HeadphoneAddict

Speaking of queens at can jam, will you be at the CO meet this August?

Not bad. I like her furniture too.

Using Fluke 2.5 lets me play FLAC in Double Twist natively (as well as quicktime) if they are in your main "Music" folder in your home directory. When I created the playlists for these FLAC files within Double Twist I had to drag the songs into the playlist in the right order manually. But then I could sync the playlists to the 801 easily (but not individual songs, they had to be in a playlist to sync). If you only use the 801 to play "albums" and not play music in folders on the SD card, then you could put all your FLAC in one playlist and sync that one playlist. (you can google "Fluke FLAC" and find the free fluke application) Double Twist also creates an .m3u playlist, although I think the 801 uses CUE playlists while my old windows mobile phone used .m3u playlists. But dragging the FLAC files onto the Fluke application will import the FLAC into iTunes, where you can play and organize them. I ended up first importing the FLAC into iTunes, and creating playlists for each album in iTunes for them. Then I imported those playlists into double twist. I was then able to sync the playlists into HM-801 with double twist and listen to them on the 801. I thought that importing the playlists from iTunes would be easier. But the music in the sync'd folders was played in alphabetical order by the 801 because the songs had their track number removed by iTunes. I had to play music as "albums" from the 801 main menu instead of viewing the music folders on the SD card and playing it from there - not a big deal unless you are listening to a mix or compilation of various songs stored in one folder, which aren't on the same album. This was because I had previously programed iTunes to removed song numbers from the file name when I import them, so my FLACs went into the iTunes Music Folder with no track numbers. I had run a terminal command that I found on the web a while back that would have iTunes remove song numbers; but I forget what the command was, or why I felt the need to not have track numbers back then. So, in my case I will likely just keep the FLAC files in their own folder inside my home "Music" folder, and create the FLAC playlists within Double Twist for syncing. iTunes is easier to make playlists in, and if your copy of iTunes doesn't strip out track numbers then I would import the FLAC into iTunes, make playlists, and then import that into Double Twist. The problem is that you still see the Mac invisible directory files on the 801 display, and I needed to use a utility to view the invisible files and remove most of them (but not the .Trashes file, and the spotlight files are still in the .Trashes folder). I am going to try downloading Blue Harvest 4 and see if that works to keep the invisible files away from the SD card.

I had a demo of the ES5 last week, and it looks like I'll be getting a pair too. The soundstage was better with more out of the head soundstage but still good imaging rather than being diffuse or anything; and I thought they sounded very well balanced in their frequency response. I also read a review of them today: Westone Elite Series ES5 Custom In-Ear Monitors

What happens if you press and hold the sleep button and home button at the same time for 10-20 seconds (plugged in or not, either way)?

I do believe lack of ALAC is the biggest issue I have next to the short battery life. I used MAX to convert about 25 of my favorite 16/44 albums from ALAC to FLAC, which barely fit on an 8GB SD card. My other two 8GB SD cards are filled with 15 of my favorite 24/96 albums which were already in FLAC when I downloaded them. The 801 is being used in my bed-side rig in place of my iRiver optical out > Headroom Micro Stack, and it's freed up a bit of space on my bedside table. As for having an interface to put music to the 801, when I have a chance I am going to see if the "Double Twist" music app for Mac will put music on the 801's memory cards. That is IF it is compatible with FLAC. I know I can use it to send MP3 music to another device, with an iTunes-like interface for listening to that music, and it can import my iTunes playlists.

Thanks. My wife is now pissed at me that my computer woke her up.

Well, looks like my wife's upgrade date was moved from October to now, so we could order another iPhone 4 if we wanted to... Hmm... I reserved one for her through the Apple Store app just in case. Then I could sell the old jailbroken 8GB 3G AND the jailbroken 32GB 3GS for the money to pay for the new phones.

iPhone 4 32GB black (through ATT website as an upgrade, since Apple is down)

I got my pre-order done through ATT using the upgrade option within my account. Pages were loading slow, but I got it done. Article about system being down: http://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/15/iphone-4-pre-orders-bring-down-servers-and-generate-long-lines/

Still can't get a pre-order through due to it timing out.

