The All Purpose Advice Thread

Can you explain your thoughts regarding the Liquid Carbon?

 

IMO the next big upgrade would be building the diy Torpedo III kit.

 

Hands - just wondering, but wouldn't the tubes dictate a bit of the impressions with the Valhalla 2? I mean, I haven't heard it myself... Not entirely sure how much they change the sound... For Matt's Lyr, I found them to change it almost as much as a Woo amp. (Not quite though).

Maybe the Lyr 2 is just more like say the Zana Deux with regards to tube rolling (I haven't really bothered much with tube rolling the Zana Deux myself)...

Also, my vote is for the Torpedo 3 with Cinemags. Just because I know you can solder well and I also mostly just want to hear it

 

Hello, everyone. First post here.

So, I'm on the hunt for some full sized closed cans for listening to music in the office and mixing a bit at home. I've been to r/headphones, amazon, and head-fi reading reviews and trying to do everything in my power to understand what are the proper headphones for me. Unfortunately I can't listen to headphones before making a decision because there's no store that allows that near me (Lisbon, PT).

I'm currently listening to electronic music on an eight year old set of sennheiser hd280. They are not mine and sound a bit too "dark" for me. Also, they get uncomfortable on the top of my head after a while and warm my ears a bit too much. I also have the sennheiser mx760 earplugs (a bit on the bright side) and the sony mdr-cd180 (not to my taste) at home.

I want the best neutral/balanced sounding closed cans for under 150 euros. Plain and simple. My shortlist includes the AKG K553 Pro (massdrop), ATH-M40x, and NVX-XPT100. Do you have any other recommendations? From my list, what would be your best bets?

Thanks in advance!

 

Hi Guys,

Is Luis at LFF/Enigmatic Audio still at it? I just can’t reach the website and I was wondering if he is in it for the long term. In comparison Zach (ZMF) seems to be a lot more invested in the marketing side of things with a very professional looking website with everything clearly explained.

Maybe he has moved to a new website? If you guys know anything please clarify.

 

Some folks recommend Faderlube over contact cleaner. Not sure how expensive it is. And I think that amp uses an Alps pot so finding some holes will be necessary to squirt some of the stuff in there. If you do not want to go to all that trouble, you may just want to run it quickly up and down while off and see if that improves it enough.

And if the cost of Faderlube is high, then you can always replace the pot with another decent one if you are handy.

 

Can anyone compare the Chord Mojo to the Schiit Magni/Modi stack or GOV2? I promise this is not a troll question My primary headphones are the TH-600.

I'm looking to move away from a big desktop rig. Something small I can plug my android phone or Fiio X3ii (via coax) into at work. I like the Mojo's set of features (coax and usb inputs, battery powered, etc.) but all the Hugo nonsense makes me skeptical of anything I read about Chord.

 

Went to a vintage audio store today and tried these through a Magnavox 8301-10 that was pulled from a console, he thinks it had like 3-5w. I don't know much about it, he said it's a good tweeter, high efficiency speaker or headphone amp. The bass output was insane. Does anyone know or have any experience with it? It was a single output transformer tube amp but also had a tube for the power and the input.

 

Hi all, I'm looking to upgrade from my beloved DT990s. The options I'm exploring at the moment are a mid-fi sidegrade of HD6x0 / K7XX or going premium and aiming for an HD800, LCD-2, or T1. A couple of questions:

1. Is the HD6x0 a meaningful step up from DT990s? And if yes, is the HD650 worth extra money over the HD600?

2. Given I apparently love the Beyer sound (and Grados, so maybe I'm a treble-head), would I be better served with a T1/T90 or maybe an HD800?

Bear in mind that the above would be run out of an O2 and a Fiio E10k, as my current living situation precludes a proper desktop setup... I obviously have plans for a better upstream situation but I don't think it would happen for a good year or so. In the meantime I could potentially consider something USB powered (Geek Out Etc).

Any help greatly appreciated!

 

Hello,

I am currently looking for a complement/upgrade to my modded Hifiman HE560, something with less treble with a more relaxed sound.
Rig is currently Uberfrost into Asgard 2 from PC.
Was considering getting a pair of HD650 and modding them or making the jump for an Ether C.
Open or closed does not really matter and budget isn't set in stone. Comfort is important though I have to be able to wear them for atleast 3 hrs without any pain.


Any advice greatly appreciated !

 

HD6x0 is a HUUUUUUUUUGGGGEEEE step up from Beyers, but I don't know if that difference can be heard through an o2 or fioo amps. Much cleaner response from the Senn's, but many people don't like them when driven through lower end amps. I am not super familiar with the geek out, but heard decent things when paired with the HD600. If you do prefer a more natural or brighter sound the HD600 would fit your preferences more. I would say 70% of people prefer the darker HD650's, but there is a strong army of HD600 supporters out there too. You could also be looking for an easier to drive headphone, maybe look at the Hifiman 400S's, Audeze Sine, or Oppo PM3's.

