[philodox]

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[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borat I'm interested in others impressions of the CIAudio VDA-1 as mine is still rather new and I wanted to see if people's impressions mirror mine. And I also happen to use HF-1's. What kind of amp is being used there with the DAC?

It is Renato's [looser101] setup, but the CIAudio DAC was brought by one of the 'Kitchener Boys'... not sure which one. The amp is the Sol Headphone Amplifier or SHA, the schematics can be found in his signature.

 

[Borat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox It is Renato's [looser101] setup, but the CIAudio DAC was brought by one of the 'Kitchener Boys'... not sure which one. The amp is the Sol Headphone Amplifier or SHA, the schematics can be found in his signature.

Thanks...Phil

I should have assumed people would be moving gear around as is customary at meets. Especially since the CIAudio gear is so small. Interesting amp, too.

 

[akwok]

Asmo's?

 

[aerius]

Heh, I think this is the first meet I've been to where I stayed sober, though from the way I was constantly losing my train of thought it sure didn't seem that way.

Also took listens to the HF-1 and Fostex T40 headphones. HF-1 didn't really interest me that much, more or less a warmer sounding 225 with better soundstage. It by no means rivals the RS-1 in terms of resolution, fun to listen to it is but I already have the 225 for that and I'm quite happy with it.

The Fostex was a curious thing. Wasn't bad but man, half the treble was gone. Kinda like a Senn 580 but without the veil and the highs were not only half gone but weird, it sounded a bit like the treble version of "one note bass". Very odd. Easy to listen to and what was there wasn't bad at all, the tone was actually pretty nice, but too much of the frequency spectrum just wasn't there.

On a sidenote, I need to get a ticking alarm clock for my amp when I bring it to meets...

 

[xand1x]

Yeah Looser101's setup was quite fun to listen to. The bass is very pronounced and I found the mids liquidy smooth, yet detailed. In terms of resolution it wasn't up to the level of say a K340, but it was still sufficient!I'm usually not used to this sound, and I now appreciate the signature that it provides. James Brown - The Payback = too amazing for words on his setup..as a result my feet did the talking instead

 

[RedLeader]

I can really only use the fostex on certain music, and it needs power to drive it. For $0, I can't really complain. And the Xenos with the battery charger is like $70US, I'll just upgrade my cmoy for that much.

 

[looser101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedLeader I can really only use the fostex on certain music, and it needs power to drive it. For $0, I can't really complain. And the Xenos with the battery charger is like $70US, I'll just upgrade my cmoy for that much.

To be fair the Xenos 0HA is only ~$50, a price that compares very well to other available portable amps, but with considerably more output power due to it's discrete output buffer. For another ~$20 you are getting an AC adapter (charger), and a high capacity (280ma) 9v battery.

Adding an output buffer and a higher current virtual ground channel to the CMOY would put you close enough the price of the 0HA to not be worth it IMHO.

Also, it is my opinion that this little amp is the price/performance leader of the available portable amplifiers. Considering it's performance I'm not entirely sure why it doesn't receive the praise I feel it deserves.

- R -

 

[Skipinder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox PS. I think you left your CD booklet here Skipinder...

Damn, it looks like you are right. I'll have to get it back from you sometime, maybe next weekend.

The meet was awesome, btw, everyone had really nice equipment. I got to hear some really nice stuff

 

[xand1x]

Anyone find an extra power bar?..I know for sure I left mine around somewhere

 

[RedLeader]

xand, you're selling your 280s to asmo, right?

 

[looser101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borat Whose setup is this? I'm interested in others impressions of the CIAudio VDA-1 as mine is still rather new and I wanted to see if people's impressions mirror mine. And I also happen to use HF-1's. What kind of amp is being used there with the DAC?

Borat,

That is indeed my humble rig. Asmo was kind enough to let us connect his VDA-1 VAC-1 combo to my Toshiba. As good as I felt the Toshiba sounded after hearing the VDA-1 it was apparent that it was indeed an improvement. The most notable difference was the VDA-1's ability to resolve detail. While the Toshiba seemed to smooth over detail, the Channel Islands DAC presented it in great quantity across the entire spectrum. A track I was listening to with a nice bass line (electric bass), was particularly impressive. The little minute details of how a string was being "plucked" were readily apparent.

Congratulations on having purchased this fine DAC and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Sol Headphone Amplifier (AKA SHA, "Mystery Amp" in the 1st Hamilton Meet) is linked in my signature. I'll defer impressions of this Amp to other Head-Fi'ers at the Meet. Personally I feel it's a great match for any Grado. As a matter of fact, during the Meet, two different Grado's were connected to it through a splitter for A/B testing and it seemed to perform just as well.

- R -

 

[xand1x]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedLeader xand, you're selling your 280s to asmo, right?

Thanks for the reminder

meant to shoot him a PM! (ASMO..YGPM)

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skipinder Damn, it looks like you are right. I'll have to get it back from you sometime, maybe next weekend.

Sounds good... you live in Hamilton right now anyways right? Quote:

Originally Posted by xand1x Anyone find an extra power bar?..I know for sure I left mine around somewhere.

I found it... we can meet up some time to exchange it if you'd like. I work at Yonge & Finch in TO... maybe we can go for a drink after work some time or something.

 

[xand1x]

Excellent, ty philodox. I will definitely take you up on that offer