KenW

Personally, I go with the Headroom Balanced Desktop and sell your Zana to good ol' Ken.

Very helpful info indeed! I think the best bet is to use Nates approach and give 'em a call. Maybe if they know I'm not just fishing, they'll be more helpful. Thanks for giving me some insight in the tube business.

Thanks for the information. I assumed, being in the computer age, that they'd have inventory information on hand and could tell me if they had the brand I requested available. Just thought placing an order and paying without knowing if I was going to get the tube I requested was a bit odd. I'd asked for a Tung Sol brand but they informed me they wouldn't even look to see if they had it until I placed the order. Just seemed an odd way of doing things. Thanks for clearing it up.

If I weren't secure in my own masculinity, I'd begin feeling as though this thread had taken a distinctly uncomfortable turn.

Hmmm.....tempting. You throw in a MicroStack and I'll let you take my Opus, too.

I was looking for some NOS tubes and sent a few emails out. The responses have been more than a bit puzzling. Is it now the norm to have customers place the order without knowing what brand of tubes he can expect to receive? Maybe I'm being unreasonable, but I'd kinda like to know what brand of tube I'm actually going to be receiving BEFORE I place the order. Is this now how the tube vendors operate? Is it accepted that Sylvania, RCA, Tung Sol, etc....are all pretty much the same so who gives a flip? All of a sudden, SS is looking pretty good to me again. Someone want to make a beta22 for me?? \

I use both the Blue Jeans and Volex. Pretty well satisfied. Good advice IMO.

Happy Birthday young man. Hope your day is truly filled with joy.

Feel the same way after getting my Opus 21. My Sony was an SACD modded unit, and I still sold it after hearing the Opus. Redbook can sound pretty darned good with the right gear.

Thanks for the input guys. Sounds like the Apogee would go nicely with the Denons at the office. Not sure if I want to pony up the extra $$ for the USB option since my MacBook Pro has an optical out as does the SB3 along with a coax as well. $700 would be a great get though. Guess I'll lurk around Audiogon and see if one turns up.

I've been intrigued by this unit for some time and figure it would be a nice office source/amp and perhaps serve as a backup should something happen to part of my main rig. I know the dac is well respected, but how does it do as a headphone amp? How do the 650s sound straight out of the XLR outs on it? The other option I'm considering is Justins new mighty might but that's several months off. Guess I could wait, but patience is not my strong suit. Btw, what do the Mini DAC's go for on the used market these days? Rarely see on on 'Gon, but they do turn up occasionally. If anyone has extensive time with the apogee, I'd appreciate your thoughts and comparisons to other amps/dacs you've owned.

Just nice to finally be able to get some of the stuff into the room and put down the paint brush. Sometimes just having a bit of peace and quiet is a real treat. While it's my kids old room, it's going to do the job nicely. My daughter is headed off to college in a couple of weeks. I'm considering snagging that room as it was originally planned as a study/family room when the house was being built. Sweet view and a bay window! I get that one and my wife may never see my face again!! As for the Supra, it was a bit of a shock the day I received the crate to be sure. Snapped a few pics of the Supra XLR and MPX3 when I had both in my possession as I didn't recall seeing that anywhere when I was looking for the dimensions of the Supra for cabinetry selections. Just a tiny difference, no?

It's still quite sparse and well...not finished but it's all mine.....

Finally got the drywall and painting done in the private listening room and moved in tonight! Nothing fancy, but it's kinda nice to have a quiet, private place to call my own. Just moved in the seat and gear tonight along with the desktop/music server and some of my CD's. Figure I'll need some wall art and some nic nacs to make the place feel a bit more warm and homey.....and maybe a smaller plasma/LCD for gametime. Heck, as long as it's MY place, I could leave it just like that and be quite satisfied. Feels good....real good! Okay, it's not a high tech build like you DIY'ers are working on, but hey, I'm pretty happy.

No kidding? He's really that far along? Figured that amp to be something akin to Bigfoot.....often discussed and rumored but never actually seen. Might just wait and see how that comes along.

I almost had one started until something unexpected came up. Now that the dust is beginning to settle a bit, my mind is going back to it. Pete, if you do get your hands on one, I'd love to know what you think about how the two compare.

All this talk about Dynamites and beta22s is really getting to me....again. Anyone heard both?

Just a totally sexy beast! You must be proud.

That would be ideal, and it would allow him to keep the gain selection associated with the toggle.....which would be my choice for the toggle regardless. I'm very anxious to see how this little package will stack up to something like the microstack or even the apogee. I know those aren't really intended as portable solutions, but the comparison should be interesting.

I had a similar situation some time ago in that I wanted to run my laptop with a DAC but the distance was an issue so I ran a 15' USB to the Stello and it worked rather well.

LOL...looks like my first casting from dental school.

Thanks. Missed that one entirely. Sounds like a fantastic option for an office setup/portable all rolled into one. Have their been any pics of this gem floating around? I'd love to get a peek at it.

What "USB thingy"?? I must have missed the announcement. Someone fill me in. Pics? Details? Available?

All you super tech types humble me. Heck, I can barely solder two wires together much less build an amp or other piece of gear! My "project" is taking my son's old bedroom and making it a private space for me to sit down and listen in peace. Got it painted and all my gear in place. Still need a good LCD and stand and need to replace the carpet with hardwood. Then it's off to rework the home theater.

Annoying to be sure. I picked up an adapter from ebay to use with mine. Can't recall the guys handle at the moment but a search should provide some results. If you can't find one, drop me a PM here and I'll see if I can go back through my records and find it. It's a cheap little thing, and I wasn't particularly thrilled with the sonics from my phone so I never use it. Still, in a pinch, I felt like having something so I picked up the adapter. Still, it'a pain to be forced to carry yet another piece of hardware when you travel. Sorry about the surprise from Apple, but as other pointed out, it's not much of a secret.