I'm very much interested! Especially that there is a $50 drop in price until the end of March. Hope to see some reviews until then.

Quote: the hf5s doesn't have any controllers, guess you're referring to the hf2s. however, I was also unlucky with my first pair of hf5s. my model was faulty I guess, one of the drivers broke and started to crackle over a certain volume level, also the housing broke easily under one of the...

^ my thoughts exactly.

  Quote:   it'a a DAC/Amp unit, and it can drive 30-600ohm impedance headphones. plus it's happy even with the usb power, and ultra portable... I used to throw it in my bag every morning before I go to work.   and tube amps are comletely different.. oh well, a couple hundreds of...

if I were you I'd buy a combined unit. I use an Audinst HUD MX-1 with my SR125i, it's a very nice pairing ($180 + free shipping). Also check out the Audio-gd products, NFB-12 for example, different technology, more features ($200 + shipping). The Matrix mini-i is also a nice device with a lot of...

but why use 320 when you can use V0?  (smaller files, plus it can encode up to 335kbps or so depending on the source, unlike it's shown in the chart above)

@alexroma: lately I'm wondering whether a PSU makes any difference for low impedance headphones too. my grados seems to be happy even with the USB power. however, it's not a huge expense to try it, and most likely I will. (I haven't noticed any difference between the USB and the stock wall wart...

^ nice story. I remember when I ran through the official sparrow topic, I've read that someone owned both the sparrow and the mx-1 and sold the sparrow in the and.   since my device just turned one year old I'm thinking about doing some tweaking to it as a present, inspired by chrisc0's...

I'm wondering whether my current DAC(/Amp) would be an appropriate match for the EAR+ HD.. It's an Audinst MX-1 (head-fi review here), and most people here would agree that the DAC section is great, however, the unit doesn't support the true bypass of the volume knob (~amp section?). This is a...

ah, dropbox just sucks, sorry... I've updated the original post, it should work now.

yes, 40W, I've read it somewhere today. on the other hand, Lloyd just sent the manual. I've uploaded it here, so it will be available for anyone:   kit manual + wiring diagrams   looks very detailed indeed.   damn... I can't wait.

it's so good to see that this forum is still active, and that you guys are really helpful, thanks for that. I've just wrote a mail to Lloyd, but until he answers it, I'll go through this whole thread, page after page. I've already checked the pics in your profile, lbj, very nice shots, I'm...

thanks, that would be very nice, but okay, I'll try to ask Lloyd first.

hi there,   would someone please be so kind and digitalize, or point me to a digitalized version of the MAD EAR+ HD kit manual? I'm a complete newbie when it comes to assembling electronics, and I'd like to prepare for the task both technically and theoretically before I pull the trigger. I...

yes, I meant to match certain genres, sorry. fixed...

I've always thought that matching certain genres with certain headphone brands is such a silly thing... like matching the Grados with rock music. which rock music are we talking about? which guitar player? which guitar? which fuzz pedal? which producer? etc... the number of soundings are simply...

Quote:   ^ good to know that it wasn't just my placebo.   on the first week it was very, very, very hard to tell the difference between this and my old m-audio card. now, after a month it's still not easy, but the overall picture is somehow much more pleasant with the Audinst. when I...

  Quote: yeah, that's true. also, I have low-impedance headphones, however, the gain in the DAC is set for 16-300 ohm phones. just found it a little odd..

we have very similar phones, and I'm quite pleased with this DAC. unfortunately I've never tried any other type. I could rely only on the reviews here and elsewhere, and for me it seemed this is the best for the price (with regard to it's components and other's expressions). after a month of...

  Quote: ah, my bad. first I thought he has a CD copy which is burnt from 320kbit mp3, and he's claiming that a FLAC rip sounds better. sorry sorry sorry.

Quote: possibly one of the best trolling ever. :D   *edit: ok, maybe the OP is better.

woohoo, I got mine today! after two hours of listening I'm really liking it. especially the bass reproduction is what I like. refined and tight, but never bloated. but! if there is a heavier bass line it can show it too! listening to Ametsub's Peaks for Afield, or some James Blake EPs trough the...

have you tried their e-mail customer support?

I think this topic just answered my question. cheers!