n_maher

[EDIT]Upon further review, my previous statement was probably wrong so I'm just removing it. Here's to hoping your amp looks something like this when it's all done.

If it were me and I was going full pimp I'd use Welborne Lab's Remote SA. I've been managing to hold off on ordering one for nearly a year now as none of my projects seem worthy.

Based on name only I'd say that new headphones are getting worse. Evidence, the "iGrado"...

I posted my reply in the wrong thread but no worries, get to it when you can. I'm not going anywhere.

No rush on pics for me, I'm waiting to hear from f'ing FedEx about a damage claim on yet another of my sources (good grief no longer covers my fristration) so operation Squeezebox is somewhat up in the air. And whatcha gonna get for an amp?

I'd love to see a comparison of something like the DA100/HP100 compared to say Headroom's Desktop amp + DAC (home modules / home DAC) since they are pretty price competitve ($1400ish).

http://www.hifi500.com/product/da100.htm

Jay, Did you use the internal DAC or an external one? How was the SQ in either case? And yes, I'd be interested in purchasing your used 'box. I'll look into the face replacement and it'd be great if you could shoot a couple of pictures. That's sort of what I was thinking but the $$ allure of selling the dac and further simplifying the setup made me ask.

So I've been giving a lot of thought to my home rig recently and given my problems with CD/DVD players I'm thinking that the Squeezebox might be the answer to my prayers. My rig is never going to be anything other than upper Mid-Fi (at best) so I'm not shooting for the ultimate sound but would like it to be as good as possible while fitting into the constraints of my situation. So my questions are as follows: 1. Tell me about your setup with it: advantages/disadvantages? likes/dislikes? 2. Is the internal DAC half-decent or should I keep my Monica2 to use with it. 3. Are there other alternatives worth looking at? I love the idea of the Olive Music stuff but they just don't fit into the budget and I question how legible the display would be from more than a couple feet away. The Cambridge Audio piece has also gotten some pretty bad press so I'm not considering it either. Thanks in advance, Nate

Wait till you hear it in Boston, cry you will.

Man, that blows. Makes my current source situation seem like a cup of tea. Here's to hoping that your player can be fixed and returned in short order.

I believe that the following two threads detail quite a bit of the work. Not really specific, but gives you the idea. Thread #1 - Chassis Fab Thread #2 - Power Supply Design

Impossible to say since the chassis and power supply are one-off creations designed entirely by Mark.

I recently heard both a tweaked Ear+ HD with even more upgrades to the standard HD design and also a completely modified version. Both were built by Mark Norman (Voodoochile on Head-Fi) and both were very impressive. The "normal" version is exceptionally smooth yet detailed and sounded very good with both Grados and Senns. But the modified version simply blew it away. It runs a power supply of Mark's own design as well as a few other tweaks. Here's some eye candy... I don't think that I've heard a better sounding amp with the Senn 650s, period. It simply sucked me in and kept me glued to the music for a good hour. I then had to give up my chair and let someone else enjoy it for a while. Of course, this was running a killer source so it likely wouldn't sound that good in my meager mid-fi rig but showed the real potential of this amp if you're so inclined to take it there. Nate

A few weeks ago I had a small gathering at my house to listen to various bits of gear. One thing in particular that we wanted to look at was this pile of stuff and see what we thought sounded the best... From the two guys that spent the most time with all three 650s and cables the consensus was that the Cardas opened up the top end the most, but at the detriment to some of the midrange while the Zu and Equinox were so close it was hard to tell a difference back to back. I didn't personally do much back to back listening but I currently own a Zu and Cardas Senn cable and I must admit that I prefer the Zu by a good margin. And congrats on the sweet amp! I spent a good bit of time with a maxed out Home at the last Boston Meet and it remains one of the best amplifiers that I've heard. Nate

I think your custom title should be changed to "Ray Wannabe" until membership reaches 201. [edit]corrected error = me so stupid

I feel your pain Ethan. The source that arrived for me two weeks ago blew up the instant I turned it on. I shit you not. I'm currently running an old Denon DVM 3700 that belongs to Ian (for now ) which has a history of BS problems with the transport so I'm not expecting great things. Funny thing is, so far it's been the most reliable. It worked for a whole day. Looking forward to hearing your rig at the end of August. Nate

Cartman: Why the hell does the FBI keep arresting all my friends? This has to be the work of Stan and Kyle. God, I hate those guys.

I think it falls under the heading of "just because it's out there doesn't mean that it has to be advertised". P.s. Imagine the damage that Jagwire could do with a phone number!?!!

Zack, It might be wise to wait for some impressions from people after Justin rolls out the new modules. I'm not trying to imply that it'll be anything but great sounding but the signature of the amp may have changed as a result. My 2?, Nate

Unlike Jahn I actually try to work at work so I can't read everything . And I thought I sucked at the web .

Taken from the 07 National Meet thread... Bwaaaaaaaaahahahhaha. Looks like Jay has a new best friend! Or is it that he's too young to fly by himeslf?

It's too bad you're locked into the multiple inputs thing Zachk I think there's going to be a very nice Mapletree Ear+ HD for sale soon which I think would make a great amp for you. But it only has one input . Just something else to consider if you are willing to sacrifice a few things in the name of great sound.

Straight from Craig: Lunch Box Specifications: Gain 22 dB Frequency response plus minus 1dB from 15 to 100,000 Hz. Power out R=150 ohm 135mW Peak R=300 ohm 160mW Peak Noise plus gain -84dB wideband Minimum load 150 ohms. Tube compliment. One 6N3P, Two 6N24P

Shenanigans, I call shenanigans. She's softcore at best on most days, unless you have access to her early work, when she was a dirty, dirty girl (god bless her heart).