After purchasing Zoom U-44 for 6 months, I can't believe I am writing a review to describe how good it sounds. Here is why I highly recommend it for computer audiophiles. (1) Unbeatable functionality, a swiss-army-knife for all audio needs Computer audio interface: 96/24, USB, 4-in-4-out...

Disclaimer: The designer of Marvalve Model 2 DAC, Dalun Yuan, is a friend of mine. As a frequent poster on head-fi, I am writing this review from the perspective of an ordinary home user. I borrowed Marvalve DAC for comparison against my Benchmark DAC2 HCG. The Marvalve is obviously much better...

Sorry, Double Post. But I don't know how to delete this thread. Please see the other thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/review-marvalve-model-two-dac-vs-benchmark-dac2-hcg.884440/

Having heard some old-time goodies like Sennheiser HE-90, Stax Omega II and Sony R10, and owning 5 pairs of AKG K1000 currently, I have not been particularly impressed with the previous generation of flagship headphones (HD650, K702, DT880, some woody Audio Technicas) for playing classical and...

  This is a first peek at a new single-ended tube headphone amp from SAC Thailand.   The Minute EL34 headamp is a brand-new model not yet advertised on the manufacturer's website and I am the first owner in the US. It is so amazing that I feel compelled to let everyone know about it...

One thing I have learned during tube rolling my Cayin HA-1A is how great some modern tubes can sound. Who says all modern tubes are just junk or so so? Most such blanket statements are simply false in audio. So I figure I would start a thread where people can post about modern production tubes...

As my tube box gets more full, I am starting to ponder on getting a tube tester. Emission type to check tube integrity may be sufficient, but a trans-conductance tester may be even better. However, when I search on the internet, it is hard to find commercial vendors of functional tube...

If you can read traditional Chinese, here is a good review of Cayin HA-1A from a Taiwanese audio magazine If there are enough people interested in it, I might translate a few key paragraphs. The reviewer commented that the measurement graph shows a significant amount of AC hum, and...

OK, that's it, I am quitting audiophilia--I've had enough. No, I am not bitter at all--in fact, I still love hi-fi, especially head-fi. But in my case the audio hobby seems to have a tendency to self-terminate. If I must find a culprit in the end, it's got to be K1000. I was fascinated...

Who would have thought, the world's largest church organ in LA? Yes, the First Congregation Church in downtown LA has the world's largest church organ. I just went to listen to it today and it sounds absolutely amazing. The rich harmonics coming from its many pipes (>20,000 in total) is next...

PreSonus Central Station (CS) is a seemingly complex product packed with more features than most audiophiles are used to. But it is an elegant one-box solution that competes with many dedicated components. Its plain looks and modest asking price ($500) belies its reference-quality sound. By...

Having not played the violin since teenage, I decided to pick it up again. Yeah, I got so carried away by how great violin sounds on my K1000 system that I can't resist wanting to play the violin myself. I bought "Mel Bay's Complete Irish Fiddle Player" to teach myself Irish fiddling and I...

I am back in Taiwan for vacation and strolled into the largest headphone dealer in Taiwan, only one block from my high school. Their website is impressive (http://www.hifi.com.tw/adm_root/index.php), but I must say I am pleasantly surprised by the actual store. First thing I see: a wall of...

When I see Japanese jazz musicians performing on TV they always seem to be so "cool." I mean, they seem to be natural interpreters of cool jazz. I am in Taiwan for the next two weeks, and therefore has some chance to pick up some Japanese jazz CDs at local record stores. Can anyone recommend me...

Let's face it, SACD may not be dead, but it has hardly any momentum to grow. There is so little incentive to go the extra mile for hi-rez, and so much more hassle. I just came across an idea that might make SACD a bit more appealing to audiophiles, and I wonder what you guys think. I...

On July 23, Foo_me and I had a two-person get-together at my place, so I can get a taste of his spanking new toys: HE-90 (Orpheus) headphone and ES-1 amp. It is really kind of Foo_me to drive around with his gears admist the inferno heat (it hit 110 F in Pasadena ) We tried to set up an A/B...

American mezzo-soprano, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, a leading voice of her generation, died of cancer on July 3rd, 2006, at the age of 52. This came as a real shock to me when I heard it on radio today. No, she is not one of the more famous opera singers in the world, but many critics willingly...

Koss KSC-75 and Sennheiser PX-100 are two of the most recommended budget headphones around here. There has been a lot of debate about which one sounds better. Now that I own both of them, I will put in my two cents. This review, btw, will mark my 1,500th post. Thanks to head-fi, in the last two...

I have a Cayin HA-1A and which uses 12AX7, 12AU7 and two EL84. I want to try more options at the 12AU7 position. I heard that 12BH7 is compatible with 12AU7, but Google search gave me conflicting answers: some say the pinout is different, but som esay it will work. I need some help here...

The first season was actually pretty entertaining. But the grand prize was supposed to be a new restaurant for the winner. Instead, chef Ramsey offered the winner to be an apprentice of his, and he accepted. So, Fox did not have to spend millions of bucks building a new restaurant for the...

I went to Stereophile's Home Entertainment Show 2006 at LA, and had an interesting chat with people at Reference Recordings' booth. Reference Recordings, if you don't already know, is a small audiophile recording label that focuses on classical and some jazz. Their classical recordings are...

First of all, I must thank head-fier S.A.B. (Stuart) for letting me borrow his Zhaolu DAC 1.3 for review. His D1.3 is bought from Eddie with power supply upgrade, DY2000 metal opamp and blackgate mods. Since the word on the street is that Zhaolu is a giant killer that betters DAC1, we decided to...

My friend is conducting research on insects' perception of ultrasonic signals. She needs a speaker that has a flat frequency response up to 50 kHz. Is anyone familiar with fairly inexpensive speakers (<$500) with such bandwidth?

[EDIT] Due to a database/internet connection error, this thread is double posted. Moderator, please delete this thread. Sorry for this, the original thread is http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=174594 Recently I see a trend of people starting threads for the sole purpose of...

Recently I see a trend of people starting threads for the sole purpose of makin themselves feel better about their audio purchase. These threads are quite obvious just by reading the title. Some of the examples I can think of are (random examples, nothing personal): "Tell me a reason not own...