recstar24

I concur with billy and pj. My speaker setup is very modest, and my acoustics are crappy. Yet damn those little single drivers that cost me $400 can really sing, and with the help of my sub I get some pretty darn good bass and extension. I can only imagine what it would sound like if I had symmetry between the left and right wall placement (as currently my right speaker simply extends out to an open room, whereas the left speaker is a couple of feet from the wall). I would agree with pj on amplification. Headphone amplification need not be heroic. Some of these darn speakers you guys like to talk about require a good chunk of wattage for sure.

Any comments on the Sleek Audio 6? Here is where I am at, possibly looking into a long term portable set-up: Westone 3 Etymotic Er4s Yuin PK1 Sleek Audio 6 Triple Fi 10

Ouch - arcy/sparky no goody with headphones and single driver speakers:palm:

I have always been curious by what appears to be a wide variety and diversity in the various permutations of the above rectifier tube. They seem to come in all forms of mullards and rebranded mullards as well as philips, with fancy bases and logos and others that are more basic pedestrian looking, all seeming to garner outrageous prices and others being more modest. I have never even bothered to roll or even think about the concept of the rectifier having an impact on the sound signature, probably due to spite. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences.

Congrats, with those senns you should have a really good time with the pairings. The ZD I am positive was always planned on being a limited run of some sort. If you look at the current data and track record of the value moth and eddie current gear has maintained, you will see that they usually garner near their original retail price and sometimes even more. When I posted my ec hd-25 for sale, I received 5 offers within a hour, 3 at original retail price. Don't be an idiot like me and sell it hold on to it and its value and sound will only mature. Of course I was able to offset that loss with the acquisition of the last and one of the most tweaked si2a3 moth's to be created but that's another story:p

Outside the typical SS vs. tube debate, the Zana is freaking ridiculously good with the 650's. Gives it just the right amount of damping factor. The luxman was a fine amp when I heard it in TTVJ's room at the Chicago meet and really liked it with the grados though.

The idea of a high quality earbud that sounds good amped is highly intriguing. Care to share your impressions of its sound signature (my only experience with earbuds are the craptastic sony's and ipod buds unfortunately)

The Yuin is a portable closed phone, correct? That may be a good option, I am not really partial one way or the other.

I would go with boomana and go minimal. Just a nice set of IEM's or portable cans from an ipod.

The k340's I think could be a killer option. When I was auditioning morphsci's pair the amount of power to drive them to moth was pretty much identical to what it took to drive my hornshoppe horns (96 db or so) at about 2.5 meters listening distance. I was surprised at how power hungry they are but they sound fantastic on a nice tube amp (45 and 2a3 tubes in my setup).

Thanks for the recommendation. The 880 was one of the 1st cans I professionally reviewed and I did not find it for my tastes at the time, presenting to my ears and rig at the time a somewhat bright, lean sound signature. With live and acoustic music however I remember it performed admirably. I think at the time the dt880 was a 600 ohm version which was meant to be driven by the european standard of 150 output ohm impedance, vs. what I was driving with a solid state very low near zero output impedance, probably contributing to the sound signature I just described. I would imagine the current newer version which I believe may be lower impedance or something else tweaked would be an improvement.

While I am waiting for my HP's to be serviced, does anyone have any recommendations for something that can tide me over until then? Budget probably 200-300 as once the HP'1000's come in they will be taking full time. Would prefer not to go the hd650 route again as they just don't satisfy me musically regardless of the number of times I've had them and various rigs (about as much as the HP1000 actually). Definitely not into the k701. Thoughts are the allesandrom MS2i and audio technica ad2000 (i believe that is the model that a lot of people have been praising). If anyone has thoughts on the above two, or other recommendations, that would be great. Just note that this is probably a temporary relationship since full time duty will specifically be the HP-1000's.

I don't have an answer, but I think that is a very good question that is really at the core of what the OP is truly asking for, whether he realizes it or not. For me, it depends on how much you plan on using it, and whether you will be able to value the SQ in the application it is being used. I used to be a huge portable guy, but I realized that I was using portables in a home sit down setting, which was pointless. Now I am entering a phase in my life where I am a bit more transient and could benefit from a good portable/usb dac option. I think with high quality IEM's the SQ of the pico would be apparent, or using full size cans in transportable locations would be valuable as well. If your going to use the darn thing a lot well to me it has value.

Well I am glad to see he answered your questions! I also love the fact that Craig gave you a straight up no BS answer. Rather than trying to persuade you to go with the 09 production, he told you straight up that there should be no sonic difference with the used one. The last sentence though implies that possibly the newer run may have some increased performance with low impedance grados. If you are a grado or low impedance user, it may be worthwhile to ask further questions from Craig. Rest assured IME he will give you a honest straight answer.

Not sure. 1st run was 1600, 2nd run on maybe 1900, only included rectifiers. Have you emailed Craig? He is great with communication and will get back to you within hours in my experience.

I want to say the only differences have been the rectifiers. Whether the most recent ones are better are not is debatable. I believe the rectifiers he uses currently with the plate caps on top are better matched. My ZD that I owned was from the prior run to this current run. As far as I know that is it. Cosmetically the newer runs have the nice eddie current silver plaque that actually looks pretty nice. Should be it, enjoy! EDIT: I cannot find it, but I also believe that with the new rectifiers comes with a couple of power supply improvements and tweaks. Again what this means sonically who knows but the ZD itself is a fine sounding circuit and Craig did a great job with a well executed OTL with an extremely stiff PSU. I bet it would sound heavenly with the hd800's.

Point of clarification well taken, and I can see where your original point is.

Me too! I'll try it one of these days.

Thanks Dash - in the past universals have fit me just fine. At least with shures, the triple flanges seem to work the best for my ears, no modification needed. Those foamies can get kind of weird. Anyone have thoughts on the etymotic er4s? I hear that some think they are somewhat bright but very detailed. Some describe them as very neutral and linear.

win;D

Ummmm... usb

As far as I know that is not the guy I sold it to, and I do believe he still owns it. JP # I think there was maybe 50 of those made and currently exist out there, a decent number. I want to say there is even a couple of the acid etched black painted chassis version with the rectifier outside like the si2a3. However there are some internal details that make the proto #1 that you and I had even more special than the rest. I would love to just have the chassis and put my current si2a3/45 h in there;D I can honestly say the chassis is probably the most detail oriented beautiful amazing piece of metal I have ever laid my eyes upon.

For realz sahn;)

Unfortunately not headphile has it under proprietary patent try again:palm:

Duh...or nuclear warfare, or acts of god like massive hurricanes. Actually, one of our water pipes busted in the lower level bathroom which is on the same floor as my gear! Luckily I caught it somewhat in time and was able to turn off the water, and get a plumber in within an hour to take care of it. Water seeped into maybe a foot if even of the carpet from the bathroom into the main area. With a pelican, no worries;)