scottiebabie

yes thats right. the Mk3 Gmod 'pod's headout is completely modded. it MUST be used with a special Gmod mini-mini cable or an special 1/8" male-1/8 female adapter which will contain the BG coupling caps. thats right again. the volume control is no longer functional. its highly recommended that the Gmod headout is routed via our special mini cable to an amplifier but a headfon with a built-in volume attenuator can be used (although SQ maybe degraded) in conjunction with our special Gmod adapter. not that i can forsee. infact we recently did a Gmod with a plastic clear overlay. it presented no issues except that we had to cut the overlay at the seams where both sides of the case met. u can redo the plastic overlay after the Gmod modifications. i must add that doing the Mk3 Gmod entailed quite a bit more work and if offered, it'll be higher in cost than the Mk2 Gmod (which features the modded lineout ala 5g iMod). we had to search high and low for the best quality flexible internal cabling on top of a whacka R&D for the best routing to ensure complete reliability. i can honestly say it wasnt a cakewalk to develop and i can understand why even RedWineAudio doesnt offer it. we'll be offering the Mk3 Gmod once we finalized the special Gmod headout cable.

i've just met up with fellow headfier EFN whos currently a 5g iMod owner (after he destroyed his 4g iMod) and he totally confirmed that the 5g is better than the 4g. according to EFN, the 5g is more resolved, both in upper microdetails and bass impact. infact EFN is complaining to me (and others i guess) that FLAC sounds brighter and even harsh compared with ALAC and WAVE when he cannot discern that on the 4g iMod on the same songs. maybe hes turning into our very own PATRICK82 not trying to do a plug here but if anyone's interested, i've been longterm testing our Mk3 Gmod in which the headout (instead of the lineout) is modded into the special Gmod lineout. in function the Mk3 Gmod is virtually identical to a 4g iMod with the lineout still functional normally (ie. lineout's NOT modded) for normal attachment to hifi, car, etc and such. we developed our own custom Gmod cable which contains the BG caps for attachment to the Gmod headout. as for SQ, its identical to the Mk2 lineout Gmod. other benefits are charging and listening at the sametime and ofcoz we get rid of using the lineout dock which i always feel is the weakest link in the portable chain. also IMO the Mk3 Gmod presents a smaller and less fragile footprint.

hey guyz i know im not a frequent flyer in your good forum but what with work and r&d on the Gmod and all... anyways a word of thanks to RYNER for his honest opinions. im still waiting for his update with fully burn-in (200+hrs) BG caps. i think he'd be seriously more impressed than he already is. anyhows, i just finished a mini meet in KL with some local headfier including our very own EFN whos btw a proud daddy of a 5g iMod (courtesy of Vinnie in replacement of his destroyed 4g iMod. if anyone's interested, you can follow our admittedly amateurish impressions and writeups HEREEE! anyways its official! Gmod = iMod = identical - verbatim from the very mouth of EFN. that said, let me clarify the above statement with a bit of extra info as one of our headfiers did say that although Gmod and iMod sounds very similiar, he prefered the iMod. below is my interpretation on his (WALABIES) take: im also happy to announce our collaboration with ANALOGUE REFERENCE to bring you our complete Gmod package with us doing the actual mod on the ipod itself and Analogue Reference doing the special Dock+Cable combo. i have full confidence in the quality of workmanship exhibited by the Analogue Reference cables plus the fact that now, we have a representative in S'pore itself to take care of our valued customers. indeed, anyone can contact AR for a demo of the Gmod before actually plunking down your hard earned cash!! how much more fairer is that. and on top, i do believe its priced considerably lower than the highly regarded iMod. another reason for our collaboration with AR is because we wanted to provide the best Customer Service we can (in the vein of the iconic American Brands). sounds like a WIN WIN if i ever heard of one! please feel free to post or PM me any questions on the technical merits our the Gmod and i'll do my best to provide the appropriate answer

errrr...guyz i thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the interest. i'd be glad to answer any questions on the technical merits of the Gmod here however i dont think it'd be prudent of me to do business in a thread without the authorization of the mods. anyone interested in getting a Gmod done, please PM me and i'd be happy to provide more details.

