[JeremyR]

 
probably cuz the alpha dog cable has a 1/4" end but the sansa had 1/8" input.

 
Correct, however I never plan to plug the AD's directly into the Sansa. I will plug the AD's into the E12, and the E12 is 1/8" output.

 

[JeremyR]

I don't think anybody who is a real enthusiast is going to scoff at your gear.  I have a lot of respect for people who don't feel the need for the best of the best gear.

 
Thanks!

 

[sunneebear]

 

Welcome to the Mini-X club.  Agree with everything you said.  A $1000 amp may not even get you a 5% increase on the Mini-X.  The bass from the tube amp may just be the color of the amp or the tubes.  I think the Mini-X is a perfect match with the AD/MD because it has the power requirements and is cost effective and flat as possible, both seems to be Dan's goal.  If you want the AD/MD at it's best without taking or adding anything, Mini-X.

 

[kenshinhimura]

   
Correct, however I never plan to plug the AD's directly into the Sansa. I will plug the AD's into the E12, and the E12 is 1/8" output.

haha, thats what i meant to put since e12 is powering AD

 

[mrspeakers]

Gosh, I take a small break to be with family and our website goes down for 16 hours.  Sorry about that! 
 
Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[manzana]

Já!

 

[pdrm360]

  @Formae
 
After a month of spending hours a day looking into this, this is what I have ended up purchasing.
 
Alpha Dogs
Sony MA900
E12
1/4" to 1/8" adapter
Sansa Clip+ with Rockbox
Essence STX sound card (had the sound card)
 
 
Many people on these boards will scoff at that list of equipment. However it is of my opinion that the delta between that list, and spending $4,000 more on portable and desktop upgrades yields an extremely small improvement in performance.
 
You have to remember most people here are hobbyists and enthusiasts. When I was a pro paintball player, I can remember spending hours talking about the quality of the aftermarket pneumatic upgrades I did. I threw away the $200, for the $400 upgrade, and went on and on about how it will help with my game. In the end I am sure it really didn't matter. I won and lost the same.
 
Same goes here. I am sure with either the setup I have above, or a vastly more expensive setup, the music will be equally enjoyable. 
 
To answer your previous question about balanced:
 
What balanced means, is the signal is sent down two separate wires reversed. What this does without going into two much detail, is allows interference the cable comes into contact with to be canceled out (provided both wires get the same amount of interference). This is popular for headphones when you need a long run, or microphones on any run.
 
I really can't see any reason why you would need balanced cables, so unless you just want them, I would not worry about it.

 
Love the bass boost on the E12 for the AD

 

[gamefreak054]

  @Formae
 
After a month of spending hours a day looking into this, this is what I have ended up purchasing.
 
Alpha Dogs
Sony MA900
E12
1/4" to 1/8" adapter
Sansa Clip+ with Rockbox
Essence STX sound card (had the sound card)
 
 
Many people on these boards will scoff at that list of equipment. However it is of my opinion that the delta between that list, and spending $4,000 more on portable and desktop upgrades yields an extremely small improvement in performance.
 
You have to remember most people here are hobbyists and enthusiasts. When I was a pro paintball player, I can remember spending hours talking about the quality of the aftermarket pneumatic upgrades I did. I threw away the $200, for the $400 upgrade, and went on and on about how it will help with my game. In the end I am sure it really didn't matter. I won and lost the same.
 
Same goes here. I am sure with either the setup I have above, or a vastly more expensive setup, the music will be equally enjoyable. 
 
To answer your previous question about balanced:
 
What balanced means, is the signal is sent down two separate wires reversed. What this does without going into two much detail, is allows interference the cable comes into contact with to be canceled out (provided both wires get the same amount of interference). This is popular for headphones when you need a long run, or microphones on any run.
 
I really can't see any reason why you would need balanced cables, so unless you just want them, I would not worry about it.

While I mostly agree with this, I do like and enjoy my dx100 a lot more than my e12 rig. The e12 with mad dogs is a solid set up, but I still do not think nicer gear should be underplayed. Granted like you said we are enthusiasts on this forum, so the difference I hear may be different than joe shmoe down the street. I personally just enjoy my music greater when I hear more details among other things.
 
Paintballing when it comes to spending lots of money to improve performance has become drastically worse since the autococker days. It also much worse than audio gear in my opinion. You can spend $1000 on a gun now, and it will not perform any better than a cheap $400 empire gun. However the higher end guns do come with more luxuries (which is also starting to reduce), and greater reliability. I spent $600 on my CCM pump gun, and other than a smoother pump stroke it really does not do anything more than a $100 one.

 

[JeremyR]

  I still do not think nicer gear should be underplayed. Granted like you said we are enthusiasts on this forum, so the difference I hear may be different than joe shmoe down the street. I personally just enjoy my music greater when I hear more details among other things.

 
 
While I am sure there is a difference that someone who has critically listened to music hears then someone who does not, my point was more about the the effect. I am sure if you hooked up $20,000 worth of equipment and played a song through it, I would hear the difference. However I am not sure I would like the song that much more. I might.
 
The difference between an enthusiast, and me, is I just care about the music. An enthusiast typically cares about the equipment as well. They like to know that everything from the power outlet to the ears is of high quality. They take pride in knowing the components in the amp, and how much better one is over the other. It's a hobby.
 
I own a plane, and when people walk over to me at the airfield and want to talk, it's always about the plane, and never about flying. A lot of that happens here as well.
 
Oh, and I was sponsored by Dye Paintball back in the day when they made custom autococker's. That feels like 100 years ago

 

[Greed]

Take this to PMs, this is extremely off topic. :rolleyes:

 

[Deicide3]

Agreed. The bass decays a little slower and is more prominent on the MD, making it more immersive for those genres. That being said, the Alpha Dog does a great job with any genre you can throw at it.

metal?

 

[swspiers]

  metal?

Oh yes, the AD's are wonderful with metal.  I threw everything from Black Sabbath, to Kyuss, to Opeth, and Tool at them and they did very very well.
 
ooops: edit.  Depends on your taste of course.  I love the detail of the AD's- picks on strings, the background sound of an amp turning on. Thing is, the AD's are proving to be a very detail-retrieving headphone, and for some people, it might take them out of the music.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

metal?

Yes. The speed and attack on the Alpha Dog is top notch. Plenty of bite up top too. Loving some Lacuna Coil on the Alpha Dog.

 

[WNBC]

I tried the detail monster HD800 the other day.  The HD800 does have an edge on the Alpha Dog in regards to micro details but the full bodied response or palpability of the Dog makes it more engaging to me.  With that said, if one was a big fan of the open HD800 I think he or she will be happy with the closed Alpha Dog for those times when the outside cannot be bothered by one's music.   
 
Quote:

 
Thing is, the AD's are proving to be a very detail-retrieving headphone, and for some people, it might take them out of the music.

 

[mikemercer]

Yes. The speed and attack on the Alpha Dog is top notch. Plenty of bite up top too. Loving some Lacuna Coil on the Alpha Dog.

Fo sho!
I was recently bumpin Metallica and Rage on the Alpha's - via my iPod Classic + CEntrance HiFi-M8 and it ROCKED.
Transients were lightning fast, guitars were powerful with plenty of air to breath,
and the drums, the drums had authority and killer detail...