Comfy

Now that I've googled Doug Sax, I'm afraid his standards are a bit higher than mine. Still unapologetic about liking the Mini-DAC.

It's a very solid album from start to finish. Every song is a gem. It's also the saddest album I know.

Found this thread: http://www.head-case.org/forums/miscellaneous/569-question-should-we-bother-phase.html

How important is the correct polarity? Right now my source has XLR-outs with pin 2 hot, and my amp has XLR-ins with pin 3 hot. So I'm wondering whether I should order a pair of polarity switching XLR interconnects from BJC, or just use the ones I already have as I probably can't hear a difference. My system is used 100% for music listening, no recording purposes. Any expert opinions on the subject?

Finally got my Mini-DAC, which directly replaces my old Lavry DA10. The change was based mostly on a single recommendation by grawk. He didn't adorn his recommendation with audiophile jargon or any other verbal acrobatics for that matter. It was quite blunt, along the lines of "the Lavry sounds like shit, the Mini-DAC sounds good". Somehow that convinced me. And now that I'm here listening to my new setup: Beck - Sea Change to Mini-DAC to SRM-T1S to LNS... I'm really happy that I took grawk's word. The Mini-DAC sounds like the notes have been covered with alternating layers of candy coating and heroin. The soundstage is tighter, more realistic, more intimate. The bass extends much, much lower and has a lot more body to it. The music moves me in much the same way as the first glass of good red wine on an empty stomach, on that third date with your new love in a fancy restaurant. It goes straight to my head and my head loves it. Some will contend that the DA10 is more detailed. Well, I'm hearing detail I hadn't heard before. And the detail I hear makes sense in the musical context too. Perhaps the DA10 is just so boring in its presentation, that even if the detail is present, your brain doesn't really care? All in all, my system is finally where I wanted it to be, and my search for emotion through technology has reached a new high mark.

Mew - No More Stories / Are Told Today / I'm Sorry / They Washed Away / No More Stories / The World Is Grey / I'm Tired / Let's Wash Away

I'd prefer just "headphones" and "FU2".

Agreed.

Sorry mate, I'll send 10USD to Jude for your copyrights.

Yeah... But those are actually alien heads. Now with more sweaty membrane veil.

EDIT: I'm sorry I even tried to come up with something clever as a response. Humbling.

Wrong.

Do you folks have any ideas about what driver is used in the HF-2?

Very good to hear that. I also ordered a pair of flats with them, figuring that once burnt in the bass might tighten up and reduce in quantity, and flats would then provide a little extra oomph in this department.

Hi Drubbing. The HF-2 is a limited edition, 500 of them are supposedly being made. You can still order a pair from Todd The Vinyl Junkie, until the 31st of this month, or until no more are left, whichever comes first. Haven't heard them myself, but I've ordered a pair based on other people's reviews. From what I've gathered, they are probably on par with the RS-2 regarding general quality, possibly even better in some aspects. Apparently it manages to sound like a Grado (fun, engaging, beautiful mids), while also possessing some qualities that are not classic John Grado (deep musical bass, non-harsh treble, improved soundstage). Please note that all of these impressions are based on things I've read, instead of first hand experience. If you are really interested in high end Grado, you'll probably lament missing this opportunity later on - old school gradoists seem pretty stoked about these. Also the previous limited edition Grado, the HF-1 went up in price after the production stopped, nearly doubled its market value. These also come with a funny little flaw in the etching of the model name, but as you approach the question from the dark side of headphonia, it should be a non-issue.

Having owned a pair of W5000 in the past, this comparison was quite enlightening. Especially the aspect of HF-2 being more fun - sounds like good times. Thanks!

Happy B-Day!

Hi zippy, could you please elaborate, how does the HF-2 compare to the W5000?

Practice and this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stax_Earspeakers

To the OP: you don't have insomnia. Your circadian rhythm is just a little messed up after the all-nighter. The human brain can adapt to around 1 hour of sleeping hours variation per day, so you should just go to sleep 1 hour earlier (or later) every night, until you reach your target. No point in rolling around sleepless, just log on to head-case, buy some new Stax, enjoy your new ways.

Do you get the second pitch also if you just blow air, or when normalizing ear pressures (valsalva maneuver)? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver

I'm working on an all-black (cue the Haka) setup with a Lavry Black, an SRM-1, and SR-Lambdas. And Blue Jeans Cable interconnects, but with black techflex on them. I'll be listening exclusively to Arcade Fire's Black Mirror and AC/DC's Back in Black for the first hours. After the initial burn-in, I might try out some Black Sabbath (Snowblind). No white noise for the burn-in, and no White Stripes or the the Beatles' White Album for at least the first months. I don't listen to Michael Jackson anyway, so no need to invent a bad joke about him now. Because once you go Stax/black... yeah.

I've been lurking here for around a month already. Mainly reading the Stax thread though. Did I say something wrong?

Thanks for the warm welcome. As far as loudness goes, I really think you should check out some Stax. That way you could also avoid the headphone jack issue, as you could use an energizer out of the speaker posts to drive these. I'm a very new Stax mafioso, with just one setup, but maybe you could ask in the Stax thread for more experienced opinions. In my opinion, the SR-Lambdas I have are more accurate to the recording, as well as faster, more detailed and much louder (up to the absolute limits of my listening capacity and far beyond with no issues) than any dynamic setup I've ever heard.