I'm looking for a pocketable smartphone headphone/mic combination and don't know much about what's available.   I want something that is good for voice calls, especially mic quality. Should be far above the free mass-produced type but doesn't necessarily need to be audiophile quality as I have...

I currently have SoundMagic PL50 balanced armature in-ear monitors.   I like them both for comfort and fit and for sound. I got them because I listen to classical music and read that balanced armature is recommended, and they were a good choice.   The main problem is they are too sensitive...

Hi. The wires in my AKG K501 cable have detached themselves from their contacts in their headphone. Is anyone able to resolder them? The cable may need to be stripped a few mm to release some more wire. Will pay a reasonable amount, would like it to be done properly. Thanks!

Yes I can, very kind of you tranhieu!

Edit: now based in UK and different soldering problem. It's a simple disconnection where the cable should connect with the headphone. The wire is a bit short but otherwise should be easy. Anyone able to help in the UK? Again, will pay reasonable fee. Many thanks!

I found a place that does ear moulds. Looking to get two pairs. One for use with Etymotic ER-15 Musicians' Earplugs. The other for in-ear headphones that I haven't chosen yet. Does the audiologist attach the filters/headphones or is there a standard fitting? I suppose it would be...

Ripping (to lossless or compressed): I recommend the paid version of dbpoweramp. It's accurate, checks with an online database, fast, and easy to use. CD burning: unneccessary in this day and age Sound card etc: depends on what equipment you already have.

I don't think either of the E-MU USB products have this. The focusright would probably be a good choice, if the drivers are good.

Quote: Originally Posted by bangraman I'm getting a bit fed up of HTPC's, or rather more specifically audio playback PC's. Sure... it's more versatile, but what I want out of them is pretty simple: I want them to play back music. And it seems I invest a huge amount of time and money...

Quote: Originally Posted by EnOYiN Just because Microsoft made the driver doesn't mean it's good. Normally it does. At least it has a much higher chance of working properly and being bug-free than drivers from any company I can think of.

If you get a sub you can go with the smaller RP5s.

Quote: Originally Posted by winnston I've been looking to learn piano for a while. I'd like to get a cheap keyboard that I can hook up to my 13" Macbook Pro(so I can use them with my AD900s). Would it be best to get one with 88 keys like an acoustic piano? I've heard you don't need...

Quote: Originally Posted by NimbleRabit To put it in perspective I had to up my mic to +20db in windows for my friends to hear me over ventrilo with the zalman microphone. You probably made the mistake of plugging in a microphone with a mic-level analog output into a line-in...

Quote: Originally Posted by germanium you would have to reduce the volume past -48db to get any truncation of the data if you are starting with 16 bit data boosted to 24 bit . This in & of itself is very soft & not any volume that you would actually use to listen to music with...

I don't know about the Cakewalk card or the company that makes it. But for around $100 you can get a low end card from a pro-audio company (e.g. E-MU) which will have analog out indistinguishable from live feed, i.e. perfect, so you don't need to go over that budget.

Hi; you are right that they they were attempting (with considerable success) to show that: 1. high-res source, and 2. high-res source->16/44 ADC->16/44 DAC are audibly equivalent. It follows that 1. digital source (arbitrary depth)->perfect conversion to analog is equivalent to 4...

Quote: Originally Posted by killertofu A month ago took the first step to higher-quality audio and bought a pair of Portapros, which to me sound excellent. Yes. Even though I own more expensive phones, I'm still happy to walk around with these. Quote: I'm currently using a...

I don't know what you mean, soundcard without drivers? Looking for a normal USB soundcard with the basics: mic input, headphone and line outputs.

Does anyone here have a compatible USB soundcard?

Headphones for computer are no different from headphones for anything else. The 650 and K701 are very different: you might like one and hate the other. Can you try them? Some of the sound cards you listed don't have a headphone output. I'd say it's important to have a dedicated headphone...

Probably the whole dac market is worth billions over time, mostly cheap integrated headphone outputs for devices. It's not an important point but I think the audiophile industry is not a multi-billion dollar industry. However large it is, it is certainly full of people who waste a lot of money.

Quote: Originally Posted by Hybrys Rofl, I wasn't gonna be the one to say it. BUT, every component has a bit in obtaining quality sound. Yes but some are at least 5 orders of magnitude less important than others. Quote: If every DAC was a perfect passthrough, BILLIONS of...

Quote: Originally Posted by bixby deadhorse:LOL- All of the folks paying more than $50 for a DAC are Deaf. Surely you are entitled to your opinion but don't ride on in here and tell us that it is fact that all dacs sound the same. You have a friend or two (of the thousands that visit...

Quote: Originally Posted by bixby Lots of new folks to computer audio or anyone who is experiencing what this hobby can throw at them often times expresses small differences or preferences as BIG differences and conclusions of "rightness". Yes the differences between sources are...

If I remember I'll post it. I posted it on this forum before, where I don't know, a long time ago. I would recommend a soundcard rather than DAC because -it saves cables -if your laptop optical out is only 16bit you will lose resolution unless you use full volume and asio/wasapi. But maybe...