Mercuttio

No, I am because I only listen to headphones while in a cherry picker on a stage.

I kind of question the newer build quality. I know that the RS1 took a hit with the newer design... so does that "i" on everything mean the same? The round rods kind of suck in comparison to the older square RS-1 ones... and it looks like they all have that now...

Holy fucking shit

For a long time I was doing RS1 and HD650. Took me a day or more to adjust to the one I wanted to listen to for a long period of time.

And really, I think they actually sounded OK. Not like, $200 OK, but "Hey, this has pretty nice mids, I'd like to hear more of it."

Oh, no I only tried the Master Blaster, which seemed relatively stable jointwise.

I tried these in a snowboard shop on Broadway in NoHo. They're actually not bad, though I wouldn't say I could rate them as "good" without a better listen. The build quality is incredible. Much better than anything else right now, apart from the DT770. All metal construction, really nice leather for all the padding. Very, very comfortable. The weird part is that they've got a volume control ON the headphone itself... grab that coin edge surface and twist it, that's the volume. I'd consider getting a pair to try them on if I wasn't about to fund larger headphone investments.

They're only this popular as a limited edition. If they were easy to get, I'd actually guess that they wouldn't be in much demand (as they weren't at one point). 1. Too bassy for most people. 2. Really, really, really fucking heavy on your head. Not that it would stop me from buying one if they were under 1k, but I'm sort of dumber than most people.

CHRIST. And not the one in my avatar. Who the hell is bidding on this thing? I mean, the PS1 is nice, sure, but fuck... not exactly an R10 is it?

This seems like it's getting a little crazy. I'm honestly shocked it's gone this high.

Oh yeah, wasn't that the sunglasses thing? I think I found those images recently when I was sorting my drives out.

The RS1 was sort of perfection for me. Even to a degree in direct comparison to the HP2, I liked the RS1 just a little better. You know, the more I think about it, the more I think I'll get an RS1 and be done with it. It took me years to figure out what my "favorite headphone" was and I suppose I should go back to it sometime. And definitely, with bowls the treble is piercing. Which is why for some reason I've kept this pair of genuine Grado flats in my closet... what a shameful secret...

Not if I burn Sound by Singer to the ground and take their RS1 from the ashes. I'm of course assuming that vintage RS1 are flame retardant. I don't think I'm wrong here.

Haha, I think plenty of people are more than willing to go and "meet" this guy in person. I've heard about this fella faking feedback though. And, the way he operates, I wouldn't put it past him to pocket the cash and "ditch" an account somewhere. As his options for sale are cut off, I'd imagine he's getting more desperate. And really, the HD800 doesn't interest me much. I've been in on way too many hyped up headphone releases. My ears know what they like, and they like the RS1 and HP2. In hall honesty, I see myself ending up with another RS1 before an HP2. I will most likely hunt for a vintage RS1 though, or one with buttons at least. The wood on the newer RS1 looks... sickly. Unless someone has a better picture of it than the ones on Headroom that proves otherwise.

I've heard about this guy. I wouldn't touch that pair with a fourty foot pole.

Heh, yeah. I had jjcha's pair for a few months a couple of years ago. In the future, I'm debating ditching my K701 (which sounds about like I remember it, I was hoping my ears would be more pleased) and going for another high end Grado. No GS1000 this time. That's for sure. I'm also not 100% sure I'll even have the funds to go for a big gun... but... maybe.

So if I... Oh God, I can't even believe I'm asking this... If I were to hunt an HP2, does anyone know of a secret stash of them selling for something south of $1,500?

It's gone now (the buzzing that is) after mods, but I just can't believe how much undue affection the Zhaolu gets. It seems like a modder's dream DAC though, especially with such a large internal space. The popularity has gone from FOTM to outright annoying. The Source board is totally cluttered with dumb garbage about it... a million people now think that they have this amazing $170 source that sounds like a $1k source and feel obliged to let everyone who doesn't have one know how much money they wasted (not directly, but that's the general tone).

Before I had mine modded, I let it burn in for close to 300 hours. Honestly, it was still terrible. I would go as far as to say worse than the EMU0404 soundcard I was using before. The EMU was edgy yes, but it didn't feel like a huge warm claustrophobic thing breathing down my neck whenever I tried to listen to it. The midrange stock is pushed so weirdly forward and something in there can take any soundstage and just shrink it in around your head with a honky sound. The GS1000 felt totally claustrophobic on it, and even if you don't like the GS1000 sound, you have to agree that this is quite the feat for any DAC. The midrange also had such a strange "buzzing" digital noise in the background at times... it's like there was the slightest amount of radio signal happening back there just at the corners of perception. Maddening. Oh, and the amp on the $178 model is absolute crap. Worst I've ever heard... nasty bassy little thing. I know they're always telling people to "Upgrade to the discrete module" blah blah blah. Having not heard it but seeing how the company sets things up, I think it must be like the old "Comparing parts of the Titanic" analogy. Sure, one is slightly higher than the other, but they're still under a whole lot of water. After the first round of modifications, it's pretty damned listenable and I'm fairly impressed. It's an open, brighter sounding DAC that may need a little bit of control in the upper register. Nice forward midrange, decent texture, pretty good! The GS1000 brings out sibilance like whoa, so it might need a few tweaks in the brightness area. Lan disconnected both the internal amp and all of the lights on the front of the unit; she runs in darkness now. Apparently even that was causing some of the horrible sound. But I wouldn't buy one of these for $178 and live with the stock sound. No way in HELL.

It sounded horrible out of the box. It was damned near unlistenable until Lan got into it...

I get so many of these a day. Once in a while, I return an email (from my work account that I don't care about) with something like: "Bravo! You've done a splendid job here. However, I'd change your story a little as I see potential plot holes here (mention any possible factual errors) before submitting this again to us at (pick a movie studio name). Are there any actors in particular you had in mind to play (insert names they've given)?" They never respond though...

Bush is a pretty tremendous fuckwit. Anyone read the New York Times on Wednesday though (I think that was the date)? He's pretty much fucking over the republican party for years to come. His approval ratings are tied with his dad's right now, and only two presidents have had lower approval ratings: Nixon Carter Uh oh. And he's still got two years. I think he'll manage to beat Carter at the very least.