[smial1966]

musicday,

I don't wish to dampen your undoubted enthusiasm and relentless support for the Tera Player, but at today's price or even if it's offered at a sizeable discount, the current cost is way beyond the budgets of most audiophiles/music lovers. So unless Charles capitulates and offers Tera Players for sale at real world prices (i.e. around the 1500 Euros mark) your constant lauding of this DAP will ultimately fall upon very deaf ears. As asking 10,000 Euros is grotesquely balmy and nonsensical for a device that recently sold for 840 Euros.

Listening right now to Dr.Alban through the Tera Player with the own modified Koss Porta Pro,sounds is so realistic and very addictive.
Hope more people get to hear this player to see what we mean about the sound quality.

 

[musicday]

smial1966,
The Tera Player it is my favourite music player ever at any price point. Agree with you that many won't be able to afford one at the current asking price but i can't deny that this produces the most natural and organic sound ever. I have tried many players and owned quite few but the Tera Player is unique.
Maybe Charles will make it more affordable in the future, we will never know but miracles can happen
Happy listening everyone.

 

[flymetothemoon]

smial1966,
The Tera Player it is my favourite music player ever at any price point. Agree with you that many won't be able to afford one at the current asking price but i can't deny that this produces the most natural and organic sound ever. I have tried many players and owned quite few but the Tera Player is unique.
Maybe Charles will make it more affordable in the future, we will never know but miracles can happen
Happy listening everyone.

 
While I'm in media planning in advertising for the majority of my professional life and I am sold of the following as your thread has accumulate enough "frequency" on repeating the same message.  In our industry, we were talking about message worn out as the same message repeating itself will have a diminishing return on the target audience.  I would then suggest you to consider new aspects to be discussed from hereon in order to add value to any reader of the thread.  
 
To summarized, the following aspects have more than enough "exposures" that already set stone in readers' mind...
 
1. Tera, the best portable player ever made...IDEA SOLD...Steve Jobs said this every year with a new version of iPhones.  Have we heard all players before this hobby started?
2. Porta-Pro the best partner to the Tera...IDEA SOLD...not necessarily you have heard the best out of the Tera yet...try Tralucent Ref.1 then let us know how you feel.
3. Tera is the best player at any price point...IDEA SOLD...depends on when did someone pick up the Tera as it has far more price points than any product in the world (except stocks).
4. Tera/Porta Pro is your favourite combo...IDEA SOLD...until your next new girl friend shows up and this should be your mind set.
 
 
If all threads here at Headfi are repeating the same messages for the last year or so, the forum will have been gone under.  The above 4 points basically have all your knowledge covered and let's open to others to share and make this thread more enjoyable to read.

 

[musicday]

It is a fact that the Tera Player is the most hated/loved portable music player in the world and let me give you some examples:
When the price was low and easily accessible for the majority on Headfi everyone complained about: lack of screen, no pause/off button,not compatible with lots of earphones/headphones and if i try harder i can think of few more negatives some mentioned.
Now everyone is mentioning about the price.Let them do it,is their right and it doesn't bother me at all.
At least i am very happy with my Tera Player,but i never was with AK products or Lotoo Paw Gold.
People come read this thread, stay if they want or go to a different one.
Life is good, when we have a product as the Tera Player we have something unique that we don't need to upgrade ( read change ) every few months.
Tera is made for listening and that's what's made for,and not having to worry about firmware update make it best for me.
This is not a selling marketing strategy, this is the reality )

 

[Ruben123]

It is a fact that the Tera Player is the most hated/loved portable music player in the world and let me give you some examples:
When the price was low and easily accessible for the majority on Headfi everyone complained about: lack of screen, no pause/off button,not compatible with lots of earphones/headphones and if i try harder i can think of few more negatives some mentioned.
Now everyone is mentioning about the price.Let them do it,is their right and it doesn't bother me at all.
At least i am very happy with my Tera Player,but i never was with AK products or Lotoo Paw Gold.
People come read this thread, stay if they want or go to a different one.
Life is good, when we have a product as the Tera Player we have something unique that we don't need to upgrade ( read change ) every few months.
Tera is made for listening and that's what's made for,and not having to worry about firmware update make it best for me.
This is not a selling marketing strategy, this is the reality )

Better call it head fi disease as nobody has to upgrade his portable player every few months, that's plain ridiculous and I don't get it. If you want better sound, get a better headphone, not another media player. I have a Sansa Clip+ from 2009 or so and it keeps delivering me the highest quality sound every day for years.

 

[musicday]

Ruben,your comments are priceless and need no extra explanations.
What is your full gear exactly: headphones and music player.

 

[H20Fidelity]

The problem with this thread is its taking on a representation of 'ad nauseam' and has for some time.
 
Its one thing to be passionate about a product but another to repeat with intensity until it loses credibility.
 
This ultimately affects the product and spokesperson's reputation.
 
Sometimes I think the only reason Charles increases the price repeatedly is like a last attempt to stimulate conversation about the Terra.
 
If this is the case then its a miserable situation.

