HeadphoneAddict

I was most influenced by JRR Tolkein and loved his writing, even though difficult to read even one sentence aloud in one breath to my kids.

Around March I tried a Mac Mini in the bedroom as music server instead of the iMac in the kitchen, and to replace my Apple TV. I hooked it to my 26" Panasonic HDTV, BT keyboard and mouse, and my 1Tb external iTunes drive. That let me move the 40Gb Apple TV to the home theater. It didn't work so well making the move, since I had been using the iMac for Music server for a few years (upgraded once but cloned the old one) and had things set up just right. If it aint broken, don't fix it. One problem was that From 10 feet away I couldn't read the text on the 26" screen, and I didn't need the whole 600Gb music and video library to be available in Front Row. I liked how I could sync only what I wanted to the ATV. I also had issues because I used migration assistant to make it like my MacBook Pro and both computer names were the same and it screwed up MobileMe sync. Also some software either has licenses for 1, 3 or 5 copies of the software, but this was Mac #6 on the network. I had to remove office 2008, and change computer IP addresses in my router so that some online music servers would work again. I also had to make changes in iTunes and on the Apple TV so I could use my Apple TV and a couple of Airport Express with the new Mini, which resulted in my ATV being wiped clean and re-sync'd - even though the Library and Ext drive were the same (because the computer was different). The external drive would spin up often and bug me when I wanted quiet in the bedroom, and in the end it was just a pain to replace the ATV with a mini. Plus, six Macs in the house was plain silly. Since I actually liked the Apple TV interface in the bedroom more, I returned the Mini during the two week return period and got the 160Gb ATV. Because I exchanged it for the Apple TV, the store didn't even charge me the re-stocking fee. So, I left iTunes running on the iMac in the kitchen, and it feeds both ATV's and Airport Express's for music around the house, and I can access my music from any computer in the house or over the web via dottunes, and I like the way it works. This old dog wasn't ready for new tricks. If I had to do it again, and it was really just going to be a music server and media center, I would NOT have cloned one of the computers I use. My OCD made me do that, so it could be a backup. I could have just used my backup hard drive to boot up the mini if something happened to my main computer. I would have also set it up on a bigger TV, like in the theater, and left the ATV in my bedroom. To keep the kids from accessing the entire library and stuff they aren't allow to see or hear, I could have been logged in under my name and turned on parental controls, and then set up iTunes sharing to only share certain playlists that I make for them. Then the kids could log in at the same time and open iTunes, and then load the shared iTunes library and photos with Front Row or Finder on the 60" screen. Replacing the Samsung DVD/SACD with the Mini would free up the Samsung to be modded and moved to my headphone rig. But, I still don't want 6 Macs in the house.

You could always just smoke the weed.

I agree with the others that say you should put a Stax cable on the ESP950, as it is supposed to be a higher quality and better sounding cable. Spritzer sold me a nice pair of ESP950 that APureSound re-cabled and removed the dampening on, and they were nice. They included a Koss adapter so they could still be used on the Koss amp. I sold them to Blutarsky after I got my Stax O2, but I liked them more than my Lambda Signature. I think they charge about $250 for the service, but I am not sure.

Updating on the SAC amp as promised. I did compare the SAC KH1000 amp to the ZDT and EHHA, and it is a little better than either of those other amps with the K1000, but a little bright and SS sounding with the Senn HD800. I still want to try it with my balanced HD600, since those are the only other phones I have with a 4-pin XLR. I posted in more detail in the head-fi EHHA thread. In my ZDT I swapped the GE grey plate 5751 for a Sylvania 5751 gold pin and the K1000 did step up a notch in quality, so I would suspect the ZDT is now closer to the EHHA with K1000. The bass quality is the only area I would like to see improved, as it needs more detail and definition than I get from the ZDT. This is an area where the SAC still wins with the K1000, as well as having a little faster speed and better bass impact vs the ZDT. I sold my SR-404LE on Saturday and it looks like a 90% chance I'll be buying the SAC from HiFlight after I deposit the money in the bank. I was planning to put the money towards a Woo WES, but I'd still have to sell the GES, K1000 and RS-1, and more to be able to afford one (no, not selling the O2, Jade or HE60). It probably makes more sense to buy the SAC KH1000 amp for my K1000, and then stop selling old stuff to buy new stuff. Besides, I'll have the eXStatA amp to use with my O2 Mk1 and it is a better match than my GES for those.

