Knuckledragger

I commented to a fellow head-fier about how I felt strangled by the enforced politeness and artificial nicety of Head-Fi. He suggested the 'Case. The first thread I read was Kevin Gilmore eviscerating Ray Samuels and the BHD-52

Images like that are the reason I love AdBlock.

Will the new series of HeadAmp stat amps have one volume knob, or two? I, for one, would pay more to have a single knob. I used to have a preamp with independent L/R volume pots, and I got rid of it for precisely that reason. Of course, what I really want to know is how any of the above will drive the TakeT H2s.

I was in Spearit/NoHo last week, and they had a huge sign advertising the fact. The salesdroid claims Siltech makes silver cables that even serious silver-haters like myself would like. I'm due to lug the Fug rig into their shop in a week or so to audition power amps, I might give a few Siltech interconnects a listen. I seriously doubt I'l buy, however.

I'm a big fan of Kimber, and most of their line is available in XLR. I have 1M PBJcs and uh... 4M Toniks (meant for powered monitors that I still haven't purchased two years later.) I'm very happy with the sound of Kimber's stuff, and their price/performance is very good (especially if you buy used) but be wared their cables are fragile. Most have zero strain relief. This is less of an issue with XLR than RCA, but none of them will respond well to rough handling. I also have some Cardas *mumble* XLRs, which are tanklike in comparison. I just got some XLR/TRS cables for the Fuglyphone rig from Blue Jeans Cable. Their stuff is 100% zero-bullshit and 0% sex appeal. I opted for the Canare Star Quad with Neutrik termination (of course.) I've had them in my rig for oh, about five minutes now so I can't properly evaluate them, but are far better than what they replaced (Monster DJs... ugh.)

Joined, pending approval. Username: Ultravod

That is an insert patch cable, but with an 1/8" TRS end, instead of a 1/4" one. The two 1/4" ends are labeled "tip and "ring" so daffy description or not, it's pretty clear that the cable splits a stereo signal into left and right.

Certainly those two suggestions are more productive, both as an individual and a member of society at large, than battling crowds of fevered, morbidly obese sheeple hellbent on scarfing up the last $50 vibrating portable media player/contact lens case and standing in line for hours to save 28% on a nine-DVD set the eighth season of television show that stopped being entertaining when Clinton was in office. The reason I'm working on Thursday is that Klute is playing in a local club, and I'm doing the lights. This is the third time he's played here, and it's sure to be a killer show.

If that's the "Christmas spirit" then the true religion we're talking about here is voracious consumption. There are many more productive things one can do to catch the Christmas spirit ...like visit elders in a nursing home, volunteer for a soup kitchen ...or stay home and rubbing one out.

Mindless consumerism and sheep mentality for the lose. I make selective use for FatWallet, and stay the hell out of brick & mortar stores. It helps that I'm going to be working Thanksgiving night until about 3 in the morning.

Those are some serious interconnects. 0_o

Duggeh, you've retrofitted your H2-TRS and TR2-TRS with Neutriks, effectively making them *-XLRs? Nice one. How are you connecting the H2 directly to the Aleph amp? With a custom speaker cable that terminates in a female XLR4? This would be a good opportunity for some pictures. I am curious how the H2s sound without the TR2 in the signal path. I have no doubts it's causing some of the midrange mud that I am hearing. I remember Kevin said that to be fully effective, the it would have to be four times the size it is. 0_o Once I have the cables and termination necessary to properly integrate the TakeTs into my rig, I'm going to begin a more evaluative listening process using music I know well. When you use an amp designed for dynamic drivers, do you run the risk of overloading the H2s with current? For reasons, I'd rather not get into, I uh, sent some dubstep through Hafler into the TR2/H2s are full blast, and they didn't appear to suffer any ill effects. It was only for a second... Also, re: the fit, in the discussion about the H2's pads on that other site, I read that the point was to have the drivers has close to one's ears as possible. I don't wear mine HD280-style (skull crushingly tight) but I do keep them so that the pads are in contact with the side of my head. If I pull the cups away from my head, the H2s tend to slip off. Have you tightened the screws on the inside of the headband? I have considered this, but I read about at least one head-fier stripping them attempting to do that.

What is this that has an XLR4 output? I googled Eddie Current HD2, but most links are on a site that uh, happens to be down at the moment.

The official Sony Turd in the Punchbowl is the MDR-V700DJ. I am (not so) proud to say I am an owner. They are useless for any purpose besides breaking (and make oft-reposted lesbian porn.) I do have a pair of MDR-V7506s with Beyer pads which are my favorite DJ cans. The pads greatly improve their comfort and isolation, which is key for extended DJ sets.

