[becomethemould]

i wouldn't sell them, keep them for future use

why dont you just listen to cd quality stuff and then enjoy the benefits of good sounding music?

you are from ocau right? bought the cans off that guy who was doing a group buy right? i dunno about headphones that sound alright with mp3 as i rarely listen to them now.. but why not try the koss 35? Buddha is doing a group buy of them for around 70? but they are clip ons not actual ones that go over your head..

 

[Memph]

Yes. I am from OCAU. But no. i didnt get these from a groupie. I bought them myself...
I dont listen to any CDs as in the past i havent needed to
I have like 2500 songs on my computer that i would like to listen to

Surely if i got an amp it would sound ok?
Mabe not like state of the art HiFi but geez. Thats not what i am after...

You see my point?

And duncan. What is your soucre? You say you listen to music from your computer... Is that from CD or Mp3?

Thanks people

 

[taoster]

yeah it'd still sound okay. all we are trying to point out is that there is a really difference between 128bit and cd quality.

i got an xitel which sounds okay for ~Aus$100.. (http://www.xitel.com/) you may want to have a look into that too. (http://www.minidiscaccessories.com/xitelHiFiLinks.html)
oh yeah, i went with the xitel cos i didnt have a sound card. only an onbaord MB sound.


go with the meta42 amp, i think it'd still be well worth it.

 

[becomethemould]

hey Memph sorry if i offended you.. just like what toaster said, there's a difference between 128 mp3 and cd quality..

im not into hifi too, i just go a decent source earlier this month..

but yeah, you could buy all the stuff now like an amp and stuff, and then gradually buy a decent source... but with the the equipment you are gonna get.. that wait wont be long

 

[Memph]

Quote:

Originally posted by taoster yeah it'd still sound okay. all we are trying to point out is that there is a really difference between 128bit and cd quality. i got an xitel which sounds okay for ~Aus$100.. (http://www.xitel.com/) you may want to have a look into that too. (http://www.minidiscaccessories.com/xitelHiFiLinks.html) oh yeah, i went with the xitel cos i didnt have a sound card. only an onbaord MB sound. go with the meta42 amp, i think it'd still be well worth it.

I tihnk i will still get the amp and maybe a DAC down the road. But definately the amp folr now...

The SantCruz will still be a good sound card to get wouldnt it
Cois i can get one second hand . so that will save me a bit of cash

 

[Duncan]

My Cambridge Audio S700 makes 128kbps MP3s, whilst sounding a little lifeless, more than listenable to... maybe its not ADDING anything to the quality, but its certainly NOT taking anything away, 128k MP3s on MY computer sound exactly the same (the well encoded ones anyway) as my CD-Rom playing through the IDE cable

No, I'm not saying that 128k MP3s are the saviour of humanity, and i'm not saying that 128k MP3s will magically sound better than a Wadia CD player if you put them through a DAC, but what I am saying is... that if you put them through a DAC, it would filter out the sonic nasties, and after all memph is trying to get the best sound out of the HD580s...

How many people who have been recommending the META42 actually have one????

The standard configuration is known for its extended treble presentation... heck, if it can turn my syrupy CD1700s into really fast paced all-rounders... that tells you something, and just think about all that treble energy that would be going out of the soundcard into the headphones... so that takes ME back to my original point of the CHA47... its a matter of compromise whatever way you go...

Soundcard -> DAC -> META42 -> Headphones... probably the best you can do with a PC, and the DAC, amp and 'phones can be transferred to a full sized CD player as and when

Soundcard -> META42 -> Headphones... Still listenable, don't get me wrong... but all the RFI interference will be transmitted as faithfully as the MP3 itself through the META

Soundcard -> CHA47 -> Headphones... The compromise, a cheaper... darker, some would say inferior sounding amp, I myself do not think so... simply that the EQ curve is slightly different, lending to a weightier mid-bass, richer mids and a less extended treble... if you're not going for a DAC, this will basically hide some of the RFI noise but still give you a good sound

At the end of the day, as I said earlier you cannot turn lead into gold with the META, put rubbish in... get rubbish out... to me the META is a WYSIWYG kind of amp, which is great strapped onto the end of a good quality CD system where there are no sonic nasties... but through a computer????

and, how inexpensive the CHA47 is... at the end of the day, you could use, find out that it isn't so hot with MP3s and then comfortably seek alternatives... whereas, blow all of your budget on a high spec META... only to find i'm right about the treble, and RFI... then what can you do?

just my $0.02

 

[Duncan]

Memph,

A new play on things... let your own ears decide...

