[Kayito-san]

I brought the 900s; I actually really liked the HF-2s... Especially on the Vinyl rig (I can't stress this enough!)

Honestly I'm still a little undecided about my Ultrasones. Sometimes they're great, but other times I feel undecided about the sanctity of my purchase. Very amp dependent-- yet I can't be bothered with getting a good amp right now, so I'm essentially missing out on the full effect of the Ultrasones (and they are VERY revealing, which is probably the cause of my indecision). That said, if you'd like to borrow them for a while (given that you probably have a much better system than I do), I could be convinced.

 

[geetarman49]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kayito-san /img/forum/go_quote.gif I brought the 900s; I actually really liked the HF-2s... Especially on the Vinyl rig (I can't stress this enough!) Honestly I'm still a little undecided about my Ultrasones. ... That said, if you'd like to borrow them for a while (given that you probably have a much better system than I do), I could be convinced.

i'd like to take u up on that offer, but i'm off to the big city culture centre out east (Mtl) for a few wks. If i don't snag a pr while i'm out there, i'll give u a shout when i get back. as far as amps go, my fav right now is my bravo (tube hybrid) which set me back a whopping $69 cdn iirc. on my loaner hfi700's, the bass on the plant/krause 'raising sand' is just phenomenal ...like being whacked on the fanny by a hooker (oops, did i just say that

honest, it wasn't me...) when using an old stock telefunken pcc88... & my audio-gd compass is just gathering dust along with my at-m50s. the point of this is that u may be surprised at how little $ it takes to get very enjoyable amplifcation. robin's new stuff will be surely better, more robust & more accurate, but for now, this keeps me plenty happy with the muzak i like. ... give it a try ... little to lose & much to gain.

as for the hf2's, i'm on the fence with mine & i don't dare crack the box for a listen...

later,
don

 

[geetarman49]

would u be interested in a trade? 900's for a mint compass with full set hdams and a set of v.v.g. vandenHul interconnects? pm me if this interests u; hell, pm me even if this doesn't interest u.

don

 

[Robin W.]

Thanks Joel and Bryan for setting up a great meet, I think the venue was perfect. It was nice to meet the newcomers, and see a lot of familiar faces. Thanks for the tubes and the disc Don, I have yet to try either but I will let you know when I do.

Thanks for all of the positive comments about the portable amp, it was great to be able to test it with such a wide variety of headphones. This was last step in the development phase to make sure it really does sound good, (and not just sound good to me) now to finish the enclosure!! Thanks dweaver and JonJeffman for car pooling, it really made the trip and the whole day much more enjoyable.

As for headphones I really enjoyed the HE-5’s and the “Left” Stax setup, those had to be one of the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever tried.

I’m looking forward to the next meet, thanks everyone.

 

[wantmyf1]

Quote:

This was last step in the development phase to make sure it really does sound good, (and not just sound good to me)

Robin, I don't think you have anything to worry about there! I'll add my voice to how much I enjoyed it and how great it was. I was going to sell my Ultrasone 2500's until geetarman49 called me over to listen to them on your amp. I was absolutely blown away! Now that I really know their potential they're not going anywhere!

 

[geetarman49]

wantmyf1: i think u should consider balancing the 2500's along with performing some/all of the mods in the 2500-modding thread. for myself, i am/was very tempted by the pro900's but fiscal reality set in & your $300 price tag is not obtainable today (closer to $400 delivered), soooo ... the next best thing... 780's at a good price ... i hope. these i will mod after the prerequisite 300 hr burn-in.

robin: i can't guarantee those particular tubes will be good in your set-up, but if u don't like them, send them back & i'll send u another pr to try instead --- which u might want to do anyway because i'm taking all my remaining tubes to be cryo'd --- just hope they don't fall apart during the process

there is something else that i would like u to try when i get back from mtl, but before i start counting chickens let me see if i can get the eggs to hatch (secret audio weapon ... 4 now

).

cheers everyone ... off to see the wizard.
don

 

[dweaver]

Well I had not responded to this thread after the meet as I was kinda down after I decided to return the MTP Gold I brought to the meet. But my how times can change...