I will be pre-ordering as soon as allowed.

Sweet. Someday I'll need to get one. For now my PM9 or S&W 637 are pretty small and easy to carry with me.

I had to take one of our Macbooks to the the Apple Genius Bar today after it got stuck in optical digital output mode and wont play sound through the speakers. Headphones would work fine, but when unplugging the phones it switches back to optical output instead of internal speakers. I tried resetting the PRAM with no help, and the Apple genius reset the SMC with no results either; so they ordered a new logic board for it. We bought this one in Feb or March of last year for my eldest teen daughter for school, so it's a good thing I had bought the Apple Care for it or we'd be screwed. Also, if you guys have to leave your Mac with Apple for service, don't forget to de-authorize it from the iTunes store so the old logic board doesn't continue to count against one of your 5 allowed computers.

I am also impressed with the HM-801's sound, and I posted a similar wish-list review as yours in my 801. The HM-602 wasn't an option for me because I wanted the 24/96 playback. The 801 is especially good with my ES3X and HD800 and reminds me a bit of the Slim when using those phones, but with more power (and worse volume control). I didn't realize the 32Gb limit is a hardware limitation. I assumed a future software update would allow higher capacity cards. Doh, that sucks! I already had about 50 Gb of FLAC music split between 16 bit and 24 bit, which I saved even though I had converted it all to ALAC for iTunes and my iMod. I have an additional 80 Gb of ALAC that I ripped myself that I could convert to FLAC, but I don't have enough SD storage right now.

Now for the jokes - you guys can now all come to CanJam dressed like this next year: (sorry, but I can't recall where I found this)

I'm glad that everyone here can accept you as you are, and make you feel comfortable in your journey through life. I know it's a real load off your backs to come out to people that you care about who didn't know personal and private things about you, and how important it is to have supportive friends and family. My brother had a very hard time before he came out in college, and prior to that had resorted to violence, alcohol and drugs to sooth himself instead. After he came out he still hated who he was and would have been dead before 30 if he hadn't found a great guy to love him. He's been with his partner for about 20 years now, who turned him around and set him on the right path that wasn't hell-bent on self-destruction. My brother's partner was the best thing that ever happened to him. My cousin in San Francisco seems to have had an easier time coming out, and she and her long-term partner have a wonderful adopted child whom they are raising together. I have always been 100% hetero and into girls only, but when I was in high school in the late 70's my best friend Byron was gay (he called himself "queer as a 3-dollar bill"). We'd go underage drinking at the gay bars where he would hook me up with girls that he called "fag hags", or girls that hung around the gay bars looking for a one night stand and no commitment. I always hated that term, but it seemed that even they were okay with being called that back then. I got more action hanging out with him than any other time. At that time my step-father owned a busy gay gym/spa in Houston, and we'd go there to get a tan and lift weights. So, I was never threatened by gays and was comfortable with my sexuality. But my brother would constantly give our step-dad hell for owning a gay spa, or to me for hanging out with a gay friend, likely because he couldn't admit that he wanted to be hanging out at the spa too. One would think that knowing our mom was okay being married to a gay spa owner, and that I was okay having a gay friend, that maybe we'd accept him for who he was. But I think he wanted society's acceptance too. I was also working in a hospital laboratory around the same time, when we started to hear about this "new" deadly virus passed between gays. That ended up being HIV and it was a scary unknown thing (still scary). I think that the emergence of HIV (and maybe some of the excess promiscuity of the late 70's) may have ended up leading to more prejudice and shunning of gays than if HIV had never come to be. This made it even harder for my brother to come out, but that was 30 years ago. Somehow you'd think that it would be easier now, but it's hard when you're singled out as being different and "against the norm". While I was born and raised an orthodox jew, I later became a christian when I was 31 and became very conservative (like my mom and younger brother who also became jews for jesus). I still have a hard time re-defining marriage as anything but between a man and a woman because it has historically always been that way, but I have always been 100% in favor of civil unions with all the benefits of a marriage. But then I look at my brother and his significant other, or my cousin and her's, and it makes me feel guilty about the whole marriage thing. The only difference between a marriage and a civil union is what you call it, but maybe at that point it doesn't matter what you call it. If it makes them happy to call it a marriage, then I guess why not. But that's a whole 'nother shootin match we don't need to go into right now. So, I wish all of you well in this short time we all have on this planet, and do it with peace in your hearts.

