Rameish

Still here :-) What I've essentially said in the past still applies (to me at least) so there's not much for me to post. Also I'm not too familier with the new portable stuff. If I do hear somthing good I'll post it.

Every cable is a filter (no matter how expesive or how pure the copper/sliver content is). Cable geometry offers ways to reduce this. For example litz wires are used for small signal transfer (the 0.2mv of an MC cartridge to it phono stage or transformer). If you substitute the litz for say a solid core wire of the same gauge as the combined litz wire you'll hear a very nocicable difference. There are many reasons as to why a certain geometry offers better transfer for low output signal transfer including but not limited to the so called skin effect. (Note hook up wires are like 3cm in length). That is not to say there are silly reviewrs who are trying to write prose into their reviews. This has been the case for a long time now. If in doubt trust your ears. Always remember a difference may not be better just because one cable costs a lot more then another.

Some tubes flash when you power them on. I know the Mullard CV4024 (12AT7) and the Tungsram ECC82 (12AU7) (the ones with a metal clip with a number embossed onto it) flashes upon power up. I do mean a yellow flash (ie a brief momemt for less then a second). That's normal for some makes of certain models/tube types. That is not all Tungsram tubes of the same family will flash. Cant remember which 12AX7/ECC83/CV4004 flash though. I think the very limited run Svetlana 12AX7 does flash (I not too sure and cant check for you as I dont currently have a tube amp that uses 12AX7) I'll post a pict of that tube in the next couple of hours.

What about the Rega? No headphone out but if you're serious about headphones you really should get a dedicated headphone amp. An alternative CDP (slightly more than 1.5K (I think it's 1.8K) is the CEC. Also try out the Spark/Cayin CDT17.

Cayin HA-1A has four tube/electron valves. Whilest NOS tubes do last longer because they were generally better made may I suggest you purchase your tubes/valves from reputable dealers that test and match them. As for which tubes sound best that would depend on how you want to change the sound of you amp slightly. If it's too bright you might wanna try the CV4003 (Mullard British Army tube) that's even warmer than the regular stock civilian Mullard ECC82. But if the sound is already too muddy/murky/warm/lush etc then the Mullard is not the way to go. Indeed an RFT ECC82 (East German) would be better suited. As for power tubes get the best matched pair you can find. These NOS EL84 tubes are really getting scarce and you really dont want to put a gassy tube into you amp. Or put unmatched tubes in. RAM matched and tested tubes is the best way forward for the EL84 IMO. As for the 12 AX7 a properly tested balanced triode tube (ie both sides are matched as closely to each other within the tube) will offer more sonic benefits. Again buying RAM matched tube here would be good - Try the Ei tube here. You can also try www.triodeelectronics.com - Ned Carlson is an honest man who matches the tube for you. If you cant afford the RAM tubes get them from triode electronics.

I use this yardstick - if I have $5000 worth of music (in CD?LP purchases) then I would like to budget for a $5000 system. That is spend half on the source and half on playback. Of course if you're just starting out and have just a few CDs (like say 20 to 30) then a minimum sum needs to be budgeted for the next 5 to 10 years. Lastly trust your ears - the memory of how a system sounds lasts longer than you think. I'll give you a simple example: A friend of mine lent me a pair of Grover S cables (not the latest version) for a few months. I was quite impressed with it but stayed away from doing A-B comparisions. Eventually I did and found it held it's own against the Kimber Silver Streak SE (with WBT Topline RCA's) (PS I dont quite like the Silver Streaks with WBT Midline RCA - there's a glare to the top end which I find irritating). Not bad at all. I then tried comparing it with Kimber Select 1030 I could tell the Grover S was beaten but hey still not bad. Then I returned the Grover S and hooked the KS-1030 back on and started listening to probably the same 50 of so CDs - over the next few feeks I realised how much better the KS-1030 really was - but at S$2k it is an expensive interconnect and the Grover S is/was a more realistic option especially if you are hooking up a S$1.3 CDP to a $2.6 amp because it costs about S$240-250. The Kimber KS-1030 is still better but it would only make sense wehn your CDP costs about $4 - $5k upwards and likewise for your amplification. In other words allocate about 25% of your budget for interconnects. For CDP based systems you can allocate you budget like this: 25% for source (CDP) 25% for Amp 25% for Headphones/Speakers 25% for interconnects/power cords etc This is not a hard and fast rule BTW. There is absolutely nothing wrong with allocating 20% for CDP 25% for amp 35% for headphone/speakers 20% for interconnects/power cords In a nutshell get a system thats within your budget that will enable you to enjoy the music you like even more. If you can hear the difference, consider yourself lucky and enjoy the music no matter what other people (and especially reviewers) say.

ezzo, your warning level has now been increased to 40%. jmmtn4aj the thread is now closed. Please do repost.

heady quite right. ezzo a seller is allowed to ask any price he/she wants for whatever reason. For instance a Grado HP-1 sells for more than it's original manufacture's retail price even though the model is no longer in production for several years now. Whilest you may feel that it's overpriced jmmtn4aj is not forcing you to buy it. Ezzo your warning level has been increased by 20% jmmtn4aj, dont try and fight your own battles - just report the post. You might also want to repost in the classifieds.

