postjack

I always felt the decay was crazy long, in fact almost painfully long, like "please let that guitar note end so I can listen to the next one". Todd, do you feel that perhaps the length of transients could have something to do with the diffusion you hear in the soundstage?

My favorite part about the iTransport is how worthless it is.

Spot on. I agree with about everything you said in your review. The neutral and smooth midrange is what I described as "cool", and while enjoyable to my ears, could be a weak point for those who must have the warm and fuzzy midrange, as you described it. Interesting point about the soundstage being a bit to diffuse. This is something that had not occurred to me in my listening, but now that I read it, I can see where you are coming from. Personally I'd like to hear comparisons specifically relating to the two weaknesses described above (soundstage and midrange, not your distaste with the display ) relative to your other sources.

True, but by disappointment, what I meant was that instead of a new Sennheiser flagship, we have a new Monster Cable flagship.

assholes, I would think.

From the HD700... to this: "Beats" From Monster Cable. Possibly the biggest letdown in the history of headphone audio.

u crazy son. and what site will you be torrenting these on?

Hate to contradict you tkizzle, but the bass I hear coming out of my Lambdas is some of the most visceral I've heard from headphones. I can't speak for the current Stax line up though.

A new passel of New Order vinyls, some I already own but bought again anyway because my vinyl guy has the good deals: But what is that at the bottom there? Original Megaforce pressing of Kill 'Em All. hells yes.

So is Hi-Fi News the head-case approved audio periodical of record? I've been wanting to subscribe to a good audio magazine since reading glossy reviews with pretty pictures is fun, but most magazines seem to be just so much fluff.

And at just north of 10 times the value of my turntable, I can buy a backup as well. Nah, I'm thinking more like a 20XL. Also thank you Nate and Aerius for your kind words. Also thanks to tkam for the ridiculing smiley.

Ah, very interesting. I'll be sure to keep my ears alert for this phenomenon. I do still want to try a Dynavector with the 1200, its supposed to be a good match.

This would be really sweet, its just a lot of cash. I do really, really want to do some needledrops though.

Major update to the Sonata Saga: Its probably really foolish of me to admit what I'm about to admit, but I'm willing to open myself up to ridicule so that no one thinks any less of a product due to my own ineptitude. I got in my Statement Sonata from TTVJ. While wiring the cartridge to my extra headshell, something about the wiring diagram caught my eye. Oh. Shit. Yup, thats right, I wired the fucking Reference Sonata completely backwards. Bad postjack!! So it goes without saying that all my tweaking and adjusting of the Reference Sonata was a colossal waste of time, since the cart was out of phase the whole time. It took me all of 120 seconds to align the Statement Sonata. No shit. But, with both cartridges wired correctly, back to back, through the PH-1, the Statement comes out the winner, even with the hiss from the PH-1. Its just smoother and more spacious all around, even brand new out of the box, and I only expect it to get even softer and smoother after some break in. Thus ends probably my most foolish venture yet into audiophilia.

I like to keep my CDs in the original jewel cases, and I keep them on a Boltz CD rack. Burned CDs I keep in a Slappa CD wallet, which while a bit unwieldy at times, protects the CDs well. I personally would not want to use a system similar to that described in the OP, because I'd still have all my jewel cases I'd need to keep somewhere.

Would an EMU 0404 fit the bill on this? Then again it would be nice to spend a little more and get a unit that could also act as a nice external dac and/or headphone amp in a pinch. It doesn't appear that the Apogee MiniDac has inputs though.

I haven't received my Blakey yet, but I did purchase two albums from the previous Hoffman/Grey/Acoustech jazz reissue project, the Fantasy 45 series. Eric Dolphy - Outward Bound: Surprisingly bright and a little thin sounding. Maybe more do to bad recording then bad mastering? Without another point of reference (I have never heard this album in another format), its difficult to say. The drums have a nice satisfying crack though, typical Hoffman sense of space/breathe of life to the recording. The music itself is badass, but if I want that Dolphy sound, I will much quicker turn toward my K2 20bit Far Cry. I cannot recommend this title. Theolonius Monk - Monk's Music: This one sounds absolutely superb, and I can recommend it both sonically and of course musically. Unfortunately the first LP had a significant warp in it. Of course now I read complaints about problems with RTI pressings over on the Vinyl Asylum (not just warps, but off center spindle holes as well). Hate to , but its fucking ridiculous to pay $50 for two slabs of vinyl that aren't defect free. I'm waiting to hear back from Acoustic Sounds about a replacement. I'm sure it won't be a problem getting a new copy, but its still a pain in the ass for me to have to ship this thing back to the merchant. I've never had issues with Acoustech cut, RTI pressed vinyl before, and I've owned several, all of them defect free planks. Still, my experience with the above two jazz reissues hasn't been pleasant.

royal tenebaums is the best for one reason: it has royal (hackman) in it.

Sure, but a lot of us have tried tons of the mid-fi gear, so please feel free to ask questions and we'll be happy to answer. And I for one am always happy to read about budget gear, since we never know when we'll find ourselves in a situation where downgrading becomes a necessity.

yup, that was probably my fault. I think me posting about it jogged Todd to get the price changed. $850 is getting on up into the "well I could spend $150 more to get a <insert $1000 phono stage here>" territory, so I'm going to wait for some more news on this player.

you can say sharks, thats fine.

PERIOD LOL BILLY A WOMAN BAD TAMPON LOL

IMO the Predation is vaporware. Nobody has really received one, its just a mass delusion perpetuated by Ray Samuels Jude & Co. The perfect crime.

omg dpiz, the hp2 is gone from your sig.