[Sajid Amit]

Thx for sharing your Impressions between the N7 and N8.
Luckil I made it into the review Tour and can extensively test the N7 myself.

Keep us posted

 

[rocketron]

+1 for the Just Audio amps.

 

[Sajid Amit]

Final post from Singapore before I fly home tomorrow.

Yesterday and today, I got to try a few headphones that I have either tried or even owned before, but some of them sounded much better than I remembered, case in point being the SR-X9000 from Stax and the SR1b from Raal.

So, I am no stranger to either headphone. I have owned the SR1a (only cosmetically different from the SR1b) and I have reviewed the X9000 soon after it came out.

But the chains I heard them on rendered them far more magnificent than I remember.

I heard the X9000 at the Furutech store at Adelphi, a mall in Singapore that has four floors of audio stores. I reckon it would take me a month or two or maybe three to explore this mall fully. The Furutech store is also a retail outlet of Project Perfection, a reputable store in Singapore.

The chain was as follows.

Roon Nucleus >
Keces P8 Power Supply >
Meitner MA3 DAC >
KSL-M7 (a $30,000 tube pre-amp) >
Stax SRM-T8000 >
Stax SR-X9000

The extremely expensive tube pre-amp happened to be there because it was part of a HiFi / two-channel setup so when the guys there suggested I take advantage of it, I did not hesitate!

The pre-amp served as the central command center of this chain, enabling a wonderfully holographic and layered presentation while adding a sweetness and gentleness to the treble. Meanwhile, the Meitner DAC has a noticeably rounded and deeper bass presentation.

The result was that the X9000 sounded bassier, punchier and larger than I remember. It was as revealing as I remember but just more fun yet natural, on this chain. And I am all about natural and fun much more than “reference” or “neutral”.

The guys at Furutech also voluntarily swapped out the pre-amp to allow me to hear the X9000 directly from the Meitner to the T8000. Whilst the bass punch was still there, a lot of the stage depth, layering, treble sweetness, and spatial information was lost. Was it a $30,000 difference? Of course, not.

But the chain does make me think that the X9000 when drive off an insane chain is probably as enjoyable to me as a Susvara or a TC. I enjoyed rock and metal on it. Meanwhile, vocals and acoustic were just amazing.

I am aware that the T2 or the 3ES are even better amps than the T8000 and I have heard the X9000 on the 3ES but there was something special about the Kondo Meiner T8000 combo, honestly.

Fast forward to today.

We had a small meetup of friends who know each other from the Susvara thread on HeadFi, namely @Roasty and @innocentblood. I have known Roasty for ~3 years now and have always connected with his tastes.

Roasty hosted us so we could try out his very carefully matched systems for the SR1b, TC, Utopia, Caldera and the Solitare P.

Photos below of @Roasty’s system(s).

Sexy systems all around.

I enjoyed them all but noteworthy was how the Meitner MA3 > VM1a tubeamp made the SR1b a rather complete genre-neutral headphone. The upper mids and lower treble were tamed, bass felt better extended and certainly punchier, whilst retaining the SR1b’s famed staging, imaging and resolution. The VM1a is certainly a special (not so) little amp.

I also really enjoyed the Utopia 2022 of the Wavedream > Woo Audio WA33. Roasty has some nice aftermarket tubes including the Elrog.

Both he and I share a particular fondness for the Utopia for the fact that when driven with the right chain to the right level of synergy, the Utopia is neither metallic in the treble, nor sharp, and not lacking in bass. On Roasty’s setup, the Utopia was just a masterclass all-rounder regardless of what music I threw at it: from Norah Jones to Metallica.

I also loved how the PrimaLunas colored the midrange of Roasty’s TC and overall enjoyed the Solitaire P despite its ridiculously small headband.

You can’t tell from the above photo but there is a substantial air gap between my scalp and the headband!

In any case, it was wonderful to end a very eventful trip in the company of friends, in the privacy and quiet of a home, and a lovely one at that. @innocentblood also enjoyed the Raal headphones off the VM1a.

Thanks @Roasty for the hospitality. It was great to hang out. Also great to see you @innocentblood.

