zottel
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zottel

Friend, Male, from Franconia, Germany

Pyrate Contributor

I always wanted to avoid tubes, but Vali 3 really has me tempted to at least try (outside of meet conditions). Gotta resist … Mar 17, 2024 at 12:12 AM

zottel was last seen:
Mar 18, 2024 at 12:34 PM
    1. zottel
      zottel
      I always wanted to avoid tubes, but Vali 3 really has me tempted to at least try (outside of meet conditions). Gotta resist …
      1. ChaChaRealSmooth and joch like this.
      2. View previous comments...
      3. Merrick
        Merrick
        @joch It doesn’t help that the Vali 2+ with the WE tube sounded noticeably better than with many other tubes I tried. :(
        Mar 17, 2024 at 7:33 AM
        joch likes this.
      4. Jinxy245
        Jinxy245
        It is inexpensive enough and will likely be easy to flip if not to your liking, but I do understand the hesitation. This hobby can easily become obsessive if not careful.
        Mar 17, 2024 at 7:34 AM
        zottel likes this.
      5. Claritas
        Claritas
        There was a period (2017–19) where my solid state amps were unable to make me *feel* the music. The OG Vali 2—with a hundred dollar Mullard—fixed that. Since then, however, I use solid state most of the time. If you’re pleased with your current amp, save your money. You never know what real need you’ll need it for. Bear in mind, if this is applicable, that a hybrid won’t cut it with the good Sennheiser phones.
        Mar 17, 2024 at 7:44 AM
        zottel likes this.
    2. zottel
      zottel
      Already said so in World of Headphones post, but have to repeat it: The Raal 1995 Immanis are absolutely unbelievably good.
      1. View previous comments...
      2. Soups
        Soups
        As a Raal fan, I have to ask - how was the bass?
        Mar 2, 2024
      3. SoupRKnowva
        SoupRKnowva
        how did they compare to the magna? Id never heard of these till I saw your impressions in the world of headphones thread.
        Mar 2, 2024
      4. zottel
        zottel
        @Soups One word: Wonderful.
        @SoupRKnowva I didn’t hear the Magna. There were always people there, of course (world premiere at this World of Headphones), and I was happy to get some listening time at all shortly before I had to leave.
        Mar 2, 2024
        Cryptowolf, Soups and SoupRKnowva like this.
    3. zottel
      zottel
      I had nearly forgotten about the good old Bourée by Jethro Tull, didn’t listen to it for quite a while. Boy, it sounds great with the HEDD2!
      1. zottel
        zottel
        In fact, hearing better again after a bad cold over the weekend, _everything_ sounds amazing right now.
        Feb 19, 2024
        Cryptowolf likes this.
      2. HotRatSalad
        HotRatSalad
        If you have not heard the whole "stand up" box set from a few years ago that Steve Wilson was involved with, you really should. Fantastic from start to finish. Amazing album, Bouree was non album track if I remember correctly but it's on that box.
        Feb 19, 2024
        zottel likes this.
      3. loadexfa
        loadexfa
        I love Bourée. It's also a ton of fun to play on the flute. :)
        Feb 19, 2024
        zottel likes this.
    4. zottel
      zottel
      Damn, the HEDD2 sounds fantastic with my new Forza Claire HPC Mk 2. Better separation and sense of space, even more plankton.
      1. View previous comments...
      2. Merrick
        Merrick
        I also used to be a cable skeptic but have had enough experiences hearing clear differences that I now am a convert.
        Feb 13, 2024
        dubharmonic, Pocomo, zottel and 2 others like this.
      3. ilikebananafudge_
        ilikebananafudge_
        Same. I really didn't want cables to make a difference, because life would be simpler that way. But then I built a bunch myself to test that theory and was surprised at how much of a difference they made. I've settled on building my own using Neotech chassis wire, though, and that's worked quite well for me.
        Feb 13, 2024
        zottel, RestoredSparda and Merrick like this.
      4. ChaChaRealSmooth
        ChaChaRealSmooth
        Cables are snake oil BS....or so I thought until I tried a silver plated one for my HD600
        Feb 13, 2024
        zottel likes this.
    5. zottel
      zottel
      It seems that the Forza cable I ordered has been shipped. \o/ Though, according to DHL, the destination is “HI”. Hawaii?
      1. RestoredSparda likes this.
      2. View previous comments...
      3. zottel
        zottel
        The shipment has arrived in the local sorting center, so it should be ok. Still going to “HI”, though. Not sure what this is supposed to tell me. “Hidden”, maybe? An untranslated string? It goes to “HI” in the German version of the tracking site, too.
        Feb 12, 2024
      4. zottel
        zottel
        Nice, BTW, that Matt is asking for feedback in either a Head-Fi thread or our Forza thread here.
        Feb 12, 2024
      5. zottel
        zottel
        It’s here! \o/ And it’s great! There might be even more plankton than before, but I could be imagining that. Didn’t A/B yet. It definitely isn’t worse than before, though. :)
        Feb 13, 2024
        Gazny likes this.
    6. zottel
      zottel
      1. Cryptowolf likes this.
      2. zottel
