rkivie

i had the super 5 pro, but i had to return it due to comfort issues. they felt ok when i was listening to them at the shop. but when i took them home and used them for extended periods, while lying down, etc, they didnt feel very comfortable anymore. i have since gotten the um2 and i can happily say that the um2 is unsurpassed in terms of comfort among the high end iems.

maybe the rather PR-nasty thread on HWZ had its intended effect heh. always nice to hear abt great service.

everytime the words "flanges" and "isolation" get mentioned in the same sentence, i cant help but think about the earplugs used during range and live firing. hehe yes, the same earplugs that you'll soon come to own and hang from your SBO.

bumping this. i've heard the hornet now. you know it's something special when you cant stop smiling all the way home (albeit that was only one album, but a moment of magic nonetheless. that album: soundtracks from "everything is illuminated".) so one last bump here, in case someone here is really thinking of parting with his/her hornet (wilson assures me there are female audio enthusiasts too hehe).

Gain settings will affect the volume control. Basically, it means that with a lower gain set, you have to turn the volume knob more to achieve the same loudness as a normal gain set. So normally, lower gain sets are recommended for earphones or headphones that are easily driven. So I think it is better to go for a normal gain set unless you plan to use it exclusively for sensitive earphones. Read my 1st post. It will give you a rough idea how much you'll turn the knob on a normal gain set. and i'll just add that i do not think you should get a low gain LDM+. i did a comparison with a normal gain set and have come to the conclusion that there really is no reason with a low gain set since, with my UM2, it does not reduce, much less eliminate, the hiss, nor does it afford a wider range of volume control. in fact i have a low gain set myself - and you're welcomed to make an offer for it hehe. p/s: i'm selling the LDM+ not bcos it's crap or it's lousy or what. i'm selling it bcos i've just heard the Hornet.

hello all, i've been interested in getting a Hornet for quite some time now. this is after reading numerous reviews on head-fi and the like. however, since this is quite a big-ticket item for me, i think it would be prudent to actually have a listen before splurging on it. i'm pretty much set, just needing something to push me over the edge, if you will. heh. so if anyone has a set that i can borrow, for a day or two, please do let me know. i understand the difficulty in handing over stuff to strangers over the internet but i'll be extremely grateful for this favour. please, send me a PM. and lastly, if anyone is thinking of selling his (or her) Hornet, perhaps to fund a Xin SuperMacro purchase or something, send me a msg too. We can work something out. thanks for reading.

actually i'm quite interested in the hornet myself. did a search for the hornet on these boards and was delighted to discover that there are some owners here too. maybe can find someone to lend me his to try out first.

hehe do i get to say "i told you so" to those who were apprehensive of Apple's standards? btw, errr nice box. the one that says certified reconditioned product...hmm i didnt get that heh.

I also ordered one to try out this afternoon. I figured that if I can sell the accessories that came with it, the Shuffle will even be cheaper. for more fun, sell the stock earphones too. they can fetch upwards of $20, believe me you. there is alot of demand for these the last time (which wasnt so long ago) i had some to sell. you guys should have a mini-contest to see who eventually paid the least amt of money for the shuffle unit heh.

my own personal experience (as i have mentioned on HWZ): i ordered the refurbed 4G U2 iPod from Apple and they came in the same day. Initially there was disappointment when i received the box from the delivery guy...as the box did looked beat up and old. but i've always had faith in Apple's QC heh. and they didnt let me down. turns out that only the box was old. cosmetically, the iPod unit is flawless; it was scratch-free and, errr, shiny. same goes for the accessories that it came with. when i tested the batt, it too proved to be new as well, giving me a good 14 hours of continuous play (the official documented battery life is 12 hours continuous play, 128 kpbs AAC). the HDD looks/feels/sounds ok, no strange noises whatsoever. it may die on me next week, who knows? but if that happens, there's always the warranty. and at $298 and free delivery, my purchase was a real steal, if i may say so.

well if you buy a refurbed shuffe and experience lagginess, you can always take it back to a service center and have them look at it. make use of the one year warranty heh. i mean, why should it be lagging just because it's a second-hand player? it does not make any sense. and if you would believe it, should the problem really lie with the player (and not the owner), you might just end up with a brand new shuffle for the price of a refurbed.

