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oliverstoned View Drop Down
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Points: 6308 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2011 at 04:21
Originally posted by Sean Trane Sean Trane wrote:

I must say that Olivier's installation did not seem dangerous per se and is not likely to produce an electrical fire, but it is not a certified installation, and that this could be a refusalfor insurance indemnisation in caser of electrical damage elsewhere in the house.


Coming back to that point, i forgot to precise that i did the installation with the help of my father who is an electronician engineer and who happens to have a certification related to eletricity
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Points: 20239 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2011 at 04:21
Originally posted by oliverstoned oliverstoned wrote:

It's a matter of taste, indeed i always choose black version myself, but why not a green or a blue one? not so ugly.
 
yeak, the black would be least worst, IMHO.... but the white lettering ruins it
 
As for the green with the white front pannel, no thanks ... all of the other colours (incl the blue) have a glossy nail varnish finish on them.
 
No my kind of stuff
 
tastes and colours, uh???ConfusedWinkLOL
 
Originally posted by oliverstoned oliverstoned wrote:

Originally posted by Sean Trane Sean Trane wrote:

I must say that Olivier's installation did not seem dangerous per se and is not likely to produce an electrical fire, but it is not a certified installation, and that this could be a refusalfor insurance indemnisation in caser of electrical damage elsewhere in the house.


Coming back to that point, i forgot to precise that i did the installation with the help of my father who is an electronician engineer and who happens to have a certification related to eletricity
works.
 
OK, so the risk are lower (indeed an electronician can still deal with power supplys and stuff)Smile, but it's still not a certified installation, so you won't be covered by insurances... You could even be sued for responsability (not that I would evensuggest that it will even happen)


Edited by Sean Trane - September 29 2011 at 04:24
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Points: 6308 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2011 at 04:13
Originally posted by Sean Trane Sean Trane wrote:

Originally posted by oliverstoned oliverstoned wrote:

Too bad we did not compare my excellent Discman D25s without amp Vs Imod + amp because Sean would have realized that the amp really add something in term of bass, dynamic, soundstage.

 

I'm sure there is a difference, but when you're travelling, it will go unnoticed or will be interefered with the surrounding traffic and crowd noises...

 

 

I'll probably one day invest in one of these lossless system (because carrying around the discs has become indeed inconveniant), but I won't search for a mega bass amp (well maybe the cheapest one you mentioned, if really necessary).... a good pair of headphones should do..

 

But I'm probably years away from getting to that stage.

 

 
Originally posted by oliverstoned oliverstoned wrote:

Here are the nice looking ones

 

yuuuuck!!!DeadTongueWink

 

I preffered the damaged fruit fallen from the ugly tree that Dean was mentionning.LOL


It's a matter of taste, indeed i always choose black version myself, but why not a green or a blue one? not so ugly.
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Points: 37575 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2011 at 03:50
Originally posted by oliverstoned oliverstoned wrote:


Indeed, my hifi guru was dubious about this class D amp...

It's my third portable amp and the best one i tried.

It has powerful low and sounds neutral...

but some other amps does better in the mid highs so that's why i'm very interested in the Mustang P51 which, i'm almost sure, is more musical and analog sounding.

This said, the Iqube is still sonically one of the best portable amps on the market (and an european one, in an american crowded market).

But portable battery-powered amp is probably the only valid audiophile application for the class D amplification technology.

Battery-powered is certainly a niche market for Class-D because all the battery wattage is going into the speaker and not wasted heating up the electronics, but as technology progresses I think we'll see more of these designs in top-end AC-powered amps that will be indistinguishable from a good Class A, AB or B amp. Though the stigma attached to them by "old-school" audiophilist (like your "guru") will probably affect how people "hear" them so I guess you have the right conclusion for the wrong reason.
 
Originally posted by oliverstoned oliverstoned wrote:

i just learned that a new one entered in the game...

Meier Audio Corda Stepdance
Hmm, lots of electronic again, some of that is a switched-mode power supply to generate ±9V from a single 9V battery, the rest looks suspiciously like a Class-D amplifier electronics (compare IC count with the iQube PCB in a previous post). [/edit: Ah, the technical blurb says it has 5-Op Amps for the amplification - I wonder what the 3 48-pin QFP devices are for then? - they are not PSU chips] @ $400 it's similar pice too.
 
Still, very neat electronics for a low-volume manufacturer. Clap
 


Edited by Dean - September 29 2011 at 03:53
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Points: 20239 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2011 at 03:48
Originally posted by oliverstoned oliverstoned wrote:

Too bad we did not compare my excellent Discman D25s without amp Vs
Imod + amp because Sean would have realized that the amp really add something in term of bass, dynamic, soundstage.


