[alpha80]

BTW, I still rock my 3g 40GB iPod.

iPods are the deal.

 

[Davesrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpha80 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mint vinyl sounds the best, obviously.

I wouldn't say that's true all the time.....source is important. Lets say you have an inexpensive record player and compare that to an expensive SACD player. Will the vinyl record sound better just because it's vinyl? Probably not!!! Likewise, I have a cheapy Sony SACD player that I transport to an expensive DAC. Since it has DRM, I can't play SACDs through my DAC. If I A/B redbook CDs through my DAC1 vs SACDs through my Sony, the DAC1 will always sound better (both in dynamics and resolution). So all this arguement about which medium is best is immaterial I think. There's a lot to be said about how good your decoder/player is.

 

[alpha80]

^True true.

I was assuming everyone up here heard a nice TT

Vinyl is for certain not more accurate than CD or DVD.....

...But it does sound alot more pleasant.

Beat up Vinyl is another story....

 

[Sinwerm]

I hate to say this but this is the reason I have mostly given up on "brick and mortar " stores for higher end equipment. I would much rather just do the research here at Head-fi then buy from a reputable on-line seller (usually less expensive also) than deal with sales people who have a pitch for each product. That and they don't really know that much about the given item except for the store level info they are fed.

 

[jaisin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinwerm /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hate to say this but this is the reason I have mostly given up on "brick and mortar " stores for higher end equipment. I would much rather just do the research here at Head-fi then buy from a reputable on-line seller (usually less expensive also) than deal with sales people who have a pitch for each product. That and they don't really know that much about the given item except for the store level info they are fed.

Thats how I feel. Normally they are nice, but I still never feel welcome in a lot of the stores. I think that goes for a lot of stores. Everytime I goto the Apple store, I feel like they are talking down to me. The people in the audio stores seem to think that the only way you can listen to music is if you have $10k in equipment.

 

[alpha80]

^What's crazy is when you see high end digital sources advertise low jitter & clock sync.......

Folks get robbed constantly.

Wordclock is only useful when tracking multiple digital signals simeltaneously.
It never comes into play when one two channel signal is going from one device to another. NEVER

All the digital sources whether outputting ADAT or Spdif can be bargain basement, as long as the converter is quality when you're ready to go analog.

Like Davesrose' Benchmark joint, or Lavry stuff.

Too many of those salesmen push snake oil.
Don't believe the hype.

 

[jaisin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpha80 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^What's crazy is when you see high end digital sources advertise low jitter & clock sync....... Folks get robbed constantly. Wordclock is only useful when tracking multiple digital signals simeltaneously. It never comes into play when one two channel signal is going from one device to another. NEVER All the digital sources whether outputting ADAT or Spdif can be bargain basement, as long as the converter is quality when you're ready to go analog. Like Davesrose' Benchmark joint, or Lavry stuff. Too many of those salesmen push snake oil. Don't believe the hype.

What is jitter and clocksync? The guy at the store was telling me about it, but it went way over my head.

 

[GlendaleViper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaisin /img/forum/go_quote.gif I like the AKG a lot, but the guy working there told me that the iPod was a bad source. He told me that it was very bad, and that I might as well not buy the AKG's if I was going to use an iPod with it. I asked him if it would be better with an amp, and he told me that I might as well listen to an AM radio. I told him my 325i worked well with the iPod, but he acted like I was an idiot. He told me that digital was bad. I even told him I used lossless files, but he said that digital music is like using an AM radio.

This guy is an elitist and you should not go back to this place. The K701 sounds good from an iPod's line out, amped. Quite amazing, actually. Straight out of the headphone jack, however, you will likely wonder why you dropped the cash - it sounds good, but certainly not worth the dough you just invested.

K701s are indeed very current hungry headphones, and demand a quality amplifier to sound their best. An unamped 701 vs. a well amped 701 is an almost night-and-day difference. I was mostly happy with mine when I got them (amped from a $60 PA2v2), but then again, it was my first real high-end headphone experience. Once I got my Hornet, I was officially blown away.

Short version: If you intend to include a quality amp in your iPod setup, the K701 sounds absolutely fantastic. Straight out of the headphone jack, they sound good, but not worth the money.

