Hello,   I'm looking for the absolute _BEST_ bang for buck can in the budget category .. preferably <$50 (soft limit) but must absolutely be < $100 shipped.   My priorities are the following.   -comfortable, circumaural design  -easily driven (plugged directly into TV or macbook)...

Hey Guys, I have a pair of Westone UM1 and use my IBM Thinkpad X31 for school. I've started using it for music more often, as I spend most my time in the library. I've noticed the Intel 82801DB-ICH4 output on the laptop is very *VERY* noisy. When nothing is playing there is much static...

Hey guys, I've been using my laptop at school for studying and I can forsee doing that for the next year. Right now I'm running my Westone UM1 directly from the laptop, and though it sounds alright (isolation ftw! ) it can be a little better. The onboard sigmatel chippy lacks oomph and...

Hey, I'm looking for small stylish speakers that sound decent. Not really big budget. No more than $200, I know it's not a lot to work with. Amp/bookshelf route is nice but they are big and clunky. This is for a tiny dorm room so small is nice. Budget is an absolute, no changing that...

Anyone like this Lebanese Freddie Mercury wannabe? "Grace Kelly" is a very addictive song, I'm going to buy the album now since it's only $10 =) Any thoughts?

Is there a cheap tube integrated amplifier for speakers? Sorta like the Little Dot II or Darkvoice of the speaker world? What's the absolute cheapest tube speaker amp? I don't know why, I'm really attracted to tubes. Probably something from China?

Hey, My K81DJ are my portable cans. Closed, comfortable, decent and fun sounding. AKG pride =) I'm considering getting a pair of IEMs again. Good isolation, not as bulky (people look at me strangely on the bus/train with my AKG haha), inconspicuous. I really do like my K81DJ, but if the...

Hey, A friend's birthday is coming up and I'm thinking of picking up a pair of SR60 for her. Aesthically, I think Grado screams her name since it's all retro and stuff =). She'll be coming from iBuds so I'm sure she'd appreciate the quality difference. If not, hey... SR60s aren't that...

Hey, Darn. I thought I was never going to return. I'm extremely happy with my current setup. ALAC->Fubar->Darkvoice->K501 for home sweet home listening. Ogg->K81DJ for portable listening. Though I'm not too vain, the k81dj is pretty darn bulky and embarrassing. I don't mind wearing...

So I've got a friend whose pretty musically inclined. He just started writing his own music and there are times he just writes and writes. These are basically his first songs, I think he has potential. His recording equipment is kinda terrible so SQ isn't the greatest. And I think he needs work...

I want to encode ALAC to low bitrate MP3 to store on my phone. Is iTunes the only way? I'd prefer LAME. Does iTunes support HE-AAC?

I'm looking to build a DIY Power Supply for my Fubar II. I personally have zero soldering experience but my friend has his whole physics lab at his disposal so that should be good. What makes a good PSU? The requirements for the Fubar II (looking at the Supplier) is a 24VDC; 500mA max...

I'm currently burning in my K501 and Darkvoice.... leaving it in the box since I'm busy doing something where I can't be corded. I was thinking of looping some music/and leaving it on for a long period of time. However tubes get hot, don't they? I don't want to leave the house, then come home...

Hey, My friend was always looking for monitors but didn't have the dough to drop down cash on say K271S and a good amp/DAC. He's starting to perform on stage (guitarist/vocalist) and wears earplugs. I suggested to him to get some IEMs, he can use them for his mixing/recording and to...

Amplifier has no low-level line-out or subwoofer ports. Only left and right channel. Is it possible?

I have a pair of K501. I love them for the detail and delicacy. However, they don't have the same "get up and dance" kinda feel to them. The stuff that my KSC35s used to provide. This is why I ordered a pair of K81DJs. They will mainly be in my portable rig, however I will plug them into my...

Heya, I have an upright piano at home, it's nice and heavy (keys). However, I want to buy a small cheap keyboard to "jam" for fun with my friends (i know a guitarist, bassist, vocalist...). Of course they could always come over to my living room but I don't think my family would appreciate that...

Heya, I tired of lugging my 3G ipod and don't have the cash to run out and buy a nano. I just remebered having a (relatively) high end MD player. Sony MZ-N10. But it's broken. At least the ridiculously buggy software that come with it cannot write digitally (atrac) to MD. I figure I can...

Hey, I'm planning on keeping my rig playing for extended hours (if tubes are safe for that) to burn in my headphones, amp, dac, etc. Hope I wont burn out my HDD hah. Anyway, I'll be playing music through them when they're on my head... but I want some burn in audio files. Strange stuff...

Before dumping a whole lot of money on a pair of SR225s, I want to know if it's indeed... much much much much better than the "legendary" Koss 60ohm drivers. I loved my KSC35s through my PA2V2 for the "get up and dance" feeling. Something I don't think I'll have very much of with my K501...

I'm struggling to decide whether to drop the couple bucks on cables. It's really not that much money (bluejeans) but I'm pretty short on cash anyway and need to start saving up instead of spending. If I had no cables at all, I'd start by buying decent ones (bluejeans) but I just noticed that...

I was originally planning to use the K501 for all my music, but after returning from a rock concert (my first one ever... FRONT ROW!!!! ears still ringing, need to buy some ER20s next time!) I really really really LOVE the SLAM and ENERGY of live performance. Though my K501s are nice (since...

"Stick it at the source, it all flows downwards". I'm talking about power supplies/cords. I'm using a computer as a source. I never thought of upgrading my computer's power cord (though I have an "ok" power supply cos I used to overclock). Do people bother upgrading computer's power...

Just reading some threads, and seems like SOURCE is extremely extremely important. I've decided (for myself, not sure if it's completely right) that SOURCE is more important than amplification, but headphones/speakers being the number one greatest contributer of SQ (for the sub $1k/component...

Zhaolu's out of stock, but there are some lower end DACs that are popping up on DIY's site. SVDACs for less than USD200 that uses AD1852 and another that uses PCM1716. Even a tube USB one! Anyone have thoughts on these?