        zottel
        While I was aware of HRTF/HpTF, I would never have guessed that differences of 15 dB in certain regions are possible. That’s insane.
        Feb 7, 2024
        Cryptowolf and ChaChaRealSmooth like this.
      3. ChaChaRealSmooth
        ChaChaRealSmooth
        Yeah headphone measurements can be wonky. That is why they can't necessarily be compared across different users, systems, etc.
        Feb 7, 2024
        Ardacer, Cryptowolf and zottel like this.
    7. zottel
      zottel
      More than 50h in now, HEDDphone Two is still becoming better. More bass, more detail, more awesome.
      1. Jinxy245 likes this.
      2. zottel
        zottel
        Might well be mental/psychoacoustic burn-in, of course. But whatever it is, it’s great. :)
        Feb 7, 2024
    8. zottel
      zottel
      Currently listening to Bach’s Matthäus-Passion conducted by Raphaël Pichon (harmonia mundi) on the HEDDphone. Absolutely addictive! <3
    9. zottel
      zottel
      Thought I was going crazy because the HEDDphone was much louder today. Then found that I had accidentally switched to high gain. :)
      1. Cryptowolf, gsanger, Claritas and 2 others like this.
    10. zottel
      zottel
      Billie Eilish has great sound quality on her recordings. Listening to the When We All … album with the HEDD right now and it’s wonderful.
    11. zottel
      zottel
      That feeling when whatever new hifi gadget you bought that sounded meh at first (always!) is becoming better and better: Priceless.
      1. View previous comments...
      2. ohshitgorillas
        ohshitgorillas
        I feel this. My Gustard R26 sounded absolutely awful at first listen. I then left for Asia for two and a half weeks and came back to a magnificent DAC.
        Jan 22, 2024
      3. Wilewarer
        Wilewarer
        See, I thought it took a day or two for the "wow, toy is awesome!" vibes to wear off for just about everything that isn't an expensive r2r DAC.
        Jan 22, 2024
      4. zottel
        zottel
        It’s always like that for me. While new gear has never been awful yet, it’s always “ah, well, not bad, not bad …”, more convincing myself that I like it than actual happiness. Then, after some 5-10h of listening, it’s becoming better, and soon honeymoon phase starts, which normally lasts for at least a month if the device is actually good.
        Jan 22, 2024
    12. zottel
      zottel
      Very first HEDDphone Two impression after only five minutes of listening: It neither insipid at all nor bass light.
      1. jexby, Jinxy245, Qildail and 4 others like this.
      2. View previous comments...
      3. zottel
        zottel
        Jan 22, 2024
        ilikebananafudge_ likes this.
      4. zottel
        zottel
        Ok, I think I will like it. Great voicing and musicality, wonderful detail especially in treble (!) and bass, currently getting better and better, great separation and layering, but all of that never in your face, nicely laid back.
        That’s it for early impressions, listening now.
        Jan 22, 2024
      5. zottel
        zottel
        I’m in love.
        Jan 22, 2024
        internethandle likes this.
    13. zottel
      zottel
      Just ordered a Heddphone Two. Will be shipped by end of January. I’m very much looking forward to hearing it!
      1. Cryptowolf and ilikebananafudge_ like this.
      2. ilikebananafudge_
        ilikebananafudge_
        Cool! Curious to hear your impressions
        Jan 10, 2024
      3. zottel
        zottel
        I’m curious, too. Judging from reviews, detail should be spectacular, but it might sound a bit boring, not much slam especially compared to my beloved Focals? Let’s see. :)
        Jan 10, 2024
        ilikebananafudge_ likes this.
    14. zottel
      zottel
      Rediscovering Bitter:Sweet, especially The Mating Game (album) is totally great.
      1. AdvanTech and Vansen like this.
      2. zottel
        zottel
        Last time I listened was with Spotify and Bose BT headphones. Unbelievably great sound with my rig of today, where all those completely different sounds are perfectly separated.
        Jan 9, 2024
      3. AdvanTech
        AdvanTech
        oh yeah, good samples in that album
        Jan 9, 2024
        zottel likes this.
    15. zottel
      zottel
      Is it just me or does alcohol f**k with your hearing, too? When I’m very drunk like right now, there’s a constant hiss and other noises.
      1. View previous comments...
      2. YMO
        YMO
        @DigMe invite me to your house and give me a few shots and I can make your magic dreams come true.
        Dec 31, 2023
      3. Armaegis
        Armaegis
        it's the 5g tracking microchips implanted in your brain from "the jab"; the space laser overlords will be taking over your prefrontal cortex soon
        Dec 31, 2023
        Cryptowolf and zottel like this.
      4. DigMe
        DigMe
        Dec 31, 2023
        Cryptowolf, Qildail and YMO like this.
    16. zottel
      zottel
      The Liechtenstein Tapes by Die Fantastischen Vier really show what tape saturation can do for music. (Recorded in 2022 on analog equipment.)
      1. Northwest likes this.
    17. zottel
      zottel
      Great wording for lifeless sound: “It’s almost as if they found a way to explain the bass to you, rather than you actually experience it.”

