[shigzeo]

Above: FiQuest new prototype

I had the good fortune to attend the best headphone meeting of my 30 year life. The best part is that the meeting was largely attended by well-informed amp and accessory makers, not just a bunch of geeky audiophiles. iBasso was there with the prototype of the new FiQuest which will make rounds here eventually; of course, Ryuzoh _forced_ me to listen to the current FiQuest which is an amazing amplifier not only for the money, but because of its customisation options.

I was most surprised by the overall level of quality which is coming from nearly unknown DIY makers. In fact, my favourite amp there looks like a POS, but IMO is simply the most stunning amp out there for IEMs. I did not get a chance to test it with headphones as they would not fit in my tiny camera bag.

I will surely make time every year to meet with the lads and lasses in Tokyo who, I believe, run the most tightly reigned audio products. The entire meeting was peopled with no more than 30 members. And there were ladies! Surprise surprise, ladies too, are into headphones and not only listening: a few were manufacturers of accessories and at least one is a budding amp builder.

Two vendors showed up, but the majority was a young population of adept headphone listeners. Nearly everyone had a favourite custom iem and high-end portable. And there were even two balanced portable amplifiers there to complement the load of tweaked production amps.

The same morning, I marched off to meet with Mr. Suyama of FitEar who is a surprisingly level-headed audiophile and drummer. In the world of Japanese geekdom, audiophiles are obviously deeply entrenched in producing the best, if not the best-looking audio equipment. I look forward to any new production.

Pics and more at TMA.

 

[Silenced]

you mention everyone having a favorite custom iem. Which were the most popular amongst the meet-attendees?

 

[shigzeo]

UE was probably the most well-attended, but JH also have a few shows. I was surprised to see 3 or 4 FitEar earphones, and one very self-defacing member actually brought about 10 customs, including a full-custom IE8! If ever I have seen a junkie...

 

[jamato8]

A bit of cash outlay there.

I listened to the board in your image for some time. It is very nice.

 

[shigzeo]

At the end was a tower of portable amps... sick and disgusting and thankfully, my Rx did not suffer scratches!

 

[charlie0904]

very impressive to see so many DIY-ers portable amps. they make good amps yeah?
so thats the mysterious amp..

- are those BG caps inside?

 

[shigzeo]

Indeed that is the Mysterious amp. Sadly, I did not check to see what brand of caps were installed. Whatever was installed, it is easy to say that they are worth it.

 

[qusp]

no, no blackgates in that one. they appear to be Nichicon KZ, some UTSJ and nichicon ES for opamp supplies and 15000uf Nichicon FW for the main reservoir caps.

oooh and HA5002 in buffers; nice

 

[ryuzoh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif no, no blackgates in that one. they appear to be Nichicon KZ, some UTSJ and nichicon ES for opamp supplies and 15000uf Nichicon FW for the main reservoir caps. oooh and HA5002 in buffers; nice

You've got it.
And FW is 10000uF/16V, and silmic2.

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlie0904 /img/forum/go_quote.gif very impressive to see so many DIY-ers portable amps. they make good amps yeah? so thats the mysterious amp.. - are those BG caps inside?

They (We) are in good environment to make amps and other gadgets, the reason why is the shops in Tokyo.(especially located in Akihabara)
Example....despite of yesterday, I could buy many kinds of audio graded caps, OPAMPs, resistors, NKK switches...
The moment as we want, we can easily collect parts and assemble.

 

[charlie0904]

all these caps, opamps, resistors are spinning my head.
wish I have more knowledge and skill in these stuff.

hopefully I can make my portable amp in the future and create my own "perfect sound".


heads up to you guys!

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryuzoh /img/forum/go_quote.gif You've got it. And FW is 10000uF/16V, and silmic2.

yeah actually I was surprised to note that a couple of what I thought were nichicon KZ in my amp were in fact silmic II, only a couple though as there others were KZ. very similar looking indeed without being able to read the writing on them


Quote:

They (We) are in good environment to make amps and other gadgets, the reason why is the shops in Tokyo.(especially located in Akihabara) Example....despite of yesterday, I could buy many kinds of audio graded caps, OPAMPs, resistors, NKK switches... The moment as we want, we can easily collect parts and assemble.

shutup you :green with envy: I have to do this while mostly ordering parts from the other side of the world

 

[jamato8]

Yeah, it would be so nice to just pop down to a few stores and get whatever you need. What a luxury, what great fun.

 

[shigzeo]

Another part of the world with all the same parts, but in an even more cramped, unorderly venue is in Seoul's Yongsan where SoundCAT are located. Amazing place full of makers, manufacturers, etc..

 

[field]

when is that fiQuest coming out

 

[shigzeo]

fiQuest is out, but the prototype? No idea!