Torquelover

Trying to conotrol the urge to try new phones. May end up wanting to buy new ones. So spending more time and resources on getting and listening new CD instead.

Just got my LCD-3 recently. Driving it with Woo WA6SE. Pardon my ignorance and lack of "technical" explanation. The music from the LCD-3 is very intimate, just like the singers and band are performing in-front of you. The bass is tight, powerful and can extend very low. For those who love rock, I am pleasently surprised that the phones are able to reproduce performances from Bon Jovi without breaking a sweat.

Just to add that David's service was impeccable.

hmmm seems interesting. but its a headphone amp? can it drive speakers?

 

actually, what is the main difference between headphone amp and speaker amp?

 

also, whats a pre-amp?

 

thanks a lot for the help...

Ops. Misunderstood your question. The headphone amp cannot be use to drive speakers.

The pre-amp is used to amplify the signal from the source before sending it to the power amp. ie,

integrated amp = pre-amp + power amp.

Waw, gs1000. Something i can only dream of.

 

er anyone who plays with speakers and such here? I remember ical having a large collection. Heh. Would like to ask what kind of speaker amplifier can complement, say, monitor audio's br2? Im intending to get a subwoofer for it too. It'll be a 2.1 system as its in my room, then when i move house 1 or 2 years down the road and i have a larger room, i'll expand it to 5.1 system. So the amp has to be future-proof

also, my source would probably be ipod, laptop or ps3, not getting cdp yet, still deciding if i should. Oh yes, budget for amp would be 500-600, if its a dac+amp, then up to 850.

You may wish to try the MF XCANS v8p. It has a DAC inbuilt for direct USB connection. It is a hybrid amp, thus giving the smoothness of tubes and power of solid state in one offering. Loving it with my GS1000.

Never lie to your wife...

 

Just say in a serious tone "Don't ask! I never asked you how much you spent on that LV bag right?"

Thanks to kds5000, I have upgraded to the GS1000 yesterday. Still wondering why my wife didn't notice the shiny metallic DT990 has transformed into the wooden beauty. Maybe she has given up. Fingers crossed. Don't know how to explain. Maybe will tell her the cans are vintage so not expensive.

Hi,

Yet another stupid question from me Can I use a normal RCA cable as a digital coax? Seems like the digital coax connectors are similar to the RCA connectors. Any impedence difference concerns? I have a few VDH RCA sitting around after my wife decommissioned my full setup a few years back.

BTW, thanks to all for your recommendations previously, I am now happily listening to my rig

Stello CDT100 - Stello DA100S - MF XCAN v8P - DT990 I can really hear detail that was not present previously in iPod - iQube - ATHESW10. The sound stage is so.... Ops, my wife is trying hard not to notice the slow increase in "headphone equipment" in the reading room. I promise her no more full floor standing speakers.

Cheers

Hi,

I have shopped around in Aldephi and cant seem to find a I2S cable for connecting my Stello CDT100 to the DA100. Any recommendation where can I get one?

BTW, may I know where can I buy wall generic mounting brackets for my Denon S301 speakers (end of life product so the dealer no longer carries the brackets)

Thanks

As a DAC fed from my computer via coaxial, the 840C is a little clearer and has a wider and more open soundstage. The DA100 is warmer though. The DA100 is still a fantastic DAC for the price and comes highly recommended from me if you are looking for a DAC alone.

Thanks to all for your valuable inputs. I auditioned some of the above kits this afternoon and settled on the Stello CDT100 + DA100 S. Cant wait to get home to try them out.

After much research, I am down to 2 options

1. Wadia i170 + Stello DA100 DAC. CD ripped using iTunes via Apple Loseless.

2. Cambridge 840c CDP

May I know which will be a better option in terms of SQ?

May I know whether is it possible to connect an iPod to a USB DAC? I have tried that using a USB cable and it doesnt work. Please dont laugh if the question is too stupid.

Found the problem.. Apparently, iTunes by default turns the equalizer on. Just by turning off the equalizer, the distortion goes away. The music is now the same as from Windows.

The equaliser can be found in

View -> Show Equaliser. Ensure the check box is off.

Please dont laugh at me

Did you upsample your optical out?

