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Well, actually Sunday & yesterday...in order: Fired my lawn-cutting guy Mowed & trimmed my own lawn for the first time in 4 years Realized how grossly out-of-shape I am The good news are: My push-mover fired up on the first try Since I'm still working from home, I can split the lawn-cutting tasks across at least two days to create a built-in lunchtime exercise activity

I have an open box Brooklyn DAC+ someone returned because it didn't have ethernet I also have an open box Brooklyn Bridge someone returned because they didn't want ethernet If anyone is interested.. 😙

I'll just leave this here:

Morning Prog

So when I got my case I got pretty upset with the looks of the power switch: So I search around the house for what could be used to improve this and found and unused aluminum kitchen drawer handle. Nice looks, hollow and easy to cut. A couple of minutes later:

Claire had just read about Run the Jewels somewhere so we listened to 2 and 4 last night. Good stuff that I want to hear on headphones.

I’ve moved to stronger psilocybins and now enchanting sirens follow me wherever I go.

Newly released.

Nobody gives a crap - get a life

You nailed it 🤣 Here's my modest Estats collection (thus far) - STAX 009BK, L700 Mk1/MKII, L500 Mk II, 404 LE, L300 LE, L207, Jade II, Kaldas Research RR1, Pollinator (by Nectar Sound). Yes, I do have both KGSShv and 353X. For L700 main improvement would be tigher/faster bass. KGSShv quite a powerful amp than 353X so might be a big step up, mainly I found it to be very revealing so it's a must that you have good source & music recording. Benefits - I would say overall helps realize the full potential of inefficient cans (007/RR1/VOCE) if you hear your music loud then KGSShv could be a good choice. I heard good things about Perun as well, you might also check out ES Labs offerings ES Labs ES-Sigma Electrostatic Headphone https://www.eslabhk.com/product-page/stock-es-sigma-electrostatic-headphone ES-1 alpha (es1a) https://www.eslabhk.com/product-page/es-1-alpha-electrostatic-headphone I think music/hearing preferences is very personal in nature and would say audition the headphones/amps before pulling a trigger the good luck with your hunt. Thank you!

These are my subjective impressions. My chain Mac Book pro - > Denafrips Ares II - > KGsshv dual outputs (both L700 OG and L700 Mk II connected) L700 Mk II have tighter bass the reason could be due to angled metal forks giving it tab better clamping force and the may be the new cable might have something to do with it as well. L700 MK II is sharper and little more efficient than the L700 OG. Little better detail retrieval as well (I could be wrong as well). Hope this helps.

You meant this? The button diameter is either 5mm or 10mm. I got bored of the illuminated switches after using so many of them and changed to this simple switch a while ago.

Yay for doggies!!!

Nice chair, but I think the image needs more filter.

Not grilling, but cold smoking... 😎 made a zero cost cold smoker with Epson workforce pro ! ... ;} So, my very very old Smoky Joe with a coil burner stolen from an old electric oven wired for 120v {aaa, I just soldered a plug on it} a chunk of drier hose {drier didn't need that much anyway}, built a rack inside box from scrap wood. Cut a hole. Done. Smoked for 20 min on a small charge. 88 degrees in box. Will test it out for real with hickory and smoking rye grains.

Best workout, run, biking music in existence. BTW, RTJ4 just came out and 1-4 are all good. IMO 2 is the best. Enjoy.

Woops.

One man's search for an elusive tune from 30 years ago (basically like every day of my life):

Best of the Corrs

Too cute

We adopted a dog! Her name is Olive 🥰

Aumkar, I'm late to the party but, from a fellow entrepreneur (although the headphones my startup makes are definitely not on the same level as yours and exclusive to Brazil for now), I just want to congratulate you for what can only be described as some truly inspiring work, on every level. And, as a product designer, I have to say that the way you've turned the internal wires, which could be an aesthetic challenge, into a beautiful and distinctive detail was pure genius!

Okay, Jacob.

No, I should probably disable the motherboard logo LED too, and have no RGB lighting enabled.

Hifiman bicycle Jade 1 Hifiman bicycle Jade 2 Hifiman train Jade 1 Hifiman train Jade 2

I don't think so. He actually has a picture of a train and a picture of a bicycle side-by-side, and then goes on to state that they are not the same thing. I found that illustration particularly compelling. Though I think he might have had the arrows from the amplifiers pointing the wrong way...

Something lost in the translation to Chinglish? ? I learned that Fang is either a retard or deliberately trying to con his customers by using an Ohmmeter to “measure” the DC resistance of a transformer with 1000VDC across it. All in an apparent attempt to negate/quantify transformer AC leakage impedance/reactance current that shocked the YouTube video guy. Naturally, the VOM’s overvoltage protection kicks in and an “infinite resistance” is displayed. Just as intended? You don’t need to be Penn and Teller to spot that slight of hand.

Only thing I learned from Fang's latest post is that a bicycle is not a train...

The srm-001 is an opamp driving a fet that drives a transistor (cascode) into a load resistor and is cap coupled to the output. (cascode differential) The jade2 is an opamp driving a transistor that drives a mosfet (cascode) into a load resistor and is cap coupled to the output. The calculation of output capacitance is flat out wrong as the middle of the cascode is AC ground. (cascode differential) Just about identical. Obviously the jade2 consumes a bunch more power and puts out a bunch more power. I own 2 hifiman products. Both are built like shit. I'm unlikely to buy hifiman products ever again.

