Awesome budget component alert
Jun 11, 2002 at 6:10 PM Post #61 of 107
Whoa! lotsa fellow Seattle headphiles are coming out of the woodwork
smily_headphones1.gif
(You guys are all coming to the WoH tour, right? Good.)

My current favorite local dealer is Hawthorne Stereo, which is a totally cool little shop that's packed to the ceiling with stuff. They even have the MG Head (both OTL and not) and a used Supreme... Not to mention some AKGs. They are Sony-free, however, so don't go there expecting to have V600s pushed in your face
eek.gif
In fact, don't expect *anything* to be pushed in your face- the salesguy would probably get fired from Magnolia in an instant because he dosen't pressure customers! They've also got a Linn Sondek turntable :drool: with the Naim Aro unipivot tonearm...

Speaking of Naim, they've got tons of it. Even the headphone amp...
 
Jun 11, 2002 at 6:27 PM Post #62 of 107
Another really good local dealer is Audio Connection at 5621 University Way NE, just north of the U-district. The owner/only employee is an odd bearded ex-hippie who won't agree to sell you anything unless you bring some of your favorite CDs to audition. He carries NAD, Creek, and a large selection of tube gear (more weird tube gear than I'd ever imagined possible).
 
Jun 11, 2002 at 11:50 PM Post #63 of 107
Don't bother looking locally. Magnolia hi-fi has the best selection of headphones to be found, and besides the fact that they still don't have much you have apparently discovered their wonderful customer service as well. There are a lot of high-end audio shops around the U district but none of them have more than a trivial headphone display. Just order from Jan and do your shopping based on the reviews here. You can always order from headroom too, to be able to actually audition some of the equipment with an option to return it if it doesn't work well for you.
 
Jun 11, 2002 at 11:53 PM Post #64 of 107
Quote:

Originally posted by eric343
Whoa! lotsa fellow Seattle headphiles are coming out of the woodwork
smily_headphones1.gif
(You guys are all coming to the WoH tour, right? Good.)

My current favorite local dealer is Hawthorne Stereo, which is a totally cool little shop that's packed to the ceiling with stuff. They even have the MG Head (both OTL and not) and a used Supreme... Not to mention some AKGs.
Speaking of Naim, they've got tons of it. Even the headphone amp...


Hey...that's pretty neat. I think I'm going to have to tote my Etys down there one of these days and have a look.

My previous post applies only to headphones and headphone amps, of course - there just isn't much selection to be tried locally. You have all kinds of options for source components...if you've got enough dough anyway.
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Jun 12, 2002 at 1:57 AM Post #65 of 107
Just got mine in from B and H the other day, and it is head and shoulders above my 4 year old Sony PCDP. But I have a question. Will the Outlaw Cable PCA fit in the rca outs? The Outlaws seem to have big conenctors, and the sony's look close together to me. Can someone give me an idea? Thanks a bunch.

Oscar
 
Jun 12, 2002 at 11:10 AM Post #66 of 107
Quote:

Originally posted by TB1
Based on the positive comments on the ns500v, i picked one up about 6 weeks ago as a crutchfield scratch and dent (unit looks like new to me) as I was curious to hear some of the multichannel SACDs I have. I also was looking for a back up DVD player. My current rig has a 333ES SACD hooked up to a Full Nelson Link DAC for redbook. Anyway fresh out of the box the little 6 pound Sony sounded less than impressive. SACDs fared somewhat better than redbook but the bass was nowhere to be found and the soundstage was fairly small and firmly anchored to each speaker. Hoping burn-in would help (the 333ES changed quite a bit over several months of use) I let it play several hours a day for several weeks (about a month) then put it back into the main rig. It is a different beast now after the burn in. The sound is full and rich with both SACD and redbook. Soundstage is wide and deep - very liquid and lush. The little guy really gives the 333ES/Full Nelson a run for the money. The 500V gives up a smidge in the detail department but it is so smooth and easy to listen to. There seems to be some confusion over the 2CH/Multi layer swithing...it can be done with the remote using the 2ch/mulit button if you stop the disk first (may hae to hit stop twice if the playback resume function is on)..no video monitor is needed. It's off the scale in terms of value....a nice little player for sure!


hmm i've bought a 333es though not received it yet... $375... unfortunately the 500v doesnt have a headphone jack and volume control.. maybe i should have got a headphone amp for my lower end cans... argh...
 
Jun 13, 2002 at 3:23 PM Post #67 of 107
I have a large mucic collection that inevitably includes a lot of scratched CDs.I keep these in a "junkpile" that I don't play anymore.I tried some of these Cds in the Sony and they played great.some are too far gone and will have to be junked .this is the only player that I have tried that will play any of these damaged Cds.
 
