The All Purpose Advice Thread

It can drive the 800S easily. Quality tho idk.

 

Thanks, but this is a little contradictory...

Concerning the Asgard: I'd like to avoid more gear on the desk. Actually I just sold my Mjolnir 2, since I've gone two channel all the way for music.

 

What are cheaper DACS I should consider up to $300? Just get a Modi Multibit and call it a day?

Looking to get up a cheaper corner setup with t00bs (SW51+ or ZDT Jr, dunno yet). Don't want to go overboard with a cheaper station.

 

Yes, that's probably your best option. I did a bunch of research into DACs up to $400 a year and a half ago and the one other well-reviewed unit was the Massdrop Airist R-DAC (the Soekris 1321 was beyond my budget). I'm not familiar with anything new that bests the Modi Multibit in your price range.

Drop no longer has the RDAC in stock but you might find one used for $300. I ended up getting one and am perfectly happy with it, for what it offers at the price (I use mine with a ZDT Jr and HD 6XX and HD 800 headphones).

 

Bifrost 2 checks all the marks.

 

Hello,
Anyone is experienced with Ollo S4?

I just got the above set of cans recently to be used for mixing-mastering.
I heard non but good things about them and was a little bit negatively surprised with the sound.
They sound nice but relatively closed sounding, too much high-bass (60-400hz) and lack sub bass (20-50hz) high mids (1-4khz) and highs (12-20khz).
I managed to improve the sound using sonarworks and i burn them in, but still it sounds closed and boxy.

Untill now I used my good old Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro, which I know should sound bigger in soundstage and brighter, but after fixing both's sound
(DT990 had too much highs in 4-20k, lacks a bit of sub bass in 20-50hz, mids in 600-100hz and high mids in 1.3-3khz)
The Beyerdynamic sounds much more natural and open (maybe because I use it for around 8+ years?)

Since I have 30 days trial period with Ollo I was thinking about changing the pads. I saw there are some nice and cheap ones on Aliexpress.
Did anybody experience them and tried things or have some recommendations regarding pads that will open the highs and soundstage and lower the hi-bass, and will over make them sound less boxy and closed and more flat? What material, thin vs. thick, etc...

Thank you very much!
Itamar.

 

What's a good and preferably not too expensive way (under 100$ I hope) to measure the sound pressure level of headphones? I try to protect my hearing, so I'd like to have a more precise idea of where I'm at. I'm looking for something that's more accurate than apps. Thank you.

 

I can't vouch for any of these, but for $30 CAD maybe worth a shot...
https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=sound+pressure+level+meter&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

 

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/preventing-hearing-loss.2731/
What I understand from this thread is that I should get a class 2 meter that can do dBC, and a homemade coupler. Am I on the right track? I guess a 100$ is a bit short if I'm looking for a known brand.

 

Hey everyone. I'm trying to find an upgrade to my it03.

I tried the FDX1 and the highs were very tinny, grainy and sharp while the bass was anemic at best. I promptly sent them back (Drop's service was amazing). I also did not burn them in and found out I could have had a defective pair.

I moved on to try the ISN H40. Amazing soudstage, but pretty much a colossal failure on every other front. Sibilance galore, bass bloom into every song, regardless of genre. Totally fell for the headfi hype.

I'm about to just pull the trigger on the it03 again, but I wanted to see if anyone had opinions on a decent upgrade in the same price range.

Love the U shape and bass quantity of the it03, but it doesn't quite slam fast/hard enough. I like the mids a lot for clarity but would like a tad more note weight. Highs are just fine to my ears. Soundstage is amazing for imaging but would really like a more 3D presentation/larger stage.

Any recommendations?

 

Looking for a sub $400usd closed overeat headphone that has a neutral signature. Will be paired with a jotunheim.
Thankyou

 

I want sum amp to bring to the cabin in these corona times.
HD600 and Denon AH-D2000. Magni 3+?
Arcam irDAC.

 

I'm looking to upgrade my dac that I use in my work area. The amp is the Taurus MK1. I think the Bifrost Multibit or Gungnir Multibit would be my preference but I have no idea. I like the Taurus because it's lean and mean. For my stereo amp I have the Aegir and I really likes it a lot over the Vidar. So some colouration I don't mind but I'm not a tube guy, but some visceral quality I'd like in the dac (hence my foray into multibit). Other dac options are also welcome, but my interweb search lead me to the afformentioned two

 

Hi all, nice to meet you.

Second post here (first was introduction

Here is my current system which I'm looking to upgrade:
Medi8er med600x -> AudioLab M-DAC -> Parasound P3 -> Cary Audio SA-200.2 -> System Audio Explorer Master
I'm planning to go all in and upgrade to new active wireless speakers from the same manufacture which will effectively eliminate all my components. However because of COVID I'm not able to travel to Denmark for who knows how much time and have to continue using what I have.
Here is the problem: I need to upgrade my DAC/preamp. I took for audition MSB Analog DAC and can't listen to my system any longer after I had to return it. I immediately realized that my preamp is not doing any good and I was getting the best results from Analog DAC directly hooked up into power amp. With MSB I was not critically listening to my collection, instead I couldn't stop enjoying the sound. I have to admit that I failed brief blind A/B test between MSB and my friend's Bryston BDA-1. Despite that, call it placebo but I was getting tired of BDA-1 sound quickly and was loosing interest; yes it is another level from M-DAC but still boring. I would have bought that MSB unit (or maybe even jumped to Rockna) if I was not going to upgrade my whole system.
So here I am. I need something for next few months (years?? hopefully not) to replace my M-DAC/P3 combo which I would be able to sell without loosing too much money.
I have been reading this forum a lot (I think that I read whole thread of Life after Yggdrasil - lots of good info but other than that have to buy DAC without auditioning it.
Here is the list I'm kinda considering, keep in mind that I'm from Canada:
- NAD M51 (I think that I can get good deal on used unit)
- Topping D90
- RME ADI-2
- Gungnir multibit
- Bifrost 2
Schiit DACs are not on top my list since they won't eliminate the need of preamp.

Any advise would be highly appreciated. Maybe I overlooked some options or just need to be pointed into the right direction.

Thank you and stay safe!

 

"good resale value" = buy used.

I know you want a more detailed answer, but that's really it IMO and I'm not in Canada to know more about nuances in gear value there.

Also things like this should probably go in general advice thread.

 

Resale value is a rather odd basis for choosing a DAC. As with any component, buy used if you want to minimize resale loss. If you buy and resell at near the going used price, you will not lose much.

You didn't say anything about what you like or dislike about the sound qualities of the 3 DACs you've compared. Would you be dissatisfied with anything less than what you heard from the MSB? You thought the Bryston was an improvement but you were still unhappy with it.

 

here are some other options. these are all preamps selling for less that 1600 usd

Emotiva PT-100
NAD C 658
Parasound NewClassic 200 Pre
Parasound Halo P6
Rotel RC-1572
Wyred4Sound mPRE

this was my 1st post, 2nd was introduction

 

Agreed about used part. That's another reason why Schiit is at the bottom of my list - it would be hard to get those two models used. In Canada it's similar to US except if buying new we have to pay duties.

 

Bryston is too bright and fatiguing for me. My current DAC doesn't resolve as many details as even Bryston does. Knowing the law of diminishing returns is there something which would be 90% close to MSB and still enjoyable but not so expensive? MSB is almost 10 years old and I was hoping that newer models would at least start approaching to that level. I'm looking to get good imaging, fast base and accurate representation of mids.