I think Twisted Pear's discrete output stage is just about done as well.

I would like to try the Buffalo discrete output stage. How soon do you think they will be available .... and how hard will you have to fight to get one? From what I read the Twisted Pair stuff sells out immediately if you dont get in one the buy asap.

It's hard to say Earl. Most of the supply issues have just been a result of underestimating demand for the buffalo DAC coupled with the fact that both Brian and Russ both do this in their spare time. I just went back and checked the DIY Audio thread that has the most recent Counterpoint (the discrete stage) information, evidently they found an issue while testing the prototype and are still working on it, ETA unknown.

Gee .... I am always amazed how you can know what amps will sound best before you ever hear them. I wish I could do that. Me, I actually had to buy a Woo 6 to see what the amp was all about. Unfortunately, I must not hear right. Because despite the excellent build quality and better parts I thought the base Woo 6 was a total turd.

Wierd, because my WA6 maxed with PDPSU and Sophia Princess sounds so good that Blutarsky and I could not tell whether we were listening to his Zana Deux or my Woo when we did a blind A/B comparison, and both were within 1-2% of the performance of his Melos SHA Gold.

Buffalo DAC has arrived from Jin P, it appears all is intact and as it should be. I'll fire it up later tonight.

Buffalo DAC has arrived from Jin P, it appears all is intact and as it should be. I'll fire it up later tonight.

Glad to hear it made it safe and sound.

The 1.2B is now dead in the water. It was returned to Fang in NY and he had to send it off to China to be repaired. So it will probably be sometime next year before it's back in circulation.

The 1.2B is now dead in the water. It was returned to Fang in NY and he had to send it off to China to be repaired. So it will probably be sometime next year before it's back in circulation.

....but I had a chance to listen to Jade and not I am less exited about HE1.2B cos I did not like Jade all that much.

I wasn't impressed with the Jade on any of the systems I heard them on as well. The image is still just too centered and marginal to poor in every other aspect of soundstage and imaging.

Tonally, just like the HE1.2b they don't do much wrong and are pleasant to listen to.

I wasn't impressed with the Jade on any of the systems I heard them on as well. The image is still just too centered and marginal to poor in every other aspect of soundstage and imaging.

Tonally, just like the HE1.2b they don't do much wrong and are pleasant to listen to.

It shocks me every time I read this because I can't think of another headphone that does those things better than the Jade. I think CJ and/or HighLife commented after trying the Jade that they had never heard a headphone with as much of a soundstage. Not meant as a shot or anything, I certainly respect your opinion, deepak.

It shocks me every time I read this because I can't think of another headphone that does those things better than the Jade. I think CJ and/or HighLife commented after trying the Jade that they had never heard a headphone with as much of a soundstage. Not meant as a shot or anything, I certainly respect your opinion, deepak.

The soundstage to me is big but it is not very accurate, you do not have the layering that SR-007 has for example. Overall Jade's tonal balance was just wrong for my ears, they sounded wrong is the mids somehow and soundstage was artificial. But keep in mind meet conditions were not ideal and I had to blast them so who knows if I would like them more after some prolonged exposure in the comfort of my own home

It shocks me every time I read this because I can't think of another headphone that does those things better than the Jade. I think CJ and/or HighLife commented after trying the Jade that they had never heard a headphone with as much of a soundstage. Not meant as a shot or anything, I certainly respect your opinion, deepak.

Mike believe me I have a lot of respect for these headphones. For a one man operation to create something so good is damn impressive. But what I'm looking for in terms of soundstage and imaging is accuracy over a more diffuse and pleasing presentation.

Mike believe me I have a lot of respect for these headphones. For a one man operation to create something so good is damn impressive. But what I'm looking for in terms of soundstage and imaging is accuracy over a more diffuse and pleasing presentation.

I think a lot of what each of us is experiencing is how these phones perform with what we like to listen to - and I absolutely did not like anything, sonically, about them for what I listen to.