So True! They left out no cell phones when we were growing up (DOB 1962). I got my first cell phone in 1987, and it was bolted and hardwired to my car! I remember when Nokia had the only small cell phone with a flip out/rotate out antenna, and it was like a small candybar phone compared to the Motorola BRICK. I took notes in med school lectures with a tandy TR100 portable with 4 line screen and tape backup, and everyone thought that was sooo advanced. I didn't have a real computer till 1986 when I got a Commodore 64 to type up history and physicals for med school. Then I went nuts for the 128, the Atari ST and Amiga, then Mac. Satellite TV meant having a 6-10 foot dish in your yard, and not always finding the satellites. (didn't they have like a different satellite for different channels?) I was 23 years old before the 1st portable CD player came out, and it was about $500 at Neiman Marcus dept stores.

Be sure everyone reads the fine print - "This 4th Generation iPod Nano look-alike offers a scroll wheel and a sleek narrow design." People not realize that the Ace Nano is not an Apple Nano.

I have a swimming dry bag that my iPhone pops right into and stays dry, with eBook readers on my iPhone I occasionally read in the hot tub. It has a headphone port so I can listen to music too. My son got it as a prize for selling popcorn and gave it to me last year for our trip to hawaii. Great kid!

Nice first post!

Nice impressions post. Sounds like you guys had fun. I enjoy the Maximo as an inexpensive iPhone IEM worth the price they are asking ($63 on Amazon for the iPhone version). In my case I think they are a little Grado-like sounding vs the Nuforce that are a little more of an HD600-like sound (not on the same performance level, but rather I', talking about the sound signature). The Maximo seem to be a more energetic "get off your butt" sound vs a more "laid back and vegetate" sound.

That sunburn looks painful...

I have about 150 books in eReader format and about 30 in MobiPocket format, because I bought books from eReader.com and Fictionwise.com for the last 10 years. I now have about 11 in Kindle format (for iPhone) and I've finished 6 of them already. So, the Nook would be nice for me in case I want to re-read any of the old books, or share them. I already have a B&N account as well, just haven't bought eBooks there yet. I like the Nook's WiFi because when there is no ATT 3G around I can use my VZW MiFi mobile router. I'll have to look at more of the features now (to see if there is a browser, how many shades of grey, accessories, etc.)

I also thought the PS Audio and Stello sounded very similar when testing both with my Woo GES and O2 Mk1, if the PS Audio is set for 96 Khz up-sampling. Set for 192 Khz I thought the PS Audio was a little brighter and more spacious, and a better match for the Woo/O2 which could sound dark at times with my Apogee mini-DAC. I think both are nice DACs, and USB works well with both thanks to their up-sampling. Stello will let you turn off up-sampling, and USB didn't sound quite as good to me when it is off, but it wasn't bad either.

SR-Lambda normal bias.

I loaned my O2 Mk1 to wiatrob today for a couple of weeks, and that was the one precaution I gave him when I agreed to it. Waiting to see if he discovers the Stax fart on his own.

Glad you are happy with it. I also think the HD600 are a great phone.

It's just that she's a brainy geek, and shy. Cute, but a geek nevertheless. She'd also rather I bought a horse than a car. The horse doesn't agree. My 14 year old on the other hand is a precocious social butterfly that thrives on being in all the cliques and at all the school dances.

Bought one just like in the photo - 2005 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS (only 39K miles). I miss my 2004 STi and was gonna make my 16 year old drive the 2006 Tribeca to school, but my wife thinks my daughter will be more popular if she drives this one instead. I get to drive it for another month until my daughter has her license.

Yeah - dropping FW on some mac models was a mistake. That's why when I was looking at getting the 13" macbook with lighted keyboard in January I felt that I had to spring for the extra $400 to get the 15" Macbook Pro with firewire. But I hate that if I forget to bring a FW 800 > 400 cable with me or I can't use it. I also hate that they dropped expresscard from the 15" Macbook Pro. Mine was the last version to have the card slot, and I was always hoping that someone like Apogee would make a nice 24/96 or 24/192 DAC amp for the card slot. But now that only the 17" Macbook Pro have it I wonder if express card will be dead for mac soon.

Absolutely, I have one of his 12v Sigma 11 for my Mini-DAC and it is very well done.

I've been using the Audioengine A2 for a few weeks with my Macbook Pro, and I am happy with them. They have a 1/8" input and an RCA input, with a volume control on the back in case your source does not adjust volume. They definitely improve using some kind of stand to get them up above the desktop. And they sound nice with my iMod/PVcap dock as well, or at least better than using a pair of Velodyne Deco satellites via a Travagans Green 5 watt amp. The bass is not bad although I would like a little more treble presence - but for the $170 that I paid I am pleased.

Nevermind, the last post wrecked what I had typed about Pre while that one was being posted.

My customs are the only IEM's that DON'T make my ear canals itch.

What's wrong with imbedded youtube links not working? I can't even rename the link to "Bull Wins".

My cat who is named "Boo" says, "Hapi burf dai"