The Audiophiles' Lounge

docentore · 22-06-2013 11:25am

marko93 wrote: »

Edit: Found it :P

DOUBLE EDIT: Just ordered some JVC S500s. Hope they live up to all that praise they get. Just have to wait patiently now.

aparently very good phones, considered as 'poor man' ATH ES700 or esw9. Peps on head-fi say they need couple of hundred of hours burning in.

if they are even little close to mine ES700 you will enjoy them very much. Let us know when you get them and how they are like

K.O.Kiki · 22-06-2013 5:07pm

docentore wrote: »

aparently very good phones, considered as 'poor man' ATH ES700 or esw9. Peps on head-fi say they need couple of hundred of hours burning in.

if they are even little close to mine ES700 you will enjoy them very much. Let us know when you get them and how they are like

Burn-in, pffft! :pac:

Why wait 2 weeks? Just enjoy your headphones NOW.

marko93 · 22-06-2013 7:05pm

I've read of the burn in, one of my favourite posts in the thread was something like " You've only been using them for the day? Nah, wait till at least 300 hours till you judge them"... Still makes me laugh. I'll post some pics and give a little opinion when they arrive!

docentore · 23-06-2013 11:46pm

That's what I heard about those JVC's. With my new ATH ES-700 I was just wearing them, listening to favourite tracks and enjoying the great phones.

EDIT: I'm very interested how good they are, I might pick up them as spare set.

marko93 · 24-06-2013 1:08am

docentore wrote: »

That's what I heard about those JVC's. With my new ATH ES-700 I was just wearing them, listening to favourite tracks and enjoying the great phones.

EDIT: I'm very interested how good they are, I might pick up them as spare set.

Think they ran me bout 50 or so. Nothing to lose really. Easily sold in Europe!

Morf · 24-06-2013 1:08pm

I'm thinking about building a bit of an audiophile PC.

What sort of things should I keep in mind building it?

Thanks.

marko93 · 24-06-2013 1:32pm

Would it be for a speaker or headphone set up?

K.O.Kiki · 24-06-2013 6:29pm

Morf wrote: »

I'm thinking about building a bit of an audiophile PC.

What sort of things should I keep in mind building it?

Thanks.

Consider sticking to USB DAC/amp devices.

A Behringer UCA202 is a great starter, as are the mid-range FiiO devices.

*edit

You probably won't need SSD for more than the OS, so some big 7200rpm drives for music files should do the trick.

Also consider making your build as "silent" (passive) as you can by using a lowend fanless graphics card, or just integrated graphics; and big, slow system fans.

Morf · 24-06-2013 7:07pm

marko93 wrote: »

Would it be for a speaker or headphone set up?

Headphones. Either AT ATH M50s or Etymotic HF5s.

Morf · 24-06-2013 7:09pm

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Consider sticking to USB DAC/amp devices.

A Behringer UCA202 is a great starter, as are the mid-range FiiO devices.

*edit

You probably won't need SSD for more than the OS, so some big 7200rpm drives for music files should do the trick.

Also consider making your build as "silent" (passive) as you can by using a lowend fanless graphics card, or just integrated graphics; and big, slow system fans.

I plan to have the OS on an SSD with a large HDD for music (possibly in FLAC). The poster on building and upgrading suggesting altering BIOS settings to make the fans silent too. They also suggested a GFX card wasn't necessary for my needs.

PPC · 24-06-2013 7:29pm

Consider http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=14 and http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=13
Very neat little setup, looks beautiful, punches way above its weight for the price and should last for years.

Morf · 24-06-2013 10:03pm

How much am I looking at all-in? 'Bout €300? With custom duties and such.

I'll consider it medium term.

PPC · 24-06-2013 11:04pm

I'd say under €250 with customs.
€190.51 incl delivery to Ireland + 25% brings it upto €240.

Similar specced would be the O2DAC http://epiphany-acoustics.co.uk/products-page/dacs/ehp-o2d-miniature-desktop-headphone-amplifier-with-usb-dac/ at €220, but I think the extra 20 is worth it for the looks and lack of powercable going into the front

marko93 · 24-06-2013 11:05pm

For headphones there is a lot of options!

The M&M stack as pointed out, I like the look and feedback from the Objective 2
http://www.jdslabs.com/item.php?fetchitem=o2full

really just depends how much you'd like to spend on AMPs/DACs. Internals as said, quiet and efficient!

marko93 · 27-06-2013 7:26pm

Here's a few snaps. Bare with me, absolutely wrecked so no major glam shots! :P Impressions will have to wait a day or two when I can properly focus!

Box contains the headphones and the warranty, that's it! Doesn't bother me at all

In their box. by Marko93101, on Flickr

This little note was from the seller, pretty nice touch and brought a smile to my face! Even managed to get the "Go raibe maith agat" in at the bottom and the paper crane too. If anyone was thinking I'd suggest dealing with him, did I mention it took about 5 days from point of dispatch?

