Icarium

Sparta Locals - Dreamer

Nice.. jackpot!

x2 on the nice. Erikson for life. Not only does he have the capacity to produce such a complex and mostly consistent mythos/story.. but he seriously does a book a year. Gotta respect that craftsmanship and professionalism. Mmm Vernor Vinge.

Yeah a GS-X is probably what I'd recommend for you as well. Also Eddie Current's up coming Zana Deux T aka ZDT but that's ~2600. I think. Balanced Desktop also works for a lot less, though frankly I'd wait and see what their new line are going to be like

What's your budget like? And do you have any preference for tube or solid state?

Wow very avante garde. But hey Alo does it with cables, why can't this guy do it with headphone stands?

Ha ha were you the one that got the 1500 ? It was a decent price for sure esp in that condition!

That sounds unpromising.

Yeah I got forwarded this email: OPPO BDP-83 Blu-Ray Disc Player Update Dear XXXXX , Thank you for signing up to receive information about our upcoming OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player. We appreciate your interest, and would like to update you on the current development status of this exciting new product. One of the major design goals for the BDP-83 is to deliver first-class video quality for both Blu-ray and DVD. We based and expanded upon our top-of-the-line DV-983H up-converting DVD player and fully utilize the unparalleled performance of the VRS by Anchor Bay video processing solution. You can expect all the high-end video features including Source Direct for DVD and Blu-ray, high definition HDMI scaling, Edge and Detail Enhancement options, and 1080p24Hz output for both Blu-ray and DVD. We did not stop at just video performance. We further refined the audio stage, including the addition of discrete stereo outputs and increasing the power and efficiency of the power supply. For SACD playback, the BDP-83 supports direct DSD over HDMI and DSD-to-analog without any PCM conversion, a very unique feature. With the BDP-83, we intend to release a full-featured universal Blu-ray Disc player that supports BD Profile 2.0 (BD-Live), DVD, SACD, DVD-Audio, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio. As of this writing, the BDP-83 supports BD Profile 1.1 (BONUSVIEW), DVD-Video, SACD, and bitstreaming of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Progress is being made on a daily basis as our engineers work diligently around the clock to further enable DVD-Audio, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio onboard decoding, and BD Profile 2.0. The BDP-83 is currently undergoing an extensive and thorough Beta Test Program. We greatly appreciate all the feedback from our beta testers, as without their hard work and extraordinary attention to detail, the BDP-83 would not be the high quality product that our customers have come to expect from us. As many of our customers eagerly anticipate the release of the BDP83, we are contemplating a "BDP-83 Early Adoption Program" in late December or early January. This program will make available a limited number of units so you can purchase and experience the current implementation of the BDP-83's feature set, with the ability to download firmware as new features become available. The estimated price for the BDP-83 is around $499 to $599. OPPO Digital is a consumer-oriented company that listens carefully to customer opinions and values their feedback. If it were not for our customers' feedback and support, OPPO would not be where we are today. At OPPO we strive to provide our customers with quality products reinforced by exceptional customer service. Please email to [email protected] if you have any questions and comments, or simply reply to this email. Best Regards, Customer Service OPPO Digital, Inc. Tel: 650-961-1118 Fax: 650-961-1119 2629 Terminal Blvd., Suite B Mountain View CA 94043 USA

Lol at Edition 9s being a limited run.

Yeah my amp had 3 of the same type. Normally I just hooked in one at a time like top port of amp section then top power supply then second most top of amp section second most top of power supply, etc. But I think I had just moved it back upstairs because of a mini meet and was hooking it up fast and did like top to bottom for one or something. It was really just a stupid mistake on my part. Something I've done dozens of times with no problem, but then I rushed for no reason.

