Audiophile and gears

quaratineinthesejeans said:
If it's not in bad shape, why not? But make sure to get a 7 day ( or at least 3 days working warranty to r/o loose connections, driver imbalance, glue coming off etc.) If possible bargain for 5.5 K. Ask the owner if it comes with the long wire with quarter inch terminal and 3.5 mm adaptor. If so, tell him that you will have to invest in another wire with 3.5 termination ( though the wires come with M50X/ 40X fits perfectly fine with HD5XX series, but the seller does not need to know that)
This is how bargaining is done in audio world.while buying, so the seller doesn't feel being lowballed. I don't sell used products, so don't know the counter tactics.

Don't know about 30iRB, but of course know about KPH30i. It's very inexpensive ( even cheaper than Porta Pro) sounds beautiful with everything.
On a side note ( not sure of the genuineness)- Koss makes a transparent version which prisoners can buy and use in US Prisons. It is the only headphone that's allowed there.
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Even more confused now. I am also now looking at the deva, the he400se, and the he400i 2020. If I extend my budget a bit, which one of these would you prefer? I would try and avoid getting an amp if possible. Do not have much cash to spare. I currently have an apple usb c adapter, an LG g7, and an asus rog motherboard that uses realtek's s1220a chip. Also have a cheap old Fiio e6.
Black_Hawk said:
When Boomboxes and Ghetto Blasters ruled the rad 80's and wicked 90's...

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^^ My first piece of audio gear from back in 1983. The National RX-CW54F Boombox. This was bought in Singapore in 1983 by my cousin brother who was on a holiday there with his parents. He used this thoroughly and then since I couldn't afford a decent cassette player in the 90's, being only a school kid back then, he gifted it to me in the year 1994. He had by then moved on to a massive looking Sony LBT Hi-Fi component system so this wasn't being used by him at all.

For me though this Boombox was everything. This meant I could save money slowly, buy cassettes and play them without having to resort to my puny walkman and aging headphones. I could actually enjoy loud and room filling music for the first time and boy was I excited! The XBS (Extra Bass System) was pure dope and the speakers sounded so powerful once you hit that red flat XBS button! And playing around with those equalizer setting was so much fun!

People have so many varied reasons for which they listen to music. The range is enormous. For me music was a cushion because I was living alone from mid-school days owing to my parents being separated and me being left to myself for most of the time. Hard, dreary days but music definitely comforted me.

38 years later the system still rests in my room. I could never throw it away. It's got it's fair share of scratches and marks which lends a certain character to it. Sadly the speakers that came with the Boombox don't work well any longer so I just connect the main system to my spare powered Edifier R1700 speakers through a RCA cable and play local FM from time to time on it. Keep it alive by flowing power through it's veins. The aerial is a little rusty now and the sound not quite how it used to be but still this system, inspite of all my expensive Hi-Fi gear at home holds a special corner in my heart.

Cheers folks and wishing everyone a great Sunday evening :)

P.S. The Tablet perched on top of the Boombox is not linked to this setup. That is connected to an entirely different streaming setup.
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I also have an Akai hx-a351w deck. I miss the era of cassettes and my cheap Philips walkman. Those were the best days of my life. Saving up to buy cassettes and listening to every track made you appreciate music so much more. Going through cassette inlays, learning the lyrics, exchanging cassettes at school. English cassettes were pretty expensive at 125 to 150 per cassette. Could only afford 1-2 cassettes per month after saving up most of my allowance.
 
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G7 is supposed to have a good DAC and Amp. However heard people complaining about driving the hifiman planars with them (probably due to their lower impedance values, the phone is not engaging the amp to conserve battery)
Some says adding an 3.5 aux (male to 3.5 female) cable can overcome the issue. In theory G7 should be able to drive all 400 series, Deva, Ananda.
I've seen V40/30 can drive AKG K702 ( much harder to drive headphones compared to these newer planars) beautifully.
All the hifiman headphones you mentioned sound great ( sounds very similar) I'm partial to the Deva due to the inner balanced circuit. Any TRRS to TRRS 3.5 cable with a pentaconn adopter...you get balanced, yes it works flawlessly ( I checked with 2 amps)
Since you're not interested in balanced (neither am I, just curious about the single entry balanced thing) buy whatever is the cheapest. With 400SE you will probably need a cable (3.5 both cups) The stock ones are very irritating ( possibly not cost cutting, they are shipping their flagship highest end non system headphone with 2 of these junk cables)
The other cables are not great either, but livable.
 