Jun 14, 2002 at 2:17 AM Post #68 of 107
Wow, just happend that I am looking for a good source for my HP setup! Thanks for the recommendation. However, I will run down to the audio store for an audition tonight on a SONY DVP-NS500P instead of the SONY DVP-NS500V. Does anyone know if there is any difference between these 2 models? My wild guess is that the "P" stands for Progress Scan model, and the P model that is available in Hong Kong comes with a silver face panel. I used to own SONY players before and the construction is really cheap and flimsy, build quality is nothing to write home about either. I am not really a supportor of SACD because there are really too few software in the market but having any extra SACD seems to be nice. I guess. Can someone please kindly let me know if there is a online manual for this DVDP?
 
Jun 14, 2002 at 2:33 AM Post #69 of 107
Quote:

Originally posted by grancasa
Just got mine in from B and H the other day, and it is head and shoulders above my 4 year old Sony PCDP. But I have a question. Will the Outlaw Cable PCA fit in the rca outs? The Outlaws seem to have big conenctors, and the sony's look close together to me. Can someone give me an idea? Thanks a bunch.

Oscar


Yes, they will. I bought the Sony yesterday (initial impressions: it sounds really good--somewhat recessed but natural) and the Outlaw cable fits fine.
 
Jun 14, 2002 at 5:23 AM Post #70 of 107
TubeRoller,
I put a huge scratch in my Rickie Lee Jones CD. It would not play at all.
I got out my handy dremel, inserted a cotton buffer wheel (~1"), loaded up the wheel with plastic polishing compound (I got it at the Good Guys swap meet, it is the white one) and buffed the scratch away. I was amazed, the CD played perfectly. This was my first try. My son said he could get the cd fixed for $3-$4, yet I only paid $5for the CD originally.
Give it a try on some of your old favorites. I could mail you a small piece of the compound or send me a cd that will not play and I will try to buff it out for you (nc of course).
Clay

PS: Does the SACD sound a lot better than CD and DVD music videos? If so I will order the Sony...
 
Jun 14, 2002 at 12:42 PM Post #71 of 107
Been down to the local audio shops here. None of them have SONY DVP-NS500P nor SONY DVP-NS500V. I was told that the 500P is out of stock and 500V is a US model which is not available in Hong Kong. The closest thing that they have is the SONY DVP-NS700V. How does it differnt to the 500V and has anyone ever heard it?
 
Jun 14, 2002 at 1:01 PM Post #72 of 107
Quote:

Originally posted by katsudon1
Been down to the local audio shops here. None of them have SONY DVP-NS500P nor SONY DVP-NS500V. I was told that the 500P is out of stock and 500V is a US model which is not available in Hong Kong. The closest thing that they have is the SONY DVP-NS700V. How does it differnt to the 500V and has anyone ever heard it?


It is amazing that I was just looking into this very thing.It seems that the overseas model of the DVP-NS500v is indeed the NS700V.It has a silver finish but the internals are the same.It was reviewed very favorably in the latest issue of What HIFI.
 
Jun 14, 2002 at 1:26 PM Post #73 of 107
Tuberoller,

Are you sure that US DVP-NS500v is the NS700V in Hong Kong? The enclosure look idential but those NS700V that I saw today are all gold in color. And they all carry a USD 270 price tag (discounted). So it is something else or what? I also noticed that there is a model DVP-NS300v which is silver and priced at around USD200.

Damn! You guys sure have good deals out there in the US!
confused.gif
 
Jun 14, 2002 at 1:32 PM Post #74 of 107
Quote:

Originally posted by katsudon1
Tuberoller,

Are you sure that US DVP-NS500v is the NS700V in Hong Kong? The enclosure look idential but those NS700V that I saw today are all gold in color. And they all carry a USD 270 price tag (discounted). So it is something else or what? I also noticed that there is a model DVP-NS300v which is silver and priced at around USD200.

Damn! You guys sure have good deals out there in the US!
confused.gif


I'm sorry dude,I'm just going by the article in this mag What HiFi.In it the NS700V is shown as silver and the circuit description sounds identical to the NS500V.It also looks identical except for the color.I don't mean to confuse you.The review also mentions some of the very same things I love about this player(low level detail,awesome bass,sweet vocals,magical midrange).I don't think you could go wrong with it.
 
Jun 14, 2002 at 1:48 PM Post #75 of 107
I believe in you that the sound should be similiar or even better than the CA D500SE, which is on top of my watch list. And that is the reason why I am running down to hifi stores for an audition.

Of course I am very confused because not only the DVP-NS500 and NS700V in Hong Kong? The enclosure look the same, even their little brother DVP-NS300v also has the same face panel but this time the S300v. So........um......what can I do? Does anyone know of any online store where they ship overseas?

BTW, Tuberoller is the sound neutral & analytical? That's what I like in my CDP.
 

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