Hope to see more of you next year at Canjam Singapore.

 

[drftr]

Butcher Block Acoustics? Really???

drftr

 

[Roasty]

Butcher Block Acoustics? Really???

drftr

i like them so much, I have 4 of them! lol..

 

[Mattyjm]

Final post from Singapore before I fly home tomorrow.

Yesterday and today, I got to try a few headphones that I have either tried or even owned before, but some of them sounded much better than I remembered, case in point being the SR-X9000 from Stax and the SR1b from Raal.





So, I am no stranger to either headphone. I have owned the SR1a (only cosmetically different from the SR1b) and I have reviewed the X9000 soon after it came out.

But the chains I heard them on rendered them far more magnificent than I remember.

I heard the X9000 at the Furutech store at Adelphi, a mall in Singapore that has four floors of audio stores. I reckon it would take me a month or two or maybe three to explore this mall fully. The Furutech store is also a retail outlet of Project Perfection, a reputable store in Singapore.

The chain was as follows.

Roon Nucleus >
Keces P8 Power Supply >
Meitner MA3 DAC >
KSL-M7 (a $30,000 tube pre-amp) >
Stax SRM-T8000 >
Stax SR-X9000

The extremely expensive tube pre-amp happened to be there because it was part of a HiFi / two-channel setup so when the guys there suggested I take advantage of it, I did not hesitate!



The pre-amp served as the central command center of this chain, enabling a wonderfully holographic and layered presentation while adding a sweetness and gentleness to the treble. Meanwhile, the Meitner DAC has a noticeably rounded and deeper bass presentation.

The result was that the X9000 sounded bassier, punchier and larger than I remember. It was as revealing as I remember but just more fun yet natural, on this chain. And I am all about natural and fun much more than “reference” or “neutral”.

The guys at Furutech also voluntarily swapped out the pre-amp to allow me to hear the X9000 directly from the Meitner to the T8000. Whilst the bass punch was still there, a lot of the stage depth, layering, treble sweetness, and spatial information was lost. Was it a $30,000 difference? Of course, not.

But the chain does make me think that the X9000 when drive off an insane chain is probably as enjoyable to me as a Susvara or a TC. I enjoyed rock and metal on it. Meanwhile, vocals and acoustic were just amazing.

I am aware that the T2 or the 3ES are even better amps than the T8000 and I have heard the X9000 on the 3ES but there was something special about the Kondo Meiner T8000 combo, honestly.



Fast forward to today.

We had a small meetup of friends who know each other from the Susvara thread on HeadFi, namely @Roasty and @innocentblood. I have known Roasty for ~3 years now and have always connected with his tastes.

Roasty hosted us so we could try out his very carefully matched systems for the SR1b, TC, Utopia, Caldera and the Solitare P.

Photos below of @Roasty’s system(s).














Sexy systems all around.

I enjoyed them all but noteworthy was how the Rockna Wavedream > VM1a tubeamp made the SR1b a rather complete genre-neutral headphone. The upper mids and lower treble were tamed, bass felt better extended and certainly punchier, whilst retaining the SR1b’s famed staging, imaging and resolution. The VM1a is certainly a special (not so) little amp.

I also really enjoyed the Utopia 2022 of the Wavedream > Woo Audio WA33. Roasty has some nice aftermarket tubes including the Elrog.



Both he and I share a particular fondness for the Utopia for the fact that when driven with the right chain to the right level of synergy, the Utopia is neither metallic in the treble, nor sharp, and not lacking in bass. On Roasty’s setup, the Utopia was just a masterclass all-rounder regardless of what music I threw at it: from Norah Jones to Metallica.

I also loved how the PrimaLunas colored the midrange of Roasty’s TC and overall enjoyed the Solitaire P despite its ridiculously small headband.



You can’t tell from the above photo but there is a substantial air gap between my scalp and the headband!

In any case, it was wonderful to end a very eventful trip in the company of friends, in the privacy and quiet of a home, and a lovely one at that. @innocentblood also enjoyed the Raal headphones off the VM1a.



Thanks @Roasty for the hospitality. It was great to hang out. Also great to see you @innocentblood.



