I have had good experiences with the Fantom series which offers eSATA and USB connectivity. eSATA offers much faster access speeds, and allows for SMART data and temperature info for each drive. I would recommend eSATA especially if you plan to backup to the drive, or transfer large files to or...

Forgive me if this question has been answered earlier in the thread- I use the WASAPI plugin in foobar2000 to output over a Coax SPDIF connection. I currently have the bit depth set to 16 as 99.6% of my music is 16/44.1 (Redbook CD) sourced. I read elsewhere that the conversion from 16 to 24...

Using ColumnsUI with added columns for Performer and Orchestra, to facilitate searches of my classical collection.

Wrong thread, sorry.

I was able to confirm that it is indeed the final version. The instructions on the reverse side of the top panel note the jumper settings as Bright, Neutral, Soft1, and Soft2 as in the final version. In addition, mine has the Earth HDAM. By the way, does anyone know how much power the Compass...

You may want to look into getting a used Compass. They average around $250 SHIPPED to the US, if not less. I was able to obtain an even lower price purchasing on the head-fi forums.

Probably not the best price but you can have it next day if you want. Amazon will ship same day and offers next-day, 2-day, and ground shipping options. Sold by another dealer by shipped by Amazon. Amazon.com: Grado Prestige Series SR80i Stereo Headphone: Electronics

Core i7 860 w/ Coolermaster V8 Cooler Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R (10x USB, 2x eSATA, 8x SATA) DDR3 1600 4 GB ATI Radeon 5850 (Asus EAH5850) Samsung 24x DVD-RW Zonet 802.11n Storage: 6.5 TB WD Caviar Black 1 TB 7200RPM 2 x Samsung 1.5 TB 5400 RPM 2 x Fantom eSATA External 1 TB 1 x Fantom...

I've owned a pair of Grado SR-60s and Koss Porta Pro's for the last several years. The SR-60's provide an amazing level of clarity and detail for the price and can be driven quite will by an iPod. The Porta Pro's are considerably smaller and have greater - but necessarily better - bass. They are...

I'm curious as to why the Sennheiser HD580 is marked as "Amp recommended" while the HD600 is marked as "Amp required". The headphones use the same exact drivers and have the same specs (300 Ohm, 97 dB SPL). The differences are aesthetic (headband pattern, metal grills on HD600). So, either...

How can you tell what version it is? (I haven't received the unit yet. I've just been going by pictures and the diagrams on the site.)

Quote: Originally Posted by gilency The first settings in your posting are from the original I believe pre-production Compass. The second ones are indeed the ones for the final version. This is the unit I purchased - http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f42/so...9/#post6121172 I...

I just purchased a used Compass as my first DAC/Amp. I read that "Bright" is the default setting but the specs on the GD-Audio site only shows Neutral, Soft1, Soft2, and Soft3 as the options. Is bright = neutral? Since neutral is the jumperless setting, I assume I just need to remove the...

Doctors recommend that you don't use q-tips. My ear, nose & throat physician recommended the use of one of those liquid concoctions sold at any pharmacy that you dump into your ear. It reacts with the wax, breaking it down, and then you just remove the liquid, and let your ears air out. This...

Quote: Originally Posted by boomy3555 It's so hard with so many options so close in price and so many opinions about OPamp this, and HDAM that, Tubes or no tubes. The EF2 is the only one of the above which uses the tube in the headphone out so if you only want one unit and want "Tubes"...

For those that are interested: Vacuum Tubes - Audio Tubes - ESRC Vacuum Tubes - Electron Tubes has the Raytheon 6AK5 tubes in stock for $3 each, plus shipping (~$2 for USPS). Nice deal.

Quote: Originally Posted by mmd8x28 Contact the place I got my Hytron 6ak5's from. Vacuum Tubes - Audio Tubes - ESRC Vacuum Tubes - Electron Tubes I am sure they have Raytheons. I saw some boxes, but don't know if they were 6ak5's.. Just contact to make sure they have it first...

Foobar2000 uses the "exclusive" mode for WASAPI. When exclusive mode is used, no system or program sounds are mixed in, and none of sound effect settings in the driver page make a difference. For example, on my onboard Realtek soundcard, SRS and environment settings are ignored when WASAPI is...

Also, what's a good source for the NOS Raytheon 6AK5? The Mullard CV4010 is available for $20 shipped (pair), but the cheapest I could find the Raytheon's were $48. Perhaps I'm not looking in the right place.

Quote: Originally Posted by muad You could use the opa627 for the headphone out but I haven't tried it. Be warned about the opa627 tho. It is a slightly dark sounding opamp. But musically very nice. Really takes any harshness out of the music. Plus a very clear soundstage. The treble...

Thanks - now my choice is being made even harder :P. By the way, does the EF2 do bit-perfect 16/44.1 output over USB, or does it upconvert to 16/48 or 24/96 first? I take it that you're happy with the HD580 + EF2 combo.

Quote: Originally Posted by muad Usually I use digikey but they were out of the LT1364's a few weeks ago so I ordered from arrow electronics Also I highly recommend trying the opa627 for the preamp. I much preferred that to the LT1364. You can get them cheaper from this headfi sponsor...

How do you know if your soundcard supports bit-perfect output? I thought SPDIF can change the bit rate/frequency on the fly - hence the clicking noise when it changes. So, is SPDIF preferred over USB if it's available?

Spanky, So, if you set it to 16 bit, 44.1 khz output, and use the WASAPI kernel plugin in foobar2000, are you getting bit-exact output for CDs?