JimP

ok I dutifully read through all 5 pages of this thread, but not sure of the recommendations. I'm about to just order Blue Jeans Canare Star Quad XLR to run balanced source (either 840c or miniDAC) to amp. If anyone thinks I can do better, without breaking the bank, please let me know.

OK my Omega Super 5's and Cube Hemp Sub have come in. I've hastily set them up, using some cheapo bookshelves as ad hoc speaker stands. My camera sucks but the finish is birdseye maple front and mahagony burl side/top. Only have them out of the box for few hours now, so can't comment on sound yet (but sounds very promising, quite disorientating that a single driver speaker can deliver this fulsome sound). My 4.5wpc 8ohm Almarro get's them plenty loud at 9 o'clock volume. Using cheap DVD player to Apogee miniDAC as source for now. Haven't had time to unpack the matching sub. The Super 5's are bigger than I anticipated, the Super Hemps must be huge in comparison.

I knew it! (groveling in a bloody pulp now...) Truth be told, one of the things I'm very sensitive to is comfort - I tried my best 'hairshirt' routine. I loved Grados (had PS-1, HHF-1, RS-1) but ultimately couldn't stand them on my head. I loved the K1000 even more but the temple pressure always bothered me. Maybe it's my head shape. So the headphones I'm keeping - HD650/HD580 and DT880-600ohm are the most comfortable, if not sonically the best. I don't have a lot of experience with speakers or nearfield application, so the Harbeths were a bit of a punt for me. With some extended listen now, I am very pleased, even at low to medium volume, the soundstage is holographic (and more natural than headphones??), and all the detail I appreciated with the headphones, is still there with the Harbeths. Don't want to sound like a Harbeth fanboy (I'm sure there are other speakers that deliver the goods), but this would rank as one of the most satisfying audio purchases I've made in a long time.

Jack and Meg would approve of the color scheme...now crank 'Rag And Bones' to break it in!!

Am I the only one to 'Click here to see boobies'? Uh, I did it twice. Anyway, I am very much enjoying these Harbeths. So much so nearfield, that I sold my K1000 (waiting for Dusty Chalk to go berserk on me). I'm still waiting for my Omega Super 5/Deep Hemp Cube subs for a separate application. For headphones, I still use HD650 and DT880-600ohm, but I've pretty much gone over to speakers.

there's no guide book, you're right. be creative. we stumbled on the fact that our newborn likes motion. so we got this moses basket thingy with handles. We laid her (gently) in the basket, and i would just carry her around the house for hours (great workout btw). not saying this will work for you. hang in there, it's worth it!

Awesome photo!! Enjoy the moment, they change dramatically in the first six months...right before your eyes.

OK picked up a pair of Harbeth P3ES-2 locally at a decent price. Hooked up to my old Bryston B60R integrated (60wpc 8ohm) fed by 840c (spinning CDs and also fed optically by a macmini). I need to cook this in for awhile, but damn it sounds really nice. Listening to Beck/Sea Change now in nearfield mode. I'm really enjoying the freedom from headphone strapped to my head (of course, if I'm going to rock out with my ___ out, I still reach for the headphones so as not to disturb the household). I still have an Omega sat/sub system on order to mate with my Almarro flea power amp for a setup in a different room. I may be done with headphones -- keep 2 or 3, otherwise they're superfluous. (btw, the reason I'm not going monster he-man floor standing speakers is that living space in HK is tight, take your average room space in the US and divide by four...)

As a recent father of a daughter myself, just curious how you are holding up? Don't ask me for advice because I have none. Hope all is good with the family.

Congratulations X 1 million!! Daughters are awesome, you'll see in about 6-7 months when they start expressing a range of expressions/emotions. (But keep them on the straight and narrow, my 11 month daughter is starting to throw gang hand signs - our worst nightmare, we think it's the dreaded Milky Killers...)

but if today didn't happen, then tomorrow, yesterday didn't happen

got a response, not available for two months

like ground hog day

I searched some more, apparently it's even cheaper, like ~US$500 Is that possible? I just sent off an email to Little Dot to enquire how I can purchase one of these. What the hell given all my phones happen to be terminated in 4-pin XLR. Doesn't work out, I'll just use it as a beater amp at the office. I don't have high expectations, but hey it's got a cool 'steam punk' look to it. Team Quality-Sound-Is-Overrated, Team Retro-Cool-Looking-Gadgets (uh, still I hope it sounds semi-credible...)

nah, it's OK - the joke was lame *

no english is my first language, just goofing on the phrases used here. OK I'll go lewrk.

bullshit, I just checked the dictionary. Yes, they are words in the singular (actually 'et' seems to be Latin), BUT THERE IS NO 'DEW ET'

No man, I'm in Hong Kong

English is a second language for me, but dude, you can't spell.

I knew someone would say that... (but I already took one for the team with the goldenmcnuggets erh jacks, I have to take another one? this is harder than my experience joining the crips when I was in LA...or was that the bloods, I forget)

OK I swore that I would I would not buy any more equipment, especially amps in 2008, pretty much settled on the stuff in my signature. But this new balanced Chinese tube amp has caught my eye. I doubt there's any of these in the wild, and certainly no one in the western world would have one. The question is, would it even be possible to manufacture a credible balanced, all-tube amplifier at the supposed price point of ~US$800. Let's leave out labor cost, obviously cheap in China. Just on parts/component, is it even feasible? Because all my core phones are terminated in 4-pin XLR (K1000, HD650, DT880-600ohm), I am very tempted to take a punt on this.

Ginger Baker!

For me, I would love to see Tom Waits, Neil Young (not sure if these guys even tour anymore - with advanced notice, I would even consider flying to see the concert). Maybe Radiohead, Flaming Lips if they ever come to HK.

more so than the Dead (which I'm belatedly a huge fan), I would have loved to have seen Jerry Garcia Band show...

The Clash x2 (I was way too young -- cape cod coliseum, providence civic center - still in awe) The Ramones (again, way too young, fake ID to get in, providence) Violent Femmes (Wellesley College?, awesome live!) Jonathan Richman x3 (NYC/Tokyo - I would always scream Roadrunner! but he never plays it) Grateful Dead (madison square garden - in hind sight I wish I could have seen the Dead more than once) The Who (Meadowlands? playing Quadrophenia - was never a fan, bought every CD after the show, amazing musicians) Medeski Martin And Wood x3 (NYC - for a brief period, I think I was a groupie) Roger Waters x2 (unreal concerts) countless other concerts, but the above stand out.