I suggest you go back to that shop to educate the sales rep. He has clearly never heard AM radio. Might I suggest you throw one at him?

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warrior05 /img/forum/go_quote.gif By the way - i absolutely love the K701s! my imod'd ipod mated with the RSA Hornet make my AKGs absolutely sing sweet sweet music.

I concur using a Xin Macro4 AD8620 w/634x2 buffers. Plenty of volume with Rock.

 

[Dhw]

I've owned K701s, and I own an iPod, yet I never used the two together...BUT, I have used my iPod as a source for my speaker setup using the iPod dock and 192 kb/s rip rate and it sounds just fine.

I'm dying to know what store you went to (you can PM me if you don't want to bash the person here). I live in Harvard Square, and I believe I know the guy wang228 is discussing...

As a side story about New England brick and mortar stores (you can skip if you want...this will be long...but I've been wanting to tell this story for awhile), my friend and I actually got thrown out of a certain hi-fi shop on the Berlin Turnpike in Connecticut when my friend was shopping for a pair of speakers and a pre-amp. He had already gotten a steal on a used NAD power amp from about 5-10 years ago, and the salesman (owner I believe...hereinafter referred to as "the salesguy") told him that he'd have to "get rid of it" and get something better if he wanted good sound (such as one of the newer NAD models that he was, of course, selling). He was a being a total a** about how he said it, and my friend told him he didn't think enough had changed in technology in power amps for in the last decade for him to make the purchase. This pissed off the salesguy, who asked, "What, do you want me to talk about circuit topology?" My friend said, "sure" (since he actually understands that stuff...I sure don't) and that's when the 'guy started getting really angry and said "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." As we were getting escorted out, he said to me (paraphrased) "Your friend's a ______ (can't recall) but you're okay" and patted me on the back (he knew I'd bought from him before and had recommended the place to my friend, and was probably trying to salvage a customer...just doing it poorly). All I could say was, "Um...but you're throwing out my friend..." He obviously wasn't up for discussing (or wasn't able to discuss) circuit topology that day. He got a "uh...happy holidays" from me (it was last xmas) and my friend got a complimentary "Go screw yourself." All of that, for asking a guy to explain why he should buy something recommended by him! My friend wasn't even being rude...just asking for the guy to tell him something beyond "um, it's newer so it's better."

We ended up driving to Northampton, MA where the people at the hi-fi shop there were much more courteous, not full of themselves, and sold my friend a decent pre-amp and some B&W speakers. I've since bought from them. The guy in CT only lost out on about $2000 in sales from my friend, but he totally lost out on a repeat customer. My friend is hard working enough and smart enough to have a job that gives him a good amount of disposable income at a young age (I'd be jealous if he didn't totally deserve it), and he's just now getting into audio. He will definitely be making more purchases in the future. What is more, my friend's father has the same workaholic tendencies, more disposable income, and is the source of his son's new audiophile tendencies. The salesguy a** has lost out on his business as well. My friend can't afford (at the moment) the audio equipment that the salesguy would rather spend his time selling (as opposed to mid-fi/entry-hi-fi); however, my friend's father can. He certainly won't be recommended to any of my friend or his father's business associates or friends either after this.

I certainly don't have the kind of money to spend that my friend or his father have (though I'm fortunate to have an enjoyable audio rig right now), but I will continue to upgrade my equipment in this hobby (of course) and will NEVER set foot in that shop again, even though there are only so many hi-fi shops in New England. I will never recommend it to anyone, and if someone even mentions hi-fi to me in person, I will go out of my way to tell them not to go there.

Point being...if anyone reading this is a hi-fi shop owner, if someone wants to buy something in your store, don't be an a**. Why waste a sale completely on such sales "tactics"? Even if amps have changed in the last decade (I don't know, and I've heard debates on both sides now), why act like that?

As this thread shows, it's obviously not limited to the one guy my friend dealt with. Funny thing is, the guy in Harvard Square that wang228 may be talking about actually told my friend there was nothing wrong with the NAD power amp he had when my friend checked in to see what he was selling and chatted with him for awhile without pushing a sale.

Sorry...that's a long post, but hopefully someone found it amusing/enlightening (I'd love it if the guy from CT was reading it...)...I've been wanting to post that for awhile!