Hope to see more of you next year at Canjam Singapore.

That looked like a great time; hope to see you soon!

 

[Qna89]

Final post from Singapore before I fly home tomorrow.

Yesterday and today, I got to try a few headphones that I have either tried or even owned before, but some of them sounded much better than I remembered, case in point being the SR-X9000 from Stax and the SR1b from Raal.





So, I am no stranger to either headphone. I have owned the SR1a (only cosmetically different from the SR1b) and I have reviewed the X9000 soon after it came out.

But the chains I heard them on rendered them far more magnificent than I remember.

I heard the X9000 at the Furutech store at Adelphi, a mall in Singapore that has four floors of audio stores. I reckon it would take me a month or two or maybe three to explore this mall fully. The Furutech store is also a retail outlet of Project Perfection, a reputable store in Singapore.

The chain was as follows.

Roon Nucleus >
Keces P8 Power Supply >
Meitner MA3 DAC >
KSL-M7 (a $30,000 tube pre-amp) >
Stax SRM-T8000 >
Stax SR-X9000

The extremely expensive tube pre-amp happened to be there because it was part of a HiFi / two-channel setup so when the guys there suggested I take advantage of it, I did not hesitate!



The pre-amp served as the central command center of this chain, enabling a wonderfully holographic and layered presentation while adding a sweetness and gentleness to the treble. Meanwhile, the Meitner DAC has a noticeably rounded and deeper bass presentation.

The result was that the X9000 sounded bassier, punchier and larger than I remember. It was as revealing as I remember but just more fun yet natural, on this chain. And I am all about natural and fun much more than “reference” or “neutral”.

The guys at Furutech also voluntarily swapped out the pre-amp to allow me to hear the X9000 directly from the Meitner to the T8000. Whilst the bass punch was still there, a lot of the stage depth, layering, treble sweetness, and spatial information was lost. Was it a $30,000 difference? Of course, not.

But the chain does make me think that the X9000 when drive off an insane chain is probably as enjoyable to me as a Susvara or a TC. I enjoyed rock and metal on it. Meanwhile, vocals and acoustic were just amazing.

I am aware that the T2 or the 3ES are even better amps than the T8000 and I have heard the X9000 on the 3ES but there was something special about the Kondo Meiner T8000 combo, honestly.



Fast forward to today.

We had a small meetup of friends who know each other from the Susvara thread on HeadFi, namely @Roasty and @innocentblood. I have known Roasty for ~3 years now and have always connected with his tastes.

Roasty hosted us so we could try out his very carefully matched systems for the SR1b, TC, Utopia, Caldera and the Solitare P.

Photos below of @Roasty’s system(s).














Sexy systems all around.

I enjoyed them all but noteworthy was how the Meitner MA3 > VM1a tubeamp made the SR1b a rather complete genre-neutral headphone. The upper mids and lower treble were tamed, bass felt better extended and certainly punchier, whilst retaining the SR1b’s famed staging, imaging and resolution. The VM1a is certainly a special (not so) little amp.

I also really enjoyed the Utopia 2022 of the Wavedream > Woo Audio WA33. Roasty has some nice aftermarket tubes including the Elrog.



Both he and I share a particular fondness for the Utopia for the fact that when driven with the right chain to the right level of synergy, the Utopia is neither metallic in the treble, nor sharp, and not lacking in bass. On Roasty’s setup, the Utopia was just a masterclass all-rounder regardless of what music I threw at it: from Norah Jones to Metallica.

I also loved how the PrimaLunas colored the midrange of Roasty’s TC and overall enjoyed the Solitaire P despite its ridiculously small headband.



You can’t tell from the above photo but there is a substantial air gap between my scalp and the headband!

In any case, it was wonderful to end a very eventful trip in the company of friends, in the privacy and quiet of a home, and a lovely one at that. @innocentblood also enjoyed the Raal headphones off the VM1a.



Thanks @Roasty for the hospitality. It was great to hang out. Also great to see you @innocentblood.



Hope to see more of you next year at Canjam Singapore.

