some updates.

sold the balanced DT880. just too similar to some of my other headphones and not getting as much use as it should. plus it excels at music (electronica, for example) which i have little of. and there is the brightness which all 880s have. listened to the the 600 w/ balanced cardas. it has a nice clear sound to it, a bit more forward than the 650 as well, but it seems to lack the texture, weight, and definitely bass of the 650. i like the 650 better but intend to keep the 600, for now. as for cables, i sold the jaguar XLRs and am selling the twisted pair ultra and silver resolution RCAs. they have been replaced with nordost heimdalls. so it is nordost for RCA and XLR interconnects. for power, i am still using virtual dynamics, audioquest, and an aural thrills silver power cord. but i have the bug for nordost and may look into getting some of their power cables. the brahmas are too expensive for me, but some vishnus would be doable. should i get a thor power conditioner?

also, i purchased a grado RS2 to go along with my RS1 and SR325, but it was lost in the mail. that was a bummer. still trying to recover my money. on a more positive note, i should have my EH-1.3 electrostatic headphone in the next week or two. excited about that. i have decent expectations for them. i'm not sure how good the amp is i intend to use with it, so i may have to start saving for a better one - something from woo or headamp.

what else. been toying around with the idea of a new CD player, something that does sacd. maybe a cary 306 sacd. that seems like a good player for a good price. i would prefer an emms lab cdsa se, but even used that is probably more than i can spend (7500). not sure. i really like my G08, but am always curious about other players and b/c i listen to a good amount of classical, a sacd would make sense for me. other than that, no planned purchases on the horizon. but as always, items appear which you then want.

vcoheda January 16, 2008 18:31

i made two purchases recently. one is the furutech RD-2 CD demagnetizer. i have always been curious about this device as i am always looking for ways to optimize CD playback. one reviewer said that treated CDs had a more natural, open, transparent and more analog sound. sounds good to me. we'll see. that along with my PC-2 disc cleaner should give me maximum CD quality sound.

my second purchase was kind of made on a whim. for a good while i have been interested in obtaining an electrostatic system. for headphones, this means a stax or the sennheiser HE60/HE90. the senns being out of production are quite expensive. the lower end stax models to me always sounded thin and slightly unmusical. the top stax model - the O2 - is not cheap and it is often said that the stax amps are not sufficient to drive the 02s. but last week i came across the HEAUDIO EH-1.3 Electrostatic Headphone. i read a few reviews of the headphone, they were quite good, the price was right (much cheaper than an O2 combo), so i jumped on board. i should have the unit in a month or two. it ships from china.

you can see two pictures of the headphone and amp above. it looks very similar to the HE90 - maybe it sounds as good too.

vcoheda November 27, 2007 04:53

just to recap some things.

in terms of ICs, this is my history. for SE, i used various $20-$30 cables, then a zu oxyfuel (which i liked and used for a good while), then an element cable twisted pair ultra (copper) and finally a signal cable silver resolution (silver). of these ICs, the twisted pair ultra and silver resolutions were the best. for Bal ICs, i started with the signal cable silver resolution (fast and clear but a bit lean), then the audio quest jaguars (full sounding and wide sound stage) and now i use the nordost heimdalls, which i think is the best of the three. i have no use for any single ended ICs and will probably sell all of them.

in terms of PCs, i used cords from element cable, a red storm for my CD player and a different one for my amp. the one on my amp, the element cord, had a full sound but was boomy. i then purchased an aural thrills audio silver power cord, which was an improvement - the sound was clearer and more forward. then i got a virtual dynamics power3 and this replaced my aural thrills. it has a nice full sound with good bass and good detail. that is what i currently use on my apache. for my CD player, i still use the red storm, but just purchased an audioquest NRG-5. i expect this to be an improvement. we'll see.

for headphone amps, i have owned many, both solid state and tube based. none were very high end and all were single ended. the apache is better than all of them and balanced is part of the reason. for sources, i used a variety of CD players and external DACs (had an apogee mini dac for a good while), but none can compare to my meridian G08. best player i have owned - a slightly warm yet very euphonic sound with an immense sound stage and great detail. the player is never fatiguing and i can listen for hours on end.

