The All Purpose Advice Thread

Hi Everyone! Just some updates and questions for the interested.

The Vali 2 drives my HD 800 much better than my Chord Mojo. People over at head-fi claimed that the Chord Mojo can drive the HD 800. For anyone interested in the Mojo for it's amp, no it cannot drive the HD 800, not even close.

Sold it since my crack speedball took Vali 2's place as my main amp.

I'm a bad decision maker

I've been browsing everyday! People can be pretty intense here though.... According to Zach, both SS and OTL amps work well with the Eikon/Atticus.

Yep... And now to add to my bad decision making,.. I am also adding the Mjolnir 2 to my collections alongside with my CrackSpeedball.

If anyone is interested, I can give a comparison between the Mjolnir 2 and the Crack Speedball with the HD 800 if anyone's interested(once my Mjolnir 2 arrives).

I have a couple updates as well.

I preferred my Chord Mojo as a standalone DAC than my Modi Multibit. The Chord Mojo sounds more musical and it's warmer than the modi multibit(which I prefer on a headphone as dry as the HD 800).

The Modi-Multibit sounds more neutral and has slightly better detail retrieval imo.

I was going to sell my Mojo but props to whoever told me to keep my Mojo just in case.

My question is, do I NEED to get the Gungnir Multibit to get the most out of my Mjolnir 2?

I've researched and some people recommend me not to get the Mjolnir 2 unless I am going for a balanced set up with the Gungnir Multibit.

It would be nice if I can keep the Chord Mojo as my standalone DAC and pair it with the Mjolnir 2 to drive the HD 800 + ZMF Eikon.

Thoughts?

 

The idiots on HF driving their HD800s with a mojo aren't even getting a fraction of what the HD800s are capable of. It did okay with IEMs but wasn't adequate for the HD650s even.

Well if you want to get the most out of your mjolnir 2, obviously you'll need a better dac. It doesn't have to be balanced though.

 

I agree with you. I got the Chord Mojo originally because people claimed that it's powerful enough to drive the HD 800/HD 650.

Can't drive either of them very well. Even the Vali 2 outperforms the Mojo in amping.

I'll consider a DAC upgrade in the future. I love the sound signature of the Chord Mojo so I think I will stick with that for now.

Good to know that I don't need a balanced set up. Thanks for the input!

Excited to get my Mjolnir 2 to pair with my Chord Mojo.

I'll post some impressions here and on the Mjolnir 2 thread once I get my Mjolnir 2.

 

You need the NightHawk.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_703NHTHAWK/AudioQuest-NightHawk.html

BTW the promotion is ending tomorrow.

 

Stop shilling the NightHawk. I listened to it recently and the experience doesn't change a bit of my opinion that NightHawk is of the worst piece of shit in my experience.

 

Have you tried the Elear, @Griffon?

Other than the Sonnett synergy issue, I think it's the closest match for those criteria.

 

lol
Then buy the LCD-2!

 

I have the Fortex TH-900 which I bought recently and really love. I'm thinking of buying one of the Massdrop TH-X00. Which one would you recommend? The purpleheart or should I wait for them to do a new batch of the ebony? From what I read, it seems that the ebony would be more balanced and neutral compared to the TH-X00 and would be a good complement...

 

The ebony will be a better complement to the strongly V-shaped 900; not night and day, but similar and slightly tweaked. Not a bad choice if you already love the biodynamic sound. I would go HD6X0 if you want something that's truly different.

 

Is the Magni 2 Uber basically the amp to get to drive Planars/high impedance headphones for under $200?

 

Good, so now I just have to hope they'll release some ebony again I'm guessing that the purpleheart is much closer to the TH-900...

I definitely intend to get an HD650 eventually.

 

Differences between the wood cups are small, the general tuning of the TH-X00 doesnt seem to change. I doubt most would be able to hear the difference between the three.

I would also recommend something completely different if you are looking to compliment your Th-900, th-x00 is a variation on that same theme.

 

What are the open, laid-back in the treble headphones worth having? My 3 headphones that I'll probably always have are all various shades of bright (800, HE6 and AD2000) and I'm just trying to survey my options for exploring laid-back pairs

-Laid back, non-fatiguing treble
-Bassy or at least bass neutral
-Resolving power and soundstage are not priorities
-Amp is Mjolnir 2, so dynamic or playnar whatever
-Have had 650 (may get again regardless) and currently have Elear which would theoretically be the one getting replaced

PM-2, PMx2? There's gotta be others

 

Oh ok, the innerfidelity review made it seem like there were bigger differences between both (at least as much as between a DT880 and DT990)... I will get an HD650 and other headphones eventually but I really like the TH-900 and getting a cheaper version that I'm less scared of scratching or breaking would be nice

 

You might want to share with the group the rest of your chain. All the Fostex TH... headphones are very easy to drive, and your current gear might not be up to the task for other headphones recommended. I agree with @ibzrg1570 that an HD600 or HD650 would be very complimentary and fulfilling in the mids (that's where all those Fostex TH series headphones are greatly lacking) But, different amplification might be in order. I'd hate for you to purchase a power hungry headphone only to realize that you Chord Mojo isn't up to the task...

 

Good point, I currently have a Fiio E17 and an Audio Technica AT-HA22TUBE (which I think is only available in Japan). I do eventually plan to improve the rest of my chain. Besides the TH-900, I mostly have Beyerdynamic headphones DT880, DT990, T90 and DT770 (but I don't really like the DT770 much) which tend to not to be great either for the mids. The best headphone I have in regard to mids is the Meze 99 Classics.

Thanks everyone!

 

@tomtan I'll add that when I compared the ebony vs purple heart (~30 minutes, meet conditions) I was able to hear a difference between them. As expected, the ebony was noticeably more neutral, but it took a few minutes to acclimate before I could consistently tell them apart with all genres. The sound of the Sennheisers is very different and while most of us enjoy it you should decide for yourself. You should compare your TH-900 directly against a HD6X0 if you get a chance before you buy a TH-X00 or invest too much on your chain for high impedance headphones.

 

I think I'm gonna end up with the Jot with Modi Multibit. I knew my source wasn't the best but I didn't know how shit it was until I plugged my HA-2 into my new V20 (old phone was dying) and holy shit. I can't wait to hear even more.

 

@ibzrg1570 Actually, if my AT-HA22TUBE can handle my 600 ohm DT880, would it be ok wih a HD6X0? The sennheiser are around 300 ohm from what I've seen.

I'd actually love to find a good primer about understanding impedance, V RMS and the rest of the specs listed by amp manufacturers...

I do tend to listen to music at relatively low levels.

 

Theoretically yes, but there's more to it than just getting sufficient volume. Every amp adds it's own flavor to your sound. You might miss out on hearing some nuances because you listen at low volumes, I struggled with that for a long time too. Ideally you'd be able to try the HD6X0 on your own setup first.