errr wow thats quite ex? i was hoping for something cheaper. oh well at least i can stop dreaming of these for the time being. perhaps they would make a nice birthday present next year. or a nice graduation present in time to come. hehe i sure have lots of excuses to splurge.

oh Braxton i was reading up on custom earmolds (UM56) and inevitably ended up reading about full customs. the ES2 especially, since i love the UM2 type of sound. i did get my ear impressions taken and paid for the UM56...but was secretly dreaming of the ES2 the whole time. hehe and now i came in a see a thread like this. yes please tell us how much did it cost you...i only hope it's way too expensive for me to go that route too heh.

got. but was already briefly mentioned by afbug in his impressions though. truth be told, the headphone jack on the LDM+ leaves alot to be desired. it has got to be the one of the worst i have in my house heh. everytime i insert/remove my UM2 plug connector i can feel the jack scraping roughly against it AND the inside of my heart too.

List Price: $199.95 Price: $79.97 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. You Save: $119.98 (60%) Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Want it delivered Thursday, July 27? Order it in the next 18 hours and 59 minutes, and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. ------------------------------------------------------------- i recall watching a news feature earlier this week about vpostusa. The person interviewed was saying that last time vpost shipped only once a week while now they ship 4 times a week. not sure how true that is, but coupled with one-day shipping from amazon, perhaps the waiting time wont be what that long anymore heh.

it's your lucky day. from amazon: 15 used & new available from $79.97 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BKE8Q...8&s=electronics

oh come on...the army paid worse during my time and all i got was an MX500 hehe. my advice (though it can hardly be called advice): go for the er4p if you really like it so much. no point buying something lesser just bcos it's cheaper...cos eventually you will eat/sleep/dream abt the er4p and inevitably you WILL get the er4p anyway. and then you'll notice it would have been cheaper to get the er4p in the first place. as to whether overseas orders are safe or not, it depends heavily on who you're buying from. it makes quite a difference if the seller is some random guy on ebay, or if you are buying from a well reputed online store which provides package tracking. not to say that all random guys on ebay are not to be trusted though. the big stores arent nearly infallible too.

hehe i'm so weak-willed that it's a disgrace. i've decided to take advantage of Jaben's promo tmr and go for the UM56. but one question if i may: it was mentioned in another thread that it was quite difficult to insert the earmolds. how exactly difficult was it? as in hard to slide in due to friction (which explains the otoease recommendation) or awkward shape of earmold getting into position?

background i'm using a 4G iPod as source. the LDM+ (low gain) is connected to the iPod via a silver lineout cable from audiolineout.com. all listening was done using a set of UM2. i must state that this is actually the first time i'm using an amp in my setup. before it was just the UM2 out of my iPod/MPIO FL100 headphone out. so i'll be absolutely honest that any improvements that i have noted may be due either the usage of the lineout or the usage of the LDM+, or both. why i decided to get the LDM+ bcos it could be had for so cheap. really. i mean how wrong can i go? and with all the promising reviews that i read on head-fi, as well as the convenience of an on-going MO, i saw no reason not to get one hehe. there was also some disatisfaction that i have with my iPod/UM2 set up. i was, of course, secretly hoping that the LDM+ will correct some of these issues. i had hope that the additon of the LDM+ will: 1. bring out the sort-of recessed mids/treble on the UM2. 2. clean up the bass a little; the bass could use some tightening 3. eliminate the hiss i was hearing from the headphone out. impressions so far 1. i'm quite delighted with the LDM+ performance in this aspect. the mids/treble have come forward noticeably now. and without the artificiality that accompanies the EQ's treble booster which i had always hated and refrained from using. but still i thought that if the effect could be a wee bit more pronounced it would be most perfect. anyhow, i'm extremely satisfied nonetheless. 2. the LDM+ accomplishes this quite well too. it's not like the UM2's bass was uncontrolled/muddy to begin with. in fact when i listened with the LDM+ for the first time fresh out of the box before any burn in, that was one thing that i noticed immediately. with all due awareness of hyperbole, after some 60 hours of playtime, i'm feeling that the bass is now capable of going even deeper than before without the LDM+. i cant say for certain, for such fleeting moments simply occur when i didnt expected it and i would think wow. 3. hiss got worse. i actually asked for the low gain LDM+ so as to minimise the possibility of hiss. ok perhaps total elimination of it was never gonna be on the cards. but the LDM+ contributed so much hiss it really annoys me sometimes. however i do acknowledge that the UM2, being ultra sensitive, errr amplifies the hiss problem. in fact, i tried on my sis old HJE50 and that was minimal hiss. same goes for the SR80 that i played with at Stereo. so i would say that only UM2 users should be concerned with this little peeve. what i didnt expect (good things of course) 4. i'm simply amazed by the dynamics offered even when playing on very low volumes. the bass goes deep and with impact even when on low volumes. this was never possible before. absolutely not. before i've always had the urge to turn up the vol bcos i couldnt hear stuff clearly enough. the LDM+ changed that. at least i dont have to turn up my music loud and feel guilty after that anymore heh. 5. subtly, but again, noticeable. the soundstage has widened. there is more air now. it sometimes feel like the singers have moved out of a tiny recording studio to a more spacious one. conclusion money well spent. although the hiss was lamentable and annoying, i would now hate to listen without the amp. and if i could do this again, i would go for the normal gain version too, for more versatility in the future, since the hiss will be there anyway.

