[uelover]

Quote:

deja-vu for me.... third time down this path, the flowers seem to be blooming this time

Hahahaha you are so funny!
 
Hopefully your spirit will bloom as well when your gears arrive.
 
For me, ever since I owned that darn Whiplash iPod mod as well as CLAS, I realised that I could never revert back to a normal DAP, not even the T51, Cowon or Sony.
 
So, the further you walk down this path, the further you will realise how far you are from your original location to return to. It is an ever increasing function =)

 

[OK-Guy]

Quote:

Hahahaha you are so funny!
 
Hopefully your spirit will bloom as well when your gears arrive.
 
For me, ever since I owned that darn Whiplash iPod mod as well as CLAS, I realised that I could never revert back to a normal DAP, not even the T51, Cowon or Sony.
 
So, the further you walk down this path, the further you will realise how far you are from your original location to return to. It is an ever increasing function =)

Funny how something as simple as the prospect of a new mp3-player can make you re-avaluate your whole system... at present I have a top of the range Arcam system with MA GS10 speakers, I've decided to sell it and one of the amps flew out the door (I look after my kit) & the rest is listed... the replacement system is a Roksan M2 amp, Kef R300 speakers, Rega DAC, Rega Apollo-R CD-Player, Chord Epic Speaker Cable, Chord Chorus-2 Interconnects and Partington Dreadnought Stands on Granite bases... I'll add a media-centre next year.
 
The DAC is for the Walkman as I want to see how I get on with streaming, I've just bought a pair of Audio Technica ATH-ES55 headphones which are in addition to my Sony MDR-EX510LP earbuds probably laughed at on here but its a start as I didn't have a clue about all this head-fi stuff till I joined this forum.... my next upgrade will be to get a external amp for the Sony then I'll think about sorting a headphone upgrade..... you seem to know your stuff Lover so I may tap you for knowledgable advice..... is what my ears like that matters not what it says on the tin, if you get my drift.

 

[uelover]

Quote:

Funny how something as simple as the prospect of a new mp3-player can make you re-avaluate your whole system... at present I have a top of the range Arcam system with MA GS10 speakers, I've decided to sell it and one of the amps flew out the door for £420 (eager ebay buyer) & the rest is listed... the replacement system is a Roksan M2 amp, Kef R300 speakers, Rega DAC, Rega Apollo-R CD-Player, Chord Epic Speaker Cable, Chord Chorus-2 Interconnects and Partington Dreadnought Stands on Granite bases (I live in a flat/apartment so I have to try and stop the bass resonating through the floor, granite is a boon for stopping it)... I'll add a media-centre next year.
 
The DAC is for the Walkman as I want to see how I get on with streaming, I've just bought a pair of Audio Technica ATH-ES55 headphones which are in addition to my Sony MDR-EX510LP earbuds probably laughed at on here but its a start as I didn't have a clue about all this head-fi stuff till I joined this forum.... my next upgrade will be to get a external amp for the Sony then I'll think about sorting a headphone upgrade..... you seem to know your stuff Lover so I may tap you for knowledgable advice..... is what my ears like that matters not what it says on the tin, if you get my drift.

That is some very good home audio equipments! Seems like you are in a wrong forum!!

 
I was looking at the Rega DAC and its Saturn CDP before I bought my Eastern Electric DAC. The seller told me that it is dumb to buy the Rega CDP just to use it as a CD transport and I kind of agreed with him. Just curious, how do you intend to get the streaming to work with the Walkman and the Rega DAC?
 
Actually, had I known that you were going to use an external amp with the walkman, I would heartily recommend you to take a look at the iBasso DX100. It has got everything you need. Absolutely everything. Maybe you could even save some money on your Rega DAC.
 
Yup, at the end of the day, it is not what is written on the paper but whether our ears love what is coming to it. Not an easy task to recommend a headphone unless we know your preferences and your budget =)

 

[OK-Guy]

Quote:

That is some very good home audio equipments! Seems like you are in a wrong forum!!

