Asr

I was listening to my JH13 last night as usual and it melted me into butter! I was a helpless puddle! Oh the sound was so sweet, I think a tear came to my eyes! I held my breath and just let the music wash over me, it was like a pure sprinkling cascade! I've never heard anything so smooth and effortless before, it was a marvel to behold! I think I cried and laughed! I'm at a loss for words to describe the awesomeness of the JH13. It's the most unbelievable thing ever. I thought my love for headphones was limited to the AD2K and Qualia but this, it's just something else, it's positively surreal. This is the best damn thing I've ever gotten for free! ZOMG!!!! /end mindless raving

This DAC got reviewed by Sam Tellig in the August '09 issue of Stereophile. But what's far more interesting, hilarious, and awesome is the Manufacturer's Comments response to Tellig's review. I mean, check this out!

Alison Krauss & Union Station - "This Sad Song" from Lonely Runs Both Ways, which I consider a decent test for primarily speed, separation, and dynamic range. There are a bunch of other AKUS tracks I also use for the same thing but "This Sad Song" is one of my most-used ones. If I'm at a meet, I play whatever's already in the CD player (or on the computer). Never know what I might discover.

I was going to write something but see that I don't need to. Best to hear for yourself anyway.

If you're asking me, I returned the Bryston before my 30 days were up (I bought from Audio Advisor - could've bought used instead but I didn't want to lose money doing a buy & sell). Primary reason I returned it was because I simply preferred the SQ of my Plinius CDP - it was a good DAC, just not up my alley. I was also annoyed it doesn't have a hard power switch - as soon as a power cord is plugged in, it instantly goes into a "standby" mode, and the "power switch" on the front is merely a standby switch. As for the comparison I was going to do with the Ayre QB-9 and the other unmentioned DAC, let's just say I decided not to. Further impressions will have to come from other people. I'll also add that I've had some long-running interest in tossing my Plinius CDP for reasons completely unrelated to its SQ, but unfortunately (and annoyingly) I keep coming back to it for specifically its SQ. I love the sound it produces and I suspect I won't be able to ever get rid of it....

Yup I always shoot full manual.

Fantastic as usual Peter. Someday I hope to be as good as you. Test shot with Sigma 50-150mm from today. 150mm focal length, 1/40 at f/22. Shot was overexposed, corrected in Photoshop. (And later saw that the ISO was at 250, doh!) Target is the NCAR facility in Boulder. Not sure how far away I was, maybe about 0.75 mi? And a shot back from 6/23. 50mm, 1/4 at f/4.5, and ISO at 125. (Taken with my Tamron 17-50.) (click for larger, of course)

whoa, PCM1704! I see only two 1704s though, are there two more? Like maybe on the underside of each of those "daughterboards"? I'd be disappointed if the balanced output was achieved through phase inversion.

The JH13 is just so damn awesome, I'd rank it my third favorite headphone behind the Audio-Technica AD2000 and Qualia! Well, at least for now, because I haven't listened to my SR-X MKIII in a while and hence it's possible I'd rank the JH13 as #4. I listen to my JH13 every single day and I've started falling asleep with them. Pure bliss straight out of my iAudio X5, it's just spookily good! A lot of headphones have quickly bugged me for one reason or another (the HD800 certainly did) but I've had no such issues with the JH13. It didn't really impress me at first but the more I listen, the more I like it. In fact, my Qualia and AD2K have already started to gather some dust.... The JH13 is just the most amazing thing period. You owe it to yourself to try one! And you're in Florida which should make the decision that much easier, go demo the universals!

Wait, Smeggy is British? Well you know what they say about tone/sarcasm and the Internet, right?

No thanks, I'll stick with what I've got. I'd prefer to own HeadAmp over Woo Audio anyway. Depending on how things play out, the only color change that might happen will be at the source level only. Good thing the Plinius CD-101 also comes in black.

In retrospect, I should have gotten my BHSE in silver, because the WES keeps tempting me with that snazzy silver chassis! Well I could get a new CDP in black instead but that opens another can of worms that I would prefer to avoid....

Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 lens for my D80 body. Looking forward to some telephoto opportunities now....

Not a good view of them but these are the HD414 pads that I got. I'd guess they are quarter-modded? ms2i_x1.jpg If so, then I should add to my earlier impressions that my HD414 pads are quarter-modded. I can take a pic of them later to verify. On a side note, damn, you're good. I don't know how you guessed the quarter-mod.

Hrmmm, all four in the HD line (open: K142, K242; closed: K172, K272) use "Varimotion" drivers, which the K601 and K701 apparently used before. AKG's pricing strategy on these is also verrrrrry interesting, I wonder if they plan to phase out the Kx01 line completely..... I'm officially interested.

Bowls vs HD414 pads - I like both, for different reasons. I tried flats at CanJam and was really opposed to them due to muddy and thick bass/mid-range. The HD414 pads work better for me than the flats did - ok so it's not entirely "clear" sounding, but it's not muddy and the mid-bass is nicely punchy. What I like most about the HD414 pads: much more comfortable than bowls (due to both softer foam and no bowl shape), and the HF2 sounds more "fun" with them too, as in more forward and punchy. What I don't like so much about the HD414 pads is the less sparkly treble, which is where the bowls come in. The HF2 sounds cleaner and clearer with the bowls, though distinctly more laidback and spacious (as in the soundstage). I recently acquired an Alessandro MS2i which I'll eventually compare with. I haven't put much time on my HF2 yet, less than 24 hours (been doing most of my listening lately with the JH13), if burn-in proves to make a difference on these. I've also been using them with a PPA V1 off my Plinius CD-101.

And Amazon has some of them on sale too: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?plgroup=3&docId=1000400581 I'm guessing someone at AKG missed the memo that announced there was already a "K340" headphone that they'd already made.....

Yup, that's the plan. Not sure exactly when the pick-up will happen though, could be this weekend...

If it could be arranged for you to have my BHSE at the same time.... /rubs hands together

ZOMG. Are those related to this?

Not really, the North Star was acquired for a secondary purpose. But if it does sound as good as the Plinius incidentally, then that would be really cool. And a good purchase there, Arcam makes solid stuff. Everyone should buy Arcam at some point!

There was just a meet in LA yesterday, did you miss it? (thread here: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f24/los-angeles-area-mega-meet-saturday-july-11th-429201/) The next one in California is this one: http://www.head-case.org/forums/meets/6466-norcal-sf-bay-area-meet-8-8-2009-a.html

I have one on pre-order. Want to buy mine if I don't like it?

PPA, Alessandro MS2i w/ HD414 pads, and North Star Design Sapphire CDP. Pics of Sapphire CDP to come later. I would appreciate any knowledgeable input on the PPA from the internal pics provided.