Mackie

Agree with cmk on all accounts. A big however is space. Maybe there should be another poll on the types of housing members are living in. For those who have ample space and married, the other deterent is the wife factor. I won't be surprised the results could be far and few; extremeplace, echoloft and this forum combined. The situation is worse in HK where living space, even in expensive areas such as Mid-levels and Happy Valley, are below 1000 sq ft.

Well if they are on par in all aspects, there's no reason for MS products to exist. MS is generally less bright than Grado. This is already a telling difference.

Given that your cdp is already old in the tooth, a full upgrade in cdp is warranted. Forget about outboard DAC. Jitters is a major concern and if you can overlook that, I am sure you might as sell get a dvdp but this is just to confirm high bit DAC does not necessary equate to better sound. Therefore, a one-box-cdp is the way to go. However, don't just follow our advice, give it an audition. If you really wish to retain service of your Denon and want an outboard DAC, give it an audition.

The circuitry prior to DAC is known as the digital stage which begins with the laser pickup. If you wanna go into immense details, it should start from the cd media and how well the laser beam hits and reflects from its surface blah blah blah..... In a word, a laser pickup with glass lens will last longer than plastic ones (seen in lower end Marantz cdps eg. CD6000 etc). I wouldn't say it's key to better sound quality but more so for longetivity. You should view the whole mechanism as a whole to decide if the cdp is worth its weight in serving as a standalone transport. Next consider the inherent DAC. Although a contemporary DAC such as 24 bit/96Khz is technically superior than the conventional 16 bit/44.1KHz and most likely to produce more details, this upgrade does not guarantee better sound quality because of the analogue conversion stage. If a high bit DAC is always superior, why is it that dvd players do not catch on as being the ultimate and most sought after cd playback machine albeit sporting 24 bit/192Hz DACs even in sub S$500 category (even an Akira which costs less than S$200 has that capability)? As technology progresses, a well balanced and contemporary cdp often yields better sound than an equivalent priced transport+combo set. However, if you are pondering on partnering a DAC headamp with your existing cdp, it does make economical sense to take this route, provided your priority is in getting a good headamp and not the DAC within. Thus, I suggest you prioritise this purchase on the amp's sound quality while the inherent DAC as a plus. Footnote: The DAC in your Denon is an 18-bit Burr-Brown PCM61P which is already obsolete. Hence, it may be feasible to consider a DAC headamp. But it you are looking at upgrading the source only, go for an all new one-box cdp.

I just edited my earlier post with a rough perception of how your cdp would respond to different makes.

I can already foresee how your itinery is gonna be like.....first stop at Jarben for the Beyers and MS, next to MBD for Grado; think and decide which can fancies you and then head north to Woodlands for AT, Senn and Grado revisited. The Otari CDR-18 is the pro equivalent of a Pioneer PDR-05 CD recorder. I believe this and like the other Pioneer cdps, has a Bit-Stream (1 Bit) DAC, which tends to sound smooth at the top and wide in soundstaging but a tad milder in tempo, attack and dynamics, relative to conventional 16-bit DAC machines. As such, I reckon the Grado/MS are worth considering. In fact, these makes should compliment the aforementioned weakness I perceived. However, Senn and AT could improve the bass slam of your Otari. For the price/value, my pick is Beyer DT440 (open design) which costs around S$250. Problem is availability. However, Jarben or Peak Fusion (distributor) may have a pair of DT660 (closed design) last seen in the now defunct Anything Audio, for audition. However, if it costs over $300, this could open up lots of other options. In a nutshell, be prepared to spend time listening and shopping.

I like to nip things at the bud, thus, I wanna know what CDP U are using and what sorta sound you prefer. If you are sensitive to brightness at any degree, the Grado will not be as suitable as a Senn/Beyer/AT. One man's meat is another man's poison. It's more strategic to weed out the no-nos from your want-wants.

check here http://www.sgheadphones.net/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=15

Here're some technical details. The Spitfire sports a Burr-Brown PCM1793 24-bit DAC, which operates at 96Hz sampling rate in this design instead of its full 192KHz capability , a Cirrus Logic CS8414 96kHz receiver and a Burr-Brown OPA2604 opamp in the output stage. Take an inside look in the following link: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/audiocandy2/candy_3.html White paper on Burr-Brown PCM1793 DAC http://focus.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/pcm1793...com50102.html02

Well one thing's for sure, its handle around the tubes is inviting you to carry it off the shelf and straight into your arms. kekekek

Yes, I concur with Charismatic. I saw 2 pieces of the disc on the upper shelf of Classical/SACD/Audiophile section at Raffles Place Gramophone. Grab it quick, this disc is very helpful to speakers setup aside from degaussing and burning of system.

