The All Purpose Advice Thread

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

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  1. abhinit90

    abhinit90 New

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    Cross post from http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/dac-amp-combo-for-beyerdynamic-t1-2.5396/ :

    I have a Beyerdynamic T1.2 since a good time. I've been driving them with an Aune T1 and a Schiit Vali. I've now decided to upgrade them.

    I have a budget of about 1000-1200$. I need both a DAC and an AMP, what's a good combo for the T1.2.

    The items in my shortlist are:
    1) Jotunheim Balanced
    2) Questyle CMA400i or CMA600i

    It does not need to be a combo of DACAMP and can be separate pieces if required.

    I was also recommended the Keces S-3 by another forumer, but information on it is rather scarce. I was also recommended the RME ADI-pro 2 but that's way out of my budget. If any more information is needed from me please let me know.
     
  2. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    What is your favorite aspect of the T1, sound wise, and what's your least favorite aspect of the same headphone? (I'm continuing here because its the right place for this) Whatever you do, one would hate to ruin the most positive aspects of your headphone, while hopefully improving areas where the T1 falls a little short. Anything you buy won't change the nature of your headphone...

    I'm thinking your budget puts some awesome DACs in your price point that you could pair with your Vali 1...
     
  3. abhinit90

    abhinit90 New

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    Can the Vali drive the T1's to their full potential? I thought they lacked so that is why I also wanted to change them. Don't really love them or hate the T1. I haven't been able to listen to the T1 in about 6 months so that is why my memory might be failing me. The T1's used to lose steam as I cranked the volume level up on the Vali1 aong with everything gettimg a bit muddier, that is what I remember. My musical tastes also vary a lot; from death metal to instumental and epic music; from queen to Iron Maiden. I liked the fact that the T1 sounded open, with a wider soundstage.
    Frankly I cannot place any specific thing. I missed the bass impact I had with the XB500(which I would with almost any headphone). My Paradox also sounded wonderful to me. Call me a neutral listener, don't really like sharpness, but in my brief T1 listening sessions I wasn't fatigued. At high volume it was too piercing sometimes again probably because of the Vali 1.
     
  4. allegro

    allegro Friend

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    @eastboundofnowhere I have had my weight fluctuate 40 lbs over the years and did not notice any appreciable difference in the fit of my Ultimate Ears customs. UE does note that weight changes can affect fit of custom IEMs for some people but fit can be adjusted. Not really a reason to avoid custom IEMs IMO. Enjoy your new ZMFs!
     
  5. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    No, the Vali cannot drive the T1 to its best, but some may argue there's nothing in your budget that can. But with that said, many people use iterations of the Vali with other high impedance cans and are quite satisfied. I merely offer the option of considering the likes of a Schiit Gugnir Multibit or Metrum Amethyst. My opinion is your current DAC is the weakest link, but its only my opinion.
     
  6. 93EXCivic

    93EXCivic New

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    Ok so I am currently in beginning stages of drawing up a new garage. I am going to use attic trusses to create an upstairs area which is going to include a small workshop for soldering, my 3d printer and stuff, a small attic and a listening room. I am trying to figure out dimensions on the listening room right now to create the most optimal possible room with my limitations. The garage is going to be a total of 20x35. So I figure the resulting room from an attic truss is going to be around 10 feet wide and 8 feet tall. I had seen this paper on listening room design. http://www.decware.com/paper36.htm If my room height is 8ft, that would put the room width at just over 9ft and the length at 13ft. Does that seem right? The one thing that I am not sure about is the slanted roof line and how that will effect the acoustics of the room?

    Is this a topic that is worth starting my on thread on? Cause I am sure I will have a lot more questions as I go. If anyone could point me to resources/forums/etc that can be of help that would be amazing.
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2017
  7. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    I'm going to take a somewhat uninformed stab at this, since it's sometimes the case that any and all help is useful in the advice thread. My understanding is that the T1 is a bright headphone, so the fact that it gets piercing at high volume may just be the headphone. I own both the Vali1 and the Vali2, and I would say they are relatively forgiving in the highs. I also own the Jotunheim, and I don't think the jot would be a good pairing as I find the jot to be a touch glarey in the treble and kind of intense over all, esp w/the built in DAC.
     
  8. BenjaminBore

    BenjaminBore Friend

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    Hello @ufospls2,

    In the absence of comments from those with wider experience I’ll summarise my reading here, and more limited personal experience. The Schiit Mjolnir 2 seems to be a common recommendation for planars due to it’s hybrid design delivering a lot of grunt in the amplification stage, with the various benefits of having vacuum tubes in the gain stage. It’s also considered a good amp for people prior to getting into the much more expensive full tube amps, which are typically best suited to dynamics. Alternatively there is the twice as powerful solid state Schiit Ragnarok, but that has quite a different presentation that some seem to have been put off by.

