sayhitojason

English Constant Change - Jose Mari Chan Feathers - Jeanette Lindstrom & Steve Dobrogosz Snow Rose (the 1st album) Chinese Qi Yu - Cai Qin My Innermost Feeling - Chen Jie Li

I have heard many complaints about setting up USB ADSL modems, even for the PC. I don't know what the cause is, but many seems to point to driver issues. I know of many who have swapped to ethernet from USB. Personally, I do not have experience with USB modems as I am using Ethernet. My suggestion is to go for ethernet as it will save you potential headaches and wasted time in the future.

Hi Huangyong, may I know how much it costs to build the amp? Thanks.

Hi, thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I'm what some would call a "potato", i.e. brown outside, but white inside. I can't read Chinese. Yes it's sad but true. Is there any place else where I can get more info on where to buy/build one of those conversion cables? Any help provided will be much appreciated. From the diagram, it looks simple enough: 4 wires --> resistor --> into some kind of headphone out socket plug. My guess is that the resistor is to add impedance to the line, so that the power from the speaker posts don't overwhem the headphones. It's just a guess from the name of the component (resistor = something to resist).

Whoa, wait a second. Voxel, what you wrote is news to me. Are you saying that I can somehow use the speaker outputs from my amp to drive a pair of headphones by using a conversion cable? I never thought this could be possible as I assumed that the speaker output will overwhelm the headphones. Appreciate it if you can shed more light on how I can achieve this, and if done properly, can I get a sound that is as good as a dedicated headamp? Many thanks!

Thanks Mackie. Would you happen to know where in Shanghai can I get the Original Master in Beijing?

Once again. Thanks for the insightful inputs. I think I'll try the Rega. I think the Triangle speakers are a bit on the bright side, so it should suit well. With the present Marantz, the details are very good, but on bad recordings, it just sounds terrible and bright. That's what I can't stand. I will also be posting another post on room acoustics separately. Your input is much appreciated.

Thanks to everyone for your inputs. Much appreciated. N@Z, the Cayin has very good looks. Mackie, thanks for the lengthy feedback. If I may ask a few more questions: 1. Besides the SA8260, are there any other CDPs with good headphone out that you recommend? I believe the SA8260 is discontinued, now replaced by SA8400 which lacks multi-channel SACD playback. Also, I am not looking for the Marantz house sound per se. Actually, I don't know what the Marantz house sound is as I have not heard other CDPs (the 63KI is my first). Since you've used the Integre, I hope you can recommend me a player that is within $2K range (new). 2. Do most CDs have copy protection? Kind of a silly error, since the copy protection is to protect the original. But since the original CD cannot be played on the SA8260, it kind of encourages people with SA8260 to buy a pirated CDs instead (not that any owner of such a CDP will buy pirated CDs). 3. Since you have heard the DT880 and DT150 with the 63KI, can you assign a percentage to the performance when compared to a dedicated headphone amp that costs say SGD500 (for e.g. the DT880 sound performance on the 63KI is about 70% of the DT880 sound performance through a Rega Ear.) 4. You mentioned that if I were to get a dedicated headamp, I should get a CDP that "must not lean towards a laidback character". May I know the reason why? Is it because the Integre is too elegant sounding? Once again, many thanks for the feedback. I will make another post regarding the room acoustics when I get the proper measurements. Until later, happy listening.

Hi, I am looking to setup a head-fi, and would appreciate if forumers could share with me your experiences. Thank you in advanced. My Situation I have the following home hifi setup: Marantz CD63 MkII KI --> DIY Belden 89259 I/C --> YBA Integre DT int amp --> Audioquest Type 4+ speaker cables --> Triangle Zephyr speakers I have found that the sound is less than my expectations, but I believe that it is due to my room acoustics. As I do not have the resources to set up a dedicated room properly, I have decided to set up a head-fi arrangement to get better sound when I am doing serious listening. The 63KI has a headphone out, but I doubt it can drive good headphones. This is just an assumption though, and I have not used the headphone outs. The YBA int amp has no headphone out as well. My Thoughts I have thought of the following options for driving the headphones: 1. Get a dedicated headamp. 2. Get another integrated amp with good headphone amp in-built (assuming this exists). 3. Get a preamp with a good headphone amp in-built. 4. Get an AKG 1000 and use my YBA to power it. I would prefer option 2 and 3 as they give me additional functionality which I like. For e.g, option 2 will allow we to have another setup (I have spare bookshelf speakers), while option 3 will allow me to experiment with power amps, and potentially provide remote control functionality (the YBA does not come with a remote). Option 4 will give me one of the coolest headphones, but I am not sure if my YBA will do the job. I understand that the K1000 uses speaker outputs, and not headphone outputs. Also, I would prefer solid-state due to ease of maintenance. I am more the buy-it and play-it kind of guy. Tube-rolling and maintenance is quite a hassle for me, not to mention the heat they produce. My Questions 1. Is option 2, 3 and 4 a possibility? I am looking for components that at least meets 80% of the performance of dedicated headamps. 2. If 1 is true, any recommendations? 3. For option 1, appreciate your inputs on head-fi setups that are very well matched. The only thing I won't change is the source, which is the Marantz 63KI. Personally, I prefer Beyer cans over Senns because I think they provide better value. 4. Any general comments on my hifi setup is most appreciated as well. My Experience With Cans I have head the Senns cans (various models) in shopping centres. I am referring to those that they place in a tower. I think they sounded terrible for the price, but I suspect it is because of the source and amplification. I head the DT880 and DT770Pro via a Denon source and a commercial head-amp at the JBL and Beyer roadshow. I liked the DT880. DT770Pro was out as it was too fatiguing listening to them (bass too strong, and highs too high). I was also told that the DT150 is better than the DT880. Any opinions on this? My Budget This is for the whole system setup. For option 1, if I can keep the costs to SGD500, that will be great. I can stretch to $800. For option 2 and 3, it will be good if I can keep the costs to $1000. I do not mind 2nd hand components. My Music Mainly good vocals like Cai Qin, Susan Wong. I also listen to some pop like Jacky Cheung. I also like late night jazz, especially live music. Next, maybe a bit of classical. That's about it. Once again, thanks in advanced for your inputs. Happy listening!