Thank you letter from the seller. by Marko93101, on Flickr

This is the only real glamour shot I could muster up. As I said I'm awful tired and didn't feel like playing with the DSLR all too much, but I said I'd post some pics, wouldn't want to be letting you guys down!

JVC HA-S500-B by Marko93101, on Flickr

docentore · 27-06-2013 8:02pm

waiting on review and impressions. do you have any other cans you can compare these to those?

marko93 · 27-06-2013 9:27pm

docentore wrote: »

waiting on review and impressions. do you have any other cans you can compare these to those?

HD25s, Superlux HD668Bs(i think that's the name), used to have more!

All I can say for now is they get plenty of bass!

docentore · 30-06-2013 6:00pm

marko93 wrote: »

HD25s, Superlux HD668Bs(i think that's the name), used to have more!

All I can say for now is they get plenty of bass!

How do they compare to HD25?

Are you ever in Dublin? would you mind to meet up one afternoon, lunch break and do comparison to ES700? I'm looking for backup phones and these look interesting

emo72 · 30-06-2013 6:47pm

i could meet too. have a few bits and pieces to bring.

marko93 · 30-06-2013 10:02pm

Is this the start of boards very first Head-Fi meet?

I live in Dublin, but at the moment between working and studying for repeats I haven't got a lot of spare time, although I'm sure I'll be able to eventually!

docentore · 30-06-2013 11:11pm

marko93 wrote: »

Is this the start of boards very first Head-Fi meet?

I live in Dublin, but at the moment between working and studying for repeats I haven't got a lot of spare time, although I'm sure I'll be able to eventually!

Let me know when suits. Will bring my few customised cmoys as well

docentore · 05-07-2013 8:10am

deicided to take the bullet and gat a pair myself. Waiting on arrival now

marko93 wrote: »

Here's a few snaps. Bare with me, absolutely wrecked so no major glam shots! :P Impressions will have to wait a day or two when I can properly focus!

Box contains the headphones and the warranty, that's it! Doesn't bother me at all

In their box. by Marko93101, on Flickr

This little note was from the seller, pretty nice touch and brought a smile to my face! Even managed to get the "Go raibe maith agat" in at the bottom and the paper crane too. If anyone was thinking I'd suggest dealing with him, did I mention it took about 5 days from point of dispatch?

Thank you letter from the seller. by Marko93101, on Flickr

This is the only real glamour shot I could muster up. As I said I'm awful tired and didn't feel like playing with the DSLR all too much, but I said I'd post some pics, wouldn't want to be letting you guys down!

JVC HA-S500-B by Marko93101, on Flickr

marko93 · 05-07-2013 11:19am

Excellent! :P

Where did you order from?

docentore · 05-07-2013 1:25pm

amazon. Paid around e50

marko93 · 05-07-2013 2:18pm

Pretty much what I paid!

Did it give you any indication as to delivery time?

Also, for anyone considering these, this is who I bought from

http://www.ebay.ie/sch/bear84speeed/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

23$ for delivery and took about 5/6 days!

Couldn't recommend enough

Brian · 05-07-2013 3:26pm

How are they for gaming? Soundstage and clarity.

marko93 · 05-07-2013 3:45pm

Brian wrote: »

How are they for gaming? Soundstage and clarity.

Not sure Brian, haven't used them with games yet! I'll be taking a break from studying on Sunday to play some games. I'll let you know then!

K.O.Kiki · 09-07-2013 1:41am

Carbon nanotubes, eh?

docentore · 17-07-2013 8:43pm

Got my carbon nanotubes today in the post. Quite impressed with them. People compare them to ATH ES-700 which I also own, but they sound completely different to me!
ES-700 are colder, more mids and ups, HA-S500 are more bassy, but in nice, punchy way. Compared to ATH mids are recessed a lot.

On the side note I've got another pair of phones today, completely not audiophile. I picked up beats-alike looking cheapo headphones in Penney's (they go well with my new socks). Look cool, €9 - decided to take a risk, I might play and learn about headphone modifying and tweaking. They are really bass heavy, but sound is on acceptable €9 level when amped with not so bassy op-amp.

Morf · 23-07-2013 7:02pm

PPC wrote: »

Consider http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=14 and http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=13
Very neat little setup, looks beautiful, punches way above its weight for the price and should last for years.

If I do go for these down the line is it worth having a dedicated sound card is will onboard sound do the job with a DAC and headphone amp?

Any soundcard suggestions? Just for listening, no music production.

PPC · 23-07-2013 7:09pm

The DAC is a soundcard, so no need to use the internal/dedicated one at all.

I have my Lyr/Bifrost on my desk and plug it into my laptop when I'm there, the rest of the time I'll use onboard directly for videos or my E17 for music.

marko93 · 23-07-2013 11:10pm

Modi & Magni is on my hit list after I sort out my Computer/Phone/Savings :P Such a lovely little bit of kit!

