[AmanGeorge]

I just like the simplicity of the rig - no expensive source, amplifier or headphones to get in the way of the signal path

 

[midoo1990]

Quote:

Am I the only one that feels this is a really selfish situation?
Not to be a downer, I dunno about your old folks (maybe 2k is just peanuts for them), but the last thing I would do is take such a significant amount of cash from them, so I could buy toys with the cash myself, I would never accept it even if they offered it.
Especially since it seems to be the result of her trying to coax you into taming whatever spending problem you have with this hobby.
 
Do yourself and your grandma a favour, and decline the offer and tell her to get a nice chair or something, instead of giving it to you so you can piss it away on fancy cables.
Probably not what you want to hear though.

This.also this thread is really pointless.9 months from now a plethora of headphones will be launched and you never know what will happen.
also this is your final year at university,if i were you i would drop this whole idea until you finish.dreaming of your new 9 month from now rig will be a distraction for you the whole year.
 
just my 2 cents.
 

 

[XXII]

Actually, unlike many after market cables, you couldn't replicate the geometry of Cardas cables without special machinery. Whether this constitutes a "magic potion" I don't know, but the point is you can't DIY a Cardas Golden reference or Cardas Clear.
Quote:

I also have to address the elephant in the room: you're spending a pretty crazy amount on cables for a system with that budget.  In the next 9 months, do yourself a favor and do some real tests to see if you can truly hear the difference between the cables you think are great and suck.  If you are still convinced that they make a night and day difference in your rig, I'd second the advice of learning how to solder and make your own cables.  Cardas doesn't have some kind of magic potion to make their cables sound better than anything else; in fact you could use raw Cardas materials and DIY for a fraction of the price.  Your solder doesn't work any less than theirs despite what prices may lead you to believe.  
 
With your budget, I would spend about nothing on cables and get a used Stax O2/717 system and be done with it.  It is one of the best rigs you can have at any price IMO.  Heck, you could probably improve that for less...get a used Stax O2 and build (or have somebody build you) the upcoming KGSSHV.  
 
Other options I'd look at are LCD2, Stax Sigmas, and Stax Lambdas.  With your budget you can end up anywhere between mid fi and well into the high end depending on what you decide.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Actually, unlike many after market cables, you couldn't replicate the geometry of Cardas cables without special machinery. Whether this constitutes a "magic potion" I don't know, but the point is you can't DIY a Cardas Golden reference or Cardas Clear.

Sure you can do it. The Cardas "magic potion" is the irrational number Phi, or 1.618. Also commonly known as the Golden Ratio, it's nothing proprietary. The ancient Greeks knew about it.

Phi is really useful for proportioning architecture and furniture. I'm not sure how it applies to electronics, but it makes for delicious ad copy. Knowledge of the ancients is applied to cables, making everything better. That's why Cardas uses the nautilus logo - the shell is laid out by the Golden Ratio. As is pretty much everything else in nature. Measure your hand and you'll find it.

Just use the ratio of 1:1.618 to wrap cables around each other and you'll be doing the same thing Cardas does.

Again, I'm not sure how this applies to electricity. But if you ever design an amplifier case from scratch, be sure its proportions follow the Golden Ratio. It may or may not "improve" the sound, but it will look terrific.

 

[XXII]

You must be one hell of a DIYer if you can put this together by hand:


Quote:

Sure you can do it. The Cardas "magic potion" is the irrational number Phi, or 1.618. Also commonly known as the Golden Ratio, it's nothing proprietary. The ancient Greeks knew about it.

Phi is really useful for proportioning architecture and furniture. I'm not sure how it applies to electronics, but it makes for delicious ad copy. Knowledge of the ancients is applied to cables, making everything better. That's why Cardas uses the nautilus logo - the shell is laid out by the Golden Ratio. As is pretty much everything else in nature. Measure your hand and you'll find it.

Just use the ratio of 1:1.618 to wrap cables around each other and you'll be doing the same thing Cardas does.

Again, I'm not sure how this applies to electricity. But if you ever design an amplifier case from scratch, be sure its proportions follow the Golden Ratio. It may or may not "improve" the sound, but it will look terrific.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I probably could and so could others. Lay out wires of the appropriate gauge flat on a roll of dielectric. Then roll them up.

