Dusty Chalk

-10 audiophile points.

NERDS!!!1!

And...they're monoblocks. Monoblocks == less crosstalk == better separation == better soundstage.

OMG, that was hilarious. "'WTF', I don't even know what that means." " stands for sex." "Windows, make your icons larger." "That thing, I thought it was a magnifying glass, it doesn't magnify anything." ...and I haven't even finished watching it yet.

No, I think I'm going to still dispute that. I was leaving source out of the equation as well. You can get a MF A3.2 pre and power and the K1000 and be pretty much done. Or maybe an integrated. There's lots of options that so few people have tried with the K1000, because it can be driven by speaker amps. The Pass Labs amp is merely one that people have actually heard, but I don't think the K1000 has even remotely been tapped yet with all its synergistic possibilities. EDIT: Saw your second response: No, I wasn't talking about great values, I was talking about synergy. Just because you spend more money does not mean it's going to be better. I'm going to leave Orpheus out of this, because the Orpheus itself is a great headphone, but it's already expensive, and an amp/Orpheus combo will be more expensive than a K1000/amp combo. I own a Singlepower Supra++/SDS-- (it does not have all the upgrades a SDS has), and to my ears, it's not -- as is, mind you -- as good as the combo I heard with the Earmax Pro (I forget which version -- if it was a modded one, or the anniversary one, or what). For the L3000. Now, I don't think it was as good as tkam's Dragon rig, but I didn't have the two next to each other to compare. But from memory, it was comparable. And yes, the Pass Labs was a synergistic amp with the K1000's -- no doubt. Whether or not one could find something equally synergistic is up to debate. I'm just saying they're on the same order. So maybe you're right -- at US$1000-ish, the K1000 could be cheaper than the others, but you still have to put a decent preamp in there (the Pass Labs is a power amp, right? Not an integrated?). I just don't think it's clear-cut that one would be better. When you're getting into that level of sound, you'll never get a room of 20 audiophiles to agree about anything -- L, there's three of us that meet on a regular basis, and we don't agree about everything (just talking), because we have different things that interest us. Except I do think we agreed that the Pass Labs sounded pretty damn good with the K1000's. And I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree about the KGSS -- I thought the KGSS and Blue Hawaii were the best I've ever heard the O2. I think they were maxed out with black gates and silver internal wiring, so yeah, we're getting into the multi-thousand dollar territory. But that compares it with K1000 + power amp + pre amp, so I think you're at least as cheap, if not cheaper.

I think that right there is the flaw in your premise. The KGSS, for example, starts at US$1499. And that's pretty much the best sound I've heard out of the O2 (although I don't think the KGSS was stock). The L3000 can sound pretty darn good with an Earmax Pro -- that's some of the best sound out of that one I've heard, although I suspect it will improve with the recabling.

The 2000 is supposed to be a little bit better, but if you're going to be using whichever one you get just as a transport, then I'd get the earlier one, because (a) it should save you at least a hundred; and ( I've had one, and can guarantee it is an excellent transport. I actually really like it's sound, but I understand it doesn't have the best detail. But certainly plenty of prat. We did an A/B (nonblind) actually directly on the Rega 2000 vs. Rega 2000->Benchmark, and I couldn't tell the difference. Hirsch ended up liking the Benchmark better (or so he claims), and I think Dave liked the Rega by itself better (I think because he couldn't tell the difference either). IIRC.

Towards the end of their run, Headroom was blowing them out for something in the US$300's. I remember, because the used ones wouldn't go higher than that for a while, and that's what I paid. Until they were truly out of print. That said, resale value is not the same as an indication as to whether or not they're a good headphone/earspeaker. I mean, how many of you would pay much more than US$125-150 for HD580's -- doesn't make them any less of a good headphone, right?

I don't know about that. I always thought they were a special can from the first time I heard them. "Speaker-like soundstaging". I also remember being underwhelmed with the bass until I heard it on some really nice amps, but there have been fans of it all the way back to the days of...oh, who was that guy...he was the first one to try it with a Kenwood RD-VH7 and a subwoofer...I think...

I believe you believe, but let's leave it at that. Let's just put it this way -- if all you have is third-hand information (I.E. hearing it from someone who has second-hand information, I.E. not an actual client) for reinforcement, then all I have is fourth-hand information.

I'm not saying the guy doesn't exist. I'm saying the story/premise there is BS -- I.E. just that thread. And why would you vouch for him -- do you have personal information? And these are kind of questions I don't really want an answer to -- I think I want to go join the ranks of "blissfully unaware".

Quoted for appreciation.

I don't know dude. That thread reeks of ... hmmm... I can't place that smell...what is it?...can't put my finger on it...oh, yeah:

Ghetto speaker stands FTW. I'm using 3 reams of paper per side.

Yeah, I haven't concluded it sucks, but I can still laugh and point. Those are my thoughts as well. It's B&W, forpete'ssake -- I bet it sounds at least competent. But I can still laugh and point.

Sweet, congrats, welcome to the club, glad you're happy with them.

Quoted for appreciation. [me=Dusty Chalk]makes a mental note -- if ever offering to clean someone's grout, where the women's clothing underneath the more manly clothing.[/me]

OMG, I thought you guys were pulling my leg. This really exists! I thought it was a photochop or something. [me=Dusty Chalk]laughs at self.[/me] Huzzah for Stax. It's called the SR-007BL: No, wait, the US version doesn't have the black rims. Dagnabit... All the same, now they need to do the 4070.

Click on the image for more information. It's the B&W "Zeppelin".

Alternate thread title: Fourth down, time to punt!

Dang! How long did that take, less than an hour?

...and gross. Boomana -- oh, so when you said "addicts" you meant literally "drug addicts", not like net.addicts (like me) or sexual addicts (as I originally took your meaning).

Can I ask what you do for a living? I can't imagine dealing with deviants without having run into them before.

First of all, that's why I asked for examples. Because I used to have an animated face (CG, but kind of anime-y) as my avatar over there. Let's see if I can find it again...yeah, here it is: Now, admittedly, it's from hentai, but I liked it because of the art involved. Too much of CG (and anime) was cold and lifeless, and this particular pic had a certain spark/sparkle in her eye that seemed to bring her to life. It was more out of art appreciation that I used it than anything else. Secondly -- no-one said anything about jacking off. I said, "look at". If I jacked off every time I saw a pretty or hot or sexy or underdressed woman or a little more breast than usual, I'd have to be jacking off several times a day. I'm too old for that shit. That said, I do like hot and sexy women, be they real, animated, or artfully drawn (Sorayama calls his art "hyper illustration" [although I have to admit I can't get into anything but his pre-Penthouse days]). And I have gotten laid. Married even. Heck, I've even had strippers proposition me, and they know that I'm a pervert. Finally -- if they really bother you, you can turn avatars off. I think of it as a challenge -- I'm on another board where people change avatars and even monikers more frequently than I do. Sometimes it's impossible to recognize someone, except by clicking on their previous posts link.