les_garten

Headphoneus Supremus

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Last Activity: Today 05:30 AM

Head-Fi Gear

Headphone Inventory: ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
Senn HD650 Sold AKA DARK Vaders!
Denon AH-D5000 - Balanced w/Cardas 4x24
JVC HA-DX1000 Jena Ultra w/Furutech Ohh So Purty! SOLD!
Grado GS1000i - Balanced
Grado HF-2 Groovin' Nice, yet Tragically in Need of Cosmetic Surgery
Grado SR225i Custom Cocobolo Woodys w/G-Cush Balanced
Grado SR125i Waitin' on the Wood w/G-Cush
Allessandro MS-1 on the Path to Wood & MS1000 Land
Cocobolo Darth Beyers V3 Black Gold-SOLD
Beyer DT770-80 Pro Good Beaters!
Shure SE530 - Gone to OZ
STAX SR-Lambda Pro Classic GONE a LONG TIME ago
STAX SR-007 OII MK II - Workin' on the Finances!
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Headphone Amp Inventory: ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
Audio-GD Compass w/Sun/Moon/Earth
Audio-GD Phoenix w/Genny LEMOs
Zero DAC - Earth HDAM, LT1364 FrankenMOD??
Yulong DAH1 Mark-SOLD
Little Dot MK V- SOLD
DarkVoice 337SE Tung Sol 5998 Amperex EF80 Bugle Boyz
Need a BH for my STAX wishlist
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Source Inventory: ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
HT Omega Claro Halo w/LM4562
Audio-GD Ref 1 w/REAL LEMO CAST Connectors
ESI Juli@ - Demoted to the Penalty Box
HT Omega Striker 7.1 - Demoted
Sota Star Vacuum- Gone but not Forgotten
Oracle Delphi MK II- Gone but not Forgotten
iPod GEN 5.5 80 GB RockBox'd
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Cable Inventory: ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
SkunkWorks Stealth Mondo Cable Homebrew
HomeMade CAST cables w/ Cardas 4x24
Mogami, Canare, Cardas
No Mo Jena
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Power-Related Components: ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
Denon AVR-5803
Dual Adcom GFA-555's Bridged MONO
Hafler DH-500 --Gone but not forgotten
Hafler DH-220 --Gone but not forgotten
Precision Fidelity C-8 -- Gone and Eternally Loved
Precision Fidelity M-8 -- Gone and Eternally Loved
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Other Audio Equipment: ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
Surround Sound System::
Martin Logan Monoliths Fronts (Original, French Walnut)
Martin Logan Logos Center
Martin Logan Aerius i's Rears
Some Cheap Infinity Sub
=================================
Computer Monitors: JBL LSR4328P + JBL LSR4312SP Subwoofer--SPECTACULAR!!
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Audio-Related Tweaks: ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
FrankenZero
Triplett 3444
NAPA, AutoZone & PEPBOYS Branded Tube Dampers
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Gear-Fi (Favorite Non-Audio Gear & Gadgets): ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
Nikon D2X
Nikonos RS
Porsche 930
Steyr-Mannlicher SSG P-IIK 0.5" MOA
H&K 91 1" MOA
Colt Competition HBAR AR-15 0.5" MOA
High Standard Supermatic Citation
Glock .40
FallKniven PXL IM - Like a Razor
Gerber Paul
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Visitor Messages

Showing Visitor Messages 1 to 5 of 5

08-05-2009 04:07 PM - permalink
les_garten

Hi Bullseye,
Cables make a difference. I'm sure of that. I've heard it. But $1400 for a headphone cable is ridiculous. $5000 for a power cable is ridiculous. The better made gear is balanced, and there is REAL engineering behind balanced connectors, cables, and gear. Snake Oil is a continuum. A sliding scale from no OIL to ALL OIL. The TSO idea was thought up during the ALO Amphora thread blow up. That to me was blatant SNAKE OIL being peddled by Master SNAKE OIL Peddlers and there needed to be someone calling them out. Most of the time SNAKE OIL is not so cut and dried unfortunately. I do play around with Cables at a low level compared to a lot of others. How else can one make their own decisions about what is real and what is BS? There's nothing SNAKE OIL about balanced. Go to a TV/Broadcast Studio and observe all their gear is balanced if it is Analog.
08-05-2009 03:47 PM - permalink
Bullseye

Hi les_garten,

Wanted to ask you something that has made me wondered for a while.
You started all that team about snake oil and such, yet you have loads of headphones recabled, balanced, etc...