Here is a great place for the HD650's. Would work out great with Schiit amp and give you a significantly different feel than the HE560's. Going to be less slam and sub bass thant the HE560, but the HD650 will give you a wider soundstage, airier more detailed sound. Keep headphone you keep as you upgrade other components in your system and will continue to amaze. Just like every guy needs a good suit, every headphone enthusiast needs to own HD650 for a bit. Ether C can wait, spend the extra money on an amp upgrade, Lyr 2 would drive both the hifiman's and the senn's.

 

@mawk I was a longtime DT880 owner, had a HD600 for a time, and currently on a HD800. I think I've been generally OK with bright headphones. In my experience the 600 was noticeably darker (as in, the treble is more relaxed) than the 880--which is already less bright than your 990. If you go for a 650, you might find it too dark, especially at first.
Given your current amp situation, I wouldn't recommend a HD800. Try and demo a HD6x0 if you can; if you take the plunge and buy one, give yourself time to adjust to the sound signature. Either 6x0 headphone is definitely better than a DTxx0, and you can listen for longer because of the more relaxed treble. You might find they clamp hard too--give that some time to settle in.

 

@mawk You might like the original T1. Even from a low-end amp it will bring better soundstage and resolution. I have tried the T1.2 and was very unimpressed, especially considering the price. I really wanted to like the headphone, but Beyer dropped the ball on that one.

However, the HD6xx is a better value and based on the general consensus, ultimately would prove the superior headphone, given a sufficent upstream setup.

 

I'm more of a portable guy, but I'm looking to setup something for my desk at work. I'm not sure exactly what to use as the source. I have portable players, but I'd like to expand my horizons a little bit.

What are my options for the desktop source? Laptop, desktop pc (or mac), etc. I'm not looking for a cd player, I don't have many cd's left, most of my music is in digital format. Are there other source options other than computers?

Since it's my first foray into a true desktop setup, I'd like to keep my options to be reasonably priced. I can purchase a dedicated music player of some sort to start things out. I'd like to add desktop dacs and amps down the road, once I have my source issue resolved. I know this could get extremely pricey, but for the source I'd like to stay within the $2k range. If it's a computer, it would be dedicated to music only. I have a Macbook pro for work, I will keep them separate.

I have a few portable dac/amps that I can use for the desktop for now. I would like to try some desktop items, maybe Schiit, they seem like safe components to start with.

Not sure if it matters, but I generally listen to lots of different music genres. Country music is probably the one and only that I don't enjoy. Everything else I either like or haven't heard. My preferred sound signature is a little warmth and I am a basshead. I also enjoy treble, not rolled off or hot.

Any advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated. If you guys need more info, please let me know.

I forgot, I listen to predominantly IEMS, I have one set of cans, Fostex Th900. I am considering adding another set of cans, just for work though. I'm toying with the idea of adding an Abyss. I've only owned one set of cans, the Th900. I'd love to have a nice set of open cans as well.

 

Given your budget, one of the best sounding sources would be Audirvana Plus latest version running on a Mac Mini with OS on ssd. Files can come over thunderbolt external drive. You would be hard pressed to find something as versatile or that sounds as good once properly setup. and it would fit well within your budget. And if you ever sell the mac, you will not take a big hit.

you could run it headless without monitor or keyboard if you wish to employ another Apple product like phone or pad. Not sure if A+ support it but JRiver does. JRiver is inferior sounding though. Good luck.

 

Having owned the HE-400 for the last few years I am looking to upgrade. I have previously owned a pair of HE-6 powered by a large speaker amp which I really adored. The reason for the downgrade was the speaker amp just took too much space, so I decided to get something that could be driven easily and with a greater emphasis on bass, which lead me to the HE-400.

I have a budget of around 800-900USD for used or new headphones. I was thinking to get another pair of HE-6 (used) but I'd prefer not to own such power hungry headphones again.

What I love about the HE-400 are how easy it is to drive, and how strong the low notes hits, but what I miss from the HE-6 (when amped properly) is the speed, attack, and how clean it sounded, the much nicer non-recessed mids, soundstage, and honestly, I never found the bass lacking particularly once EQed, honestly an HE-6 type headphone with the HE-400's bass, and less sibliance (as both suffer from this) would be awesome. It's difficult for me to compare the HE-6 to the HE-400 now, as I haven't listened to them for a long time, but at the time I was comparing them, the HE-6 was definately IMO a huge step above.

Any suggestions? I'm thinking maybe used pair of HE-560s, but I'm sure there are better options than that.