milkpowder

Oh my goodness... look at that poor DAC64 :'( Just your SinglePowers to come then!

If you can afford custom IEMs, just get 'em. Don't worry so much about fit because most people get it perfect the first time.

aardvark sandwich, post your question on the official Predator thread The DAC is most likely powered by USB and hence has no effect on the battery life.

Nice choice of test CDs. The 2006 SACD/LPCD Perfect Sound is better than the 2007 IMHO. The X-03SE is good indeed and the P05/D-05 is probably much better. Tempted? Who makes those small floorstanders and that silver integrated amplifier? BTW, the colours are very vibrant considering you took those using a camera phone. You must have a very nice phone!

Says the man with a ridiculously large collection of rare headphones 300B Zanden does beat everything though

Two Linn albums in 24-bit/88.2kHz FLAC. The Messiah recording (my first one!) is pretty incredible. I can't imagine how they managed to record such crisp, detailed sound in Greyfriar's Kirk, Edinburgh (a cathedral). I've performed there myself and it can be quite echoy. Linn must've used dozens of microphones, which can only make the mastering process more difficult. The recording will definitely sound better than if you were to go and listen to it live.

Interesting, as I can't tell the difference either!

I don't think that would go down too well with the mods... That aside, I don't think he should be allowed to edit others' posts. The sponsoring should be so that he pays for the right to advertise, not to dumb down any legitimate queries. It's not that hard to understand, is it? Anyway, my whining won't change anything. Just needed to say something, that's all.

---Quote (Originally by oicdn)--- Maybe I'm just stirring the pot ;P ---End Quote--- That is exactly what you are trying to do. Remember, this is my thread & I paid for it. Ray Samuels Just what the fuck is Ray Samuels doing... I absolutely hate the censoring (yes, I noticed a few missing/deleted posts from yesterday). There's no honesty about a MOT sponsor's product the way Head-Fi is run. Really puts my "relationship" with Head-Fi into question...

I have to say the new dCS range look absolutely incredible. Does the Paganini transport also use a VRDS mech (nevermind which one:p)? It should be pretty easy to tell just by looking at "tray". If the Puccini sounds anything like the P8i (which it should, and better)... The P8i was breathtakingly good. The only thing specific I remember about it was how insanely resolving it sounded.

Some say Be-tweeter equipped JMLabs are bright, but that is really not the case with the Divas sitting in the living room. I think the room acoustics have a lot to do with the final sound. Is the tweeter grille of the 1037 removable? Do you remember if the grille was on or not? It makes quite a big difference on the sound.

Uninspiring and just a tad lifeless is how I'd describe the 1027be. I listened for about half an hour and just thought to myself... quit wasting time and move on. Even something like the similarly priced Aerial Acoustics Model 7B sounded more involving. The sources were a Chord Blu/DAC64 and Esoteric X-03SE. Amps were a ~300W/ch Chord integrated. Maybe there was something wrong with the set up (or my ears on that particular day)? I find it quite hard to believe that an excellent speaker company such as JMLabs with its impressive sounding Utopia Be flagship lineup could make a speakers which don't at least share some of the magic. Whatever the reason, the 1027 aren't by any means repulsive or offensive-sounding. They're very smooth and have decent bass. It's a shame the 1037 isn't much of a change. I think JMLabs decided to throw in the 1037 because of the massive price gap between the 1027 and the Utopia Be range. I can't imagine the 1037 costing JMLabs a lot to develop either... Wow... You're getting an APL too? My dream player is the 3.0 even though I haven't even heard it before. If its better than a X-01 Limited or EMM Labs stack, then it must be ridiculously good.

Audiophile-type sound, but not quite resolving enough for me personally. Didn't quite have the magic that one other speaker around the same price range I heard had (ProAc D38). To me, JMLabs spent too much money on the looks and not enough on the sound. It looks too nice for a $5k loudspeaker The finish is immaculate. I auditioned the 1027Be simply because of the advertisement on the back cover of Stereophile and because my dad was looking for a stereo rig:D What I really want to know is how the 1037Be stacks up to the Diva Utopia Be. My dad bought a pair of Divas around a year ago, way before the 1037Be were introduced. Did you get a chance to compare the two?

Don't APL Hi Fi also do DSD-PCM than some ridiculously fancy upsampling? How much do the SF Elipsas cost? They look a lot like the Strads w/o the fancy gloss. The 1027Be is also fairly underwhelming, despite its good reviews.

Probably because of the thick cotton dielectric/sheath.

I was just gonna say your RS-1 cables look especially thick, even when compared to other pictures of balanced recables.

They look incredible. How stiff is the cable?

Cheap too.

But who in their right mind would pay a few thousand for a Stax amp (apart from T2)? How many 4k 007t do you think they sell in Europe? Probably not a lot of them. Most people who know about Stax probably also know that they can be imported for much less anyway. (even when you factor in VAT, import duty, postage) $4k or $14k or even $140k may not be a lot of money to some, but it will make any rich audiophile think twice about what they're buying. Even those earning $1k/hr would think twice about buying something blind. Don't you think they would at least do a bit of research? If a maxed KGBH SE sounds better than a Coriolan, looks just as nice (or nicer), but costs less, it only makes sense for them to get the KGBH SE. Obviously, no one has heard the Coriolan, so maybe the rich guy can buy both the Coriolan and KGBH SE and make his own mind up. I would if I had the money.

10 KGSS or one Coriolan?

I noticed that too. The high gain does look a bit improbable.

Nice. How much did you get your SRM-1/Mk2-LambdaPro set for? And for no particular reason, what is the serial number on your SRM-1? (maybe you can get back to me on that one when it arrives) Looking forward to your comparison too.

$275 shipped/paypal'd, including tubes?! Compare that to 9 and a half grand... Euros

I've never really understood why Rudistor electrostatic amps are so ill-received. Please educate me! I'll do a search too... A link for the initiated: http://www.rudistor.com/coriolan.htm

Two words - Rudistor Coriolan. What do you think? Didn't think you ever liked Rudi's gear, but I wonder if this will change your mind