i'll just like to add that if you decide to go with the um1, you'll definitely grow to appreciate the um1 cables. in addition to being strong and having minimal issues with microphonics as mentioned earlier, another plus point is that they dont tangle.

well actually i'm looking for just an attenuator, need not be UE's but i dont want shure's cos it comes with a rather large and unwieldy volume control.

Apple is unlikely to bring built-in lineouts to their iPod line bcos the average iPod user does not care much for fidelity like we do. that is also partly the reason why the iTunes music store sells music encoded at only 128kbps. and with the ongoing mp3 players war, you can bet on Apple to cut back on such features that the average user do not make use of. an excellent example will be firewire support on the current gen iPods.

my opinion is that you should do your upgrading in this order: earphones --> source --> amp

heh there, if you have your attenuator (the one the came with the UE earphones) lying around and have no use for it, i'll love to take it off you. Pls PM me your offer. Thanks.

update and conclusion on my hissing problem (a mini story): die4e_2005 was very kind to offer me his normal gain LDM+ to do a one-to-one comparison with my low gain set so as to let me ascertain whether what i have in my possession is indeed the low gain version. my findings were, unfortunately for me, disappointing. when i first heard the normal gain set (through an iPod lineout), i was somehow NOT surprised that i had the vol knob at the same position as on my low gain set. a haughty there-i-knew-it feeling washed over me. i was convinced that i was given the wrong amp. but all that changed when i replaced my UM2 with a Grado SR80 that I was listening to just prior to meeting die4e_2005. seems like the difference between normal gain/low gain is not apparent at a low vol (9-10 o'clock knob position); furthermore, the normal gain set DID NOT exhibit any more hiss (with UM2) than my low gain set! however, upon turning the vol up using the Grado phone, the normal gain could drive it better in the most obvious way, ie: louder. my low gain set could still do the Grado loud enough to hear comfortably and then quite some more. but it was clear that a normal gain set would do the job better. another point that i should raise from this exercise is that i'm not sure if LDM+ (both low and normal gain) can actually drive the Grado properly (not just loud). That the Grado phone sounded forward is one well known trait, but through the LDM+, it sounded harsh and scratchy...like as if i was hearing the music out of an old transistor radio. or perhaps I just plain do not appreciate the Grado sound. or maybe i was just too used to my UM2. i really dont know; my only previous experience with headphones were those you find at HMV/Borders. as it stands, the UM2 is still too sensitive a set of IEMs for LDM+, low gain or not. looks like the hiss is here to stay =/ p/s: i was also handed the shure attenuator to try and see if it would alleviate my hissssss peeve. and it did help lower the hiss quite substantially but it sure didnt eliminate it.