Elephas

I'm really trying, mamma. I'll remember what you taught me, that portable amps are crappy. Hint: Steps 5 thru 12 will include other amps. I was doing OK until about 6 months ago, when I accidentally won an SR-007, my first electrostatic headphone. I bid too much, not knowing its street price was coming down. Then I needed an amp, and a used HeadAmp KGSS showed up right on time, saving me from a Stax-brand amp. After hearing what the O2 and KGSS can do, I just had to hear other electrostats. I also felt that I couldn't miss out on other dynamics, just in case. You know how it is. What's this about a giveaway? I thought giveaways were against the rules on head-case, since there hasn't been any as far as I know. Hey, I'm surprised no one mentioned how craptastic my audio rack is.

I tried to negotiate with the store owner. I'm a very bad negotiator, in hindsight I should've brought one of my loud and fierce aunts along. I think average price for each disc was about US$16. I hope I'll like at least half of the SACDs. I picked out some discs by Chesky, MFSL and Tacet. They didn't have many discs by Opus 3, one of my favorite labels. I had the Opus 3 30th Anniversary Celebration on xrcd24 already, but also got the SACD version anyway. And I find out the SACD version has more tracks!

I couldn't stand only having 12 SACDs, so I brought a box home yesterday.

Here's Step 4 of my 12-Step Plan: How To Stop People From Laughing At Your Amplification. Step 1 was simple: Join the head-case forum. Be polite and humble. Try not to cry too much when people laugh at you and post mean things. :'( Step 2 was to refrain from posting too much at head-case, in case someone points out your inadequate amplification. Sure, it's good, clean entertainment for everyone but you don't want to be the butt of the jokes all the time. You can continue posting at Head-Fi as much as you want, your posts will blend in nicely with all the other idiot posts there. Step 3 was to divert attention from your amps by posting exclusively about headphones and sources. True, the topic of amplification will still come up, but if you're quick with the keyboard you can keep attention off your amps. However, the moment someone posts the word "amp" the game is over and you should try to fade away gracefully. Again, please don't cry too much and stay optimistic. And now, I unveil Step 4: the HeadAmp Aristaeus.

Yeah, I've been too scared to post anything that would be laughed at and mocked as soon as someone points out the amps I'm currently using. :'( Someone says I'm mean?? :'(*cries* :'( I've been discussing upgrade options with Mikhail, and believe me, I'm crying every time I read his emails. OK, I admit I'm a bit of a crybaby. I feel bad about crying all night, mamma.

I don't know why, I've been getting bored recently reading Head-Fi. Hopefully Head-Case will stay interesting. I'm counting on you crazies!

Will the Blue Hawaii SE have the RK50 as standard configuration? Or is it an option?

Welcome. Please start posting interesting things so I have stuff to read about. Those old members here are becoming boring. A lot of them don't type anything and rely too much on rehashed/regurgitated photos and smilies.

According to the D-05 manual: Analog output level RCA: 2.5 Vrms / 10 kΩ (1 kHz) XLR: 5 Vrms / 10 kΩ (1 kHz)

Sure. I'm not a big PC-source expert, but I do like using a PC for playback. It's just too fast and convenient, and playlists are great. My setup is currently a WinVista PC with an RME HDSP 9632 sound card. The RME has optical, coaxial and AES/EBU outputs. I'm using the AES/EBU with the D-05 now. In the future I'm planning to change to the HDSPe AES-32 sound card when it becomes available, and will then be able to connect two AES/EBU cables to the D-05's dual AES inputs. I usually use foobar or iTunes playing mostly ALAC files which are stored on an NAS. With foobar I am able to resample to 176.4 with Secret Rabbit Code, which I thought sounded best with the Chord DAC64.

Yeah, if I lived within driving distance I probably would be unable to resist checking out APL. *splutter* *choke* *regurgitate* *vomit* *swallow* You're killing me here. There's a giant hole in my bank account, you know. I had to tell them I wouldn't buy anything else before they would give me any money. And I still haven't paid for SinglePower upgrades yet. It's only the second day, but I admit to some pangs of anxiety already and you guys aren't helping. \ To me, source quality is one of those things that I don't know about until I hear it. I was blissfully ignorant for some time and even used an E-MU 1212m as my source for a while. It was the same thing with headphones, for example the SR-007 or R10; I didn't know what I was missing until I heard them. When I stumbled on Head-Fi almost three years ago I only had a Bose Triport and iPod 1st generation. Yes, I had speaker rig then that wasn't being used much, but how far can one fall?

I also used the XLR outputs of the Chord and DP-500 with the KGSS, and the same cables. I think some brain burn-in is required. I don't know, it could be dangerous. For your wallet. Assuming you are young like jinp6301, I wouldn't want to be responsible for any lack of saving on your part. Saving and investing your money is best when you're still young, each dollar will work for a longer period of time.

