Blue Hawaii Special Edition

[Deadneddz]

And mine has arrived! Too bad I have to head out for the afternoon, but I'll have plenty of time later today and tomorrow to listen and take pictures of it.

FTFY:D

[Dreadhead]

[Pars]

you missed the head-fi thread with the guy who can tell if a fuse is in backwards. he's serious too

That and the ones that can tell you what plating is used, and whether there is tin plating under the gold -> copper or not. And yes, they are serious

They don't seem to reveal PCB construction, etc. though.

[Dusty Chalk]

Serious? Or tenacious?

[guzziguy]

you missed the head-fi thread with the guy who can tell if a fuse is in backwards. he's serious too

Which way is backwards? In or out?

[Voltron]

And mine has arrived! Too bad I have to head out for the afternoon, but I'll have plenty of time later today and tomorrow to listen to it.

I forgot to say "Congrats Vicki!," so Congrats Vicki! Have fun this afternoon, but make sure your tubes all stand straight upright if you take any pics.

[Dusty Chalk]

Somehow, I doubt she's going to have any trouble getting the tubes to stand up straight.

[Torpedo]

you sick people

[n_maher]

Vicki lost/misplaced/forgot where she put her digital camera months ago, I wouldn't hold your breath on pics from her.

Congrats V, can't wait to hear what you think of it. And don't forget that when you turn it on it won't actually turn on for a few minutes.

[cetoole]

Doesnt she have an iphone? Also, congrats on the amp Vicki. Time to put those JH13 to bed.

[spritzer]

Congrats to Vicky!!!!!!

My Blue Hawaii has also just arrived

Damn shills overrunning this place...

[Duggeh]

It's going to be aaaaages yet before mine arrives.

It's good to see these amps coming through to their loving new homes.

[HeadphoneAddict]

I don't feel like listening to the Jade anymore! Well, at least I got the first strike in, didn't you notice the unidentifiable substance coating the earpads and headband?

Seriously? Why? I still think my pair sounds pretty nice, which lead me to sell my ESP-950 and SR-Lambda Signature which didn't sound as good.

[Elephas]

Hehe, I suspected that Justin doesn't want us messing around with the fuses in the amp, I guess the official message is to leave the stock fuses alone.

I admit that the fuses don't seem to make much difference. But I had to try them and hear for myself and they're not expensive. Maybe the difference is subtle and my system isn't transparent enough, maybe the background is too noisy, maybe something else is masking the changes, or my ears/brain aren't identifying the differences.

Some people might think I'm being audiophool stupid, that's OK. There really isn't much that I can do to "improve" my system without spending a lot of money. Anything else I might do is going to be expensive, much more expensive than a few fuses. Can't change the amp yet, I just got this one. Change headphones? Well, which ones do you suggest? Change the source? I don't want to think about that now, and the cost is very high to gain potentially incremental improvements.

One reason that I want to try the aftermarket fuses in the BHSE is because I think it's more transparent than the Aristaeus or ES-1. I'm still getting used to the sound and learning about the amp's capabilities.

[Sherwood]

Maybe the difference is subtle and my system isn't transparent enough

I think we can drop that line of thinking right there. If your system isn't transparent, I'll never reach the end of this hobby.

[catscratch]

What's more transparent than BHSE + O2 Mk1?

The most transparent system that I've ever heard was the speaker system in the Mastering Lab, Ojai. Don't ask me what was in it though (mostly because I don't remember). All I know is that it was dynamic, single ended, with a fully custom-built signal path and of course perfectly tuned acoustics. Actually very similar tonally to the O2 and in many other respects as well. But the clarity was unreal, maybe because I was listening a 24/192 rip of Dark Side of the Moon straight off the original master lacquer, on an amazing custom-built source. But there are only a handful of systems like this around the world.

[swt61]

I think we can drop that line of thinking right there. If your system isn't transparent, I'll never reach the end of this hobby.

Well quite frankly there is no end to this hobby, and if there were we'd all have to find a new one. Weaving baskets just doesn't have the same appeal.

With that said however, I do think it's quite alright to let a little dust settle on a piece of gear.

Elephas it's pretty easy to tell from your rig (and what a rig it is!) that you like to do a bit of tweaking. There is another side to the hobby...it's music! So many of you seem to forget about that. Just settle into that glorious new system and listen my friend. Remember that the object is not to become a gear collector, or even to have the most expensive gear. The object is to build a system that reproduces music to a level that brings a big smile to your mug whenever you pop in a CD.

Grab an ice tea, glass of wine, scotch, whatever your preference and just enjoy some music!

Otherwise send that shit my way!

[Elephas]

Elephas it's pretty easy to tell from your rig (and what a rig it is!) that you like to do a bit of tweaking. There is another side to the hobby...it's music!

Sure, I'm enjoying listening to music more than ever. Anyway, thanks for not making fun of my crappy audio rack. The fuses don't seem to make much difference, but I'm not ready to conclude that they're not worth trying yet.

I've also tried some other tweaks, many from Acoustic Revive. I've taken home loaner or demo gear, such as their power cords, digital AES cable, that grounding thing and a few other things, and managed to return them without buying, but I've also succumbed.

I have Black Diamond Racing mini pits that I tried yesterday under the BHSE power supply. I use them under the Aristaeus which only requires six, so I don't have enough for both amp and power supply. I did think there was a very small difference, but it could easily have been imagination or wishful thinking. So the footers and potentially other isolation devices will take a lot more experimentation.

I agree that the point of having a system is to enjoy the music, not just to have a transparent system and be able to hear changes in the system, or tweaks, more easily. Even the tweaks themselves are done for the enjoyment of music.

I'm using the Jade with the DD-getter tubes. When I got them and sent them away, the earpads had a chemical-type odor. They still do, but I need to put my nose close to smell it. Before, the smell would rub off on me and I'll have to wash up. Now it doesn't. Thanks, guys!

I don't think the Philips DD-getter matches the O2mk2 very well. I did pop in the stock tubes for an hour, and hey, they're not bad! These Mullard-brand made in Russia tubes look like the RFT dimple tops, they have the dimples and the 4-crimped plates. I thought they were fairly clean, but lacked some body and vibrancy and seemed a bit flat. Bass quantity was less than the DD-getter. With the O2mk2, they were quite satisfactory but can't match the smoothness, refinement and dynamics of the old stock tubes.

Edited August 20, 2009 by Elephas

[n_maher]

I fear Vicki has been swallowed whole by her BHSE.

[Duggeh]

I fear Vicki has been swallowed whole by her BHSE.

[drp]

^^

I'll be starting a Waiting for BHSE support group to help pass the time and ease the pain; I just found my poster boy.

[Voltron]

[Deadneddz]

^^

I'll be starting a Never receiving BHSE support group to help pass the time and ease the pain; I just found my poster boy...for a little while.

FTFY

[n_maher]

FTFY

FAIL

[Asr]

So curiosity got the better of me and I've set up my BHSE at work since I don't have space for it at home right now. I plan to listen on and off throughout the day.