The All Purpose Advice Thread

I bumped into a Corda Prehead MKII SE for about 350 euros. Hard to find anything useful about this amp. Do any of the more experienced members here ever tried this? Looks very nice and seems pretty powerful, but I have not found any more specs than something very general. The most interesting thing about this is the cross feed...not sure if kind of gimmick or something really useful.

 

Woah! Blast from the past! I have not heard that amp, but I can comment on Meier's crossfeed. It is more than a gimmick, but I wouldn't say you "need" it. It is more enjoyable (and noticeable) on stuff that is really stereo separated, and I liked it when I had it on meier/headroom amps. Tyll's crossfeed circuit was slightly different from Meier's but same principle and both were well implemented.

 

Wasn't sure where to put this request/advice:

In the Great White North we often get fucked in the way of record licensing online. VPNs sometimes combat this stupidity but sometimes there isn't much the user can do. I'm looking at a particular album and I believe only an American can purchase it. If anyone is willing to help a brotha out that'd be awesome - pay up front obviously.

 

What do you want to buy? What would I need to do?

 

I started getting very brief intermittent lag (~0.05sec, a few times an hour) with UAPP playing redbook FLAC on Android (not to a USB DAC) from a microSD card on my Samsung A8 (6.0.1). Don't think I had this problem the first few months and I can't correlate it with any SW update or app install.

There doesn't seem to be a way to set app priority with Android. Anyone have ideas on what I can try?

 

I know this amp isn't well-regarded around here, but I was recently on vacation visiting some friends and one has a GSX-MKII. The last time I visited them, I heard it with an HD800 and the pairing wasn't flattering at all. This time he had an Elear and I was surprisingly impressed. I'm not very good at using the proper terms to accurately describe what I hear. At a high level, the Elear's shortcomings seemed less pronounced or exposed. The bass was less overpowering and the upper mid suckout was less obvious. At the same time, the treble wasn't as piercing as I expected from previously hearing the HD800 with the GSX2. I also own an Elear and mostly listen with hybrid amps (loaded T3 and Apex Peak). The GSX2 sounded notably better than my setup. His amp was fed by a Yggdrasil and my T3 is fed by a Yggdrasil as well, so I don't think it's the DAC (his is connected via USB and mine via Lynx E22). My question is if anybody else has experience or thoughts on an Elear/GSX2 and could share? I'm leaning towards thinking it was just vacation-brain and an O2 might have sounded good at that point, but it was enough to have me intrigued.

 

Okay, I went searching but I really couldn't find anything. Maybe I suck at searching...but here goes:

What is the consensus here in regards to power cables and audio grade fuses affecting sound quality? It there some merit to it? Is it voodoo? Isn't it the power itself that is important and not the cable or fuse (assuming they are spec'ed properly for the application)?

Let me know if there is a thread on this or if it is idiotic to discuss. I have only put a little bit of thought into this so I am all ears!

 

Regarding cables, the short explanation is that the copper in your walls isn't high quality so spending a bunch of money to make the last 3 to 6 feet something special doesn't make much sense. A power conditioner may help if you have voltage swings or issues (pops, clicks, interference, etc.) when big appliances kick on (AC, fridge, etc.). We use relatively cheap power cables on the six-figure racks in our data center with power conditioners. The power supply for the device itself is usually the most important component to clean power.

Edit: Someone else would have to comment on fuses as those are components of the power supply and I have no experience upgrading there.

 

They shipped me the wrong color Jot and they were getting back to me within hours, but that may have been a different person.

 

I know johnjen does this, but I think the general opinion is that spending on that yields really poor returns so most rather spend on more music or new gear instead.

 

Don't forget Big D too.

I think its stupid to spend a lot on a power cable for one reason- the wiring in your home itself, and the power lines, is normal. Unless you upgrade your entire homes wiring, its stupid to spend a lot. And its stupid to upgrade your entire homes wiring.

 

@winders, I'd be hesitant to take people's advice on the inaudible effects of power cable upgrades when they haven't ever tried a non-stock power cable themselves. I bet most that have commented thus far haven't. I've often found it easier to hear differences in power cables than interconnects.

As to fuses, I wouldn't worry about it unless it's in the signal path. I upgraded the fuses in my Maggies and my Peachtree integrated amp to reasonably priced AMR Gold fuses. I heard no difference in the amp, but did hear some differences in the Maggies, presumably because the fuse is in the signal path.

 

Interesting. What do you think is making the difference in the sound? Is it the shielding? Or is it the conductor gauge, metal type, or configuration?

 

Rather than spend money on audiophile fuses and stuff, get some deoxit and whatever moderately priced micropolishing compounds and conductive enhancers that you can find. Clean and polish all power and interconnect contact points. Apply contact enhancer at your discretion; the kind you use will depend on how often it gets plugged/unplugged.

 

Thanks. But a bigger thanks for the link to the SBAF custom search engine! It lead me to this thread:

http://superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/power-cables.1641/

It has tons of information! I am not planning on spending any money on power cables. I wanted to understand more about how they affect sound quality.

Thanks again!

 

That thread is a prime example of what I was talking about in my post above. You can count on one hand the number of people in that thread that actually have first-hand experience with a non-stock power cable, yet they get drowned out by people who tell them that they cannot possibly be hearing the positive effects they are hearing. It's ridiculous. Note that not all of the first-hand experience with different power cables was positive! (Yet people didn't chime in to tell those individuals they couldn't possibly hear the negative effects they heard.)

