Just like to share some ipod related stuff

1st Pinoy headphile meet. Yesterday March 3. Antel2000 valero street makati.

i'm still A/B'ing in my mind the vinyl PinkFloyd's Dark Side vs. it's remastered CD. I remember getting goosebumps on Great Gig In The Sky even if ive listened to it for the Nth time in different formats! They shouldnt clean the Joy DIvision vinyl, mas okay yung Love Will Tear Us Apart, paulit ulit yung chorus =] parang subliminal message =]

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/severthee/IMG_9373.jpg
Dark Side Of the Moon, JVC turntable with Clearaudio cartridge, ArnoldC tube headamp kit, xcan v2

im not reviewing any of the amps. they all sound alike.. Hehe! i gotta have one of those tube amp kits, they really do great when paired with my cans. The Cayin's pretty good too (with 800$ pricetag it should be). It was very quiet, I thought it turned off by itself when the song sample moved to another track. The details were just amazing, you could almost point out which part of the stage the music's coming from. maybe im imagining that or prolly its a mix and match witht he right set of cans.
Just to reiterate , Xin's supermicro is a monster. I cant believe thats an amp. I thought it's a volume control or something. maybe they should Shrink Wrap that to the end of a hphone cable! The ipod Redwine mod made me a believer. I can tell, since I also owned the 4th Gen Ipod. very low almost zero capacitance.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/severthee/IMG_9375.jpg
Cayin amp, Sony SA5000, XCAN v3, my irizumi 80gig iPOD, altoid cmoy amp and DIY IC, an ipod nano and PA2v2

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/severthee/IMG_9377.jpg
Grado Sr325i with the Liberators, 4th Gen IPOD REDWINE IMOD, switchcraft IC, super micro underneath, its smaller than the pods width. http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/severthee/ipod/dsc00145lk1.jpg
the supermicro strapped with blue velcro, UE super.fi5 with earmolds

I was able to try the HD650, theyre darn comfortable and the quality's very transparent. you can prolly fall asleep, though you'll immediately snap out of it once you land your face on those huge cans. I might get the entry level 555 or 515 because of the 650. The Sony SA-5000's pretty good too. I was amazed with the response and clarity, i didnt know its open-air. it looks like something you wear in starwars podracing, i thought it was closeback.



I wasnt able to try the in-ears, I didnt mind sharing my wax! i also wana try somebody else's earmolds hehe! next time, i'll bring disposable silicons or tri-flange to try em innards =]



I was looking forward to try the SR-325 with Liberators, and they really do deliver. Well they just have to , these cans were warm and very clear. they're great with vocals, I cant imagine whats the next level cans (RF series) would sound like. I cant tell if the Liberators does improve the soundstage with these cans, because we didnt A/B (with or without). but if Ive to compare to my stock in your face sr80, you can hear the obvious difference in soundstage. The MS-1 is so ear friendly, with tamed highs and pronounced mids, these cans are very musical. I myself play and make some music and I found for myself why musician's prefer these cans.


at the end, i miss my Sr80s crisp, upfront character. and the ssssssibilance hehe. did the Senns shook my faith? NO WAY, GRADO ALL THE WAY! raise the FLAG! =]

its in the ear of the beholder. i hope you guys can come next time. and soemone please bring a POCKET TURNTABLE.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/severthee/IMG_9378.jpg
ALO audio interconnect, xtra head amp, ipod 5th gen 30gig

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/severthee/IMG_9374.jpg
Dell latitude, Benchmark DAC-1, Grado SR325


http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/severthee/IMG_9379.jpg
here's what i came for

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/severthee/IMG_9376.jpg
xtra x1 amp, Alessandro MS-1, my grado sr80, my irizumi ipod, a shuffle and some fake flowers

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/severthee/IMG_9198.jpg
my rig

there'll be more meets to come!

Reviving this thread in the hope of attracting the opinion of Philmug audio experts/audiophiles. Am upgrading to some good amplifiers. Am looking at the Cayins (tube amps) with matching cayin tube cd player. Any feedback on this? Just looking for some basic digital to analog gear. auditioned at audio amplified but it was sort of rushed so I never got a chance to be educated in the world of tube sounds.