for headphones, i discussed this above. my current stock is the HD650, RS1, K701, DT880 ('05 model), and SR325. all are balanced, except the RS1. i also just recently acquired an HD600 with a balanced cardas cable, so that is one more to add to the list. will be interesting to compare it to my HD650. as for some past headphones, i also have used the HD580, K501, W100, and the 2003 model of the DT880. all of these were used SE.

as for music, i have a pretty large collection of classical music and many, many operas (wagner, verdi, mozart, etc). i also listen to a lot of pop/rock - esp. female vocals. all of my music is on CDs, no vinyl and nothing computer based.

vcoheda November 19, 2007 19:07

here are my initial impressions of the RSA apache, which were posted elsewhere. nothing has changed. i still think it is one of the best amps i have ever heard.

DAY 1. i just received my apache and have finished setting it up. first song. track 14 (untitled) of the album Happenstance by Rachael Yamagata. the song is pure vocals. almost no instruments. listening SE with my RS1 with gain on low. very impressed so far. first thing i noticed was a huge sense of space, articulation, very resolving (little details come out here and there), no congestion in the music. great scaling. and that's SE. a good start. there is a huge difference between low and medium gain. medium gain is so much LOUDER. the bass is incredible. thumping. you can feel it. overall, very happy so far. can't wait to cycle through some CDs/headphones and go balanced once my cables burn in some.

DAY 2. more impressions. the unit is dead quiet. i tried various headphones of both high and low impedance. no sound, hiss, or anything even with the volume turned way up. just a dead black background. after some back and forth, i think medium gain is the best setting for single ended use. low gain is pretty low on the volume. have yet to try balanced so can't comment there. i listen at 9-11 and have had no problems finding an appropriate level. the volume knob moves very easily from one level to another.

the unit also looks amazing (i have a silver one). one of the nicest looking, most elegant amps i have ever seen. as to sound, the apache continues to impress me with its huge sound stage, great scaling, powerful bass response, and the overall texture and weight in its presentation of the music. and i expect things to improve a bit more through balanced operation.

DAY 4. tried balanced for the first time today. my cables still are not fully burned in but curiosity got the better of me. i tried the HD650 with zu mobius first. wow! the bass on the HD650 really is the some of the deepest i have ever heard. there was so much weight and texture to the music with no trace of the famous sennheiser veil. they are still laid back and a bit mellow, but the music - if well recorded of course - is clear as day. the senns won't show themselves until they have some real power behind them, but once they do, they are quite remarkable. next i tried my K701 with black dragon. another great listening experience. a bit brighter than the HD650 - nothing irritating though - but this adds a nice brilliance to the highs. the scaling is not on par with the HD650 nor does it have that full bodied feel to it; but the music is crystal clear, the detail is better, and the bass is tight and focused. it sounds just like the near perfectly balanced headphone that it is.

in sum, things with the Apache are going well and i have been very impressed with the sound - both SE and balanced. another thing worth mentioning is the workmanship. i have looked over the amp top to bottom and back to front very carefully and the workmanship is just impeccable. it is such a nice looking amp. really closer to art than audio.

vcoheda November 19, 2007 18:30

as for tweaks, i don't use much. i have 6 cardas myrtle wood blocks. i use 3 under my G08 and 3 under my Apache - for both 2 front and 1 back center. the Apache is a two piece component, power supply and amp. right now i am using the blocks under the amp but i would like to get another 3 blocks, so each component has them. the blocks are a nice cheap tweak and in my experience widen the sound stage and improve imaging. i recommend giving them a try.

i also have furutech PC-2 disc cleaner. on some CDs it seems to work, on others not so much. on the CDs when i do notice an improvement, the details and images seem a bit crisper, sharper. only takes a few seconds to apply. but it seems to be hit or miss. i also am interested in an RD-3 Demagnetizer. i have read positive things about this device. of course, i know the effects will be subtle but then again almost everything is audio is. the unit new runs about $400, not cheap. i just wonder if the effects are less than noticeable, will i use it consistently or at first and then not at all or very infrequently. hard to say.

