craftyhack

Happy to help! Here is a pic showing the difference, the pad on the right is the aurvana pad, the pad on the left is a bluecell replacement pad (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B009SFASAA) I saw recommended in several threads because it is more comfortable than the relatively stiff stock pads (I don't have the stock pads to show). The bluecells are close to the same dimensions as the stock pads (almost same internal circumference)... you can see how much more room there is with the aurvana pads. How they work out for you depends on your ears of course :).

Before I get yelled at, I am necroposting this because this was one of the first search results that came up in google when I was looking for a solution to the exact same issue you had, but the thread didn't have a good solution posted, so I want to fix that. Also, maybe you gave up on a cheaper replacement but maintained your principles and didn't pay the $40 and still need a cable? There are several options on Amazon, you can find them by searching for cables compatible with Focal Elear, Hifiman, HE4XX, HE-400i (The Latest Version with Both 3.5mm Plug), Denon D7100, v-moda crossfade, and MANY more. I gave a few options because I ALSO found the exact same cables in seperate listings with different pricing (and you might find amazon warehouse deal to save a few more $ like I did on one of them). I already have this one: https://smile.amazon.com/NEOMUSICIA-Replacement-upgrade-AH-D600-Headphone/dp/B01LYS3MM8 and can confirm compatibility is excellent. My stock cable is fine, but I HATE the ribbon rubber cable, it is like it is engineered to get caught on stuff. This replacement is much better made IMHO, and I don't notice any difference in sound. Note that the earcup plugs are not angled, but this turned into a feature for me, and now it is easier for me to have the headphone cable hanging behind me instead of in front of me so it doesn't get in the way. That said, the cables are flexible enough to make routing the cable like a normal person no problem as well. This one has mono plugs like stock. This is another option that I just ordered because I wanted the longer cable, it has stereo plugs on the ear cup side. Based on the design of these cables/plugs they should work fine, and this has been confirmed by users on HeadFi, so I am sure they will be fine: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J9WGDQO If you are looking for ultimate savings, these are the cheapest I found at $9, but I could find nothing about quality, and these don't come with the 1/4" adapter that I need, but they should do the job: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B077ZH9Z94 Some bonus stuff for Sine users: 1) I have replace the stock ear pads with these, and they are MUCH more comfortable in my case. This is due to 1) a deeper pad allowing (in my case) for these to become over ear instead of on ear, which makes them sound much better due to better seal, and 2) they are deeper and softer also enhancing the long term comfort. Note that ear fit is obviously different for everyone, there are other options over on headfi I can link to if anyone is interested: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B078KTQ2R4 2) after trying the hard case that audeze recommends, where it is $40 and doesn't fit the Sine well (it was designed for the EL-8's), after much research I found this wonderful case that is perfect, and it is only $7 (I paid $12 2 weeks ago and thought it was a steal). There is already a review from another Sine user with pics of the fit, I posted one here for convenience. WAY better than the Audeze OEM option: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IZ9ZJ9Y

Awesome, subbed!

Perfect! I think I did exactly this when I read the first post, cept I think I face palmed...

Wow, a PSA post about a fake YT channel trying to fish turned into a Console vs. PC war. Sweet, enjoyed seeing how that evolved so quickly from someone asking what a username meant. It is kinda like watching the Tek when Logan and Wendell go really far off tangent and Logan just stops mid-sentence and asks "What the hell are we talking about, how did we get to this? We probably just moved up on someone's "list"".

Will do, I am hoping that this will give me room to upgrade that G3258 to a 4790k as well without the other mods I was talking about(and with the 980 ref design I can put the 25mm fans back in too). I may have to disable HT for now, but that would be OK I think... shouldn't hurt gaming, etc., and once DX12 is out, maybe can turn it back on, I dunno. One thing I did see after reading Anandtech, I can't run Furmark on the 980 on the M8, it sucks more power than the 780Ti does (almost 300W!) when there is no inconsistent power draw to optimize.