@raypin: try my brother's shop in greenbelt 1, architectural audio. his name is epoy, who is the least hard-selling guy i know--my complete opposite, hehehe. he's not a mac user, but he'd make a good tube reference. not me; the only tubes i have mastered are fallopian. ;)

if you wanna go further, i can refer you to my best friend who's an absolute nut case with audiophile and is quite known in the pinoy audiophile circles. but these guys are more listeners than just gearsluts. ;)

he he he......fallopian tubes.....you crack me up. Okay, I'll will make time for your bro's shop sometime this Sept. I appreciate the referral. I do not really consider myself an audiophile but I've been doing some research and people swear that vacuum tube-produced sound is much better than anything solid state can produce. The music sounds much clearer and warmer. Its like having a live performance in front of you or are my ears playing tricks on me.

oh well, the quest continues......

From what I understand, you need 4 things: pre-amp, amplifier, cd player and a good set of speakers. I've budgeted 50 to 60 K for this as a start and hopefully build a good enough collection of mastered CDs (I'm torn between your run of the mill CD and XRCD). That's where I need expert opinion to guide my choices (equipment and content).

he he he......fallopian tubes.....you crack me up. Okay, I'll will make time for your bro's shop sometime this Sept. I appreciate the referral. I do not really consider myself an audiophile but I've been doing some research and people swear that vacuum tube-produced sound is much better than anything solid state can produce. The music sounds much clearer and warmer. Its like having a live performance in front of you or are my ears playing tricks on me.

oh well, the quest continues......

From what I understand, you need 4 things: pre-amp, amplifier, cd player and a good set of speakers. I've budgeted 50 to 60 K for this as a start and hopefully build a good enough collection of mastered CDs (I'm torn between your run of the mill CD and XRCD). That's where I need expert opinion to guide my choices (equipment and content).

Good luck on your trip via the slippery slope. Somehow, there is a disconnect in what you're trying to achieve with tube amps - why convert digital to analog at all? You can go straight analog with a matching turntable and audiophile LPs. That's the complete experience! FWIW, a few turntables are more expensive than the tube amps. In the grand scheme of things, your speaker pair should be the most expensive single item in your audio chain (the output stage)… then the source (turntable and discs)… then the processing intermediary (amp and pre-amp).

Now if you connect your iPod and play MP3s on your analog set-up, then you ought to be burned on the stake for pure heresy… Been there, done that, raypin and I'm not going there again! When I sold my gear, I added a few thousands and got myself a Beemer instead.

One tip: Try combining a solid-state power amp with a tube pre-amp. The result is more than the sum of a straight tube combo. Some tube amps choke (clipping) at driving some 'difficult' speakers.

mmm........Yeah, I saw one tube amp being sold and it takes ipods (although an ipod dock is needed) as a source but I agree that it is heresy indeed. I'm not keen on turntable and LP vinyls. I'm pretty much set on using digital content as the source and try to mellow out the sterile quality for the much warmer analog output. For a basic set, what brand or model (tube pre- amp) would you recommend? I've only auditioned the cayin tube amp so I have no idea what to pair it with. For speakers, I know there are tons of choices. A friend recommends celestions.

I saw some solid state yamahas at Gateway. They look and sound impressive. So, if I follow your advice, I should pair it with a tube pre-amp. Should I buy a separate CD player or an integrated amp and player? Does it even matter?

Goodness gracious, I'm not keen on spending 7 figures for an audio set up or my retirement fund will cry rape!

so many questions but every bit of real world experience will help me a great deal. Thanks in advance.

Your ears (and your wallet) are the best judge. When you audition a set, tell the sales guy to stop yapping and let you listen to your music in peace. Which also means: bring your own music CDs - one classical to see if the system can reproduce soft passages, an Ella Fitzgerald to check if her voice is front and center (presence), one jazz piano and one jazz guitar, and one rock CD, preferably featuring Steve Lukather (DTS). For accurate low-end repro, the Saving Private Ryan DVD or Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture by Erich Kunzel.

If you want an exclusive CD player, get one that plays either an SACD or DVD-Audio (warning: discs are expensive). In pairing various components, please read Crown Audio's reco (http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/amp_info/how_much_power.htm). It's a lot of techno-speak and I for one, get bored (oft times frustrated) with such minutiae - trust your ears, RayPin. If it sounds good to you, then it must be good. But do take note of the listening room where you audition the gear - that contributes greatly to the nuances as well…

My 'basic set' is purely digital (well, except for the speakers - Mission 700 series). I simply refuse to go back to tubes that I have to replace every six months or 12. When it comes to specs, I am very conservative - I only look at two things: THD and frequency range. I once had a NAD with only 20 watts power output (RMS) per channel and that bad boy brought me to nirvana.

Thanks for the prompt and very informative tips. I'll bring the suggested discs along to the audition. The audio amplified guy quoted me 50,000 for a cayin amp, cayin cd player, a pair of speakers and the cables thrown in (not monster). He wasn't pushy or anything, which kind of bothered me since I was obviously out of my element. It was like trying to extract information from the Gestapo or maybe he thought I couldn't afford the audio gears he was selling...he he he.....

