Mackie

we should adjourn to karoake lounges thereafter....with pretty beauties on each and every one's lap!

Waaaaaaa.......Lion opening his mouth (roughly translated from a Chinese saying).....roooarrrr.... Oak: Guy is too young to drink....must check his Ic before alcohol can be served to him.

Let me try.... Freq response: The freq range that an audio product can reproduce, be them cans, speakers, amps or cdps. The basic requirement is to meet the aural range of humans ie 20-20KHz. However, in the case of transducers/speakers, they tend to roll off on the bottom end eg, around 35Hz for my PPM2 speakers. Generally, bookshelf speakers have a higher roll-off freq than floorstanders, thus, implying the latter can produce deeper bass....well at least on paper. What this means is that signals below the speakers' roll-off freq will not be reproduced with low distortion. Bandwidth: The basic definition is that it is the width of the spectrum that a signal occupies. The bandwidth of a radio signal is generally related to the audio quality for either analogue or digital radio systems but that is not the whole story because bandwidth has very different definitions for analogue bandwidth and digital bandwidth. Bandwidth of an analogue signal is the difference in frequency between the highest and lowest frequencies contained in the signal. A signal might contain frequencies outside of a band that it is supposed to use, so the signal is passed through a filter which removes the frequency components outside of what is called the filter’s passband. For example, the difference between the highest and lowest frequencies of the passband will be the bandwidth of the filter. Usually, the bandwidth of a filter will be defined as the difference between the higher and lower frequencies at which the power is half that in its passband. A signal on the other hand might be defined by its bandwidth between the frequencies at which its power is far lower than half that of its passband. This is because the frequency components at the edge of a band have to be very small (attenuated) so that they don’t interfere with the frequency components of a signal that is transmitted in an adjacent band. An example of analogue bandwidth of a signal would be the range of frequencies that contain 95% of all the power in the signal or possibly 99% of the power of the signal.

no problem lah.......I believe 2 adults can afford to pay for a kid's lunch - Guyferd (pun intended)

In addition, maybe U can try the cone tweaks I've mentioned in my review of DT880. Guyferd and Northern Oak are believers now. This tweaking method helps to improve imaging and expecially vocals which sound more involving. I must stress the effect is not subtle...rather obvious.

Have U sold your V-cans V2? If so, no chance to revert er? I suspect your Sudgen is revealing a flaw in the cans and I assume U've been using the NAD cdp before the upgrade. Maybe U should try a more lively and punchy pair of cans like Grado and Beyer DT880. I'm almost confident that they would rectify this sonic displeasure. Bring your headamp and cans to Rameish's place and the problem may be pinpointed as he has the Grados and Beyer. Whatever your decision is, don't forget my power sale of the 880 on the sticky track.

Next Sat is fine with me....can have lunch together. Make sure U guys defer your commitments to late afternoon-evening as I don't wish to rush. U know how time flies when having fun.

Next Sat is fine with me....can have lunch together. Make sure U guys defer your commitments to late afternoon-evening as I don't wish to rush. U know how time flies when having fun.

lengcm: Before undertaking an upgrade to outboard dacs, there are a few significant issues to contemplate. First and foremost, cost and choice of digital cable from the coaxial output of cdp to dac. I cannot stress enough to employ the coaxial route over optical as it's sonically better. Unless U wanna go into exotic cables, I find a Belden 1694A 75-ohm coaxial cable terminated with Canare RCA plugs is sufficient. This should cost U less than $20 for a 1m length. Next comes a major issue....increased jitters from different clocks on the cdp and dac. Unless U own a cdp and dac of the same model range, it's very unlikely the clocking freqs will be in sync completely. Increased jitters contribute to more distortions and one way out of this is to insert a DiP, eg. Monarchy DIP 24/96 in between these 2 units. This will help to synchronize the cdp and dac but remember an extra pair of coaxial cable will be needed to link up the whole chain. Besides the extra cost, take note that upsampling doesn't always guarantee a better sound as it could become more analytical and artificial.....esp 24/192. So careful auditions for different dacs are required. Tee's recommendation of a North Star is a fine gear which I concur. If U're bent on buying a dac, try MF X-24K which should cost somewhere between $400-450 in the used market. Of course there are the Thetas and others in this price range but I personally own the MF to partner my decade old Pioneer cdp which has a mother of a solid transport. I've tried this dac with a more contemporary Marantz CD6000ose cdp but the Pioneer fits my sonic taste better. Hence, transports do contribute to the resultant sound. In this respect, I wouldn't recommend buying a dvdp and dac to replace your NAD as it's not economical. Also, a clean upgrade to a better cdp in the range of $1000-2000 can yield better sonic returns and last longer before the next upgrade beckons. If agreeable, try Marantz CD17MkIII, Consonance Opera 2.2 (24/192 upsampling), Audiomega Obsession, Exposure 2010 and Rega 2000 cdps as they fall into the $1000-2000 range. U may also target used players priced at this price range as their original prices would be in the $3000 range. Used MF A3CD or 3.2CD (both with 24/96 upsampling) were sold at $1400/1750 at Adelphi recently. In the sub $1000 range, U can try Marantz CD19a, Rotel 1070 etc. If I were to be in your shoes, I would upgrade the cdp, interconnect and power cords (Belden 16934 cords will give better sound if U're still using the stock cords) and perhaps at a later stage, the cans (see sticky power buy for DT880 ). My criterion in every upgrading move is always:- balance, synergy, longevity and value for money. This is to max out the money spent without a begging need to upgrade in the months or years ahead. My last upgrade was done after a 5-year hibernation.