 
I'm sure there is a difference, but when you're travelling, it will go unnoticed or will be interefered with the surrounding traffic and crowd noises...
 
 
I'll probably one day invest in one of these lossless system (because carrying around the discs has become indeed inconveniant), but I won't search for a mega bass amp (well maybe the cheapest one you mentioned, if really necessary).... a good pair of headphones should do..
 
But I'm probably years away from getting to that stage.
 
 
Originally posted by oliverstoned oliverstoned wrote:

Here are the nice looking ones

 
yuuuuck!!!DeadTongueWink
 
I preffered the damaged fruit fallen from the ugly tree that Dean was mentionning.LOL


Edited by Sean Trane - September 29 2011 at 03:54
let's just stay above the moral melee
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keep our sand-castle virtues
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prefer lifting our pen
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Points: 6308 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2011 at 03:43
Here are the nice looking ones

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Points: 37575 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2011 at 03:31
Originally posted by oliverstoned oliverstoned wrote:


The RSA amps indeed sound very good (i use to own one)...there are at the top of the world pyramid...

Now for a budget one, there's this

but it's not that small and i must recall that the best of these portable amps cannot drive properly a big can such as Senn 6XX.

There's also the Triad Audio Lisa III which smokes all the others battery powered but it's not portable, being too big.

It's something to put on a table in the garden
Eww, neither of those look pretty LOL The first looks like fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down but for $99 you can't expect it to be drop-dead gorgeous (though isn't that difficult to make things look nice). I think the second was carved from the wood of the ugly tree, but $700 for Op-Amp based amplifier - you're having a laugh.
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Points: 6308 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2011 at 03:16
i just learned that a new one entered the game...

Meier Audio Corda Stepdance

Edited by oliverstoned - September 30 2011 at 12:21
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Points: 6308 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2011 at 02:52
Originally posted by Catcher10 Catcher10 wrote:

Originally posted by Dean Dean wrote:

Originally posted by Catcher10 Catcher10 wrote:

 
oliverstoned.......what is the one under the Zune? I have a ZuneHD 32GB (Flash) which compared to the first generation Zune 30GB (HDD), they lowered the output on the newer ZuneHD models, so my Monster Turbine Pro Golds sound like transistor radio ear plugs Dead.

If I can find a good value in an amp then I might look into a nice pair of closed cans.

 

thanks

That's the Qables iQube V1 - €400 ($550), unless you want the "good" one, then that's €1200  ($1600)... and if you find that hard to swallow  - don't worry the PCB is made from medical grade epoxy (!?!?!) and OFC copper. It's a bit of an over-kill for ear-buds, even $300 ones. If all you want is to get back some of the volume, then there are a few sub $100 portable headphone amps that would do that (such as the Fiio E11), though I'm sure someone will tell you the $375 RSA Emmeline P51 is the way to go (even for ear buds). However I think amps designed to drive big Hi-Z cans will kick out too much voltage for low impedance ear buds (but sure, they'll be as loud as f...)




 

10-4.........beaucoup dinero for a HP amp!! I like the $100 tag or less.......For $550 I add in another $200 and I get the NAD C356 BEE integrated amp I want.....


The RSA amps indeed sound very good (i use to own one)...there are at the top of the world pyramid...

Now for a budget one, there's this

but it's not that small and i must recall that the best of these portable amps cannot drive properly a big can such as Senn 6XX.

There's also the Triad Audio Lisa III which smokes all the others battery powered but it's not portable, being too big.

It's something to put on a table in the garden

Edited by oliverstoned - September 29 2011 at 03:13
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Points: 6308 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2011 at 02:35
Originally posted by Dean Dean wrote:

I'm still surprised to see you sing the praises of the iQube, I would have thought Class-D amps, by their very digital nature, would be an anathema to you.
 

There is a quite a lot of "electronics" inside an iQube:


..more than you would expect from something whose function is so simple (obviously some of that is for the battery charging circuit, but not much), and some of it is to supprest the initial switch-on transients (a lot more sophisticated than standard speaker protection circuits). Hmm. Nicely made and well engineered. Clap


Indeed, my hifi guru was dubious about this class D amp...

It's my third portable amp and the best one i tried.

It has powerful low and sounds neutral...

but some other amps does better in the mid highs so that's why i'm very interested in the Mustang P51 which, i'm almost sure, is more musical and analog sounding.

This said, the Iqube is still sonically one of the best portable amps on the market (and an european one, in an american crowded market).

But portable battery-powered amp is probably the only valid audiophile application for the class D amplification technology.







