The other option is to chuck them all. 

https://shop.mcintoshlabs.com/products/lb200-light-box

http://www.ttvjaudio.com/TTVJ_Deluxe_Flat_Pads_p/ttvj000999.htm

Biggie.

I don't think im insane for entertaining the idea of owning what appears to be a discrete, quality EQ device. Thoughts?

Thanks a lot!

Gene

Looks like you can really dive down the rabbit hole on this stuff – my system is already connected to a PS Audio Duet.

Thoughts?

id love for anyone to share pics and recs of some quality listening chairs. I’ve been using an old wood rocker which actually isnt too bad, but it’s a bit of a family heirloom piece and I should get my ass out of it. As I’ve been looking, the search has been harder than I thought - I’m looking for an armchair but most I’ve found are so bulky they would just dominate the room. Many nice chairs seem to be made for dining table sets or kitchen tables which look odd. 

I would say I like the mid century style the most but know those can get pricey. Something classy but not bulky, definitely wanting something on the sleeker side but hopefully still comfy. My listening room isn’t huge (maybe 20 deer across the long way), and it shares with the fireplace, two couches on adjacent walls, as well as the TV, space is somewhat at a premium. 

Ok so everyone here knows me as a cable freak who is also obsessed with connector quality. Yes i am , so bear with me, i promise i am not going to go patrick82 here . anyway, as many of you guys know i am one of those who do not use a dedicated headphone amp, instead i use the ghetto trick of directly driving my senns directly from the two xlr outs of my apogee/lavry dac (pioneered by none other than the brilliant fotm starter iron dreamer ). because of that, the headphone cable has become the critical link between the dac and the headphones in my rig.

To maximize the sound quality i need to get the best sennheiser headphone cable i can find. Over the last 18 months or so i have tried/owned many sennheiser cables. cardas, equinox, GE 18awg teflon coated copper prototype (zach please correct me if i am wrong), headphile blacksilver, moon audio silver dragon and the zu mobius...ok i know there are a few more out there but i don't have the money to try them now. Of course, it is obvious that there is no perfect cable in this world, but so far i have managed to find two balanced sennheiser cables with the sound and the build quality i care to live with ? enter the cardas sennheiser and the zu mobius.

Xhadow Cardas

The cardas sennheiser cable is the most widely produced after market sennheiser cable, but they don't seem to get a lot of love on headfi. Every after market sennheiser cable, including the rnb180 special G52, is supposed to beat the crap out of the cardas. After trying out a bunch of after market sennheiser cables, I kind of understand why the cardas doesn't seem to get a lot of positive press. IMHO most headfiers tend to enjoy a warm and fuzzy sound (think RSA amps), while the sound of the cardas is as lean and clean as you can get for a copper-based sennheiser cable. I personally have no love for a warm and fuzzy sound, i love the SS sound from a gilmore or a meier amp and tend to avoid anything with tubes, therefore i really dig the cardas sound (i liked the cardas better than the equinox and the headphile out of my lavry and magnum's rig, when i was at the chicago meet).

I got my balanced cardas used from grand enigma (he got it from headroom), it came with two neutrik gold plated brass xlr plugs. The sound was...well, warm and fuzzy, not good enough for me. Being unreasonably obsessed with connector quality, i bought a pair of furutech xlr plugs with rhodium over bronze contacts for about $140 bucks and junked the neutriks. Ok the sound became clearer but it became so thin that it was unnatural and distracting. Not willing to give up, i replaced the furutechs with a pair of xhadow xlr plugs with silver over copper contacts. Wow, remember the story of goldilocks and the three bears? Neutriks are too warm, furutechs are too cold, the xhadows are just right, very natural and transparent.

The build quality of the cardas is excellent, the cable is very flexible, the rubber sheath is not microphonic at all and has a very nice smooth touch. The two y-splits are immaculate with layers of adhesive heatshrinks applied on the wires and the joints flawlessly.

Zu Mobius

Every sennheiser users have heard about the zu mobius, it needs no serious introduction, because it is probably the most popular and the best sounding after market sennheiser cable. Other than the rnb audio G52, it is the only cable that receives an overwhelmingly positive press on headfi, with lots of users reporting that the mobius is capable of removing the notorious sennheiser veil. Although IMHO there are many things behind the veil and the headphone cable is only one of the reasons behind, the zu mobius is way more open and natural sounding than the stock sennheiser cable.