I have no experience in your mentioned models but I will probably give Beyer the thumbs up in this area owing to their reputable presence in pro audio. Just my opinion really.

I have not tried this particular model but had experience in the higher end Sennheiser HD600 and BeyerDynamic DT880, both costing in the $400-600 range. I won't compare cans with speakers system but depending on your requirement and partnering ancillaries, cans can really sound good as problems from room acoustics of speakers setups are taken out of the equation. I always strive to avoid the "headphoney" syndrome where the sound seems to congest across the middle of the head with little soundstaging or interaction between the 2 channels. Head amps with crossfeed circuitry can pare this syndrome and so does having a good pair of cans that can project better depth and soundstaging/imaging. If U're looking at ear buds and cans for portable machines, the returns and types will be different/required from those (like myself) who are keen to strive for higher standards via a proper cdp, head amp. We can take the conversation from there once we know of your intended setup.

Guyferd: I must commend U on your effort to expand an initial 10-cd collection by three-four folds within such a short time. Are u living on bread and water now that your allowance is diminished (understatement)?

Yo dudes!!! U guys are already planning a party without the host knowing? No problem. But my small music room can only allow two flippers, perhaps 3 if i were to leave U guys to your devices...no way man, erase the last part of this sentence! Guyferd: I thought U're having mid-year exams? Must study hard so that U can embark on a career to pay for your expensive audiophilia hobby. ** nag, nag, nag ** Sat will be a good day for this kinda activity. Let me know of the dates, Oak and Guy.

No worries Guy...will keep U posted. How are the cds U got from me? Like them?

Wait till U hear the emotions in vocals.....U'll get chills up your spine.....no kidding. Have U ever cried while listening to music? Good experience U know but don't let the wifey see it or she'll think U're going bonkers.

Oak: Hacknet might turned out to be 51! hahahaha....... Regarding the rumbling..........that's the deep deep organ roll U're experiencing. My pal did a measurement and it chalks up a reading of about 10-20 Hz.....beyond human aural sense. If U can feel this thru your cans, who do U thank? CD17MKIII!!!!

Compared to Xtreme and echo, I find this forum visually most pleasant. Maybe it's because my fav colour is blue.

Explosive? Listen to the last track on your XLO burn-in disc. kekeke..... On a serious note, try "The Planets" composed by Gustav Holst. I have the Karajan piece on DG label. The playing on "Mars-Bringer of War" will keep U at the edge of your seat.

Oak, take it easy and be contented for now. Your current setup should last U for a long while. It's a long adventure wreaked with pitfalls when one goes into speakers setup...doubly so for vinyl as it's not a plug-n-play equipment. A lot of time, effort and knowledge has to be put into the process of setting up/tuning/tweaking/maintenance of LPs and turntable. If one does not have an old collection to play with, more time and money is expected to be spent in the search of used/new LPs.

Treasure it my friend! I sold my LP12 back in the 90s during the era of "perfect sound forever" and regretted it ever since.

Tee: Negative my friend. In the area of cans, I believe U have more experience than I do.

Guyferd: U've approached the right person as I got into J-pop since 20 years ago. U can be rest assured of the Taiwan/HK press of Japanese cds as their quality don't deviate much from that of Japan. Premium prices of the latter are due to high yen and shipping cost and I go for the outside-Japan press for better value for money. However, be wary of some of the Taiwanese presses as they may carry labels which are not known in the recording industry etc Ho Sun. These are boot-legs (pirated) and sold in HK for S$5 each. Authorised distributors of original J-pop in HK/Taiwan are well-known companies such as Avex Trax, EMI, etc. The same is true of K-pop. In S'pore, even reputable cd shops sell boot-legs at the same price to that of authorised distributors.

Rameish, let nature take its course and from the current looks of it, Guy willl no doubt be a vinyl junkie and all else in the hifi chain. I can already forsee his hobby running into conflict with his future girlfriend and wife!

Just a thought, posting an ad on the following may reach a larger community. http://pub38.bravenet.com/classified/show....rnum=3193043227 http://classifieds.singnet.com.sg/

Guyferd: Glad U like it and it satisfies me to see a jolly flipper leaving my home knowing that one part of my anatomy will be in good hands. Why don't U get a shelve from Ikea and drill it to the wall? Some are long enough to accomodate your cdp and headamp. U can also get some ideas to hoard your cds over there. Wall shelve http://www.ikea.com.sg/pages/prod_asp/3_pr...h&prc=ss&pc=mms CD storage http://www.ikea.com.sg/pages/prod_asp/3_pr...d&prc=lr&pc=mds