Bob_McBob

So tkam mentioned the Zana Deux earlier, which actually looks kind of interesting. Pricey at $1900 though PFK's opinion was basically "get the Singlepower". I sort of like the look of the Zana Deux, but I've read wildly differing opinions about it... It's too bad there's nowhere I can go hear either of these without paying several hundred for a plane ticket

Now we're talking. Seriously, I think this is the amp for me. It's just a matter of either finding a used amp SOON or figuring out some way to get a new one here without shelling out $350 extra.

I'm kind of unclear on what bias/voltage/tube options the SLAM SE has that the Supra doesn't. I am a tube noob and it's all very confusing!

No, I'm not looking for a balanced amp, so I was never considering the Supra XLR.

The SLAM SE is $2150 and the basic Supra is $1900 or $2000 depending on whether you go by moon-audio's site or the price list SP sent me a week ago (I'm assuming $2000 is correct). The SLAM SE is pushing the budget a lot...

Right, another one of my "x vs. y" threads... I've been going back and forth with a guy on head-fi about buying his SLAM SE, and it seems he's not really interested in selling it anymore (after I sold off my whole rig ). I have a WTB ad up there (and here), but it got me thinking about whether it was worth buying used. Anyway, I fired off an e-mail to Mikhail about it, but I think I'll probably end up with a used amp, since I'd need it by January to take advantage of the fact that my dad will be in PA for a couple of weeks (no tax makes a HUGE difference!). While I was considering that, something that's always been in the back of my mind came up. I've always been curious about the relative merits of the SLAM SE vs. the Supra, especially since the Supra is $150 cheaper. Why DO people pay more for the SLAM SE? I had a chat with PFK about it, and from what I gather, the SLAM SE alone is probably better ("better") than the Supra, but the Supra has a lot more upgrade potential. Also, there are some fundamental differences in sound between the two, with the Supra being brighter and more dynamic. He suggests sticking with the SLAM SE idea for my RS-1s, but I know of Grado owners who decided to go with the Supra ("I went for the more refined amp"). I personally don't understand how "brighter" can possible mix with Grados, but perhaps someone could enlighten me on the subject. Anyway, I'm nervously sitting here with $1200 in my PayPal account and plenty more on Visa. It would cost me about $70 to do a round trip to the bank and back (exchange fees), so it's tied up until I decide what to do. As this sale seems to have fallen through, I have about a month to find a new amp to buy.

Meh, guess I'll try asking here. Does anyone know of software that can read the SMART data from drives in USB enclosures? Is it even possible? I would like to be able to check the fitness of a drive without having to plug it in directly, especially 2.5" drives. Another question: I am concerned about the fitness of my primary drive. The raw read error rate has been around 48 since I last started monitoring it, and it flits around between 48 and 49, sometimes going up to 52. This is a Seagate drive, and I assume 100 is the maximum value. Of course, I have no idea whether Seagate is doing some weird shit with the values. I compared my drive to another identical one and many of the "low" values were close or exactly the same (for instance, 81/60 for seek error rate).

RSA fanboys on head-fi?

Deleted... check here: http://sig.fortepianos.com/romanee.htm

"The Tomahawk" "...resolution you can never imagine." http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=205466 http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/index3.html Discuss

Is it really that bad for the price and intended use?

I think it can wait until the next round of upgrades (if it ever happens). I just ordered an AV-710, and I will be grabbing a toslink cable off eBay. Thanks for the help, guys.

Yeah, I know it is not the best option, but I'm not sure I have the cash for a huge outlay on sound card/cable after paying for the DAC. What is the cheapest "decent" option for a sound card with coax digital outputs? The AV-710 is about $25 and can be made to output bit perfect, but obviously toslink only.

Well, it looks like I have essentially closed the deal with the guy. Now I just need to wait until his new DAC arrives. In the mean time, I should probably pick up a new sound card and digital cable. I have heard good things about the Chaintech AV-710 with flashed firmware used solely as a digital output to a DAC. On the other hand, I have also hear bad thing... very useful indeed! For the cable, I am thinking of just picking up an eBay special toslink, or grabbing one from bluejeanscables. My "listening station" (i.e. comfy chair) is across the room from the computer. Are there any issues with toslink cables at lengths of 10-15ft?

