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scanfiend

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Posts posted by scanfiend

  3. Posted · Edited by scanfiend · Report reply

    I thought news of the Wi-Fi access and the fibre optic network was published by the Straits Times and its supplement, Digital Times a few months ago. All part of the IT masterplan by the Gahmen :P Can you say gigabit access baby?! :party:

     

    In fact, it was discussed in dslreports.com before degenerating into the usual Ang Moh criticism of the political system here :rolleyes:

  4. Posted · Report reply

    I'm just wondering, why there is such a big price gap between their offering in Singapore and outside of Singapore. I saw the flyer for COMEX, Creative is selling Aurvana at so called discounted price SGD 186, while you can get the same item at Amazon for only U$75??

     

    yeah, the price difference is weird. However, once you add in the "shipping charges", it all about the same :P

  5. Posted · Edited by scanfiend · Report reply

    I think a bit of common sense and personal hygeine goes a long way. If you have any form of ear injury, don't wear IEM's. Listen to your music at sensible volumes. Also, keep the tips of the IEM's clean. Some guys wash the tips with hydrogen peroxide, but it seems too much work for me :P

     

    I just bought some alcohol swabs from Guardian Pharmacy. Nice, clean and convenient in packet form. Just give your hard tips a wipe down once in a while and you're set.

  8. Posted · Report reply

    Well, as they taught in my Economics class all those years ago, increasing the number of drivers, ceteris paribus, should improve the quality of sound. Having said that, how many drivers is enough? As it is, the housing for the dual driver UM2 is significantly larger than the single driver UM1. The 3 driver E500's housing is plenty big. Unless they reduce the transducers, pretty soon, we'll all be wearing K1000's on our heads :D

  9. Posted · Report reply

    No way of reducing it? i plugged it into my ipod, zen, computer and power amplifyer, still hiss....

     

    The hiss should disappear when music is playing.....you only hear the hiss between tracks, anyway. If it bothers you, you could plug in a resistor between the source and the headphone. I believe they sell them in DIY electronic shops....but beware, it's going to change the way the headphone sounds.

  10. Posted · Report reply

    newbie here...juz curious does the DAC can replace a sound card or somehow perform the same as a sound card? after using DAC do you still need a headphone amp for it to wrk?

     

    Unless your DAC comes with an integrated headphone amp (some do), you will need a headphone amp for your headphones. Usually it's just another RCA->RCA connection.

  13. Posted · Report reply

    For USB DAC, I'm looking at the Stello DA100 - not available here, but well-made & great reviews. I know the Fubar gets mentioned alot here, but I don't fancy its cuty look.

     

    Well, since it's a pure DAC with no volume controls or whatever, you can just place it out of sight behind your PC or something :P

     

    Joking aside, the Fubar II really sounded damned good. I got it at a good price too. Makes me wonder how those high priced DAC's sound like - are they really worth the extra dough?

     

  15. Posted · Report reply

    The DAC will replace the sound-card if you plug that into your PC. Rather than let the sound card / chip do the D/A conversion, the digital signal will be routed to the external DAC.

     

    I am using a Fubar II linked to my PC via a USB2 cable. It's then RCA to Xenos REP or RCA to my nEar speakers. All I can say that there was an audible difference (for the better) for music generated via the FuBar II. And I'm using an Audigy card on my PC :P

  16. Posted · Report reply

    Firstly, props to [Top-Gun] for the loan of his Judy Collins CD - Judy Collins sings Leonard Cohen. You guys should check out Judy - voice is like liquid amber, smooth as silk :P

     

    Her voice resembles Cai Qin - who also has an awesome voice. The trouble with Cai Qin's songs is that the instrumental backing is terrible - really distracting :blink:

  17. Posted · Report reply

    Hello,

     

    i'm new to this forum... got my SF 5Pro about 3 weeks ago and have been playing it straight from my ipod.

     

    well, everything sounded awesome until like last week when i suddenly found that they sound veiled. :blush: (maybe its my ears thats r failing me or maybe it has not been burned in enuf??)

     

    anyway, will the SE of the SF 5PRo improve SIGNIFICANTLY from amping?

     

    upgratitis i guess... :doh:

     

    What do you mean they suddenly sounded veiled? Let's eliminate some possiblilities before you start on amping :P

     

    1. Check the EQ settings to see if they've been modified.

     

    2. Check to see if the sound tube is clogged....you know, ear-wax and stuff :whistle:

     

    3. Check your seal - canal / IEM phones sound can vary significantly depending on how it's situated in the ear.

     

  19. Posted · Report reply

    hmm....you did not really mention your budget. I am now using the iAudio X5L. It's a 30gb player with a 35 hr (quoted) battery life. In practice, it averages about a week and a half between recharges (2hrs a day - I use it to commute to work).