I still don't understand how a particular spiral changes anything. I agree that it makes for appealing ad copy, but this is pretty easy to replicate.

 

[limpidglitch]

I actually have made something similar, except it was only two layers thick and made from thin enameled wires, not solid core copper.
It wasn't too hard, and if I had more wire to use I could have easily added several additional layers.
 
Edit:
 
Just made a little something to prove my point.
 

 

[kboe]

Well, today the Meier Opera comes, (no I didn't buy it, but rather traded it with a fellow HeadFi'er).  After living with it for a while, I'll know if I'm still a Meier fan boy.  I always did love the Meier sound, but I've never lived with one for a long time so who knows.  I've also recently enjoyed the crossfeed out of my HeadRoom BitHead amp, something I usually don't, so the Meiers being more pronounced will be something new to try as well.  ALMOST 8 months... Horay!

 

[kboe]

As to making my own cables, I actually don't hove the tools, knowledge, or any of that to even begin to think about it.  Besides, I not up for a cable jousting match.  I would however love to hear suggestions on what gear people have stayed with for the long run, or what sources or headphones tend to have great synergy.

 

[kboe]

Just a side note...

As I am writing this, I am listening to my DT900s through my HeadRoom Bithead with an iPod as source, enjoying the season Four soundtrack to Battlestar Galactica and am loving every minute of it. Just... Plain... Awesome!!!

 

[kboe]

The new and improved isabillina hpa. I am surprise it wasnt on your rader.

Hmmmm? I recently found out that this can drive headphones and, AND output a fixed signal to my "new" Meier Opera. Allowing myself and a friend to listen to the same music but though different rigs, only sharing the same source. Plus, this idea fits well into the new equipment rack my father and I are designing. This would also make the anti cable believers happy, the best cable is no cable right? No power cable and no interconnect, only a digital cable, and Ive already got a nice optical cable. It also let's me go back to a "off the grid" rig, which I have had success with before.

 

[kboe]

OK Everyone,
 
I just updated a possible rig.  (Check out the first post on the first page)  This one goes balanced for about $3000.00.  Buttttttttt..... as yall have seen, this is far from final.  So any ideas for changes for the better in a balanced rig.  Is there another balanced source for around 500.00 that I should look into to compete with the Streamer Pro?  Any balanced amp known to have awesome synergy with Beyers that I should look into?
 
 
Only 7 more months to go.
 
(I honestly don't know what I'm more excited about, graduation, or this rig!!!)

 

[mrarroyo]

I hope you have had long sessions with the HD990. I used to own it and it soon was sold since I found it to not have a balance frequency presentation. For me, way too much top and bottom w/ very little in the middle.

 

[kboe]

Thats what's so interesting to me.  I've read reviews of the sound sig of the Beyer cans and I guess my ears are just so different than most.  What I hear is a perfect balance across the board.  In the end I find Senns just blah, ATs a little dark, Denons to thumpy, and Grados just seem to have a "smaller" sound, (smallish driver?).   These Beyers in my opinion are quite ugly in looks, but sound like gold.  The longer I listen (per listening session) the more I like them.  They stage in what is my opinion a good compromise between up front and exciting and broad enough for classical.  Comfort is top notch, though not at first.  Time will tell though, for now I'm loving the experience, even over my Total Bithead. 

 

[violinvirtuoso]

Quote:

Thats what's so interesting to me.  I've read reviews of the sound sig of the Beyer cans and I guess my ears are just so different than most.  What I hear is a perfect balance across the board.  In the end I find Senns just blah, ATs a little dark, Denons to thumpy, and Grados just seem to have a "smaller" sound, (smallish driver?).   These Beyers in my opinion are quite ugly in looks, but sound like gold.  The longer I listen (per listening session) the more I like them.  They stage in what is my opinion a good compromise between up front and exciting and broad enough for classical.  Comfort is top notch, though not at first.  Time will tell though, for now I'm loving the experience, even over my Total Bithead. 

So why not try a Beyerdynamic T1 or T5? Or were you talking about either of those headphones?