What did you buy today? (Part 2)

Second the request for impressions :grin: Iā€™m still looking for a second Bluetooth receiver for on the go and the btr7 could be a good upgrade for my btr3k :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Two Vidarā€™s for a monoblock setup.

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I got you guys, for sure!

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Itā€™s fake there is a small micro SD card inside and a chip to fool the computer into thinking itā€™s a large drive.

Battling getting my money back from AliExpress not looking good.


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Damn, ok Iā€™ll also open a dispute when the drive arrives.

Bastards!!! Sorry man.

Unbelievable - @thoohil best of luck, man - when you buy off Ali, honestly, itā€™s a crap shoot with after care customer service.

Picked up a set of Airpods Pro 2 for use when in the officeā€¦ They sound pretty good! The personalized spatial audio and transparency mode are pretty nice

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Bought a while ago, but received yesterday: Grado G-Cush pads.


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Feeling adventurous and seeing cheap shipped I just bought this. But what did I buy?

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Do you use wired IEMā€™s? How would you compare them performance wise?

Tubes that are real old, what we folks call NOS often have corroded pins, 50-60 yrs + old this is normal.
Does it affect the sound, performance, Yes it can.
Is it really that big of a deal. No. IMO.

I clean them up a tad with a cleaner, not too aggressively, dont want loose pins in a socket.

The scrubbing action on a good socket is more than enough to get good electrical contact.

On the tubes that have a base there can be solder issues with the wiring from the glass bottle to the
pins in the base structure on some foreign (non USA made) tubesā€¦6SN7 type etcā€¦that do have real noticeable issues.

All mechanical connectors and interfaces have the added resistance and capacitance factors added.

All these tube tested in a newly replaced socket base and test well into the ā€œgoodā€ ranges. Some are as good as a brand new non corroded tube (EH 6CG7).

:>)
Alex

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Hafler 9505 Transnova Black Hafler 9505 Transnova Black | Reverb

Would someone please buy this so I donā€™t have to? Iā€™ve been spending money like I could just ptint more the past month & Iā€™m not in the US Congress, nor am I rich. Its going to cost me over $1100 to get it delivered & I really shouldnā€™t.

Holo Audio May KTE. Iā€™ve been borrowing a friendā€™s for a few weeks while heā€™s out of town to demo against my current DACs and some competitors to find the best DAC to pair with my Ferrum Oor/Hypsos stack. Well, I found a guy looking to sell his three month old May KTE in my local area so I returned my buddyā€™s and picked mine up today. So stoked right now!

My over ear collection and rig are so sick ATM and Iā€™m lovinā€™ it. Itā€™s a good thing too because Iā€™d like to remain financially solvent for nowā€¦:wink::sunglasses:

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They are differentā€¦ Do not perform at the same level of detail etc. but I think they are the best sounding ANC bluetooth earbuds I have heardā€¦ For me, the airpods pro 2 are more like the daily convenience option, high utility and feature rich and fit and sound so comfortable and effortless to use, just daily carry in a jean pocketā€¦

I own 3 iems - the moondrop kato, mangird tea, and senheiser ie 600, but TBH I tend to use my full size heaphones more than my IEMS

To me the airpods they are totally different from my IEMs - to me its like comparing the airpods max to a set of focalsā€¦ Its not really a fair comparison. They each have specific uses

The ie600 is obviously alot more expensive and the resolution and detail and technical performance are a level above - they sounds much more precise and refined. Every instrument, things are more crispā€¦ The sound however is brighter, the airpods pro 2 is more comfortable and yet its pretty full and energetic tooā€¦ It has a built in amp and is surprising the volume and energy you get out of them, and the device itself is a feature rich high tech gadget - it has active noise cancelling, where when on it turns the room dead quiet but you can click-squeeze and hold the left stem and it switches to transparency mode letting you almost forget you are wearing themā€¦ The airpods pro 2 clearly are less resolving, but its not really a fair comparisonā€¦

