The All Purpose Advice Thread

Discussion in 'Advice Threads' started by purr1n, Sep 26, 2015.

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  1. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    Edit 2: I might have got the terms confused. I found different definitions for drop shipper than what I meant. A better term for what I use is forwarder.

    Most US businesses offer cheap delivery inside the contiguous continental US.. many have awful costs further afield.

    So I get US businesses to deliver to the Buyandship warehouse in tax-free Oregon.

    Buyandship charges me just under USD4/lb to transport the item from Oregon to my corner store. So a small product will typically cost USD8 + whatever an Oregon buyer would pay.

    Where I lose out a little is on returns. The periods start when the item is delivered to Oregon, not when they get to me, likely 10 days later. Also, when it comes to returns or maintenance, I have to pay much greater shipping costs than a local US consumer.

    I can also tap similar warehouses in Canada, Europe, UK, Japan, China, Australia etc. That's been very helpful when buying stuff from ebay.

    Edit 1/ Postscript : Not sure if this is calculation is correct, but google suggests California has a 8.25% sales tax, and Texas 8.19%. If so, on a light item like a Magni 3+, I actually pay less in Asia than customers in Schiit's home states.
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2021
  2. Tachikoma

    Tachikoma Almost "Made"

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    I guess Hong Kong (that is where you are from, right?) has next to zero customs duty then. That isn't really the case in most parts of SE Asia, perhaps with the exception of Singapore.
     
  3. WoodyLuvr

    WoodyLuvr Friend

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    Okay, so if you are lucky you can dicker the asking price down maybe 10-25% but that price will still be closer to the list price (in the origin country) for new unused condition!

    Occasionally, yes a few deals, for well taken care of gear, do come along but that is far from the norm. I bought a Benchmark DAC2 D in great condition for an excellent price from an audiophile in Singapore so it is possible. With that said, I have been burned badly a many a time buying second-hand audio gear from multiple sources throughout SE Asia. I can not iterate or stress enough how rotten the humidity is here in the tropics and it's gross effects on electronics. Second-hand audio condition is unlike what is typically seen in other cooler/drier parts of Asia, North America, or Europe.

    Again, depends on the country. Most South Korean goods outside of Samsung are taxed heavily in Thailand and no better than if from NA or the EU. Taiwanese products? Forget it, they are heavily taxed as Thailand has close ties with Red China. Russia, China, and even Japan have stronger trade agreements with the Siamese government and thus why their products are more available here and at reasonable prices.

    Well yes, you might be avoiding state sales tax and destination country import taxes (shady and prone to back-fire) but you are incurring two (2) shipping costs! Plus most "drop-shippers"/"forwarders" service fees are quite high. So it all adds up rather quickly you see.

    I guess it really depends on the country you reside in for this to be a viable method or not. Most SE Asian countries are extremely strict and vigilant regarding customs and securing import taxes and dues. They are fully aware of the "drop-shipping"/"forwarding" avenues and proactively look out for these clandestine packages. I had to give up on "drop-shipping"/"forwarding" long ago as I was having absolutely rotten luck with it. I probably recall only a handful of drop shipments/forwarded mailings from the US and France that made it through customs "scot-free" and that is out of hundreds and hundreds of drop-shipping/mail forwarding/family member gifting attempts made over a very long period of time.

    If customs catches it and there is no bill of sale with the package they will impose maximum fees and with the advent of the internet custom officials now simply Google for the item's list price.

    While "drop-shipping"/"forwarding" in itself is legal, importing new items and not reporting them is not... some countries over here are far more nasty about it than others.

    What a minute?! @Woland you are from Hong Kong? That is not even South East Asia... a different ball game down here brother!
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2021
  4. WoodyLuvr

    WoodyLuvr Friend

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    Besides the travelling carnival show brands (Topping, SMSL, Sabaj, Cayin, & FiiO) next tier brands available in Jakarta, at reasonable prices with official distributors and support, to name a few would be: iFi Audio, Cambridge Audio, Denon, Apogee, Audiolab, Peavey, Proel, and perhaps Yamaha (Yamaha WXC-50 Streaming Pre-Amp DAC).
     
  5. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    Yes, HK lives and breathes international trade. It is tax free on imports so we pay the headline price + shipping on US imports. Some retailers, like Amazon, provide free shipping so the forwarder is not needed.

    The UK + EU seem to charge very high shipping on exports, or pay sales tax on deliveries to local freight forwarders. I haven't found a way to get both sales tax free and inexpensive shipping.

    For deliveries to Singapore -- if I recall correctly, it was easy to claim back any taxes paid when flying out with the items.
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2021
  6. hooligan

    hooligan New

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    Hello hello,

    I need a pair of headphones to mix and reference bass on.

    I currently run a pair of Pelonis Model 42 coaxial monitors which are really flat and fast. Dry and normal sounding. Great for mixing. But I don't have the sub so they're only usable down to around 70hz. So I need a complementary pair of headphones to monitor bass.

    I'm going to run them off my Steinberg MR816X interface which has a fine headphone out for my needs. Though I may be upgrading my interface soon enough to a MOTU or an Apogee.

    I'm really not very experienced with headphones. The Audeze line is interesting just because they seem to start with bass quality and work from there. . . . the curves also seem like they take corrective EQ well? Not married to anything though. At all.

    Budget is variable. I will pay more for better quality and longevity.
     
  7. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    Is bone conduction the future, is it safe? What are your thoughts?