finally below are some impressions by your local headfiers who had a listen to our Gmod unit. be aware that the Gmod they listened to isnt optimally burnt-in as the Blackgate HX NiQ are notorious for needing many many many hours before sounding their best.

pardon my delayed updates but unless u want my admittedly biased raves, i gotta for wait others to write their reviews . i wish it could be faster but...sigh...plus the time it takes Blackgate HX HiQs to burn-in doesnt help with speediness . based on what i've been told so far, our Gmod unit sounds very much like the 4g imod in the bass and soundstage with the highs not as smooth but im blamimg the not-quite-optimumally-burnt-in BGs for that. im sure it'll smoothen out in due time. this is as much info as i've heard as im also waiting impatiently for an impartial 3rd party opinion. if i havent heard incorrectly, i believe a fellow by the callsign of RYNER is doing the review. the fact that he also owns a 4g imod should give some credibility to his impressions. stay tuned.....

i havent heard nor heard of the AT EQ44 so i cant give much of an opinion on it except that it looks pretty and im sure your GF will like the looks. i think sony, pana, jvc and most of the big boyz have a version of clip-ons. however if u truly care about her and she can appreciate great sounds, this is arguably the best clip-on u can get for SQ. check it out: its my personal recabled and modded KSC75 and i can attest that it sounds spectacular. most of the issues with the original KSC75 (and its no slouch to start with - its not known as the king of budget cans for nothing!!) are solve with the high Q cable and the Kramer type mods brought all the micro details one can hope for! this is what i would get for her if she's my GF YMMV ofcoz

thanks for all the encouragement and kind words guyz. its nice to be appreciated for the work. anyways i can fully report that while waiting for the BG NX HiQs to arrive, the tantalums im currently using have burnt in nicely. my mod iM716s have serious deep, tight and impactful bass with all the accompanying accolades higher resolution and clarity brings. and this off an Ety-type sound signature of iM716s (which isnt exactly famed for its bass impact as most of you know). i cant wait to test the Mk2 Gmod with the BGs we may provide the Mk1 version (with onboard smt caps) for those who demand full ipod mating flexibility based on custom order. though not as good SQ as the Mk2 (with dock mounted BG NX HiQs), the Mk1 Gmod is still heads and shoulders above the normal ipod lineout IMO. we will also doing some R&D on other Apple models and certain other makes and may offer the mod service if demands are viable. another hoorayy for asian ingenuity i should be recieving your compatriots Mk1 Gmod on WED and he should have it back in his hand by the end of this week. stay tuned for further updates PS:to answer tonedef, inline coupling caps are needed because of the constant DC voltage outputted by the 'pod post DAC. not many amps are designed for direct full-DC coupling and care must be taken that no DC offsets reaching downstream amps are over 10 millivolts or this may cause them to overheat & could damage the amp and or speakers. thats why coupling caps are needed and since no space is available onboard the 5g 'pod for normal caps (excepting smt caps ofcoz), special cap mounted docks are required. this is the best explanation i can give based on my limited EE knowledge so any other EE sifus are welcome to chimed in with more info. as noted in my 1st post, Gary's the EE genius. im just the mouthpiece

nice customs! another good reason for me to visit your lovely island now all i gatta do is to chase my running wallet down