FYI, they are all over the place, evga.com, newegg, amazon, both 970s and 980s, superclocked as well as reference clocked. I don't remember the 780 being a hard launch like this, refreshing, of course I may have been sleeping when they launched and then sold out .

Official links on Amazon are live: 980: http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Overclocked-Graphics-GV-N980D5-4GD-B/dp/B00NH2D2M6 http://www.amazon.com/PNY-VCGGTX9804XPB-CG-GeForce-Express-Graphics/dp/B00NH5ZN4S 970: http://www.amazon.com/PNY-VCGGTX9704XPB-GeForce-Express-Graphics/dp/B00NH5ZNWA

Ordered the Gigabyte from the Amazon link above, $549, shipped in 2-4 weeks, sweeeeet. I JUST got the 780Ti Asus Matrix Platinum which is a beast and pretty too, but, in my mITX with 450W, running that with a 4790K hurts. This 980 should cure those underpowered SFX PSU blues. Also, when DX12 is out, I am assuming that the 980/970 will get another big boost in performance, if DX12 is like mantle as I have previously read, except I would expect DX12 to get more traction in the next year or two of course.

Sorry, I meant the NCase M1, fairly boring but very classy and definitely can do a lot with it given the size. Thanks for the vid, I have most of the tools too... I just need the guts to try and pry off the frame that holds the current window in place. It is running pretty good right now since replacing the 690 though even with just a G3258, so I think I will wait for the Z97-M8 to see pricing and availability before I take an irreversible step with this one though, in case I have to resell it. If not, then I will work on a replacement window... there are some nice 120/140mm fan bezels that are red annodized aluminum, black aluminum, etc. that I think would go well in plexi for a replacement window. I may not even need a fan, I can just make it negative pressure again and this will be where all of the coll air will come in the case.

Yep, the acrylic window is the best place I think too. I have pleaded ASRock for another side panel (just in case), they can't do it. I also looked at trying to remove the acrylic panel that is in there, then buying some acrylic to replace it with so I can experiment and have more than one chance. The acrylic that is in there is textured in a way that I don't think can be replaced other than OEM. But, it is slotted in a frame that is in turn glued to the aluminum, and it is adhered pretty solid. The plastic frame doesn't look like it would survive being pried off . Trying to cut into the current window... an 80mm fan is about what would fit without cutting into the Octogon patterns. If I did cut into them then ya, a 140 would fit, but I can't think of how to do it without ruining the look of the case. If I am going to ruin the look anyway, I would rather go with an N1 or similar that is functionally a better design for cooling, etc. I am still thinking about how to do it and checking out the build threads for ideas... Don't need any LEDs, the pictures are bad at showing it, but there are two led strips that are part of the case, and it is lit up pretty well when I have them on (done through A Command, kind of a PITA actually vs. a rocker, but whatever ).

Nice .