in terms of differences or improvements, i find that the source is the most important, then the amp, and then headphones, followed by cables - headphone cables, ICs, and PCs. after that the tweaks.

vcoheda November 18, 2007 21:50

just purchased an audioquest NRG-5 power cord. i plan to use it with my G08. i'll see how it compares to my current power cord, an element cable red storm.

the heimdall XLR is starting to grow on me. a tad bright, but maybe that will subside in time. otherwise, a very good cable in all respects. after listening to the heimdall, the jaguar seems a bit fuzzy or hazy. i still like the AQ ICs though and would like to try a colorado or better. if i see one for a decent price, maybe i will try it.

vcoheda November 17, 2007 23:13

as for my meridian G08, it is the only expensive player i have owned. i have heard other good players - ones from cary, esoteric, marantz, cambridge audio. but it is hard to compare when you are listening to another's system. i like my G08. i'm sure one day i'll explore other players. so much out there though. hard to figure out what is "good."

vcoheda November 17, 2007 03:19

as for my headphones, i have 5 pairs (have owned over 10). i use the sennheiser HD650 with a balanced zu mobius-2 cable. the HD650 - a slightly laid back, warm sounding headphone - has great texture and allows you to explore the layers of the music. it is quite remarkable. the bass goes very deep and the detail while not great is still very good.

my AKG K701 is recabled to balanced with a moon audio black dragon. it has a very wide sound stage, a nice even response from top to bottom, lots of detail - an amazing mid range - but no brightness, and good bass although not hard hitting. the headphone is good because it performs well with a wide variety of musical genres (although probably a bit stronger with classical and jazz) and no one area overpowers the other.

i also have a grado SR325 and RS1. the former is balanced and the latter is single ended. both have a forward presentation and small yet intimate sound stage - perfect for live recordings, jazz, and other small venues. the bass on the RS1 is very good but does not go very low. the RS1 is smooth and conveys the music effortlessly. the SR325 is also very good but a bit brighter. guitar on these headphones sounds amazing.

my last headphone also balanced is the beyerdynamic DT880. somewhat similar to the K701 except the sound stage is smaller, the bass hits harder, and the highs have a little more sparkle. good for classical (especially the violin), female vocals, and most music that involves synthesizers.

i have found that for headphones, balanced is superior to single ended. in general there is greater instrument separation, more detail, better bass response, and an overall fuller sound.

5 headphones is more than enough to keep me occupied but i also am interested in the sennheiser HD600, audio technica W5000, and JVC DX1000, among others. plus i may at some point want to get a stax omega II system. i try not to get involved with out of production headphones (R10, L3000, HP1000, PS1, K1000, HE60/90, 010). just too expensive.

vcoheda November 17, 2007 03:13

as for the power cords, i like the VD power3. it has a very full sound with tight bass but also good detail, not an easy combination to find. the VD made more of a difference on my apache than my G08. on the latter, i still like the element cable red storm, although i am sure there is much better out there. on the apache, the VD is better than the aural thrills, although that power cord is good too. prior to these, i used element cable PCs. they had a good full and warm sound, but the bass was boomy and the music at times seemed thick or slow. better on a lean sounding or bright system. i think i may try another VD cord on my CD player, not sure which one though. something other than the power3. i guess i will scan the classifieds and see what grabs my attention.

vcoheda November 17, 2007 02:50

the nordost heimdalls have more detail than the jaguars, are more forward in their presentation, have better highs, but also seem a tad bright. the jaguars give you a better sense of depth/space and overall have a warmer sound signature. the detail is not as good nor the bass as focused, but they are probably less fatiguing. the heimdalls are similar to the silver resolutions, except they are better - faster, more detail, more bass and generally a fuller sound. the silver resolutions seem like a low tier nordost by comparison. yet they SRs are not bad, just the heimdalls are much better.

vcoheda November 17, 2007 02:44

now using a virtual dynamics power3 PC on my amp instead of the aurual thrills PC. also, recently purchased a pair of nordost heimdall XLRs. curious to see how they compare to the jaguars, which i have been impressed with so far. i got them for a deal as well. since AQ put out their new river series, the jaguar, panther, and cheetah have become quite affordable.

vcoheda November 16, 2007 07:15