What is your take on that, then?
- View Conversation
03-24-2009 12:56 AM - permalink
les_garten

Hi Claus,
There is a thread in the wire forum, here it is:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f21/my-two-cents-not-okay-cross-signals-cable-408346/index3.html#post5546826

I don't believe the Jena or Litz technique is any good at all. I never heard the JVCs with the Stock cable, because they were recabled when I bought them. I'm thinking of pulling that Jena off and recabling with a Dual Star Quad I am working on. I think there is seriously bad engineering in Headphone cables at present. The Jena Labs braid is top of the heap in ripoff to me. Getting ready to Re-Gear my office. The JBL Sub is in place and I'm waiting for my new DAC!
03-23-2009 11:57 PM - permalink
Claus-DK

Hi Les
Just saw your gear IMPRESSIVE.
Does the Jenawire make a difference on your JVCs

Kind Regards
Claus
- View Conversation
11-14-2008 04:28 AM - permalink
helicopter34234

Hey, in case you haven't already ordered from Lawrence, take a look at my thread http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/law...-senns-374621/

There was actually someone else very recently whose Zero from Lawrence arrive DOA. If you receive a DOA item you will be required to ship it back at a cost of about$40 that he will not refund. He appears to be the only person that will install the Alps pot, but if you can do without that I would recommend Wsz. You can actually get free samples of the opamps that go into the headphone amp board. Just buy wsz's upgraded version, I think it cost about $178 shipped.
- View Conversation

About Me

About les_garten

Biography

Don't be offended when I offend you, I didn't mean it!

Location

S. FLorida

Occupation

GEEK

Interests (non-headphone)

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Photography
SCUBA
1-shot 1-Kill
DIY Brain Surgery(DeWalt & Snap-On)
Rolling Winos on the weekend to come up with some STAX SR-007/WOO GES Money!!
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Head-Fi Gear

Headphone Inventory

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
Senn HD650 Sold AKA DARK Vaders!
Denon AH-D5000 - Balanced w/Cardas 4x24
JVC HA-DX1000 Jena Ultra w/Furutech Ohh So Purty! SOLD!
Grado GS1000i - Balanced
Grado HF-2 Groovin' Nice, yet Tragically in Need of Cosmetic Surgery
Grado SR225i Custom Cocobolo Woodys w/G-Cush Balanced
Grado SR125i Waitin' on the Wood w/G-Cush
Allessandro MS-1 on the Path to Wood & MS1000 Land
Cocobolo Darth Beyers V3 Black Gold-SOLD
Beyer DT770-80 Pro Good Beaters!
Shure SE530 - Gone to OZ
STAX SR-Lambda Pro Classic GONE a LONG TIME ago
STAX SR-007 OII MK II - Workin' on the Finances!
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

Headphone Amp Inventory

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
Audio-GD Compass w/Sun/Moon/Earth
Audio-GD Phoenix w/Genny LEMOs
Zero DAC - Earth HDAM, LT1364 FrankenMOD??
Yulong DAH1 Mark-SOLD
Little Dot MK V- SOLD
DarkVoice 337SE Tung Sol 5998 Amperex EF80 Bugle Boyz
Need a BH for my STAX wishlist
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

Source Inventory

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
HT Omega Claro Halo w/LM4562
Audio-GD Ref 1 w/REAL LEMO CAST Connectors
ESI Juli@ - Demoted to the Penalty Box
HT Omega Striker 7.1 - Demoted
Sota Star Vacuum- Gone but not Forgotten
Oracle Delphi MK II- Gone but not Forgotten
iPod GEN 5.5 80 GB RockBox'd
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

Cable Inventory

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
SkunkWorks Stealth Mondo Cable Homebrew
HomeMade CAST cables w/ Cardas 4x24
Mogami, Canare, Cardas
No Mo Jena
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

Power-Related Components

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
Denon AVR-5803
Dual Adcom GFA-555's Bridged MONO
Hafler DH-500 --Gone but not forgotten
Hafler DH-220 --Gone but not forgotten
Precision Fidelity C-8 -- Gone and Eternally Loved
Precision Fidelity M-8 -- Gone and Eternally Loved
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

Other Audio Equipment

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
Surround Sound System::
Martin Logan Monoliths Fronts (Original, French Walnut)
Martin Logan Logos Center
Martin Logan Aerius i's Rears
Some Cheap Infinity Sub
=================================
Computer Monitors: JBL LSR4328P + JBL LSR4312SP Subwoofer--SPECTACULAR!!
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

Audio-Related Tweaks

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
FrankenZero
Triplett 3444
NAPA, AutoZone & PEPBOYS Branded Tube Dampers
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

Gear-Fi (Favorite Non-Audio Gear & Gadgets)

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
Nikon D2X
Nikonos RS
Porsche 930
Steyr-Mannlicher SSG P-IIK 0.5" MOA
H&K 91 1" MOA
Colt Competition HBAR AR-15 0.5" MOA
High Standard Supermatic Citation
Glock .40
FallKniven PXL IM - Like a Razor
Gerber Paul
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Signature
<<<Les Garten>>> Leave the gun, take the cannoli -- Fat Clemenza circa 1950
Conversation with future Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing in 1969: Lessing: "You do still have gangsters [in Chicago], don't you?" Studs Terkel: "Yes, but these days they're mostly in business, or politics."
"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office" Aesop
Ich Bin Ein Europeaner!
JOIN TEAM Snake Oil
Head-Fi Feedback<<>>ebay Feedback<<>>Pink Noise Burn-In Tool!!
I Changed My Windows Desktop to a PIC of the Audio-GD REF 1
Witness the Birth of the Phoenix Phoenix