Contrastique

Happy Birthday!

Yeah..but it's so marvelously written I just have to get going to the end. By the time I reach that point I might just start reading it again to see how it did start again lol! What was The Idiot like? Haven't read it yet but I think that's next on my list.

Still reading "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Too bad I have little time doing extensive reading sessions because this book is really intriguing to say the least.

Ah thanx! My brother got me confused when saying that the soundcard would still interfer with the sound. But it's all clear again!

Thanx for the input. What exactly do I need to do to make this work flawlessly or is it just connecting (adjusting bitrate, wherever you change that) and that's that? Ow well, I still have to buy that MBP first I haven't yet cleaned the inputselector and I'm not sure if that'll do the trick. Like 3 months ago the amp has been to a person who fixes this kind of stuff and cleaned it. Worked fine for the first few weeks but after that it appeared again. It's unfortunately a common problem for this amp. I did, however, just attach the CDP via optical and as of now, the Ipod officially sucks This is one serious amp. All the comments about missing a crispiness to the sound, sounding a tad laid back, forget about it now. Problem solved. It was all in the ipod. I really wish you could hear this and share your opinions on this one to check if my ears suck or if I'm really hearing something awesome (well, I am ). It's like removing curtains covering up the sound. So...new pic:

The source, yeah,,I guess it will not be just solved with a MacbookPro via optical out as you still use its internal soundcard which is most likely inferior to the amp connected with...correct or not? Had a little chat with my brother just now and he mentioned that. I completely forgot about the soundcard.

The Akai is in absolute mint condition. My bf was the first and only owner and took good care of it luckily. The only problem it has which is a common thing with them is the input selector causes cracking in the sound. That's why we had to replace it for the speakers. Luckily one input works without cracking so I can use it without problems, at least so far. The source, yeah I know haha! Have to buy a new Macbook Pro and that will deal with that. Hmm, spanked with an Edition 9..lol...I want that mamma too!

Here's a pic:

Just recently we had to buy a new speaker amp for the speakers as the former one served the music with a lot of cracks. So the new one arrived and the old one was just standing on the ground for a couple of days looking good when I realized I could try and make it useful as a homeamp for the time being. Well, I think I now really understand the difference between driving my headphones from a portable or a BIG amp. The sound is so much more alive, vivid. Deeper presentation, vocals a lot more up front and much more resolution. I first had the bas- knob on normal and so the treble-knob. It was not really my sound as in like too warm lush sounding. So I opened up the treble and it became, well not so pleasant to the ears but when adding the bass it was as if everything opened up more. The vocals became more up in your face and it seems more layered. Bass impact is FUCKING HUGE really speakerlike except you can't feel it in your chest, just in your head, yet being definitely more controlled and detailed. It almost feels I have a completely different headphone now. The only way I can describe it in one word is Massive. I still feel this is not exactly the sound I want as it's still a tad too lush for my taste, I miss the crispy flavour, so to speak so I will save up for that Beta. But I have to say, this amp is really not a shabby one. Especially with all the connections it has, it's still quite unique despite it being around 20 yrs old. I will post a specsheet from the amp that is now in the speaker set-up for the ones interested. The one I use for my headphones is a newer model (AM69) but I can't seem to find any specs on them: Ow yes, and still apologizing for my noob way of describing what I hear, i hope you can still catch my drift.

Oh, I'm so jealous!!! Have loads of fun peeps and looking forward to all the impressions!

OMG..that's really ugly...can't imagine people actually wearing them...I bet they sound real...colourful They do have a striking resemblance to the V700.

Happy Birthday!

I don't have a pet anymore and most likely won't have one in the near future due to lack of time but here's my last one: The screaming, nutsdriving lovely bird "Fidel" who flew away a year ago:

Just a side-question: When talking about discrete opamps their only advantage is they can handle more power?

Yeah, been through that yesterday. Drove me nuts! From looking at the specs I just don't know what I'm looking at. But I feel good about deciding going for the Beta. It would be a very interesting step. It's just figuring out the parts that I need in them and I will need all of your help as I have no clue about it. I just feel a little stupid wanting to buy such equip and I don't have a clue about what's in there. I just know what I like qua sound...although that's all that matters in the end I guess. If I would have just gone blindly for the Rudistor I would probably already considered myself in audio-heaven. It's just that when you find out about something that's supposedly better, well, it has some attraction.

I did a quick read and it appears that in standard configuration it doesn't have a balanced out. You can get it modded or order it now with balanced outs but I don't think you can switch between balanced and se. Could that be correct?

