kank_39

Does anyone have a recommendation for a simple 2.1 home theater system? Or should I go for the soundbar otion? I have a budget of around $1k.

Thanks

hehehe some pics,im curious how it looks like.

PM sent

And pics for all..

http://community.webshots.com/myphotos?act...security=bhdRbF

Here are the pics.

http://community.webshots.com/myphotos?act...security=kQLbzx

PM me if you want it.

I'm selling a DIY portable amp made by digi01. Got it 6-7 months back. Like the SOHA amp, it's being underutilised. I think is based on the META42 design. Nice highs and tight lows. The casing is kind of worn so I'll let go for cheap. SOLD gets you this amp. I'll throw in a pair of 9v rechargable energizer batteries too. PM me if you're interested.

Pics will be avaiable by tonight.

I've got a DIY SOHA for sale. It's hand-soldered by suqalle of this forum. Got it about 5 months ago. Selling because it's under utilised. It's equiped with a Mullard 12AU7 tube but I'll also include a RCA and another cheapo tube in the package for some tube rolling fun. Mini 1/8 mini jacks used for imput and output. I've got a metal casing for the amp too but I just couldn't find the time to drill in those holes. I'll also throw in another pair of output resistors which can be used for cans of higher impedence.

The only problem is that one of the wires is disconnected while i was tube rolling. So you'll need to solder it back and it'll be as good as new. In fact, it still works, so long as you don't touch those wires. And I'll not be including the power cable as I'm using it for something else. The cable can be easily obtained anywhere since it's similar to the one is used to power your CPU and minitor.

To summarise, the whole package will include:

SOHA Amp w/o power cable (loose connection needs to be soldered back)

3 x 12AU7/ECC82 tubes

Metal casing (aluminium i think) from Sim Lim Tower

Price: SOLD

PM me if you're interested and I'll be more than happy to entertain any questions with regards to the amp.

Pics will be available by tonight.

Cheers!

Very sexy....the woman in red........is dancing with me.....cheek to cheek......

It's LADY in red.. tsk tsk.. and you call yourself an audiophile.

Yeah. I agree with Roasty. Audition before you get your iems. And do try to audition it together with your source and amo if possible. I'm a UM2 user.

WESTONE FOREVER! YEAH! Biasness aside, i chose UM2 over the UM1 and ER6i well.. because of the.. you guess it.. BASS! And not to forget the soundstage. I A/Bed the UM1, ER6i and UM2 at Jaban and the UM2, for me, trumped the other hands down! Thumping bass and music is flowing in my head instead of in my ears only. It really swept me off my feet and it also swept some dollar bills from my bank account. I'm a 'low' person so i guess UM2 suits me very much.

Anyway, what i want to point out is that the UM2 sounds very different when matched with different sources and amps. I auditioned it with a META42 DIY portable amp and it sounded very very good but when i brought it home to drive it with my tube headamp (a SOHA and LDII), it sucked big time! Bloated mids and no bass and highs. It's literally night and day as compared to my cheapo META42 amp. I'm so glad that I've no intention of using the UM2 at home.

I have a LDII and i replaced the 2 preamp tubes (1B2) with Mullard DAF91. I thought that this could get rid of the microphonics but that's not the case and the "upgrade" didn't really improve the sonic performance. There's a slight difference but only if you listen hard enough.

SOLD!

It's black and sale PENDING.

I'll post pics if this deal doesn't go through but i doubt that will happen.

Cheers!

I have a pair of 4 months old Panasonic HJE50 for sale. Selling because I have an UM2 now. All 3 tips have been worn before for test fitting but they're very much as good as new. I've only used them for less than 10 hours. I'll include everything that comes with the package.

Price: SOLD (negotiable)

PM me if interested or for details.

Pics upon request.

"Fubar II" USB DAC

Special Price:USD$ 120 (about 200)

from firestone-audio.com

 

Fubar USB DAC RMB550 (about 114)

www.headphoneworld.com

I think the link should be www.headphoneworld.net and not .com

Anyway my fubar that is coming is modded by digi01 so the sound, according to him, is somehow different as compared to the stock ones. Can't wait to get it next week.

Anyway, Qsilver, you can bring your gear down (if your source is a laptop) to audition the fubar USB DAC at Jaben@Adelphi if you're wondering how the fubar would sound.

