postjack

yay! congrats man!

This is really good to hear, because to be honest with you, I have not been very impressed with the W11JPN's resolution. While the sound signature is certainly to my liking, the soundstage is a bit hazy. So I was hoping someone would chime in and say the L3000 is more revealing. The W5000 may have that wonky midrange, but the level of detail and instrument clarity is wonderful, so this weekend I've actually found myself listening to it more then the W11JPN.

so basically i can get an earlier, broken version for less, or i can pay more to get a working product. hmm, as a consumer me no like this. you think its hard trying to find a quality redbook player with a digital input? try finding one with SACD capability. its like the 306 is the only option. ah well this is all a far off purchase anyway.

I've seen the msrp quoted as both $5,000 and $7,500, and this has always confused me. Is the latter this "expensive version" you are referring to? did this address some issues with the earlier version?

The aqvox has made the W5000 midrange heat much more tolerable. I listened to them for a straight three hours solid tonight at low to moderate volume through the Dynahi and experienced zero fatigue. This is good, I might end up keeping these cans. Pretty much my impressions two posts above stand. Smaller soundstage then the 999es, but that smaller soundstage is filled with a very tidy laid back sound that is wholly realistic and natural, with none of the treble hardness that is forever present in the Sony. Its still digital, but it is a smooth digital. A hell of a fucking deal for $750. At that price point, I would heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a USB DAC. But then again, I'm listening to an SACD on the 999es and it is magical. So as it stands now I have to keep both, at least until I get a great deal on a Cary CD 306.

are you kidding me? I just made the first worthwhile contribution to this heretofore worthwhile thread, in the form of a thought provoking inquiry. thanks for your impressions, mulveling.

This question is specifically directed at Iron Dreamer, but if anyone else would like to answer, I would be appreciative! How do the W11JPN and L3000 differ bass wise?

damn you vreenak!!!

anywho, tonight I went out to eat with my folks and had fried oysters and fried calamari. mmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!

wow, that sounded odd when I read it, but it actually looks quite delicious in the picture! you should have pellegrino instead of perrier though.

The Bugle Boys came in. To my untrained eye they look authentic, but I would really appreciate validation from the tube experts:

you bought nate's hp2! that he bought from jpak!!

you're buying jpak's hp2!!! see, i'm #1 super sleuth. i offered jpak a tasty trade that I'm sure he is thinking hard about.

vibrating boner headphones?

did you buy something from me?

really?! did you buy j-pizzle's hp-2?

i've got most of them now, even a couple of the opera ones. i actually should be getting the complete new set in today from acoustic sounds, along with 5 new ryan adams lps.

because i am a clever, clever sleuth. some folks call me Sherlock 3000.

I pretty much crammed season one into a few saturday/sunday afternoons. I don't watch too much TV during the week. The show is just so damn good and fun to watch, that when you have the DVDs its hard to STOP watching. I've had to force myself to take breaks, like go listen to a record inbetween episodes and browse headcase. Anyway, I'm about 5 episodes deep into season two, and it is just as good, if not better, then season one. Reqieum For A Gleet will go down as one of my favorite episodes, if also one of the most painful. After this I'll probably do season 3 of NYPD blue, then check out season one of The Wire, which I am also told is amazing.

he bought grawk's vtg.

very nice room Ken! my little listening area is totally cramped right now. I need to sell some shit. \

Some early impressions: Something I have noticed tonight is that the aqvox is more "forward" then the modwright 999es. This works out very well for rock music. However, with classical piano, like the Brahms piano concerto I'm listening to right now, its like the piano keys are chiming BAM right up against my ear! Not that this is unpleasant at all, just different from the more remote way the 999es presents piano. Perhaps more simply, I think the soundstage is smaller on the Aqvox then the 999es. The Aqvox is definitely the furthest thing from bright, which is wonderful. i h8 brite. I think it is this lack of brightness that brings the midrange out more, and I believe this is the "laid back" sound signature Iron Dreamer refers to in his excellent DAC/amp comparison review he did a short time ago. Overall, the tidier soundstage and emphasis on (or appearance of an emphasis on) the midrange contributes to an additive synergistic effect with the HP2. At least this is what I'm guessing, as I haven't been able to take these cans off my head since the Aqvox came in two nights ago.

iTunes opens faster on a mac. thats about the only difference.

So is your analog rig up and running or what? If it is I missed your impressions.

ah, so that must be why JB needs all those amyls!