neilvg

I could never quite get into Opeth or Porcupine Tree really. I can understand what they are going for but it doesn't fully engage me. Dream Theater I like but because I am a musician for the most part. I wouldn't expect most to like the ripping solos and what not because on their own they don't hold up (on a song by song basis) as much as they could, and certainly not as much as classic 70's era progressive rock which has all the technical skill + the songwriting. There is ONLY 1 Flaming Lips Album worth hearing, and if you can get it setup properly, you will be treated with one of the most amazing listening experiences of your life (in my opinion)... drum roll ---- ZAIREEKA! Who is with me? It is 4 discs and they all have to be sync'd up and played on four different CD players simultaneously. That's 8 speakers! Every time I hear I say to myself "wow, it really IS this good". Nothing else they have done comes close. I agree Portishead and Bright Eyes... a little boring. Ryan Adams though - you have to listen to Cold Roses. It's a great album. The rest, not as good. Also, he has done live shows with Phil Lesh & Friends, and in this scenario he jams out and his vocal stylings on Jerry Garcia's songs is quite good, as well as his long form improvisational solo work. Not as good as Jerry or anything. The Grateful Dead: If it makes you fall Asleep, you likely haven't been 'initiated' so to speak =) <hint hint, nudge nudge, toke toke > Neil

how do I get an SPL measurement with my Stat setup? Neil

Not sure if this is due to us or the board or whatever, but Fang just emailed me informing me: "Just want to let you know that since we dont want to be recognized as making fake stuff, we will change the looking of the headphone. The sound signature will be the same. As soon as we have some pics we will email you." So not sure if this will be a big delay or not - but its fuel for more thought... and I obviously wonder if this will have an effect over the sound. Signature is one thing... Neil

I will definitely post impressions as soon as I can. However, I don't exactly know how long I will be waiting to receive them. Fang has informed me he is pushing the manufacturer to send them to me by China Express as soon as possible. We'll see. Anyway, Spritzer and whoever else that has an opinion, what kinds of mods do you see that this thing may need? Neil

They come with a stax termination - as per Fang's email. Neil

Just purchased this headphone. Curious to see how it sounds. They will send it to me as soon as they can. I remember meeting Feng from head-direct at the international earlier this year. Neil

I just purchased this headphone. Feng has informed me that it will be ready and shipped from China ASAP. I remember meeting him at the international meet. I am curious to see how close to an HE90 it is. Neil

You have my headphiled HE60? Neil

How come you guys are calling them 'HE90 clones'? Is it because they look a little like HE90's? I heard those headphones at the international. they sound pretty good! Not anything like the HE90's, but they sound nice and quite euphonic. As I remember, they were missing that sparkle and transparency, but did have a pleasant rounded off kind of sound. I was listening to them out of the HEV90 however at the time, and this could be part of the issue (or was it the Woo Audio... hmmm), either way. They may not have been getting all the juice they want. Neil

Most everything I've tried generally benefits from filtering in my experience. The biggest thing is consistency. Those who live in big cities can suffer from different qualities of electricity at different times of the day. I first became interested in regeneration due to the startling difference in SQ during the evening versus afternoon hours of work days. However, it seems, and this is new to me as well, high quality linear power supply's already eliminate a bunch of this kind of noise, and any additional filtering begins to effect performance. I do not know if all linear PSU's are this way, but I believe at least some of them act this way. So, for the most part, I do not necessarily see getting completely rid of my filtering, but depending on what components I settle on. For my headphone rig, I was using it since I had the EMM Labs AND HEV90 originally. I don't think the ES2 necessarily benefits, and that hefty linear PSU probably (but I need to experiment more) sounds better straight out of the wall. The only other component I'm currently using in there is the NWO. A much stripped down system from the premier-cdsd-dcc2-es2 system from before. If what Alex says is/will be true, I'd love to hear an all APL/NWO setup, including interfacing my headphones directly with the player. This would be a complete solution with the fewest and easiest setup. Neil