     

    SQ is very good....provided you lay off the pre-built EQ settings and use the BBE settings to tweak your sound.

  20. Posted · Edited by scanfiend · Report reply

    The last list price on the web was USD700, so ostensibly it should be around SGD1,100, based on current exchange rates. But considering the fact that this is already discontinued, it should be worth considerably more. Start somewhere north of SGD2,500 :P

     

    It really needs a beefy headphone amp to make it truly shine though :D

  21. Posted · Edited by scanfiend · Report reply

    Eii, where is the download button for the edifier speaker tool? I click the 下载 测速 then it just direct to the top of the page. My chinese really sucks a$$...

     

    Click on the link contained in the phrase My Drivers, and it will lead to a download page. You can't miss the download button there :grin:

  22. Posted · Edited by scanfiend · Report reply

    Thanks for the warm welcome guys.

     

    Scanfiend: Thanks for the recommendation, but I personally think it looks a little weird to be wearing the wires around the ears. Maybe i'll change my mind when i see them up close though. Btw are the microphonics prevalent in the UM1 IEMs? Or even the Super Fi. 3 for that matter?

     

    LOL sorry guys ER4P is way outta my budget i think. Hehe.

    Yeah i know many of you are very happy with your UM1s, and my heart's slowly but surely leaning over to the UM1s as well. At least after a while, if i do not like it, should be able to sell as it's quite highly sought after.

     

    Why no reviews bout the D-jay's yet? Has anyone gotten hold of a pair? I think they look pretty cool, not too sure bout the sound quality though. Anyone can advise?

     

    Edit: Btw, is jaben or stereo gonna open any booths in the upcoming IT fair? Would be more convenient that way.

     

    Hey there leroyishere :P Haven't heard or seen the phrase leroywashere for years now. Used to be real popular as graffiti or carved into trees :D

     

    I have tried and owned a fair number of canal / IEM phones - and they all exhibit microphonics to varying degrees. Some people get used to it, but I cannot :P

     

    The UM1 / UM2 are the only IEM's I have tried so far that have little to zero microphonics. The wires are very soft and simply drapes over the ear. The "memory wire" of the UE's are quite stiff (but bendable), and I have read that some people who wear spectacles have some problems with the cable.

     

    The D-jays are very new canal ear-phones. I don't think many people own them yet, but there is a thread on it in headfi I think. Best is to go down to Stereo Electronics to audition for yourself.

  23. Posted · Report reply

    The cups of the PX200 do not cover the whole ear, so the supposedly "isolation" is iffy at best. :P Add to that the sound is inferior to the PX100 and it costs MORE EXPENSIVE to boot, makes it a poor value, IMO. I own both the PX100 and PX200 :P

     

    And yes, the PX100 is a very bassy & "dark" can, but the bass of UM1 is tighter and better defined, so to some it may sound a little lean compared to the PX100.

  24. Posted · Edited by scanfiend · Report reply

    Hmm....no wires over the ear? Why do you not want that? Wearing wires over the ear is one of the most effective ways to reduce microphonics, which is the annonying echo you get in your ears i.e. sound of your breathing, the brush of the wire against your clothing etc which gets amplified by the wires into your headset. :P Microphonics is the bane of canal phones and IEM's :bash:

     

    If your budget is less than $150, you might have to temper your expectations a bit. In earphones, you generally get what you pay for - i.e. the higher the price, the better the 'phone.

     

    I know that budget is sometimes a concern, but try to buy as much an earphone you can afford, for it can save you a bundle in upgrading in future :P For about $150 to $200+, the best bang-for-the-buck IEM would be the Westone UM1. It offers decent sound & bass, along with good isolation. For about the same price, you can get the Ultimate Ears Superfi 3. I find that both offer similar sound, so try them both and see which you prefer :))

  25. Posted · Edited by scanfiend · Report reply

    I think this has been mentioned before, but I think it bears repeating: Don't fall into hype and buy any earphones without auditioning it first. Unless you're talking about throwaway cheapies. I don't know about you, but anything over $100 is a lot of money :P

     

    People's impressions and comments should just give you an indication. Music interpretation is so inherently subjective that any description is essentially useless. For example, what is "sweet midrange", or "bloated bass" or "musical", if you don't have a basis of reference? Some guys may swear by the sound of a particular brand or model of a headphone, but you may not necessarily like it :P

     

    A very simple example: Some folks in sgheadphones really like the UE's. I auditioned them, but did not really care for their sound. But it's just me - I claim to speak for nobody else :P

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