The All Purpose Advice Thread

You've had some great advice already, but let me add some thoughts.

DAC: Gungnir Multibit, no doubt. If you can find a Lynx AES16 or L22 for <$200US, go for it and use with an AES->BNC transformer.

Headphone: Strongly support the idea of starting with an HD6something. Probably HD650 given your stated preferences. Do the mods on this site. It's blistering value, it's unlikely you will hate it, it scales enough for you to easily detect differences elsewhere in your chain, and even if you later find another headphone you prefer it does so many things right you will probably want to keep it around.

Amp: the Schiit line has uniformly high price/performance ratio. The different amps are different, but not necessarily better or worse (irrespective of their apparent position in the Schiit lineup). The only way you can find which suits your preference best is to try different ones out and figure out what you did and didn't like about them. Once you can articulate that, we can point you in the right direction with a pretty high degree of certainty.

Power: this is a bit left of field, but at your price point, clean power is important. 200 Euros on a Furman AC210 is likely to be money well spent.

Finally, I understand the desire to spend money only once. This is at one end of a spectrum, at the other end of which is spazzing money on loads of random egregious shit and being constantly disappointed. But I think the true path to endgame must go somewhere in between. You can't completely short circuit the journey. In practice, that means: don't be afraid to buy and sell a few things before you settle. If you follow recommendations made here, you're unlikely to feel ripped off at any point, but in the end you can't complete your quest based solely on other people's experiences.

@Changeling's offer is an excellent one, and you should take it seriously. Here's a suggestion: get a Jotunheim with your Gungnir Multibit, live with it for a while, learn what it's good at and bad at, and what you'd like to change about it. Then go and listen to @Changeling's rigs and then, and only then, start plotting your endgame.

Lycka till med jakten!

 

So, don't kill me, but I have lived with the Andromeda for a while now and no matter the source or amp…I think I prefer a little more in the bass quantity/quality department. Quantity is most obvious, but I was listening to something today that I think involved bongos and it came off as wholly artificial. Wouldn't hurt if it was easier to match without hiss(In my opinion the iEMatch robs the Andro and I would rather have hiss).

Don't get me wrong it is the best overall IEM I have heard and single handedly brought me back from my personal ban on IEM purchases. I want to maintain the treble quality at least but am not really sensitive to quantity, midrange and spaciousness but add a kick in the pants. It is good enough that I am solely looking at the Vega or Dorado, but I am at an impasse on which way to go. I don't want to buy both because then I end up with three badass IEMs and two become redundant and I don't want to take the hit on selling 2/3 expensive IEMs. Anybody heard all three and have some input before I buy the other two?

 

Artificial how? Perhaps you're just not a fan of balanced armature bass?

 

Might not be the best way to describe it but it is like the pitch/tone is just a couple of octaves higher than it would be naturally. I don't notice this all the time but I always sense a lack of quantity. Probably comes from being in the bass/mid section of the High School band, too many cars with too many subs, or having my ears blown out by artillery. You are probably right, and I suspect the same, which is why I am considering the other two. I'm only curious because the damn thing literally does everything else perfectly for my tastes. My prefereance for shitty rock/punk music doesn't' help, ha, ha.

 

Off too Amazon…this might be better advice than what I asked for! I recently got really into The Sex Pistols, early Joy Divison and The Stooges. In that genre a I never really evolved past my own teenage/modern(at the time) love for Green Day, Blink 182, or Sum 41 until recently.

 

@eastboundofnowhere , congratulations on discovering some great music! You've got great times ahead. May I recommend Joy Division BBC's stuff. They were a lot better live, I think.

 

@Garns

Even more great advice! Will check out those mods, hopefully not something too complicated, heh. Maybe Jotunheim would be a good starting point as you say, rather than going for the Mjolnir 2 first. The speed and imaging of Jotunheim might be something I can appreciate considering the music I listen to.

Changeling’s and Walderstorm’s offers are very nice, never thought I’d be offered a chance like that considering I just joined, so I do really appreciate it. It’s just a bit complicated on my end, but maybe in the future I’ll be able to take them up on it.

Clean power, is this something I should be concerned with for the PC I’d use as source for the DAC? I haven’t read too much about what causes ground loops yet, but just came to mind as the AC210 only has 2 outputs, so I’d have to plug something in my chain into a regular power source. Also, do those fancy power cables help at all, when used with something like the AC210? I still have a hard time distinguishing what are real concerns and what aren’t when it comes to a few things…

Hope I’m not being too much trouble with these follow up questions, appreciate all the advice given so far!

 

Wilson and Jexby, not what i asked for but potentially even better! Six new/used albums incoming for the record player to chew through. I prefer speakers/vinyl so that's what I usually buy when I can; ironic since I originally asked a question about IEMs which I use for digital. If anyone has any advice about the original question please chime in, but still a productive "All Purpose Advice" response regardless. Thanks guys.

