Review Your Rig

Discussion in 'General Audio Discussion' started by TheIceman93, Apr 6, 2017.

  1. TheIceman93

    TheIceman93 El pato-zorro

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    Edit: I guess there is a thread for rig pictures already. Sorry.

    I'm not sure if there is a thread for this already but I thought it would be fun for people to take a picture of their setup (but not necessary) and then give quick impressions of the individual components.

    Here is my setup at the moment. I call it the Frankensystem. The Atticus on the stand isn't mine, its the SBAF loaner but I'm buying a pair of my own at Can Jam this weekend ($200 off for show attendees, too good to pass up). The scores are my impressions compared to the best setups I've heard.

    [​IMG]

    Headphones

    Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro - Detail for days. One of the most detailed headphones I have ever heard. Yes, the treble is a little too hot. With some music it is brilliant, with other tracks it can be really fatiguing, requiring a lot of volume adjustments if you like your volume a bit higher. Soundstage depth and width are very good as is instrument separation. It comes with two sets of pads. The "analytical" pads (my choice) are very neutral and revealing of sources and amping. The "balanced" pads are not balanced at all, actually quite V shaped with increased bass but murkier midrange/treble. Bass is punchy and full but after the Atticus, I guess its a bit more tame. Still really good bass for an open headphone. Vocals are a bit too recessed for my liking, as if singers are pushed a bit back in the soundstage. Still, its a really solid headphone and I really enjoy if for certain types of music. It seems do really well with EDM and Jazz. If you are really treble sensitive (luckily I'm not) you might find these too fatiguing to be enjoyable. Build quality is extremely high and the comfort is pretty good. Overall, I would give them a 7.5 / 10.

    ZMF Atticus - I've only been listening to these for a few days but I'm loving them so far. They are not as detailed as the Beyers but much more pleasant to listen to. The Atticus is a bit dark and warm but they are boatloads of fun. Very punchy bass with great extension. The midrange is also pretty solid ... it lacks detail in that region compared to the Beyer but it also has a lushness to the tone that is really enjoyable. The sound has more body when stacked up against the Beyer. I believe that a great deal of this comes from the wood cups which create very pleasant reverberations that add to the ticker sound. I was shocked at how wide and deep the soundstage is for a closed back headphone. It lacks the openness of the Beyers but it excels in so many other areas that I would be going for the ZMF if I had to choose only one to take to my desert island. These maybe lack the technicalities of the flagships but at the price of $800-$1000, these are hard to beat. The tonality is really well done. Zach, I don't know how you do it but these are a very special headphones. Construction and comfort is first rate as well. I rate the Atticus a solid 9 / 10.

    Amp/Buffer

    Rupert Neve RNHP - Some people here have mixed feelings about this amp. I loved it at first, then I noticed its flaws. I almost sold it, then I added the Ifi iTube 2 buffer and now I love it again. I believe the Ifi has solved the issues that myself and others were having with the amp. The prevailing theory at the moment is that the ridiculously low output impedence is causing the drivers to be over dampened which in turn reduces the sustain of drums and cymbals. I didn't really notice it at first but I do now. The amp does have a number of strengths. It is extremely transparent and detailed, which is good for testing DACs and other gear. The noise floor is crazy low with a totally black background. Dynamics are good with a pretty smooth presentation that is in no way fatiguing. However, the lack of sustain is an issue. Its not a powerful amp and will run out of steam with hard to drive orthos but I have had no power issues with my 250ohm Beyers and the 300ohm Atticus. I would say amp is a 7 / 10 by itself and an 8.5 / 10 with the Ifi tube buffer.

    Ifi iTube 2 - Yup, this thing certainly makes a difference. It has 3 tube modes, "classic", "push pull" and "SET". Classic sounds the best to my ears but it is also the most transparent so it is probably the least flavored. Pull Pull is more V shaped and SET is very smooth but it loses way too much detail for my liking. After adding the buffer to my chain, I feel that the Neve's lack of proper sustain has mostly been remedied. Maybe its the placebo effect but the instruments sound more natural, vocals as well. There is a slight loss in detail but the tonal improvement make it all worth it. I have essentially built a hybrid amp of sorts and I'm really enjoying this combo. The only thing that bothers me is that the tube is totally enclosed with only a tiny hole for ventilation. After about three hours, I could probably cook an egg on this thing. 8.5 / 10 ... I'm dropping a point because its a little more pricey than it should be.

    DAC

    Schiit Modi Multibit - I won't say much about it because it has been reviewed here extensively. Its praise is well deserved. It easily beat the D/S Teac DAC I had before. I don't really hear the darkness or veil that a handful of people have commented on. To me, it sounds fantastic. At $250, its the biggest no brainer in my system. You need to spend 3x as much to get something that equals or beats it. 9.5 / 10.

    Source

    Tascam CD200 - Its a CD player. I got it cheap. I run it via coax to my Modi Multibit. Its the only player I've heard through headphones. Maybe it sucks, I have no idea but it sounds good to my ears, noticeably better then feeding the Modi Multibit from my laptop via USB. 9 / 10 because its pretty cheap and it sounds good, sorry I don't have a point of reference to compare it to.

    Interconnects - RAM cables with Belden wire and silver connectors and Blue Jeans Cable RCA's with Belden wire, slightly thicker gauge then the RAM's. I notice no differences between them and frankly, to my ears they both sound pretty much identical to the el cheapo Monoprice's I had before. The quality of the connectors is much better though. Both the RAM's and the Blue Jeans cost around $35 for 3 feet so not too pricey.
     
    Last edited: Apr 6, 2017

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