Vtory

@PTS technically you can't reduce how much heat comes out, merely the rate at which it does. On the downside that means the M22 will run hotter. Probably not enough to put you into the danger zone though.

Same deal with two Vidars. I got my first headphone rig primarily for those hot summer days that the central AC just can't cope with the 2 channel.

@Armaegis Technically you can reduce the heat by rebiasing Class A to run cooler, but it probably wouldn't sound as good. The wood absorption method seems to make a big difference though. Less airflow, true, but these amps are build like tanks.

Except for very recent ess variants, all previous modi (1-3) were akm I think.

Guess we better cancel Vtory

I find these old HF posts by aerius quite helpful: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/understanding-and-battling-upgradeitis.70046/#post-795853 & https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sound-preferences-and-priorities.70068/#post-795848

I'm thinking AKM is rather weird for their default? process. But whatever, I'm content with what the dac is doing!

yeah as long as it sounds good that's all that matters! the only time id say my points are anything more than academic is if you were doing high end DSD oversampling with HQP, it'd be a waste of processing power on those advanced modulators if its getting remodulated anyways by the ESS chip

Just have read the akm doc and compared it to ess one. Now I see your concern. I may later try out different digital volumes and observe how the device reacts. Also need to try out bypassing feature (Gustard offers it).

I recently got Gustard U18. It’s a DDC but first time I have any Chi-fi item in my desktop setup and it’s very good. Some Chi-fi items are good and punch above their price point.

I did own u18 before! Along with x26 back then. Gustard is pretty good with digital devices imho (at least in recent years). I give more credit to Huang@Gustard over Topping/SMSL any day.

(SMSL isn't too bad but lower products are intentionally designed mediocre to prevent carnivalization)

Btw my current main dac is gustard again. haha

And perhaps that's why I could never settle down forum-proven/approved combos. Mostly very silly but that's just me..

Dishwasher?

Eight years on my Das 3 now. An air can blast and a damp cloth wipedown every other month keeps it snappy.

@dubharmonic Never used it. I followed kinda old-school ways -- using soapy water to soak keycaps. I'd like to know if dishwasher can do any magic!

@Qildail Awesome. My kinesis split mech kbd has been here for 5-ish years. They really last long if properly cleaned.

What gains are you hearing when going bal in (vs SE in)? I've been waffling on a bal DAC to pair with mine. I like the SA-1 a lot, too. I've had it since July 2021. It's basically my daily driver.. and I can't remember the last time I've used a solid state as much as this one.. let alone for ~9 months.

I found bal input tightened sound a bit, also transient got sharper. tonal balance was very subtly better, too. SA1 to me is inherently warm, laid back and on the polite side, so, bal-in gain seems very large to me. YMMV tho!

@FlySweep Just another thought. My point/guess here is to get amp input balanced. SE dac with some SE-Bal converters (active or transformer) will prol work equivalently. This might work better particularly if you're content with the current dac.

Yes, sooner or later someone has to do it! PS: that driver you are working on is so interesting...I know you are price conscious but don't price it too low, don't be the next Vapor Audio (which ended bankrupt, with lots of angry customers because prices were too low to be profitable). 1/2

Don't be shy with prices, as long as you don't pull up a Fang everyone will understand if it costs ie 1400$ instead of 900$. Of course, just my opinion. 2/2

Oh yeah the plan was to keep using the current drivers with the single N52 magnet and more typical graphene diaphragm (which still out-specs 99.99% of dynamic drivers IMO) in all of the 3d printed builds for the value-minded ppl out there and use the new double mag pleated diaphragm/copper coil drivers in CNC builds, maybe made of solid metal with much more robust build quality and accessories at a higher price tier.

As far as d/s goes, the 9038 was pretty solid. I believe it was the 9018 that got a bad rep.

Revisiting many things, is not as bad as we made them out to be

Honest question: Other than the obvious power capabilities, what qualities bring on the switch?

Theoretically, single ended vs differential amplification. Subjectively I hear edgier transient, less bloom, and cooler expression with the monoblocks. Single and dual just sound like two different amps.

The loaner thread will go up as soon as I get my thoughts about the new mesh and post up on the thread

From what I gather synergy isn't what Abyss is concerned with, it's preventing their hp's from being discussed or heard on anything other than TOTL gear.

They’re just concerned about negative reviews and they’re such snobs about their headphones that if anyone dislikes them they blame the upstream gear publicly. It’s pathetic.

It's a great shame because the Diana TC are actually excellent headphones that are tuned quite tastefully as well. I actually prefer them over the similarly priced LCD-5, in terms of both sound and construction. The company rep could be a little more gentle in their approach.

People remembered they had a mortgage to pay.

That's what you get when you do a 180° on your house sound which your fans loved.
If I were Audeze I will never do that or even have the balls to do it.

3 more found.. lol. As of now there are 11 f/s ads of lcd-5 posted in March.. Interestingly many. Prol we can see some drop in used prices very soon..

No eq, no signal processing for now. Frankly I've been failing to identifying correction points. Pretty close to perfection I can think of.

What’s the chain? I know you were moving stuff around there but I think I lost track of an amp change recently?

2541 > Zen Sig > Sus.

Maybe should try out more appropriate amp later but the zen is too decent to shop others urgently. Also see my previous profile post.

For DAC, LIM was slayed. Spring 3 was good.. but not for that price. So can't move haha.

To be specific, single aegir, dual aegirs, and accuphase clone were tested back and forth. They commonly obtained marginal benefit in authority over the control (ifi), but drastically lost delicacy and texture. The necessary level of attenuation seemed to kill the magic. To their credits, I like them all with speakers and he6.

I had a similar experience comparing a Vidar to Mjolnir 2 with LCD-2C and a 1266. Though the 2C did have a notable improvement in dynamics, slam, and tacility. But the Vidar was just outclassed in every other way, it was more like a low end HP amp. I got a LOT of intolerable noise from it too. - Given the huge differences in power delivery vs size/cost it's no surprise.

I love RFT tubes.

I need to try some of these then! Off to Ebay I go!

These are the ones?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/255228425751?hash=item3b6cccb617:g:3zYAAOSw89dhkXWF

Interestingly with SW, my preference between HP1 stock and mod flipped (compared to SS amping).

SW+6XX is a bit alluring, I usually like a very warm signature, but this setup has kept me coming back for just one most song for almost a year now.

Hope you love them man, I'm glad they made it safely.

Yup. They're brilliant.