Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Ban-kun

[WTS] Woo Audio WA6SE Amplifier

Ban-kun — Wed, 12 May 2021 00:38:43 +0800

Item(s):
Woo Audio WA6SE (Silver)

Package includes:
The Amp
Sophia 274B + 6GL7 tubes (aftermarket, not stock)
Connector cable for both units

Price: RM 1500

Warranty:No more warranty.

Dealing method:COD or postage

Location:Petaling Jaya

Contact method/details:PM or Whatsapp my mobile: 010-2258762
---

Item(s) conditions:Used but like new, amp has about 30 hours burn-in, tops.

Picture: WA6SE

Reason for sale: No more in the audiophile hobby, and to fund other interests

First electric guitar choice

Ban-kun — Sat, 08 May 2021 21:37:29 +0800

Hey guys,

I'm looking to pick up the electric guitar, and I need some advices.
So I spent the entire of last week researching and studying electric guitars, from wood choices to body types, tuners, pickups, etc.
Problem is, lots of these forum posts from various sites are 10+ years old and I'm not sure if they're even applicable in today's standard, which is why I'm here for assurance.

Is it generally a better idea to get a mid/high-range guitar as a first guitar instead of the typical cheap beginner's guitar like the Pacifica 012?
Reason is because I've read and researched that a higher quality guitar will play and sound tonally more accurate compared to cheaper variants.
I really dig the Les Paul body type, and would really prefer it on my first guitar if possible.

I was looking at Epiphone LPs and eventually found my way to ESP LTDs, specifically the EC401 and the EC1000 (I know this is expensive, but it IS an option).
Don't know how guitar pricing works nowadays, but the EC401 and EC1000 price gap is just a few hundred off. From what I can tell the EC401 is grossly overpriced compared to prices from overseas.

Also, will there be a "wall" in learning the guitar if I start with a high end model compared to a cheaper one (aside from being too afraid to actually "shred" the guitar during practice).
If it helps, I mostly intend to learn and play J-Rock/Pop.

Stuck and uncertain about my future

Ban-kun — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 20:56:57 +0800

It's been awhile since I came back to LYN but I really and would appreciate the wiser minds here on my predicament.
It's going to be quite a long read so bear with me.

To start off, I've been working for about 6 years (first job btw) before I resigned from my previous job, this was in 2016 and I pursued my passion in content creation e.g. youtube and media.
Fast forward 2 years, I didn't really get successful and my funds were slowly running dry, and I'm, forced to crawl back (against my better judgment) to the same company I worked with previously. This was in April 2019.

To put it simply, my new job is kind of a support role. I work in the financial industry and there's a bajillion things we have to remember, abide by because its a heavily regulated industry.
For the past 1 year or so until now, I've been doing attachments; which is basically being put in the actual production role to learn their processes in and out as part and parcel of my training and knowledge for my job.

To date, I still have not started my actual job yet, which is to support these departments. I know ZERO things about my actual job, what we ACTUALLY do and how our work really is like.
As I said, it has been ongoing for 1+ year now since I started this job.

Today, a minor hiccup happened and my supervisors basically went apeshit on me. I couldn't help the production team do their work because of a technical issue for the last 2 days, which was later resolved.
We had a con-call over Skype as both my supervisors were working-from-home during this period.

As I tried to justify my situation, both my supervisors dropped a huge guilt-trip bomb on me.
Apparently they had to kowtow/beg the production team just so I can be attached to them. Note that I've been attached to various units up till this point, 4 units easily.
They went on to say that I should feel privileged that I am getting this opportunity because none of my other colleagues were given this when they started. I know this for a fact because we had 2 new hires recently and they told me it was challenging for them.