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Points: 17845 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 28 2011 at 17:52
Originally posted by Dean Dean wrote:

Originally posted by Catcher10 Catcher10 wrote:

 
oliverstoned.......what is the one under the Zune? I have a ZuneHD 32GB (Flash) which compared to the first generation Zune 30GB (HDD), they lowered the output on the newer ZuneHD models, so my Monster Turbine Pro Golds sound like transistor radio ear plugs Dead.
If I can find a good value in an amp then I might look into a nice pair of closed cans.
 
thanks
That's the Qables iQube V1 - €400 ($550), unless you want the "good" one, then that's €1200  ($1600)... and if you find that hard to swallow  - don't worry the PCB is made from medical grade epoxy (!?!?!) and OFC copper. It's a bit of an over-kill for ear-buds, even $300 ones. If all you want is to get back some of the volume, then there are a few sub $100 portable headphone amps that would do that (such as the Fiio E11), though I'm sure someone will tell you the $375 RSA Emmeline P51 is the way to go (even for ear buds). However I think amps designed to drive big Hi-Z cans will kick out too much voltage for low impedance ear buds (but sure, they'll be as loud as f...)
 
10-4.........beaucoup dinero for a HP amp!! I like the $100 tag or less.......For $550 I add in another $200 and I get the NAD C356 BEE integrated amp I want.....
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Points: 17493 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 28 2011 at 17:25
Originally posted by Henry Plainview Henry Plainview wrote:

Those pictures are a little small, do you have any larger ones? That top one isn't even 10 megabytes. 
Originally posted by The T The T wrote:

 Classical recordings from that era on vinyl sound horrible. Remastered recordings of that era in cd can be good, like the magnificent St Matthew Passion conducted by Karl Richter (1957). It all depends but in general I tend to agree. I have quite a few mono recordings from even earlier than 1955 but they have to at least be pristine mono, in cd, not scratchy vinyl...

Well I'm just kind of a stickler for a minimum level, although I don't care much past that point. But I was pretty disappointed to get the 1954 recording of Mehuin and Furtwangler playing Beethoven's and Mendelssohn's on clearance at Borders and finding it completely unlistenable. Great Recordings of the Century my ass...
[QUOTE=Dean] [QUOTE=Henry Plainview]

Fail HP. The sound sometimes is not too good but some recordings deserve to be heard because of the majestic performances (Like Furtwangler's Beethoven 9th in 1954 in Luzern...) 
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Points: 37575 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 28 2011 at 16:43
Originally posted by Catcher10 Catcher10 wrote:

 
oliverstoned.......what is the one under the Zune? I have a ZuneHD 32GB (Flash) which compared to the first generation Zune 30GB (HDD), they lowered the output on the newer ZuneHD models, so my Monster Turbine Pro Golds sound like transistor radio ear plugs Dead.
If I can find a good value in an amp then I might look into a nice pair of closed cans.
 
thanks
That's the Qables iQube V1 - €400 ($550), unless you want the "good" one, then that's €1200  ($1600)... and if you find that hard to swallow  - don't worry the PCB is made from medical grade epoxy (!?!?!) and OFC copper. It's a bit of an over-kill for ear-buds, even $300 ones. If all you want is to get back some of the volume, then there are a few sub $100 portable headphone amps that would do that (such as the Fiio E11), though I'm sure someone will tell you the $375 RSA Emmeline P51 is the way to go (even for ear buds). However I think amps designed to drive big Hi-Z cans will kick out too much voltage for low impedance ear buds (but sure, they'll be as loud as f...)
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Points: 17845 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 28 2011 at 15:18
Originally posted by oliverstoned oliverstoned wrote:

Too bad we did not compare my excellent Discman D25s without amp Vs
Imod + amp because Sean would have realized that the amp really add something in term of bass, dynamic, soundstage.

Indeed the amp i currently use is big, but i'm interested in a new one which is as big as a little match box, which i suspect to do better mid/highs but not as good bass.

But i claim that my portable even in its current form is much more convenient than a Discman. My 80 Giga Imod can store something like 100 uncompressed albums which is great for a week end, imagine carriyng
a bag with a Discman and 100 cds! I wouldn't want to carry my Cds outside, especially on holidays.

My current amp (Iqube) 



A smaller good one (Mustang P51 on the right, below the DAP)


 

 
oliverstoned.......what is the one under the Zune? I have a ZuneHD 32GB (Flash) which compared to the first generation Zune 30GB (HDD), they lowered the output on the newer ZuneHD models, so my Monster Turbine Pro Golds sound like transistor radio ear plugs Dead.
If I can find a good value in an amp then I might look into a nice pair of closed cans.
 
thanks
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Points: 37575 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 28 2011 at 10:07
I'm still surprised to see you sing the praises of the iQube, I would have thought Class-D amps, by their very digital nature, would be an anathema to you.
 