Hrm yeah I guess that's a good point regarding a noisy digital signal through the same umblical. Beyond that change supposedly he did some stuff that would make it so it would be very difficult to hook it up wrong... something beyond mere color coding I'd hope but color coding frankly will be enough. It isn't that hard to hook up right, but yeah I don't think it would be too hard to idiot proof this shit. I mean some things are confusing enough like amps with 6 tube sockets without any sort of label as to what goes into what... or dials that dont have a function labeled next to them. Meh.

Dunno... I fried it by hooking up the umbilicals incorrectly which is why it was in for repairs. That is probably why some had to be replaced. Also he said that Fedex dropped the hell out of the boxes and shook transformers loose as well (Kinda wish he mentioned something like when he first opened it up rather than 3 months after the fact :/).

Well to clarify I am reasonably sure the 1750 doesn't include the battery upgrade thing. He said something like he might be able to include it but he isn't sure. I don't know. I'm not particularly interested. I've never been super interested in battery type things since replacing it is a hassle esp if I have to go through him. 1750 I guess isn't a totally ridiculous number if he really had to replace all the transformers and a multitude of other things + upgrades and labor... given the original cost to the amp. I dunno. It is just more than I expected and hoped... and it's a lot to swallow without something in my hands and no idea when I will have something in my hands. I also worry that I may not get what was promised or paid for. It is perfectly believable that a guy that's as on the edge as he seems to be these days to cut corners esp with me breathing down his neck... but I hope that won't be the case. That's why I'm trying to stick with the... "Take extra time if you need it, but deliver something I genuinely will be satisfied with and meet the deadline you give me." and why I tacked on an extra week to the latest deadline he's given me. I don't want to be yet another dude who has guilt tripped him into giving me free upgrades/work, although I would not say that it is a wrong thing to do esp when you get the olde extra year tacked onto turn around time + the freaky getting back different amps thing. I do want to compensate him fairly for his time and parts, but it's tough to judge what that is. More so without seeing a before and after or really anything at all. Of course that is partially on me.

Nah no offense taken. I have poor social skills. I think that's pretty evident. But I personally don't have problems with blanket statements as I feel they are everpresent in our society. In head-fi and head-case as well. I see people saying things like all Sennheisers suck.. all Grados suck... all dynamics suck... etc etc. When I see someone say that I just intuitively add a " for me." to it. Still they are blanket statements yeah? Anyway, where does one draw the line? You can even say that when someone says a R10/Qualia/HE90/whatever is a shitty headphone that's a blanket statement since they aren't accounting for all possibilities as far as gear combos and modifications go.

Shrug I've heard zap filtered modded Zhaolus and several Ori variants. While I admit that there may be counter examples that disprove my blanket statement, but I feel like it's a safe bet for me to make this statement. Do you have a counter example? Or do you dislike blanket statements in general?

Meh at Zhaolus of any modded form. JP's modded trans dac would probably better anything else mentioned in this thread and anything stock under 2k+ new. Possibly 3k and under. Certainly better than a new Wavelength Cosecant which is something like 3.5k.

After hearing Tom's experience I will have to quit being a fool and look in my amp after I get it back. As I should have done when I got it and before I sent it out.

Man that Cantus company's speaker looks awesome. Not cheap though.

I don't remember seeing it. Towert's posts asking for pics are still present though.

I'm no lawyer or law expert, but I feel like its going to be pretty tough since his customers are global and even as expensive as these amps are its going to be tough to break even and that's if he has the money to reimburse. I just don't see anything coming out of a law suit except maybe some kind of time/money consuming moral victory... I dunno maybe this is a real course of action maybe someone will comment.

Yeah that reinforces my wish to get the Ref 3s.. so tempting...

Yep the line GPH quoted you saying implies you believe the fault lies squarely with the gear or with the other party and not with you or those aligned with your take. That doesn't seem like a particularly rational or thoughtful stance to take.

I like my Europas a lot they have amazing highs and mids but they have been bass light in my room as well. JP and a mutual friend are coming by in a bit to see if they can help me correct it with placement and different stands.

I've heard from foo_me that late serial #s are the best... I don't really know though.