I decided I should give more effort to use my IE8 versus taking a massive loss reselling them plus having to buy another IEM. So I looked at EQ'ing them which worked well on my PC but due to Apples crappy EQ options sucked large on my Ipod Touch. So I looked at alterantive DAP's. In the end I decided on a FUZE after reading some threads, as I liked the sound of the general signature plus it had a customizable EQ.

Well this Fuze is so far ahead of my Ipod it's not even funny. Using it flat it has taken my IE8 to a new level. The mid-bass hump has almost completely diappeared for me, the midrange veil is lifted, the treble is smooth as silk with better extension (cymbals actually sound right on the IE8 for the first time), the instrument seperation is noticeably improved, and the sound stage is considerably larger. I even tested it against my wifes E series Sony and the Sony was as bad if not slightly worse than my Ipod when set to flat.

I have played with the EQ setting but am not sure I will bother as I think my ehad will get burned in to the IE8 now. But for any who like to play with EQ's, I found the Fuze to not be great in this area but not bad if you just need to make minor adjustments. The only thing to watch for is that the volume actually lowers alot when you set your first EQ slider but after that initial drop in volume the sliders just affect the sonic signature and you simply have to adjust the volume back to where you like it.

BTW I have tried the Fuze with my RW Audio Amp1 and it plays very nicely with my amp sounding even slightly brighter and much more controlled bass. I think I now have the perfect synergy for my most expensive IEM's

.

Oh and by the way Robin, you can't have your batteries back LOL, they make a HUGE difference with the Amp1 so I'm gonna have to buy them or get you to show me how to make my own

.

Now all I need is to find a resonably price LOD for this Fuze and I am all set.

Oh one last thing, I missed FS's sale on the Fuze last week by one day but they forgot to take down a sign so they gave me the Fuze for the old sale price of $79

. I also happened to have an 8GB MicroSDHC card kicking around so that means I now have a 16GB DAP for only $80 out of pocket... With room for easy expansion. Makes the $300 price tag my poor wife had to pay for my Ipod Touch seem pretty steep... It may not look as purdy but it sure do sound purdy.

 

[Robin W.]

Hey dweaver,

half the battle in finding what truly sounds good to YOU is finding components that have great synergy, and that final sound has to match your personal taste not to mention your music preferences.

I'd like to give the IE8's a listen some time with Amp1 on battery power, based on what I heard before when we were testing with the portable the IE8's do have a nice sound signature.

Now I'm curious to hear the Fuze, I'm not sure if your Touch sounds the same as my Iphone but I really enjoy it as a portable solution. However if the Fuze actually sounds better it's a pretty killer deal for $80 bucks.

As for the battery, it's quite simple. The only thing I added was the low voltage warning light on that model. I may add a built in charger in the future, and I'm going to switch to LSD (low self discharge) NiMH cells because the current draw of Amp1 is only a few times larger than the self discharge rate of typical NiMH cells. So in other words the batteries are going to die if you use the amp or not. Using these new cells the user will get to use much more of the actual capacity of the batteries to power the amp.

I hope you enjoy your setup now, once you reach a certain level of performance the cost of improvements is so much more expensive and often only presents a different sound maybe not a better sound.

 

[dweaver]

I will have to come over and let you have a listen to this Sansa Fuze, the amount of detail this little unit has and the difference in sound from the Ipod Touch is amazing. While we're at it you can have another listen to the IE8.

As it sits right now, the Fuze has me very satisfied with my IE8, I now feel as happy with them as I do my fullsize setup using your Amp1 and my HD600. I still want to see if we can make a balanced set of cables for the IE8 so I can try your balanced portable when you release it but thats down the road a bit anyway. For now I am perfectly happy to use the Fuze unamped on the road and with the amp1 at home. The only thing I need to get now is an LOD for the fuze which looks pretty straight forward. I found a guy in the States who makes one with a 6 foot cable for a very reasonable price but I will have to get one of my US friends to buy it and ship it up to me as he does not deal outside of the US and all the other LOD makers want to charge almost as much as I paid for the Fuze itself.

 

[furyagain]

oo i really want to kick myself,
Missing a Good chance to try different thing!!!
i never thought people in alberta will have meeting like this!!!
so i never checked!!

I wish there will be another meeting in the future..!!! i will for sure join! ( i am in calgary)