FRANZ - Friends from AUS & NZ

Discussion in 'The Meeting Place' started by Garns, Oct 28, 2016.

?

Which of the following items would you be interested in for a loaner tour early 2017?

  1. Campfire Audio Lyra II

    21.7%
  2. Sony NW-A25 (with the Lyra)

    17.4%
  3. Hifiman HE-560

    30.4%
  4. Schiit Jotunheim

    43.5%
  5. Massdrop TH-X00

    21.7%
  6. Modi MB

    52.2%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Garns

    Garns Friend

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    OK, I put a poll up with some of the suggestions so far. Anyone who is interested, please vote! I don't yet have a clear picture on who will be eligible to participate, but let's not worry about that just yet, just vote regardless.

    My vote is for the Lyra with the Sony DAP (both as a common referent and to give people a taste of the Sony sound). As @Sqveak says the Sony can be picked up for around $200 via grey channels, which I think is fine for a loaner that we're going to sell on afterwards anyway.

    I was also thinking we could aim to do this early next year as well. The Massdrop thing is possible, but let's not get rushed into doing it before we are clear what we are doing. On the other hand, let's try and decide on something soon, so I can do some investigating into the logistics of it (don't think it should be that hard).
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
  2. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    Or a currawong :p

    Voted for the Lyra and the DAP, although I'm inclined to think we should keep the risks as low as possible on the first run and perhaps just stick with the IEM...
     
  3. Garns

    Garns Friend

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    That thought did occur to me as well, keep it as simple as possible.
     
  4. MoatsArt

    MoatsArt Friend

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  5. mawk

    mawk Acquaintance

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    Voted. I'm on board with any programme, although I'm not sure about the feasibility of getting (non-used) stuff through customs at a reasonable cost.

    If others are keen I'd also like to see some smaller scale stuff (e.g. gear swaps, short loaners of personal gear) within NZ. I have a Project Polaris that could possibly do a small tour of the country one day.
     
  6. el1x

    el1x New

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  7. MoatsArt

    MoatsArt Friend

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    Perhaps the gear could be purchased new in NZ (when economical to do so), start the tour in NZ and only then ship to Australia. If its used value is less than $1,000 AUD, there won't be any import fees for anyone. Just need to determine this on a case by case basis based on whether it's more economical to buy the item in NZ or AU.

    Where do you guys get your gear from?
     
  8. Olor1n

    Olor1n Friend

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    Can we add a multibit Schiit dac to the poll? Would really love to hear the mb Gungir or mb Modi.
     
  9. Stride

    Stride Facebook Friend

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    Hi FRANZ.

    After been directed to this little unknown area by @Garns, it is good to know that there is a group of like-minded people here in AUS/NZ. I posted an intro post if people would like to know a little about my audio journey.

    Although I voted for the Sony+Lyra, I would not mind a HE-560 in a loaner program.

    Is AK Jr another possible option? I know talking to Wing at minidisc that there is the price reduction for AK DAPs for the Christmas shopping season but might be too early for the implementation for the program.
     
  10. mawk

    mawk Acquaintance

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    That's a good question. Gear is crazy expensive here (HE-650 is $1670 AUD for example) and we lack decent headphone stores. In a lot of cases it's better to buy from an Australian or US store and absorb the import charges than buy locally. Our Schiit dealer is based in Australia anyway.

    I wonder if it might make more sense to buy SBAF used gear rather than new, if that helps to keep things under the customs limit.
     
  11. chakku

    chakku Friend

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    The only headphones I've seen locally that weren't horrendously overpriced are the HD800/HD800S at Computerlounge, they're cheaper than Australia's pricing.

    Not sure how the headphones at Shore Hi-Fi are priced as they don't have any information on their website and I barely ever go there. The best choice for us tends to be importing or buying used locally.
     
  12. el1x

    el1x New

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    I just picked up HE-400i from an American store in NY called AC Gears for $389AUD shipped. The HE-560 would have come to ~$800/900AUD.
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2016
  13. Garns

    Garns Friend

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    Thanks, all.
    I put the Modi MB in the poll. I think I'll draw a line there, though, so we don't spread our options too thinly...

    Looks like the Jotunheim and the Lyra + DAP are the leading choices so far. I'll leave this open for another week or so and see where we get to.
     
  14. Garns

    Garns Friend

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  15. MoatsArt

    MoatsArt Friend

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    @el1x @Garns @jowls @Sqveak @Bakers @Xecuter @alucart @Alaarx @Olor1n @Whatup69 @JewBear @chakku @drez @nehcrow @deniall83 @mawk @Setzz @murray @Stride (sorry if I left anyone off this list)

    Anyone interested in hearing a Schiit Fulla 2, even if it's just so that you can recommend it to friends or acquaintances? Al might like to review it as part of his series on affordable gear.

    At $200 AUD it could be a good low risk option as a loaner program trial, maybe one for AU members and a separate unit for NZ members. Please "like" this post if you agree. If there are enough likes from FRANZ members (10+), I could approach Marv.

    Postage within Australia in a medium satchel would be about $14.00.

    Are you happy with this @Garns ?
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2016
  16. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    That's a great idea for the first loaner @MoatsArt. My preference would be buying direct from schiit however.
     
  17. MoatsArt

    MoatsArt Friend

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    This isn't going to work. Still not enough of us who could give a rat's arse.
     
  18. mawk

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    For what it's worth, I'd support a Fulla 2 loaner. $200 AUD flies well under the customs limit so we could probably get away with a single unit for AU/NZ if necessary.

    Actually the more I think about this the more I'd really like to be able to test the DAC section on that thing. I'm always in the market for stuff that can sit on the couch with me and not choke the room with power cables.
     
  19. JewBear

    JewBear Almost "Made"

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    I was considering buying a Schiit Fulla 2 so I'd be real keen on a loaner.
     
  20. Garns

    Garns Friend

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    OK, this seems like at least as much of a goer as the other options. We have six people on board at the moment. One or two more and we can make a case. One unit would be enough as I don't think there will be customs problems at this low a value.
     

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