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Naimed

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Posts posted by Naimed

  1. Posted · Report reply

    Maybe its the spin up. Some chassis have tighter grip and some have a not-so-tight-fit. I need to press down on the casing and it will detect correctly.

     

    If your USB casing uses a single USB connector for tapping power, the comp might have difficulty detecting the partition. Mine comes with an additional keyboard socket so I can tap that as well (double power connections work all the time). I also assume your comp is USB 2.0 compatible.

  3. Posted · Report reply

    OT abit, ..

    Naimed, I am assuming you are a Naim fan(from your name)? biggrin.gif

    Have you heard the Naim CDX or CDS(II?)

    I am always very interested to hear the famous Naim PRaT but till now I haven't got the chance to try ..

    wonder how they sound biggrin.gif

    Yes, a Naimee. smoke.gif

     

    The Naim CDPs that I have heard extensively (at least a couple of hours at a single sitting) are: CD3-5/Hi, CD5, CD5/Hi, CDX, CDX2, CDS, CDS2 - either in full-Naim context or otherwise.

     

    Naim's CDPs dont do that hifi thing (soundstage, depth, smoothness...etc) so well, but they play good music. whistling.gif Their presentation may not be everyone's cup of tea but it certainly is engaging/involving enough for me to sit up and listen.

     

    Just pop by Absolute Sound at Singapore Shopping Centre. I'm sure you can listen to some Naims there.

     

    Incidently, I sold my CD3-5/Hi to a guy who owns a A3CD.

  4. Posted · Report reply

    I've heard the EMC-1 but not long enough to comment objectively. Off the top of my head...the EMC-1 does many things better than the A3CD. The A3CD crucially needs proper matching down the chain.

     

    Anyhow, if you are in the market for an usedS$2-3k CDP, try to look around a bit and listen to a lot more. Good reviews doesnt mean its hand in glove for you. A friend of mine let go of his EMC-1 to be digital-less for a while because it wasnt crucial to him.

     

    Any CDP worth its salt should sound their best with adequate stands. If they dont, look elsewhere.

  6. Posted · Report reply

    It states on the Headline page that : "The Headline must be used with an external power supply such as a Flat-Cap 2 or Hi-Cap, using a special interconnect, type SLIC."

     

    This may be a little misleading as the Headline can be powered with a NAPSC. The NAPSC comes with a captive 2-pin plug. Also, there will be a slight price increase for the Headline2 over the Headline.

     

  7. Posted · Edited by N@Z · Report reply

    I'd have meant commercialised in the sense that they've changed their music to suit the "in" genre.  Which was tilted towards more alternative sounding music at the time.  In fact, GorillaZ don't sound very much different from the old BLUR style but Think Tank is way off.  Little wonder Coxon decided to leave.

     

    Yes, some of the older albums are "radio-friendly" but you also have to realise that many are radio-edits.  eg. "Tender" was a 6 min+ song cut in half for radio stations.

    What is the 'in' genre currently? They dont even use 'Alternative' to describe indie these days. Its all 'Modern Rock'. If a band is not diversify enough, they hardly move on (unless they are Led Zep or Pink Floyd). One exception - Metallica with St Anger.

     

    Gorillaz is experimental music that allows Albarn the necessary avenue to do what he doesnt in Blur. This is just my observation, you might not agree.When I heard Think Tank, its recognisable Blur. How is it 'way off'? I like Blur's music but I am not a true blue fan.

     

    Members leaving is a common thing in bands. For RHCP, even with a high guitarist turn-over, they are still focus. They have a few good singles from every album release.

     

    Something that is similar to your observation of Blur - Jason Newsted leaving Metallica? I believe a lot of Metal fans will scream 'sell-out' when the Black album was out but I also believe the same fans went and bought a copy AND enjoyed it. ...Justice sold a couple of millions and so did Black.

     

     

    Mod edit:

     

    OK OK enough about the Think Tank thing. We agree to disagree. Both have very valid points.

  8. Posted · Report reply

    I'd think that the Think Tank album is very commercialised.. The style of music has totally changed from their previous albums. So has their Limited White Label "Don't bomb when you're the bomb" LP.

    Dont think Think Tank is commercialised. The style and directions are definitely different (Gorillaz and various projects) and thats about it. Some of the older albums are as, if not more radio friendly.

     

    Would you term Nirvana's "Smell Like Teen Spirit" as commercialised? I think they just made some great tunes and it got alot of people involved in the music, hence the high volume of sales.

     

    Is Beck commercialised when he got nominated for a couple of Grammys? Dont think so either. Eminem?

     

    I have not seen the terms 'commercialised' and 'sell-out' in use for a very long time. Maybe the masses' taste is evolving...

