For SS, the leading contendors would appear to be: Balanced Desktop/DAC Opera (I have one) Apogee mini dac (with balanced hp out) these appear to all be good value due to the obvious cost efficiencies of housing a dac and amp in one box.. Check out saint.panda's Apogee/Opera...

If I hadn't just gotten to China I'd be there Have fun fellas!

I've been in a different country to the opera for two weeks now. Vs. our homemade passive pre, the opera reduced the dynamic compression which can result from the use of a passive pre, and had noticeably more treble detail. For it's price as a secondary function of the product, I would guess (I...

Quote: Originally Posted by slwiser The opera sounds like a killer device. It has a DAC, Amp, USB converter all in one. Wonder if he used the SPDIF chip to convert the USB signal or an I2S interface. AudioEngr has shown that the I2S can be a real upgrade in quality if done properly...

Thanks Jazz, but I meant I'm using it from the coaxial on our Component CDP (http://www.amazon.de/Sony-CDP-XB930Q...dp/B00005JJ52), not a computer. The first time I used the DAC it worked fine, but now I can't get rid of the clicks. I'll have another go tomorrow morning. Edit: Problem has...

Received my opera today, generally good initial sonic impressions but will wait for burn in. There's a problem though.. When using the DAC via coaxial from my CDP, it clicks every few seconds (like the click between tracks). Can anyone explain or help me with this before I email Jan...

Quote: Originally Posted by JaZZ I've come to the conclusion that over-all the Opera's built-in DAC is of about equal quality as the UDP-1's. . Hurry up and get saint.panda over to verify this! Considering the retail/market value of the UDP, and the fact I'm hoping to use...

Cheers! I'll check it out. I've had gradually worsening tinnitus since I was 12 or 13. Was exacerbated greatly by headphone listening on the bus in high school. I thought because I listened more softly than my friends I was safe.. but I was wrong. If only I knew of IEMS then..

Quote: Originally Posted by humanflyz My biggest gripe with the HD650s is not its dark tonality, but rather, its lack of speed. I get fatigued after listening to the HD650s extensively. I know, strange, but that's because I'm always waiting for the music, which seems just to arrive one...

Thanks very much for the good news nietzsche. Time to start digital IC shopping. If your impressions of the Opera DAC are accurate, there's a good chance it will fit very well as a pre into our system. Too much brightness would not go to well with the ribbon tweeters on our celestions.

Anyone got more thoughts on the quality of the DAC via the coaxial input post burn-in? Jazz's comparison to his UDP sounded positive but Nietzche was not too impressed. I guess not many people would have burnt in the DAC via the coaxial input yet. I'd be interested to hear your impressions.

I hope it has. I just ordered one.

Thanks Jazz, You influenced my Aria purchase, and I was pleased to find it sounded much as you had described. It sounds like Jan may have you to thank again for another Opera purchase.

Thanks all for the suggestions. Jazz: Have you received your opera yet? I'm very interested in it as a pre as I like the sound of my Aria, but didn't get any replies about it's pre-amp performance in the opera thread. Impressions of the pre-head make it sound not warm enough for us, but if...

Thanks for the suggestions all. I'm looking to get this for my dad's system and he will not maintian a tube amp (replacing old ARC amp) so it's definitely SS only. I was thinking maybe a perreaux, but they only have a single input budget linestage, and a $3000 dollar one.. Any other brands...

I'd really appreciate some detailed impressions of the Opera as a pre-amp. I'm looking for a warm/rich sounding ss pre-amp, and would be interested how it perfoms.

I'm currently looking for a warm/tubey/rich sounding SS pre-amp for under $1000. Does anyone have any suggestions? Happy to buy second hand, but must be able to find in 230 or 240 volts. Limited to SS due to use by clumsy non-audiophile family members Not really too sure where to start on...

Just to clarify what's been said: You formed a contract with the seller for him to provide the phones to the carrier service well packed. How "well packed" they were according to what is a reasonable definition of the term is disputed. That the damage resulted from them not being "well...

I would do this: 1.Buy whatever dac or budget CDP sounds like your thing. I would probably get a Shanling cd s100 from cattyling for 260 or so. There's probably not a better player in that price range. 2.Buy a second hand Corda head-five, k501s and hd600s. If you like the head-five...

Thanks recstar24! If you had to pick 1 or 2 CDs to take away with you for a year (which I do), could you tell me which you'd choose?

Thanks guys!, I'm going to get both those CDs FalconP. Gratefulshrink: In a word, yes, but my life is currently to stressful to have much of an appetite for prolonged musical tension without release or resolution.

I heard some on the radio the other week in a choir competition and thought "I gotta get me some of this" but I don't know where to start. Any recommendations?

So I've been listening to headphones for at least 8 years. This year I buy an amp with crossfeed (Aria). At first I don't like it due to the loss of detail, narrowing of sounstage and decrease in quality of image delineation. Then one day, I'm listening to something and turn it on for kicks...

Hi, I've got tinnitus, and just ordered some UM2s which will arrive in a couple of weeks. I'll let you know how it goes. For me, the key is being able to produce an enjoyable low volume sound and I hope these will be able to do it..

I'm interested in your Koss volume control. Is it this one? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/cus...&s=electronics I'm thinking about getting one to use with my d-ej2000s line-out as i find it's got plenty of volume for me. Just too much in fact, so I need an attenuator. Is it's affect on...