Hahahaha.. I can see how you'd say that from that last paragraph. Even re-reading it myself, I see how, say , a previous version of myself from about 3 years ago would look at that last statement, and worry about my future (current) mental health. But really, with the EMM Labs, plugging it into a rengerator like the Power Plant Premier really brings this player up. While, just the opposite, with the NWO, it kind of deadens the sound. The NWO is so lively and tonally rich that once you have heard it setup properly, you know right away when something is off. I had the good fortune of hearing this 'magic' so to speak at both Alex's and my place, and also the day of the meet. So once that tone and transparency and effortlessness was diminished, I noticed it right away. You would too (I think). The same goes for the cables, you really do hear a difference. And like I have iterated in the past, you may say a cable change is really only 1 or 2% or whatever. But honestly, the way perception goes, it has to do with what you notice and what you pay attention to. If you do not notice what aspect the cable is having over the reproduction, you will not notice or miss/enjoy it. But once you clearly can hear a cable, and also hear what another cable does/does not do, this apparent subtely is no longer subtle since the magnifying lens of attention will now bring these aspects to the forfront. I can honestly tell you VD cabling with my HE90/ES2 sounds amazing and does this combo major good. Putting X-2 on this combo thins out the sound, changes the tonality, and makes the bass less impactful. But don't believe me. Come over and listen for yourself one day. Neil

The kinds of people who have this unit have a special place for it and either don't move it much, or allow for a good amount for room to access it. You don't spend $30k on a player and stack a bunch of stuff behind and on top of it. Most people keep this player free of obstructions on all sides. The tubes are a little sensitive in that you have to make sure that you don't hit them when plugging stuff in, but that is all par for the course. And luckily, these tubes are quite cheap (<$40 bux for the two). But clearly we don't want to damage the plates sockets. The player sounds fan-fucking-tastic. I can't believe how loudly I can play and absolutely no grain, hash, fatigue or anything. Read my write-up on the APL forums, as it describes what I currently feel in comparison to the EMM. Once I get some more experience I can write more. It is surprisingly easy (minus the weight) to move this player between my speakers and headphones. The hardest part is putting that damn VD cable in. I tired ORI-X2 on the ES2. No good. Couldn't listen at all. VD went in and 'ahhh'. Exact opposite experience at first on my speaker rig. But it turned out that was due to the premier power plant and isolation stands. Once I took those off and the premier went out and I went straight to the wall, I put another VD back in (a more flexible one) and it was all good. Neil

Did a little write up on the APL forums and advertised us a bit. You all may be interested in the write-up since I, up to this point, compare what I have noticed between the NWO and EMM SE Stack. http://www.aplhifi.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=679&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight= Neil

Love Him. I love what Utopia has done, especially the first Album self titled Utopia. But also A Wizard A true Star, Todd, and even some of his later albums. Of course his first two solo albums (ballad of todd rundgren and something/anything) are classics. Neil *Also, Frank Zappa's long form instrumentals are good (not as big a fan of his sense of humour but in the right mood that is fun too) - but Inca Roads for example...

Check out: Steve Hacket's Album - Spectral Mornings and Defector Yes - Relayer and Going for the One Trash Can Sinatras - Last Album Weightlifting for good Vocals and texture Camel - Moonmadness (especially floyd-like) The Flower Kings (More modern prog) - Space Revolver or Back in the World of Adventures Gentle Giant - Freehand and for something spooooky and early floyd ish but darker try Acquiring the Taste Beach boys album Smile or Smiley Smile or Sunflower/Surf's Up. Especially that last two-fer combo for exceptional vocal harmony and counterpoint. Check out the song till I die or All I Wanna do from that album. There are so many others. You may want to start with Gentle Giant, they are a very interesting band, and like one of their album titles, may require a bit of getting used to. However, wait for the instrumental sections, and just their compositional concepts are excellent. Also it's important to seek out either japanese mini lp remasters, or modern remasters post 2001 because those early prog albums sound a hell of a lot better in these versions. Neil ... on the party at Neil's CD sampler, we had one Camel song called "Air Born" that starts with a flute solo, which is from that album Moonmadness. Oh, I also adore Phish the band's live performances from 97-99. Awesome stuff, especially the right songs and the right live shows.

I've done a few soundtracks and we just did a musical that was performed in Seattle this June. Mostly though, those are favors for friends. I have been waiting to record and write my own music. I've played in various bands mostly as a drummer, but for the last few years I've really been focusing more on composition and keyboard and guitar. So once I move I will devote more time into this. The music I like is generally rooted in pop but with long instrumental sections and improvisation. Not exactly prog rock per se. I'm also a sucker for beautiful vocal harmonies and I love both pastoral and spacey epics. I tend to use a lot of layering and tracking and love the dissonant counterpoint used by bands such as Gentle Giant. Neil

Personally you have to enjoy the tonality and signature of the k1000 to begin with. I've heard the best K1K setups too, and loved them. BUT, in the end, the tonality and signature just isn't my style. Although I can recognize and enjoy good sound when I hear it. Neil