  11. Posted · Report reply

    My initial impression of the Naim Headline is similar to voxel's (then again I'm very familiar to the Naim sound). But as Barradio said it might futher improve with a Naim HiCap (P/S), only if only I can borrow it for auditioning at home. wink.gif

     

    Barradio, do you think the Headline can be powered simultaneously with a HiCap that is also powering the PreAmp? unsure.gif

    Thanks!

    Interesting stuff here. I guess you guys had fun while I was baking in the sun and feeding the sandflies on a beach in Sibu...

     

    About the headline - what source? Sony? I believe the potential of the headline is limited by the PSU(napsc) and phones more than the source at this point. I've swopped sources on it and didnt find the difference staggering ($350 pioneer dvdp and the cdx2)... blush.gif

     

    The hicap is a dual rail 24v psu and is meant to power a single component(only the FC2 is capable of powering 2 components without grounding issue). Older preamps like 32/42 are single rail and the 32.5/42.5 can accept dual rail power. I think you should be able to tap a single rail out of the hicap to power the pre if its of the older generation and the remaining rail for the headline (ala Napsc), but I think it will look messy!! The issue now is with grounding - as all grounding are done at the PSU in the chain.

     

    I've had the opportunity to try the hicap and supercap on my sistem(not on the headline) and yes, you need nothing less than a SC! mellow.gif The SC supplies both 24V and 18V so you can use a SNAIC from the 24V to the pre and SLIC from the 18V to the headline. The bottom line is, $6k for a PSU is not sane and you still get a performance hit hooking up 2 components to the SC. Maybe 2 HCs is a better choice but the SC is really something special. wacko.gif

     

    BIGOT...Before I Go OT

  14. Posted · Report reply

    The 202 uses 12AX7 for the pre and 12AT for the driver. Have you experience significant sonic improvements with the swop from 12AX7 to 12AU7 (gain factor 19?)? I find the 5751 ( gain factor 70) to be a good replacement due to the lower gain and smoother mid-range. A favourite 5751 of mine - Raytheon windmill getter, double mica black plates.

     

    Swop out those caps to Jensen PIOs or Auricaps - they are worth the money. I also use Kiwame resistors on the 202. Since I've sold my Spendor...the 202 has lost it's 'soul' and she taking the back seat.

  15. Posted · Report reply

    AND the interesting thing is the Linn LP12, their very old but still made/supported vinyl playback turntable sounds better than the CD12! A fully loaded LP12 will only run you about half that of the CD12 along with a good phono stage...

    True...BUT, you can;

     

    1) skip tracks on the CD12

    2) finish the album without getting up to flip sides

     

    yeah.gif

     

    The CDS3 is not in SG yet if I'm not outdated...

     

  16. Posted · Report reply

    Heard the

     

    1) MX500

    2) EX71

    3) ER6

     

    If driven from a portable, the EX71 is only slightly better that the MX500 with better 'air' and 'presence'. I did not find the EX71 to be too bassy. The MX500 has more prominent mids (which most music is coming from), so it tends to sound good. I also find the bass from the MX500 satisfactory. The ER6 is a big leapppp, both in performance and in price. I got the MX500 in the end because I am not very particular about portable music and the ER6 is too expensive.

     

    I'm a earbud person by the way, when it comes to music on the move.

  17. Posted · Report reply

    tmw i make a journey down to SLT to pick up a clip on heatsink and a new desoldering wick and i should undertake the mod tmw or by this weekend latest.

    I find the desoldering wick harder to work with so I use a solder 'sucker' instead. Maybe I have bad soldering skills... yeah.gif

  19. Posted · Report reply

    Mackie. I heard a Bedini'd CD briefly and it has similar benefits of the Statmat. Personally I feel the improvements of both are obvious but at the same time, it is also minor - like a sunscreen at the back of the car.

     

    If the $100 can go towards funding a better source, that would be more beneficial. They are probably more for people already at the end of the road...with nothing else to upgrade. ;P

  20. Posted · Report reply

    I have the Statmat CDi Blue. The most obvious difference of the Statmat is the lower noise floor, which means you hear more details (micro-dynamics). On Stephanie Sun's 'Kite', during the intro - the howling of the wind is more prominent and doesnt actually sound like a distant train.

     

    On the other properties like soundstaging, imaging...I did not notice any difference. Anyway, if your transport is not very sturdy to begin with, the Statmat can be a pro or a con.

     

    Pro - for thinner CDs which the transport has a hard time trying to read, it might help.

     

    Con - for weak transport, the Statmat can cause disc reading failure due to slippage between Statmat and the CD.

     

    I recommend the Statmat for CDPs that comes with a puck - it works better in those. If you are looking at a demagnitising agent, you may want to look at the Bedini CD Clarifier.

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