What have you been working on in 2020?


New system? Getting into DIY? New bands?

I’d love to know what you’ve been doing that is audio-related this year. Dare I hope some of you have gotten soldering guns? Heat guns? Cables or caps?
For me, I’ve gotten into Roon and the Pi 4. Finally set up my combined 2-ch/HT set up with a new HT processor, and done a little blogging on Roon and subwoofers.  Last night I took my Pi 4 apart and added tiny little heat sinks to the RAM, USB and Ethernet chips.
erik_squires
I was finally able to get a low-angle jack and a block Veritas planes from Lee Valley in Canada and have mostly smoothed out some glued up white oak and cherry. I'm about to stain them black and aqua before I apply finish and attach some legs. The audio stand should be a stunner. And I'm shedding old Sonos amps and getting new Sonos amps. I just added a Frank Zappa station to my playlist.
Gone or going:Sim Audio MoonNeo 220i integratedCambridge Audio CXR 200 HT receiverOppo BDP 83New arrivals:Denafrips Aries II dacBonn N8 ethernet switchMusical Fidelity M6si integratedAnthem MRX 520 HT receiverNRG Power cables
Oh boy. Covid hit my retired lifestyle hard leading me to seek refuge in exercise and music to stay semi-sane

Biggest change was upgrading my Primaluna Prologue Six monos to Dialogue Premium after eight or so years. Other "work" was done to my Uptone JS-2 powered Roon Nucleus+ streaming setup. USB out via Cerious Link to an Uptone ISORegen to Synergistic Reference USB to aJS-2 powered Matrix X SPDIF 2 to Audioquest Mocha HDMI I2S into my PS Audio DirectStream DAC.

Upstream of that I added a Sonore opticalModule powered by an HDPlex LPS via fiber to my EtherREGEN powered by an Sbooster LPS then via Synergistic Reference CAT6 to the Nucleus+

A couple of Synergistic Atmosphere power cords and all Blue Fuses replaced by SR Orange.

Happy boy...
DIYing
Upgraded  the caps , recitiers , some resistors ,
speaker posts and RCA connectors on a McCormack DNA-250 amp .
Am now working on  Thiel CS2.7 speakers ,
experimenting with the wiring , then changing out the resistors 
and electrolytic caps .

Constrained Lagrange optimization software for quantum computers...

oh wait...

had my genius Roger Modjeski RM-9 rebuilt and an octet of Hyper precision matched EL-34 installed and broken in - Phat!

conducted extensive listening evaluations between AEA and Royer vocal ribbons for recording studio project. Finished results = released album :-) sponsor the arts!!!

wading thru Rettinger - Acoustic Design and Noise Control ( Vol. 1 ) trimmed .04 off the consequential RT-60 using “ stuff “

Working a nice walnut slab into an amp stand, down selecting to constrained layer and feet. HRS selected for stand to amp interface