Rameish

Actually Ablaze, there is a possibility I might be wrong as my references were made for V1 or X-Cans. Is Pink Floyd refering to V1 or V2? Do you happen to know that are the differences between the 2 versions of this amp.

Strictly speaking a tube amp needs to have a load when powering it up or when it's on. But the X-Cans are I think a buffered stage amp so it's more like a solid-state amp with a tube buffer stage (please check this as I am recalling this from memory. Ask Musical Fidelity on this one please. The whooshing is tube rush - that is the tube warming up and stabilizing (normal). Could your unregulaed power supply have something to do with it? You could send it to Zenn Audio for a check.

danlaix, First it is not my META 42. It belongs to a fellow member who got someone to build it using premium parts (for META 42 that is) using Neutrick jack, Cadas Rodium RCA, Elna Cerafine caps, Vishay-Dale resistors and a real Alps Blue (there are fakes using a Soundwell Pot with Alps sticker). This is a proper META 42 (circuit board) extra buffering etc (almost completely Maxed out). The META has some grounding problems I think as there's an intermitten hum. I found it to be bright but I think an op amp swith from BB to an AD part helps - i believe the dual op amp varient of the AD8610 (AD8620 I think). Have to check the part numbers - memory ain't so good, does give it more fullness/weight and warmth.. As for comparing with the Corda, you really need to give it a listen. As the Corda Rep in Singapore my comments on it would obviously be negated. So trust your ears. As all Corda amps have both 120 ohm and 0 ohm jacks and natural crossfeed (not all crossfeed circuits are the same) it is my opnion that Corda has an advantage (the part quality and build quality is of course excellent - Telma transformer, Alps Blue pot, extruded aluminum case (ie one piece with aluminum fron and back plates - aluminum is a more expensive material used to minimise magnetic build up as compared to sheet metal) The caps are also of very high quality and thus offer a good balance of professional design and choice parts for the price. They also come with a 2-year warrenty direct from the Manufacturer.

Ablaze, read my earlier post. One transducer going south may be a faulty driver but both? Please check the X-Cans (I know I have said this to you b4 but please do listen to this).

N@Z, They are all warmed up and awaiting your arrival. You need not bring your RS-1 but do bring the Etys. I have yet to hear about the Sonys BTW. My darling nephew may decide to give himself a complimentary present with the PCII.

No need to apologise lah. LOL I'm just rather protective of this new baby forum. Some day I hope it can rival head-fi which in itself was the baby of headwize (which is still a great resource but sadly negleted by some former heavyweights). I too would like some to post reviews. Unfortunately the only review I can make is on headphones and comparison between corda amps. It's difficult being one of the most experienced yet frustrated by obvious dealer restrains. Okay. Lets call this a nite and have a beer sometime.

El Scorcho, I do hope that is not sarcasm I'm hearing. Esp the title of "Speaking Transparently" and the bit about people who mention transperancy the most do not practice it. Transparency is a goal we need to aim for even if we may fall short of it. Comments about products - esp when one sells them - need to come with a disclaimer. To avoid having to state the disclaimer over and over again, a simple title switch would have solved it. You may not agree with this but that is how forums of this nature are usually run. Unlike a physical store, where a customer who walks in knows he's encountering a salesperson (who may or may not be an enthusiast), in the forum the handle doesn't provide the same info to the reader. As for me, I do belive in the merits of transparency and acknowledge that complete transparancy is perhaps a utopia. As for being a cautious man. Yes. I want to see this forum thrive. Ablaze had once asked me to be a moderator in this forum. I declined and told him why it was not a good idea for me to do so. BTW Ablaze and me do not always see eye to eye as well. So, there are some, perhaps not too many, who do practice transparency while preaching it. Also, rather than reporting your post to a moderator (without your knowledge), I choose to do so openly so that you do know who the person is. In addition I chose to do so politely - or at least I thought it was polite. Once again, another example of being transparent. I did know that in your first post in this forum you did state you were selling Ultrasone and Philips. But such posts do tend to become relegated to the 3rd or 4th page over time. So I do believe and did not think you were trying to hoodwink people. If you mistook my post as an accusation of sorts then do note that was not my intent.

Nope but the 650 is

Don't know about the Philips 910 availability as I never thought of becoming a Philips dealer. Curious, since you are a Philips dealer why don't you ask them directly? I find the Cardas with Senn 600 to give a slightly harder yet detailed sound esp if you remove the foam and replace it with say nylon stocking material. To me it robs some of the romance of the Senn HD-600 while giving better details. They are still good headphones. BTW Are the Ultrasones you are selling the ULE versions or regular versions. That is, do you bring in both versions of say the 650 and 2000. I do suggest that you inform Ablaze or N@Z about your status to ensure the people know what headphones you are selling when they read comments about your favourite headphones. I do hope you understand why you need to inform forum members - as per head-fi rules. This is to give transparency to comments made by dealers.