I agree. But it would be a nice starting point for me I think. Building in a DAC would be cheaper than buying a seperate one if I get it right. Also, I could get used to the Beta with that Dac and then start thinking about a seperate DAC. I would already have my amp where I could try it out with and see what would work best with that. You could use both, right if you have optical and analog inputs?

Thanx for the comment. Looks interesting though a lot of the slang used is like mumbojumbo to me lol. But okay...I did notice one thing...someone mentioned that the DAC would be around $29 which the person said was pretty pricy for a DAC How come that when you buy a seperate DAC like the DA100 is so much more expensive? Building a DAC in the amp would that be a concession regarding soundquality? Would a seperate DAC be better or would that solely depend on what kind of DAC is being implemented in the amp?

Yes, I was afraid of that! I think it would be interesting if I would go for the Beta. There's someone in the Netherlands who has the RPX-33 and I would then be able to compare them. If I would prefer the RPX-33 I could always sell it with little loss but most important I would be able to compare something which is a learnful thing on itself. Only it raises new questions, like would I implement the DAC in the Beta or buy a seperate one? I would prefer the first as it would eliminate the hassle of looking into all those DAC's available. When streaming the music from the Macbook via optical into the amp, the one thing determining the sound would be the amp, right? When looking at a different source it would just be playing with the different DAC's in it and finding the ultimate combination, right?

What would be the benefit of that? (sorry for my newb questions sigh..) Would it be cheaper getting an external DAC or have it built in? Depending on the kind of DAC I guess, but considering I'm looking at the Stello DA220 as it seems pretty good from what I've read, which is around $1200.

Well, I've given it another thought and discussed the matter with my bf. I think you're right when you say I'm betting on one horse with the Opus. If something goes wrong I have a big problem and the harddrive will always fail, it's just a matter of time before it does. Still the whole server idea does not appeal to me. But I have come up with something else: I'm gonna buy a new Macbook Pro in the near future as my current powerbook is getting old and slow. This Pro-version has an optical out which means I could link it with my Ipod, or when it get's too small, an external harddrive with no loss of qual. I could then, via optical out connect it to a DAC and connect it to the amp. Since I always work on my laptop when I work this could be a perfect solution. Just 2 questions: Is it possibe to build in a DAC in the Beta which would mean it has to have an optical input? When possible would it be a not so good option because of..well..whatever? When not possible I would have to connect the DAC to the amp which means I would loose qual over the cable? Or do I have to spend xxx money on a decent cable? A DAC...would the Stello DA220 be a real nice option? I know, I'm asking a lot of questions here and I'm so derailing this thread, but hey, I started it anyways Any help would be so appreciated as I'm so struggling with what to build. Or would it not matter that much?

Yeah, I once started a thread on Head-Fi in order to find out if a device such as the Olive would excist. That's where they mentioned the Squeezebox. I just think that's a such a hassle...I know I'm kind of demanding here, but I would like to have it in one machine and nicely done as well, concerning soundqual that means. I know the server option has a lot more advantages like future upgrades and stuff but I wouldn't like to have a server in the house just for my music. The Olive is the only device which has all I want. I mean, 750gb / 1tb of space is really a lot and I don't think I will fill it up that fast, considering the fact I have now in use 105gb. Does anyone know if their DAC is any good? The new upgrade is absolutely damn ugly! Jeezzz, the Opus 5 was really hot! But they have gotten a LOT cheaper now: around $3000 for the 750 back then (if I remember correctly) and now $1699! It's becoming afforfable. I will have to think this through though. If someone says the Opus is absolute crap qua sound I'll let it go but if it's quite or very good it's still an option.

I heard the HE60 before and while I really liked them, simply the best Sennheiser I heard, they're not for me. They lack the punch I'm so fond of with my 750's. I know the ed9 can give me that and even more. Also, they need to be closed. They'll be mostly used when working at home and when my boyfriend is watching the tv, well, I don't want to hear any of that. Same is for the 650 (open). I would really like to hear a balanced 650 though, because the se 650 is absolutely not my cup of tea. Way too dark, no speed and boring to my ears.

Yep, I know. That's also on the schedule somewhere and I have my mind set on the ed9. Headphone-upgrade will come. Source..yes..I know. An ipod will look a little, not the way to go. I'm still figuring out what source would suit my needs most. A while back I posted something about the Olive Opus 5. I'm gonna wait for the market to evolve a little more and hopefully will reduce the prices (the 750gb configuration is like

Well, I'm thinking a mix of single-ended and balanced if I get to choose so that I can swop. When I do that and if that's an option (which I think it is) then when I buy the ed9 I might get it recabled so that I can switch from balanced to se. Used indeed might be a good option if it contains what I want; note the above.