There is a quite a lot of "electronics" inside an iQube:
..more than you would expect from something whose function is so simple (obviously some of that is for the battery charging circuit, but not much), and some of it is to suppress the initial switch-on transients (a lot more sophisticated than standard speaker protection circuits). Hmm. Nicely made and well engineered. Clap


Edited by Dean - September 29 2011 at 02:33
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Points: 6308 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 28 2011 at 09:42
Too bad we did not compare my excellent Discman D25s without amp Vs
Imod + amp because Sean would have realized that the amp really add something in term of bass, dynamic, soundstage.

Indeed the amp i currently use is big, but i'm interested in a new one which is as big as a little match box, which i suspect to do better mid/highs but not as good bass.

But i claim that my portable even in its current form is much more convenient than a Discman. My 80 Giga Imod can store something like 100 uncompressed albums which is great for a week end, imagine carriyng
a bag with a Discman and 100 cds! I wouldn't want to carry my Cds outside, especially on holidays.

My current amp (Iqube)



A smaller good one (Mustang P51 on the right, below the DAP)







Edited by oliverstoned - September 28 2011 at 09:43
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Points: 20239 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 28 2011 at 09:17
Olivier's portable digital player
 
Impressive sound especially in the bass range, partly due to the quality headphones he uses.
 
To be honest, if I found a big (if not huge) difference with whatever experiences I previously  had with MP3 players with the average headphones (I tested friends' kits), I didn't find much difference with the discman (+ good ear-covering headphones ala Seinheiser) playing a normal cd or a hi-fi-burned CD-r (at playing speed) >>> which basically what I still use nowadays if I need to travel other than with a car with a CD deck.
 
 
Sooooo as far as I could hear, from the 10 minutes spent testing his device Olivier's uncompressed digital data can be heard with the same trust and enjoyment as if you're listening to a discman, minus the skip to to shocks given tio the portable Cd-player. 
 
The sound quality would probably mostly come down to the choice of headphones, like it would for the normal good quality discman.
 
 
Will not judge on the amount of space there is in his player, but all I  can say in the current state of his system, it (system) fails to be practical, convenient or handy anymore than my discman and carrying the Cds around (but I use a wallet to carry those around). Indeed, I certainly wouldn't take Olivier's current digital  system or my discman on the subway. Theoretically Olivier's equivalent of an uncompressed MP3 should be much more handy than a discman, given that he wouldn't have to carry the discs, but the separate amplifier coupled with the digital storage hardware is really not user-friendly.
 
 
 
 
 
let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
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Points: 16715 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 27 2011 at 08:15
Those pictures are a little small, do you have any larger ones? That top one isn't even 10 megabytes. 
Originally posted by The T The T wrote:

 Classical recordings from that era on vinyl sound horrible. Remastered recordings of that era in cd can be good, like the magnificent St Matthew Passion conducted by Karl Richter (1957). It all depends but in general I tend to agree. I have quite a few mono recordings from even earlier than 1955 but they have to at least be pristine mono, in cd, not scratchy vinyl...

Well I'm just kind of a stickler for a minimum level, although I don't care much past that point. But I was pretty disappointed to get the 1954 recording of Mehuin and Furtwangler playing Beethoven's and Mendelssohn's on clearance at Borders and finding it completely unlistenable. Great Recordings of the Century my ass...
Originally posted by Dean Dean wrote:

Originally posted by Henry Plainview Henry Plainview wrote:

Aw Dean, I spent 25 seconds googling it and everything :( And seriously, 3 CDs? It could easily fit on 2.
[cynical]I think it's just a ploy to bump the price up to 30 bucks[/cynical] Wink

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Points: 6308 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 27 2011 at 08:05
Indeed, we are protected from Paris pollution but not from the heavy air traffic linked to the Orly airport, but that's another (world) issue.

As you seem interested in history and patrimony, we have a beautiful
and very ancient abbey in Cernay (2km from teh center town).





Edited by oliverstoned - September 27 2011 at 08:35
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Points: 20239 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 27 2011 at 07:39
Originally posted by oliverstoned oliverstoned wrote:

Depends on which part of the "valley", here's a pic of the Chevreuse road
 



 
 
 
Yeah, it's slightly bumpier than the roads right around your place, but I still wouldn't call it "hilly" (colines)Smile
 
what's cool is that you get mostly fresh air since there are no major cities upwind (compared to the dominating windforce, which is usually blowing frolm the SW) from you as Le Mans is the closest at roughly 250 km away
 
I'd hate to live in the N-E of Paris, downwind from the pollution of the 8-millions people  city
 
 
 
 
 
let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
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