Remove the "[dis]comfort" foam and place small pieces of rubber (eraser or whatever) in the "comfort zone" so it stays at "light". Pro's with foam and "firm" setting is a vice; the above is ridiculously comfortable for me.

Quote: Originally Posted by Kram Sacul Why do you use 6-7 strips? Do the extra strips keep more bass intact to your ears? What about other types of tape like duct tape or teflon? For now I'm experimenting with just a single strip of standard 3/4" Scotch wrapped around the bottom portion...

Kram Sacul, I use app. 6-7 strips of ordinary ~19mm wide clear scotch tape placed vertically and symmetrically on the outside edge (work it out to cover approximately 50% of the total edge area; experimenting to find your preference is quick, cheap and easy). I don't know if it would really...

I haven't heard the Apogee, but from what I've read, yes probably. Trogdor has the Grado combo and the Apogee; I think he's shared some experiences in other treads. Jahn and others have also reported that it's a very fine match with RS-1's. I think a search will find you a good deal of MiniDAC...

http://www.sonicsense.com/anadigiMDAC.htm USB version $969 (last week).

PATB, This is sort of nitpicking really: don't lose sleep over it. Anyway. Since you're deleting after burning, you may want to consider whether the copy is an actual 1:1 -- that's in case you want to make a copy of the copy sometime later. For one copy only you won't lose any audio...

If you really like the Grado combo and can't quite say what's missing, maybe you want to try another source component for a while? edit- omedon beat me to it, and not to entirely repeat omedon's message: maybe audition an Apogee MiniDAC with your Grado combo?

D-EJ915, "Vertical in ears", you mean like ety's? Isn't it cheating to call those buds? I don't know, maybe they are the buds of this decade, really. But let's hear the real cheapo earbud horror stories!

Let's not pretend anything; buds are where it's really at. Anyway, there's no place else the appreciation thread thing has to go now: why not let it implode to the tunes of some earbud cheering! Who walked around for how many years with stock earbuds? Come out clean and leave that mess...

Quote: Originally Posted by Kram Sacul I think the real goal if someone were to do a mod of the bowls is to bring out the bass that reverse bowls have but still keep the pinpoint soundfield of regular bowls. A fair description of the tape mod, IMO. Pretty much ignored for some...

uzziah, Are you ripping a lot? I know I wouldn't trust my laptop's drive to chew through a bag full of CDs with EAC. I use an external drive for heavy duty tasks. The drive should ideally return these values from EAC\Drive Options (F10) on the menu bar, select the Extraction Method tab &...

Quote: Originally Posted by Jahn Except in the cases where Mahoghany is cultivated and harvested Spot on. IIRC, The only thing outsourced since the RS box was dropped is the leather headband -- or wasn't it according to Zanth's interview? Completely safe then to trust it's...

Quote: Originally Posted by Sean H Heck, I could sell my DAC and amp for a simple unit like this and be done, end of story, case closed. One cable: USB, period. Slick rig. For home, work and road, this is the route I'm looking at. I'll be picking up an RA-1 too eventually, but...

Quote: Originally Posted by grawk A woman at sonic sense? Hrm. Sonic Sense used to be Marc Nutter. Good guy tho. Great source for live taping equipment. Parker is her given name. She told me 99% of her clients are male and she's not.

http://www.sonicsense.com/anadigiMDAC.htm Don't know how reputable, haven't shopped yet either; but the woman I've corresponded with via email seems serous and a really nice person too. Price with USB: $969.

Cerebral_Mamba, I think it's a good and valid question. I have seen nothing mentioned anywhere by anyone that would indicate use of different drivers between the models within the SR line. One of Grado's selling points is that they're more closely matched higher up the ladder. One should...

Thanks for these very substantial posts, Zanth! Respect to John Grado's perspective and outlook on his business visavi family values. Cool of him to interact with the HF community in this way. Apop

I'm paranoid about wearing 'phones in public places: I keep thinking that I'm an easy target for an assault on the street. There have been reoccuring incidents of people getting brutally killed out in the city by men who seeked time in our jails because they figured that's a better living than...

Yes, try the Senn pads, they're cheap and comfy. Grado flats are firmer than the mushy kind of Senn 414 foam. Preferences vary; I like my Grado flats. As for ASAP, try this: Cover half the outside edge of the bowl pads with clear tape (easy enough to remove). This prevents excessive bass...

Quick help: Low bitrates: OGG VBR; 320KBPS: MP3 CBR. Enc.: LAME (See Hydrogenaudio stickys for versions). IME, 3.90.3 is good. EAC, or CDex ripper recommended.

Yes, I think the rig will be one of my most valued toys of all times. And like you say, zipping it up in a daypack seems like fun too. I've been on the fence whether I should get a decent CDP like Cambridge or NAD, or go the PC route and get a nice DAC instead. I'll skip a few good meals...

Quote: Originally Posted by BillC I was never sick until I had children. Now two daughters in pre-school and _my_ toy budget is reduced (no Grados yet) and they bring home every sniffle and share with daddy. But they're so cute I still love them Two kids, yeah that oughta do it...

Quote: Originally Posted by grawk In the early days of using a laptop to record in live music situations, people preferred USB2 ports not because the devices were usb2, but because the chipsets were more consistently reliable than the garbage put in many systems to run usb1 ports...

Quote: Originally Posted by jpelg I second (or is it "third") the Apogee Mini-DAC. It's the perfect PC-source DAC, especially if you use Grado's. Sell your RA-1, and use the headphone-out of the Apogee for your RS-1's, and connect the line-out to your speaker system. End of story, you...

Quote: Originally Posted by BillC Sorry I'm slow to respond, been lying in bed sick for a few days, but I think I'm a human being again You should have Grados then -- I have them and I'm never sick! Quote: Originally Posted by BillC I was debating between the...