I've been searching for a USB DAC for sometime and, being a newbie in the audio realm, i don't really know which one to get as the specs doesn't really speak much to me. I was even suspicious about the amount of sound quality improvement that a USB DAC has over the standard output of my IBM T42 notebook (I've read somewhere that the audio output of the IBM notebooks are pretty good as compred to others). Furthermore my setup is pretty lo-fi as compared to many audiophiles.

It was then that one of SGH overseas DIYer digi01 offered me a DIY USB DAC. He said that it's just an experimental product so he just made two. I was again pretty sceptical but for the price he was offering it for, i went for it. Result: My skeptism was all wiped out upon recieving the DAC.

DISCLAIMER: Please forgive me if my description aren't too detailed as I'm pretty new to this.

Setup:

1) IBM T42 USB (Foobar2k) -> Mini DAC -> Little Dot II -> MS-1

2) IBM T42 USB (Foobar2k) -> Mini DAC -> AUX input of Mini Hifi (Denon D-M33)

Pics:

http://community.webshots.com/album/548052557UwrdqT

Built:

It's puny i have to say. It's as small as a matchbox (as seen in my pics) and it's pretty robust (as later seen in the installation description). Very good for people who needs to move around always.

Installation:

Well, this part is idiot-proof. Just plug and it's ready for action once Windows XP detects and installs the necessary driver. It's identified as a USB speaker.

Next, plug in the mini jack.. duh.. Now this part is a bit tricky in the beginning as a bit of brute force must be applied to fully insert the mini plug into the jack. Thus proving it's robustness is its built.

Sound:

Sound wise, i was taken away immediately when it was connected to my hifi as i played Sarah Mclaclun 's Afterglow LIVE. I tested it with speakers first because my primary purpose of buying a DAC is to play my music through my hifi. The difference was very very distinct when "A/B"ed with the crappy headphone jack of the T42. Soundstage increased trememdously. Signal is much clearer and the vocals is . The instrument seperation is very clear and I can hear little nuances of details from my speakers. I'm very impressed. However, the problem is that when i tried it with some poorly recorded death metal tracks, the sound was terrible! It sounded so 1D! I guess the DAC brings out the good of good and the bad of bad.

Next, i went for my headphone setup and again, i can hear much improvements in the sound. The signal is much cleaner. Treble is brought forward but not forward to a stage where all you can hear are the cymbals (I had a terrible experience with the DT880 as all i could hear from that pair of cans are the cymbals and high hats chiming through all my music). Bass is slightly tighter. Mids wise, I'm pretty satisfied with it although it doesn't really shine in that department. Overall, the sound is pretty smooth.

Conclusion:

Overall, I would like to say this is money really really well spent. After getting and experiencing with digi01's mini DAC, i swear that I'll never ever listen to the output jack of my T42 anymore. In fact, I just paid for another USB DAC (Firestone Fubar) so that i can have one at home and one in my office. Can't wait to do some comparison between the 2 DACs.

Yah. I know about the deal at earphonesolution.com but i don't mind paying a little bit more just for the local support and knowing one more local dealer doesn't hurt either.

afbug, what i was actually looking for when in search for my iem was the oomph in the bass without compromising much of the details (like the sony ex71 series) so i don't regret sacrificing a bit of the treble for the thump. Need it for those non-audiophilic music thrashing out from my ipod.

[EDIT] Tried some EQing and man.. what a difference! For those who own an ipod, try the "Acoustic" option. The bass signature of the UM2 is retained with a boost in the clarity and transparency of the highs. Thank goodness the line out of my ipod did not turn the EQ off.

Afbug, if you like the megadeth tones, i understand why UM2's not your cup of tea. Megadeth sounds much brighter than metallica or most of the metal bands that i like. But that is not to say that they rock less. Dave's picking and riffs and of course sound is legendary on its own. And man.. I wish i have a discman. Nobody in my family uses a discman anymore.

Viconte, I have not heard the e4c but the etys 6i (both white and black ones) just didn't do it for me. I know that the bass is there (tight as hulk hogan's underwear) and the highs and mids are pretty smooth which suit vocals very very well. I like the clarity too. However, i'm looking for some head banging fun on the go, so UM2 is my choice. Although they do sound just a tad bit muddy as compared to the etys and shures, the warmness (of the bass ) more than made it up for me. I'm not really an audiophile, just a music lover so... er... whatever that my ears like, i like.

PS Ok.. Ok.. I admit.. I'm a bit of a basshead... and maybe "a bit" is an understatement..

RB26DETT, Jaben Network is selling the UM1 for $230 and UM2 for $570 at retail. And sorry, i've not heard the super.fi yet.

