Bargains - not CDs!

[Dave2002]

Another very niche thing - Spitfire Audio have extended their current sale to April 1st. Two libraries interest me:

The BBC SO Core library - which is still moderately expensive for those of us who aren't in the business of trying to make money out of music - but I think it is better than the free Discover package. One issue is whether is will run into CPU problems, as it is likely to be more space and processor demanding than the Discover library. At least it's now under £250 for a short while - £239.

The other is the BBC SO Piano Core - which is based on a Steinway piano - presumably similar to one used in large concerts. I'm not sure that I want such a heavy sounding piano, but it does seem good, and is currently on offer for £47.

This is niche - but some people may still be interested.

BTW - I did eventually, after a great deal of hassle, get the Miroslav Philharmonik 2 package from IK Multimedia to work. Was it worth it? Maybe - but that was the worst thing I've ever tried to install and get working. Now that it does work it's got some nice features, and IIRC has a bass clarinet.

OTOH the Steinberg package I also bought a while back is a pain, as it keeps trying to "phone home", and requests new passwords etc. When it works it's potentially useful, but the software is awkward to say the least. Lastly some of the Orchestral Tools packs which work with SINE Player are good, but some of them crash out if used in other software. The Free [yes really free] Crucible organ which runs in SINE is good , and probably easier to set up and use than the Leeds Town Hall organ, which has been free and freely available in the past.

[Dave2002]

No, no. Not watching us, more looking after us, with (big) brotherly love.

Ha ha! Just revisited this thread.

Great shame that Bryn and a few others of similar mind have been banned.

[Dave2002]

Did you try for that?

Now got the silver version (Christmas present ...) working in our kitchen. Not sure how well it's set up - but I'll have to redo it anyway to get some thin wires for the speakers.

Good enough for the intended purposes, but perhaps not for more intense music listening.

https://manuals.denon.com/rcdm41/eu/en/index.php

Was it really 2+ years since I wrote that?

I finally tried using an iPad to send Bluetooth to the Denon system. I'm not convinced that the sound quality is really good by using that method.

Is the quality issue due to Bluetooth, or perhaps due to the player software in the iPad? As I wrote earlier, the Denon unit wasn't intended as a high quality unit, but rather as something to use in the kitchen. It's certainly good enough for that, but I think it's capable of better sound quality than my quick test suggests.

It was only yesterday that I discovered the Bluetooth feature, as I was flicking round with the control unit. Is there a way to connect this to streaming services perhaps - though maybe that's not worth it either. There are offers on some streaming services which might be good, but then after an initial period they convert to some exorbitant rate - and I don't want to do that.

We also have a couple of really old iPads with batteries which now don't work. However one of my friends also had some similar ones, and managed to find some firms [one near Sheffield I think] which can repair them for around £70. For use as remote control devices and player devices for Bluetooth systems that could be a reasonable thing to do. I gather that the repairs/battery replacement did go well. However that would not be so good if Bluetooth into systems like our Denon are going to be inevitably compromised badly re sound quality.

Sadly the other item which we discussed a few years ago - the JL Tenor/Cello systems - has never reappeared, and I should have grabbed one while I could.
It would have been good for the guest bedroom, even though we don't have many guests. Ah well !!.....