The All Purpose Advice Thread

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

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  1. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    This is a good closed option. Warmish neutral with flat bass response out to almost 20Hz. You can tune the upper-mids and highs by playing around with front damping. Not great technically, but a pleasant listen.

    The stock T50RP cups don't provide much isolation IMO, so one of Zach's closed wood cup mods or similar would better suit your needs.
     
  2. Partytime

    Partytime Facebook Friend

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    Hey gang, I posted a thread about some vintage HD424s I got. I’m loving the cans.

    Currently I have them running off my Asgard 2, it’s sounds good, but I just can’t get enough volume/headroom.

    I have more powerful amps, but Bc of the vagaries of where different amps and headphones live in my house I can’t really pair these with the more powerful amps I have. At least they can’t live together in the same room regularly.

    Sooo, that leads to my question.

    Does anyone have recommendations for a relatively inexpensive; let’s say that means under $500, but cheaper the better, that would pair nicely with these headphones?

    They are very high Z, 2,000 ohms, and from what I’ve read like a lot volts.

    I was thinking about a Magni, that puts out a decent amount more power into 600 ohms than my Asgard and is only $99.

    I really like them with my WA2, which makes sense Bc high Z Senns like OTL amps.

    Is there a good OTL amp out there that puts out some juice for not a lot of dollars?

    Solid state or tube, smaller footprint preferred. SE or Balanced.

    Bonus points if it has a meaty low end, these cans could use any help they get down low.

    Thanks in advance- Nick

    Edit- maybe a bottle head crack?
     
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2019
  3. Partytime

    Partytime Facebook Friend

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    Answering myself a little bit on this one...

    Thinking about getting a DIYaudio Amp Camp and building a little adapter to hook the Senns up to the speaker taps.

    Any thoughts on this idea?
     
  4. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Anyone using Schiit Eitr with MDxAirist R2R? Thoughts? Or nervousa?
     
  5. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    Fairly well established the usb on the airist sucks, but given it already sounds halfway to nos and is kinda soft eitr - which is soft and fuzzy itself - might be the wrong one to buy unless you have it already.

    I'm guessing here but if you have to buy then an rpi streamer is what you want, prolly.
     
  6. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    chain is iPhone-->Apple CCK-->USB-->Airist, so maybe worth experimenting?
     
  7. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    Is it ending at 2ch or cans?

    If its cans and you already have the eitr stick with it, but if its 2ch a streamer will let you keep your phone on you while you blast tunes and that's frankly worth a lot.
     
  8. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Just the office rig, so maybe I'll try to snag a used Eitr. Home setup is already running Allo Digione Sig to Yggdrasil A2 via BNC.
     
  9. Josh83

    Josh83 Friend

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    NAD HP50, Monoprice M565C, ZMF Classic, or Focal Elegia (if you can find a good used deal).
     
  10. Superexchanger

    Superexchanger Friend

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    Looking for an AIO DAC/amp solution that plays to the strengths of two diametrically opposed headphones:

    Focal Elex
    Meze Empyrean

    Issues with the former: on low output-Z SS gear, sounds shouty, lean, too treble heavy for my liking. Drawbacks significantly mitigated on high-Z outputs that I've had access to.
    Issues with the latter: somewhat too much midbass, lacks clarity, weird timbre (some issues probably not fixable with upstream gear).

    Despite deficiencies, I love both for different reasons/music/moods. If the above request is a null solution, would be open to something that improves the Elex while not exacerbating the Empyrean's perceived weaknesses.

    Currently I use a Chord Mojo and a Schiit Fulla 2, and don't like the Focal on either. I can improve the Elex *slightly* by running into the pre-out on the Fulla 2, but this janky. Empyrean works for me on both.

    Initial read is finding a decent NOS DAC/amp with Z-out switching. Looking for under 1K, open to used suggestions or other areas I'm not seeing.

    Thanks!
     
  11. Zhanming057

    Zhanming057 Friend

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    There are more options if you don't insist on the AIO.

    simplest case is a used Mjolnir 1+Gungnir Multibit kit which shouldn't be hard to find for under $1,000.
     
  12. Partytime

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    Schiit stack might make the Focals a little more shouty/forward sounding. But I’ve never heard the combo, so that’s just a guess.

    I’ve found my MJ2/Gungnir Multibit combo can exacerbate that kind of sound. Example being that I had the same feelings about the ZMF Auteur on the Schiit stack and then I paired them with Woo WA2 and now I really love them. YMMV.

    An OTL amp would probably help.
     
  13. zonto

    zonto Friend

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  14. Superexchanger

    Superexchanger Friend

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    All very helpful. I somehow completely missed the Elex/Eclair thread when I searched.

    Thanks again all.
     
  15. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    I noticed that the Airist scaled nicely with the EITR. Definitely a step up from USB and certainly worth the cost of the EITR IMHO.
     
  16. Ksaurav402

    Ksaurav402 Friend

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    I really enjoyed Empyrean with Lyr3 and Gungnir. May be new Bifrost 2 + Lyr 3 will work well and there are many B-stock Lyr 3 available so you can have this Combo for 1100. Smooth Lyr3 pairs well with Empyrean
     
  17. Ksaurav402

    Ksaurav402 Friend

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    I feel coax was better compared to USB on this DAC. I used Digione signature. However I have no experience with Eitr but a good COAX signal is worth trying out
     
  18. econaut

    econaut Almost "Made"

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    Two questions about the differences between the first and the second revision Jotunheim:
    1. Is there any drawback the second revision has? Anything worse in comparison to the first one?
    2. Do I understand correctly that the second revision made the not warm sounding Jot a warm sounding amp?
    I can get a good price for my first revision Jot right now and I am thinking about getting a new one for a little extra charge.

    The system right now is Bifrost Gen5 -> Saga -> Jot -> HD650/TH-X00 Ebony

    The future system would be Bifrost 2 (already ordered) -> Jot 1st or 2nd revision -> HD650/TH-X00 Ebony with me having to find out if I leave Saga in the chain or connecting Bifrost 2 and Jot via XLR which might help with my ground loop.

    Thank you guys, you are awesome!
     
  19. lcmusiclover

    lcmusiclover Friend

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    I'm looking for a subwoofer option for my work system. It's:

    PC->USB->CEntrance DACport->JBL LSR30X (powered 2-way system from Drop).

    So what I need is a powered subwoofer with a cross-over built in and line out to the JBLs.

    And I'm clearly looking for cheap -- CEntrance was almost free when I picked it up used, and the speakers ... well, they came from Drop, so ...

    The thing is, I work in a noisy environment with HVAC ducts and vents right above my head and noisy computer and networking equipment all around me. So I'm looking for something 'not horrible sounding' and inexpensive. I just don't get much of any bass out of the JBLs.

    I don't know if any such thing exists -- clearly there are such products, but I'm unwilling to spend big bucks on a 'nice' subwoofer, given that the quality will be wasted in this environment.

    Any suggestions?
     
  20. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Just go onto craiglist or whatever local marketplace, do a search for JBL/Mackie/Behringer/Presonus/KRK + sub. Grab whatever suits your needs for the least amount of money.

    I really hate fighting noise with more noise though. Is there any option to spend a few dollars to improve the acoustics of your work environment? If it's a drop ceiling, can you toss some old blankets or something on top to deaden the noise?
     
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