Best if you can keep the money in the piggy and save up till you have the funds to get both at the same time. But if the itch is really there then get a CDP with the headphone jack and volume control first. There's a spark/cayin solid state CDP that does this - try it and the headphone section out at Precision Audio Ground Floor Adelphi. It's around S$700 to S$800 (cant remembert the exact price). There's also the Dugood Gloryyear CDP from Ah Fart Audio.

I would get a Dugood CDP from Ah Fart Audio and the Grado RA-1 (Music By Design) (total cost would be around S$1K). Alternatively get one of the lower end CEC CD Players from Music By Design and combine it with the Grado RA-1.

Okay, let's stop this here please. Everyone is entitled to their views. If I have no choice I will close this topic. In audioland somtimes you do find equipment that does indeed outperform beyond their asking price. Also price nor specs are a good indicator of how a peice of equipment will be perceived by the listener. There are a few people who having heard the Senn HD-600 and the Grado RS-1 will say that they prefer the Senn eventhough it's about half the price. Papaya, please do not that chynakym only used his "year of experience" after you came down on him/her pretty hard. You gave one and you got one. Eye for and eye etc LOL So...let's move on.

Denon makes some decent mini combo systems. However I have only heard their older system - I think it was called the DM-30 and it retailed for about $450 only. At your budget level you might wanna look into a NAD seperates system with budget Mission speakers. Look into the second hand market at echoloft for 2nd hand speakers (speakers hardly breakdown).

In terms of sound quality a dedicated CD Player will almost always trump a portable CD Player. As for SACD it's well supposed to be one of the replacement formats for CD that offers more information for the machine (the SACD Player) to read. Sometime after the introduction of CD way back in the 80's, people found that they still prefered vinyl over CDs (at least those fussy folks like us). SACD and DVD-A are supposed to be the answer to the limitations of the CD format.

I do hope this means you are partnering the HD-600 with an amp cos the HD-600 really needs an amp to sound good.

Topic moved to PC Audio.

Topic has been moved to appropriate forum (Portable Audio).

Grace m902 is nice. Try it at Music By Design. See if it's your cup of tea. Here's the link http://www.gracedesign.com/products/902/m902.htm One thing about buying amps that are not available in Singapore is you'll be buying blind. Having said that the Headroom amps are nice too. But it's gonna cost ya mucho dinars to get the balanced versions.

Progold G100 is not a cleaner - it binds with the gold plate and further slows down the oxide build up. It should be used when the connectors are new of after the connectors have been cleaned. What you use to clean the oxide away is really up to you. I use pipe cleaners saturated in Deoxit. For heavily oxidised connectors a better option is to replace them.

Try Peak Fusion - they are the Beyer Distributors in Singapore. PEAK FUSION PTE LTD Address: 102E Pasir Panjang Road #03-06 Citilink Warehouse Complex Singapore 118529 Tel: (65) 6276 7633 Fax: (65) 6276 3166 Website: www.peak-fusion.com.sg Email: enquiry@peak-fusion.com.sg

Crossfeed does help with the unnatural left/right seperation that headphones offer. Both headroom and meier audio build/make headphone amplifiers with crossfeed.

If anything it shows Stereo's passion for headphones :-) Nice looking headphones - do they still work?

Stick to what you're comfortable with and build your system. If you're not comfortable in bringing in your headphone amp and cans for audition then you'll have to do it by trial and error and it's an expensive way to do things. Cayin/Spark make some nice CDP from $800 approx upwards. Marantz still has the CD-17 MKIII I think.

FYI this is a headphone forum LOL More information is needed to give you a better answer. What headphone amp are you using or intending to get, likewise for your headphone. If you amp or headphone isnt very resolving then maybe you can get away with a poorer quality source. Think in terms of a system. The system is only as good as it's weakest link.

Denatured alchohol is fine for cleaning the RCA connectors of interconnects but you'll need to clean them more often then say using Graig Deoxit followed by Progold (if your RCA is glod plated). As for changing the sound well in theory yes it should but in practice I cannot hear the difference between a Progold treated RCA connector and a non-progold RCA connector. Just keep the RCA's clean so that theres good electrical contact. (BTW the gold in RCA connectors doesnt improve sound it just delays the onset of oxidation.

Congratulations and welcome to the club. May the whole be greater than the sum of the parts! Be kind to each other. God Bless