I never felt so angry and frustrated before at my supervisors. What do you mean I should "feel privileged"? I never asked to be attached to these teams in the first place.
While its true I have nearly no experience of how our processes work and need the working knowledge, I think they went too far. The attachments were supposed to last about 1 month or so, but it dragged on for nearly a year across various units.
It is by THEIR (my supervisors) instruction that I'm doing someone else's work I wasn't hired to do in the first place. And in between these attachments I've been tasked to do other bullshit by my head of department just because "I haven't started my actual work yet so I must have all the time in the world". Working in the production means I have to stay back late almost every day and he dared to say "I have all the time in the world?! WTF!

I am seriously contemplating just handing in my resignation right now. I know now's a bad time to be jobless with COVID-19 and MCO still going on, but I'm at the breaking point now.
I'm never a confrontational person, I like to avoid conflicts if its minor stuff, but this time I really want to shout at them what I said above.

I really want to go back to content creation as that's what I'm most passionate and want to do for a living, but the thought of an unstable income haunts me unless I can be successful. I don't really want to go back to a corporate job as I tend to take out my frustrations to those around me, especially family when they don't deserve that. I'm really stuck and have no idea what I should even do from here on out.

<WTS> Woo Audio WA6 SE

Ban-kun — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 22:50:17 +0800

Item(s): Woo Audio WA6 SE amplifier

Package includes: The WA6 SE amplifier (the unit consists of 2 separate machines; see photos), 1x Sophia Princess 274B rectifier tube, 2x 6GL7 tubes, 1x bridging cable, 1x power cable

Price: RM 3,200

Warranty: 1 month personal warranty, for any claims after that you will have to contact the distributor. Original receipt will be given.

Dealing method: COD possible and/or if you need postage, FULL payment + shipping charges required upfront before delivery.

Location: Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Contact method/details: PM me directly or contact me at 010-2258762

[b]Item(s) conditions: Used, but item is literally in pristine condition as it is seldom turned on.

Picture: Woo Audio WA6 SE

[b]Reason for sale: No longer in the audiophile hobby. Looking to sell this to raise funds for newer interests.

Kill coils

Ban-kun — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 23:41:33 +0800

Anyone know where I can get kill coils?
Or any pure silver strips. Need them for my watercooling loop.

Asus Maximus V Extreme vs. MSI Z77 Big Bang mPower

Ban-kun — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 15:23:18 +0800

So guys, I'm finally ready to get my new rig assembled, but I'm an aesthetics freak and can't decide between the two mobos above.

I was initially going for the black + red theme, but the Big Bang mPower looks frickin' sweet and I'm tempted to go with yellow/gold + black theme instead.

Also, as I'm going to be overclocking, is there any significant advantage one board has one over the other? My research tells me both are pretty baller, and that MSI claims they hand-tested the mPower board before leaving the factory, which is very reassuring at least. Only one thing that ticks me off is that the MSI board's cell battery is between the PCI-e slots, which makes it a royal pain to replace it as I have to remove the GPU to reach it.

So what would you guys go with? Sorry if I'm nitpicking here, but I'm quite torn between the two now.

Rig bottlenecking my GTX680

Ban-kun — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 00:04:43 +0800

So guys, after much troubleshooting and testing, I came to a conclusion that my rig is in fact, bottlenecking my new GTX680. I've already OC'ed the CPU (i5 760) to 3.5Ghz to minimize the impact, but it's still in vain.

I'm getting only a disappointing 30-40fps on BF3 on ultra settings without AA on 1920x1080. Something's definitely wrong. Adaptive V-Sync is turned on and I disabled the in-game V-sync, so I don't think its the fps-locking issue here.

Also, I still get stuttering frames in some parts of the game. I reinstalled the driver several times but the problem still persists. I didn't even OC the GPU too, although I don't see any artifacts, just plain lag.

I tried to avoid breaking the bank on a new rig, but looks like now I have to. Any gurus here care to give their expert advice on this?

[WTS] Centrance Dacport

Ban-kun — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 12:44:52 +0800

Item(s):

1) Centrance DACport

Package includes:

1) Centrance DACport - The DACport, belt clip, low-EMI USB cable, carrying pouch, retail box

Price:

DACport : RM 1300 (FIRM)

Warranty:

DACport has 1 year warranty by Jaben Audio [bought in April 2012]

Dealing method: Strictly COD only - Kelana Jaya area OR any LRT Station from Kelana Jaya - KLCC

Location of seller: Petaling Jaya

Contact method/details: Will be given upon agreement of purchase. Kindly PM me beforehand.

