Hi everyone! Should the dice fall right, I might soon be able to start buying the components for a new, much better audio system. Please advise me because I can’t listen the specific models I’m interested in, I’ve only heard their more or less close relatives. Some relevant information (sorry...

Hello! I'd like to get a bit of feedback on two vintage speaker models, namely: - JBL TLX 7GI, and - Wharfedale CRS-7 Does anybody has had any experience with these? How do they sound? Are they any good?   Also, I have a(-n even more difficult) question regarding the Technics SB-7. I...

Hi, this is a copy of a question I put on another forum without getting any answer. Maybe I'll have more luck on the good old Head-Fi Hello! I have a SATA dvd writer (Liteon iHAS524-32) that I would like to use as an external unit by connecting it to a SATA-USB adapter. Problem is that I...

What do you think about them as a low cost option? I was thinking about this G2222HDL, but also considered even its smaller 19'' brothers such as G920WL Do you know if there is that uneven brightness effect due to the positioning of the leds only at the edge of the screen? Also, should I...

Hi! As the title says, I'm a diy newbie attempting to build a Firstwatt F2 and a couple of other devices and I am discovering all kind of stupid things that I don't know how to solve because of my total lack of knowledge / experience. Please help me clarify a few of them: 1. Regarding...

All RCA male: 1. Neutrik Rean NYS352 RCA Plug Nickel 2. Neutrik Rean NYS352BG RCA Plug Gold (Any of these would cost me ~0.9 Euro/piece) or 3. Amphenol RCA Plug (about 1.5 Euro/piece) ? I also need some RCA female panel mount, but for those I think I'll go to some Neutrik (non-REAN). I...

Hello. I've also posted on the diyaudio forum, but no reply so far. I'm about to place the order for the components of a Firstwatt F2 for my K1000's and I need a bit of guidance. I'll buy from Mouser. Please answer at least the first question, that is the most important by far (perhaps also the...

Hi. I am getting some weird results in my system and I'm wondering what is the scientific explanation for this. Maybe some of you can help me understand - or at least try an educated guess. If so, please post. System: - CD player with an output impedance of about 500 ohms, measured by the...

...with two guys from a company not only selling, but also repairing printers and refilling cartridges - this came right after the advices I've got from some of you here last week in this thread. So, according to their experience: - in most cases, the build quality is getting worse and worse by...

Hi! I'm thinking about buying a multifunctional inkjet printer for home use and the main candidates for my budget seem to be the Canon Pixma MP 520 and the somewhat more expensive HP Photosmart C 5280. I care especially for reliability and I might have to print or copy some thousands of pages...

I asked AKG about the danger of DC offset in amps driving the K1000 and got two replies (well, I insisted a bit ): Quote: A little offset does not damage the K 1000 but keep in mind that ANY DC will result in a lower maximum output as the movement of the membran is limited with a DC...

...so, how can I get rid of the DC offset of my T-amp? Can I install a pair of electrolytics on its outputs? Does it have some output caps of its own that could be replaced? And how can I access the lower side of the PCB? ( I opened it up and the PCB is attached to the bottom case by a pair of...

...is it bit-perfect under windows xp? Or it goes through K-mixer or something like that? I recorded from USB (cd player -> Apogee mini-dac w. ASIO driver-> usb -> computer) and the result is not bit perfect. I would like to know if this is a proof that my player doesn't read bit perfect or it...

...and it's quite easy to give it: they are super cool, a pleasure to deal with. My Stax 3030 set was exhibiting a buzzing problem that I described here (scroll down to my post) and the channel balance was not OK. Also, I was getting a little "tick" sound at the cable insertion point into my...

I have found a couple of threads on other forums mentioning some dacs functioning OK, but sounding abnormal. One is this, refering to a Lavry Black. The other one was on audioasylum, I cannot find it right now, and the dac was an Apogee Mini-Dac. In both cases, the sound quality of the...

...so... how long do transports last? I've been told anything from 5.000 to more than 100.000 hours. And what is most likely to fail first, the laser diode or the mechanical assembly? If I understand correct the abbreviations in the manual, my Plextor Premium writer's expected lifetime is...

Inspired from enthusiastical comments like these, I got an ideea: would a (modified) t-amp + a diy transformer box such as this one be an option instead of my Stax 313 amp? What do you think? Anyone willing to try it?

I am using an Apogee Mini-Dac and I've tried driving it from a 12V SLA battery. The result was somewhat surprising: more warmth and fuller midbass and midrange (which I like), but also restricted dynamics and HF extension, less detail, less impact and a more congested sound compared to the stock...

As it's been about 9 months since I bought the Stax 3030 (Classic II) system I decided it's time to share some detailed impressions on its strengths, weaknesses and proper use. I also added some widespread knowledge about it, thinking that this review may help some newbies learn some important...

I don't know how to start. I find it hard to believe myself, much less to understand. But these are not "first impressios". Sorry for the long post. My problem: in the Stax setup, and, from the memory, in the Mackies too (don't have the right cable to A/B the later right now) I preffer the...

I have the USB version and I've just discovered a little problem. When the Mini-Dac is connected via USB to the PC I get a slight noise on the minijack out (sending signal to the Stax amplifier). When the music is off it's easily noticeable with the Stax volume knob at 9 o'clock. This happens...

... 4 days ago, but I didn't have the time to share some initial impressions until now. I'm still in the process of cables making, choosing the best way to connect it, geting an SLA battery and even burning in (although it already has about 50 hours). My other source is much cheaper and I...

Hi! I'm building right now an interconnect terminated with mini-jack at one end and with RCAs at the other, to use between my Apogee Mini-Dac and my Stax 3030. I'm using Belden 8412 stereo mic cable, the same Jan Meier uses for the IC he sells. I read he uses one cable pe channel (the two...

This must be one of the stupidest question I ever put on these forums, but my computer knowledge is limited. I ordered a Mini-dac with USB. What kind of software players can I use with it (connected via USB to the computer)? I know many on this forum are using foobar, right? Can I use any other...

I'm about to buy from them and pay via Western Union from another country. Sorry if the question is stupid, but do you think this is 100% safe? I know they are quite reputable...