mirumu

I put an order in for the 160GB model earlier today. I've been using a 60GB iPod photo at work for a few years now so this seems to be the ideal upgrade for me. Hope the DAC and line out are half decent at least.

I have an anime+headphones themed avatar on HF although it's by no means of a "hyper-sexualized" or super skinny character. Nothing sexual about it at all, I think it's more force of habit since I hang around a few anime forums. Personally I'm more into anime style drawings from the art perspective and it would feel kind of weird to put a picture of a real person who was not me as my avatar. The only avatars that bother me are the ones that are overly garish or poorly made, especially if they're also animated but that's more from an aesthetics point of view.

I wish I could be there. I love a good sake.

If it's any consolation I tend not to like single player on console shooters in general so you could say I was predispositioned to dislike Halo. Everything I saw back when the game was going to be a Mac-only title never impressed me, and when Microsoft bought Bungie I was more concerned about the Myth and Marathon franchises that have unfortunately been left to rot. When I eventually saw and played the finished game on Xbox it still didn't grab me but I figured it was just me not liking the genre since a lot of my friends really liked it. Even when it comes to shooters on the PC it has to be something really great to hold my attention and some do manage it but I've yet to find any console shooter really pull me in. I still play most of the demos for them and I do play multiplayer on various shooters with other people so I'm not completely ignorant of what's out there or where they stand. They just as of yet have not managed to appeal to me. At it's most bare form you could say Bioshock is a shooter too but I think given what I saw in the demo this statement diminishes how much depth the game has in other regards. The shooting part of Bioshock seems to be more of a means to an end rather than the point of the game and I think that's what makes the difference for me.

I did download the Bioshock demo and it blew my mind. I did have it on preorder before the hype started but after playing the demo I'd say it's the game I'm most looking forward to now. It's been a long time since a demo impressed me that much. I'm with jpak on Halo, and I won't be buying Halo 3. On 360 I'll probably pick up Mass Effect and Eternal Sonata but some of the upcoming PS3 games interest me more. I'll probably pick up the PS3 version of Assassin's Creed instead.

I don't object to following the crowd as long as the crowd know what they're doing, promoting things for the right reasons (i.e. it sounds good) and backing it up with experience. Unfortunately HF has too many people promoting products as the best thing since sliced bread because they're lacking good reference points or have an axe to grind. I wouldn't claim to have experienced enough myself but I don't run around making wild statements about how my preferred gear is better than everything I haven't heard...that's something that is all too common on HF. I must admit I also have a healthy dislike for censorship on forums although in that regard I have seen much worse than Head-fi. Oh, and welcome to Head-case Elephas.

Why do you need to hear it if the item is made by a site sponsor? I thought it was a universal truth that the amount of money a sponsor pays to the site owner combined with the amount you pay for the product is directly proportional to how good their equipment sounds. Don't tell me I've been deceived all these years.

I don't know about the rest of the year but I'm going to get these ones which are due between now and September-ish. Freezepop - Future Future Future Perfect Nightwish - Dark Passion Play Epica - The Divine Conspiracy The Go! Team - Proof of Youth I'm sure I'll pick up any new Radiohead album as well whenever it comes out.

I've not heard sound out of the iPhone but apparently it has the same Wolfson DAC that's in the 5th generation iPods. These aren't bad DACs but they in the iPods they tend to be let down by the amp circuitry.

Apparently it has four conductors just like the typical phone connector but is 3.5mm in size. But yes, I've never seen a phone with a standard headphone socket so this isn't especially different.

Recent I picked up these which I'm enjoying, especially the first: Carla Bruni - No Promises The Noisettes - What's the Time Mister Wolf I wasn't so keen on the following recent purchase, I think I expected more: Bonde de Role - With Lasers Also heard the new Linkin Park album today as a friend bought the CD. I thought their first album was decent enough before it got played non-stop on the radio but this new one just seems a bit "mediocre" at best. My friend regrets the purchase and I can see why. I'm expecting these to arrive any day: Sunn O))) - Black One Beno?t Pioulard - Pr?cis Cansei de Ser Sexy - Let's Make Love and Listen to Death from Above (vinyl) Ladytron - Witching Hour The Fucking Champs - VI Plastiscines - LP1 The Traveling Wilburys - Traveling Wilburys Deluxe Edition I have these on preorder/backorder: Plaid - Double Figure Tori Amos - A Piano: The Collection Chicks on Speed - 99 Cents Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist At work I listen to music all day but this lot should still keep me going a while.