Age of item: See warranty section above.

Item(s) conditions: Almost new. All items have less than 50 hours usage/burn-in time.

Picture:

1) Centrance DACport

Reason for sale: Letting go my entry-level audio equipment / Need cash to assemble new PC. Help a bro out.

New custom gaming rig

Ban-kun — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 14:58:39 +0800

So...push came to shove and my rig-building instincts have sparked once again.
While I was staring at my brand new GTX680, Seasonic 850W and Freezer i30, I wager the cost of upgrading my current rig could be better spent on a spankin' new rig.

I'm thinking of basing my rig around one of this 2 foundations;

1) Core i5 3820 + Asus Rampage IV Extreme
2) Core i5 3770K + Asus Maximus V Extreme

With the above in mind, can the gurus and sifus here lend me their insights and wisdom?
Thanks.

Suggest me some upgrades for my rig

Ban-kun — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:34:37 +0800

So I got about RM3k I can burn for my rig's upgrade. Here's my current specs:

Core i5 760 2.8Ghz (yes, 1st gen proc, don't laugh at me)
MSI P55-GD80 (yes, LGA 1156, don't laugh at me)
Gigabyte GTX460 1GB OC
16GB Kingston HyperX 1600
Seasonic 620W PSU
Cooler Master HAF 922

What I'm thinking of getting;

1) Asus GTX680 2GB DCUII TOP - RM2000
2) Seasonic X-750 / X-850 - RM600-750 (only if I get the GTX680 above)
3) CPU cooler - not very well-versed in this. some recommendations will be appreciated. FYI, my mobo has heatpipes surrounding the proc., would be helpful if I can get a 'tall' type of cooler. I plan to push to 3.4Ghz or so.

Opinions / suggestions / bashing?
And before anyone asks me to assemble a whole new rig, I don't want to. I still love my rig too much.

[WTA] To upgrade mobo and proc or not

Ban-kun — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 10:55:54 +0800

So back in 2010 I assembled my high-end rig and been using the same specs until now.

Recently I bumped my RAM up to 16GB and added another 2 1TB HDD to my tower, and I get the sudden urge to upgrade other parts as well. My mobo is using LGA 1156 which is outdated by now, and so is my processor, which is an i5 760 Lynnfield. (1st gen I think)

My question is, is it worth the upgrade just to continue playing games, watching videos and other things? I was thinking of upgrading mt GPU to the GTX680 (which IMO would be a better upgrade to accommodate my gaming, etc). Will it bottleneck with my current processor?

Double Helix Cables

Ban-kun — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:39:59 +0800

Thought I'd take the initiative to start a DHC thread for the everyone's benefit.
I'm a newcomer to the cable scene and I personally ordered a Macromolecule 8-wire braid cable from them yesterday.

Please, by all means, share your thoughts, questions and post pics of your sexy ropes.

This is their website if anyone's interested;
http://www.doublehelixcables.com/

Aside from selling custom-made cables, DHC also sells DIY parts and equipments for mod-heads.
They also provide hard-wiring services for headphones using their premium cables no less.

I find their prices fair, if compared to other manufacturers, sans the local DIYers of course.
Impressions will be up when I get them.

[REVIEW] HiFiMan HE-500

Ban-kun — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 23:00:24 +0800

The story so far...

After just a month from acquiring my Denons and splurging on a desktop amp setup, I broke out the bank and decided to further indulge myself into my wallet-sucking hobby again. This time, I was gunning for open-back headphones.

I was able to save more time for this decision, mainly because I managed to loan some higher end models from some generous pals of mine. Within the last week or so, I had the Beyerdynamic T1, the HD650, the LCD-2 on my desk, ready for auditioning. Several days later I came to a consensus that I liked the T1 out of the bunch, but it was way out of my intended budget. So I settled for the dark horse of the planar mag world, the HiFiman, specifically the HE-500.