Price point wise, the more fair comparison would be the Mangird Tea vs. Airpods Pro 2ā€¦ The teas, I like them alot, they have depth and an immersive sound, they have a deep fit, intimate and are also I think more detailed than the airpods pro 2, but the bass on the airpods is stronger and yet not muddy, the Teas dont have much bass and at times that kind of more full bass, much more present than any of the IEMs I have, including the IE 600, its not muddy or overdone, but probably less neutral, thumpy on EDM and rap, probably more tuned for a mass audience

But for bluetooth buds to me the airpods pro 2 sound great, and most of all they are designed and optimized for effortless all day use - they have a 3D spatial audio mode that when on really opens up the stage into this virtual 3D sound space, its neatā€¦ Its obviously incredibly refined in the design and testing requiring a crap ton of R and D investment as Apple has the deep pockets and the volume in sales to be able to spend deep to refine their product, they have the amp built into them so its impressive the amount of volume they get with no cables whatsoever - they seem high tech, which they are with very advanced computer chips, software refinement and sound as much as just physical tuningā€¦

comfort wise, for me, airpods are much more comfortable than any IEM, they are the convenience option out of all my audio equipmentā€¦ they have no cables, It takes a second to just put them on with no adjustment and fiddling to get a perfect seal, I just pop them in and they are good to go, instant quiet and auto-detect then start playing music, no effort neededā€¦ easy to pause or take outā€¦ they are obviously much more rigorously tested for mass consumption to be effortless to use, and despite being plastic, they are solid and feel high quality as is typical for apple products - they dont feel cheap at all, in terms of value, they seem like quality pieces of tech, minimalistā€¦ I can wear them all day and even forget they are there and yet the sound just floats around your headā€¦ Very high utility, sound great for what they areā€¦

Honestly looking at my audio equipment collection which includes alot of much more expensive stuff, I feel like the airpods pro 2 are a massive value and I feel like they have great utility and a usecase even for audiophilesā€¦ They dont compare obviously in technical performance but honestly I think they will get probably a ton of use, more than any device I own, next to say my iphoneā€¦ being the easiest portable option to grab and take with you everywhereā€¦ just grab and go, case is perfect for front jean pocket, they are great for taking calls in an office and while out and about and doing chores, working out etc. you could run in these and theres no cables and they fit snug unlike many other earbudsā€¦ Listening to audiobooks or youtube, being able to quickly switch to take a call while at the office, podcasts or streams alsoā€¦ For music when I want to kick back and listen, I would probably go with other headphones or IEMS, but for day to day, the airpods pro 2 fit perfectly

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Thanks a lot for your detailed take on them. While I donā€™t have the Airpods Pro 2ā€™s (yet? :smiley:), I have the OG and the XM4ā€™s and have to agree with you. They really are a nice lifestyle tool and I also listen to them quite a lot (music on the go, podcasts, audio books), except for the laid back moments at home where I want to listen to music exclusively.

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I know they are virtually the same form factor as the original airpods pro but its funny, my wife has those but I could never get those to fit properly, but for some odd reason these ones seem to fit me betterā€¦ not sure why, might be just that I got used to just popping them in without trying to insert the tips deep :person_shrugging:

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More of a recieved today but w/e


SJY Hinode

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Dude, you have to let me know how they are! I was thinking about jumping on them as well just out of pure curiosity. If they sound decent theyā€™d be one hell of a crazy deal. The only audio thing Iā€™ve crowd funded was a Pono player forever ago. So yeah, I respectfully ask for impressions. :+1:

Edit: I have a pair of headphones (actually one for me and one for my gf) on the way from Verum Audio instead because my girl has been big on trying to support Ukrainian businesses/people. Hopefully theyā€™ll be a fun headphone

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My hinode blue waves are on the way as well!!! Hopefully my linear divers are in the same box.