    I've attached a few random links, basically all I could find with relation to full-range audio reproduction vs. what hearing-aids are actually used for. It looks like Empire Ears is making a Legend "EVO" with 'dual-conduction'... I personally don't feel safe not knowing at what "SPL" bone conduction causes damage or if full range bone conduction is basically just like standing in front of the bass cabs at a rock concert?

    https://www.techevaluate.com/how-loud-is-too-loud-with-bone-conduction-headphones/

    https://journals.lww.com/thehearing...truth_about_bone_conduction_earphones.12.aspx

    https://mynewmicrophone.com/complete-guide-to-bone-conduction-headphones-with-examples/
     
  8. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    Thanks for the link.

    Funny, I found 4 silver z type Silver bananas I bought years ago. They fit beautifully in the speaker posts, but I need lots more than 4. I may still try some cheap Rean double bananas first then add the silvers into the mix to hear what difference may show up.
     
  9. Crow9891

    Crow9891 New

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    Hi, I'd like a purchase advice.

    My current setup is HD800SDR and LCD-X (2021) running via DAC 2541 + Jotunheim 2

    I am looking for final piece of puzzle to complement setup above. Something with pleasant tuning, euphonic mids, without sacrificing much technical aspect. The usage will be mainly for Jazz and 90-s pop songs.

    My current shortlist are the ZMFs, which is either Aeolus (w Verite Pads) or VO (w Universe Pads). I tried both and like em (Aeolus tuning and timbre better, but VO has better detail and imaging, if only I can combine them haha)


    But before pulling the trigger, is there anything else I need to try? Outside ZMF is welcome

    Lastly, I am actually curious about VC, cannot try because not available where I am, considering what I like about Aeolus and VO, is it worth to try blindbuy them?

    Thanks.
     
  10. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    I've used these with good results:

    Tuneful Cables Bananas
     
  11. 3l3tric

    3l3tric New

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    Figured it was worth asking here before I pulled the trigger on this:

    My immediate next purchase will be a dac/amp dongle unit for use with IEMs, specifically the Audio Technica IM-02 (Dual BA, discontinued a few years back). My three big requirements are compatibility with lightning cables (I'll be using it with an iPhone SE 1st gen for awhile, then an iPhone 8+ at some point in the future), a low output impedance (I haven't experienced this myself, but impressions from back when the IM-02 were current indicate that they're very sensitive to the output impedance of the source), and no need for an external power supply (I doubt this would knock out many contenders but it's worth mentioning).

    After a fair bit of searching, I found the E1DA 9038D seemed to be a good candidate. It had the lowest output impedance of any unit I'd found (granted, I'm sure any sub-ohm output will work fine) and pushes a pretty respectable amount of power for single ended. But of course, the main site I can find any info on it is the measurebator's hub, so I don't know whether the thing will actually sound good. I'm certainly a bit wary of ESS dacs generally since I prefer a warmer sound signature (think Wolfson WM8741) but from what I've read it sounds like the 9038 series has improved on that a fair bit.

    Does anyone have experience with this unit, or have recommendations for other dongles that would fit my needs? I'd prefer to stay in the <$150 range if possible. Small size is also preferred but not completely mandatory (biggest size I'd be willing to deal with would probably be a credit card size).

    If anyone somehow has experience with the Fiio X3 Gen1, that's what I'm currently using at home with my IM-02 and has the exact sound signature I'm looking for.
     
  12. michty_me

    michty_me New

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    I’ve recently switched from using my G6 as an all in one to using the G6 as a DAC fed by an RCA cable into the Asgard 3 input.

    Unfortunately I seem to be getting audible noise from the G6 using it like this such as mouse movements and GPU noise.
    This is most apparent between 0-10 oclock positions which then disappears until around the 3pm position again.

    If I feed the G6 from a different wall outlet and use optical out from the PC, The noise isn’t audible any longer but doing so makes me lose the mic and other functions of the G6 obviously.
    So I guess its either find another solution of different DAC and mic or revert to the G6 fully and consider returning the Asgard unfortunately. Any further thoughts?

    Edit:
    Just ordered an idefender to try.
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2021
  13. Tachikoma

    Tachikoma Almost "Made"

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    The apple dongle. Using one right now and its not bad at all.
     
  14. Ryu

    Ryu Friend

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    Finally picked up a new record player, uTurn Orbit with the Acryllic platter and an Ortofon Red cartridge! For some reason, even at max volume on my preamp, the sound is super quiet. Chain looks like Totem Rainmaker speakers, Dynaco VTA-ST70, Schiit Freya into the Table.

    Any ideas why it's so quiet compared to my old AT LP-60? Do I need to add tracking force to the uTurn or something?
     
  15. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    The Audio Technica has a built in phono preamp right? I do not see a phono preamp in the chain you listed. That could be the problemo! As for tracking force, you should set it for the recommended grams per the cartridge spec.
     
  16. Ryu

    Ryu Friend

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    Am I dumb..? Is the Freya not a phono preamp?
     
  17. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    Nope! Folks buying vinyl spinners need to understand what they are buying. I believe the Freya is a preamp just not a phono preamp. Schiit makes the Mani for folks who want to use a normal turntable. That would plug into the Freya.
     
  18. Ryu

    Ryu Friend

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    Well that's embarrassing. Thanks for the help rectifying my blunder!
     
  19. ductrung3993

    ductrung3993 Facebook Friend

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    I'm looking at a small Bluetooth speaker to use with the Google TV (smooth transition to PC computer is a plus). Dont really need any other features really. For the money, is there anything better than the Sonos one?
     
  20. jnak00

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    You're looking at the Roam? I have one. It's decent for a small Bluetooth speaker, but you'll be paying for other features you may not need - integration into the Sonos ecosystem, WIFI streaming, etc. I think the JBL ones tend to be well liked and might be cheaper.
     
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