A trip to Jaben and almost 3 hours of auditioning, I brought home the HE-500. This was the newer, revised version where HiFiMan went up a notch from its previous version. You get a fine spread of extras and accessories with the headphone itself; there's one set of leather and velour earpads, a leather bag, a 3m braided silver cable, an extra set of connectors and lastly, the hard-shell carrying bag with the HiFiMan logo proudly emblazooned on it.

The spoils

Taking the phones out, holy crap, they are heavy. They weigh approximately half a kilo, but I expected this after reading its specs online. The HE-500 are heavy compared to most if not all modern flagship models. The gimbals housing the planar mag drivers is 120% solid, cold metal in and out. You can literally fend off zombies with these. The padding on the headband is very minimal, very similar to my Denon AH-D5000s, but it didn't have the uncomfortableness I feared. However, HiFiman could've put some extra effort into its headband padding, but it's not really a huge gripe for me. Despite being heavy, the HE-500 don't feel that way on my head. The clamping pressure distributes the weight evenly around my ears and the headband's centre-point didn't have that burning sensation on my skull. Very nice.

We all heard how notorious planar magnetics are when it comes to driving them. They are very much inefficient compared to the standard dynamic drivers we often see, and thus requires a hefty amount of power to drive them into their correct zone of fidelity. This may be the case for the HE-6, which literally needs a nuclear reactor to drive them, but very less so with the HE-500. Dr. Fang Bian, brainchild of the HiFiMan lineup, claimed that the HE-500 is the 'user-friendly' version of the HE-6, catering to the scenario where its more probable and realistic for audiophiles to reap the full benefits of a planar mag headphone without blowing a mint on a speaker amp system beforehand. Although it carries the same traces and workings of its higher-end big brother, the HE-500 doesn't require a whole lot of drive them. Granted, 1 watt is still a feat for most conventional, lower rung amps, lest you go for the reference or higher end models like the Ray Samuels, Eddie Current, Woo Audio or Rudistor variants.

The sound

So comes the main dish of this review. How does it sound? Initially, I want to just pair it with the Schiit Bifrost and Asgard and completely run through the bases, but I thought it would be interesting to see how the HE-500 would scale up in terms of equipment level. For this, I had tested the phones in this manner;

1) Naked and Unamped (yes, straight from my system's audio jack)
2) Fiio E10
3) Centrance DACport
4) Schiit Bifrost + Asgard

Naked and Unamped.

Fiio E10
I wasn't very confident with this. Sure, it drove my ATH-M50s with authority, but the HE-500 were on a whole different level. I was partially right, and wrong at the same time. The E10 does pump some juice into the HE-500, but not a whole lot. The sound is very hollow, and I can assure you its not the open-back design at work here. The lows, mids and highs all sound very thin, unsatisfactory. Even with the volume pot at max, I couldn't get a proper drive.

Centrance DACport
This opened up a whole can of whoop-ass. The DACport drives the HE-500 very decently. I had the volume pot at near max for this. The frequencies are much better represented here, it's fidelity has went up a notch from the E10. Alas, it didn't have the control and finesse I was looking for. However, I do want to mention that the DACport is powered by USB, which is already amazing considering how power-hungry planar mags are. It deserves an honorable mention at least.

Schiit Bifrost + Asgard
If the DACport opened up a can of whoop-ass, the Bifrost + Asgard opened up 10 more cans of ass-whooping goodness. The lows, mids and highs are better than ever, they sing and dance to the Bifrost + Asgard combo. It retained the lush, warm sound I was fond of with my Denon cans. The mids are placed in that sweet spot where the vocals just serenade you to no end. The bass extensions are very nice, they go real low and high when needed, and the highs are a pleasure to listen to, not fatiguing, piercing or overly bright. the soundstage is very big and wide, as expected of a open-back design. I find the volume pot at the 1pm clock sufficient enough for my listening, with lots of headroom and tons of SPL still left to spare.

