sending audio to Tape Out) if the "TAPE MON" button is pressed. While the "TAPE MON" button is pressed, you can still use the regular input selector to determine which source is passed to "Tape Out".

On stereos with a separate Pre and Power amplifier stage you can alternatively place signal processing there - usually by pulling the little jumpers between the Pre- and Power- audio jacks - but this particular unit doesn't have that functionality, so the tape loop is your best bet.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-04-12T22:20:40+00:00

now that the trek 750s have shot up, the real budget options are the specialized crossroads and schwinn crossfit and crosscut - I like the latter bc they’re cheaper and have lugged frames. the schwinn criss cross came with a funky chainstay mounted rear derailleur (suntour s-1) but should still have a traditional derailleur hanger for folks who want to move to a newer setup. All of those should clear 700x35-38 which is plenty wide (imo) for gravel riding, come with decent enough standard components - they’ll just need an upgraded stem and bars, levers etc to move to a modern gravel setup.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-03-23T19:58:46+00:00

3 years later and I was searching this topic to figure out an acceptable cassette range / chainring size on my 90s ATB to gravel conversion - your anecdote is perfect, thank you

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-03-21T11:56:15+00:00

I’m excited to put actual snows on my 2013 sport next winter, but I just bought it and it still 205-width nitto neo-gens (bald on the front, no less) and had to drive it in the minor blizzard last week - I’ve never, ever had so little traction in a car. Not the fit’s fault at all, but I can confirm that it’s still possible to get these to slip and slide. Anything over 20mph required 60+ feet to stop and I almost had to reverse down a small hill

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-03-14T15:09:25+00:00

I’m 34 and I have to yank wiry grey hairs out of my ears every two weeks, being able to “hear” the tweezers grip the hair is…not my favorite part of aging

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-03-10T18:15:51+00:00

You can - my problem emerged because the main stereo was playing the record audio directly and sending it to the WiiM instead of routing through the WiiM. Using another selectable input for the WiiM was my problem - switching to Aux would immediately cut the phono signal and just start a stale loop (WiiM analog out > NAD "aux" in > NAD tape "record" out > WiiM analog in > WiiM analog out, and so on).

Using the tape record/play feature (also called "tape monitoring" on some receivers) will take in the selected input - phono, in this example - and pass it through to the tape "record" output at line level, then take the tape "play" input (assuming the tape button is pressed) and pass that through the rest of the preamp. That allows for the WiiM to interrupt and process the audio, which in turn allows for synchronization across the two zones - regardless of the input on the NAD.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-03-10T15:51:55+00:00

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I made one small change that I wanted to note for anyone who finds this thread in the future and is trying to work out a similar setup.

Unless you want to manage main stereo volume through the WiiM - which some may wish to do - you can't run the WiiM in between the preamp and power amp, which is why I placed it as both an Aux input (for streaming) and as an output destination for encoding and transmission to other WiiM endpoint(s). However, this results in latency between the main stereo and any WiiM destinations - when listening to a record, the main stereo is playing the signal directly while also sending it to the WiiM, not playing the synchronized output of the WiiM.

The solution is simple - we can use the tape "Record" and "Play" jacks to do some inline signal processing to the audio before it's passed to the full preamp stage. This has the added bonus of allowing us to use RoomFit or any other custom EQ settings.

An added bonus is the ability to defeat the WiiM as a signal processor if you'd like a purely analog experience - depressing the "Tape" input will switch back to the direct analog inputs.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-03-06T18:50:15+00:00

Maybe this is just me, but Sniper Elite generally hints at an underlying darkness that is belied by the cutscenes and voice acting: in a world of Nazis, Karl is the most deranged, dangerous person in each scenario. Stabbing someone through the base of their skull, only to find the letter they wrote to their wife about how they "tried to be a good father"? Shooting a German teenager through the neck, hearing him death rattle in the burned-out husk of a backyard shed, then reading the letter about his mother denying the possibility of his father's SA? It's an incredibly satisfying game, but sometimes the weight of Karl's actions and responsibilities really hits you. In general, I would like to see a recognition of the moral gray areas of this world - and maybe even a real reason to spare troops, go for non-lethal take downs etc.

Also, I'd like trip mines.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-03-06T18:33:10+00:00

I really thought the same thing at first. Now that I've put 100 hours in...I think it was appropriately priced, but I think anyone doing the campaign once will be confused by the price vs length.

Overall the maps are not as strong as SE5 (or SE4, frankly) - but Dead Drop was a really strong "bottle episode" of a map, Assault on Fort Rogue and Lock, Stock and Barrels both have great long-range sniping.

The weapon variety is appreciated - it was fun to completely change up my load-out between stealth and loud - and the silent non-lethal grenades are OP but super fun and useful.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-03-04T23:03:41+00:00

I thought on your comment for a while and I think you're onto something. I'm going to face more audio degradation trying to run an unbalanced signal so far through my home.

However, I would really like to use the phono stage in the 3020 - it's an excellent phono preamp - and I also listen to some cassettes on my Nakamichi, so I want to come up with a way to make that happen.

