lupus

i just read a post in a guitar forum dated Jan 13/08. the poster stated that he had just bought a Duet at Sam Ash for 20% off ($400). it was mentioned that anything in the store (limit one item) could be had at that discount, and that it was in-store only (not applicable to on-line purchases). can anyone confirm this? i'm overseas, but would try to get someone to purchase one of these for me if this offer turns out to be true.

er...no...don't do that. also, if you must mispell misspell, spell it misssssssppppeeeellllllll :]

there's SFT Audio as well: http://www.sft-audio.url.tw/M3STD/M3STD.html

i'm not sure how things work on the U.S. side of things, but in Canada anything being sent from south of the border doesn't have customs fees levied if it is manufactured in the U.S. (as opposed to merely distributed). so Grados get a free pass, but Sennheisers don't. it's in the free trade agreement.

i came upon a couple threads recently in other forums regarding audiogon's questionable feedback policy. it was stated that leaving negative feedback is an extremely frustrating process and that the admins there deliberately attempt to thwart the posting of negative feedback. all this, so that audiogon can keep the wheels greased and the money flowing through the forum, and of course, more revenue coming in.

yup, except for the DA100, i've never considered buying anything locally. the only comparisons i've read of the pico's amp have been of it stacked up against other portables. i doubt many would give it even odds against a desktop, though. maybe others who have heard it can offer more information about the amp section, as i have been mainly focused on it's dac.

i've been looking hard at the DA100 for some time now. i'm currently working overseas and audio gear regularly gets marked up 50-100% in these parts. way too expensive. the stello however is the one bonafide bargain i've been able to find locally (around $200 less than the north american price, depending on the fluctuating currency exchange rate). i'm really trying to avoid large, heavy components though because i want to avoid paying the freight and dealing with customs when i do make my way back home. in fact, a guiding principle with me for purchases has been, can i fit it into my laptop knapsack and carry it onto a plane? a flawed way of thinking perhaps, but it is what it is. still, the DA100 seems like too good a deal to pass up. that is, until the pico made it's appearance and threw a wrench into the works. the tiny size is very appealing, it's been favorably compared to the other dacs mentioned here, and the headphone amp and possibly pre-amp capabilities (with mini-monitors) sound perfect for a computer-based setup. without a true line-out (only a 1/8" headphone out), i'm just wondering if this would hinder it's useage as a standalone dac. can anyone explain if there's any technical reason why this shouldn't be used to feed another amp? i'd like to get into the pre-order lineup, but only if i'm certain that it could function in this role without any compromise. otherwise, i'll probably be leaning towards the DA100 again.

i always thought of xin as someone who didn't much care for any market. he's on record as saying he doesn't mind clones of his amp appearing in china, so long as they sound good. his penchant for disappearing, lousy communication track record, and slow shipping times also seem to support this indifference towards any market. anyways, i'm one of those in line for one of his amps. i have a mini^3 to preocupy me, and no money is being paid until it is shipped, so it's no big deal. whether that makes me an eater, one of the eaten, or simply fed up, time will tell.

that's what i was hoping to hear, thanks.

i'll keep that opamp configuration in mind, thanks. i'm guessing that the 8610 is the most common chip used in all three channels, but does the standard M^3 build use socketed op-amps, or does this simply vary from amp to amp?

thrice, can you drop any hints about your upcoming M^3 and Millet Max builds? case work, specs and whatnot? and an open question: can anyone share their impressions of these amps in general, or with Grados specifically?

thanks for the updated information...if the M^3 is that much better, i will probably steer away from the HPA-1. regarding your past comments about the HF-1/ HPA-1 pairing, i believe you said something to the effect that you were selling your HPA-1, but before letting it go you tested it with the HF-1 and liked it almost to the point of regretting the HPA-1 sale. that could be me getting something mixed up, though.

tomato...tomahto :] thanks for the info recstar. if your single-ended redtop does get fixed and you want to let it go to finance the balanced version, let me know.

is the Eddie Current Red Hat proto the balanced or single ended version? i emailed Craig a little while ago, inquiring if the fully discrete SE version would become available, and due to a number of unfortunate circumstances, he said it was being pulled in favor of the $1000 more expensive balanced version.

ok, i'll find Hirsch and maybe direct some of these questions to him. i did find one statement he made about the amp pairing very well with the HF-1, but no impressions with other Grados. and thanks for the pictures deepak, though my my feeble mind doesn't know what to make of all that military industrial housing. a quick glance at the eBay page shows that the HPA-1 has been pulled from the blocks. maybe someone offered his asking price. *sorry about any confusion regarding the RS-1.