Happy birthday dude!

fongalv: It was meant to be a joke (www.Stereo-Electronics-Durian.nut(me nuts).sg

Looks good aesthetically and so is the price. We await your opinions on this amp.

I understand and am equally surprised some headfi members consider it neutral. FWIW, Anything Audio used to carry Ultrasone cans and I was told it ain't popular. I understand why after auditioning them.

Test it visually, specs is just a number on paper. U'll notice sets with faster response time cost more and reserved for the higher/flagship models.

Mack, You can find similar ones at New Disc Village for $10 if memory serves me well. I know and before him, MusicLink carries these too. A friend of mine had seen such adapters sold in Bangkok for S$2+. Just trying my luck in the Big Apple. USD/SGD as at Jul 4, 1344hours, trading at 1.5805/1.5815

As a matter of fact, there is and I can even smell it from here. www.SED.nut.sg. kekekekekeke.......

upz

I read on headfi (take it with a pinch of salt though...) that its very neutral and flat sounding....Suitable for studio work but because of that, it may not sound as great for listening to music normally. Neutral? IMHO, far from it. For eg, HFI650, I learnt what's on the extreme end of a transparent sound. HFI-2000 fares better and so does the lower end HFI-15. I actually considered the latter for portable purpose but the generally higher prices of Ultrasone does not offer similar value for money seen in other competitive brands.

It's a myth to assume a separate transport+dac will sound superior to a one-box cdp. Yes, the former offers separate power supplies (to transport and dac) and enjoys greater flexible in upgrading if higher upsampling dacs are on the offing. However, jitters become the Archilles feet and a huge one at that. Moreover, a separate combo is no longer as feasible as in the early days when upgrades to 16-bit dac were available at 20-bit and later, 24-bit. In fact, the 24-bit dac stays around with its highest sampling rate at 196KHz to date. Instead of seeing further evolution in dacs, we see improvement in cd format ie, SACD. XRCD, DVDA and up and coming Blu-ray. Therefore, we are back to the rule of thumb, short signal path is best. A transport+dac combo will need a jitter bug in the midst to address the detriment jitter issues, thus, contributing to longer signal path but this trade off does not often guarantee better sound quality, not unless, you wish to retain an old cdp player with great transport and add a more contemporary dac to it. To summarise it all, if you don't have a cdp, take a one-box approach. If you have an old cdp which U like to upgrade its digital end, an outboard dac is feasible. Does a Rega Planet 2000 qualify although it costs between 1-2K actually? Marantz cdps usually come in below the 1K mark.

First and foremost, Beyer cans have all along been studio based ie, sound wise. I reckon the difference may be one's state of mind. David finds his experience in HMV pleasurable because he was not there to scrutinise every nuance, tone and detail but listening to the music in the raw. Similarly, hardcore audiophiles gauge musicality of a hifi system by how it makes the listeners tap their feet. However, a simple transistor radio can induce the same effect if your favourite song/music is broadcasted.

First and foremost, the polarities (live and neutral consideration) of a China plug is similar to Singapore's which adheres to UK standard. So no worries. As for US and UK standards, there is indeed a 180 deg difference. Chuck the different connectors aside, and take a perspective of looking at the wall outlet. When a cable with UK standard 3-pin plug is connected to this wall outlet, the live (brown) is on the right, ground (green) in the center and neutral (blue) on the left. Conversely, when a US power cord (factory terminated with Hubbel plugs) is connected to the same wall outlet via a US-UK adapter plug, the live and neutral is switched ie, live will be on the left and neutral on the right - reverse polarity. Therefore, you must switch the connections of these 2 conductorss on the plug end (not IEC connector end) if the cable is to be connected direct to wall outlet. However, if US plugs are connected to a US-made/configured power conditioner, the polarities will adhere to US standard and thus, U need not carry out the abovementioned switch of live/neutral conductors. But if you use a UK standard plug/power cord connected to his conditioner via UK-US adapter, you will need to switch the live/neutral connectors for this cable. Summary: Wall outlet: UK plug (no switch); US plug (switch) US power conditioner or any conditioner with US standard receptacles: UK plug (switch); US plug (no switch)

It's huge and heavy (more than 20Kgs in all). There are 4 dedicated power supplies; display, digital stage, analogue stage and finally, transport mechanism. This is one player you won't hear digital glare as it's so analogue sounding. I'm an avid LP lover and I can safely attest to it. In addition, it has very high resolution (even at 24/96) and as such, you can hear all details without the need to increase volume output.

Any rate below 20ms is good, the lower it is, the more expensive it will be.