[phonomat]

Yep, surely seems like a real interesting laptop/tablet to me and a high quality one at that. And I'm actually after the configuration with 1TB like you wanted, be it in Book or Pro verion.


I wouldn't really use it for reading with the keyboard in the normal position but I find it strange it can't be used in portrait mode with the keyboard in the reversed and folded back inwards position. Nothing you can do with the keyboard then anyway and it would trriple battery life for reading since 2/3 of the battery capacity is in the keyboard. Are you sure it doesn't do portait with the keyboard folded inwards?


 


The iPad comparison was just to know how it handled as a tablet. I'm not an Apple only fan (and actually not anymore).


I used a ZX Spectrum, Commodere 64 and 128 and a Macintosh for the first 5 years, then moved to PC's from 8088 to Pentium 4 for the next 15 years.


After that I switched to Mac for about 13 years and I'm busy switching back to Windows now.


Got me a rather cheap 17" Asus laptop for experimenting and am putting together a nice desktop. Still need someting portable, hence the Surface Book or Pro.


I'll keep using the iPhone for now since Android syncs with Windows worse than IOS does and sucks alltogether. Hoping for a Surface phone though.


But I think I'll still need to keep an iPad. Some things are only available as IOS apps (or sometimes Android as well) and not for Windows 10. Some magazine subscriptions, remote contrrols and apps to login into secure two-factor authentication account for example. And easy to use bank apps that don't require a card reader like their websites on OSX and Winows do.


 


Oh, and Applehead is the American name for a cat breed by the way, nothing to do with Apple computers in my case.


The breed is officially called Thai or Original Siamese that was revisited after the Siamese breed got ****ed up by breeders.


http://www.life-with-siamese-cats.com/applehead-siamese-cats.html

 


Lol, for a second there I misread your post and thought you were still using a C64. That would've been pretty cool, actually. My first home computer was an Atari ST, but all my friends had an Amiga, so I eventually caved. That Atari machine will always remain my first love though, wish I still had it.

Anyway, I tried again, and portrait mode DOES work with the screen on backwards. Sorry for that. I hadn't really tried it before since I always just completely detach the screen, and don't know what I did wrong yesterday. Thanks for bringing it up to me. If it had a Blu-ray drive and optical out like my old Sony Vaio, the SB would be perfect as an allrounder.

As perfect as the SEM1, to clumsily bring this back to topic.

 

[AppleheadMay]

Lol, for a second there I misread your post and thought you were still using a C64. That would've been pretty cool, actually. My first home computer was an Atari ST, but all my friends had an Amiga, so I eventually caved. That Atari machine will always remain my first love though, wish I still had it.

Anyway, I tried again, and portrait mode DOES work with the screen on backwards. Sorry for that. I hadn't really tried it before since I always just completely detach the screen, and don't know what I did wrong yesterday. Thanks for bringing it up to me. If it had a Blu-ray drive and optical out like my old Sony Vaio, the SB would be perfect as an allrounder.

As perfect as the SEM1, to clumsily bring this back to topic.

 
I wish I still had the C64 as well, stupid we sell all this stuff and 30 years later crave for it. There were also Tandy and Atari gaming consooles I had. Might buy me a Nintendo Classic Mini out of nostaslgia.
 
About the screen in portrait: thought so! You nearly made me buy a Pro instead of a Book!

 
Why don't you simply add a Pioneer slim external USB bluray? Should work like a charm.
Just like it does with your Hugo and M1 ... my clumsy attempt to get back on topic.

 

[phonomat]

   
I wish I still had the C64 as well, stupid we sell all this stuff and 30 years later crave for it. There were also Tandy and Atari gaming consooles I had. Might buy me a Nintendo Classic Mini out of nostaslgia.
 
About the screen in portrait: thought so! You nearly made me buy a Pro instead of a Book!

 
Why don't you simply add a Pioneer slim external USB bluray? Should work like a charm.
Just like it does with your Hugo and M1 ... my clumsy attempt to get back on topic.

 
That's basically what I did, and yes, it does. I just wish there was an all-in-one solution. But I guess those days are over for good.
 
That being said, by all means, go for the book.
 

Spoiler: More OT content in pictorial form

Keyboard detached:
 

 
 
Keyboard attached backwards:
 

 
 
Keyboard attached the normal way:
 

 

[AppleheadMay]

Yep, you can forget about a tablet with an optical drive I guess.
Some laptops still have them though but even this one doesn't.
 
Looks nice I must say. Only have seen the pro yet, not the book.

 

[Benny-x]

1. As soon as you cut the SEM1, the black sleeve begins to fray and it's best to try to stop this from spreading too much rather quickly.
   
   This can for example be done by melting the fraying end with a heat gun...

1. 
   
   
   A good trick I learned for this is to wrap 8-12cm of the area you're going to cut with masking (if you're worried about the stickiness) or electrical (works better), then cut the cable through the tap.
   
