Torpedo

I haven't been blessed with that ability. It's something you just can't train. I can get close by a 3rd interval more or less, but never the right note, if I hit it, it's just pure chance. I still remember with hatred the music dictations in my elementary school days. If the teacher didn't give a reference...

I've listened to one of the Pioneer receivers using Icepower modules -I can't recall the model- at a friend's who has my same speakers. He writes reviews for a consumer electronics magazine, so he receives on loan many pieces of kit to judge, which I go to listen to his place quite often. This was the system being closer to mine that gave me more valid judgment terms. I also listened to a Jeff Rowland Concerto at a dealer, so set up including speakers was too different to get any solid impression on the amplification alone. However I found some signature in the voices, I mean that sort of artificiality I mentioned before, which was quite reminiscing of the Pioneer. Using the Tripath module I've listened to a T-amp, which wasn't bad at all for the price. In fact surprisingly good for what I expected having listened to other cheap D amps previously. However its power limitations were too big to find something to blame exclusively to its digital nature. I can't recall other D amps worth mentioning, mostly midfi models lacking interest, so my weak memory discarded them. A friend of mine has built a D-amp, not sure what modules he used, which in his opinion sounds really good -I take his opinions quite seriously-, but I haven't listened to it yet. I have to schedule a trial at home with him. Maybe it's different to other D-amps I've tried. Like I said, I'm quite confident that they'll manage to make those things sound as good as anything else. Well, in fact they've already done, some of those amps like the JR I bet sound better than many SS or even tube offers. It's just that the mistakes are different, so it's our own preference which will decide what we like better.

I know Grawk, but well, to each one his own. I'm really finicky about human voices quality, probably professional bias, so on recordings I know how it should be, I'm quite hard to please Not implying they sound plainly wrong, just that I know of better things. Probably with more development they end up sounding gorgeous, there's a lot of potential into D amps. Pete, if you tried a modded unit, then no valid conclusions can be made to foresee how a higher in the range but stock unit would sound. Maybe you can try one without having to spend your money.

Pete, I have very short experience with D amps, but while very clean, kind of "detailed" and "airy", with good bass control and presence, they must be doing something not very well yet, that I find them soul less. As if the midrange and the natural timbre of acoustic instruments were not right, sort of bleached and "plasticky" if that means anything to you. However just trying one by yourself wouldn't harm. If you have enjoyed the Adcom and you find it sounding right for your taste, why not going for it? Don't let the "I want more" fool you, sometimes the better is the foe of the good. Grawk, have that LV113 of yours checked, just with some caps replacement, a cleaning and eventually replacing potentiometers would leave you with a great sounding amp for years to come. I had a LV-109/ LE-109 combo for years, and I gave it to a friend who still enjoys them. I was fool enough to replace them for a Krell integrated Human moronity knows no limits.

Yep, those MF sound "powerful" and capable to drive many speakers. It's true that I had heard them sounding better driving other speakers like Sonus Fabers, Proac and B&W, but funnily enough all were restricted at LF. I also must agree that overall sound was pleasant and the midrange sounded quite right for SS at that price. In fact I liked them better than later versions, which while more powerful, were less natural sounding. Who knows, maybe an A3 sounds gorgeous driving the Paradigms. One never knows until trying it.

Yep, those MF sound "powerful" and capable to drive many speakers. It's true that I had heard them sounding better driving other speakers like Sonus Fabers, Proac and B&W, but funnily enough all were restricted at LF. I also must agree that overall sound was pleasant and the midrange sounded quite right for SS at that price. In fact I liked them better than later versions, which while more powerful, were less natural sounding. Who knows, maybe an A3 sounds gorgeous driving the Paradigms. One never knows until trying it.

After all the crap I've been reading about Mikhail I still don't understand how his deceived customers don't start a common well organized lawsuit.

Tough call, it depends very much on the Paradigm's demands and your preferences about detail and all those things. Maybe I'd go for some vintage Luxman like the L550 or a more modern LV105, I love how those amps sounded, very natural. From more modern production depending on your preferences, I keep good memories from the Arcam A85. Not a world class amp, but still powerful, tidy and "right" for an affordable integrated. In a different vein of sound, more vivid, lots of PRAT and airiness with well controlled bass, the Naim Nait 5i could interest you. But it's only 30wpc IIRC. With some more power and still that kind of "fast" pratty sound, the Densen Beat could be much of your liking. I don't think any of these is factually better than the Odyssey, just different flavors which could be more of your liking, it all depends on what kind of sound you want to achieve.

Not really if you take into account that among the best selling speakers are B&W, Bose and Dynaudio, and most people is well served with the stock iBuds.