 

Nope, just put the DAC and amp on the power conditioner. In part the purpose of the conditioner is to filter out junk dumped onto the mains circuit by other stuff in your house, which could include the PC. If you do have ground loop problems, you can always plug a power strip into the Furman via a male IEC-to-female Euro socket cable, and then plug as many things as you want into that. The Furman can handle 10A which should be plenty.

My view is that it's a waste of money. That is likely to be the majority view here.

 

I don't worry much with my current pc but my old one had some power/interference problems. Since it's a whole different system (now using an xfx - seasonic oem model) It's not something that influenced me enough to buy a conditioner but with the money you save from not jumping straight into a mjolnir allows you to buy something that will work as good in every system from this point forward, so I think it can be a good idea and the ac210 has a good price.

I've yet to experience a power cable that made a difference but that could just be me.

 

Hey SBAF!
I would need some advice for a small footprint amp to drive planar for USD500 on 2nd hand market.
Thinking now about Liquid Carbon since I'll be able to use my GO V2A inf as a balanced DAC.
Thanks

 

Within that price range and with balanced inputs, maybe LC if the planars in question are bright (or not dark) or you want a slightly warmer tone, maybe Jotunheim if they are not bright and you want a more neutral and fast/aggro sound. And maybe Lyr 2 if no balanced inputs required.

 

A Gungnir Multibit/Mjo2 stack can play nice with a lot of headphones and in my experience, different tubes can do more than just tweak 1% of the difference. For example, using the HD800S with the above mentioned stack, the differences between Amperex PQ 7308 and Philips Mini Watt E188CC was really easy.

I took the same stack to the store and tried half a dozen headphones with it. At the end of the day, it can work with a lot and I'll probably be in the minority here but I'd suggest getting these two components first and then finding a set of headphones that you like personally, not what other people deem 'the best'. Like others have mentioned, the itch to upgrade from this is far down the line.

Everyone has a budget that they need to stick with but I think overall I would have saved a piss-load of money having not fucked around with sidegrades and just waited until I had the funds. You have a very healthy budget of 3K to start with, there's lots of options to avoid the "upgraditis" for awhile.

 

@eastboundofnowhere I suspect the AAW W900 might be a reasonable alternative if you have the ability to demo them first, since they use DD's for the low ends and purportedly extend very well into the treble. I don't use the Andro's as much for the same reason. I wanted to give the W900's a try over the weekend but the shop I went to was closed and will still be closed this weekend. There's another shop so I'll post if I get a chance to compare.

I severely dislike the Vega's sound, but that's me. (For reference I'm primarily using/abusing a FutureSonics MG6pro which is a lot more polite in the treble vs the Andros.)

 

This is invaluable information for the answering people with experience.

Bought my Audia-Technicas in the shop. Some people hate those wings (and they are not for headbangers, unless they like picking the phones up from the floor) but they suited me, and I walked away from the desk, only to be brought up by the cable, more than a few times.

Buying the HD600s, unseen unheard and unfelt was rather more scary, especially as I felt there was something of a reputation for headclamping with the HD6nn 'phones. It was fairly easy to get advice on the sound, even HD600 v HD650, but fit is a tougher proposition for those who have never even seen the wearer's head. But, with the help of others, it worked out well.

<crossposted with lots of people>

Whilst I have not listened to much higher up the 'phones food chain, I remain delighted that I ended up with HD600s before I finished my buying days. It took me a little time to get over the difference from the bass-light ATs (wonderful detail!) but once I did, I felt it was much more like sitting in front of real hifi speakers. And... after I bought them, the price fell through the floor. Don't know the current HD600/650 pricing, but, really, don't see how you could loose.

And if you are thinner, or even oval of face, then no, they don't clamp painfully. The only discomfort I have from them is that it does get a little hot in there. But last time I looked, Sweden wasn't tropical, so don't worry about that

 

Did the usual suspects ever get ears on an Auralic Taurus Mk.2?

I found a bunch of old Changstar posts where someone who seemed to be somewhat inexperienced and overwhelmed posted his impressions, with some careful prompting from @Marvey - but couldn't find any solid long-form comments from anyone whose tastes I know/trust.

I wouldn't mind a relatively revealing and neutral SS amp to use on occasion, and they seem to come up for sensible money. I was wondering if they're actually good listening?

(Mostly using HD650M and HD800SDR and a Gungnir Multibit)

 

Thank you. Since I'm using Modi Multibit (and GOV2A) as main DAC and a darkish headphones (PM-2 modded) I'll try Jot. I sold my NFB1amp from Audio GD as the combo DAC/Amp/HP was too warm so it would make sense to move toward something clearer . I'll report back