*The following is a series of songs I picked out purely based on preference for this testing. I want to first declare that my selection of songs are very anime and game-centric. In no way these songs and its genre are ultimately the must-go-to ones and its descriptions reflect the entirety and true potential of the HE-500. While I'm pretty confident mainstream music would work equally good on them, I choose songs which have strong emphasis on instruments, vocal, and soundstage as opposed to music recorded in a cramped studio room. All music files used are in FLAC format at 1050kbps*

One particular song I was very eager to test out was Aoi Eir's orchestral version of Memoria from her Prayer album. I'll be brutally honest, when the orchestra starts to play, I got goosebumps all over me. My heart was racing faster. And when Aoi started to sing, I lost it. Tears rolled down my eyes, and my entire body just shivered from her vocals. It was an euphoric sound, something you have to listen for yourself to know.

I recently started the Atelier Meruru game on PS3. So I had the whole OST downloaded in FLAC. Since the game has a very laid-back, easy-going soundtrack, and the Atelier orchestra team had always used a philharmonic hall to do their OST recordings, it was the perfect test for the HE-500s. Cadena was fun to listen to, the choir effect of the theme song, a signature of the Atelier series was simply stunning. The instrumental version of Alchemist Girl Meruru was equally fun. The bass and flute in Alchemic Boy and Girl was punchy and soothing overall. The lullaby musicbox from Little Toybox had me almost drifting off to sleep.

I played through the Supercell albums next. The vocals in Perfect Day was liquid and relaxed, the acoustic guitar was crisp and clear. The instruments in Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari and Sayonara Memories was fun to listen to.

The Everlasting Guilty Crown by EGOIST was pure bliss. The guitar riffs at the beginning are so distinct and clear, you can feel the energy from the guitarist's strum. The bass kicks are nice and good, they don't lack at all.

Mikako Komatsu's Black Holy gave a sense of depth and a space-like feeling. Again, her vocals literally sing to you. I swear, the HE-500s are very mid-centric, lush and warm, which suits me perfectly. Toumei no Yozora's slow and relaxed pacing gave me a sense of aloofness, like I was drifting off into space.

Conclusion

I think despite my best efforts to at least try to get a nice flagship like the Beyer T1, I find myself liking the lower rung models a whole lot more. As much as I liked the T1 when I auditioned it previously, it just didn't come close to what the HE-500 could do, for me at least. I'm quite the discerning listener, and while most may disagree with the HE-500 being better than the T1, it just didn't cut it for me. Though there is always room in my hobby for another headphone, a flagship maybe, but I want to lay low for the time being and enjoy this little treasure here. If you haven't dropped any cash on a pair of high-end headphones, and can't afford a flagship, the HE-500 may be up your alley, but be warned, they do take some power to drive to its full potential. I recommend at least a desktop setup as opposed to a portable setup lots of audiophiles are geared towards to let this baby really shine.

[REVIEW] Schiit Asgard and Schiit Bifrost

Ban-kun — Thu, 03 May 2012 22:33:13 +0800

So, seeing as there are no threads and reviews here about the Schiit Asgard and Bifrost, I took the liberty to write one. It'll be my very first time reviewing an audio product, so bear with my newbie-ness.

About 2 weeks ago, I made what is probably my biggest (and best yet) audio purchase in my entire life. I had finally found my aural nirvana which I had sought for awhile, albeit only starting my audiophile journey mere months ago.

I was searching for a desktop solution for my audio rig, and after having read and sifting through tons of review, one name caught my attention. Schiit. Yes, it's pronounced the way you think it is. Schiit was highly regarded in the Head-Fi forums, which is a beehive for audio enthusiasts, and their products garnered praises and honorable mentions in their threads. In particular to this, was the Asgard. A quick trip to their website sold me almost immediately. Not only are their products affordable (for a desktop solution), but the people at Schiit has a sense of humor, and plenty of them. But they are also every bit serious about their hardware.