Hahahaha, I can't go to the playa, I am allergic to sunlight Spritzer, having listened to several ML speakers after knowing what planars like Quads and Apogees can do, one wonders how they were able to fuck it up that much. Even Maggies are more enjoyable

Have you heard them Dusty? I had a A3cr pre and power amp combo and while had some "musicality" in it, the bass was overcooked driving the pair of 4312A monitors I had then, which are sensitive and quite an easy load for any amp. Not sure they're a good match for the Paradigms. Odyssey amps are quite good for the price. I tried a stereo Stratos here. Not the most transparent and clean sounding amp ever, but remarkable performance for the price indeed. Kind of honest, which is the gear I like better.

So the conclusion of this is that untrained people under blind conditions prefer the sound of Magnepan speakers to listen to 5 tracks of music for a while. And probably the more tired they were for the high number of tests going on in a single day, the more they liked them

Very good point Justin, maybe it's the excuse to contact Ebay before the 7days term, and asking them if that's a fair proposition from the winning bidder. Maybe there's some rule obliging him to pay on his own.

No problem, wait those 7 days, start a dispute, let Ebay do his thing, post awful feedback for him, and re-list the amp. I don't think there's much more you can do about it, unless you're willing to contact the second best bidder just in case he's still interested. Maybe Cash Converters gives you more for the amp. Or perhaps you're more lucky selling it on Agon or any of the German Hifi sites.

I mostly agree with swt61. I'd just add that you need the VTA adjustment ring to make that Rega really compatible with that cart -or any other being a bit VTA finicky-, and making sure the Hagerman, which I've never tried, has at about 70dB gain or in the worst case 65dB at its MC input. The DL-103 has a low output and requires quite some gain and a very low noise level to shine as it can.

He said dynamic hahahaha, you edited your post while I was writing my reply

Apart from the HD600 which are more affordable? Probably none. From an objectively measured performance point of view, they're quite irreproachable. But considering personal taste... we could start a debate hahahaha

It'd be great you listened to the W3 on your big source and amp, just to be sure the Cowon or the Kenwood are as a good source as you're assuming. Not that I think they're not, I don't know since I never listened to any of both, but for all the things I've been reading about them, I'd be cautious in the least. DAPs sounding more than acceptable on average phones, really suck once you plug them into a good amp and you use resolving and well balanced cans. Maybe your W3s are defective, or maybe they happen to sound just like that. In any case I agree with you, most IEM suck when compared to serious phones and it's all a matter of personal preference to like some better than others for a portable use. I wouldn't expect the W3 to sound like the O2, L3000, PS-1 or not even the HD6xx no matter how good is your source and amp, but who knows, maybe they're more revealing than we would need for a portable use.

Common guys, I don't think you all need to make this that personal. I haven't listened to the W3 so far, so I don't have an opinion worth a s*** about them, but I can understand both points of view about their sound. This has happened before with many phones. For some what's balanced and mainly right, it's colored and unbearable for other/s and nobody is right or wrong, is just a matter of personal preference. To me the only truth to know what's balanced and what's not is a response graph properly made, then you can guess how you interpret what you're hearing and say if you like it or not. I'm sure HA is honest and makes his reviews expressing his opinion as he feels it, and there's nothing wrong with that. Maybe he could be less assertive and could leave more room for doubt, but this could also be said of many other people including myself. Nevertheless I can be in disagreement with many of his opinions, but still I try to respect them, and above all the man writing them. Call me naive if you want to, but I see no need to start a flame war, and getting too personal, just for how one perceives the sound of a pair of damn phones worth USD300.

Come on mate, if your transducer just can convert into sound 60% of the energy that reaches it spending 2ms in doing so, and you're trying to fake the response of a phone capable of converting 80% in just 1ms, it's impossible you can match that no matter how hard you try. It's like pretending to match the acceleration of a 2 strokes engine by overloading a 4 strokes one.

I'm not trusting that e-mail at all, looks like a fake thing just to grab some attention to the OP. Were it true, and knowing what did Sennheiser to go from HD600 to HD650, I'm not that excited, not sure about the direction they decided to go. However, were it a real improvement over the HD650/600, they'd be very interesting indeed.

I'm sure you'll have a helluva fun playing with that toy, but there are physical limitations that the device cannot overcome. Had you measured yourself several cans and had you seen their different responses, then you'd be as sure as I am that some things can't be "recreated" by software. Yet another whole story is that you can hear that and that you're able to tell the difference between the real thing and the recreation, which I can understand most people won't tell, maybe even myself hahaha. Keep us posted on your findings, it will be a nice read

The issue because I believe it won't work is that no matter how much you try to make an impulse response fast by software/hardware if the phones cannot match it. The same goes for intrinsic driver distortion pattern, it will add its signature over the one you're faking using that device.

Kind of not. There's no way you can mimic by EQ, reverb, delaying, phase changing, etc the distortion pattern, impulse response, sensitivity, energy storage and many other features of a pair of cans to make them sound like anything else. There's much more to transducers own sound than frequency response. However I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun trying

Catscratch, have you tried the W3 from a good CD/DAC source and amp? Your comment leaves to me some questions about being the problem on the Cowon more than on the own phones. It could be that the phones are just too revealing to the source as to be used on a "regular portable rig" basis.