Originally Posted by Jalo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sir, I just want to clarify that you are not talking about yourself, 10,000+ posts seems pretty regular to me. I don't think there are more than a hand full that have that many posts.
of course he aint talking about himself, one only has to spend half an hour at most amongst the portable gear fora to understand who is being referred to and the behaviours meant.
Originally Posted by Ray Samuels /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here we go again, I have never said that this volume control that I use in the Protector has any issues; on the contrary I have said it is the best volume control ever made by Panasonic, that I use in all my SR-71s. I said I have adapted it to work in low profile chassis.
Where did you come with this WROG and disturbing comment, this time?
Again, I would say read the Protector thread so you get in lightened by what I have said so next time when you quote me "MAY BE" you will be correct.
Ray Samuels
Allow me to quote you Ray, from your own website:
Quote:
Originally Posted by www.raysamuelsaudio.com Currently one disadvantage of the portable amps, especially when used with the very sensitive IEMs,is the quality & the balance of their volume controls. Without strict testing and selection analog volume controls are a big pain, they don’t track properly, and they don’t give the proper sound stage & the correct location of musicians & instruments. The most popular disappointment is when one channel tends to start before the other. Dust & contamination tends to cause cuts & drops of audio signal in one channel or the other.
That sure sounds to me like you're describing a problem. Furthermore...
Quote:
Originally Posted by www.raysamuelsaudio.com Not only is the money wasted but so is the time that it takes me to sort out the 600 good & acceptable pots out of the 1200 units. This make me sick knowing that there is no other alternative to get miniature pots from another company that takes pride in designing better ones.
This statement, to me at least and maybe I'm wrong, says that you thought the old way of doing things (i.e. sorting pots by hand) was not the best way to go about doing things anymore. I happen to agree with you there.
You also have several posts in the Shadow thread extolling the virtues of the digital volume. I trust that I don't need to quote those as well?
So enlighten me Ray, instead of attacking me, and tell me why for IEMs (which is what I was specifically talking about) an analog pot is preferable to a digital one when you yourself have said exactly the opposite? Perhaps you misunderstood what I was saying?
Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif And there you have it, folks, all Reviewers are shills. A head-fi moderator says so, so it must be the case. Best to avoid reading anything in any review. Or from anyone who posts regularly. Stick to believing only posts by people who don't post often, and where there is no context for their comments. Surely that's the ticket.
Wow, I made sure my comments were my opinion only and I didn't call anyone a shill. I do question the motivation of those that constantly review gear, in particular on this site and on others. Sorry, if it you take a offense but I don't believe there is enough transparency for me to accept many reviews on their face. i believe I've been around long enough to be in a position for hold such an opinion. You and others can disagree, no problem. However, don't put words in my mouth. This belief of mine is not something that I have just decided. I've held this belief for a long time. I felt this way about a certain promoter of SP amps.
I'm a member first and moderator second. My opinions have zero to do with me being a moderator. And yes, people would be just as well off listening to some newby then someone who is a shill (using your word). At least the newby is trying to get it right.
Originally Posted by K3cT /img/forum/go_quote.gif Very late to the party but can someone in this thread explain the merit of having a "balanced" amp without having a balanced source in the first place?
You can sell a bunch of cables, and you get to win the race to "first balanced mainstream portable"
Originally Posted by tyrion /img/forum/go_quote.gif I haven't heard the Protector yet so I will reserve judgment. However, I have learned not to rely upon anyones ears but my own. In particular, I avoid relying on those that post and review pretty regularly around here as I question their motivation for much of what they write. That's just my opinion.
So you question Skylab's motivation after he reviewed about three of my amps. Yet have never ever questioned his motivation when he has reviewed 35-40 other amps from other manufacturers.
Ray Samuels
Originally Posted by K3cT /img/forum/go_quote.gif Very late to the party but can someone in this thread explain the merit of having a "balanced" amp without having a balanced source in the first place?
From Larry ('headphoneaddict') :
"I have heard balanced amps that do an excellent job splitting a single ended input into a balanced signal, including the RSA A-10 - where I could not distinguish when I was listing to the Meridian CDP via single ended signal and when I was listening to the balanced signal. The soundstage and separation was equally as good with either signal. I was able to hear the difference between the tubes in the SE circuit vs the balanced circuit, as they were different brands and sounded slightly different in tone (SE tube was an Amperex that was slightly more rolled off than the ones in the balanced circuit).
My SP Square Wave XL also does a great job converting SE sources to balanced, and there are others that use phase splitters or input transformers to accept an SE source and convert it to balanced. So, a balanced source is not mandatory."
"slim, i'm waiting for a more true balanced solution that actually accepts balanced input. I find it a little odd that once portable dacs with a balanced signal path are released shortly, the protector will not be able tpo be used with them except through a single ended adapter"
Originally Posted by Ray Samuels /img/forum/go_quote.gif So you question Skylab's motivation after he reviewed about three of my amps. Yet have never ever questioned his motivation when he has reviewed 35-40 other amps from other manufacturers.
Ray Samuels
Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif And there you have it, folks, all Reviewers are shills. A head-fi moderator says so, so it must be the case. Best to avoid reading anything in any review. Or from anyone who posts regularly. Stick to believing only posts by people who don't post often, and where there is no context for their comments. Surely that's the ticket.
tyrion is right in that I have encouraged all the moderators to be members first, moderators second. I'm an administrator here, and I also like to think of myself as member first, moderator/admin second.