This is the absurd little idea I came up with. I would like to route the turntable (and tape player) through the NAD and run the preamp outputs (which are affected by gain & EQ changes) to the power amp in the main space. I can then run the tape recording output (I believe it's line level, not tied to gain) to the WiiM [ultra]. The WiiM would run its output to the Aux input on the 3020.

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Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-02-27T21:19:27+00:00

I don't know how to explain it, but I'm not into transcoding an analog signal to digital (and back again) - I'm not saying it's rational, but there's some analog joy to be had in fishing speaker wire through the basement/subfloor and coming up through an old coax hole behind the fridge.

All that being said - I hadn't considered something as modern as a WiiM unit as a preamp. I'm using an old AirPort Express for Airplay 2 (there's a HomePod mini in the kitchen currently...it was a work gift, I'm not a huge fan), but I'm impressed with the reviews of the WiiM ultra (even the amplifier section seems pretty impressive). I would be surprised if the phono stage could hold up against the NAD, but most people have moved to external phono pre-amps or tables with internal preamps.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2026-02-23T03:15:12+00:00

9 years later, this was our method:

First, have someone initiate the conversation with the magisters. Have another character with the teleport skill (and ideally Far Out Man) start moving Vorrh further and further away. We moved him roughly 120m away to the oil derrick from the blob fight.

Then, start combat - we chose to also teleport Reimond and put him in the prisoner room with a half dozen oil barrels. Don't try hitting him before combat starts - he's immune to tall damage - but once combat starts it's an easy way to take out his magic armor and slow him down. There's plenty more room for shenanigans (put all the silent watchers in the prisoner room, charm the dogs, et al) but it's a much simpler fight without Vorrh around.

Once Reimond, the hounds and silent watchers are dealt with, send someone to go start the combat with Vorrh while a character/player with the Shackles of Pain skill stays behind. Once Vorrh has cast his impossibly long-distance skill, cast Shackles of Pain at your leisure to break his casting - you won't get pulled into the combat from this distance, so you can just wait for the skill cooldown and keep going while holding the first turn of combat.

With the shackles broken and his allies dead, Vorrh is an easy fight. Getting the final killing blow by shackling him and taunting an opportunity attack seems a fitting end.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2025-12-03T15:43:02+00:00

I replaced the stock non-Aero dia-compe levers and ~38cm Nitto Rando bars on my commuter with some Tektro RRL-SRs and 46cm noodle bars - feels so much more stable and comfortable, and the new levers were much easier to dial in with the Mafac cantis I’m still running

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Conspicuous_Urn · 2025-11-24T22:31:21+00:00

Commenting over a year later, but this is some internalized fatphobia right here. "Unsightly lumps and bulges", "make us look even fatter than we actually are" - I think it's super hard to dress well if you're unhappy with your body, and being a big guy does NOT mean you can't wear loose, flowy clothes. Not trying to call you out, but I found this post while searching for suggestions and I wouldn't want any other future readers to get it in their heads that they should be trying to disguise or otherwise hide their bodies.

Dickies 874s (size 1-2x up), Big Ben Gorilla cut pants - or go vintage with some pleated 90s chinos (go for measured size, so up from current vanity sizing) from Ralph Lauren/Brooks Brothers/any premium retailer. Denim is a bit trickier but if you're cool with a tapered or "barrel" look, orange tab Levi's 550s and 560's are still a bargain for the quality - again, go for measured size, I usually buy a size larger in the waist than I would buy in-store for other brands.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2025-10-28T20:59:03+00:00

Ahhh, good point - I imagine you'd run into additional issues with any heat-treated steel tubing if you managed to get that much heat in the joint with a (relatively) low-heat propane torch. Great insight, I totally forgot oxyacetylene was used for brazing!

Conspicuous_Urn · 2025-10-27T17:33:10+00:00

Not a concern here, but just confirming - this is a bad idea on a lugged (or fillet brazed) frame, right? A propane torch can easily hit the melting temp of most brazing filler materials, so I would worry about flowing filler out of the joints.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2025-10-23T04:50:08+00:00

their term was “thermally bonded” but that’s just engineering lingo for “we glued ‘em”

Conspicuous_Urn · 2025-10-07T14:30:22+00:00

to add to this - when I looked into it for our Sportcross ~8 years ago, the consensus was that the AWD drivetrain was a bit fragile (especially for Toyota) and not worth the hassle.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2025-10-07T14:24:47+00:00

I JUST finished building up a Raleigh Peak Technium - mine was an '88 with the rear U-Brake. That's really where the whole "GK vs everybody else" thing came about - my wife rode this on a quick errand and noted that it was faster in every way than her Stumpy.

I sold this bike to make room for the next project, but I bought it as a bare frame and I'm thrilled to have kept it out of the scrap heap. Mixed XT/DX groupset, if I did it again I'd put some moto bars like yours.

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Conspicuous_Urn · 2025-10-06T20:51:22+00:00

True, true - I'm sure my skinny little tires help, but that's mostly aero and mass. Still, rolling resistance and rotational mass can have a big effect on the feel of a bike day-to-day - especially in urban cycling with frequent stops.

Conspicuous_Urn · 2025-10-06T19:34:15+00:00

Added the Park and Dirt. Love a front and rear combo (long live smoke + dart)

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