Solitaire P worth the price in Your opinion? Is that headband a real pain in the… back? Is it so uncomfortable?

 

[daveoo]

Good to hear that the N7 delivers close to flagship performance at Half the price.

IMHO one can add an external amp to the $2000 N7 and still keep the cost under many flagship DAPs. I think the result would compete with standalone flagship DAPs and be more economical.

N7 with the Just Audio amp has more resolution and coherence than my SP3000 with no external amp. There are other sound characteristics to consider of course if moving from principle to implementation.

Yes the N7 with the amp becomes mostly just transportable and many people spend more for the portability factor. I use my Hiby R6 III when I’m on the move.

So, I am happy with the sound quality to cost ratio with the added amp. This probably applies to other mid-priced DAPs. The N7 is quite good by itself. This all may be underwhelming to most people.

But reviewers will probably evaluate and compare the 1bit DSD Dac of the N7 to other DAPs by using one well known neutral external amp for all the DAPs compared. This would be more informative than practical/applicable but may tell us more about the new 1bit architecture.

Back to Singapore, was Shanling present with their H7 dac/amp? I would be more interested in the amp section for further fun.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Thx for sharing your Impressions between the N7 and N8.
Luckil I made it into the review Tour and can extensively test the N7 myself.

RS8, you really need to try the Hiby if N8ii is in your list.

N7, it's a clear sounding dap, with smooth fluid treble, and overall balance presentation through all spectrum. Solid DAP for the price (with nice size and weight), but still lack the very last bit of resolution compared to something like SP3000 or RS8 (albeit more cost, size, and weight).

Final post from Singapore before I fly home tomorrow.

Yesterday and today, I got to try a few headphones that I have either tried or even owned before, but some of them sounded much better than I remembered, case in point being the SR-X9000 from Stax and the SR1b from Raal.





So, I am no stranger to either headphone. I have owned the SR1a (only cosmetically different from the SR1b) and I have reviewed the X9000 soon after it came out.

But the chains I heard them on rendered them far more magnificent than I remember.

I heard the X9000 at the Furutech store at Adelphi, a mall in Singapore that has four floors of audio stores. I reckon it would take me a month or two or maybe three to explore this mall fully. The Furutech store is also a retail outlet of Project Perfection, a reputable store in Singapore.

The chain was as follows.

Roon Nucleus >
Keces P8 Power Supply >
Meitner MA3 DAC >
KSL-M7 (a $30,000 tube pre-amp) >
Stax SRM-T8000 >
Stax SR-X9000

The extremely expensive tube pre-amp happened to be there because it was part of a HiFi / two-channel setup so when the guys there suggested I take advantage of it, I did not hesitate!



The pre-amp served as the central command center of this chain, enabling a wonderfully holographic and layered presentation while adding a sweetness and gentleness to the treble. Meanwhile, the Meitner DAC has a noticeably rounded and deeper bass presentation.

The result was that the X9000 sounded bassier, punchier and larger than I remember. It was as revealing as I remember but just more fun yet natural, on this chain. And I am all about natural and fun much more than “reference” or “neutral”.

The guys at Furutech also voluntarily swapped out the pre-amp to allow me to hear the X9000 directly from the Meitner to the T8000. Whilst the bass punch was still there, a lot of the stage depth, layering, treble sweetness, and spatial information was lost. Was it a $30,000 difference? Of course, not.

But the chain does make me think that the X9000 when drive off an insane chain is probably as enjoyable to me as a Susvara or a TC. I enjoyed rock and metal on it. Meanwhile, vocals and acoustic were just amazing.

I am aware that the T2 or the 3ES are even better amps than the T8000 and I have heard the X9000 on the 3ES but there was something special about the Kondo Meiner T8000 combo, honestly.



Fast forward to today.

We had a small meetup of friends who know each other from the Susvara thread on HeadFi, namely @Roasty and @innocentblood. I have known Roasty for ~3 years now and have always connected with his tastes.

Roasty hosted us so we could try out his very carefully matched systems for the SR1b, TC, Utopia, Caldera and the Solitare P.

Photos below of @Roasty’s system(s).














Sexy systems all around.