I've not heard it but Pitchfork just gave it a 10 rating. Despite that they also made this comment...

I always assume that any email asking me to confirm details is fake. If they really need it then they'll prompt me next time I visit their website. Besides, I'm sure they don't really need to confirm all my details anyway. Like Aerius I get similar emails claiming to be from Paypal but they aren't to the address I signed up to Paypal with.

I've never seen or heard a Melos but I have experimented with some 6922 compatible tubes in my Xiang Sheng and thought it might still be worth describing my experience. I liked the current production JJ ECC88 but in my amp they tended to have the stereotypical warm tubey sound. I wouldn't describe them as slow but they definitely imposed their own signature on the sound. They were very noise free and the sound was full and rich but I found their character just too forced. My amp came with some Chinese Shuguang 6922s by default and I also tried some Chinese Golden Dragon 6922s, Sovtek 6922s and some supposed military grade Sovtek 6922s but all of these sounded insipid and lifeless and were quickly removed once I considered I'd given them enough time. Really they all sounded quite similar and didn't seem to have the same extension the JJs had. The tube I eventually settled on was the NOS Tesla ECC88. These are the old Tesla tubes and have a yellow label, not the red JJ logo like the modern "JJ Tesla" ones. At first these did not stand out to me as anything special. There was nothing wrong, in fact they sounded very good in every way, but they didn't jump out in any way either. Over time though I realised that this very characteristic was their biggest strength. They just get out of the way and let the music shine through. I doubt they'll beat the top tier tubes like the Amperex Bugle Boys, etc but as a basic/cheap tube I wouldn't hesitate in recommending them.

The IEMs I've heard sound more enjoyable to me than many of the full size headphones I've listened to. Obviously there are exceptions. Also, I only started using IEMs about six years ago, I did actually use full size ones prior to that. Besides, weren't you trying to talk me out of custom IEMs not long ago?

You must have listened to better cheap headphones than me then. I wouldn't have spent the last fifteen years slowly upgrading headphones if they were mostly enjoyable. But yes, price often doesn't have a lot of bearing on how enjoyable a headphone will be.

I'm not sure our thoughts are quite as different as it may seem. I hear the issues with the 404 you describe too but I don't personally mind them so much. There is always something lacking with the 404's reproduction of timbre and it is always pedestrian like you describe. These factors are enough to make me want to switch over to the O2s but at the same time I don't find it stops me from outright enjoying the music either. As to the harsh treble/upper midrange I don't have an EQ suitable for correcting it which is probably why that's my biggest problem with them. On many CDs that doesn't seem to be a big issue but on others the 404s are virtually unlistenable (The recent Long Blondes album comes to mind). I'm sure it's not all the 404's fault, but other headphones don't put a spotlight on that area of the frequency spectrum to the same degree. Some of it may also be my ears, I often find some aspects of the treble and upper midrange harsh. My experience with good closed headphones is rather non-existant so I wouldn't read too much into my comments on those aspects. With that disclaimer stated, I feel the 4070s do portray a respectable sense of soundstage depth. They are still clearly closed and aren't going to fool anyone in to thinking otherwise but they don't sound overly constrained. I think Carl's comment regarding the 4070s compromises is quite true, I found little to complain about myself.

I'm currently acquiring parts to build an electrostatic transformer box for driving Stax headphones off a power amp. I had a pair of custom transformers made to my specifications in England that can handle either a 1:25 step up ratio or a 1:50 ratio depending on the configuration. They're spec'd to have a flat response from 5Hz to 40Khz although there is a chance there may be some resonance in there despite the designer doing his best to minimise the possibility. Those are the risks you take with custom transformers. I had no size or weight requirements so each transformer weighs a little over 3KG (near 7lbs) and occupies about 13cm (5 inches) square in order to reach the audio specs I'd requested. I still have to build a bias circuit for it, I'm looking at implementing an always-on bias circuit that Kevin came up with. Funnily enough though I'm having trouble finding a simple isolation transformer with a 240V primary and secondary (New Zealand uses 240V). None of the local companies seem to stock any and the local manufacturers refuse to even talk to me as I'm not a registered tradesman so ironically it looks like I have to buy one from the US. Ah well, I've wanted a Digikey account for quite a while anyway... Once this project is out of the way I'm moving on to a tube amp but before that I want to pick up a transformer winding tool of some sort. Maybe a basic hand operated one or maybe something more fancy. I seem to be needing more and more of these things and I just don't have the eye for doing it right by hand. When I do move on to the tube amp, it will either be a dedicated electrostatic amp based around high voltage DHTs or a more conventional tube power amp (still DHT if I can). I do realise such things are very dangerous so I intend to be extremely paranoid when building such a thing and I'm leaning towards more traditional power amp option to start with.

