The All Purpose Advice Thread - Part 2

My condolences, but that was an infamous issue that they resolved and particular only to that model.

Look up "plug in load to tube amp before powering on" for yourself and you'll see that it's common knowledge.

edit: oh, and btw, excellent choice in amplifiers! you have quite the firepower.

 

Thank you!

Another question I should have asked before, but forgot: is there a brand of RCA cable I could reliably run ~25ft to a subwoofer? They'd come from the pre-amp output of my Jotunheim 2.

 

SVS (mfr/seller of subwoofers) sells a subwoofer cable that probably would do the trick. Then again, so would any good quality RCA cable of sufficiently low capacitance & resistance.

Years ago I purchased an XLR/balanced cable from ProAudioLA (www.proaudiola.com), I believe this company is a player in the relatively large west coast music studio market. Anyway, they were very helpful and knowledgeable. If you called them, I'm sure they could suggest the right cable, then make it for you.

 

redacted

 

Turning on my shortest way 51+ with grado rs1x's was fine, but I got a pop when turning the amp off. Does this mean I should avoid doing that, or is it at a safe level? I didn't get a chance to try the headphones after that because I had to go to work.

Finding info on this online is actually a nightmare. And no one talks about the scenarios of both turning an amp on and turning it off in the same post.

 

Well I just pause the music and put the volume to 0 and keep them plugged in while switching an amp Off and On. I’m more worried about shorting an amp by pulling a SE headphone in and out during operation.

 

Do you have any amps that pop the drivers when you do this?

edit: I ought to apologize to the the sw51+ for saying it popped/thumped my grado drivers when turning it off -- the tubes I'm using just get microphonics when that switch is flipped. It is a very loud switch, tbf.

 

I could not find a portable advice thread, so here I must post.

Back in the olden days we used portable amps with our iems and source devices like early phones and ipods. Since we have a ton of tiny usb dongles for under $100 with perhaps limited current, wondering if there is any modern amp only devices that might sound decent?

Thinking I might need even more power than the high power mode from my LG phone for an incoming planar iem. Why not use the decent dac in the phone via HP out and just route it to a decent amp?

Why am I shying away from dongles? Current and mostly prior experience wiht dongle coming disconnected by pocket movement. Budget under $80 if possible

Ideas or Thoughts welcome!

 

How big are you willing to let this portable amp be?

 

@Armaegis

Well, that is the problem. I swore I would never go back to carrying two bricks in my pocket. I really need to be pragmatic and hear how well the iems work with the phone once they come in. At least I can visit a friend who has a nice dac amp and see if there is benefit.

But to answer your question, something quite a bit smaller than the phone even if it is thicker would be nice. Yet not as big as the old Altoid CMoy days.

 

The LG phones are better than most entry level dongles and nearly all phones, full stop. I'll put Earmen and Ifi in the slightly above entry level dongles, but would have to hear them in comparison. I have had 4 or 5 LGs and in high power mode then beat a few Dragonflys and others.

I will try the planar with the LG and compare against the middle of the ifi range the Go- Bar which a friend has.

Certainly the ifi Go Link has been on my short list, but a bit worried about its captive cord. Kudos on the Gryphon!

 

What makes a good monitoring headphone? I have some outstanding headphones, but rarely do I hear about people using them to monitor. Does it even matter if I am just trying to listen and very minorly adjust recordings for Youtube videos? I have some modded T50RPs, but I have modded them so extensively "by ear" that I have no idea if they sound proper anymore. Everything else I have is either BT or classics from Sennheiser and my ZMF. Recording mostly ASMR type environmental stuff, but may add voiceovers eventually. Nothing fancy on the recording front, just a relatively inexpensive AT shotgun mic and a Motu M2.

 

Good isolation (if required), low distortion, neutral-ish frequency response.
Listen to a sine sweep, if it doesn't swing hard up/down you're probably fine.
It's often good practice to listen to your mixes on two different headphones/monitors anyways.

