grawk Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 I know: Al and Company Come Clean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voltron Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 lolz, but I thought this idea was to confess to audio sins or stupidities such as Ken and Tyler's admissions. The gear whoring is covered in this thread already, although I have no idea whether I have come clean yet. My current sin is that I bought the beautiful KGSS DX and have barely listened to it because it arrived in the mix during the major speaker rig overhaul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherwood Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 Sanitize your (Secular) Sonic Sins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_maher Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 http://www.head-case.org/forums/miscellaneous/5171-official-head-case-audio-confessional-post-your-audio-sins-here.html#post187618 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.BB Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 Well, my first rig was basically created this year: Headphones: HD595 (destroyed) D2000 K81DJ (sold) SkullCandy SK Pro (ugh...sold) Bose Triport AE (just had to try them) K701 Earphones: se530 (sold) C751 IE8 (incoming) ADDIEM (incoming) AMP: X-can v8 Sources: Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series Hardcore Ultra Limited Anniversary Edition Alpha 3...or something like that Sony NWZ-A826 iPhone 3G (incoming) Next year I'm planing to do some re-cabling , get SR-Lambda/SRD-7 Pro combo , MS Pro and W5000 (and after that get some tranquilizers to stop this madness and train my ears a little for a difference). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigiPete Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 For 2008: I basically got interested in my speaker rig and built my analog rig. Started with: SACDMods Denon 3930CI universal player feeding my Denon 3808CI Receiver, out to Paradigm Ref 100 v3 speakers. This did not work at all. The speakers were too bright, the SACDMods Denon source output level was too high, causing the receiver preamp to overload making noise. Fairly disheartening. On a whim (of my wife) I got out my old Technics SL-D3 turntable and hooked it up to the reciever, after putting a Denon DL160 cart in it. Fairly lackluster. But not dissuaded, and with the help of my audiophile buddy Jeff, I got a CIAudio VPP1 phono stage with VAC1 psu. Huge improvement over the phono inputs of the receiver! "Now", I thought, "there is something to this vinyl thing after all!" So, I bought a Technics SL-1210Mk5 turntable with the KAB psu, KAB stobe disabler, LP Zupreme headshell, litz headshell leads and cardas rewired tonearm, and Technics Mk5Gold phono cable with eichmann bullets. Another leap in sound quality. Quickly added a Funk Firm achromat, and a 2" thick myrtlewood block to rest the table on. Picked up a VPI 16.5 record cleaner as well. Decided, I was going on with the speaker rig, so I sold off the Paradigm Ref v3s for Paradigm Ref v4s. Great improvement. The hot highs were gone, deeper bass, smoother extended highs and liquid mids, just great! The next revelation, was when another friend of mine loaned me his Adcom stereo amp. I skipped the denon receiver amp, and went from the pre outs on the denon, to the Adcom to the Paradigms. Wow! Another big leap in sound quality. Now, I knew there was no going back Needed separate amplification, and pre-amplification! Ordered an Odyssey Stratos Stereo Amp, with all the extras, just short of the Extreme (but most of the extreme parts ) Also ordered the Odyssey Candela tube preamp, with remote. The amp and pre get here Dec 31st (I'm dying in the mean time). The SACDmods Denon 3930CI source is getting back from Matt on Dec 30, who adjusted the levels on the DAC board to get normal levels: 2 volts vs. 4 volts on the outputs. I should finally hear what I was hearing through the headphone rig, on the speaker rig (i.e. no more noise and distortion). That's it. Credit card damage is done. The headphone rig will remain unchanged: the Dynamite amp to the AKG 701s with mogami cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulveling Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 Early 2008: Sold off VAC Auricle tube monoblocks Bought Heathkit W4 tube (5881) monoblocks Bought a McIntosh MC2100 stereo amp and had it refreshed Bought an Eico HF-87 stereo tube (el34) amp Bought a Singlepower Supra SE Fall 2008: Moved into an apartment with a MUCH better sounding living area (spacious, old-world construction & materials) and NO neighbors in the area at night. It's been a revelation for the speaker rig. Got a new girlfriend that is nicer to look at and listen with She buys me vinyl and hates digital too :D Recent: Setup a MONO speaker rig in my 12'x12' bedroom: * Tannoy Dimension TDC-1 center speaker firing down the room diagonal * Eico HF-87 bridged to mono * Run a loong cable from the TT/Zana Deux/stereo->mono adaptor in the living room, to the bedroom Sounds surprisingly good with stereo records, and superb with mono records. Bought an Apogee