HF moderators have deleted and edited some of the posts after they were up for a while (and will likely react faster now that that thread is on their radar), but, as far as I can tell, have left all substantive technical discussion intact. Silence from the hifiman rep — which is smart: if he can't win, he should ignore the discussion until it's forgotten. Though he might just be taking the weekend off. Really curious to see where this goes.

The circuit is more like the srm-001 blown up by a bunch. So opamps input, solid state version of grounded grid output stage, resistor loaded, and capacitor coupled output. Positively ancient design by any standard. Did not even replace the power resistors with current sources. Saying that the output capacitance is that low because the two devices are in series clearly shows no understanding on how that design works. And the series output inductors are not a great idea either. The headphones may be decent, I don't know because I have not heard them, but there are so many decent headphone amps out there that buying the hifiman version seems like a waste of money.

Is tomato8 coming out of the woodwork? Clearly some shilling is needing to be done! Not a problem. I'll ask Kevin if he wants to rip this one apart...

Well, I feel the ban stick coming. Posted on HF regarding the FCC Part 15 not being applicable. Also called jamato8 out as a known shill from years ago...

I also don't think Fang really understands what is going to happen now. I'm going to track down a Shangri-la jr. amp no matter the cost just to rip it apart.

Interesting in Fang’s letter that he touts FCC testing as one reason his shit couldn’t possibly be dangerous. IIRC, FCC testing is for Part 15, which only covers RF emissions (and isn’t applicable to this?). Total BS. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is outrageous! I just got a 0,002V shock from my 4xx, an outburst that enhanced dynamics subtly but perceptably. 5th layer stereo depth, black background etc.

It is just a link to a tutorial on caps : https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/capacitor/cap_7.html (so you can better edumacate yourself, of course...), and the following Pf calculation: MOSFET C1=65 Pf Transistor C2=6 PfCtotal=C1*C2/(C1+C2)Ctotal=5.49 Pf

Hey, I just noticed Fang responded again to you. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/jade-ii-tear-down-rebuttal.903210/#post-14863340

May get interesting, still am not purchasing them though

This is getting spicier! Hifiman uploaded two rebuttal videos to YouTube:

So, the HFM "rebuttal" does have some interesting points. 1) 1k resistor outputs vs 5.1k for the Stax - no reason given for the change, presumably the cost for either resistor is the same 2) 2M resistor bias outputs vs 5M for Stax - again, no reason given, should be identical cost 3) op amp input vs discrete MOSFET input. Presumably for cost reasons. 4) output MOSFETS supposedly to increase voltage output capability, claimed very low capacitance, but part number not identified. Are we talking a cascode transistor (bottom) MOSFET (top) combo? Don't know. 5) the text says they are comparing two schematics, however they post the SRA-12S schematic but use photos of the circuit board instead of an actual schematic.

Anna, have you considered the Campfire Audio Andromeda? I’m sure you can find a dealer near you with demo units. It’s my go-to whenever I’m not by my desk with the 007+Carbon rig. CA quality is great and customer service and warranty the best I’ve seen in audio. Way better than Stax’s stingy warranties for sure.

For me there is no comparison between Stax and Hifiman, I have my issues with the Stax amps as they desperately need to modernize them and for me, some of the headphones just sound "off" but there no denying the quality. Now the new Stax amps from China, D10 and D50, don't really fall under this as they are experiencing major issues.

HIFIMAN posted a "rebuttal" on Head-Fi: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/jade-ii-tear-down-rebuttal.903210/

Sounds like they're trying to steer customers to stuff that doesn't sell to clear out inventory... Anyway, never heard the Jade 2 so I can't judge, but having lived with the L700 for a couple of years, I think you'll be happy. Maybe not the last word in technicality or accuracy but a very engaging, vivid, and musical sounding headphone that I've enjoyed about as much as anything I've had over the years. Very punchy and dynamic sounding too.

A distributor would not bad-mouth a manufacturer he sells. Nothing unreasonable there. That said, you should definitely stay away from Hifiman. The HE-500 and HE-6 were pretty good, but that’s it, unfortunately. PS: It’s a good idea to remove names and personally-identifiable information from screenshots.

I would be very skeptical of anything he says as replies like that just ping every BS meter there is. It's an age old audiophool trend to look past crap build quality and every other indicator because "the sound is so good" but it rarely holds any water. The bottom like is for me, the L700's will probably be playing just fine in 30 years but can we say the same about the Jade?

This coming from a well respected audio supplier trying to sell me something. More likely this.

As it turns out...some people are not happy with the Jade.... I'm not sure how this could have happened. Last person on the planet here to defend Hifiman as they produce nothing but garbage...but the headphones are just made from plastic and PCB material. On the inside of the cups, there is a built in mesh into the pads, then we have a grill made from FR4 and doesn't look to have any traces on it. Now it is black so often tricky to see but yeah... doesn't make any sense to put a track on that part. Next up with a have a gap, then the dust cover, then the strengthening rib for the inner stator and finally something electrically conductive, the stator. Now all of this does flex so you could theoretically push your way to the stator but you are still nowhere near the bias. Now the amp is not fundamentally unsafe like the Woo Audio garbage but also not what I'd call safe. The earthing is suspect at best and the amp lacks the right value safety resistors but at least there are some in there. The audio output is AC coupled to the stators so no high voltage DC could be present there. The 1k output resistors would also seriously limit the current if something were to happen...