regardless of the sound card, you got the headphones because they're good... now, the question is what kind of good are you after? a punchy sound with warm mids, and a rounded treble... if so, step up the CHA47... if you're a slamming bass-line, neutral mids, and a more prevelant top end, look at the META42

You said IIRC at the begining that you like Punk, IIRC that is meant to have treble energy so, maybe the META IS for you, but... having us all saying Meta, CHA, Meta, CHA is doing you no favours... you've ruled out a DAC, thats fine... you're looking at a second hand Santa Cruz, brilliant... but, its then up to you to decide what sound you're after.. only YOU can do that, and then make the order depending on what you want

 

[taoster]

Quote:

Originally posted by Duncan How many people who have been recommending the META42 actually have one????

i dont have a META42 but i do have the portacorda amp. I'd recommend a portacorda for Memph but i wont, because if i were in Memph's shoes right now id get a META42. why must i have a META42 to actually recommend it?

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally posted by taoster i dont have a META42 but i do have the portacorda amp. I'd recommend a portacorda for Memph but i wont, because if i were in Memph's shoes right now id get a META42. why must i have a META42 to actually recommend it?

Because there have only been a handful of reviews... its not (as yet) a well known amp, I do have one... hence, I can comment on its treble

Whereas, You said about the PortaCorda, Me not having one, I could only comment on hearsay about that... and that wouldn't be fair to Memph, because I could be misleading him

To put this into the correct context though taoster... you're right, it'd be a no brainer partnering a CD Player and a META, a brilliant combination (heck... look just below this text, you'll see that I have)... The only reason that I am holding back from shouting META META META is the great treble extension being partnered with MP3s..

Maybe JMT, Tangent, Eric343 or whoever can taylor the treble to be warmer??? I don't know... that could be another way around it??

 

[Memph]

See thats the thing
I am at the stage where i will trust some of you people to make the decisions for me.
You know what i can afford and you know what i want it for and you know the headphones i use so you should know the answer

Coz even with all this knowledge i still dont know what to do..

I think i have gone off the idea of a DAC as too many people have it said it would be useless in the setup i would put it in...

So at this stage. I think i will just get a META42...
Now i might have to talk to JMT as i think he will be making me one and see if he can make the treble 'warmer' as duncan just said...

It just might be that with the current circumstances thats the best i can do...

 

[Duncan]

Memph...

Good for you for getting a META, as yet another compromise, if JMT can't tame the treble (I honestly don't know if that is possible) of the META, I guess you could always use the tone controls of the PC

Be sure to let us know as and when, what you think

 

[Memph]

Will do..

Thank you all for helping/guidin/advising me on all the options and choices i have..

You have all been a great help. And i thank you again...

I will keep you updated on how things go...

 

[Poddy]

Quote:

Originally posted by Duncan My Cambridge Audio S700 makes 128kbps MP3s, whilst sounding a little lifeless, more than listenable to... maybe its not ADDING anything to the quality, but its certainly NOT taking anything away, 128k MP3s on MY computer sound exactly the same (the well encoded ones anyway) as my CD-Rom playing through the IDE cable

What styles of music are they? Obviously some genres will suffer more from compression than others. Btw musical information from a cd drive doesnt travel along the IDE path. You know the lil 4 pin plug you put in next to it. Not the molex connector but the other one which goes to your soundcard. Bingo!

Quote:

but what I am saying is... that if you put them through a DAC, it would filter out the sonic nasties, and after all memph is trying to get the best sound out of the HD580s...

By sonic nasties do you just mean the interference from the rest of the pc?

 

[Duncan]

Poddy...

The music genres are random, much of anything, although I will confess that busy / poorly encoded music seems to get a little ragged

I agree with you on the cable to a point, but it seems that there are different ways of obtaining the CD Data...

I started off a couple of months back with my CD-Rom using the analog connector, and then the digital one... nothing really changed, so with the digital cable still in place (hooked directly into my soundcard) I changed the source back to analog (the setting at least) and the music still played... I then removed the cable completely, just leaving the IDE interface, and the music was still coming through...

This might not be the case with all drives / setups, so I apologise for any confusion caused... although I do feel that it is something to do with Windows XP / Windows Media Player 8, because I know the digital (audio) cable can still be used if I press the play button on the CD-Rom itself... this then routes through the soundcard in the 'normal' manner

and, spot on... yes I do mean the pops, crackles and the like

 

[Memph]

Just to throw a spanner in the works
i have another question

Is an MG head amp good?
Would it be better than a META42

If you could get one cheaper than a META42 woudl you?
If youw ere in my position?