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YO Audiophiles, does anybody have any idea about the latest ALC 4080 Intro into INTEL Premium boards, the older counterparts are ALC 897,898,1200, 1220. Following link gives elaborate idea about the Introduction of ALC4080. What i want to know is ALC4080 will not directly get connected to the CPU instead it connects via USB 2.0 on chipset to CPU. So, does that have any effect in audio delays in playing audio????

...And is ALC4080 any better than ALC1200, coz, there is no difference in terms of output between them, but the advantage is ALC1200 is directly connected to the CPU which is practically better than ALC4080. then Y ALC4080 is doing the rounds with new MOBOs??? kinda confusing marketing.??? your inputs please.
i have this doubt that all BlueTooth Audio Transmission is MONO and not STEREO, please correct me if i am Wrong?
 
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eTernity2021 said:
YO Audiophiles, does anybody have any idea about the latest ALC 4080 Intro into INTEL Premium boards, the older counterparts are ALC 897,898,1200, 1220. Following link gives elaborate idea about the Introduction of ALC4080. What i want to know is ALC4080 will not directly get connected to the CPU instead it connects via USB 2.0 on chipset to CPU. So, does that have any effect in audio delays in playing audio????

...And is ALC4080 any better than ALC1200, coz, there is no difference in terms of output between them, but the advantage is ALC1200 is directly connected to the CPU which is practically better than ALC4080. then Y ALC4080 is doing the rounds with new MOBOs??? kinda confusing marketing.??? your inputs please.
i have this doubt that all BlueTooth Audio Transmission is MONO and not STEREO, please correct me if i am Wrong?
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I really doubt 4080 will be better than 1200 ..
 
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quaratineinthesejeans said:
Finally settled with Headphonezone. Raghav refunded the full amount. And as a friendly gesture bought a Xduoo XD05 basic from them ( will ship to Kolkata, a friend of mine will receive and bring it back to Czechia)
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Did he offer it himself or was it a result of your post regarding your experience?
 
Our conversation over phone went nowhere. Either he didn't understand the issue or I couldn't explain it properly.
I wrote a long email including their email with a false tracking number etc. mentioning store credit is of no use for me, and if he refuses, I don't have any option other than legal route/ lawyers etc.
He responded and said that he didn't exactly understand the issue over phone and requested me to send a copy of my address proof, sent him a copy of the passport, within an hour received an email that they have initiated the refund process.
 
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Have anyone recently ordered anything directly from China? I’m planning to upgrade my iems from aria to blessing 2 dusk. I’m worried about custom fees that will come with international order. Highest customs can charge me is 34k according to my calculation, lowest 3-4k (not that hopeful though). Although I’m not sure if customs arduously follow rules to impose fees. I’ve heard sometimes they just impose fees based on physical appearance and x-ray scan of the package. Dunno if it’s true or not. Inputs will be highly appreciated.
 
Are you willing to risk >300 USD IEM from China?
Indian Customs department has been really proactive now with Indian money going outside, specially to China.
I tried to send an old pair of headphones and the DHL people suggested me not to..even gifts/ RMA etc.are being caught and charged absurd fees.
Contact either audiozone or hifinage, they may be able to import it for you at a relatively fair price ( around 25-27K INR)
Moreover hybrid IEMs do fail at times (My Solaris failed twice, and had to be sent to Portland, Oregon both the time to Campfire's main workshop) But Campfire is exceptionally helpful, don't think Moondrop has such robust support. If you buy from India, under warranty repair should be easier ( at least won't be held at customs)
I was possibly a little too harsh on headphonezone.
A friend of mine was returning from Kolkata and he had to reach the airport by 7pm (Indian time) on Friday. I ordered a portable DAC amp around 7 in the morning from here ( 11:30 in India) on Thursday after they assured me it will reach Kolkata on the same day or latest by noon on Friday. The package was delivered to Kolkata ( possibly from Chennai) around 8am on Friday! And I collected it from buddy's place couple of hours back!! Chennai to Czechia in 4 days!!!
Now the device itself...it's a ****ing brick with LOT of power. Didn't expect the basic version to be this powerful ( though my experience with portable amp is very limited, some basic old Fiio stuff and 2 Chord Mojos from 2 guys)

Very first impression, it's not easily pocketable but since my DAP is very small, can easily glue it to this unit, and carry around for use with laptops.
But really impressed with the power output. In high gain it will possibly drive 99% of headphones.
And most importantly I won't throw it in the washer with jeans by mistake..it's impossible.
Tried with Deva ( my daily indoor headphones) sounds perfect for a portable.PXL_20210912_140849514.PORTRAIT.jpg
Sorry, all the dogs are resting/sleeping...didn't want to bother them...to verify the ownership.
 