I shared a few resources for and against power cable upgrades in that thread. I've since found some more:

• Electrical System Guide - Shunyata
• Parts and Materials Guide - Shunyata (see page 3 for measurements showing how wire gauge and construction geometry can measurably affect the amount of instantaneous current transmitted by a power cable; rest is marketing fluff)
• Video: Instantaneous current comparison between stock cord and Venom 3. Device used is a SureTest Analyzer.
• Video: noise caused by components plugged into a power conditioner
• Video: showing measured levels of RFI/EMI in normal outlet and through a couple power strip products (note this is different than the above video as this deals with noise coming in from the outside, not a component itself). Device used is an Entech noise sniffer.

There's also a thread on SBAF devoted to power conditioning products: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...ration-surge-protectors-ups-yadayadayada.282/

What happens when your question comes up is people don't answer the question. You didn't ask if a power cable upgrade was the best value. You asked if/how they can affect sound.

You now have read first-hand experience from users that power cables can affect sound positively and negatively and some resources explaining/showing why/how. Once you're familiar with your new equipment's sound (and pick your final set of Freya tubes ), there's no harm in trying a loom of entry level Pangea or Shunyata Venom series power cables through Music Direct's 60-day guarantee. If you don't like them, send them back. I recently compared my system wired up with different power cable looms, a couple weeks for each, and heard differences, preferring *gasp* the cheaper upgrade cables. FYI: I don't believe Emotiva sells their power cables anymore.

 

Hello all. I have a sennheiser hd 215 since 7 years ago and wish to upgrade.

I believe I like a natural sound and I do enjoy my Yamaha hs7 speakers a lot (except for a sub bass dip below 55hz due to my room). As far as I know the hd 215 is a headphone with bass levels below the harman curve and such. I do like my speaker's sound signature much more and considering that my headphone pads do not have any of the leather remaining it probably worsens the bass further (a friend with newer ones has confirmed it when he listened to mine).

I have found out about appo equalizer and now I am enjoying the hd 215 much more, but still I know it won't ever turn the hd215 into a great headphone (I have tried to tweak a friend's hd 518 with appo and it is way better, save maybe deep bass quality, which surprised me to be honest) and I think I have reached some kind of low bass distortion already or what I like to call it, I have reached their cap with the equalizer.

I am kinda new to this hobby in general and would like to spend till around 300 euros (could be a bit more if it is really that good) on the headphones and while I like natural sound I also would like some extension for movies/games and music that goes deeper, like well recorded orchestral bass drum or organs. Having researched for many months I came around many headphones from many different places including, of course, SBAF. Here are a few that caught my attention (feel free to mention other, possibly better ,candidates):

HD 600/650:
Oh boy on most places I have searched mentioned both as the type of headphone one would like if they want something natural, although both seem to have a major flaw which I would not like to have (or at least I would like to be able to correct it), the sub bass quantity/quality and distortion!. Before SBAF most people seemed to prefer the hd600 over the hd650 as it sounds more natural with less mid bass hump (although with less sub bass too) and according to golden ears the hd600 is indeed more natural (think they use harman curve too). When I found SBAF, however, most people seemed to praise the hd650... but usually they referred to a modded hd650 (like the KISS mod) which probably would destroy their warranty and I am sure I would create channel imbalance with the insertion of the foam.. but I digress. I could see myself applying dynamat to both, though, to decrease bass distortion (which would probably help with the sub bass EQ). While the hd 600 seems to be more balanced, the hd 650 seems to have less bass distortion and would take EQ better and with EQ I may be able not having to rely on the irreversible mods.

Another headphone that caught my attention is the hifiman 400S:
Here I can find it for 300 euros, which would be around the hd6xx price. This headphone also seems to have a lot of praise, but it comes with more flaws out of the box apparently. It does not seem to be as smooth but still quite natural, despite being planar their bass extension does not seem to go very deep, probably around hd600 levels. So why would I consider them? Well apparently there are reports that focus A pads or shure pads could solve the bass extension (might affect the rest of the spectrum in a bad way though, at least according to what I have read). If I do not want to change the default pads they seem to handle EQ much better than hd6xx, though besides bass distortion I am not sure they are "technically" better. I should mention that ironically I am able to audition them (and some HEX which will probably be a bad idea ) unlike the hd6xx.

Focal spirit pro:
I have listened to these from my smartphone and I liked then, though they seem to have many issues with their headband breaking and they would probably be painful after a few hours (It did not hurt me for the 40 min session though!).

M1060:
Ok everyone also seems to praise these, though they will probably be out of budget, especially for us europeans. From what I have read these would probably work, I would not get the vegan pads (as it would be even more expensive and they don't sell them anymore anyway) but I have heard a few small EQ adjustments would make these really good.


So far this is what I have been mostly gravitating towards! Any advice would be welcome!
Thanks!

PS: I have heard the hd 599 and hd518 (I found the hd 518 a bit bassy without EQ), but these would probably lose in most things compared to the hd6xx from what I have read. I have also heard the m50x.. too muffled/bassy (seemed like poor bass quality), but I could see it fun once in awhile for one or two applications

 

Hey, guys. Are the NOVIB Socket Savers worth it over the cheap non-brands? Even when used with socket converters?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162287404567?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4x-9Pin-B...hash=item58f7043cbf:m:mn28iyYnAMXed_2SAa8OfJg

Cheers

 

The expensive one says it is a "phenolic" socket, which is just a technical term for a thermosetting compound.
The cheap one says it is made of bakelite... which is just another name for a type of thermosetting phenolic resin.

I'm sure there are other more worthwhile differences, but I just wanted to point that out for people who don't know the terms.