They will ship the Z10E regardless of X9K availability but that also takes a few weeks to build burn in test and ship.
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So I’ve been looking at Wavelight possibly for this Z10E+X9000 system, but there seems to be issues with the buttons being cheap, input switching being slow or unresponsive, SE sounding poor, and maybe a lack of texture. The space, richness, microdynamics & zero treble fatigue sounds great, tho! Alternative DACs that would work here…? 
I cant comment on the snappiness of input responce, but the one SE output sounding bad, something to keep in mind is that comment is usualy specifically in comparison to the bal output. Very very few dacs (basicaly just schiit IME) will sound more than maybe a couple percent (maybe like 1/4 tier) worse on SE then bal. I personally wouldn’t worry about that part and if you are concerned about it you can always get the SE only WD.
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Chicago isn’t too far for you, so maybe try CanJam Chicago in June to get some more experience of various amps, DACs and headphones.
If you’re serious about LTA, they normally have a table there and are likely to have a Z10E.
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Most likely you can find them in Axpona too
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Yes, big presence at Axpona. It look like LTA will have 2 rooms and a headphone table there.
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I think there would be SO MUCH stuff, and people noise, at a CanJam/Expo that you wouldn’t really be able to get many conclusive listening notes, where you could identify/familiarize that X product is causing Y sound change(s). #_# I would have to just try to tackle 2 booths per day. And you’d have to go to a store’s booth, rather than a brand’s booth, to hear certain mixed-brand combos, like X9000+BSHE/Z10E/etc, I guess? Tough to plan things out, with free for all booths/setups like that. For IEMs, if they have those at Axpona, you’d have to spend the entire event testing them!! CanJams are only 2 days…? Rough :\ Seems like you’d barely be able to get notes on anything, with that tight of a squeeze. I am pretty fast, however.
Axpona → Ear Gear Expo → Booth 8210 → STAX
Axpona → Ear Gear Expo → Booth 8101 → Moon Audio (Dan Clark)
Too bad ZMF got banned for looking too good. 
Need to order the X9000 first, with the huge backorder.
@CT007 It’s probably not worth going to Axpona because it’s mostly 2 channel, but CanJam might be a good experience for you since you haven’t heard much.
Last year’s CanJam Chicago was almost empty so it was perfect listening conditions. It will be interesting to see if this year is the same, although if that happens, I’d doubt they ever come back to Chicago.
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Hey guys, i need some help finding a budget speaker amp to drive my HE6v2 in the living room away from my main chain.
I have read good things about the Onkyo A-9110 and found nothing about the Onkyo HT-R580 which i already own, i actually got the full HT-R580 with speakers and all for $150. I like how the 580 sounds but i am looking for an upgrade, i bet there are a few good choices in the used market.
Some suggested the Emotiva a-100 but i am not sure if that would be a real upgrade, the R580 delivers 90w into 8ohms which is way more than the Emotiva, not sure about the other technical specs…
Any thoughts?
I felt it did a solid job with HE6seV2, compared to all my regular headphone amps. Increased bass performance, but the overall sound quality dropped. Apparently it takes a special amp to max the HE6 out. 
Not sure about a special amp, imo the Burson Solist 3XP was awesome, the Ferrum OOR as well. And i could not differentiate with an A/B test between the OOR and the Onkyo and that is why i am interested in maybe an upgrade for the Onkyo, just not sure what that would look like.
Huh, interesting… Well, I will give AXPONA a shot, I think. 2 or 3 days. Any special requests to see or hear anything…? It will be 100% high end headphones & equipment for me, likely. The few things I haven’t heard yet; Stax, Stealth, Expanse, VOCE, Corina, Diana/V2, HE1000/Arya/Sus(if anyone has them, maybe Moon Audio), RAAL, Z1R(?),
Oh, ZMF is there now! Booth 8109. And Harbeth! :o
Just be aware that Axpona will be 90% 2 channel. From what I can tell, there’s one large room for headphone-related stuff.
And when I went to CanJam last year, the Roon rep told me that Axpona was completely packed full of people, so he couldn’t figure out why CanJam was so empty, other than location. Axpona was in the burbs, whereas CJ was in the city, and therefore harder to get to, and more expensive to stay in a hotel. I’m guessing that was the reason, because CJ has moved to the burbs this year.
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I’m hoping the headphone area might be quieter, even, because of the stereo focus. Eh, who knows.
Just noticed the innuos zen mk3 uses a WD red HDD. The more expensive Zenith Mk3 uses a SSD. Why in the hell wouldn’t they put a SSD in both models? It’s 2023 lol. I understand the price price difference with the better PSU and caps, but to not have a SSD is dumb imo.
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This has me wondering if you could easily swap out the HDD for a SSD. Physically it’s easy but I wonder if the OS in the Zen mk3 would easily recognize the swap. May need to reach out to Innuos and see what they say. Supposedly the HDD and SSD doesn’t matter because the music is stored in the cache before playing but if it doesn’t matter then why have the SSD in the higher model?
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Has anyone here tried a FiiO K7
Ugh, you’re right. And Schaumburg at that. Kill me.
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LOL, with apologies to any Schaumburg residents reading this, it’s not a place I’d want to live in or visit as a tourist, but the traffic will be better than driving into the city, and the hotel will be cheaper.
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If Schaumburg is as bad as is posted above, I’m certain their residents have tougher skin than being offended by comments made on an audio forum…