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I know it’s gonna be a risky proposition in this tussling time. But Shenzenaudio is the only global reseller of B2D. There’s a Singaporean reseller but I don’t know if they sell globally. So yeah ordering from China is only option remaining.
I didn’t have any idea about driver failures of hybrid iems. Thanks for the info. Now I’ve to reconsider whether it will be a good choice or not.
Also legally Customs can’t charge me above 34k for B2D taking 43% tax into consideration. So yeah, if they play dumb, then only I can get away with lower customs given inconspicuous packaging etc.
Can one reseller say hifinage order one from another reseller for me? Lets see.
 
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Hifinage's owner is a member here, contact him if possible. Years ago in India, bought some difficult to find xduoo DAP from them.
Very honest and helpful people.
But are you sure about buying a Moondrop IEM for over 300 EUR?
 
quaratineinthesejeans said:
Are you willing to risk >300 USD IEM from China?
Indian Customs department has been really proactive now with Indian money going outside, specially to China.
I tried to send an old pair of headphones and the DHL people suggested me not to..even gifts/ RMA etc.are being caught and charged absurd fees.
Contact either audiozone or hifinage, they may be able to import it for you at a relatively fair price ( around 25-27K INR)
Moreover hybrid IEMs do fail at times (My Solaris failed twice, and had to be sent to Portland, Oregon both the time to Campfire's main workshop) But Campfire is exceptionally helpful, don't think Moondrop has such robust support. If you buy from India, under warranty repair should be easier ( at least won't be held at customs)
I was possibly a little too harsh on headphonezone.
A friend of mine was returning from Kolkata and he had to reach the airport by 7pm (Indian time) on Friday. I ordered a portable DAC amp around 7 in the morning from here ( 11:30 in India) on Thursday after they assured me it will reach Kolkata on the same day or latest by noon on Friday. The package was delivered to Kolkata ( possibly from Chennai) around 8am on Friday! And I collected it from buddy's place couple of hours back!! Chennai to Czechia in 4 days!!!
Now the device itself...it's a ****ing brick with LOT of power. Didn't expect the basic version to be this powerful ( though my experience with portable amp is very limited, some basic old Fiio stuff and 2 Chord Mojos from 2 guys)

Very first impression, it's not easily pocketable but since my DAP is very small, can easily glue it to this unit, and carry around for use with laptops.
But really impressed with the power output. In high gain it will possibly drive 99% of headphones.
And most importantly I won't throw it in the washer with jeans by mistake..it's impossible.
Tried with Deva ( my daily indoor headphones) sounds perfect for a portable.View attachment 114585
Sorry, all the dogs are resting/sleeping...didn't want to bother them...to verify the ownership.
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I too got a Deva recently and nothing I have can play it properly i.e. My Lenovo T14s, MU2, Fiio BTR3K, me too thinking of getting the XD05 over BTR5 or Qudelix 5K
 
I’m done with the over ears as of now. He400i does decent job for me. Due to not being portable enough, I already have decided to sell zen can. Just my phone and iPad, enough for he400. Maybe extra featues like xbass, 3d etc are welcome ones, but I definitely don’t like being tied to my amp all day while listening.

So I’m trying to get my hands off zen can. Haven’t found luck yet. Once I’m done with them, I’m gonna focus more on iems. For home use over ears are good, but most of the time being hosteller and staying far from home I don’t get to spend much time with my headphones. Otherwise sundara would have easily been my next upgrade. I guess you are already familiar with Blessing 2 dusk‘s vfm performance. That’s the only iem that caught my eyes under $400.

I’m worried about custom charges. You guys have more experience in buying high end stuffs and more so from abroad. So I asked your opinions regarding that. I guess I’ve to wait for a while for dust to settle down.
 
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tommy_vercetti said:
I too got a Deva recently and nothing I have can play it properly i.e. My Lenovo T14s, MU2, Fiio BTR3K, me too thinking of getting the XD05 over BTR5 or Qudelix 5K
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While they sound better with an amp but I thought they were not that hard to drive. I use mine with my LG G8x most of the time and it works fine.
 
Anyone think is it worth buying Air Pods 2Pro!? Is it significantly better compared to others?! Already owns one super expensive item (iphone 12 pro)
 
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