I have not been able to find anything about when the Z97 is releasing, for how much, or where . If you find it please post as I am definitely interested, once I see that I will decide on my next move, for now the rig is OK. Yeah, I was considering WCing basically because I was looking for lower temps with at least equivalent if not lower noise, but given my modding skills (and lack of cajones on cutting into this case given there are no spare parts available)... WCing this is a pipe dream. I haven't found anything WC wise that is close to workable in this case anyway even if I *could* mod, perhaps it is a problem with lack of imagination or lack of knowledge about a tiny WC loop out there somewhere. I think you are talking about the Noctua NH-L12, and without the top fan it would fit, but it would honestly not only injur the look through the window compared to the Zalman (IMO anyway), the Zalman's performance seems quite good normally, the biggest problem wouldn't be solved with the Noctua either... removing that hot air from the case so that ambient for the CPU cooler is low enough for it to remain effective. I can tell this is the problem given CPU and GPU temps rise rather slowly compared to relatively instant feedback of a bad cooler which normally hits whatever threshold in a few minutes, and the difference relative to ambient is relatively high. It CERTAINLY doesn't help that the design has the PSU dumping exhaust air into the case as well . When I tried a negative pressure setup with all four fans exhausting, they didn't have enough static pressure to pull enough air in through the somewhat crappy passive ventilation holes that only exist in the back of the case (they look awesome atleast ) to remove hot air fast enough, and where bottom intake and top exhaust is better, still not great. Here is the article on the ITX coolers where they talk about usage in the M8 a lot from Tom's that led me to choose the Zalman... the article should apply to the Z97 version as well I think: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/low-profile-heat-sink-mini-itx,3639.html. It doesn't hurt that the Zalman was also 1/3rd of the price(I got the quiet version although I have the Extreme version on the way after finding one for $25 to see if it helps). On a side note you have to pull the MB out of the Z97 to install the backplate for any of these coolers which is a real PITA, set aside a few hours for that, it is basically a complete disassembly. There is a full board WB available for the ASUS Impact VI and there will be one for the Impact VII (whenever THAT comes out... patiently waiting ), but no WB that I know of for this board. I am not even sure if the Impact VII will fit in this case given its riser cards (especially the VRM riser) and I would lose 2 SATA ports over the M8 board, but I am still considering it anyway because I really like the Asus boards. In this case (no pun intended) the fan expert 3 fan control software will be very useful to manage the noise level of this case as while the ASRock fan software is OK, it completely sucks compared to asus fan control software, fan expert 3 is AWESOME. Crazy reason to replace the MB perhaps, but there it is . The alternative is to get a good fan controller(or figure out how to make speedfan or some other software work based on temp sensors I have to install). I still need to research my options there, maybe the new corsair link kit will do what I want, but for the cost of a fan controller than can do what I want and be small enough to install somewhere in this case, I would rather spend a bit more for the Impact VII ROG board if I decide against going with the Z97-M8. Back to WC, I invested too far into how to air cool this thing once I got the Matrix as it is performing very well (1250 sustained boost) and very quietly(especially relative to the 70mm fans in the case ) at good temps, so my remaining issues to solve are less challenging than WCing this rig would be. I just have to do a bit of work to sort out the VRM temps on the Matrix which is pretty easy (and will be effective I hope). I wouldn't use a WB on this Matrix anyway, my main purpose for getting this card was its awesome air cooler combined with the price mistake . I am assuming this card would be an OC beast with WC given that is what it was built for(LN2 really), but I could probably get something that could perform the same for a lower price if I were to get a WB including the price of the WB, where the WB for my Matrix is another $150 from EK not including shipping, fittings, etc. E.g. an eVGA with a flashed firmware. Given most of the space in the case is taken up by the Matrix, if I don't WC it, then I don't really have space for WC options for the rest of the parts even if there was an itty bitty setup available, as I figure that the GPU bay is where the rad would have to go (and even then the orientation would suck). Basically, 1.0 of the M8 is not great for TOTL parts if you care about noise, but I think it is great if lower tier parts are used, so for a 1080p gamer it is a fine case with only a few easy changes with say a 770 and a 4690k or perhaps one of the low TDP devils canyon CPUs. With top tier parts, this bronze PSU dumps too much heat in the case and is under powered, where with the 600W gold PSU, you should be golden even with your TOTL parts. Assuming each part is right on spec and you are pulling 450W-500W from the wall while gaming, the jump from bronze to gold is 22.5W-25W less heat being dumped in the case which I think is a pretty significant difference over time given the case's *relatively* poor ventilation. Here are a few nicely overexposed with crappy white balance pics (from my HTC One, good low light camera my arse) to show some of the things I am talking about: M8 Back IO.jpg=showing the rather torturous and inefficient passive ventilation relative to the space consumed. When I take it apart I will see about opening it up some more since the inner steel part reduces airflow for no benefit that I can see... just like the lower inner grills I already ripped out which made a huge difference. M8 Inside.jpg=showing the size of the Zalman, imagine how the Noctua would change the aesthetic. That is pretty subjective obviously, perhaps you would prefer the look, I dunno. Also, the PSU cables really need resheathing, but I am not going to bother until I figure out which way I am going on this rig. IMO they should have done individually sleeved cables(black, or or black and red even) or something considering the importance of aesthetic with this case, a pretty big miss IMO, for the MSRP and given the point of this case... not acceptable . M8 GPU.jpg=trying to show on the top how the Matrix prevents the use of fans thicker than 10mm on the top of the case, unfortunate as I think the Matrix is probably the best 780Ti for this case considering its boost relative to its air-cooling performance, the 25mm thick fans were pretty good at drawing air from the lower chamber better . The green arrow shows where the 10mm fan stops, and the red arrow shows where the edge of the Matrix is at it's widest point. It is probably the widest 780Ti out there though, so for yours you should be able to put something like these 70mmx25mm Evercools in, assuming your 780ti is 282mm or less wide. I had these Evercool's installed and while they are much quieter than the stock 10mm fans, they still had to ramp up pretty high to cool the 690 enough to avoid throttling. If I hadn't gotten the Matrix so cheap(relatively speaking ) these Evercools plus a decent 780Ti would have been my solution and probably a great combo for this case to maintain a certain level of cooling while being quieter. They are almost triple the CFM and SP of the stock fans at their highest setting. I could not find a fan flow curve for them, the stock fans in this case, or any of the other fans I have tried and listed above, so my evidence is anecdotal. I can tell you that I am pretty sure that the fan flow curve assuredly is terrible for the stock fans and the replacement 10mm thick fans I tried as the flow difference from removing the rather porous metal grills that are installed in the bottom of this case was increased DRAMATICALLY. http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=37923. P.S. you can see the memory defroster for the Matrix on the bottom corner of the pic... totally useless here, this card is kinda dumb in this case, but they don't make a card without all of these LN2 features with an air cooler this good (that is only 2 slot) that I know of so oh well . M8 Window.jpg=Showing what it looks like with the Zalman, I think the Noctua would ruin the look, just IMO. Also you can barely see it but the unsleeved mutli color PSU 24 pin connector is very obvious, and there is nothing I can do about it with routing alone given the routing alone . M8 ROG.jpg=SHowing the Matrix ROG GPU load indicator peeking through the top of the case. This is actually a pretty neat feature as I am often curious how hard a game is pushing my GPU while playing, now with a glance I can at least get an idea. Blue=idle->Orange=doing fine->Red=You're killing me! EDIT: no way to add additional fans in the front that I can see. Also, for the kit guru review, he was talking about remounting the stock PSU is a PITA, not replacing the PSU with a different model. I will say that the first time or two putting the PSU was a PITA, but now I can take out the stock PSU and reinstall it no problem, just takes practice! As far as the 980 or even 970 GTX, agreed that the rumored reduced TDP for these cards will be awesome for this case IMO. I am looking forward to seeing how this release goes, but if the rumors are true, then I think a lot of mITX gamers are gonna be real happy with these new NVidia cards.

I must ask, which PCI-E slot does your chain saw perform the best in? How is the noise level at full load, say running Star Citizen? Before I got to 900D I was thinking maybe John Deere had a case or some such

It is a reference to wccftech.com if that is what you are asking. If you are asking what the WCCF acronym stands for, I have no idea, Google hasn't told me yet either (nor has WCCF's about us page). I never thought about it before, but now that you asked and I can't find something which should be easy to find, I will go crazy until I can figure it out. OCD sucks, if someone knows what the WCCF acronym stands for please post... in the meantime back to Googling (I may even try Bing, *gasp*) . EDIT: None of the acronym dictionaries have anything that references wccftech, wikipedia is a strikeout (no page for WCCFTech at all), but I found this definition in the Urban Dictionary, and I have no idea if it is related, but it is awesome so I am going to satisfy myself with assuming that this is what the WCCF in WCCFTech means: ""What-cuh-cuh-fuck." In relative terms, WCCF is one level up of WTF . My day has now been productive and I can game without shame as I have learned of a valuable new acronym... Source: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wccf