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My gadget is smaller than yours, big boy. It's true. And that is only one of the reasons I love the original iPod shuffle. I swear, there are dozens of audiophile reasons, too; but I ain't listing them here. You can find a few of them at Headfonia:
Back to the Future Friday: the original Apple iPod shuffle (512)
In its 1,5 years at market, the AK100 has been replaced/updated thrice. So, too, has its younger sibling, the AK120 (once called the Ultimate Joy of Music). Now there's the AK240 (which bears the dubious: BE THE ULTIMATE tag). If Astell&Kern had a porn name, it would be Prejack Luvpump. Its signature move would be ejaculating every time the word 'sex' was mentioned. Somehow that sticky icky appeals to Mono and Stereo.
“The AK100 II and AK120 II replace the Wolfson WM8740 DAC with the Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC chipset found in the flagship AK240. The AK100 II features a single DAC chipset like its predecessor, while the AK120 steps up to two (2) DACs (Digital to Analog Converters) that output audio signals independently to each channel, making the AK120 II a true dual mono (dual monaural) setup like those found in expensive hi-fi equipment. The dual Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC chips found in the AK120 II dedicates each DAC chip to a completely separate left and right channel. In result, the AK120 II provides far superior depth, clarity, and spaciousness to the audio. By providing a much clearer sound with lower distortion, the AK120 II truly replicates how the original music was recorded. ”
Maybe I just don't get it. Or maybe, my hopes for luxury goods are higher, and clearer than iRiver's.
Luxury is a category established by superiority in service or product quality. It is punctuated by follow through, by grace, by snob appeal, and almost always, by lucid, intelligible copy. It is not established by escalating prices. It is not established by products or services whose relevance expires within a season, or whose copy contradicts itself. It is not established by Google translate and primary school editors.
Willy-nilly upgrades are the marks of indecisiveness; and indecisiveness is a mark of the cheap, of the mundane, of the mass market. It is a mark of the sticky-sheets adolescent who still chews his pronouns.
Tokyo: an essay in headphones
Fujiya Avic's Spring 2014 show was great. But being the Disneyland of headphone events, no one person can capture it all in one go. In retrospect, I didn't really get around all that well. For better coverage, check out Headfonia's pictorial essay and the official Headfi Fujiya Avic 2014 thread.
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A great read by, tomscy2000, one of the industry's sanest, and most trustworthy voices. Tom's brand of sanity pushes him toward cables with the least resistance first, ease of use second. Ω's happy with something that feels good. As it happens, Estron's Linum BAX IEM cables appear to bridge the gap.
“The bottom line is that if you are happy with the stock sound of your IEM, but desire a cable that is much lighter and much lower profile, consider the Linum BaX. If you are a stage musician and need a thin, light cable that can blend invisibly with your performance attire, strongly consider the Linum BaX —- this cable really is made for you. It’s strong, it’s featherlight, and it’s nearly invisible.”
Headfi's CosmicHolyGhost gets credit for finding this article explaining how to balance your Ocharaku Flat4. Ω is a BIG fan of the Flat4 series, especially KURO and KAEDE.
NOTE: the article is in Chinese. All hardware modifications to the Flat4 will void your guarantee.
Back in 2012 I had rip-roaring time with the ortofon e-Q5. And in 2010, its older brother, the e-Q7, did me well. Since then another two years have passed. Naturally, it is time to get my ortofon on. The e-Q8, which costs around 400$ USD, is a good upgrade. On the outside, it’s a white e-Q7. But on the inside, it’s got a love-for-rock-thing going on in a new way.
UPDATE: I since have written a full review of the ortofon e-Q8 at headfonia.
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The incomparably charitable HiFiman team are happy to let you, their customer, bear the burden of designing, tooling, and footing all R&D bills for their next amp module. In return for giving away the know-how potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, you can have one of their spiffy headphones! If your blood, sweat, and tears win!
1st 1 HE560
2nd 2 RE600
3rd 3 RE400
Appetite whetted? Head to Head-fi's front page! Or this thread! Then shoot them a PM about a bridge; they've got one going for real fucking cheap.
NOTE: the post has been removed from Headfi's front page.
Bit of a laugh, straight from Headfonia's facebook page.
DAR has inked the first stanza of what is guaranteed to be a well-sung rime on Fujiya Avic's 2014 Spring Headphone Festival.
The Shure SE846 is one of the earphone that has made me re-examine my wallet. It is impeccably engineered, has a great filter system, glows beautifully under the soft box-- oh yes, and it sounds great, too. I'm very glad that my first impressions of this great earphone were not my last. Here's a little of what I have to say about the SE846 at Headfonia.
“The SE846 really kicks out low detail and nothing but. It is incredible. While sound pressure below 50Hz is nominal at the ear, above that it yawns with power. Like its high range, bass detail is spacious and detailed. Versus the JHA Roxanne, it is slightly more silver-edged- if harder, if you will. Overall sound pressure is similar, but top-edged details stand further out. This detail will appeal to dance fans, to fans of live music, and to fans speed.”
Check out the entire Shure SE846 review at Headfonia.
Tsukuba, Japan