System Synergy - Special Sound

8
@JK47

insidious meme said: ