ianmedium
Headphoneus Supremus
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Quote:
Thanks so much for that cooper. I will go for the longer battery life then. I must admit for a non technical person like myself you folks really help with this stuff!
Meier Audio Quickstep (also Stepdance and 2Stepdance) Discussion and Impressions Thread
- Thread starter cooperpwc
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Quote:
Thanks so much for that cooper. I will go for the longer battery life then. I must admit for a non technical person like myself you folks really help with this stuff!
Lorenz
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Hey there!
Sorry,I have been pretty busy lately and didn´t find the time to give you an update on my Stepdance impressions.But I have read every post and I think maybe I can be of a little help here and there,at least I hope so
For the power consumption matter:I would suggest to everyone to get the recharchable batteries with the highest possible mAh´s.I do not think you can hear the difference between 8.4 and 9.6 batteries.I have a PSU where I can adjust the voltage between 6 and 15V and I do not hear any difference between the two settings I have used so far (12 and 15V) ,except that 12V sounds much cleaner,but this is related to my cheap switching type PSU.By the way,thanks for the advices on PSUs and what I could do to make mine sound better.But I have to say,the PSU was great for burning in,but usually I will use this on the road so a expensive PSU is not what I am looking for.But I will modify my cheap one for a cleaner output.
Then there was this discussion if the sound signature changes during burn-in.And I can tell you:IT DOES!Interestingly the sound was screw*** amazing right out of the box,I fell in love instantly.Then the sound changed,on the extreme ends for the better,the mids were not as good as in the beginning.I think the signature changes most between 20 and 100 hours of burn-in.After that the changes are only very small.But now,I think there are about 300 hours of burn-in on mine,the sound has settled I guess.And what can I say:It is incredible!And for those of you who have read my previous posts,I still don´t like my Shures as much as before.They are sounding better then without the Stepdance,but I really am into full-size cans now.I think the only problem so far was that I didn´t have the source to drive them adequatly.The AKG are so much fun with my setup,and I think I will buy a pair of Beyerdynamic DT990 for listening to "popier" sound.
By the way,sometimes I am a roady for a Band (I do their merchandise) and they all have pretty good IEMs and of course they are interested in good sound.But none of them had any experience with portable headphone amps.Since they are located near Nuremberg,I think Jan will get a few new happy customers
My only regret is that this amp shows the shortcomings of my SE530s.And I am seriously considering sending them to UM for a remold with the addition of two drivers,one on the high and one on the low end.Maybe this will help!
Thats it for now,if you have questions,feel free to ask them!
Sorry,I have been pretty busy lately and didn´t find the time to give you an update on my Stepdance impressions.But I have read every post and I think maybe I can be of a little help here and there,at least I hope so
For the power consumption matter:I would suggest to everyone to get the recharchable batteries with the highest possible mAh´s.I do not think you can hear the difference between 8.4 and 9.6 batteries.I have a PSU where I can adjust the voltage between 6 and 15V and I do not hear any difference between the two settings I have used so far (12 and 15V) ,except that 12V sounds much cleaner,but this is related to my cheap switching type PSU.By the way,thanks for the advices on PSUs and what I could do to make mine sound better.But I have to say,the PSU was great for burning in,but usually I will use this on the road so a expensive PSU is not what I am looking for.But I will modify my cheap one for a cleaner output.
Then there was this discussion if the sound signature changes during burn-in.And I can tell you:IT DOES!Interestingly the sound was screw*** amazing right out of the box,I fell in love instantly.Then the sound changed,on the extreme ends for the better,the mids were not as good as in the beginning.I think the signature changes most between 20 and 100 hours of burn-in.After that the changes are only very small.But now,I think there are about 300 hours of burn-in on mine,the sound has settled I guess.And what can I say:It is incredible!And for those of you who have read my previous posts,I still don´t like my Shures as much as before.They are sounding better then without the Stepdance,but I really am into full-size cans now.I think the only problem so far was that I didn´t have the source to drive them adequatly.The AKG are so much fun with my setup,and I think I will buy a pair of Beyerdynamic DT990 for listening to "popier" sound.
By the way,sometimes I am a roady for a Band (I do their merchandise) and they all have pretty good IEMs and of course they are interested in good sound.But none of them had any experience with portable headphone amps.Since they are located near Nuremberg,I think Jan will get a few new happy customers
My only regret is that this amp shows the shortcomings of my SE530s.And I am seriously considering sending them to UM for a remold with the addition of two drivers,one on the high and one on the low end.Maybe this will help!
Thats it for now,if you have questions,feel free to ask them!
ianmedium
Headphoneus Supremus
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Thanks so much Lorenz for yet another excellent post. I have pretty much decided to go for the 300mAh powerex batteries and charger for mine. I was considering the lithium but reading a great deal about them not only can I get another battery for back up for the same price as just one with the lithium it looks like I can get many more charges from the powerex ones before they end their useful life.
Your thoughts on the sound confirm what I was hoping as well. I notice with my current amp the sound breaks up or distorts just at the point where my feet are starting to tap to the music. I think the stepdance will solve that! Also interesting that we have the same headphone tastes. I to am supplementing my 701's with DT990 600ohms, they should arrive the same time the amp does!
Saying that, you may want to look at the ER4S, I have a feeling their sonic signature will be to your liking, also, it has been noted elswhere that they improve greatly with quality amplification!
Thanks so much again for your thoughts!
Your thoughts on the sound confirm what I was hoping as well. I notice with my current amp the sound breaks up or distorts just at the point where my feet are starting to tap to the music. I think the stepdance will solve that! Also interesting that we have the same headphone tastes. I to am supplementing my 701's with DT990 600ohms, they should arrive the same time the amp does!
Saying that, you may want to look at the ER4S, I have a feeling their sonic signature will be to your liking, also, it has been noted elswhere that they improve greatly with quality amplification!
Thanks so much again for your thoughts!
cooperpwc
Headphoneus Supremus
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Quote:
Thanks you for not swearing.
Great post!
I agree with you that the Stepdance is excellent with full size cans. Much as I love (truly) the Stepdance with the ES5, I try not to listen to IEMs all day every day because I don't think that it is healthy. With this amp, I have rediscovered my classic Sony MDR-D77 eggos. Good story actually. A collector on here offered me $200 for them a few years back. More than the original price 10 years later is pretty good but I I came back with a price of $300. He was so offended that he didn't even reply. I am glad that he didn't. The combination of the iMod and Stepdance has brought the eggos back to life.
Thanks you for not swearing.
Great post!
I agree with you that the Stepdance is excellent with full size cans. Much as I love (truly) the Stepdance with the ES5, I try not to listen to IEMs all day every day because I don't think that it is healthy. With this amp, I have rediscovered my classic Sony MDR-D77 eggos. Good story actually. A collector on here offered me $200 for them a few years back. More than the original price 10 years later is pretty good but I I came back with a price of $300. He was so offended that he didn't even reply. I am glad that he didn't. The combination of the iMod and Stepdance has brought the eggos back to life.
jr41
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Nice setup Lorenz, glad to hear you're enjoying it!
When I e-mailed Jan about the Powerex batteries and the choice between 8.4 and 9.6v, he too was of the opinion that the 8.4v would be the best choice due to their higher mAh. I haven't noticed any difference in sound quality when dropping down from 9v alkaline to 8.4v NiMH.
When I e-mailed Jan about the Powerex batteries and the choice between 8.4 and 9.6v, he too was of the opinion that the 8.4v would be the best choice due to their higher mAh. I haven't noticed any difference in sound quality when dropping down from 9v alkaline to 8.4v NiMH.
eugeneyou
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Quote:
Hey there!
Sorry,I have been pretty busy lately and didn´t find the time to give you an update on my Stepdance impressions.But I have read every post and I think maybe I can be of a little help here and there,at least I hope so
For the power consumption matter:I would suggest to everyone to get the recharchable batteries with the highest possible mAh´s.I do not think you can hear the difference between 8.4 and 9.6 batteries.I have a PSU where I can adjust the voltage between 6 and 15V and I do not hear any difference between the two settings I have used so far (12 and 15V) ,except that 12V sounds much cleaner,but this is related to my cheap switching type PSU.By the way,thanks for the advices on PSUs and what I could do to make mine sound better.But I have to say,the PSU was great for burning in,but usually I will use this on the road so a expensive PSU is not what I am looking for.But I will modify my cheap one for a cleaner output.
Then there was this discussion if the sound signature changes during burn-in.And I can tell you:IT DOES!Interestingly the sound was screw*** amazing right out of the box,I fell in love instantly.Then the sound changed,on the extreme ends for the better,the mids were not as good as in the beginning.I think the signature changes most between 20 and 100 hours of burn-in.After that the changes are only very small.But now,I think there are about 300 hours of burn-in on mine,the sound has settled I guess.And what can I say:It is incredible!And for those of you who have read my previous posts,I still don´t like my Shures as much as before.They are sounding better then without the Stepdance,but I really am into full-size cans now.I think the only problem so far was that I didn´t have the source to drive them adequatly.The AKG are so much fun with my setup,and I think I will buy a pair of Beyerdynamic DT990 for listening to "popier" sound.
By the way,sometimes I am a roady for a Band (I do their merchandise) and they all have pretty good IEMs and of course they are interested in good sound.But none of them had any experience with portable headphone amps.Since they are located near Nuremberg,I think Jan will get a few new happy customers
My only regret is that this amp shows the shortcomings of my SE530s.And I am seriously considering sending them to UM for a remold with the addition of two drivers,one on the high and one on the low end.Maybe this will help!
Thats it for now,if you have questions,feel free to ask them!
u mean stepdance+shure 530 = sucks?
waht is UM?
ianmedium
Headphoneus Supremus
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Quote:
Thanks so much for this post. I have decided after much deliberation to go for the Powerex 8.4V 300mAh batteries as I can get two for the price of one ipower lithium and at least this way I can always have with me a spare fully charged!
The guy at my local battery store has sold thousands and never had a problem with them and finds the brand to be one of the best he carries. I am also getting the stealth charger so, fully charged in two hours apparently it is a smart charger that extends the useful life of Powerex batteries.
Lorenz
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Hi,
glad I can help
@cooperpwc:I had to google the Sony Headphones you are talking about cause I haver never heard of them before.They are looking gorgeous!And pretty portable for full-size cans.I hesitate to bring my AKGs with me all the time cause as nice as they seem to be built they are very open in every sense of that word.I don´t want to get dust and dirt into them,eventually compromising the sound.
And that brings me to your question
@eugeneyou:No,I don´t think that the SE530 combined with the Stepdance suck,like I said,they sound better then before,and I really loved them.But now I love my AKGs even more.They didn´t get to much use before,except watching movies and listen to Jazz when I am at home.But I couldn´t crank the volume up as much as I would have preferred sometimes just until now.So now I love them more then the Shures,and you know how it is,in comparison to the new love,the old one kind of sucks
Don´t think it´s not worth it listening to the Shures with the Stepdance,but now I know what is possible and I want to take this phenomenal sound with me all the time.And I have to say that they do NOT improve as much from being amplified as the AKGs do.I do not even hear a difference in sound when using the low current mode that would be worth the shorter battery live!
That´s where UM (Unique Melody) could come into play.They offer a re-shelling of IEMs with the possibility of putting additional drivers into the custom-mold shells.I wrote them today and just now I got a response.I was asking if they could do the alteration I was talking about in my last post and they suggest to get the upgrade to 6 drivers,but for me thats pretty expensive,so I will have another look at the Ety ER4-S (By the way,thanks for the tip ianmedium,very appreciated).I just dont like their form-factor,they are sticking out of the ear quite a bit,and I really liked the flush fit of the Shure´s,and potentially customs would sit in my ears just as good.
Are there other options for IEMs that could possibly fit my needs?Any suggestions are very welcome
Ah man,this amp is going to cost me a lot more then just these measly 250 bucks for the amp.And I had to stretch for them
But listening to my music is just a new experience and well worth not eating for a month or so,hehe
glad I can help
@cooperpwc:I had to google the Sony Headphones you are talking about cause I haver never heard of them before.They are looking gorgeous!And pretty portable for full-size cans.I hesitate to bring my AKGs with me all the time cause as nice as they seem to be built they are very open in every sense of that word.I don´t want to get dust and dirt into them,eventually compromising the sound.