Must learn about digital audio from you guys. I still belong to the LP and CD generation In other words, I am from the "You mean the drawer in the CDP is not a cup holder!"

Did you upsample your optical out?

Notice that the sound is totally different if I play the CD through Windows Media Player with NO distortion at all. I have double checked iTunes and there is no special setting (I am using iTunes 10.x). For once, Windows is performing better than Apple (no flames please)

Under Vista, I have set USB Audio DAC to be default, sampling at 16 bits 44.1kHz (CD quality). There must be something running and messing between iTunes to USD Audio out.

Stupid me. Pulling my hair out. Looks like I belong to the CDP generation, just drop in a CD and play

Got a decent (within my budget) setup of headphone AMP (with DAC) and DT990 headphones. Before I get a CDP (the hunt is still on), I am using my PC as the CD transport.

However, with the "better" system plug in, I find distortion when I play the music from iTunes (rip using AIFF). Even if I play the CD directly from iTunes, the distortion is still there. Using PC USD out.

However, when I play the CD via my DVD player + headphone AMP & DT990, no distortion was observed.

Did I setup the PC & iTune wrongly? Thanks

Looks like you got the same choices as mine..

CDP you may go down to Adelphi to have a good listen..

What ical recommended should be a great choice..

On last headphone meet I was impressed by the sound of Astin Trew..

May I know where should I go to to audition "Astin Trew" CDP?

 

If i remember correctly, the DT990 was semi open, while HD650 and K701 are fully open.

Went to audition some of the above mentioned full headphones this afternoon. Was impressed by the DT990 and bought it The main thing I like about the DT880 is that I can still enjoy bass even at low volume. Happy man now

The hunt is still not over for the CDP

What's your budget for the cdp?

Around $2-3K. Heard fantastic reviews on CA 840c. May audition that at Alpha.

Agree...lossless rip, will always depend on the hardware and media used to rip the music from the CD. Don't think there is a hardware at the moment that will give a flawless rip. CD drives on computer, I may be wrong but wouldn't it introduce a lot of vibrations and noise into the rip?

After my recent purchase of the V8P, I have started to conduct via USB from PC to the built-in DAC in the V8P. Noticed that a lot of my "cheap" CDs do suffer from clicks, distortions, etc. So I have to agree that the PC CD drives may not be up to the task (pls dont flame me, my PC is a low end HP)

By the way, for a dedicated CDP, I will really appreciate it if the SI Fu can advise on a shortlist for me to audition. I am worried that the shops will just product push if I visit them without any ideas. Thanks

You need a big headphone..

I have ESW10 as well, but no matter how poison the sweetness of ESW10's mids can't beat the higher fidelity sound of my big headphone DT990..you may consider any one of big headphones..DT990, HD650, K701, etc..

 

For the music source, I leave this to the Masters in this forum...How much is your budget?

CDP will never die..even vinyl is living well..for music server you may need to buy high quality audio record like from Linn Records, or search for "ahem" to download..

Hi

I thought of using my ESW10 at home and on the move. Looks like I have to spend more..... I love the sound of the HD650. Dont know whether it will move well with the MF V8P.

My budget for the source is around $3k. I listen to mostly jazz, vocals (Chai Qin, Amanda Mcbroom, etc) and on the rare occasion trance.

For the Olive HD4, I was thinking to rip all my CDs into it. Any advice whether this is a good move? Heard good reviews on the unit. If I go the CDP route, which unit should I get?

Cheers

HI,

For the past couple of years, I have been surviving on a AT-ESW10 driven by the iQube amp. Now itching to upgrade the system. Just bought the Musical Fidelity XCan V8P yesterday (big improvement sonically) Hopefully the "Si Fu" in this forum can point me in the right direction. I can't invest in a full blown speaker based system as I don't want to disturb the family and neighbors.

Should I get a mid range CDP (maybe Marantz Or Cambridge) as the source to couple with the MF Xcan + AT ESW10? Or should I get a music server (eg Olive HD4) as the source? Heard that the CDP is dying.

Cheers

Hi,

I intend to get the Xcan to drive my Senn HD650. Need your advice on where can I get the unit in Singapore and the estimated $. Thanks.