 
I was looking at the Rega DAC and its Saturn CDP before I bought my Eastern Electric DAC. The seller told me that it is dumb to buy the Rega CDP just to use it as a CD transport and I kind of agreed with him. Just curious, how do you intend to get the streaming to work with the Walkman and the Rega DAC?
 
Actually, had I known that you were going to use an external amp with the walkman, I would heartily recommend you to take a look at the iBasso DX100. It has got everything you need. Absolutely everything. Maybe you could even save some money on your Rega DAC.
 
Yup, at the end of the day, it is not what is written on the paper but whether our ears love what is coming to it. Not an easy task to recommend a headphone unless we know your preferences and your budget =)

I had a look and listen to several Dac's while at the hi-fi dealer 'Musical Fidelity, Arcam & Leema' but liked the vim & gusto of the Rega the best, everything was uncluttered & detailed with a touch of warmth..... I have a huge CD collection so even thinking of going over to streaming is a big decision.... the Sony (it'll do for now so don't get all snobbish about the DX100 as this is my first dabble at getting audiophile sound for my ears... next up how to record lossless files from CD, another day that one) will be taken to the dealer for the best way to connect it to my new system (there is a RCA input on the back of the DAC so I could go Jack-RCA, my new system arrives in June).... I was looking at a ibasso Sidewinder as a possible good amp for the Sony as sometimes I have limitations on volume levels indoors so having a decent headphone set-up in the house appeals..... not to sure if I'll use a headphone amp on the move as I'll probably stick to buds & the Sony.... so that also brings into the equation of running a fixed headphone amp that can be connected to my new system (Rega?).
 
The Saturn has a lovely detailed sound not to dissimilar from my Arcam-7SE.... in truth I wasn't too impressed with the Apollo-R as a stand alone CDP the Roksan amp showed its flaws in a gentle but telling fashion, when it was connected to the Rega DAC it was a different story everything had clarity and depth and it suited the Roksan completely, the Kef's were a true revelation think they may have a 'classic' on their hands with the R300's put my MA's in the shade and thats a feat on its own.... I would of loved to get the Roksan M2 CDP but with the DAC it was £1k too far so I've opted for the Rega CDP that I'll probably out next year when I'm considering to further upgrade.
 
The DX100 does sound tempting though as I said I'm new to this so am staying safe until my feet are wet (my toes are dangling at the mo), ibasso is a new name for me and I thought I'd wait and see if there's any issues etc, I am looking forward to the reviews of both the Sony & DX100 and intend to do a proper (well attempt) Sony audiophile/music review after a week of living with the contraption.... as a media player it doesn't interest me so no review of diff apps just as a music player.
 
 

 

[uelover]

There is no RCA input on the rega dac. Neither can you use the walkman with ibasso sidewider as it is not a portable amplifier...

 

[OK-Guy]

you are indeed correct about the Rega DAC, it has RCA outputs so should be interesting how the Walkman will connect to it (the dealers gonna love me).... with regards to the Sidewinder, never knew that thought it was a amp as its in portable devices (?) on the ibasso site.... I'm new to all this malarkey so you'll have to excuse my little errors.... before last week if it never had RCA's and Speaker connects I didn't have a clue.
 
now I got ballanced, usb, mini-usb, toslink, optical link, lod etc etc.... I daresay someone will come out with a God-Link soon for the religously challenged who need some new ideas from Mr Jobs.... hold on make that a devil-link.

 

[uelover]

Both the rega dac and the sidewider are dac, meaning that they'll only take in digital sources.

The walkman outputs analogue signal only so ibasso p4 will be more appropriate.

I'm still amazed that you're already throwing in so much money at the introductory stage. I can't imagine how things will evolve one year from now lol.

 

[bizkit]

Yeah, this can turn into a $10,000 a year hobby horrifically fast.

 

[OK-Guy]

for £10k plus I'd be starting with Chord equipment (not the cable guys, the Red-Reference CD player is to drool for), still you need a nice large room for that, hence my more humble hi-fi set-up.
 
With regard to my more humble begginings with DAP and phones this will never superseed my hi-fi but I do travel around a bit with regards to work (daily commute etc) and like a bit of music on the go, I wouldn't scrimp on equipment as you tend to get what you pay for up to certain levels and then its a matter of the sound you prefer.... being new to this I prefer to be advised by people who actually use their equipment daily than by some journo reviewer, this also helps to avoid the pitfuls of mismatched equipment.