And that brings me to your question
@eugeneyou:No,I don´t think that the SE530 combined with the Stepdance suck,like I said,they sound better then before,and I really loved them.But now I love my AKGs even more.They didn´t get to much use before,except watching movies and listen to Jazz when I am at home.But I couldn´t crank the volume up as much as I would have preferred sometimes just until now.So now I love them more then the Shures,and you know how it is,in comparison to the new love,the old one kind of sucks
Don´t think it´s not worth it listening to the Shures with the Stepdance,but now I know what is possible and I want to take this phenomenal sound with me all the time.And I have to say that they do NOT improve as much from being amplified as the AKGs do.I do not even hear a difference in sound when using the low current mode that would be worth the shorter battery live!
That´s where UM (Unique Melody) could come into play.They offer a re-shelling of IEMs with the possibility of putting additional drivers into the custom-mold shells.I wrote them today and just now I got a response.I was asking if they could do the alteration I was talking about in my last post and they suggest to get the upgrade to 6 drivers,but for me thats pretty expensive,so I will have another look at the Ety ER4-S (By the way,thanks for the tip ianmedium,very appreciated).I just dont like their form-factor,they are sticking out of the ear quite a bit,and I really liked the flush fit of the Shure´s,and potentially customs would sit in my ears just as good.
Are there other options for IEMs that could possibly fit my needs?Any suggestions are very welcome
Ah man,this amp is going to cost me a lot more then just these measly 250 bucks for the amp.And I had to stretch for them
But listening to my music is just a new experience and well worth not eating for a month or so,hehe
eugeneyou
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anyone used shipping with tracking code? Mine seems not working after Stepdance had been sent to International Logistics Center Frankfurt
"The item was handed over to the International Logistics Center Frankfurt on Nov 10, 2010 to be forwarded to Great Britain."
"The item was handed over to the International Logistics Center Frankfurt on Nov 10, 2010 to be forwarded to Great Britain."
cooperpwc
Headphoneus Supremus
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Quote:
Aargh... Don't talk to me about the international EMS tracking system. I sent X-rays from China to Canada and they disappeared off the radar for about 9 days. 'They are leaving China to Canada' (said China Post's web site). 'They are due to arrive in Canada from China' (said Canada Post's web site).
They did however eventually come back on radar in Canada and actually arrived. I advise patience...
Aargh... Don't talk to me about the international EMS tracking system. I sent X-rays from China to Canada and they disappeared off the radar for about 9 days. 'They are leaving China to Canada' (said China Post's web site). 'They are due to arrive in Canada from China' (said Canada Post's web site).
They did however eventually come back on radar in Canada and actually arrived. I advise patience...
eugeneyou
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fto
Quote:
today is SAT, i guess have to wait to monday morning and see. hopefully UK customs won think Stepdance is bomb detonator
Quote:
today is SAT, i guess have to wait to monday morning and see. hopefully UK customs won think Stepdance is bomb detonator
ianmedium
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I did not realise it comes with a tracking code. I will have to ask Jan what mine is! As to the X-rays dissapearing, Canada is well know for being a black hole when it comes to tracking mail. Having said that I found a trick when it comes to tracking mail from the States to here and from the UK to here. The tracking number transfers from the originator countries mail provider to Canada post once it hits out shores.
Having said that the last thing I had come from the UK was stuck in Customs for 9 days, only it turned out after researching it cleared customs within a day and remained on the shelf at Canada post for the rest of the time.. That was priority mail as well!
I love this country but the mail system sucks. I am used to next day in the UK!
cooperpwc
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You have to ask for tracked shipping, I believe (and pay for it since it costs more than the free shipping).
ianmedium
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Ah, OK, then. To be honest with what I have said above it is a fairly pointless exercise in this country anyway!Should be here sometime next week, more than likely the same day my DT990's arrive!
eugeneyou
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i jz got my stepdance this morning in the manual, "do not use an AC powersupply or an unregulated supply" --->what does this mean?
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