I enjoyed them all but noteworthy was how the Meitner MA3 > VM1a tubeamp made the SR1b a rather complete genre-neutral headphone. The upper mids and lower treble were tamed, bass felt better extended and certainly punchier, whilst retaining the SR1b’s famed staging, imaging and resolution. The VM1a is certainly a special (not so) little amp.

I also really enjoyed the Utopia 2022 of the Wavedream > Woo Audio WA33. Roasty has some nice aftermarket tubes including the Elrog.



Both he and I share a particular fondness for the Utopia for the fact that when driven with the right chain to the right level of synergy, the Utopia is neither metallic in the treble, nor sharp, and not lacking in bass. On Roasty’s setup, the Utopia was just a masterclass all-rounder regardless of what music I threw at it: from Norah Jones to Metallica.

I also loved how the PrimaLunas colored the midrange of Roasty’s TC and overall enjoyed the Solitaire P despite its ridiculously small headband.



You can’t tell from the above photo but there is a substantial air gap between my scalp and the headband!

In any case, it was wonderful to end a very eventful trip in the company of friends, in the privacy and quiet of a home, and a lovely one at that. @innocentblood also enjoyed the Raal headphones off the VM1a.



Thanks @Roasty for the hospitality. It was great to hang out. Also great to see you @innocentblood.



Hope to see more of you next year at Canjam Singapore.

Really nice write up!

 

[chesebert]

Is there a Singapore food impression thread? I need recommendations

 

[Sajid Amit]

RS8, you really need to try the Hiby if N8ii is in your list.

N7, it's a clear sounding dap, with smooth fluid treble, and overall balance presentation through all spectrum. Solid DAP for the price (with nice size and weight), but still lack the very last bit of resolution compared to something like SP3000 or RS8 (albeit more cost, size, and weight).



Really nice write up!

Thanks, buddy, and agree with your impressions re: the N7. Solid DAP for the price.

Solitaire P worth the price in Your opinion? Is that headband a real pain in the… back? Is it so uncomfortable?

The sound is surprisingly good bro when driven well.

Does everything well.

Bass is pretty fantastic.

Midrange is natural.

Treble is pretty refined and sweet.

I was trying it on the Rockna Wavedream and PrimaLuna tube amp though so the chain I am sure played a part in elevating the SQ.

But the headband was too small and quite uncomfortable for me.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Is there a Singapore food impression thread? I need recommendations

It's very hard to go wrong with local food in Singapore. Anything you're looking for specifically?

 

[samuraix920]

RS8, you really need to try the Hiby if N8ii is in your list.

N7, it's a clear sounding dap, with smooth fluid treble, and overall balance presentation through all spectrum. Solid DAP for the price (with nice size and weight), but still lack the very last bit of resolution compared to something like SP3000 or RS8 (albeit more cost, size, and weight).



Really nice write up!

Hmmm, The RS8 does sound nice but coming off the RS6 it didnt give me the wow factor that i would plonk down the money to upgrade. At that price point i would prefer the original N8. There is just something magical about the original N8 sound, the only sad thing is it isnt android base.

From RS6 to RS8 i would rather spend additional money on the 475 from mass kobo

 

[Sajid Amit]

It's very hard to go wrong with local food in Singapore. Anything you're looking for specifically?

Foods Pics: Singapore Style

Kaya toast w/ white bread

Delectable Singa coffee (with condensed milk)

The venerable chicken rice la.

Kaya toast w/ thin slices and brown bread. My fave.

Parantha with butter chicken (Indian dish but has a Singaporean touch to the parantha)

Grilled Stingray

Fried buns. They serve these with chilli crab.

And last but not the least, the Singaporean Chilli Crab. Had it 4 times in 7 days.

Another variety of a crab dish that @Roasty can shed more light on.

I never understood the love for kaya toast from afar until I tried it on this trip. Its lovely on its own and even better with coffee.

 

[marcusd]

Our show report is now up!

A pretty busy show with tons of brands and too much for one person to cover inside two days, I think. There were lots of reunions post-COVID also, which was very welcome.

https://headfonics.com/canjam-singapore-2023-show-report/