earwicker7

Ok, you're wanting me to leave because I have my own opinion? Kind of insecure, aren't we?

Well, I agree with part of what you're saying. They do tend to fawn over everything. I do believe that there is a rational reason for this, which is that they only publish reviews of stuff that is good enough to fawn over. My gut feeling is that 90% of the stuff they actually listen to never gets put in print, period. Do you really want them to take up three or four pages with a review of the newest Pioneer rig that sells over at Wal-Mart? There is a reason it's called "Stereophile," not "Stereo." There seems to be a feeling on this website that those guys basically get an amp or two a month, and when they feel like it they listen to it for half an hour or so between bouts of drinking. My roommate from college works for the Chicago Tribune, so I know something about the way print media works. If they are like any other magazine, listening to music is ALL they do 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I don't think you can compare one of us, who does listen to the occasional amp between bouts of drinking, with someone who sits in front of a desk being paid to listen to music for YEARS. Let's face it, it's really easy to write internet reviews, anyone with a keyboard and time to kill can do it as there is zero peer review, no chance of loosing your job when you write a bad review. Hell, for all I know, some people might even write a review of something they've never heard just so that they can be the first to get 1,000 posts; the internet is weird like that--just try internet dating and you'll see what I mean, it's amazing how a woman gains 100 pounds and loses three teeth in person. The guys at Stereophile were actually picked out of a pile of probably two or three thousand resumes because they are acknowledged by their peers as professionals.

All I know is that back in the day, when there was no internet outside of Al Gore's brain , there was NOTHING else to rely on in print. Literally, it was the only printed source you could turn to if you were an audiophile. I based my entire stereo system around their reviews. I was 110% satisfied with EVERY component I bought based on their recommendations. Call it mindless loyalty to a brand, but they've never steered me in the wrong direction. If it weren't for them, I would have thought that Pioneer was the top of the line brand. I would have never heard of Velodyne, which I still think makes the best subwoofers any normal person can afford. I would never have bought the Carver Sonic Hologram generator, which was basically Headroom's "Crossfeed" technology twenty years ago and was probably considered "crap" by a lot of people. If that's your guys idea of crap, maybe I'm missing something, but those guys have never done wrong by me.

You know, I agree with you for the most part. This is America, everything is for sale That being said, I am a stickler for reputations typically being earned. 99% of the time, in my humble opinion, products are considered the best by "pros" for a reason. If the majority of, for example, race cars drivers buy Ferraris, you could say it's a huge conspiracy by the marketing machine, race car drivers, engine specialists, tire specialists, etc, or you could apply Occam's Razor and assume that they are desired because they are desirable. I'm sure there are exceptions to this rule, but typically it's when a top-of-the-line company reaches for "broader appeal." For example, the Porsche 914 or 944 were both attempts to give Porsche to the masses, and they were both crap. But I don't think that any of Porsche's flagships were ever anything other than incredible. I'm going to assume RSA is the same. Maybe "Amp A" or "Amp B" that are lower level versions don't sound like the coolest thing since sliced bread. But I just can't accept that the guy from GNS, the guys from Stereophile, the guys who run every headphone site with the exception of this one, etc, are all somehow secretly tonedeaf and just in it for the money. I'm just not to that level of cynicism yet.

Thanks for the concern, but I raise my daughter to care about what she thinks about herself, not what others think about her. Ditto for myself; if some busybodies want to spend their time thinking I'm abnormal, more power to them, it's time that they will put to good use staying away from me. By the way, the authorities have been to my house, as I called child protective services on my deadbeat ex when she was neglecting my daughter. They had to examine my place just to follow protocol. I passed with flying colors. Don't read this as me trying to be a smart-ass; you make a fair point. I'm just going to do things my way, though. Everyone already thinks I'm a freak--I have bright red hair, tattoos down to my wrists, etc. I'm fine with this; I like being a freak. But this doesn't have any negative effects on my daughter that I can see... she is at the top of her class academically and is in the "cool" clique with all the future supermodels and male hunks, the kind of kids that would never have hung out with me in gradeschool. Plus, all of her friends think she has the coolest dad ever; you'd be surprised how bored kids are with "normal" parents

Fair point, I guess. It's just that there is proof that headphones don't "sound" like they're damaging your hearing in the same way that speakers do. There are physiological mechanisms at work that keep your ears from feeling pain that you would easily feel with speakers. All I'm saying is that this information is EVERYWHERE except on the headphones. Do a quick google search and you'll find that it is common knowledge among doctors that this happens too easily. Don't get me wrong, I did this to myself, I'm not blaming anyone; I just wish I had more knowledge at my disposal before this happened instead of finding it all afterwards. So take the car example... imagine that there was a car invented that every engineer knew "felt" like it was doing 60mph when it was actually doing 180. All I'm saying is that the manufacturers would probably have some kind of warning lable. I'm not saying that people shouldn't be allowed to drive that car at 180 as long as they are aware of it. Just philosophical musings, I'm not asking for legislation or anything.

I'm taking Nasonex, Astelin, Claritan (sp?), and Singulair on a constant basis; this regimen was given to me by an allergy specialist, so yes, doctors do dope you up like that if your allergies are bad enough. I've found that, if I keep up with dusting the house, I can lay off of some of them on a good day.