sorry to bust some bubbles here but no Gmod funeral procession as of yet !!! as you boyz and gurlz mite guess, r&d isnt quite the calkwalk we would have liked. believe it or not, although we weren't original we infact are developing this on our own so a misstep or two along the way is part and parcel of life in the audiophile fastlane so here the most recent gossip. we did infact ship a Mk1 Gmod unit lastweek to one your compatriots and after some intense auditioning, certain conclusions were formed. it seems that the Mk1 Gmod unit while much better than a normal 'pods lineout, fell a tad short when compared with another "ahem" mod unit from way wayy across alot of ponds. not having the "ahem" mod unit inhand, we ofcoz took your compatriots word and went back to the design board. here's our conclusions: after some testing, we finally pinpointed the culprit to the onboard smt caps we installed. it seems that while HiQ by smt cap standards, they do NOT perform as well as normal tantalums not to mention the venerated BG NX HiQ. it would appear that our desire to be flexible in NOT making people buy a special dock+cable combo isnt quite the best solution for supreme SQ. at this very moment im listen to my Mk2 Gmod unit (with the onboard smt caps substituted with regular tantalums in the dock)) with an ear2ear smile on my face. my Tomahawk > mod iM716/mod&recabled Ksc75 have never sounded so good. its definitely a coupla rungs upwards and i still havent tried the BG HX HiQs! so its official - our final production Gmods are going to be DAC direct to lineout (shortest distance with the best quality wiring we can do) + special dock (installed with BG HX HiQ caps) so you can use your favorite ICs or special dock+cable combo. thats the best SQ to come out of a 'pod! PERIOD! our noted s'porean headfier is reshipping his Mk1 Gmod back to us as we speak for Mk2 refit. will definetly provide a final and happy update next week. plz hold your collective breaths for just a moment longer

read post #7 here for my thoughts. goodluck

just throwing u a curve ball here but my modded iM716 blow away alot of mid-end cans with my gear. for not a lot of $$$ u get a seriously good IEM with superb isolation IMO. 2 caveats: 1. learn to fit/seat and use either the triflange or foamie tips. this is very important if u wanna get great sound (esp. bass) 2. if you realy care about SQ and have a strong stomach, consider this mod. i found 33ohm is great for going unamped (although amping makes a huge diff) or 5+/6+ohm if amping for a tad more refinement. (warning:modding may degrade resale value but mod is reversible if done carefully IMO) FWIW, my combo of Gmod>Tomahawk>modded iM716 allowed me the accuracy and SQ to discern differences in IC cables and even 320AAC-ALAC files. YMMV of'coz. i think SE sells the AL iM716/Ety ER4p/s.

x2! IMO the GV5 is a step up from the basic pa2v2. also the 9v battery give it more flexibility to drive high Z cans.

i dont believe its available in s'pore at this time. however if your serious, drop me a PM and i'll either pass u his email or get him to contact u to discuss the matter. here's some updates on a cool feature of the braided Litz cable that i've not seen in any other short IC:

I ‘ve been using PCWORKs 6wire Litz Style IC cables for a few weeks now in replacement of the original PCWORK normal diy canare IC. However it only took me a few days of critical listening before I was able to discern small but noticeable sonic differences between PCdude’s new 6wire litz and his old 4wire canare cables. Before I come up with flowery and big money words to describe the sonic attributes of the new 6wire litz IC, I have to add the disclaimer that I was NOT a believer in the long held and just as controversial view that cables make a sonic difference. I always thought that given decent initial quality, a cable is a cable is a cable. Copper is copper is copper. How much more simple is that? I was proven wrong by my own ears. I could hear a difference! Recent experiences in choosing capacitor values for my new Gmod modifications taught this old dog some tricks regarding the sonic effects capacitance has on sound. Also the recent acquisition of an ER4 p-s impedance adapter of 75ohms (again beautifully made by PCdude) have again shown me the sonic traits imparted by impedance. Based on these experiences, I can conclude that cable impedance and capacitance are the major culprits of “cable soundâ€. It is my personal opinion that the best cables should have no sound signature. Transparency is the holy grail of cables (and indeed, of source too IMO). Their task is to carry the audio signal as pure and as unadulterated as possible from one end to the other. So what does this have to do with cable sonic differences and this supposed review? Well, after only taking up audiophilia with any serious intentions for a relatively short time, I can honestly admit that I do not know how to review cables! I mean I can say the 6wire litz give more bass and that the treble seems livelier with unadulterated (boy I love this word for some reason) honesty but I interpret that as greater transparency and resolution. Instead of the 6wire litz “giving†more bass, it is my opinion that the positive sonic differences I hear is due to its greater resolution and transparency. The greater electrical conducting capacity of the 6wire litz carries a purer unadulterated audio signal. Period! And I heard it as greater bass, livelier treble and increased clarity and sparkle. That said, the differences I could discern (the Gmod helped greatly btw) are not of biblical or even monumental proportions. Though small it is discernable if one is listening with sufficient clarity of mind and concentration (and sobriety helps in my case). Again recent experiences demo’ing our new Gmod showed me the differences in remarks, impressions and opinions from different people even though everyone’s listening to the samething. The one thing that everyone concluded is the Gmod is much better than normal lineout. Other than that, its more bass, less bass, tighter bass, bigger slam, more treble extension, more forward mids, better vocals, wider soundstage, bigger stage, more depth, more details, better dynamics, greater PRaT, increased speed and quickness, greater clarity, better tonality, brighter, yadi yadi yada…….! Take your pick of phases and use it in your statement and it’ll still ring true even though the next guy has a different set. To me they’re all interpreting and describing what is IMO an increase in resolution and transparency. So to conclude, the newer PCWORK 6wire litz cable (don’t know which make as I didn’t ask) is more transparent and resolved than the normal 4wire canare cable IMO. Not mind bendingly so but its significant enough for me. YMMV of’coz. O plus the fact the 6wire interweave is so cool. But wait, there’s part deux… Last week I was fortunate enough to be handed a set of custom top-of-the-line Analogue Reference mini IC cable made by a well known s’pore headfier to audition. I’ve been listening to it from my Gmod ‘pod to Tomahawk driving my modded iM716. For the longest time, I honestly cannot hear any differences as both are very very good (as least compared to my former canare IC) and sounded identical. And so I did my normal reviewing tactic of just using the AR only for the next few days till a few hours ago. And the result is…..(drumroll)……I still honestly (and unadulteratedly) cannot discern any significant difference! They are both that good. Now since I’ve promised a review and reviews need conclusions, I’ve resorted to a mental exercise I’m well versed in esp.on cold and wet lonely nights. I’ll pretend a gorgeous babe with serious booties flashing me some indecent cleavage and making goo goo eyes at me with promises of other “goodies†to come if and only if I stand up, be a man, stop the namby-pamby and make a decisive decision! In that moment of bloodlust insanity, I’ll probably blurt out that the AR have a feline hair more bass with the accompanying warmth and the 6wire PCWORK Litz might have the slightest (again by a feline hair) upper end extension and clarity. So who’s the winner here? Hmmm…I guess it would depend on whether I’m game for a fuller bottom or in the mood for some extended lungs at that very moment. Please take my prior statement with not only a pinch of salt but with the skepticism that it’s the ramblings of a man push to the edge and made to choose by a PYT (Pretty Young Thing la, what else??). Its tantamount to critiquing Cindy Crawford’s mole! Whatever my ramblings, IMHO the real winner is us. We in this part of the world have dedicated DIY’ers that not only put in the requisite time and effort, they put in a lot of themselves and it shows in the quality of their workmanship and QC. I for one am supremely grateful I get to sample their wares even while not fully comprehending the amount of work and pride that goes into each IC. The word handcrafted shines like a beacon in this world of increasing automation. Whatever the price charged (and I’m absolutely positive its way wayyy cheaper than the ICs Americans and Europeans pay) I would not be begrudging their small profit for a lot of effort but I’d be afraid they may not have the free time available to custom make me an IC esp.in this increasingly hectic and stress filled rat-race we call modern society. Disclaimer: Ahhh...no, sad to admit but I’m NOT paid by either party for this review (hint:I’m doing this out of the goodness of my heart but more importantly, also in the hope I get sent more toyz to play with and inlieu of toyz, cash also works). As usual, this is only my humble opinion with my current gear. YMMV and despite my convincing argument, its the gray matter between your ears that holds the key.