Duet Bought a Merrill Heirloom table with Eminent Technology Tonearm 2 (linear tracker) and Ortofon MC20 cart Bought a Martin Logan Descent-i sub Now: The Tannoy Dimension TD10 speakers have been my main listening device since moving into the new place. Have yet to hear anything, short of the larger Prestige series Tannoys, that I'd want more. The MC2100 has been powering them. Awesome amp. The Heathkits and Eico also sound great, but I run the rig loud so it's nice to have the assurance of extra power. The Eddie Current Zana Deux has been my main preamp and headphone amp. Don't find myself wanting for anything better. The SOTA Star table (Fidelity Research arm, Benz Glider cart) had been my best source (by far) all year, but the Merrill sounds slightly cleaner and images a little better. This came as a surprise to me. I'll get the SOTA re-tuned soon. The Merrill setup is a REAL picky tracker while the SOTA setup will track almost anything. I can use two tables anyways (one for stereo, one for the mono setup) - just need another MC phono stage. Finally over the 500 LP mark. Future Plans: Haven't been using headphone gear as much, since the speaker setups sound better (finally). Need to downsize my stash, especially after splurging on that 2nd table. I REALLY don't need 3 high-end headphone amps and 1 mid-fi amp (Sugden Headmaster). The Zana is the only one I NEED. The HP1000 sounds tonally the most like the Tannoys, BUT I enjoy the Tannoys much more (that soundstage thing, speaker dynamics, and all), so.... Looking for a vintage MC phono stage (eying an old Dynaco PAM-1 which would be too cute for the mono rig); still need to decide which table goes where. Need to buy some backup Zana tubes. The Martin Logan sub is nice for movies, but it doesn't look like it'll crack into my 2ch rig so it may become expendable at some point. The Apogee is sounding REAL nice for a computer rig, but being digital it's more expendable than my rig's mainstays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulveling Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 christ, you're still alive, mulveling? Yeah, I went through some moderate life changes and quit buying audio stuff for awhile. I'm better now Er, or maybe that should be "worse again"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voltron Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 Shit, I would have a LOT more money if I had known that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarium Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 Tack on a Gilmore Lite and a Spectral SDR-2000 Pro to my 2008 list AD2000s sound amazing from this amp... to the extent where I almost can't imagine them sounding better. Match made in heaven. And while the Qualias don't mate assss well perhaps it is perhaps the only amp to have no noise floor with those ridiculously sensitive headphones. Well I guess the GS-1/GS-X probably can reproduce that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morphsci Posted December 25, 2008 Report Share Posted December 25, 2008 (edited) OK, here we go Headphones Bought a trio of sextetts Sold a trio of sextets Sold SE Headphile Modded K340 Sold an HE-60 Bought a SE Apuresound modded K340 Selling a SE Apuresound modded K340 Bought a Balanced Headphile/Fitz/SWT61 modded K340 Sold GS1000 Sold MS2 Sold MS2i Sold Equation Audio RP21 Bought Senn HP280 Balanced+ recable for a Denon D2000, Apuresound Enigma Audio Balanced Oracle Cable for Senn 650 Headphile Triple Headphone Stand Swt61 Omega II Headphone Stand Swt61 Triple Headphone Hanger Main Rig Sold Modded Eastsound E5 Sold PS Audio P500 Moved out SB3 + Wellborne PSU Bought Transporter Bought Cambridge Audio 840c Bought PS Audio UPC-200 (x2) Deposit on EC/BA Deposit on BHSE Home Office Rig Moved in SB3 + Wellborne PSU Bought Musiland SRC10 Bought Stax SR005 System Work Rig Moved out Emu 0404 USB Sold Stello HP-100 Bought PopPulse SPDIF II USB Converter Bought Apogee Mini-DAC Bought Shanling PH3000 Bought Audioengine A5’s Bought Headroom Speaker Stands Had a Stax SR-001 system modded Laboratory Rig Moved in Emu 0404 USB Home Theater Rig Resurrected Dual CS721 Resurrected Parasound PPH100 Bought Slimdevices Duet Bedroom Rig Bought Headroom Overture Bought Headroom Coda Bought SB3 Garage/Workshop Rig Bought Squeezebox Boom Transportable Rig Bought Asus EeePC 1000H Upgraded Memory and HDD for EeePC Bought Pico Portable Rig Sold Cowon Q5W Bought 32Gb iPod Touch Bought non-M Hornet Infrastructure Bought iMac Bought Belkin N1 Vision Wireless Router Bought Linksys 8-port Gigabit Router Bought HP MediaSmart Server EXP470 Bought 1Tb Samsung HDD (x4) Bought Vantec NexStar 3 HDD Enclosure Well I think that’s it for 2008 For 2009 Compare the EC/BA to HeadAmp GSX; “Loser” to the work rig Compare the ES-1 to the BHSE; Loser Checkout new PS Audio DAC and compare to 840c If I end up with the PS Audio DAC then I will investigate a transport Probably end up with Apogee Duet for the iMac Maybe not next year but I will end up with the "mini" Harbeths at work Edited December 25, 2008 by morphsci Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigiPete Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 