   This will keep all the multi-filament threads together. Then you slide on the heatshrink and the connector jacket. After that you take a razor and cut back 3-4cm, still keeping 4-8cm of tape on the cable. From here you can go to town on the inner conductors, insulation, etc. and not run into any needless fraying. Once you're done and soldered, slide the heatshrink up and smoothly remove the tape and adhere the heatshrink.
   
   On the note of the varnish or whatever on the conductors, use a solder pot to burn it off and tin the wire at the same time. I've got to buy one soon for tinning some litz cable, where 56 internal strands are varnish/schlack coated...
   
   If you've got your own answers for the above, that's cool, I just wanted to share what I learned to smoothly taking care of those exact issues.

 

[Benny-x]

This definitely is:



:eek:  
I don't think "massaging" will do it anymore at this point. The terrible thing is that the cable is now permanently bent at this angle. And believe it or not, I don't have the foggiest how that even happened.

Well annoying, and all the more so as build quality is so stellar apart from this flaw. It's like, come on guys, you almost earned a 10/10, how could you mess it up like that? Sigh.
Good thing I also have the balanced cable now, which is still pristine.

Oh no!

 

Ok I am not at this stage yet.




However that is just the only one thing which really annoys me when it comes to the build quality of the Pioneer, everything else is perfectly fine up till now. Maybe I will drop a message to the support, just to see what they say about it.

A little better, but you can see above about what's coming.

I really think both you guys should send Pioneer Customer Support an email about this and link to the thread. There's a lot of owner feedback on here and support for this headphone, but that cable work is atrocious. That's not something I'd discount or accept at all.

I haven't used mine enough to run into that yet, but I can see that it'll be coming :-/

 

[Benny-x]

The ground wires are separated all the way to the 6.35 mm TRS plug so re-terminating the stock single ended cable to balanced is possible.

That's great to know. I may go down the 4pin XLR road in the future. All my tools are in storage now, but I'd like to have a go at it. I also want steal those MMCX connectors and use them in another cable...

 

[Shure or bust]

Sent cable to get terminated to 4 pin xlr. Sem1 is better than z1r.

 

[KarlStromberg]

   
This might help you judge if we have similar preferences and our impressions of the TH-900 align. If they don't, you probably won't agree with how I hear the other two either.

 
First of all...thanks for the detailed impressions and comparison of the SEM, TH900 and Z1R and for the time writing them down. I fully agree with your opinion of the TH900. It has an excellent sub-bass, but the piercing highs and the midrange recession makes it only usuable for just a few certain genres of music for me. However strange thing is...everytime I was about to sell it, I listened to it again and decided to keep it or at least postpone the sale, even though the SEM was much more to my liking. However the SEM is open, the TH900 is closed, therefore the the SEM didn't replace the TH900 for me. I now took part in the ZMF earpad massdrop for the TH900 and I also have the Eddie Current ZDS on order, which is supposed to be a perfect partner for the TH900. I don't expect both things to change the general character of the TH900 too much, but maybe it makes it more enjoyable.
 
On the other hand the Z1R came to my attention lately. When I had the opportunity to listen to it for 1-2 two songs, my initial impression was that the bass was to prominent over the nice highs and mids. However I listened to it just for those two songs and in a noisy environment, therefore it would be nice to give it a second try. Maybe it could replace the Ether C (which is to weak for me in the bass section, even in the flow version, but comes with a nice midrange and spaciousness) and TH900 (which has piercing highs and the midrange suckout). 
 
By the way...looking at yours and AppleheadMay's gear, we should do a mini meet. There is some really interesting stuff on the list, which would be fun to listen to and talk about 

 

 

[AppleheadMay]

   
First of all...thanks for the detailed impressions and comparison of the SEM, TH900 and Z1R and for the time writing them down. I fully agree with your opinion of the TH900. It has an excellent sub-bass, but the piercing highs and the midrange recession makes it only usuable for just a few certain genres of music for me. However strange thing is...everytime I was about to sell it, I listened to it again and decided to keep it or at least postpone the sale, even though the SEM was much more to my liking. However the SEM is open, the TH900 is closed, therefore the the SEM didn't replace the TH900 for me. I now took part in the ZMF earpad massdrop for the TH900 and I also have the Eddie Current ZDS on order, which is supposed to be a perfect partner for the TH900. I don't expect both things to change the general character of the TH900 too much, but maybe it makes it more enjoyable.
 
On the other hand the Z1R came to my attention lately. When I had the opportunity to listen to it for 1-2 two songs, my initial impression was that the bass was to prominent over the nice highs and mids. However I listened to it just for those two songs and in a noisy environment, therefore it would be nice to give it a second try. Maybe it could replace the Ether C (which is to weak for me in the bass section, even in the flow version, but comes with a nice midrange and spaciousness) and TH900 (which has piercing highs and the midrange suckout). 
 
