kds5000

Jojo my friend, you've no idea... I've literally joined the dark side... Happy New Year dudes!!!

Wow! Check out the listening booths! The school can't be in Singapore right?

Ah! Nice! Both you jokers have the TTs we were looking at Can I ask how much each of your TT set-ups cost? Tempted but will have to audition first. Do you have the same album on both CD and LP? If so, me and eardoc would like to go over and do an A/B comparison. Unless the difference is night and day, we're not sure going LP is worth all the hassle...

Bro, what turntable did you get and who's the other joker who bought the same turntable with you? Eardoc and I were looking at the Rega P3-24 some months back. But we're too lazy to keep cleaning records just to enjoy the music...

K1000 / Gryphon Tabu combo was what made me and eardoc so nuts about the K1000 K1000 / Mapletree HD250SE was what made me so nuts about the amp... ...now to get my own bloody K1000...

Haha! See you finally pulled the trigger bro! A little (actually, quite big) bird upstairs told me you'd be getting this... VERY NICE!

Here's a pic of my amp's bottom... Love how it says "auricap inside"

Been listening to the Mapletree HD250SE / K1000 combo the past few days. No clipping whatsoever. It sounds as good (if not better) than the Gryphon Tabu Integrated Amp / K1000 pairing I heard at Kidult's place last Saturday. Maybe it's because there were alot of adapters / connectors to the Gryphon amp that day, but the synergy between the HD250 and the K1000 is pretty special. There's even enough bass to satisfy a bass-head like me... What RS-1??!! Wait till you hear it with the PS-1... Of course! Just PM me or wait till Can Slam 2010 - that meet will be awesome as everyone would have received their high power toys! Yamamoto sold... can't do a direct comparison now... Anytime bro! When you finish building your B22, we'll have a mini-meet with my HD250SE - see which drives the K1000 better!

Why bother with a Hi-Fi amp? My Mapletree HD250SE drives the K1000 very very well...

Too busy borrowing the K1000... Just came back from Kidult's place - like going JB... Gonna listen to the HD250SE/K1000 combo now. Slight tube hum and amp not burned-in yet. But the HD250SE is WARM, FORWARD and BASSY... just the way I like it!

Where got quiet?! You bums have been posting all your STAX toys and ridiculously priced CDPs. Quiet for poor old dynamic setups maybe... Actually, not difficult to bring it down to Stereo or Audio Basic. It's not that big and weighs only 5kgs - 1/3 the weight of my DV337 Now to see how it pairs with your K1000...

Look what arrived today?!!! Did I just order a whole box of Whole Grain Crackers?!!! Nah! It's my Mapletree HD250SE!!! Nice comfy bubble-wrap to protect my audio baby... Top View Rear View The only Black 240VAC HD250SE in the world... My HD250SE rig

Wait a minute... I have those... Kinda prefer the Tung Sol mesh and the Jan-Phillips 6SJ7WGT to the Sylvania, tho' I haven't conducted an in-depth comparison between the 3 yet... What is it about the Sylvania that you like?

You're right. The in-built amp is SS. The tube is only for the pre-amp out. But honestly, you don't need to run this through a separate amp... Now you know why I ordered mine on the spot...

It's not functioning properly. The channels are unstable - one minute 1 side is completely gone, the next minute it comes back on, then it gets softer.... (repeat)... I wanted to replace my unit but the others at the shop have a similar problem. The manufacturer is looking into it. I wouldn't recommend using the pre-amp out to another amp because you don't need to - the built in amp is really that good...

Let's not forget that at less than S$300 retail, you're getting a DAC AND a headphone amp. DAC It's a good DAC that compares favorably with my Marantz SA7003 SACDP. The source selector switch allows me to effortlessly A/B the sound through the optical input from the 7003 and the analog RCA input (using the 7003's built-in DAC). It has more bass punch than the 7003 and the lower mids are boosted. If you like warm, bassy sound - this is it. 2 downsides: a) it's rougher, brighter and more coloured than the 7003 there's hiss from both the optical and usb inputs at higher volumes, so you lose detail. The RCA input, on the other hand, is completely silent. Headphone amp It is a darn good headphone amp regardless of price. Drives my HD800 beautifully. Lotsa bass punch and warm mids. Completely silent (no hiss) when used purely as an amp i.e. through the RCA inputs. Sound signature reminds me of my old Heed Canamp, which retails for 2.5 times the price and doesn't come with a DAC. Needless to say, it drives my Grados very well. For the DAC or headphone amp ALONE, it's already a no-brainer At this price, for BOTH, it's a freaking steal....

Wait till he comes and raids YOUR nest...

As Kidult says in another thread - at this price, no horse run. I really enjoy this, bro. Perfect for the office methinks! It's not the most refined DAC or headphone amp around, and there's background hiss when you turn up the volume WAY past your listening threshold, but highs, mids and bass are all there. It really suits the Senns IMO. But seeing as I'm a Grado fan, I enjoy my Grados through this too. Cheap and good! Really. One small thing to note - there seems to be a problem with the pre-amp out. A design flaw apparently. Seems like I'm the only joker to discover it - who the hell runs this through another headphone amp anyway!!!

The Maverick DAC looks more interesting. In fact, I bought one... Cheap and good. If there's such a thing in Audio...

Why do I find this statement a little, how should I put it, GAY?! I certainly wouldn't want any guy to come and raid MY nest...

You're welcome to try it at my place anytime bro. Or, I can even bring it to your place when I return your cables...

Just got my grubby hands on 1. Drives the HD800 and HD600 better than, dare I say it, my friend's Isabellina HPA. This should be THE must have for a starving student enjoying his/her music with a computer source...

Wah! Swee! Anyone in Singapore distributing this? Don't see the Zodiac gold anywhere leh...

You're very welcome. The darkvoice 337 was brought by my buddy RickEC. It has different tubes from mine and sounds considerably warmer. The dv 337, like all tube amps, can have its SQ altered significantly by tube rolling. You'll be amazed at how different our two dv 337s sound... The Marantz 8003 is mine. But it has been modded by James of Effective Audio Mods so what you're hearing is not the sound of a stock 8003. The mods cost almost as much as the player itself but I feel that it's worth it (mods plus player still one of the cheaper CDPs at the meet ) The mods have given me more bass and a longer decay in the notes, especially for cymbals. That was what I needed, so I'm happy Glad you enjoyed our set-up bro

You got PM. Thanks Jigs and Kidult!