akwok

I bought the SR-507 new and IMO it's a big pile of turds. Its sound signature -- as spritzer has mentioned many times before and I really should have listened -- is that of an extreme "U", and its soundstage is so shallow it's like an electrostatic Grado. Boo urns!

As you said, the drivers aren't meant to last for more than 20 years -- and most R10s are pre-2000. The risk is not insignificant since finding matching replacement drivers are almost impossible (and afaik I've only heard of one HF'er, Purk, who has owned a spare driver).

I sold it to Genni, not randerson, so I don't think it's on a boat (unless Genni sold it to him).

I sold my ES-1 and HE90 to Icarium for $11k.

Nice. Congrats!

Be prepared to wait 2 weeks (or forever) for an e-mail response!

You absolutely need to phone him. E-mail doesn't seem to work well with him at all.

Omega II and McAlister instead!

I know as much as you. But for that intro price, looks good!

Hey! Hey! Get the PPX3 EXTREME!

Ehh, I told you this on AIM, but I thought I might repeat it here for other people who might have fit issues: You can bend the shit out of the OII's headband for a perfect fit. I bent mine out the other day, and it fits my head perfectly now (when it's on the banana rack, the two earpads don't touch each other anymore!). Perhaps the owner of the OIIs you tried had a big head,

Approved . Yes, their confirmation method it is quite odd and annoying.

You'd still have to get a proper transport and DAC that can sync together, and who knows how the Transporter performs as a $1700 DAC.. The only ~$1700 DAC that pops up to mind is the Stello -- there's doesn't seem to be too much in that category. In the $2500 category is the LessLoss, but you gotta get your transport modified or upgraded for that.. something like an RME Hammerfall doesn't come cheap!

I want one baaaad. September 18th!

HELLO ADAMCALIFORNIA'S SON

Cause I'm a ballbreaker.

I doubt it.. the Zhaolu kicked the Esoteric D70's ass.

Just want to verify that it gets answered in the FAQ,

What's in these modules? Any specifics? How will it sound compared to the current Gilmore modules in the GS-1?

There is no free lunch, unless you're a hobo.

Bob's amp should be a competitor too.. I kid, I kid. I kid because I love.

Most definitely the best deal ever. Where else can I get both my pair of headphones blown at the same time for $75? And jeez.. c'mon.. the fully upgraded model is $300 and it destroys the Esoteric P70/D70 for $10000.. so it's worth $10000+. You save $9700 by going with the Zhaolu! The Zhaolu is Stereophile Class A++, since it's better than the Class A+ P70.

I really don't care, as long as the owner is a nice guy. I think hungrych would make a nice, neutral owner. Relocating will ultimately have it's pros and cons, but whether the pros will outnumber the cons we'll have to wait to see..

Probably. But you know in your heart that, if Ori and zdogg got their hands on a CEC DA53, the Zhaolu would be significantly better in a comparision review. As would any other DAC. This is only the beginning, and sooner or later every DAC review will have a post along the lines of : "How does it compare against the Zhaolu?"

Bingo. No matter what you do, you cannot remove the fanboyism from this overexaggerated and undeserving FOTM. There is no use trying to talk sense into them; the reviews are so obviously biased, it's ridiculous. The Zhaolu FOTM is getting at my nerves. There are so many problems and lies with the Zhaolu (the $50 opamp upgrade, the clock upgrade that doesn't do jack, for example) that I'll be damned if I get mixed into it; after posting my Storm thread, I've gotten over 5 PMs of people asking me to do a comparison with the Zhaolu. Most noteably, a user had the nerve to MSN me, ask me some details regarding the Storm, and then flatout saying the Zhaolu had better specs, better sound quality () than the Storm. WTF? The Lavry, DAC-1, and Esoteric do not deserve to even be in the same room as the Zhaolu, let alone be compo-reviewed.