The mobius can only be directly purchased from zu, because zu is a relatively small company and thanks to srajan ebaens from 6moons, there is usually a lead time on its products. 18 months ago zu shipped my order in a day, 10 months ago zu shipped my order in 5 days, and 4 months ago zu shipped my order in 2 weeks. My balanced zu mobius comes with neutrik silver plated brass plugs, i am unable to open them up because zu glues all its terminations.

As far as i know the mobius is the only after market sennheiser cable that is shielded. The cardas is supposed to be shielded too but i don't think it is, because it is too flexible for a shielded cable and i couldn't find any kind of shielding at all when i reterminated it with different xlr plugs. As a result of the aluminum braid shield and the techflex, the zu mobius is somewhat inflexible and microphonic. Nothing serious of course, i have never been distracted by the mobius when i listen to the music.

The build quality of the mobius is just as good as the cardas. The joints are secured by massive shrinks, even it is more of a hand-made cable (with shielding and techflex installed over the wires) than the off-the-spool looking cardas, there is no lousy craftsmanship here. Kudos to the zu: the two custom aluminum sennheiser plugs have a better look and feel than the plastic molds on the cardas. Zu surely knows how to make its cables look good with the aluminum eye candies they get cheaply from the milling factory next door (according to 6moons).

More about what's inside

Inside the cardas cable, each conductors have many strands of individually coated, multiple-gauge cardas litz copper wires. According the cardas' marketing literature the best sounding wire is the one that is least resonant, kind of similar to the KG's idea of pro-shrink i guess? Nonetheless the cardas does sound very clean to me, definitely not the typical copper sound.

AFAIK the conductors of the zu are white teflon coated silver plated copper wires in an unconventional or conventional geometry, i really don't know. I can't open up my zu mobius without voiding my warranty and resell value, so someone has to do the verifying job. I know, silver plated copper wires cost next to nothing and the use of SPC wires implies snakeoil, many of us believe they have poor sonic qualities too. But zu says SPC has its own merit according to US military research, ok i am not throwing out all of zu's marketing literature, go to 6moons and read the zu vs cerious vs stealth shootout if you want to read all the details. What i am trying to say is jokes aside i can't make a serious judgment based on the look and the conductors of a cable, without actually trying it for an extended period of time.

part two will be up soon.

Anyone got other suggestions?

Knowing that they were not cheap and could possible make a difference to my system; I snatched them up.  Skeptical... but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try them out. Well I have to say it was worth the 30 seconds to swap this guy in. Tightening as much as I could, utilizing the bottom half of the receptacle bypassing the tab I heard an improvement right away, not huge but defiantly there. My system seemed to have allot more oomph, Bass is heavier and more pronounced. The whole sound had more weight to it sounding like more power was getting through. These receptacles are about 3x the weight of the standard, why... not sure, haven't dissected.. sign of higher quality components maybe?

Like I said: not a huge improvement but worth the $20-$30.

You should give her a try, model number is IG5362

I started with a Uptone Audio Regen, and immediately heard sonic benefits.  So I looked for various other devices, and ended up with an iFi iUSB 3.0 (used at work with my Chord Mojo), iFi iPurifier 2, Audioquest Jitterbug, and just tonight a previously-unknown-to-me product called the Intona USB Isolator.

A lot of marketing BS floats about, along with some science, pseudo- or not.  Everything I have tried so far, though, HAS had some improvement in at least some areas.  Not all improved enough to enjoy....the iPurifier 2 did some nice things, but sucked some air and life from the music.  I haven't yet really tried the Jitterbug enough to judge it fairly.

But I have had such positive experiences with two products that I wanted to mention them: The Uptone Audio USB Regen, and the Intona USB Isolator.  I believe the iFi iUSB 3.0 is doing good things at work, but hadn't tried the Mojo without it, so can't quantify.  And I'm not in the mood to sit there and try things mix and match.  Some people with a lot of time on their hands have been playing around with multiple devices, putting one before the other than switching sequence, etc. etc.  I just want more simplified plug and mostly play.

As of now, I have the Intona in my speaker system, and the USB Regen in my main headphone system.  In each place, they make a nice difference in clarity and things like soundstage and imaging.  More music just seems to come through.

Thankfully not so expensive; range from ~$50 to $300.  USB Regen was under $200, Intona USB Isolator $258 shipped from Germany.  Both have made, IMO, much more improvement than perhaps any other component that costs that little.  I've been reading about the USB Isolator's ability to work well with good basic USB cables, negating the need for the uber-expensive cables that don't make as much a difference.

