Icarium

Yeah that urge passed with the 30 minutes nap I just took.

I should start a thread talking about the myriad subtle changes I'm experiencing day to day with my SDS with the 10 inch tall caps.

Leave me and my dreams of hitler-wire alone!

I dunno I was always willing to give Ray the benefit of doubt on his military wire. Maybe his R10 cable was created from wire used to garrote Hitler. A cable crafted from such must have strong sonic not to forget karmic benefits. Almost like a headphone cable + 1 or even + 2.

Uh.. Ipod to Meier Move sounds like an ultra travesty. I don't know much about that Beresford DAC per se but the EMU 0404 usb doesn't sound too terrible in its own right. If you are looking for something better I would hold out for Headamp's DAC only version of the Pico. People seem to like the Apogee Duet if you are a mac user... used it is also only slightly above your price point.

You have a point there with regards to feature set perhaps, but as far as DAC/sound quality I think you can find things that are way better (Not just not readily available 90s dacs which is the route I've taken, but in production things) things like the PS Audio Link III is reasonably solid (Decent DAC chip/Current Steering for I/V/Decent output stage) for the same price point, or the Cambridge 840C. I guess I don't see the Benchmark DAC1/Lavry DA10 as potential giant killers more as giants to be killed. While my Parasound 1600 HD is non functional, my Parasound 1500 DAC is awesome. It's like the same thing as the 1600 HD except for the lack of the superior PMD100 filter and the ability to decode HDCD. I got it for 166 bucks shipped. Spektograf did a fairly decent comparison between it and my Esoteric UX-1 which not only uses the same PCM1704 as Filburt's dac but was schematically similar to it pre Filburt mods i.e. meh output stage... and found that he liked the Parasound more. And while most people do not like the Esoteric house sound the UX-1 is one of the better sounding units as it does use a quite excellent DAC chip, so doing as well as it did is no mean feat imo. I'd take my Esoteric or the Parasound 1500 over the DAC 1 or Lavry DA10 any day of the week.. even stock.

Damn that price is quite good. I don't think you'll regret it since they seem to be getting shittier and shittier. Take a page out of my book ;p Also then maybe you can balance a pair worry free

x3, the da-10/dac-1 are pretty shitty.

That's a good question also they seem to be pretty active in the R&D department so who knows when the UE12 might pop up. I still don't know which of the two might be for me :/ Clearly I need to play with the universal versions at some sort of international meet or something. Maybe JP can source em for the up coming norcal regional.

Yeah I was thinking about getting into cooking/bread baking as new hobbies to fill the void that quitting world of warcraft has brought about... a place to post recipes and request recipes and debate recipes would be $$.

I like Etymotic ER6is they are designed to powered sufficiently from a headphone jack and won't break the bank. If you need more bass (Though I'm personally satisfied by their bass) then maybe something by shure or ultimate ears. I kind of want to check out something by Westone but... ehh.... I personally think portable amps are a waste of time unless you frequently take long rides on public transit, trains or planes.

SILVER RAPTOR

I didn't realize that it had such big caps in it... I guess I haven't even heard its full potential yet. Maybe after another 10,000 hrs of burn in I'll actually begin to get a feel for what this amp's full potential is... *LOLS*

Well you can always stop by and hear what I have.. the other 2 DACs I picked up should be coming in this weekend. Perhaps you can persuade Jp to bring his modded Trans Dac by so you can gauge what level that reaches and he can pick up his SR-60s ;p

This amp isn't merely eye candy as some of you probably think. It does sound really great with audio technica headphones as JP has confirmed at our meet. There are better deals at the sub 1k range but + ATs it pulls its weight in spades.

AudiogoN ForSale: Parasound DAC-1000 <- This should be a pretty good deal though of course it depends on where it ends bid-wise. Modded I would think it should be comparable to JP's Filburt modded Trans DAC... PCM63 chip versus PCM1702, both single ended... The difference between either DAC and the Assemblage 2.6 is that the 2.6 has the PMD-100 filter which is significantly better and the PCM1704 chip which is ~same level as the PCM63 in the Parasound and slightly better than the PCM1702 which is in the Trans Dac. The Trans DAC stock sells for somewhere between 300-800 (I saw a NOS one for 800 buy out). As JP can attest the modded Trans DAC is no slouch of a DAC. Though it is definitely a step down from the Assemblage :/ But those suckers are rare and at best you can expect to see them hit ebay 2x a year. So frankly the 1000 is probably at least worth ~200-300ish. Of course during the meet I scored a 1500 which is the balanced version for 166 shipped which is a pretty insane deal all told. Conversely I paid 500 shipped for the 1600 which has the PMD-100 filter and HDCD decoding so its closer to being a balanced version of the Assemblage 2.6 merely PCM63 chips versus the PCM1704. Of course the performance boosts are largely dependent on your ability/willlingness to have it modded, but imo if you can nab that DAC for under 300... it might be a good bet. Now... if you have money to burn and want to be a little bit more adventurous there's this DAC that Adam linked to me earlier in the day: AudiogoN ForSale: Sonic Frontiers Processor 3 which is made by the same company as the Assemblage stuff which was a Sonic Frontiers line. Neither of us have heard it and sadly I don't have the money to blow on it (Thanks Balancing Act!), but this thing uses UltraAnalog d/a converters which are discrete ladder dacs which is pretty rare since most things nowadays use delta sigma dacs and some use R-2R ladder dacs. What else uses discrete ladder dacs? Well the EMM Labs stuff does ;p So this thing could be pretty badass plus it has a 6922 tubed output stage for people who like tubes.

I liked them better than HP1000s when I heard his pair but that's me. For that matter I liked them better than the PS-1

I know someone that paid like 1500/1600 for a pair and does not regret it.

Yeah I think foo_me's pair of Grados are probably the best Grados I've ever heard. They are nicely detailed with just a solid musical sound and an impressively wide (for a Grado) soundstage. That was a first for me. The price though and the upfrontness of the sound (Literally at face level) is a deal breaker for me though. Even when I like the "at the foot of the stage" sound (Rock) it is kind of weird hearing the drums right there too.

I think you'll be impressed with Filburt's modded DAC Saturday.

Frankly I don't think I'm the only one that thinks your recommendations have gotten progressively more and more hamfisted. I'm sure you don't care and you don't need to care. I just wanted to speak my mind and now I have done so. I am satisfied. I didn't say Anagram is a dac. This article here talks a little bit more about the Anagram Q5 in the 840c: [url=http://www.analog.com/en/embedded-processing-dsp/blackfin/processors/anagram_technologies_cambridge_audio_cd/fca.html]Analog Devices: Cambridge Audio CD Player Uses Blackfin

Norcal Mini-Meet (Aug 9th, 2008) in Mountain View - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio more details.. doing a 10-5 thing show up when you wanna show up, leave when you wanna leave.

It's a question of convenience not how expensive an item is, duhhh ;p

Edipis you are getting a little bit militant with the Audio Aero gear. I mean what reasoning are you using that the Prima is a better value than the Cambridge 840c? The ANAGRAM tech that you are so frothy over has a better and more modern implementation in the Cambridge as it has a dac chip that is actually designed for that shit. Whoo tubed output stage? The Audio Aero stuff sounds good and is a solid recommendation, but there is other good stuff out there and AA isn't always going to be hands down best in all price brackets. Don't be the Trose of Audio Aero or even the Jamato.