This should not be shocking - compare it to Grado love / hate. These don't seem to have any middle ground.

Buffalo is running beautifully, and it sounds amazing.

Buffalo is running beautifully, and it sounds amazing.

Yeah, I know!!! Sweet detail and pace. Enjoy the short time you will have with it.

I am thoroughly impressed with the Buffalo DAC. I've heard and owned some very nice DACs, but the Buffalo is most compatible with my system and my preferences.

I'm very happy that I'm going to have one with every conceivable input and output I could want or need for the foreseeable future. I think that the ability to control the volume from the DAC chip (with the Femto) will be a very usable feature.

Got the Buffalo yesterday and got it up and running now. It sounds very good (as many of you already know). I'm running it using my Rotel 855 as a transport and can switch back and forth to compare the Buffalo to the TDA1541a and discrete stage in the Rotel. They actually are a lot closer in sound than I thought they would be... the Buffalo doesn't embarrass the Rotel at all, though it does sound better (slightly better fleshed out in the mids and slightly darker). The TDA (std.; not a double crown or anything) sounds just a touch grainy compared to the Buffalo, which I expected. I am enjoying listening to this!

Got the Buffalo yesterday and got it up and running now. It sounds very good (as many of you already know). I'm running it using my Rotel 855 as a transport and can switch back and forth to compare the Buffalo to the TDA1541a and discrete stage in the Rotel. They actually are a lot closer in sound than I thought they would be... the Buffalo doesn't embarrass the Rotel at all, though it does sound better (slightly better fleshed out in the mids and slightly darker). The TDA (std.; not a double crown or anything) sounds just a touch grainy compared to the Buffalo, which I expected. I am enjoying listening to this!

TDA sound grainy? I have TDA1541a, TDA1541a S1 and TDA1541 and prefer TDA1541 to all of them. Does Baffalo really sound better than your TDA DAC?

When I said grainy, it is nearly imperceptible. The Buffalo sounds slightly better (midrange just a touch better). I think I am going to change transistors in my output stage from 2SA970/2SC2240 to 2SA1016/2SC2362 and see what happens...

EDIT: BTW, this is a std. TDA1541a (no crown, double crown etc.). I should hunt a double crown down since I took the trouble to socket this.

Edited January 12, 200917 yr by Pars

When I said grainy, it is nearly imperceptible. The Buffalo sounds slightly better (midrange just a touch better). I think I am going to change transistors in my output stage from 2SA970/2SC2240 to 2SA1016/2SC2362 and see what happens...

I am interested in this Buffalo DAC if it holds it's own against your TDA DAC. My TDA DAC has an tube output stage with Tantalum and Riken Ohm resistors, not sure it's the resistors or the tubes but the DAC sounds very smooth. There are pics in my albums on head-case.

They are very upfront about some parts being made in China

I'm not sure who questioned this, but look at this for sale ad:

diyAudio Forums - Tube amp case - Page 1

Also, I saw the same chassis for sale in China, but didn't take any pics ...

How about posting this in some Woo thread on HF... Given the amount of work that goes into a P-P amp it is no wonder that they cut corners along the way but that case does look a lot more solid then the Galaxy crap Rudi is peddling.

Edited January 12, 200917 yr by spritzer

How about posting this in some Woo thread on HF... Given the amount of work that goes into a P-P amp it is no wonder that they cut corners along the way but that case does look a lot more solid then the Galaxy crap Rudi is peddling.

I wish I could find the post here... anyways, I was shocked to see the cases myself. To ward of the inevitable question of cost, I don't remember, but contact the seller on that page. The Woo cases are pretty much top notch in my book, very well built.

I'd imagine the cases being pretty cheap, especially when bought in bulk. I'd be interested if I hadn't been looking at too many pictures of the Ayre gear so I want something like that. Crazy I know but with the weak ISK it could be a lot cheaper then anything I'd import. I need to find out what machine shop works on the prosthetics for

Well I guess it has been enough time for all of the people in Naaman

Great feedback Augsburger, thanks!