Brian · 24-07-2013 11:06pm

Ordered some carbon nanotubes for me my friend. Had initially ordered the Philips Uptowns but figured the S500 would be more portable.

pleasant Co. · 25-07-2013 1:58pm

Do I want some Audioengine A2+ (and to wait for them), or can I justify the extra €€€ on the A5+....decisions.

gizmo · 25-07-2013 2:09pm

pleasant Co. wrote: »

Do I want some Audioengine A2+ (and to wait for them), or can I justify the extra €€€ on the A5+....decisions.

What you actually want is a pair of Aktimate Mini+. I'm currently in the market for a new set of computer speakers too and after the usual headache inducing amount of research, I have it narrowed down to either a pair of those (which, according to direct comparisons, comfortably beat the A5+) or a pair of Mackie MR5 MK2. The Mackie's also beat out the A5+ in most reviews but unfortunately I've not been able to find any comparisons between them and the Akitmates. Not particularly surprising given how different both sets of speakers are, it's just more annoying when there's no chance to audition them either.

pleasant Co. · 25-07-2013 2:50pm

Ah yeah but with the likes of the Mackie I'd need to buy another bit of gear just to designate a left and right speaker and that'll just bring the cost up more than i'm willing to spend

gizmo · 25-07-2013 3:02pm

pleasant Co. wrote: »

Ah yeah but with the likes of the Mackie I'd need to buy another bit of gear just to designate a left and right speaker and that'll just bring the cost up more than i'm willing to spend

Ah yes, I should have pointed out I'm going to be picking up a Creative Labs ZxR too which has RCA outs and a nice external volume control, sorry about that.

That bit of kit aside then you're still left with the Aktimates. If you're feeling a bit more adventurous there's also the Emotive Airmotiv 4/5 which have also gotten stellar reviews and again trump the A5+. The downside there is that they must be imported from the US. When I worked out the pricing they were actually comparable to the Audioengines but you still run the risk of being in an awkward situation of anything goes wrong with them.

pleasant Co. · 25-07-2013 3:47pm

Wait, what was i thinking! all you'd need for the Mackie's is a 3.5mm to 2 rca cable - certainly not the best option but an inexpensive one all the same!

gizmo · 25-07-2013 3:52pm

pleasant Co. wrote: »

Wait, what was i thinking! all you'd need for the Mackie's is a 3.5mm to 2 rca cable - certainly not the best option but an inexpensive one all the same!

The volume control issue still needs to be sorted but I had bookmarked this little guy before I settled on the Creative Labs soundcard.

Morf · 25-07-2013 7:21pm

I've ordered my PC with hopefully and Schiit amp and DAC down the line.

What's a good program for ripping and playing FLAC files?

I can use VLC to play FLACs but it's quite awkward.

emo72 · 25-07-2013 7:29pm

foobar 2000. it will even rip your cds to flac too.

Custardpi · 25-07-2013 8:06pm

+1 on Foobar. It is a bit of a pain to get it set up just how you want it - the plugins for ripping FLAC/MP3, etc have to be installed separately for instance. However, once you start playing around with all the different modifications that can be made to it it's a really fun programme to use. Try plugins like Spitfish (for moderating sibilance on recordings) & the Dynamic Range Analyser (to see how badly your files are affected by the "Loudness War") or any of the many others available.

pleasant Co. · 26-07-2013 11:37am

Yep, foobar is king..if only it was available on other platforms

I've have a terrible time running it through wine on both linux and mac.

PPC · 26-07-2013 1:04pm

pleasant Co. wrote: »

Yep, foobar is king..if only it was available on other platforms I've have a terrible time running it through wine on both linux and mac.

I use Enqueue on OSX and its perfect, nice and light.

pleasant Co. · 26-07-2013 1:32pm

PPC wrote: »

I use Enqueue on OSX and its perfect, nice and light.

I use vox as i find it to be quick, versatile and light but I'll definitely have a look at enqueue

marko93 · 26-07-2013 1:40pm

I use iTunes. It's eh... eh well you know it has, ehmmm.

Brian · 26-07-2013 1:47pm

I use subsonic

PPC · 26-07-2013 2:05pm

My Etymotic HF2s finally gave up so I decided it was time to upgrade my portable set to some Etymotic ER4-PTs.
The upgrade wasn't huge, but the build quality is a lot better, and my custom tips fit on them perfectly.

marko93 · 26-07-2013 2:24pm

PPC wrote: »

My Etymotic HF2s finally gave up so I decided it was time to upgrade my portable set to some Etymotic ER4-PTs.
The upgrade wasn't huge, but the build quality is a lot better, and my custom tips fit on them perfectly.

How do they sound actually? Was looking into a pair to buy over the coming months after reading how well they isolate!

PPC · 26-07-2013 4:15pm

Neutral~cold and very detailed, you can often hear the dull plastic of the pick plucking guitar strings they're so detailed.
My other headphones are a bit heavier on the bass, so its kind of refreshing having something so flat.

The custom tips have amazing isolation, once music is on i can't hear much of the outside world except ambulance sirens.

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