 

Similar to what @Armaegis said above, I've mixed a couple of albums using a combination of non-professional speakers and headphones. I did the majority of the work on the desktop speakers that I was the most familiar with, but were not neutral monitors. Then listen from the same amp but on headphones, then move it to another system entirely and listen again. Sometimes I would give a listen though my bandmate's macbook speakers, since so many people listen to music that way. Then I'd make compromise adjustments to get the sound as close to what I wanted across all the systems. Single driver/point source speakers are great for setting up the soundstage if you're concerned with that, pretty hard to do with headphones.

 

Hi everyone,

Sorry in advance...

Looking for speaker advice for my new office setup.

I'm moving my office/gear into a new room, and will be selling my old stuff (denon avr and Klipsch speakers). The room is a converted patio, and has t1-11 wood walls. (I was finally able to get the carpet in last week, and I'll have some new outlets installed next week.) The room is about 11 by 16 by 7. It's not perfectly silent, but it's definitely the quietest room in the house, due to its sturdier materials and new insulation. I wonder if the T1-11 is going to have an effect on sound in this room; any room I've ever played music in had drywall.

Based on my research, I think it's best if I go with some 6.5-inch active monitors because I will initially use these on a desk, but may move them to a tv setup in the future. I know it's hard to get enough bass with smaller speakers, and an monitor with an 8-inch woofer is going to be pretty bulky.

Preferences/uses:
Nearfield initially
Enough power for moderate-volume listening in this room


Content:
Music (metal, rock, orchestral)
gaming
Basic streaming

Based on my research, I think these three are readily available and make sense. The Yamaha sounds like a good fit for me, I keep hearing it's great for rock and metal. They're almost $700 for a new set; should I assume the higher msrp is due to it being a durable product, or just because it's popular? In any event, eBay has a big selection of used/refurbished monitors like these.

Options I'm considering:

1. Yamaha Hs7 ($520 pair used/refurb)
2. Mackie mr624 ($360 used/refurb)
3. JBL 306 MKii ($240 pr)

I saw Marv's post on the Schiit Syn with two sets of JBL monitors. If I really like whatever monitors I choose, I may go that route in the future.

Should I consider anything else?

Gjallhorn plus a passive bookshelf speaker (Triangle Borea BRO3)? (I will be disappointed if no one tells me the Triangles are actually shitty.)

Vanatoos?

I know some people like the Adam monitors, but I think I read here that their newer ones are of much lower quality. (I think I read the same is true of the newer Mackie speakers as well.)

I posted a picture of my desk area, which is a makeshift l-shape, in a corner. Should I avoid weird corner placement, or will these monitors be able to overcome the odd setup?

Thanks!

 

If you've got a Mackie MR624 on the shortlist, see if you can find the HR624 or HR824 instead. Costs a bit more, but much better sound from my decade old memory at this point.

Mackie speakers (at least on their PA side, I'm not sure about their monitors) went through a weird period that tanked their reputation. Their early stuff was good and made in Italy. Then they moved their production to China (rumour mill has it they bought into an old OEM that formerly made Behringer) and their stuff tanked bad. After that they moved production and upped their QC, but the damage to their reputation was done.

 

Thanks! I think I confused the two, because the MR624 is more readily available. (You might have been the one who suggested Mackies in the first place to me months ago.)

 

I have the JBL 306 MKII. I think they're very good for the price, but they are pretty unsparing. Listening to good recordings, they do a nice job; you get a good sense of spatial positioning and it's easy to discern the different instruments and voices. Listening to a lot of pop or rock music, I'm just shaking my head at the weirdness. My use case is in my basement, which is ~ 700 sq ft/70 sq m. They're loud enough for that and should be more than enough for your room. Bass is decent, but I'd want a sub if I was doing nothing but listening to the music. I actually mostly use them when I'm on the treadmill or trainer, so not at all critical listening.

I think they might be excellent with a Syn and a subwoofer; just remember they don't gloss over modern super-processed music.

 

I think they might be excellent with a Syn and a subwoofer; just remember they don't gloss over modern super-processed music.[/QUOTE]

I saw Marv's SYN + JBL quadraphonic setup in that SYN review post. I may do something like that too if I click with one of these. The JBLs seem like a fantastic deal for the quality they offer, and they'll definitely be loud enough.