I never compared the two directly since I didn't own and Lamdbas till later but I do own some SR-404s today and remember the sound of the 4070s well. The 4070, despite having the same drivers as the 404, does not sound anything like it. Carl noticed the same thing and commented that he believed it was due to the housing and damping differences. To me these headphones are a perfect illustration of the difference that the housing and damping can make. The 4070 far easier to listen to and has none of the strange upper midrange harshness that to me is the biggest flaw of the 404 and it seems you feel the same way about the 404s there. The 404 also comes across as brighter in general where the 4070 is more balanced with less obvious coloration. Personally I found I could enjoy any music on the 4070 whereas there are many CDs that I just can't listen to on the 404s, they're just too fatiguing and grating. To me the 4070s are like a more clinical/honest version of the O2s and these two have more in common than the 4070 and 404 do with each other. I was quite surprised by this myself when I heard the 404s since I expected the two would share more traits. I can't dispute what my ears tell me though.

I've always considered his posts an amusing commentary on the community at large. It's always amusing to see people get worked up by his posts.

I do agree that "pros" who actually work with the gear everyday and listen at home know what they're talking about. I just don't think that these pros are the people writing reviews in Stereophile, working in your average bricks and mortar store or posting on the typical headphone forums. Sometimes evaluating a piece of equipment might take days, weeks, months or even years spent listening and getting to know it like the back of your hand. These are the opinions I personally want to hear about and are typically hard to find. I feel many here fall into that category. It's certainly what I aspire to do when reviewing equipment myself. Sure, and I'm not implying they're in it for them money. You mentioned that you are a stickler for reputations being earned. What I'm questioning is if the level of real world experience these places have justifies the reputation you view them as having. I personally don't believe that is the case. I'm not going to make a blanket statement on the matter, I've no doubt there are people in these places who know what they're talking about but many out there have a reputation for being shills too. With the reputation RSA amps have many will buy their amps without a second thought and no doubt they sound much better than what they're used to. Obviously glowing reviews will result from this. It doesn't mean there isn't better out there though or that the glowing reviews are proved true by sheer numbers.

Here's your source in your budget. Won't leave much left for other purposes though. http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/337/C7301/

Yes, and inversely that's part of the reason I don't have any really high end dynamics. I'd need to buy another amp.

I've tried them, sorry I didn't respond earlier, I've been offline for a few days. I borrowed them off Carl for about two weeks (I live about 30 mins drive from his house). They are very good. Not Omega II good in my opinion, but up in that league. I've done a few detailed comparisons with the O2s, baby Orpheus and other gear on those other forums (same username). As far as isolation goes, they're great. With the O2s on I can easily hear a TV in the same room if it was on; with the 4070s I couldn't hear the TV at all unless the volume was reasonably high. The 4070s are reference headphones aimed at pro use and I do think it shows personally making them a little less "emotional" than some more colored headphones but even with that they still can be a lot of fun to listen to. There's no harshness or sibilance, they're very easy to listen to.

Just as a reminder, this is the internet and the internet is chock full of ill-informed fanboys who push their favored product. I'm not insulting anyone there, it's just the way it is. You can't blame people for getting excited about their new purchases, especially when they're used to the mass produced garbage foisted on the market by the large companies, but without sampling a large cross section of what is out there people cannot help being biased and over exaggerating how good a product really is. Equally many "professionals" aren't necessarily any better, I've had many of them try to push gear on me that is the total antithesis of what I personally enjoy just because some hifi-mag or website tells them it's good or they are getting some kind of kickback (not implying that is the case with RSA gear). In some cases it's like they haven't even heard something truly good themselves or just can't tell the difference. Some even admit it or claim they can't hear the things I do. There is no substitute for listening with your own ears but if I can't do that I'll much sooner take the word of those who have heard a wide variety of equipment (and do so to further their own personal enjoyment) as well as those who can read a circuit diagram and have experience building the things. At least here people call a spade a spade and are up front with their likes and dislikes. How can you trust a website or a professional when everything they sell or promote are varying degrees of "great"?