By the way...looking at yours and AppleheadMay's gear, we should do a mini meet. There is some really interesting stuff on the list, which would be fun to listen to and talk about 

 

 
 
The ZDS is the perfect partner for just about any phone I had, it's a magical amp.
But due to other interests and way too little use lately I'll be selling it, along with enough tubes to last a lifetime, power tubes, rectifiers and just about any driver tube that matters. I think I haver about 30 tubes in total.
I'll need to find some time to put it up for sale though, was going to do that over the weekend but haven't managed to find the time yet. Selling is a drag.

 

[phonomat]

   
First of all...thanks for the detailed impressions and comparison of the SEM, TH900 and Z1R and for the time writing them down. I fully agree with your opinion of the TH900. It has an excellent sub-bass, but the piercing highs and the midrange recession makes it only usuable for just a few certain genres of music for me. However strange thing is...everytime I was about to sell it, I listened to it again and decided to keep it or at least postpone the sale, even though the SEM was much more to my liking. However the SEM is open, the TH900 is closed, therefore the the SEM didn't replace the TH900 for me. I now took part in the ZMF earpad massdrop for the TH900 and I also have the Eddie Current ZDS on order, which is supposed to be a perfect partner for the TH900. I don't expect both things to change the general character of the TH900 too much, but maybe it makes it more enjoyable.
 
On the other hand the Z1R came to my attention lately. When I had the opportunity to listen to it for 1-2 two songs, my initial impression was that the bass was to prominent over the nice highs and mids. However I listened to it just for those two songs and in a noisy environment, therefore it would be nice to give it a second try. Maybe it could replace the Ether C (which is to weak for me in the bass section, even in the flow version, but comes with a nice midrange and spaciousness) and TH900 (which has piercing highs and the midrange suckout). 
 
By the way...looking at yours and AppleheadMay's gear, we should do a mini meet. There is some really interesting stuff on the list, which would be fun to listen to and talk about 

 

 

   
 
The ZDS is the perfect partner for just about any phone I had, it's a magical amp.
But due to other interests and way too little use lately I'll be selling it, along with enough tubes to last a lifetime, power tubes, rectifiers and just about any driver tube that matters. I think I haver about 30 tubes in total.
I'll need to find some time to put it up for sale though, was going to do that over the weekend but haven't managed to find the time yet. Selling is a drag.

 
It sure is, I can't even bring myself to update my gear list (there's quite a bit more now than what's on my profile page

), let alone sell anything. So yeah, if anyone would like to relieve me of my TH-900 and Meze 99 Classic, please don't hesitate. I also have a car that I've been meaning to sell for months, but I guess that would be another forum.

 
And of course, each of you is more than welcome to swing by anytime for an extensive listen.

 

[Duncan]

...agreed, I guess I'm a hoarder, as I don't tend to sell anything, unless I'm totally out of cash, at which point I have a bit of a fire sale...

I think I'd need to have the bailiffs knocking down the door before parting with the M1s, luckily I don't foresee that happening though.

Been the first full sized can that I've owned that I haven't (yet) found a flaw with, normally when I pick up on any flaw the cans in question become unusable...

 

[phonomat]

Not meaning to circle-jerk, but it's the same with me. I like to think that I have a bit of experience and I certainly have sampled a lot of headphones. Most times I immediately find some fault in them (or let's say something that bothers me personally). After a year and a half or so with the SEM, I still can't even imagine what someone could possibly not like about them. It's like they're perfection in a world where perfection does not exist. Every other headphone I listen to just makes me appreciate them even more.

 

[Euphonik]

...agreed, I guess I'm a hoarder, as I don't tend to sell anything, unless I'm totally out of cash, at which point I have a bit of a fire sale...

I think I'd need to have the bailiffs knocking down the door before parting with the M1s, luckily I don't foresee that happening though.

Been the first full sized can that I've owned that I haven't (yet) found a flaw with, normally when I pick up on any flaw the cans in question become unusable...

 
 

Not meaning to circle-jerk, but it's the same with me. I like to think that I have a bit of experience and I certainly have sampled a lot of headphones. Most times I immediately find some fault in them (or let's say something that bothers me personally). After a year and a half or so with the SEM, I still can't even imagine what someone could possibly not like about them. It's like they're perfection in a world where perfection does not exist. Every other headphone I listen to just makes me appreciate them even more.

 
Guys, my wallet is trembling- I'm truly afraid for it now, lol. I'll probably never get a chance to demo them without buying, either
 
Still, if/when in the moment of weakness I succumb to my urges it'll be due to your enthusiasm and impressions- just thought I'd let you know.

 

[Oregonian]

Guys,
 
I have the Pioneer Master 1 coming in tomorrow from Amazon.  Been trying to better my HE-6 and this may be the last attempt................so I've been following this thread from the beginning and am excited to try them!  I am a HUGE Pioneer fan - have 6 of their vintage amps all over the house and at work driving my speakers and headphones and would love to pair them permanently with a Pioneer headphone that meets my needs (open back............check.............comfort............hope so................deep BASS...........hopefully?!). 
 
Without opening up the can of worms with "burn in" debate - is there a recommended run in time on these?