    I purchased a Mjolnir 2 myself for it’s versatility and am currently running it with WE396a tubes + adapters with my Utopia. I cannot comment on synergies or competing amps myself, but performance-wise I don’t have the feeling that it is doing a disservice to the Utopia.

    One caveat I was recently made aware of is that the Mjolnir 2 (and perhaps the Ragnarok by extension?) doesn’t necessarily do too well with it’s SE inputs, so a balanced DAC should pair better with it.

    EDIT: Also @gbeast has been writing about some amps which may be good alternatives to those mentioned above. The Bryston BHA-1 might also be worth a look at, and has been recommended for the HD800.
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2017
  9. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    Wanted: place to order an aluminum volume knob for Bottlehead Amp. I want to order in the USA (takes too long from China). Must fit the stock BH pot. Must have a white line of white dot for visibility. $20 budget.
     
  10. abhinit90

    abhinit90 New

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    The Metrum AMethyst is a DAC/ AMP combo which means I might not need to get another amp (assuming the amp in the Methyst is good); definitely sounds interesting. There are a lot of balanced options in my budget too, would you recommend me going that way? I've gone through the noob thread here and what I understand is that it's all about the implementation. But a great balanced implementation would be better than a great SE implementation. Hence my ponderation.

    I understand. However the T1 also sounds muddled at high volumes which is why I was so concerned. I see your point about the Jot.
    I've heard the WA7d is also a good bet, what dac and amp would you recommend?

    On an unrelated note, I was interested in the NFB-1 Amp wayback but I couldn't bite on the deal. I was just going through SBAF and saw the NFB-1 thread and thank God I didn't get it. That things sounds horrible.
     
  11. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    the amp in Amethyst is merely average, do not consider it “good enough” compared to the DAC inside it.
     
  12. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    Yeah, the Amethyst amp would most likely do you no favors. You would want something to tame the treble a bit more...

    And tone is far more important then being balanced or not. Shop for flavor not architecture.
     
  13. abhinit90

    abhinit90 New

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    Okay, so the general consensus demands I get a better DAC now and use it with the Vali, amirite?
     
  14. 93EXCivic

    93EXCivic New

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    E-Mu Purplehearts. Any good? They are up on Massdrop and I am tempted.
     
  15. Garns

    Garns Friend

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  16. Overkill Red

    Overkill Red Friend

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    Hey all!

    In need of some advice for a headphone amp (and maybe DAC) for my modded HD800s (carpet liner mod, SDR).
    I've had these for awhile now and I've been running them out of a Chord Hugo (which I'm desperately trying to get rid of).
    My issue is that I live in a small NYC studio and my table is sort of lacking space for the big amps like Mjolnir 2, etc.
    I've only got roughly 12-13" W x 8-9" D x 6" H for my audio setup.

    I've looked through the HD800 Amp thread and it seems the Valhalla 2 would be a good choice, but the Apex Sangaku seems interesting too although there isn't much info out there about it paired with HD800s. DAC will either be the Chord or whatever I can get from selling it (Bifrost Multibit perhaps). Budget for the amp is flexible but would prefer sub-$1000USD. Sound-wise I prefer a punchy and slightly warmer sound, not too sensitive to harsh treble fortunately.

    Any impressions of the Sangaku or other amp recommendations would be awesome. Thank you!
     
  17. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    I might wait out a few other opinions before deeming what I say as consensus... But it is the direction I'd go (and BTW, the Woo WA7 isn't worth list price)
     
  18. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    I agree that you might wait for more opinions, but I think that is a sensible start. Or you could always go for a Bifrost Multibit + Valhalla2 and still live within your budget. That would sound pretty righteous, and if you needed to adjust the sound, say for more warmth to pair with T1, you can tube roll down the road. I'm just not sure if the Valhalla2 is the right pairing as I have never heard the T1. Take everything I say with that filter in place.
     
  19. drgumbybrain

    drgumbybrain Science Nut

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    I vote for the schiit valhala with some good NOS Philips or amperex tubes. Once I demoed the HD800 with dragon inspire amplifier, and it was very good. Don’t know if the price/quality ratio is also good. Although many friends don’t like it I found the HD800 quite enjoyable with a violectric v200, although I felt the amp was holding the sennheiser magic a little bit.
    What’s the problem with the hugo,, that you are trying to get rid of?:sail:
     
  20. Overkill Red

    Overkill Red Friend

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    Thanks for the reply!
    I find the Hugo a bit too cold sounding for my liking. I used to have it running in a speaker setup (which admittedly wasn't that high end), so I didn't notice how cold it actually sounded. I was thinking it would be easier to sell it and start the whole setup from the ground up so it would be easier to match components, but I guess I could wait for my amp to come and decide later as well!
     
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