sghound

when it comes to NOS, always always get a spare coz u'll never know when u'll find them again. plus Fantastic Tubes is a reliable dealer. go for it!!!

bushwacker, there is no such thing as "best" tube. however, NOS tubes for most part, tend to sound nicer than current production ones. often this comes at a price for the very sought after NOS. it really depends on your budget. your cayin has EL84, 12ax7 & 12au7 types. EL84: fave ones are the Amperex, Brimar, Mullard & Telefunken. at current ridiculous prices for these legends, they're poor value for money so buy them only if u have the budget. instead, i will rec the current prod russian Electro-Harmonix EL84EH which is based on the Mullard tube and sounds pretty darn close to the NOS. u should be able to find readily available tube at Well Audio or Martin in Burlington Sq. (i'm not sure what stock EL84 came with your amp, maybe Sovtek or JJ or EH if u're lucky) 12ax7: all-time fave in this family are the subs called 5751. they have slightly less gain than normal 12ax7, though i haven't really noticed but it comes with superior quietness and way less sibilant than 12ax7's. best NOS in this class have triple-micas and dual support rods which add another layer of goodness to the overall sound. my 4 kings are Sylvania 5751 triple-mica grey plates, Raytheon 5751 triple-mica black plates, GE 5751 triple-mica black plates & the Tung-Sol 5751 dual-mica tall plates. the downside? these babies are rare and hard to find, plus they come at a high cost. but u can get really excellent results with ready available NOS dual-micas. many of which are available on eBay. here's a really value for money GE matched pair that can be shipped to Singapore 5751 12au7: fave is the RCA Clear Top which is still readily available on eBay 12au7 collectively these tubes will take your Cayin to another level. HAPPY HUNTING!!

the Pro version has a higher head clamping force than the non. the Pro might be too tight for some but the extra clamping force gives it a different sound, some prefer it over the non-pro versions.

i like this pie split. well said rameish.

spot on. LOL many will even buy without listening.

the cablewhitepaper is written by Roger Sanders, who's selling Sanders Sound cables. it figures, obviously.

you're on the right path.

what is your DVDP?

absolute sound.

u're not the only who can't get a good seal from UE. they sound good if u can but because of fit and comfort problems they're hardly great pieces of engineering. looks like u might have to try on a pair of UM2.

seems like Mapletree got some QC problems. might have to find cheaper but more reliable alternatives.

nope, they use different drivers.

i would love to have some of the weed papaya's smoking.

so in reverse, it can operate as 1 in, 4 outs coz it's passive? how much and where?

hell i might just place an order myself...too tempting. this will make headphone/headamp powwows very convenient.

this makes the Mapletree router sound like a bargain. one input, 5 outputs. go for it!

last month i saw 1 pair each D1000 & D5000. not sure whether sapoo liao.

bravo on a well written piece. recorded music goes through so much processing done by different people at different stages with different ears. when it finally reaches the consumer, the end-user is still fussy about "colored" or "neutral", it makes them sounds hilarious. everything has color, period. it's whether u like the color or not.

try Audio House

err, i wouldn't say Grados/Alessandros are for bass.

saw the D1000 at Audio House. din check price.

for bass, 2 cans come to mind. Denon D2000 & Beyer DT770. i'll take the denon. not sure about portability though.

same here. dun like shure sound and UE sticks out of ears like sore thumbs. enough excuses, Westone 3 is wanted NOW!

Apple Lossless sure but not FLAC like JazzMan mentioned.

ipod 4th gen supports FLAC meh? i tot only after rockboxing then can?