elysion
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Post by elysion on Sept 28, 2010 0:47:34 GMT
Speaking about the other place and about rip-off reminds me of some other things:
The Meier Audio amps are certainly not just bad amps. IMO they have a few interesting features, BUT they are still a rip-off. They simply cost too much for what they are delivering.
The Neco's and the various amps of Chinese origin show that you can have very good sound quality for a budget price.
Even if the Meier Audio amps would be manufactured in Germany, I wouldn't call them cheap. But they are in fact manufactured also in Asia (AFAIK in China or Taiwan). I don't think those Asian workers are those that are responsible for the rip-off.
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Sept 28, 2010 0:55:50 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2010 6:50:59 GMT
IMO the Grado RA-1 is an amp that should be avoided. I don't own this amp and I've never heard it. Why do I think it should be avoided? Simply because it's a total rip-off. We have some pictures of a RA-1 in one of the threads that shows how it's looking after taking it apart. My comments on the Grado RA-1 got me banned from Head-FI. It is a piece of SHIT "potted" inside a mahogony enclosure..... a "rip off" of the highest order.... a Pig's ear inside a silk purse... Totally agree with you on this one Christian OK. You're banned. And you Claus.
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lini
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Post by lini on Sept 28, 2010 7:40:26 GMT
ely: A couple of years back, when he started his amp business, Jan's amps were in fact still completely made in Germany, so the comparatively high prices were more justified. And, of course, there also was less competition - and the competition also didn't really have much more attractive prices. Can't really comment on his newer stuff, though - for one thing 'cause I'm pretty happy with the Cordas and PortaCordas I already have, but also because I didn't quite like his decision to move the production to China (Shanling, iirc) instead of building up production capacity over here. This "designing in Germany, manufacturing in China" is a strategy I don't wish to support, if I can avoid it - especially for comparatively high priced items. Too close to the border of being unethical for my taste... Mike: Yup, I vaguely remember that you had modded your HeadBox back then. I have given mine to a friend as a present, who found it pretty ok in combination with the DT531 - so I pretty much forgot about that thingy, too. It just springs back to mind in combination with the keywords "bad headphone amps"... Greetings from Munich! Manfred / lini P.S.: Wow, that was my 100th post here! Suddenly I'm totally in awe of myself... ;D
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Sept 28, 2010 11:34:54 GMT
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lini
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Post by lini on Sept 28, 2010 12:11:30 GMT
ely: Well, it's basically a Cmoy, not even made of high quality parts, placed in a fancy cigar box. So what one gets basically is 20 bucks worth of Cmoy plus an exotic wood box sold at dope price level. Nevertheless some people still swear it's the best amp for Grado phones. So maybe we overlooked something and the enclosure actually is smokeable, which would easily explain the positive user reports... Grinnings from Munich! Manfred / lini
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 28, 2010 21:50:27 GMT
ely: Well, it's basically a Cmoy, not even made of high quality parts, placed in a fancy cigar box. So what one gets basically is 20 bucks worth of Cmoy plus an exotic wood box sold at dope price level. Nevertheless some people still swear it's the best amp for Grado phones. So maybe we overlooked something and the enclosure actually is smokeable, which would easily explain the positive user reports... Grinnings from Munich! Manfred / lini It's not just the Grado "amp"... their headphones are also crappily made..... nice looking on the outside but, on the inside, held together with blobs of hot melt glue..... I STILL can't understand what all the fuss is about them... I have 4 pairs here and everytime I listen to them they remain on my head for 5 minutes "tops"... They are an absolute "joke" (IMO) and look like a trained ape has put them together (when you look under the hood)..... it's 2010 ffs!, and Grado are still employing build techniques that are prosaic, to say the least Give me a £12 Superlux HD-681 any day over ANY of the Grado range. No, seriously, £700 for an RS-1? You have GOT to be insane to pay that kind of money for such a piece of crap. Grado is all show on the "outside".... on the inside it's as cheap as chips and, more often as not, held together (poorly) with hot melt glue. As always YMMV and this is "my" opinion. Mike.
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Sept 28, 2010 22:18:24 GMT
I own already a lot of different 'phones, but I've never bought one from Grado.
It's simply the extreme price point. Even their lower end 'phones are not cheap.
I have no problem to pay good prices for some European built headphones like HD650 or K702. Their build-quality is top-notch and they are well-engineered. Of course, they don't offer as much bang-for-the-buck as HD681/668B or SR850.
IMO an almost perfect alternative to the RA-1 amp is the Neco Portable V2.
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lini
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Post by lini on Sept 28, 2010 23:36:48 GMT
Mike, ely: Well, I had the opportunity to compare almost their entire headphone line-up (except for the SR325) a couple of years ago over in the US, where the prices aren't quite as insane as in Europe. The only one I found really pretty nice sounding was the RS-2, but nevertheless it didn't yet sound nice enough to my ears for the 400 bucks it was back then (iirc) - especially not, if one also considers the often questionable buid quality, the hardly comfortable earpads and the rotating earpieces in combination with the rather stiff cabling...
Greetings from Munich!
Manfred / lini
P.S.: Interestingly enough, it's pretty much the same thing with Grado cartridges: Some love 'em, while quite a few others don't really like 'em...
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2010 18:35:15 GMT
To sum up the list of amps to be avoided and their reasons.
Amps with a poor price/perfomance ratio (value for money) If you feel you have paid a fair price for your amp the VFM thing can be forgotten and is not applicable:
Creek OBH-11 SRGII Solo Grado RA-1 Talisman T35-HP
sonically disappointing or low quality build:
MTR HPA-2 (hum, which is a technical deficiency) Project headbox Unmodded/badly adjusted Bravo/Indeed/Miridiy e.t.c. (build quality and adjustment, has good VFM)
I do have to add that most of the amps above are well liked by lots of owners. Should you be looking in the direction of the amps you should audition them before buying if possible.
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Nov 6, 2010 7:58:59 GMT
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