 

[smial1966]

When the Tera Player (TP) sold for a reasonable 840 Euros and Charles was being unfairly criticised for the reasons musicday mentions below, there were many owners that spoke up here in his defence, myself included. However, when the TP cost doubled overnight in response to A&K releasing their initial DAPs then doubled again when the AK240 was introduced, many TP owners questioned Charles sanity and motivation for these seemingly unwarranted price hikes. It is unfortunate that red mist or greed compelled Charles to price the Tera Player at silly money, as it is a unique DAP with a very distinctive sound and a substantially lower price would allow more audiophiles to own and enjoy it.      
 
Quote:

It is a fact that the Tera Player is the most hated/loved portable music player in the world and let me give you some examples:
When the price was low and easily accessible for the majority on Headfi everyone complained about: lack of screen, no pause/off button,not compatible with lots of earphones/headphones and if i try harder i can think of few more negatives some mentioned.
Now everyone is mentioning about the price.Let them do it,is their right and it doesn't bother me at all.
At least i am very happy with my Tera Player,but i never was with AK products or Lotoo Paw Gold.
People come read this thread, stay if they want or go to a different one.
Life is good, when we have a product as the Tera Player we have something unique that we don't need to upgrade ( read change ) every few months.
Tera is made for listening and that's what's made for,and not having to worry about firmware update make it best for me.
This is not a selling marketing strategy, this is the reality )

 

[musicday]

Flymetothemoon- as you seem to have the Tralucent Ref1, can you please describe in more details how is the sound when paired up with the Tera Player.
Unfortunately i wasn't able to find anywhere this earphone to try i out myself.
But if it does improve on the Porta Pro in every single aspect with another at least 20-30% i will definitely buy it.
Thanks,
Musicday

 

[flymetothemoon]

Flymetothemoon- as you seem to have the Tralucent Ref1, can you please describe in more details how is the sound when paired up with the Tera Player.
Unfortunately i wasn't able to find anywhere this earphone to try i out myself.
But if it does improve on the Porta Pro in every single aspect with another at least 20-30% i will definitely buy it.
Thanks,
Musicday

At this price point, we are looking for things like sound stage, separations between vocal/instruments, texture of the voice/instruments etc.  Without a good transducers (in this case, a headphone or IEM), most of the above cannot be interpreted honestly.  
 
Yes, I never heard of the Porta Pro as I'm not interested in a headphone that can hear other sounds (to my knowledge it is not an enclosed design) while listening to the music.  With this, you may challenge my "conspiracy theory" of Porta Pro is of less performance against the Ref.1 and I accept that.
 
As mentioned in my thread previously, I have made countless comparisons between the Tera & AK240 while struggling to decide which one to go.  Of course the rest is history as the Tera has been sold to a fellow headfier in the US (April 2015) at the same price I paid for the Tera (Euro 800 something).  I never regret the decision as I'm enjoying beautiful music with my AK240/Wagnus Epilson/Tralucent Ref.1/Uber interconnector/Uber IEM cables (amped or unamped).
 
Back to your question...I bet the Ref.1 can give you not only much better sound stage/separations/texture vs. the Porta Pro but a good extension to both ends with details that you have never heard before.   You may source the Ref.1 second hand with the silver/gold standard cable then upgrade to the Uber at a later day as it [uber] will bring another new level of excitement to your listening.  Definitely with this upgrade [to Ref.1] , you may find more joy and dig deeper to your love of the Tera.  The next thing you should do is to stick with the combo and not to listen to anything as it will distract your mind over time.  

 

[musicday]

Thanks for the heads up, now i am looking even more to hear/purchase the Ref1 if it is that good sounding with the Tera.
Last question, can Westone soft sponge tips can be used with Ref1?
Comfort is very important for my listening sessions.

 

[flymetothemoon]

Thanks for the heads up, now i am looking even more to hear/purchase the Ref1 if it is that good sounding with the Tera.
Last question, can Westone soft sponge tips can be used with Ref1?
Comfort is very important for my listening sessions.

Go for the JVC Spiral Dot as I've found it's better than the Ortofon tips.  No experience on Westone thus no comments.
 
Should you consider brand new Ref.1, you should get their latest model...the Ref.1 Too (yes, TOO is its name). 
 
Contact Tralucent's Gavin via PM here...
 
spkrs01

 

[tgdinamo]

I have both modded Koss Porta and Ref1 and prefer Ref1 quite a bit. While I love Koss too but like flymetothemoon said those are not closed phones so they are unusable during commute or at work which is my usage scenario. By the way, I purchased the 1plus2 and later Ref1 primarily to address the usage scenario and did not expect such significant step up on SQ but that's there as well. Actually, I purchased Ref1 to address the one issue I had with 1plus2 which was a touch of sibilance with certain recordings (although my understanding is I could also had addressed that by purchasing the uber cable with 1plus2 - just did not think that cable was going to be managable during commutes because it's supposedly thick & fragile based on what others reported).

 

[musicday]

What's the diffrence been Ref1 and Ref1 Too? Can't seem to find a proper answer.

 

[tgdinamo]

What's the diffrence been Ref1 and Ref1 Too? Can't seem to find a proper answer.

 
I have the original Ref1 and never heard Ref1 Too. Supposedly it's even better - some have reported it's faster and even better bass/midrange which is hard to believe possible.
By the way I also still have the 1plus2 which is especially great for classical music - I prefer it to Ref1 for classical, even without uber cable.
Also keep in mind that Tralucent phones need long burn-in - I would say 200 hours (although they start to settle after close to 100).