Hi Spritzer - What is it about the HE-5 that you don't like, other than they are brighter than the O2, the mids are not as full and rich, the soundstage is a little nebulous or disconnected, and they are very demanding on amplification like an O2? I think the HE-5 LE improved on the originals in all of those areas except demand for power; and although they are still not better than my O2 I'd take them over just about any under $700 phone I have owned or tried (maybe including the SR-404LE but can't say without comparing them).

I agree the HD800 are finicky about amp pairing, but less so with a better cable. The improvements with cables are usually very small with most headphones like my HD600, but my HD800 responded nicely to my Locus-Design "Hyperion" copper cable. The HD800 sounded warm and full with the loaner Luxman P-1u from TTVJ recently, and nothing like the "bright and thin" that you described. I still have amps around the house that make the HD800 sound thinner and brighter, but with the stock cable those amps were unlistenable and now they are tolerable. With my WA6 or ZDT it was never a problem.

Thanks, I forwarded that to him.

Yeah, but I'm not sure the iPad camera kit can support 24 bit, since it doesn't work with a couple of my 24 bit USB DACs. I'm thinking the only drivers the iPad has are for the common 16 bit USB receiver chips. I also don't understand why they can't sell a cable for people with the JHA-3A that includes the passive crossover in the cable. That would be good for the occasions where one would like to amp their modded JHA IEM with a normal amp like right out of their iPhone.

Ultimately leading to one of those "Oh Crap!" moments for some people.

I feel bad for a friend of mine who went to the Apple store to buy a 3G iPad over three weeks ago, but he couldn't figure out how to activate the 3G data after he got it. Finally he had me come over tonight to help him set it up so he could be grandfathered into the $30 unlimited instead of a 2Gb data limit, only to find out that they sold him the WiFi-only model. It was after 6PM and the Apple store was closed when I discovered this. He's bummed because he doesn't know if they will let him sign up for the unlimited data plan on 6/7/10 if he buys the right one tomorrow (plans to sell his original one if Apple wont take it back). He felt better when I told him I have not ever broken 1Gb with heavy use yet on my iPad or iPhone. He's a really busy person, so he didn't even use the iPad for the first 2 weeks, but I'm surprised that he didn't notice the price difference when he bought it.

It's only $99 for a Nuforce uDAC USB > S/PDIF coax converter. That would put digital right into your JHA-3A.

I cheap'd out and just bought an 8Gb SDHC card to listen to FLAC with the HM-801 that Fang recently sent me to try out. I was able to fit 7 hi-res 24/96 albums downloaded from HDtracks.com onto that card (with 2 more albums on the internal memory). So far after just 2 days I like the 801 enough to seriously replacing my iMod and portable Vcap dock with it. I also don't hear a big treble roll-off as reported by dfkt, but I'm 48 years old and can't hear above 16K if my life depended on it. The problem is that I just don't use a large portable rig anymore; so while the 801 is great as a 24/96 portable DAP, it's still fanny pack sized and I prefer to carry a 5G Nano > Pico Slim in my pants pocket. I can see how this would make a nice office desk rig though - you can easily lock it up when you leave, or take it home.