N@Z, I think the MG Head has a low and high setting (switch?). So it should not be a problem. Check with Jo Lau if you're unsure. Check http://www.tubehifi.com/amp/amp/mgheaddt.html Basically there's the MG Head 32 and the MG Head MkII Check Joe Lau (Manufacturer's) comments here http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread....ghlight=MG+Head

Cheap DAT player? LOL These thing go for about S$900. But if you do find a cheap one keep me posted.

What were you using to drive the AKG K1000?

It uses a dummy 3 prong brit plag. The earth is the dummy point.

Guy, What am I going to do with an OHB11SE without the power supply hmm. It can't use the OBH-1 btw. If you're interested call me. I think you know the number.

I like the idea of being a fanatic LOL

Albaze, So its okay to post prices as long as there's a discussion as well? Just asking since I ahd some comments next to the Beyer headphones as well as prices and got told to post it in classifieds only.

Vox, Unlikely as Singapore is very "trend" oriented. VHS is almost dead (not too many rental stores left). Its all DVD or VCD - even LDs are old and rare nowadays.

Get them fixed but do send the amp to a tech to check at least before you plug the Sony's in again.

Not that easy - you need to send it in for a tech to look at. Sniff the driver that died - is there a burnt smell? If there is then I'm 100% certain its the X-Cans. Another possible cause could be clipping. Generally tube amps don't go well with low impedence (true for speaker based systems as well). That's why the RKV has the impedencer. I guess it's not a fixed rule but do look into it. However, you would have heard the clipping. You dont need loud volume for clipping to occur. Did you hear any form of distortion before the transducer failed? Anyway, now that the damage is done, plug in a cheap (and disposable) headphone and check the amp (leave it running for several hours). If the transducer on the cheap heaphone fails as well then you know it's the X-Cans. Fixing the Sony may not cost more than S$250. My advice is fix the Sony and get the amp checked by an independent tech. Only then should you plug in the Sonys into the X-Cans again. I real sorry this happend to you esp after all you've gone thru.

Guy, transducers rarely fail unless there's dc leakage from the amp. The Sony's were fully run in as well. Try Sony Singapore as they probably can bring the the transducers. But before you plug it again into the X-Cans - have it checked out for DC leakage.

Sorry to hear that ablaze, damage to a transducer can unfortunately be expensive. So what you're saying is when you plug in another headphone into the X-Cans it's okay? Hmm. Please plug in a cheap headphone into the X-Cans to try and find out if its the amp that frying the drivers or there was a failure in the driver itself (very unlikely). Anyway check wish Sony for replacement. You might want to replace both as the other could be half-fried (anyway for transducer matching, they normally change both). Is this issue related to the X-Cans loss of bass?

Quite right. All need good amplification. The amps I normally use are: Grado RA-1, Creek OBH-11SE (with OBH-2 PS), Porta Corda II, Corda HA-1, Corda HA-2 and Corda Prehead. META 42 (not for too long). My favourite amps? Grado RA-1, Porta Corda II and Corda HA-1. (The PreHead and HA-2 are better sonically but the law of diminishing returns sets in). In fact I find it difficult to tell the diff between The Prehead and HA-2. I can it's just difficult. I have also listened to Musical Fidelity X-Cans V1, the SAC1000 (for K-1000) briefly, EarMax (non pro), Headroom Supreme and Airhead and Max (old version), Sonic Frontiers Pre Amp (can't remember model number).

N@Z, I do have about 1,000 LPs and about 300 CDs (not a huge collection but not an impoverished one either). Yes, the quest bit was for newbies more than anything else (this is a synopsis of my journey). In the end everthing is determined by budget. Also I was/am telling people to keep some of their quipment they have and make sure they don't really like them before selling. If you don't have proper amplification, how on earth are you going to enjoy 90% of the good headphones. Even you will admit the easy to drive Grados need amplification (or at least sound better with amplification). Some other major posts are coming but it does take a long time to write - this one took 3 weeks - can't help it went thru 4 drafts.

Ablaze, Strange - when I used IE to view you comments about the weird charactesr I couldn't see any and was wondering if you were talking about spelling. Now I'm using Netscape I can see them. Will correct them. Wow, archived?? Hell yes.

Oh. Tubes amps in general need about 1 hour to sound optimal but you can listen to it afer 10-15 min of warm up for the tubes to become stable.. But what you're describing is strange...very strange. So am I correct to say now after warm up the bass is back?