Just wondering if anyone has played around with these types of tweaks.....or cares 

I figured posting here would give me a much more intelligent response from some trusted members

I already have a Richard Gray Isogray system that is working great for my amplifiers (even though the recommendation for amps is to plug straight into the wall).

My preamp (the infamous RSA B52...don't shoot me) and my Dac are plugged straight into the wall because I didn't like what I was hearing through the Richard Gray conditioning.

So now, I need some power conditioning and am looking for some advice. My Dac is the Reimyo DAP 777. I'm thinking of the PS Audio Power Plant Premier (regenerator), Audience AR1P for Dac and preamp separately and the Nordost Thor.

I've taken out the Shunyata (heard the Vray and didn't like what it was doing in my system).

I'm also going to need dedicated lines, but thats something down the line.

My main issue is the damn popping noise whenever the light in the bathroom is switched on (circuit is being shared). I'd appreciate any advice or direction in this matter.

Thanks folks!

in a typical high end headphone setup?

I have a (small) amount of low level periodic but irritating static going on in my amp, and was wondering if these power line devises

actually work. I live in a city and no doubt the mains is as dirty as hell!

If anyone could recommend an affordable unit for 220-240v. Or tell me I am an idiot,

Either is fine.

@Knuckledragger, Brent said to check with you, but if anyone else has suggestions, please share them. I was recently gifted a blue yeti microphone and it is great for desktop use. It's a fantastic mic overall but not exactly portable. 

Thoughts/suggestions?

I had to do some research about what exactly they are and came across this post-

link removed

I'm just curious about what constitutes a good headphone amp and should I purchase one.

Thanks ya'll. 

Acme Silver plated Cryo outlets. A little Siltech wire.

Now I can't wait to get my equipment back from service.

Thanks Kevin.

Just picked up a pair of SR-002s from Justin. I've noticed an annoying hum in the right channel whenever I listen at my desk, but not when I listen in the bedroom (i.e. it's not the headphones). The hum is loudest when the SR-002 is connected to my gamma2 -> Mac (doesn't matter if the Mac is plugged in or not), but it doesn't go away when I disconnect the SR-002 amp from the gamma2, or even when I disconnect the SR-002 headphone cable from the amp. As in, I can hear a fricking hum even when I'm wearing headphones plugged into nothing at all. I've never heard this hum with my other Stax but I guess the SR-002s are uber-sensitive to this problem.

Two things make the hum go away: if I touch the metal surface of my dac/amp/computer, or if I unplug every electrical object near my desk. My building is from the 1950s and although I have a three-prong outlet it is not grounded.

Would it be correct to assume that somehow the SR-002 cable is picking up a stray electrical field, to further assume that this field is emanating from my dac/amp/computer, and that by touching these objects I somehow 'correct' whatever electrical failure causes this field? I am no electrical engineer, so these are just guesses. More importantly, is there some magic doo-dad that I can buy to fix this issue?

Merci,

Sameer

I'm considering to buy one of these cables to connect preamp to amp. Has anyone heard or tried any of these cables? I would be really grateful for any comment.

Regards,

Francisco

I'd like a USB powered speaker (singular or pair, it's irrelevant), ideally one that has a built in DAC so it's only connection to my laptop is via the USB cable.  I've never particularly liked the analogue output on any Macintop that I've owned.  1/8" jacks seem to live to crackle and drop out.  Bass response is utterly irrelevant, but clarity in the upper frequencies is essential.  I'm dyslexic, and therefore have really bad auditory processing of language.  I need to be able to understand what's being said in a podcast while running water in the sink, etc.  I tend to leave the speakers in the bathroom when I'm not using them, so something that's at least vaguely moisture-resistant would be a plus.

My budget is under $100, but the farther below that number, the better.  I have to buy a bunch of other things this fall, like a new car.

Any HCers have experience with products like this?  Got any suggestions?  I'd prefer something available on AMZN, as the 'Egg has made me (and many other 'Casers) quite angry.

Anyone have suggestions?  I'm not handy with cars and do not want to try taking apart the dashboard to access our CD changer or anything like that. Seems that something like this might be my only option with the limited amount of time and effort I'm willing to put in. Will it actually sound close to cd-quality?

Thanks for the help.