I'm building anew computer and looking to step up my 'desk-game' all round. I was looking at the DACmagic 200m as an affordable option for me to get a DAC /headphone amp / pre-amp. It will also be connected to my powered speakers so I want it to also function as a pre-amp and have the ability...

I'm probably going to purchase a pair of Audioengine A5's for my desk plugged into my computer, or being used with my iPod primarily. However I was wondering if they could also be used through my hifi, if they sound better than my current average amp and speaker combo. Can they be connected to a...

I'm looking at buying some Grado sr225i's but just wanted to get a feel from people who have used them about what the chord is like. Specifically I'm looking to use them primarily while on the move and generally getting around. I have a pair of modded Sennheiser HD650s that I am very happy with...

Hi. I've decided on my turntable and now I'm looking at phono stages (I still need to decide on a cartridge but I'll do that next). My price range is around the F-117. From what I've read the F-117 seems to get nothing but good reviews and I'm leaning quite heavily to get it. But I'm not...

Hey I'm in the process of deciding which turntable to get. I've gotten in down to these (although I'm still open to other recommendations if you feel like making them).   I'm been reading about the two turntables but I'd still be eager to hear the experiences and impressions others have had...

Hey how should I go about cleaning the foam-like tips for me IEM's (Westone 3's). The foam (I'm not so sure it is foam it's just the first way to describe them that I can think of) ones give me the best seal so I've been using them mostly and they're starting to get a bit grubby. Any cleaning...

Right now all my music is Apple Lossless. But I don't have enough space on my ipod to hold it all so I want to downsize it to 320Kbps. What the best and easiest way to do this. I know I can make a copy in iTunes to 320Kbps but then I have to filter out the Lossless (as best I can tell anyway)...

So I've assembled my headphone rig now and am thoroughly enjoying my hifi experience. However I'm a social person and headphone are an intrinsically solo experience. So I'm now looking begin the proccess of adding speakers. This is where I need a bit of help (just like I did with getting...

Hi, I just got a pair of HD650's from the market place here and the headphones smell like someone vomited on them (it's overpowering), cosmetically and functionally they are fine. The seller says that's what they were like brand new and I don't have reason to doubt him seeing as everything else...

So my Westone 3's will be here soon (first venture in world of IEM). I have a 5.5G iPod Video which I'll mainly use (studying at university, commuting, etc), but I want an ipod nano or shuffle just for exercise. Seeing as I have a large ipod, I'm not too concerned with storage or having a...

To what extent do earphone/headphone splitters reduce sound quality? I'm thinking of getting it just for the odd occasional time I want to listen to something with someone. I mean it's got to be better than one ear each. I'm not hugely concerned with an SQ reduction for these occasions I'm...

What's the difference between old and new Hd650's? I don't mean brand new and second hand, but in the trade section of the side I've read people specifying their HD650's are the new ones or something like that.

I'm wanting to buy a pair of HD650's and I was just wondering if they are forgiving at all to music that isn't mastered brilliantly. I don't want headphones that are brutal and deem my poorly recorded music unlistenable. I've heard that they are more forgiving than their contemporaries, so...

If you could get a great deal on some piece of hi fi gear but the color wasn't what you favor would you pass on it?

I have an opportunity to get a clearaudio champion for a pretty good price second hand and I was just wondering what people's impressions of the table are? How does it sound? How does it fair compared to it's competitors? or say the VPI Scout? Would you recommend it?

I've been asking a lot of questions lately, but I have a few more (it's because I'm getting close to buy, Woohoo). I've decided to go with a pair of sennheiser HD650's for my headphones. I've heard good things and they seem as good a choice as any. Now it's onto which amp to get. There...

I've read around a little bit, but I'm still not sure about which pair of headphones to get. HD650 AKG701 Grado RS-1 (how much of a difference is there between these and the GS-1000's?) Alessandro MS-Pro (what's the difference between the Alessandro's and Grado's?) Denon D5000 (how much...

I'm looking to get a used cd player (Rega Apollo) from overseas (me being in Australia and overseas being in America) but realized the voltage is different (Australia 220-240, USA 110-120). Is this an issue? Can the player work with both?

Is there much of a quality difference between using a Rega Elys 2 Cartridge and an Exact 2 Cartridge? I'm leaning towards the more expensive cartridge but would like to get an understanding of the quality difference before I make the decision. Also are there other cartridges worth my...

I was just wondering how would vinyl compare to cd or visa vera within the budget I'm looking to buy in. I'm looking at a rega p3 turntable and a Cambridge Azur 650c cdp. Still not sure what headphone amp or headphones I'm going to get, but something at the sennheiser HD650 level. I really...

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I hope this is the right place to put this, if not tell me. I have some questions about buying vinyl. What should I be looking for when buying second hand vinyl? I know scratched would be the obvious one, but anything else? Basically aside from damage and problems that I can see...

If live in a pretty old house (it's heritage listed actually) and as such the electricity isn't so good, it's uneven and there are a lot of power surges - I don't know how big they are, but I'm always replacing light bulbs. Is this very bad for hifi gear? What does it do? Assuming it is a...

Well the title says it all. How important is getting a proper rack as opposed to sticking my gear on a sturdy table or a hifi rack that i've found around the house. It would be good if you could answer it in regards to two things. 1. CD player, amps, etc 2. Turntable (which I would think...

I have a pair of (pair of, is that correct when referring to headphones, there isn't two, by I suppose there are two cups, anyway back to the topic at hand) sennheiser HD485's and the cable is 10 ft. I very really use even 1/3rd of the length and it's just annoying for the most part. Can I get...