I'm thinking the D-05's XLR outputs have to be much higher than either the Chord or DP-500. It can't be equal. Listening at 9 o'clock volume setting is too loud for me.

Bad news: I still haven't heard anything better than electrostats driven by the HeadAmp KGSS. Good news: The P-05/D-05 is significantly better than the Chord DAC64 or DP-500. I've never tried the DAC64 with its matching Blu transport, though. If it is possible to connect the P-05's dual AES outputs to the DAC64's dual BNC inputs, I might be able to simulate the Blu. I'm listening to RBCD upsampled to DSD with the SR-007 and KGSS. Before, I would usually listen with the volume knobs at 9 o'clock, or one step above or below. Now, I'm listening at 7:30 o'clock, three steps lower than before and only three steps up from zero. The detail level is such that I feel like I'm comfortably hearing everything at this volume level already. I've always listened at what I considered to be moderate to low volume levels. I think protecting and preserving our hearing is especially important with headphone usage. If anyone is on the fence about a source upgrade, I recommend going for the highest quality you can afford immediately. Don't wait, don't muck around buying other crap such as additional headphones like I did, the source is first! Sense of liquidity and smoothness is also excellent. If the sound improves any with burn-in, I'm going to be extremely impressed. Noted!

I'm going to burn-in the P-05/D-05 for about two weeks, and then run comparisons vs. the DAC64 and DP-500. I think the DAC64 and DP-500 are both a bit scared, but they should have enough spirit to put up a good fight. Yes, I still have the DP-500. I thought I had a buyer but he backed out in favor of an SA-10 or SA-60. So the DP-500 has been moved to a bedroom rig and replaces a Lavry DA10 there. Its optical input will be put to use with an Airport Express. I'm waiting for a Supra XLR and ES-1, but I should receive another electrostatic amp soon, and perhaps other amps. No one will make fun of my inadequate amplification anymore, I'm telling you!

Yes, the pins on the silver connectors are gold. Yes, I saw the JenaLabs page and sent an email to APureSound to verify that he replaces the entire stock cable. I'm still planning to send an R10 to Alex for recabling and will also buy a balanced Qualia cable from him. I believe Head-Fi member "Quint" has an R10 with JenaLabs recable.

I thought you might approve. I hope you like this too.

Not to take the thread too off-topic, here's a pair of their XLR cables with silver connectors. The silver ones are supposedly better, but standalone connectors aren't available for purchase.

I'm just comparing detail level of the ESW9 with the HD25-1, but I think it applies vs. the ES7 too. I think the ESW9 has better details in the upper-midrange and treble than the HD25-1 or ES7. Particularly the HD25-1, which can be muffled-sounding as well as closed-in. I also think the ESW9 seems more tonally balanced than either the HD25-1 or ES7, which are both relatively bass-heavy.

Haha, looks like we're in the same boat waiting for Mikhail. Here's a photo of the XLR connectors I found. They are made by Telos Audio and are copper with gold-plating.

There aren't many meets here, about once a year on average. The venues are usually not ideal and the gear limited in variety compared to US meets. There's one upcoming in January that I'm not planning to attend, but will probably loan some gear out.

No insults were intended. -- It's possible the early production W5000's have longer headbands, but I believe it's not conclusive yet. -- I like the HD25-1 but I think the ESW7 sounds better. I use the HD25-1 with an HD650 cable which is better than the stock single-sided cable, but it can still seem overly warm, bassy and congested. The ESW9 is more refined, less congested, has better tonal-balance and is more detailed, especially in the upper-midrange and treble.

Three Qualias? I didn't know that, but I knew Icarium was completely bonkers. I am too, but I tell myself it's to a lesser extent. Darkless has a close relationship with Mikhail? If he can make Mikhail work any faster I'll collapse from the weight of too much love. I think pricing for the Qualia is especially tricky since it is so rarely for sale. It seems that there are more transactions of the HE90, L3000 and R10. This is why I especially appreciate darkless' sale to me, instead of putting it up on eBay or an IC on Head-Fi.

Thanks guys, but I think full credit should go to darkless, who gave me the opportunity to hear the Qualia's incredible sound. I love darkless, every time I listen to the Qualia I feel like sending him gifts, money, a Stax or another L3000 or maybe a NOS W11JPN perhaps... Alex, I'm thinking of ordering, no, I want, no, I really need, a balanced V3 Qualia cable. I hope your cable is better than hirsch's. I found a pair of XLR-male plugs that might be even better than the Furutechs. I'll send them to you to try out.

I had the same problem with fit. The other AT's all fit fine. Bending the W5000 headbands at the middle, or topmost part, so that they are more oval-shaped increases clamping force and results in much better fit. The metal headbands are very strong, I used quite a bit of pressure to bend them.