Reading through their FAQ left me in stitches, and I decided to probe further. I sent an email to Jason Stoddard, co-founder of Schiit. He replied my emails promptly, while also being equally humorous in the process. I asked him about the Asgard, and he was all happy to recommend it to a beginner audiophile like me. So I took the opportunity to ask him questions about the Asgard, about the technology he incorporates into them, and his previous experiences in designing hi-fi products. Not only did Jason answer my question, but he was also being fully transparent and direct to me, which no company would have stuck their necks out for. After a lengthy session, I decided to take the plunge. I ordered the Asgard, as well as Schiit's entry-level DAC, the Bifrost to pair it with. A week later, two very inconspicuous white boxes found its way to my door, which left me grinning from ear to ear.

The first thing I noticed was that the boxes were significantly smaller than I had imagained. This only made me think that the Asgard and Bifrost were way smaller than pictured in Schiit's site. Unboxing the two yielded these babies safely wrapped in plastic sheets and protected by industrial-grade packing foam. The Asgard and Bifrost have very small footprints, which is a blessing in disguise, as my wall shelf simply cannot handle a home-theatre sized audio component.

Schiit also included an owner's manual for the Asgard and Bifrost respectively. Again, I was laughing so hard while reading it. How can a company be so funny yet manages to win over the people at Head-Fi? Now I know why.

Build quality and aesthetics.

The Asgard and Bifrost shares the same chassis, and are made of solid, cold metal. Really high-grade stuff, not what you'd expect of an entry-level component from a small, humble company like Schiit. The chassis has an aluminium brush finish, which is aesthetically pleasing. They also weight some, about 2.2kg each. The sheer quality of these 2 makes every cent you spend worth it. The level of aesthetics Schiit has done puts them very close to the high-end luxury ones costing 10x more. A very solid thumbs up for this.

The tech

I won't bore you with tech and geek speak. Pretty much everything about the Asgard and Schiit's other products are described in detail in their site. To put it simply, the Asgard is a pure Class A amp, and it runs real hot. And it high-current design makes it darn good with low-impedence headphones. The Bifrost, also an entry-level DAC, employs an AKM4399 32 bit D/A converter along a discrete analog section, and a bit-perfect clock system. This means the Bifrost delivers bit-for-bit accuracy of your music without any upsampling. It's inputs are all 24/192 capable, so you won't miss a speck of detail. The Bifrost is also upgradeable, thanks to its modular design, which you can remove seperately and swap to a better D/A in the future.

The sound

So how does the Asgard and Bifrost sound paired to each other? Naturally, they sound eargasmic. This setup completely annahilates my Fiio E10 and Centrance DACport in terms of amping power, musicality, SQ, clarity, soundstage, etc. The sound they produce is euphoric. With my Denon AH-D5000, they are the perfect lethal combo. I immediately notice very big changes compared to the DACport. I've also tested my Audio Technica M50s, and I've noticed tremendous improvement in the soundstage, imaging, and placement of instruments. The mids are pushed back into the middle row, a very nice change from the up-front and personal the M50s are known for. The bass tightens up alot, is more controlled and full-bodied. Trebles are less harsher and sound more liquid. And all this from a mid-fi phone. Jason Stoddard mentioned that the Asgard does very well with Denons and Audio Technicas especially, and he wasn't kidding.

I was plenty surprised at the Bifrost. It doesn't have the famed Wolfson chip many audiophiles seem to worship like a god, but its AKM D/A means serious business. And because the Bifrost's analog section shares somewhat the same design and tech as the DACport, it sounds pretty darn nice, almost on par with the DACport if not better. And, its upgradable. We're talking a long-term relationship here, and you can be sure the Bifrost will remain sitting proudly on your desk and won't end up stashed in your store room or sold off like most people do when they get a new DAC.