I've had the H2s on for a couple hours now, and I've begun to do some reflection. I've grown more used to their sonic signature, and uh, somewhat peculiar fit. Truth be told, they aren't that uncomfortable. I'm not going to forget the two metal loops on the top of my head any time soon. I have large and oddly-shaped ears, and the grilles press into them. The HD-650s feel like featherweights in comparison, and the 590s are all but undetectable. That said, I find the H2s less painful to wear than any Grado I've ever tried (except maybe the GS1Ks.) They are a pain in the ass to take on and put off. Again, I offer the caveat that I had to shoehorn the TakeTs into my rig, the signal path is Adcom GCD-750 -[Kimber KC-1s]-> Gilmore Lite -[Monster DJ RCA-to-1/4"s]-> Hafler -[Generic 10GA OFC]-> TR2/H2. This is a ...suboptimal setup at best. Also, none of this gear, save the Adcom and the Hafler, is remotely burned in. There are too many unknown quantities (and half-assed kludges) for me to properly evaluate the H2s. Bearing this in mind, I do have a few thoughts on how they sound. There is still something not right in the midrange. Instrument separation is lacking. This problem descends into the upper midbass a bit as well. I've been listening to Air's Moon Safari, and on "La Femme d'Argent" the bassline is massive, but lacking clarity. Conversely, the Minimoog at the end of "All I Need" sounds fan-freakin' tastic. My source does an exceptional job at expressing sonic texture, and the H2s pick right up on that. I listened to this album last night with my GLite/650s, for the first time in years (since before I had a headphone rig of any worth) and I forgot how much I liked it. Tonight I am comparing that session with the TakeTs. I am noticing different (I'm not sure I'd say more) details. In "Talisman" the Minimoog is clearly going through a phase effect, giving it an almost vocoder like warble. I never picked up on that before. The H2s do somethings really well (gritty analog synth bass, snare drums, hi-hats) and completely fail at other tasks. Most of their successes are in the (deep) bass and high end, and most of their flaws are in the midrange. I don't want to give the wrong impression on the H2's high end. It is definitely upfront and intense, but it's not overly shrill or painful. Cymbals and snares are just right there. I hesitate to offer much conjecture, but I think they will scale well with better gear upstream. They are not exactly neutral cans, but they are certainly Ming the Mericless when it comes to revealing flaws in recordings/sources/amps/cables/one's wallpaper/etc. I am not in love with these things, but I continued to be intrigued.

Clearly. I was asking what make and model it is.

What controller is that? Does it have an X/Y joystick? I have a mess of DMX gear (most flat mirror scanners, but I have a few barrel scanners, and some intelligent moonflowers) but I don't use much of it anymore.

I've had my TakeTs for not quite a month now. Truth be told, I've barely listened to them. When they arrived from the Land of the Rising Sun, I was in the middle of major house renovations, and I had a houseguest. When I finally connected them up, I found then amusing, but there was a lot lacking with the sound (like the entire midrange.) I heard potential, but mostly I heard what was wrong with the gear upstream of the H2/TR2. This afternoon, I got back my old Halfer P125 power amp. Back in the 90s, it used to drive studio monitors, but it's been a dust collector for the last five years. I haven't heard it in ages, but what I remember was that it imbued small speakers (EV Sentries, B&W 302s) with a presence that belied its meager 60WPC rating. It took me nearly an hour to integrate the Halfer into my rig. It has 1/4" balanced TRS inputs, and I had exactly zero cables handy that would work with it. After digging through four different boxes, I eventually found a pair of Monster (yuck) DJ (bigger yuck) RCA -> 1/4" cables, and kludged the Halfer into the signal path after my GLite. As a bonus, I found to lengths of Kimber speaker cable (it's 8*mumble*, not TC, but one of the other ones) that had been missing for ages. I need new termination for them, but I will be using them between the P125 (amp) and TR2 (transformer box) as soon as it is possible. I have barely begun to do proper listening with this new set up, but for the first time the TakeTs don't sound bad to me. The bass is impressive in its power, and the high end is REALLY UPFRONT. Holy crapballs. Maybe I spend too much time listening to HD-650s, but I am not used to such high end impact. Snare drums take on a whole new meaning with the TakeTs. I really can't do proper analysis of the situation until I fix a few key links in the chain (XLR -> 1/4" TRS cables and new speaker wire termination are on order.) What I can say is that these cans have a huge amount of potential, and are just beginning to reach it in my rig. Also, they have maybe 10 hours of use on them, and I'm sure the sound signature will change as they get some real play time.

A pity. Demonoid was effectively my TV tuner. \

What distillery is that? I've had Macallen 25, Highland Park 25, and I've seen Mac 50 (which sold for GBP1500 per bottle 15 years ago.) I can't say I have much interest in single malts that cost more than my car, but I do have Lagavulin 30 year on my to-do list.

Apparently my smartass sig was more apropos than I intended. I financed part of my TakeT purchase by selling my subwoofer. I had a Paradigm PW-2200, which rattled the floorboards and shook fillings loose, but it never seemed fast enough to me. Maybe I never positioned it right. As I said on [that other place], I have a pipe dream of being able to buy a Gilmore-designed TakeT amplifier (a KGTT if you will) from Headamp within the next year or so. Preferably without needing to list a kidney on eBay. I'm not sure exactly what caused me to spring for the TakeTs. Part of it was the September 26th date (oh, that crafty Mr. Takei and his Engrish translator) and part of it was Duggeh's epic review of them (I never read it in its entirety.) The single biggest deciding factor was everything I have read about the TakeTs leads me to believe their sound signature (spacious, revealing and bassy) meshes perfect with the kind of music I prefer, ambient dub, IDM and downtempo electronics.

Same rig I've been using for over a year. FLACs in foobar -> Adcom GDC-750 CDP/DAC -> Gilmore Lite + DPS -> HD-650s/Blue Dragon Mk IIs, all the electronics being feed cleaned power via a Monster HTS-5100 MK II. Total cost to me: around $1500. What makes me a true head-fi heretic is that I have resisted upgraditis and FOTM syndrome. That is, until I sent a large-ish payment to one Mr. Takei for some bleeding edge fuglyphones and accompanying boat anchor. One pair of cans doubles the cost of my rig.