Oh yeah totally in the right place.. hehe the place will be wired to the gills for audio. It'll have a separate music studio with ~ 600sqft of space with a separate entrance for the equipment to come in. There will be a vocal booth a machine room (so no noise from computers and the like) and a console/control area. Underneath the floors I have the cabling running in a similar way radiant heating would be installed. The cables come out from the walls avoiding a wiring mess. Additionally there will be a 7.1 theater, and 2ch room, and a headphone station. So all in all, I didn't compromise on having audio all over the place Neil

I hope to move ASAP. The bad news behind all that? Lugging all my heavy stuff and reconfiguring it. The good news? My new place is a condo which I bought and it is right across the street (literally) from where I live! So there will not effect any sort of February plans. Oh and by Feb I would have totally settled in so ya'all (including you crazy Floridians) are definitely welcome to come by. My new place will be flooded with audio and the like and should be quite the place to display my gear (not just headphones). Neil

Al, are you speaking for me or for yourself? Getting me to lug that thing will definitely have to involve some sort of incentive in the future. But you, you my man... me thinks the NWO bug might have bit you hard. It really is good and I have done side by side comparisons all evening. While I love the EMM sound, it is akin to the romantic HE90/HEV90 sound to me. It has a pronunciation in the midrange, I wouldn't have necessarily called it a major coloration before, but compared to the NWO it's easy to hear. The extension the NWO places over the music is stunning, but it is able to do this without hurting my ears. Sibilants, and high frequency transients are smooth and ultra-refined, but don't seem to be rolled off like the EMM seems to portray them (plus we have that romantic midrange). Down below, the bass of the EMM just doesn't cut it anymore (after comparison). The NWO gives that deeper heavier more impact full Esoteric house bass which I can even hear as 'low' down as my DV50. But in addition, the NWO goes deeper and I have never heard extension and impact so clear and articulated with my HE90's. This player is extremely resolving and it tells you what it wants! After coming home from the meet, the next morning, I hooked it up to my speaker rig and just did a quick and dirty listen. Stock power cord into the wall, 1 monoblock had a stock cord into my Hydra, the other had a VD cord but into a power strip, etc... I compared it side by side my Esoreric DV-50 optically connected to the Esoteric D70 DAC. That combo actually sounds O.K. But when I plugged the NWO in this state, WOW! Later that evening, I connected the system the way I thought I wanted to. I used VD everywhere, the NWO into the wall, the monoblocks into the Powerplant Premier (which I got back from Min), and isolation platforms all around etc... ...the sound? It was 'aiight'. But not like that morning. It seems to be lacking. So out came the platforms. Hmm.. better, but not really better, just sort of perceptually so. Out came the premier. Now we were getting somewhere. Lastly... out came the VD interconnects and in went Ori X-2. Ahhh... there it is. So now I have to put it back and see if it really is JUST the X-2 at this point. I think I may have to go and try the silver route. I think this player just really has a preference, and it is minimal. The VD stuff mates well with the HE90's and ES2, but deadens my speaker rig too much. I'll have to experiment more on both fronts. I'm actually considering giving this player back to Alex... ...but not because I'm returning it! Relax This shit is amazing, even at its "I could have paid for a new Audio A4 in cash' price tag. At the meet Alex told me he could make an adapter so that I could get two XLR outs instead of the 1 pair I have right now. But if this system is really going to overtake mt EMM, shouldn't it have (or at least shouldn't I inquire) for the possibility of having: 2 or 3 XLR outs, 1 SPDIF IN, 1 ANALOG IN. Hell, maybe even an RCA out. He told me he could have easily added 1 more XLR our if he had known. But looking inside, I believe there is at least room for another. As it is, I have 1 XLR out and 1 SPDIF in. But Analog IN and more XLR outs? Move over DCC2, there's a 1 box unit in town that's more flexible than you! And you know how it is with flexibility... once you've experienced the benefits and possibility of all those positions... ...I'm still talking about Audio (sort of!). I can have video, audio, cable, satellite, headphone and speaker in this baby ALL at once. That second remote will really get its use. But I'll have to inquire further with Alex. I don't want it to take.. oh, say, another 8 months. Right now the EMM and NWO are sitting side by side, but the EMM is definitely getting ignored. And not like an older sibling that isn't getting the attention they once did because a younger baby is in town. No, more like, when you have a school bully that no one really likes but everyone sort of fears gets his ass kicked by some new transfer who stuided in both Japan and Bulgaria, and can simultaneously perform esoteric feets of Kung Fu AND the Vulcan Mind Melt. Ok, to be fair, people do like bully's. As as a bully, the EMM is intelligent and thoughtful. Ok, what am I talking about? See, it's that NWO daze that I'm in. Oh yes, to carry on. I didn't think that the player would see enough benefit being used for my headphone rig. But the ES2/NWO combo is much more syngergistic than the ES2/EMM since both are very very clear and resolving, yet deliver their sound in a euphonic-type package (or maybe the better word is refined). The EMM labs just sounds too much like it is holding something back, even though the sound itself is gorgeous. The words that the 'APL fanatics' use on the APL site like - Picture versus actually being in the Scene, really does seem to apply. And I usually don't warm to a source right away. But the APL had it in spades immediately, and it apparently gets a lot better. --- The other rig I really really liked was Al's Senn/Satan setup. I didn't care for it with the 701's really, but those Senn's were amazing. I thought that combo was easily just as enjoyable, albeit with a different feel, as the ES2/NWO setup. I can only imagine what an NWO would do to that beast. What's more Satanic than Satan? Well, Satan's New World Order would be. He wouldn't be confined to hell any longer --- I didn't really get a chance to hear Min's rig, but I looooved it the last time I heard it. I think the sound is so very different than mine though. Someone commented on how it was like a Herman Miller Aeron (Min's) compared to say, a thick and Rich (but ultimately bad for your back? - added by me) leather chair. Hmmm... --- I've been curious about the Qualias and always assumed that I couldn't get a right fit. Well I heard them with the $500 headbands. I could only listen for precious little time. And not because I didn't have time, but because I can't stand the sound! Sorry guys, sorry Dan. This headphone goes against my religion it seems. Or at the least, my philosophy and desire when it comes to headphones. I like it natural, a little relaxed, euphonic, non-fatiguing, clear, clean, detailed, but mostly, as lifelike as possible. I don't think the Qualias do realism, or naturalness at all. Hi hats and snare hits sound hollow to me still, and sort of broken. I guess I just love the Sennheiser tone. --- I didn't get to compare the ES-1 all that much to my ES-2. We'd need a more controlled environment for that I think. However, as stated earlier by Iron Dreamer, the O2 and HE90 could not be any more different from each other. If people want a case study in how associated equipment, and equipment matching in general, can have a tremendous effect or the headphone, this difference was positively Epiphanic (not sure if that is a real word, but close enough). Ok, enough for now. Great meet, had loads of fun. Hope to see you all soon. If anyone wants a further a listen, a get together at my current location (especially before I move) might be in order. Something SMALL. Neil