Many audiophile staff aren't pushy. They love people who audition their gear even without commitment to buy. Usually it's the store owner himself who will entertain you.

@rbenzon: bro mo pala sa gb1. I inquired from him before about the Sonos system and he was so helpful! His speakers are outré weird in shape! They look perfectly at home in the Predator's space ship, he he.

Many audiophile staff aren't pushy. They love people who audition their gear even without commitment to buy. Usually it's the store owner himself who will entertain you.

@rbenzon: bro mo pala sa gb1. I inquired from him before about the Sonos system and he was so helpful! His speakers are outré weird in shape! They look perfectly at home in the Predator's space ship, he he.
yup, soloworx, he's my bro. there you go, raypin, an endorsement from someone unrelated. ;) glad he treated you well, solo. momma woulda been proud. :) but we're on different sides of the "audio chain". my bro's the audiophile, and i'm an amateur on the "professional audio" end. so my dream speakers would be barefoots (http://www.barefootsound.com/), like what fellow mugger vicicasas has in his studio. drool, drool, drool. time to hit the lotto! ;)

yeah, i've seen those sonos go to work--controlling audio for mansions! and here i am, giddy with using my iphone to remote control my apple tv-5.1 chain. jologs. ;)

anyway, raypin, you can check out the wiredstate (http://wiredstate.com/forum/index.php) audio community. let's see if you can become a freak there in two months, like you've blistered through here in philmug. :) (still amazes me thinkin' about that.) while you're there, you can also check out my best buddy's section, called ttommy's corner (http://wiredstate.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=74). happy learning, raypin. come back here when your wallet's been audio rayp'd. ;)

@rbenzon.....will check those sites and your brother's shop. I'm in no hurry so i have the luxury of time to make the right choice and hopefully, one that fits what I have in mind. On the blistering pace, I have no explanation except I enjoy posting here. A few scrapes (with elbert reminding me about some posting etiquettes) and uncalled for homophobic joke (in the Life Coach thread, sorry Supreme Being) .....well, what can I say except that I will continue to strive to be responsible.......thanks and have a nice day!

Hey Guys,

I'm in the market for a headphone amp. I checked Acoustic Dimensions in rockwell but they only sell the solid state headphone amps. I want a Tube amp. Any idea where I can get them locally?

Thanks!

visit Andrew of AMX.
showroom is located at 2/F Robinsons Pioneer
tel. 687-4805

http://www.amxtubeaudio.com/products.html

visit Andrew of AMX.
showroom is located at 2/F Robinsons Pioneer
tel. 687-4805

http://www.amxtubeaudio.com/products.html

Thanks, will check them out.

Heads up Headphiles!

Check it out, Sennheiser's new flagship, The Sennheiser HD 800!:cool:

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e184/eseverino/SennheiserHD800BrochureCover.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e184/eseverino/HD800.jpg

More info:

http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/home_en.nsf/root/spec_hd800

Brochure Here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-jude/sets/72157612262246563/)

More photos Here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-jude/sets/72157612254832521/)

Your ears (and your wallet) are the best judge. When you audition a set, tell the sales guy to stop yapping and let you listen to your music in peace. Which also means: bring your own music CDs - one classical to see if the system can reproduce soft passages, an Ella Fitzgerald to check if her voice is front and center (presence), one jazz piano and one jazz guitar, and one rock CD, preferably featuring Steve Lukather (DTS). For accurate low-end repro, the Saving Private Ryan DVD or Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture by Erich Kunzel.

If you want an exclusive CD player, get one that plays either an SACD or DVD-Audio (warning: discs are expensive). In pairing various components, please read Crown Audio's reco (http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/amp_info/how_much_power.htm). It's a lot of techno-speak and I for one, get bored (oft times frustrated) with such minutiae - trust your ears, RayPin. If it sounds good to you, then it must be good. But do take note of the listening room where you audition the gear - that contributes greatly to the nuances as well…

My 'basic set' is purely digital (well, except for the speakers - Mission 700 series). I simply refuse to go back to tubes that I have to replace every six months or 12. When it comes to specs, I am very conservative - I only look at two things: THD and frequency range. I once had a NAD with only 20 watts power output (RMS) per channel and that bad boy brought me to nirvana.

Hi Sir! Where do you get your SACDs? :) Is the Oppo BDP-83SE available here in Manila? Has anyone used it with a headphone?