As for the bass swallowing up the treble for UM2, i personally don't really mind that. I listen to mostly bass heavy stuff on the go, heavy metal and rock tracks to be specific. Therefore, the UM2 simply suited me. But of course people listening to other genres of music like pop or classical stuff would prefer a different sound signature. It all depends on your ears and your musical preference.

As for the difference , personally i feel the sound of the UM1 seems a bit puny as compared to the UM2. UM2 provides a wider soundstage and the music sounds more in the head than in the ears.

As for your source and amp, it makes a whole lot of difference. Do bring your source and amp (if possible) for audition. It sounded very tight and impactful on my protable rig (ipod 4G -> DIY lineout -> DIY portable amp -> UM2) and i loved both the highs and lows and the mids are just flowing. However, when tested on my home rig (Denon DM33 mini hifi -> DIY SOHA tube hybrid amp -> UM2), i was shocked to hear the difference. Gone is the impactful bass and highs seem to be a bit more airy. Mids are terriblt boosted. It sounds pretty bad actually. Then again, it might sound good to some as i was listening to some metallica track then.

I was going to get myself a set of Westone UM1 yesterday so i went down to Jaben Networks to audition them. The owner was very nice and all and after listening to it for about 15 minutes, i found it to be pretty good for its price range. I was going to ask the owner for a new set already until he asked if i wanted to try the UM2.

I was pretty hesitant as i thought i might be tempted to buy the UM2 after listening to it. Nonethless, i went ahead, thinking that i wouldn't be able to afford it. After 5 minutes, i was so very distressed. The UM2 was screaming BASS, BASS and BASS! The soundstage was amazing. It reproduced what i really had in mind for an IEM. Man.. it's a totally different beast as compared to the UM1. It sounds so much better than it's little brother.

So what happened? Team UM2 I have joined.

Lesson to all who's looking for buy the UM1. Do not touch or even think about the UM2, it's poisonous.

Thanx for the clarification guys. I think i understand the reason behind it all now. It all comes down to the output impedence of the amplifier.

I've owned the MS1 for almost half a year and recently got down to compare it with the new DT880 2006 edition, which has an impedence of 250 ohms.

I ran the beyer from my amp (a DIY SOHA to be specific) and I'm thrilled that it didn't require me to change the output impedence of crank up the volume of the amp. The output impedence of my amp is pretty high in order to get rid of the L/R channel imbalance. Sound is still pretty harsh, especially in the highs, but that's not the main point of this thread.

After enjoying the beyer for a while, i decided to go back to my MS1 and i'm pretty surprised that the volume from my MS1 is lower than that of the DT880. By right, having a higher impedence, the DT880 should yield a lower volume than the MS1, which is rated at 32 ohms. However, when tested from the output of my iPod, the DT880 does sound much softer than the MS1 at the same volume level.

So what's the logic behind this phenomenon? Or is there something that i haven't understood in headphone amplification?

Please enlighten.

Since you're talking about isolation i suppose that you're going to use it as a portable, right? My experience with the D66 as a portable can has not been the greatest. Although it does not leak much but the isolation is terrible as a closed can. You can still hear the tight bass and details indoors but once you're outside, or even worse if you're on a bus, all these will be drowned out by all the ambient noise. That's why it's my office set now.

Pandableh,

Just curious. Why are you going for the Eggo D66? Have you tried it? I have one (totally burnt in since it's a 2nd hand and is used extensively for over 2 years already) and i would say that this pair of cans might not be everyone's cup of tea and it's IMHO not a very versatile set. Just thought i add some comments to help you with your decision and BTW i don't think anyone has the D66 in the retail locally at the moment.

i know kippei and squalle is building the SOHA, how about kross and huangyong?

Just a bit of correction. Squalle has finished his SOHA and is already working on a second one, which incidentally... ahem.. would be mine.

Anyway I'm no DIYer but i can say after testing the SOHA that it sounds wonderful with my MS-1. There seems to be some kind of bass boost to the signal. Seperation is good and overall, the music sounds more engaging.

Westones at Adelphi? Man.. I didn't know that they're being sold locally. I'm currently aiming for the UM1 and would go down for an audition soon.

Thanks for the tip off.

I don't own a universal ipod dock but i believe it's not possible yet to get a true line out from the ipod from what i've read so far. I own a DIY line out dock for my 4G ipod and although it disables the volume control, i can still toggle the EQ functions. Thus it is not a true line out but the output signal is seriously much cleaner from the line out dock as opposed to the headphone out of the ipod.