THE WATERCOOLER HEADPHONE EDITION – Headphones, Amps, DACs, and desktop/home audio related – a freewheeling discussion of gear, impressions, music, and musings.

[Sajid Amit]

Definitely! When I get a chance, I’ll do some testing with the 8ohm out of speaker taps and the 32ohm out of the XLR output and I’ll report back.

Yes, I would love to know as well. Thanks for the detailed write-up.

 

[yaps66]

My recent acquisition of this 2009 anniversary edition of the SR-404 that was originally released in 1979. It's a nice addition to my Stax collection which I love! Thanks @Kiats for the heads-up on this!

 

[Aetherhole]

How are thr connection made to the speaker taps on the AIC? Does the cable come with a spade connector for them?

Frankie, yep, the cables are terminated with spade connectors. The cable was bought directly from Danny/Raal/Requisite.

Yes, I would love to know as well. Thanks for the detailed write-up.

Definitely! I’ve already started listening, but going to take a break and listen some more tomorrow. At some point maybe tomorrow or this weekend I will share my findings after I’ve had more time to listen.

 

[Sajid Amit]

I posted my Canjam Singapore 2025 Impressions Part 1 here, if you would like to read. I know I love reading Canjam impressions from others!

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/can...ns-thread-april-5-6-2025.976408/post-18648676

 

[Frankie D]

Frankie, yep, the cables are terminated with spade connectors. The cable was bought directly from Danny/Raal/Requisite.

Thanks Jon. Also good to hear as the spades obviously fit the Riviera.

Did you have to specify spade connectors, or does the 8 ohm RCD come with spade connectors as the default? Tks.

 

[Aetherhole]

Thanks Jon. Also good to hear as the spades obviously fit the Riviera.

Did you have to specify spade connectors, or does the 8 ohm RCD come with spade connectors as the default? Tks.

Yep, no problem!

You do have to specify the spade connectors when ordering. I believe you also have to specify the 8ohm RCD otherwise the default option is the 32.

 

[Sajid Amit]

Faceplates I love looking at.

 

[betula]

10,000 Posts!
​

We’ve just hit this milestone and it made me take pause and reflect.. When starting this thread less than a year ago, my hope was for it would become a place for headphone and desktop gear loving Watercoolers to come together, as the OG Watercooler thread has wonderfully done for portable gear loving Head-Fiers.

I’ve been blown away but how everyone here has made this such a delightful home for our community to share gear impressions, music, and just life. All with a delightful spirit of camaraderie and deep sense of community.

I’ve made many friends here that translated to real-life friendships through CanJams, meetups, and personal visits. Snd I know many more new friendships will follow.

Thank you everyone for making this #1 place for my daily audio reading and social media exchange. I’m deeply thankful to all of you for making this thread the community it has become

It is indeed a great thread, although often it feels like a (friendly) club of summit-fi gear collectors where the entry ticket is at least $50.000 in gear. Not complaining, as I enjoy most posts, but I think the majority of gear discussed in this thread is beyond the average Head-Fier's wallet. Just an observation.

 

[ThanatosVI]

It is indeed a great thread, although often it feels like a (friendly) club of summit-fi gear collectors where the entry ticket is at least $50.000 in gear. Not complaining, as I enjoy most posts, but I think the majority of gear discussed in this thread is beyond the average Head-Fier's wallet. Just an observation.

I think that's just a correlation between those who are deeply into the hobby, who both spend more time in channels like these and spend more money on gear.

However absolutely everyone is welcome in here, we are all just enjoying music to the best of our abilities

 

[goldwerger]

It is indeed a great thread, although often it feels like a (friendly) club of summit-fi gear collectors where the entry ticket is at least $50.000 in gear. Not complaining, as I enjoy most posts, but I think the majority of gear discussed in this thread is beyond the average Head-Fier's wallet. Just an observation.

Absolutely everyone is welcome and so are discussion on any gear and budget. We currently have tours for multiple products in the sub $1k or just above $1k price point (Noire X, ADX3000, HFA Dahlia, Dunu Arashi) which resulted in many impression posts here on these products and comparisons to others in these price levels (e.g. comparing the Arashi and Arya Unveiled). We also often share news of product releases in the sub $1k price tier, along with those in the higher end price brackets; if it’s new to us or to the market, we share. I think we have owners of both budget and expensive headphones, amps, DACs, and other. Topics aren’t limited to either, and I love seeing everyone engaged.

There’s definitely a correlation between time in, and passion to, the hobby and quality of gear, which is likely reflected here. It is what it is, but I hope - and would like to stress to any new reader - that everyone is so warmly welcome to join us here and jump into the conversation, whether they are new to the hobby or veterans, ask any question and share anything they find exciting at any budget level.

 

[Leto Dal]

It is indeed a great thread, although often it feels like a (friendly) club of summit-fi gear collectors where the entry ticket is at least $50.000 in gear. Not complaining, as I enjoy most posts, but I think the majority of gear discussed in this thread is beyond the average Head-Fier's wallet. Just an observation.

As someone recently mentioned, it takes some time to learn the difference between the gear you admire and gear you really enjoy. More expensive is not always better. I take a Caldera from Aegis any day over an Aperio. You sir, got some beautiful totl setup. But yeah in the end every audio forum / discord community will fuel your FOMO to some extend

 

[betula]

As someone recently mentioned, it takes some time to learn the difference between the gear you admire and gear you really enjoy. More expensive is not always better. I take a Caldera from Aegis any day over an Aperio. You sir, got some beautiful totl setup. But yeah in the end every audio forum / discord community will fuel your FOMO to some extend

Don't get me wrong, I have never been more content with what I have. The post wasn't about me, just a general observation. And I would also choose the Caldera with the Aegis over the Aperio any day.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Huge weekend fun incoming!

Actually it's a three-way

Verité still missing, unfortunately my dealer had no demo unit of that one at the moment

 

[LXMc]

This thread has become one of my favourite head-fi spots just due to the diversity in conversation that happens. There's definitely lots of summit-fi talk, but I enjoy reading it as a bystander as I'm not necessarily seeking out those specific threads. Still plenty of other gear, music and just general musings discussed and enough contributors for people to chime in on most topics that come up.

We currently have tours for multiple products in the sub $1k or just above $1k price point (Noire X, ADX3000, HFA Dahlia, Dunu Arashi

Speaking of which...any chance for that Dahlia/Arashi comparison?

 

[michael2v]

Thank you everyone for making this #1 place for my daily audio reading and social media exchange. I’m deeply thankful to all of you for making this thread the community it has become ​

Equal credit to you as well for being such a great ambassador and bringing people together!

It is indeed a great thread, although often it feels like a (friendly) club of summit-fi gear collectors where the entry ticket is at least $50.000 in gear. Not complaining, as I enjoy most posts, but I think the majority of gear discussed in this thread is beyond the average Head-Fier's wallet.

I'm probably as guilty of this as anyone (although I blame Head-Fi for the bad influence!), but would probably still tell my past self to just stick with the HD6XX and Bottlehead Crack for sheer musical enjoyment!

Speaking of which...any chance for that Dahlia/Arashi comparison?

I will have a bit to say about this since I just got done with the Arashi (the Dahlia is actually the headphone that compared most closely in many respects, IMO) if I ever find time to type up my notes, hopefully this weekend!