 

[turokrocks]

A Feast for your eyes

 

[bizkit]

OK-Guy,
 
I guess the real question is now "Which amp do you choose"? Well, that depends on what your goals are. In my case, I sometimes spend months away from home and lugging around a desktop amp between a few countries to just to power a pair of cans isn't an option. So, I went with the ALO Continental V2. The size of the amp is a on the large side and it over kill for your average IEM, but it has the ability to drive full sized phones better than most of the non-portable amp in it's price range. I've been really impressed with it thus far; than again, it's $500 pocket(ish) amp, and it better impress for that price. Turokrocks has gone a different path by mating a TTVJ Slim to his 1070. I can't comment on that rig, besides that it looks to be much more pocket portable (to the point of making me jealous) than my ALO and he says that it gives the Sony a tube like sound. At $350, it's less of a monetary hit too. iBasso seems to make some great stuff and are worth a serious look. Regardless of what you choose, the 1070 really starts to shine once it's amped.
 
My rig:

 
 
Turokrocks:

 
 
 
Next up is the LOD cable for amp. I can firmly stand behind saying that you should avoid the Fiio at all cost. I've been through 3 of them in 4 weeks, each failing in the same manner. Hopefully my last one holds until my E-bay or Fancy Japanese LODs arrive because I refuse to ever purchase a Fiio product again.
 
 

 

[Bloodflowerz]

Quote:

I have a confession... I just bought a Z-Series 32gb from Canada... there I said it (feels like he's at a local AA meeting)
 
total cost for everything was £265 inc shipping to UK... should arrive in 10-14days (no volume cap for me)

Please let us know how much customs tax is going to be when you get it in the UK. Cheers.
 

 

[turokrocks]

Quote:

.....................Hopefully my last one holds until my E-bay or Fancy Japanese LODs arrive because I refuse to ever purchase a Fiio product again.
 
 

Link please, I am salivating....Japanese....

 

[OK-Guy]

Quote:

Please let us know how much customs tax is going to be when you get it in the UK. Cheers.
 

I buy a lot on ebay so I can safely say that providing the customs-form says £30 or $50 you won't get hit for taxes, after that you start with £12 Post-Office/Courier Fee, then Import-Tax and then VAT.... I daresay if you bought from Amazon Com (not co.uk) with all the taxes it would still be under the UK £300 price tag of the Z-32gb..... me, I'm lucky, I have a good friend in Canada, we linked up and they were ordering from Sony I was ready to pay via Paypal (Sony accepts that), when it's received it will be double-boxed & sent to me (the customs-form will state 'birthday present' & have a value of $40), so I don't expect any charges.
 
I did get a quote from NYBox for the Sony-Z, cost came out at about $438 (they let you set your amount on customs-form), for over $100 more than the Sony-USA website they can shove it, you'd be better off buying it from Amazon Com (will be listed soon, bound to be a tad cheaper than Sony) and paying the duties which would imho still work out less than the UK volume capped version of the Z-32gb.
 
Another bonus.... I contacted Sony-UK with regard that my friend (now Sister lol) could not purchase the Accidental-Damage Protection insurance from Sony-Canada because she was shipping it to the UK as a 'present'.... this was Sony's reply & I quote directly 'please if you contact us on 0844 8466 555, that will take you through to our Walkman Product Support line and they will be able to help'..... I'll be phoning them in the morning and I'll let you know the outcome, the one year guarantee in not affected as its worldwide.
 
 

 

[OK-Guy]

 
I have noticed that there are quite a few amps/dacs that have 8mm connects protruding out the back of the device (RCA & Optical)..... I happen to know someone on ebay who gets manufactured & sells vinyl RCA End-Caps.... if you go to ebay co.uk they're sold worldwide (if you give your user-name & mention head-fi I'll ensure you get a discount, request invoice before paying for discount)... hope that helps some of you, as protection of any equipment from dust, knocks & exterior electrical noise should always be considered when you invested your hard earned scheckles.