I'm a Fulla Schiit in...

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by MrsForBin, Dec 29, 2018.

  1. MrsForBin

    MrsForBin New

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    Location:
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    ...Washington state. Because I am still trying to recover from a nasty respiratory infection, Christmas was on the 28th this year with Dr. ForBin and the children. I was blessed with a present from AtomicBob; a Fulla Schiit to start test driving. Since Dr. ForBin has the technology skills (mine, sadly, are limited to on/off functions), he was able to get the Fulla Schiit working on my (antiquated) Windows 8 operating system. So I open up JRiver Media and start the test drive.

    Before I continue, let me explain what is going on. I work for the Veteran's Benefit Administration (part of the Department of Veterans Affairs) and will be going to Iwakuni, Japan from March to September, 2019. Part of my job will entail traveling to different military bases, primarily on trains. Since music is a big part of me, I needed a portal amplifier device so that I continue, well, working and playing and doing ADLs while listening to my eclictic playlist. Dr ForBin was nice enough to reach out to the community and AtomicBob offered me a Fulla Schiit to test drive while I was traveling. So before I continue...

    1) Thank you so much AtomicBob! Your kindness and genorosity is greatly appreciated.

    2) All comments and obeservations are my own as a weird, music loving girl. Though my work has given me this opportunity to travel, none of the what is expressed in these posts reflect any opinions, policies or ideas of my employer. This is all me.

    So as part of the test drive, I will be posting obeservations, reviews and opinions of the Fulla Schiit along with some pictures of my upcoming travels. And since my music choices and ideas are eclectic, I appreciate that you may not agree with my reviews. That is ok. Sound, though innately objective, does ultimately produce a subjective response. So observational critique is welcome; nastiness, not so much. Though if you feel like you need to vent, go ahead. I have been through a lot and can take it.

    So let's continue...

    Why do I choose the JRiver Media Center as a platform to play my music on my personal computerf? I like the ease of the interface (see note of my technology skills above) and the option to play with the sound a bit with the built in equalizer. However, when I plugged in the Fulla Schiit, it did not work. The problem seem to be that all my settings under JRiver Media's DSP Studio had to be cleared in order for the device to be recognized. An inconvinence, since my computer also is hooked up to my larger Schiit set up for when I am working at home. However, to be true to the test drive, I will be flexible. Plus Dr. ForBin really wants my Asgard.

    After we got it working, I tested it first with Dr. ForBin's AKG 77Xs. Though I am not an AKG fan, the sound was better than normal, though the power was not there. Imagine Dragon's Thunder and Prince's When Doves Cry were the test songs. Next was my NAD Viso headphones listening to Prince's When Doves Cry. And after tweaking the equalizer to my liking, we had a winner! The Fulla Schiit drove these low impedence headphones nicely and made the sound really pop. Next was my Campfire Orin's listening to Pet Shop Boy's West End Girls and Michael Jackson's Scream. Again, with the equalizer tweaking, the sound popped. However, a quick listen to Janet Jackson's Nasty on my AKG Q107 (yes, I said I am not an AKG fan, but these were bought used with a good amount of burn time and just grabbed me), I again did not have the power to make the Q107s come out of their shell, though they were not terrible.

    Final observations: Right now, low impendence headphones are better than high, and the sound through JRivers Media does sound good with some tweaking of the equalizer.

    Total listening time: 2.5 hours
    Artists: Prince, Pet Shop Boys, Michael Jackson, Imagined Dragons and Janet Jackson
    Location: Home in Washington State.

    What is up next: Work is sending me to Baltimore, MD in January. So we will see how the Fulla Schitt does on it's first cross country trip. Until then.

    Cheers!

    Mrs. ForBin :)
     
  2. atomicbob

    atomicbob dScope Yoda

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    So here is the backstory.

    DrForBin posted a WTB for an original generation Fulla to give MrsForBin as a Christmas gift: here
    I replied that I no longer needed the one in my lab. After posting, my search of the lab storage bins came up empty. Either I lost it or gave it away previously and forgot about it. It appeared I was about to become The Grinch. Then an idea occurred to me. I had yet to measure a Fulla 2 and here was a unique opportunity to measure not once but twice; before and after an extended period of travelling use.

    MrsForBin kindly agreed to keep a diary of impressions with the Fulla 2 as she travels around, then return the unit for a second set of measurements post travel, after which she may keep the Fulla 2.

    Some challenges presented themselves as this all evolved over Dec 17 through Dec 19. A DM Convert-2 had just arrived for measurements, I was developing some new dScope scripts to reduce time involved and family holiday schedule was about to start. A Fulla 2 would need to be shipped quickly, measurements made, a ferry trip for meet-up with DrForBin arranged. Needless to say Dec 19 through Dec 22 were intense multitasking between Fulla 2 measurement suite and holiday preparations. Saturday morning DrForBin and I met at a coffee shop in Kingston and the ball is now rolling.

    Fulla 2 measurements before MrsForBin's travels will be posted soon, though the DM Convert-2 is still in measurement purgatory while subjected to a comprehensive measurement suite and several listening sessions including one micro-meet.
     

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