HiWire

The other interesting thing in the article is the discussion on headphone output impedance. There seems to be a lot of variation...

I quickly browsed through an article about headphone measurements in this month's Stereophile. It's worth a look.

Congrats on your new source, tkam. Regarding the PS1 phenomenon - because some people want something for nothing, and are unable to count the accumulated costs of shipping, modding, etc. and are then biased when comparing their source investment to other sources. I was hoping that the Oppo players were going to be something like that, but the weight of evidence indicates that they are good for the money, but no giant killers. I ended up investing in something that I enjoyed and could afford, after hearing the highest-end system available for my auditioning (dCS Paganini).

Congrats!

I try to finish books in a short time period, if possible. Unfortunately, I've probably got about 10 books that I started but haven't finished...

Thanks! These will probably be especially useful to those who can understand what they are looking at...

We're all winners

Congrats on the earspeakers, Renato. They've got a very unique sound.

This sounds like a new Head-Case motto: "Burn in your headphones or we'll do it for you. This is not a threat - it's a promise."

Welcome to Head-Case! The abuse never stops

Looks good, Voltron. I'd join the Stax Mafia if I could afford it, but I think the money will go to a speaker-based system for now.

Heck, even classical needs those lower octaves... nice cabling job.

Gap between the teeth or another hole in the head? Does the whistling sound happen when you're sitting in a very quiet room?

Welcome to Head-Case.

I'd like to hear it anyway... ears first, theory later. I didn't bother to read their technobabble jibber-jabber... I find most audiophile companies blather on about unimportant or misleading stuff.

I think they were just announced at CES.

I'd go with the K 601, myself.

It's a great review. I also like the fact that it took him 4 years to summarize his findings. There are way too many "impressions" out there, mine included. I prefer real reviews.

Has anybody heard this player? Their website is a bit messy and old-school, but it sounds like an interesting Redbook source, for the low, low price of $10,950 http://www.novaphysicsgroup.com I found out about it from doing a bit of research on Melos Audio - these are the same guys, I think...

I would agree with the suggestion above... improve your upstream components while keeping an eye open for HP-1000 deals. I've heard the HP2 is noticeably better than the SR-100, but I think your cans are "good enough" for most setups.

Haha, that's why I didn't bother to audition the Audio Aeros Just kidding. I liked the sound of Focal JMlab speakers, and they're French

I haven't heard either amp, but it's possible that the GLite has less noise and distortion than other solid-state or tube amps. If people become accustomed to compromised music, the Gilmore might sound leaner or more sterile... just a theory I've heard the other amps have better soundstage, though...

So Aerius, is the Capitole SE the best CD player that you've heard or for the price? I've heard that the Simaudio Andromeda fixes some of the issues I heard on the Supernova, mainly the inherent brightness and aggressiveness of the player.

The reason is partly because of Headroom's successful marketing campaigns... people read their marketing copy in Stereophile and the other magazines, do some research, then go and buy cheaper or other amps. Unfortunately, a lot of people are riding on the backs of more established makers like Tyll, Ray, and Jan Meier. This is not unknown to Tyll, either. It's fairly easy to make a headphone amp - a number of designs are open-source and the manufacture is not particularly complex using normal electronic parts and standard enclosures like Hammond cases. As the market matures and volumes increase, you'll see more standardized designs and lower prices... witness the popularity of the Chinese products, for example. However, I think the headphone manufacturers have already responded by designing headphones with lower impedances that are suitable for amplification out of stock iPods and other portable media players.

I'll give it a shot. There's a bookstore across the street from my home, and I think they might carry it.