That's the plan, philodox. Thanks for the replies, guys (especially GE!). I think I will go with this and see how it works out.

I would be using my computer as the source. I'll need to buy a new sound card for proper bit perfect output -- I have an Audigy 2 ZS right now, which is fine for gaming but obviously not much good for this. All my stuff is regular 44.1kHz from CDs. I have a decent CD collection, but a larger downloaded collection. Right now my stuff is mainly 224kbps AAC, but I will certainly do some testing with lossless. Does that help?

I'm in the market for a proper (i.e. non-iPod) source, and I was hoping you guys could help me out. My current home rig consists of a Dynahi, Millett, and RS-1s (with said iPod as source). The Channel Islands Audio VDA-1 has been suggested by a couple of people as being good value on the used market, and I'm currently in touch with someone selling one with the VAC-1 and "Revelation Audio Labs" cable for around $400. I have been doing some DAC research on head-fi, but it is hard to get impressions of the VDA-1 vs. other DACs, as it's discontinued. The price is a little steep, but a bit better than you might think, as the seller is also Canadian (I avoid 14% tax and $25 shipping). I am giving some serious though to selling my Millett and just sticking with the Dynahi to help finance it. I would love to hear from anyone who has compared it with other similarly-priced DACs. Is this something I should be looking at, or would my money be better spent elsewhere? This will likely be my last major purchase for my headphone setup, as I am really trying to concentrate on my photography gear, so I would like to get something I can stick with. Thanks

Since the Dynahi was not as much as I was expecting to pay for my other amp choices, I'm going to see if I can come up with enough to keep the Millett as well, and perhaps try out the mods n_maher suggested in the previous thread. We shall see...

It has a gain switch installed for low impedance headphones. I'm not sure it is the best amp ever for Grados, but it was hard to pass up such a good deal, especially with the potential of importing it without paying tax (which makes it very hard to try out new gear and sell it without a huge loss). Now I will definitely have to try some other headphones >_<

Update: xand1x pointed out a Veda Audio Dynahi SA for sale on head-fi, and I grabbed it. http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=194974 I even managed to get out of paying $100 more in tax and shipping by having it sent to my dad, who is conveniently staying about 150 miles from the seller until Friday. So, no amp more amp questions for a little while anyway. In a few months, we can talk sources

Bah, they do charge sales tax over the base price, booo. I guess that was to be expected. Still, $700 amp is an $800 amp now. Back to the SLAM...

I did, I'm just being impatient

Well, it is really a pain in the ass (and wallet) to send a heavy amp back to the States for servicing, and especially annoying to have to send it back right after buying it (apparently it has already been back once for an "imbalance" caused by a corroded tube socket). Plus, I wonder if Mikhail would charge for the downgrade... When you say that Mikhail stands by his amps, this one has under a year of warranty left on it, and I don't relish the thought of having to send it back yet again if something else went screwy. However, it IS a good deal considering the rising cost of Singlepower amps, even though it is not a real SLAM. I have pretty much discounted the Ear+HD because I am trying to find an upgrade I will want to hold onto for some time, and I have horrible visions of selling it and buying a SLAM six months down the line. After I buy this amp, I will be saving up again for a few months, and hoping to get together a mini-meet in the area to hear a few sources so I can choose one to buy. You know, I have been checking out that McAlister meet thread, as well as the site, and the PL10 looks pretty nifty Philodox, can you tell me whether he charges sales tax on top of his prices for Canadian orders? Dr. Lloyd of MAD essentially "discounts" Canadian amp orders by the cost of the sales tax, so he pays it himself.

Apparently it has the Jensen coupling upgrade installed \

Wow, that thing is huge. According to his site it costs $700 and he doesn't take credit cards, so it may be beyond my means at the moment. I would have to find out whether he charges tax on Canadian orders, too (MAD doesn't). Still... how does it sound? Compared to PPX3 SLAM? By the way, should I consider buying a 2 year old PPX3 with SLAM adapters and lots of upgrades? I e-mailed Mikhail, and he told me that it is a point to point model as he started building them with PCBs the next month. I am kind of wary of buying a point to point Singlepower amp, but I'm afaid it may be the only offer I'll get from another Canadian for anything close to the actual SLAM.