      1. Pocomo, Joshvar, joch and 1 other person like this.
      2. zottel
        zottel
        (From a guy in the Audiophiles room on Matrix.)
        Dec 2, 2023
    18. zottel
      zottel
      Oooh … Just saw GoldenSound’s review of the HEDDphone Two. This sounds as if it was right up my alley. Could sb throw money my way?
      1. View previous comments...
      2. Riotvan
        Riotvan
        Yeah but you maybe have to wait for a revision if the cups falling off the yoke problem is a widespread issue.
        Oct 10, 2023
        zottel likes this.
      3. netforce
        netforce
        Speaking as someone from headphones.com, we did send the HEDD 2 to both GS and JV to get two different perspective plus we do have the written article written by Caleb on our site. The store part of headphones.com is a separate entity from the content side who is given creative freedom.
        Oct 10, 2023
      4. netforce
        netforce
        If we did want to make arrangements for tour pair, I could talk to my bossman about arranging it. Only issue is stock is still little slim for a bit.
        Oct 10, 2023
        Huhnkopf, zottel, dubharmonic and 2 others like this.
    19. zottel
      zottel
      Currently experiencing renewed love for my rig. Only difference: Switched to sinc-M at HQPlayer. So damned good!
      1. zottel
        zottel
        Before sb asks: Rig is HQPlayer -> Zen Stream -> Meier Daccord -> Meier Jazz FF -> Clear Mg
        Oct 8, 2023
      2. zottel
        zottel
        I’m not even sure if sinc-M is so much better than poly-sinc-gauss-xla, but it’s different. It’s just good to have something different from time to time.
        Oct 8, 2023
    20. zottel
      zottel
      Testing different HQPlayer filters for the first time. I should have done that much earlier.
      1. View previous comments...
      2. zottel
        zottel
        Not that easy. I found the poly-sincs hb, ext2, extr-lp, and gauss engaging, as well as closed-form-M and sinc-M. Then I started comparing to poly-sinc-gauss-xla and got confused because I preferred it to most of the others. :) After hours of listening, stuff like this becomes hard.
        Oct 7, 2023
        Cryptowolf and ilikebananafudge_ like this.
      3. zottel
        zottel
        In the end, I liked sinc-M best, though. As my DAC doesn’t support 176.4 kHz (192 max) and sinc-M only supports upsampling in integers, I need resampling help from Roon for multiples of 44.1 kHz. Not ideal, but still sounds better than gauss-xla, IMHO, at least with my rig.
        Oct 7, 2023
        Cryptowolf and ilikebananafudge_ like this.
      4. zottel
        zottel
        I’ll have to revisit this with fresh ears, though.
        Oct 7, 2023
        ilikebananafudge_ likes this.
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  • About

    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Franconia, Germany
    Gear List:
    Meier Corda Daccord ff, Jazz ff
    HEDDphone Two, Clear Mg, HD650
    Bathys
    Dynaudio Music 5
    Roon, HQPlayer, Zen