I should take a closer look, because I didn't notice it. Maybe there should be something a bit more upfront, like a big warning label instead of footnotes.

Well, the ringing seems to be getting better. It's still there, but not nearly as loud. Maybe I'll make a full recovery Anyways, does anyone out there agree with me that there should be a consumer warning on these things? I've listened to loud music all my life, but nothing ever effected my ears this much. From the research I've done after the fact, it seems that it is much easier to fool the ear into thinking levels are safe with headphones. Don't worry, I'm not one of those "Slipped on peepee at the Costco and woke up $50,000 richer" people, I won't sue. 10 points for anyone who gets that reference

Will do . It's just going to be tucked away in a corner of my bedroom, maybe 4' x 4'.

They're kind of going to have to do until I get the isolation booth, which I'll probably order later this week. Doc says I may have given myself tinnitus from cranking them up so loud. D'oh!

There's two types of people at my work... the ones who know I have allergies and the ones that think those sounds coming from the bathroom are me snorting coke. Granted, 10 years ago and they'd be right

Dude, serious allergy sufferer here; I'm on four different allergy meds Honestly, if I can still listen to music I'll be fine. I've dealt with much worse stuff in my life. Just wondering, do you find that you turn down the music so as not to make it worse or do you turn the music up so you don't notice it? Obviously, I'm not talking hearing-damaging levels, I'm through with that.

How long did it last? It's been ringing for like 5 days now. Again, though... sometimes I freak out about stuff like this. Once I went to the same doctor (who tends to be very dramatic) with a stomach ache. He looked at me and said "Could be hepatitis!" I went around for the next week or so (until i tested negative) convinced I was dying of hepatitis. Turned out it was a reaction to naproxin (Aleve, the over-the-counter stuff) and went away. I've probably had this ringing in my ears forever and just never noticed it.

Dude, I've been around music long enough to know I hit far over 80dB for two or three hours . This was primarily stupidity on my part. Damned invulnerability complex!!! That being said, I can sometimes be a bit of a hypochondriac. Maybe it's not going to be as bad as I think and it will get better. However, I wish there were a "slip and fall" type warning on cans with this much power for people suffering from momentary stupidity like me.

Man, that ringing still won't go away. It's not bad, fairly low level, but it's persistant. Went to see the doctor and told him I got some new headphones; he said "Oh, what kind?" As soon as I said Sennheiser, he got this look on his face, and it wasn't good. "You get them out, turn them up a bit, hey they aren't distorting, let's turn them up, they sound so good, so up, and up, and up." Apparently these things are popular with his clientele... Hollywood types. This would be just my luck... ten years standing in front of LOUD amps at gigs with the volume up so loud it shook the building. Years with the car radio so loud you could hear it down the street. One week with Sennheisers and the doc says I may have permanently damaged my hearing. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that this will go away. Anyone else have this horror story happen to them? To those who do have tinnitus, how does it affect your listening? Obviously, I've been scared enough to NEVER listen at the levels that got me here. But I'm not about to give up listening to them, they sound too damn good.

R10s were my first choice, but who has them that's willing to give them up? Nobody from what I can see. I think I'll be happy with what I got. So the IEMs really sound better than sealed cans? For some reason, I figured they'd sound like crap. Guess when I think earbuds, I think of the crap 99% of iPod listeners use.

You know what they say about beauty and the eye of the beholder. To me, it's beautiful.

Yeah, I have to admit that was a HUGE part of my interest in the amp. It's just flat out the coolest looking amp I've ever seen. That may not be important to some, but it really is to me. I've shown photos to a few of my friends and they were stunned.

You know, I was THIS close to buying the Stax for the same reason you gave. The only thing that kept me from doing it was the whole "This will never work on any other amp" thing. That's still a big bite to chew, IMO.

Alright, we've established that nobody here likes RSA. Here's my problem... I don't really have the time to go to meets, run across the state looking for boutique stores, tracking down people on this site and bugging them for a listen, etc. Honestly, even if I did, that's not really my style. I'm kind of a misanthrope and, with the exception of a few close friends, don't really enjoy being around people. So my only real option is to take the word of others. I really, really don't mean for this to sound disrespectful, but I'm going to take the word of a professional (the GNS guy) over some guys on a website, especially given the fact that it is the only website with such views, with all other websites having views that are diametrically opposite (ie, "best amp ever"). That being said, I do value all of your input and will continue to take it into consideration. I owe you guys a ton just for suggesting the isolation booth... I would NEVER have thought of that on my own. Peace

Oh, tell me the dirt... gossip rocks

It wasn't just head-fi (I'm assuming that's what you're talking about). Really, this is the only site that has negative views. This isn't some type of Scientology thing, is it?

Here's the thing that's got me befuddled. I didn't just do a google search at random for this amp. This was recommended to me by the guy from Great Northern Sound. Everyone here RAVES about those guys, says they make a bad-ass source, really know their shit, etc. If this is the case, why would this guy point me in this direction when I asked about an amp if it's such a piece of crap?

That's cool, I can handle it, I'm a big boy Good times, good times.