I think most of us agree that almost all players currently available for purchase have many things we'd like to see an improvement on. Tell me about some of things you want to see in your IDEAL music player. Focus here is music. Feel free to indulge in wild audio fantasies. I'll kick it...

I once again seek the combined wisdom of my fellow head-fiers! I'm looking to spend anywhere between $200 - $500 on a pair of very high-resolution headphones. They should ideally be able to: i) Resolve tiny nuances and details in the music ii) Have a realistic soundstage (i.e. not "add"...

Dear Experts, I have never heard a Rudistor, or Graham Slee, but I know I want one. I'm considering the Rudistor NX-3 Steel, and the Graham Slee Solo amp, and I was hoping that someone who's had experience with both would be able to help me with my decision. I'll be pairing them (in the...

When I first received my Ultrasone DJ1s 3 years ago, I fell in love with the detailed bass that plumbed the depths better than anything I had heard from my (somewhat limited) experience with headphones. Since then, I've had the chance to listen to DT990s (somehow didn't do it for me) HD650...

My Cowon D2 wasn't satisfying me, especially in terms of capacity, so I decided to buy something new. Contributing factors to my decision: I really don't like iPods (the principle of not being able to do whatever I want with MY own files irritates me, not to mention the famished, skeletal...

I work in a place that sells headphones and earphones, amongst other things. It boggles me that at least 10 times a day (calculate that figure per month), I get asked this question: "Will these work with my iPod?" I mean, how many types of mini-phono jacks do earphones come with?! Have...

Okay, I'm a n00b at these physics/electrical things, but I need to ask! I like to go down to the local cable shop to custom build my cables, but I'm not sure what cables are suitable for which application. Can I use a so-called speaker cable as an interconnect, and vice versa? What are the...

Dear Head-Fiers, help!!! I decided to be nice to myself, and buy a set of cans this coming April, but I'm kind of torn. I can't decide between the Beyer DT-150s which I heard at Jaben (they gave me goosebumps), and the Ultrasone HFI-780s. I love the liquid lushness of the DT-150s, and the...

My sister's just flown to Hong Kong, and I immediately wondered if there might be any headphone amp manufacturers with distributors there? Can anyone provide addresses or names? I'd love a Little-Dot or something! She's not going to carry anything large for me, so it's probably going to...

I've noticed when going shopping for PC Speakers that most shops have a very poor-sounding source (some crap Mp3 player), split between a dozen models (God knows what they're using the split the source!), making auditioning quite a challenge. If you had your own shop, what kind of source...

I've got a bit of desk space in the office, and am thinking of setting up a small piece of Head-fi Nirvana in the corner. I'm probably going to get Headroom Corp's Micro DAC and Amplifier, but I need a good CD player that has a small footprint. The only one that comes to mind right now is...

Congratulations France and England. Both upset their rival teams New Zealand and Australia respectively, who were favoured to win. It's been bizarre!

Tomorrow's the day of reckoning in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals for England and Australia. Who do you think is going to win? As much as I like England, I have to say that the Wallabies are in top form this season, and England are going to have to play the game of their lives to stand...

Jaben Network, the finest distributor of Head-Fi in Singapore, has stumbled upon the greatest Shuffle and iBud amp EVER to grace the earth. Behold and bow before the Ultimate Solution: People paid money just for the chance to hear their Shuffles on the B-52. Rumor has it that JVC...

I've read conflicting reports about the new 6G iPod, and the answer to these questions determine whether or not I buy one. 1) Does the 6G iPod have a true, non-amplified output from the dock connector? 2) Do the 80Gb and 160Gb versions use different dock connectors? (I've heard that...

Hey was just reading the paper today, and saw this: 8b buyout of audio products firm cancelled FOR the first time in a two-year private equity acquisition frenzy, buyers have walked out of a major deal. Last Friday, Harman International Industries said its private equity buyers are...

Ahhh, emergency... help me guys! My girl's birthday is in ONE WEEK, and I'd already placed a reservation for a 3rd Gen black iPod Nano 8Gb (my gf's an iPod fangirl), and was gonna pick it up this week. The problem is, she just saw the new 3G Nanos for the first time tonight and she is...

I have to say it: I just visited Xin's website, which looks like barely organized chaos. lol... pardon the oxymoron. At the order page, there are lists of OPAmps, and to a non-EE educated person like me, numbers like AD8397, and LMH6643 make no sense. Can someone do a small write-up about...

In my mind, Wadia is this high-end brand that I dream of owning, but I've absolutely no idea what they sound like. Does anyone own, or has anyone auditioned a Wadia? What do their CDPs sound like?

Hey guys, I've been getting more and more frustrated with the lack of a bass control on my Xenos 1HA-EPC. I mean, it's a fantastic amp, and I do love it, but it's really lean on the bass with some IEMs/cans. Besides the fabled LaRocco Diablo (which I'd never risk sinking my money into), which...

I'm highly aware of the ban on DBT discussion, so I'm not here to discuss any of that; rather, I'd like to share the result of my experiment, conducted this very evening after dinner. Test Subjects: My parents. Both in their early 50's. Dad is an audiophile, who got me started with Head-fi...

I had a custom leather shop make me a case that I designed. Just though I'd share: Front View Top View Bottom View I'm just sore that Xenos Audio is no more.

Hey Americans, not sure if you're familliar with the British award-winning cable manufacturer QED, but maybe that's going to change. Here's the announcement they just published on their webbie: QED CABLES CROSS THE POND Armour Home Electronics have announced that their award-winning*...

Hi guys! I'm flying to Japan on Monday for a week-long vacation. Here's my question: Stax, should I get myself a pair? What exactly is it about Stax that is so special? What kind of damage is my wallet looking at? I'm so excited... Tokyo is supposed to be electronics heaven, and it'll be my...

Hey guys! :-) I own a Panasonic SL-CT820 PDCP. It seems that since most manufacturers are turning their attention elsewhere, i.e. DAPs, it's up to us to make the most of the few (decent) PDCPs left. I'm not educated in electronics in any way, and don't know much about soldering...