That all said, I enjoy your reviews, and realize how much effort you put into them. I know many here appreciate your reviews, and I'm one of them. No, I don't find myself always agreeing with your impressions of the gear you've reviewed that I've heard--sometimes I do, sometimes I don't--but that's the nature of subjective reviews. It doesn't change the fact that I enjoy reading your reviews, and I understand how much goes into them.
Originally Posted by n_maher /img/forum/go_quote.gif Allow me to quote you Ray, from your own website:
That sure sounds to me like you're describing a problem. Furthermore...
This statement, to me at least and maybe I'm wrong, says that you thought the old way of doing things (i.e. sorting pots by hand) was not the best way to go about doing things anymore. I happen to agree with you there.
You also have several posts in the Shadow thread extolling the virtues of the digital volume. I trust that I don't need to quote those as well?
So enlighten me Ray, instead of attacking me, and tell me why for IEMs (which is what I was specifically talking about) an analog pot is preferable to a digital one when you yourself have said exactly the opposite? Perhaps you misunderstood what I was saying?
The volume control I have been talking about in that post is the ALPS pot, It is designed for portable use, but it get noisy after a short period of time.
That pot is not the one I use in the Protector. I have declared in the Protector thread that the pot I use is the best out there, which I managed to make a modification to the it so it works well in the Protector.
Ray Samuels
Originally Posted by Ray Samuels /img/forum/go_quote.gif So you question Skylab's motivation after he reviewed about three of my amps. Yet have never ever questioned his motivation when he has reviewed 35-40 other amps from other manufacturers.
Ray Samuels
Hey Ray, I don't recall questioning any one person specifically. However, if I do, it's my right. Quite frankly, I'm not sure why you are even responding in this thread as a MOT.
I'm beginning to wonder whether the sudden defense in this thread suggests some truth to that which you are defending against. There is a quote from Hamlet, "...the lady doth protest too much." That Shakespeare guy may have been on to something.
Originally Posted by jude /img/forum/go_quote.gif tyrion is right in that I have encouraged all the moderators to be members first, moderators second. I'm an administrator here, and I also like to think of myself as member first, moderator/admin second.
That all said, I enjoy your reviews, and realize how much effort you put into them. I know many here appreciate your reviews, and I'm one of them. No, I don't find myself always agreeing with your impressions of the gear you've reviewed that I've heard--sometimes I do, sometimes I don't--but that's the nature of subjective reviews. It doesn't change the fact that I enjoy reading your reviews, and I understand how much goes into them.
So, for what it's worth, thank you, Skylab.
Thanks, Jude, I appreciate that. It's very disheartening to me that there seems to be such an incredibly strong undercurrent here at head-fi that everyone has to have "an agenda" in every post they make. I'm a lot older than many members here, and I come at this from an odd perspective, I guess - that this is a HOBBY, and that it is supposed to be FUN. My agenda is clear - I review gear because I have, mostly, enjoyed it. And I will continue to do so as long as this site allows, since I do it purely for the fun of the hobby. Contrary to what some conspiracy theorists would like people to believe, reviewing equipment on head-fi has actually COST me hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, not to mention large amounts of time for which I receive nothing except my own personal satisfaction of doing some critical listening, thinking, and writing.
So there you go, tyrion - I for one am giving you transparency - reviewing stuff is a time-consuming money-pit that I do because it's a nice outlet for me outside of work. I will take your post not as a mod, but you can't make a post like that which are clearly inflammatory and not expect reaction - there are only a very few people on this site that review regularly, and of them, I'm the only one reading this thread to defend us.
Originally Posted by tyrion /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow, I made sure my comments were my opinion only and I didn't call anyone a shill. I do question the motivation of those that constantly review gear, in particular on this site and on others. Sorry, if it you take a offense but I don't believe there is enough transparency for me to accept many reviews on their face. i believe I've been around long enough to be in a position for hold such an opinion. You and others can disagree, no problem. However, don't put words in my mouth. This belief of mine is not something that I have just decided. I've held this belief for a long time. I felt this way about a certain promoter of SP amps.
I'm a member first and moderator second. My opinions have zero to do with me being a moderator. And yes, people would be just as well off listening to some newby then someone who is a shill (using your word). At least the newby is trying to get it right.
Motivation?maybe because this is a hobby and we like to help each other selecting the right gear.maybe because we have alot of free/leisure time and it is alot of fun to review gears and write comparisons.maybe because we feel happy when someone bought a gear that We recommended and he is on the top of the world with the purchase.maybe because we don't have friends to share the same enthusiasm in audio gears and this is the only place that we can about this stuff........do I need to continue?
I know I am relatively new here but it is very helpful and alot of fun when I read comparisons and reviews like the one skylab's do although I don't comment to the review thread but it is very enjoyable to read impressions and reviews on this site and it kills the time.
Originally Posted by Ray Samuels /img/forum/go_quote.gif The volume control I have been talking about in that post is the ALPS pot, It is designed for portable use, but it get noisy after a short period of time.
That pot is not the one I use in the Protector. I have declared in the Protector thread that the pot I use is the best out there, which I managed to make a modification to the it so it works well in the Protector.
Ray Samuels
Thanks for the information! This is very useful to know. I was wondering the same as well.
FWIW I enjoy reading your reviews skylab and I do think that jude’s point “I don't find myself always agreeing with your impressions of the gear you've reviewed that I've heard--sometimes I do, sometimes I don't--but that's the nature of subjective reviews,” is very valid while reading anyone’s review.
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