The setup

I connected my Bifrost to my PC motherboard via optical (Toslink), and subsequently to the Asgard via RCA-RCA. While setting up, it just occured to me that the Asgard and Bifrost aren't just simply cool names. Asgard is the home of the Norse gods, which is connected to the human world (Midgard) via Bifrost, the flaming rainbow bridge which Odin himself rode through many times. Similarly the Asgard (amp) is the heaven which your music reaches after crossing the Bifrost (DAC) from Midgard (my PC) and obtain aural nirvana. Nicely done, Schiit.

Conclusion

The Asgard and Bifrost overwhelmed me. My first desktop solution is one of the best I had ever made to date. I would highly recommend this setup to anyone looking to start a desktop rig without blowing too much cash out. The Asgard and Bifrost are both solid contenders in their price range and performance, while also knocking off several upper brackets off a notch for its price to performance ratio.

P.S. I have recently ordered a custom RCA-RCA cable from fellow forumer ssyycc. I will update this thread when I get my impression in on the difference it makes compared to my Phillips PXT1000.

[addedon]May 3, 2012, 10:34 pm[/addedon]

So after spending a fair amount on my audio rig, I figured my next upgrade would be the interconnects. Am using a Gotham GAC4/1 with Switchcraft RCAs now and I'm loving it more than my Phillips cable.

Amp setup issue

Ban-kun — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:33:30 +0800

Hi guys, I have a problem I hope you can all solve for me.

Recently, I just got a pair of headphones to enhance my audio experience. I'm not an audiophile, but I'd like to get the most out of my equipment.
Therefore I decided to buy an amp for my headphones. However I'm using a desktop, and I only have a single 'speaker out' jack from my motherboard.
Currently I'm using some crappy 2.1 speaker system, but if I want to use my headphones, I have to unplug said speakers to make way for my headphones.
My speakers (Edifier M1335F) has a headphone jack at its volume control, but I notice the sound isn't as good as when I plugged it directly to my motherboard.

So here's the question, is there an amp that can somehow plug into the headphone jack on my speaker's volume control, so I can plug my headphones into the 3.5mm/6.5mm jack of the amp?
This way I won't have to unplug my sound system each time I have to use my headphones. Any advice/solution for my setup problem?

In summary, this is what I'm hoping to achieve:

Motherboard > speakers > volume control (this is where the headphone port is) > amp > headphones

[WTA] Where can I get Magami/Newtype/G's magazine?

Ban-kun — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:44:11 +0800

I know Kinokuniya KLCC probably has them, but they might not be up to date yet,
So, I want some alternatives and optional places to get them just in case.

Any info is greatly appreciated. And yes, I'm aware you can import them like all other stuff, but shipping kills my wallet.

[WTA] A good, affordable e-reader

Ban-kun — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 01:02:22 +0800

Hi guys,

I'm interested in getting a good e-reader for my classes (powerpoint, excel and word) and for leisure reading (books, novels and comics).
What are my options?

Budget stated in topic.

LCD monitor won't display at startup

Ban-kun — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:08:43 +0800

Recently, I got this problem where my LCD monitor won't display when I boot up my system. Only when I unplug/replug or fiddle with the DVI cable only it will display. My power button also seems to blink on and off each time.

I already checked that my monitor isn't faulty, I used another DVI cable but the problem still persists. I don't think the graphic card is the issue either, so I'm kinda stumped. Can anyone diagnose my problem? I've had this problem before but it only happened once and rarely. Now it's every time I boot up my system.

My LCD is Samsung SyncMaster 931BW fyi. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Headphones

Ban-kun — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:31:25 +0800

Looking for a good pair of headphones, gonna use it mostly for gaming/listening to music. Better if it comes with a mic, but I know it's not gonna happen unless you sacrifice some sound quality from the phones. Currently looking at Audio Technica PRO5V.

Budget is RM200 - 250.

Optical vs Laser

Ban-kun — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:28:57 +0800

What's the difference exactly? I read that laser mouses is highly affected by the surface you use it on, where else optical doesn't.
I also read laser has better tracking ability than an optical, is this true? Is that why it's more expensive than optical or is it just a gimmick?