Should I get an SME 309 tonearm for my vinyl rig Looks fucking wicked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torpedo Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 If you like a sound tending to "mechanical" it's a great arm for that, but if your preferences are more of an "organic" sound, then I'd try to spot some vintage 3009 S2 NOT improved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 There's a chance my rig could be all back in my hands before the new year, but it's looking less likely right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elnero Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 Sold HeadAmp AE-2 Bought HeadAmp Pico with DAC Sold Shure E500's Bought Sleek SA6's Bought and Sold Klipsch Image X10's Bought Westone W3's Bought Audio Technica ATH-ESW9's For 2009 Not much planned at this point, the Westone 3's and ESW9's only just arrived recently. The only tip that's working for me with the 3's is a modified tri-flange which causes a bit of irritability for me so I may end up looking further into the Sennheiser IE8's. By the end of the year I may be looking further into tying my computer to my speaker system and in turn starting on a full-size home headphone rig again although at this point there's not a lot of full-sized headphones in my price range that I haven't tried or that interests me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadhead Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 Started with: Shure SE530s Headroom Total Bithead M-Audio Transit (for other reasons) Bought: Sennheiser HD650s (balanced) Benchmark DAC1 Headamp GS-X Denon D5000s (modded/balanced by me) Balanced Beta 22 (later modified to move transformer out of the case) Bel Canto DAC3 Behringer DEQ2496 and ECM 8000 measurement mic Sony SA5000 (DIY balanced by me) New Music Laptop Edirol FA-66 OPPO DV-980H Etymotic ER-4p (with S adapter) Headamp AE-2 Westone 3 Sold: Benchmark DAC1 Balanced Beta 22 Shure SE530s Westone 3 Next year: Put in order for Headamp KGSS and I'll get a pair of ESP950s and APS adapter cable. Maybe a new DAC (doubtful)? Still to sell: Sony SA5000 Headroom Total Bithead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopstretch Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 Started with no headphone gear at all. Ended up with what's in my sig -- which I'd incidentally like to submit for consideration in the FOTM-iest/HC-iest awards category (non-electrostatic division). Next year is the year to get the rig better organized and beat the cable clutter. I definitely see a nice new desk and some bits and pieces of quality custom Texas woodworking in my future. Other than that, I might have a listen to some Stax. What harm could possibly come of that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postjack Posted December 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 iMac -> Duet -> GS-1 -> HD600, HD650, HF-1 -> Quad 12L Its true, your rig might be the most HC approved rig ever. It's pure win on budget to performance, and of course in the all important manufacturer acceptance category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvdunhill Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Should I get an SME 309 tonearm for my vinyl rig Looks fucking wicked! Note the fixed holes in the headshell. SME has their own way of doing things, that's for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherwood Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Note the fixed holes in the headshell. Whoah! Not a fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xand1x Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 (edited) 2008 Sold Stello DA-220 Sold Eastern Electric Minimax Preamp + Tubes Bought Slim Devices Transporter as a one box solution Bought HD650 Sold HD650 Sold Slim Devices Transpoter Bought Spectral SDR-2000 DAC and got scammed $1000 in the process Sold Spectral SDR-2000 DAC at loss Want to Rebuy HD650 from Dan =) 2009 In the process of picking up Slim Devices Transporter, Squeezebox 3, and Squeezebox Controller at a massive discount thanks to a friend & will retire with that Hopefully i'll get to rebuy dan's HD650! That is top of the list right now haha Edited January 1, 2009 by xand1x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigiPete Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Note the fixed holes in the headshell. SME has their own way of doing things, that's for sure. Hmmm , I wonder you adjust the longitudinal position of the cart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salt Peanuts Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 Bought Spectral SDR-2000 DAC and got scammed $1000 in the process That sucks, dude. I hope you have a better luck in the new year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swt61 Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 ^X2! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postjack Posted January 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 oh no x. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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