Still no time for impressions, in NWO bliss land. Connected it up to my speaker rig next to my DV50. The rig comprises of Dali MS-4's, Manley Snapper 100W monoblocks using either Mullard XF2's or Fat Boy EL34's. The difference with the NWO connected straight to the amps versus the DV50->D70 (connected digitally for preamp functionality) is BEYOND night and day. My girlfriend who loves music but hasn't necessarily been turned onto the gradations of high (and higher) fidelity, could only, with wide eyes, describe the sound as orgasmic. Neil

And the final upsampled frequency is 6.7 Mhz. Neil

I'll post impressions soon, but I just wanted to say, I got home safely, nothing got stolen I had a bunch of fun today, and the great time spent with music, with people, and with some of the best rigs headphonedom has to offer, made it worth lugging 60+lb gear all over the place. Oh and having the creator of the best digital source you have ever heard hand deliver you the player and then proceed to spend the rest of the day hanging out and shooting the shit was graaavy. Yeeeaaaaahhh, a day well spent indeed. Neil

Let's see... I've tried much of the Cardas Line, I've tried Kimber as well (but not too high up, but I liked it), Aural Symphonics Purple, Ori X-2, Radio Shack =), and others a long time ago that I can't recall, but obviously my knowledge about various cables is a bit lacking in terms of breadth - but honestly I should really look into silver again, especially with the new setup since I think I can go this route at this point. I'll tell Alex you said Hi. He's also bringing some CD's and Viny Drops apparently that are supposed to be amazing. Neil

First of all I AM bringing my own mister fancy banner guy. Second of all - Alex has given me his word that he will be there @ 11. I feel as though I have no choice but to trust him. So that is what I will do. The source cannot drive many rigs like the EMM can though - so we need EMM representation from somewhere. Neil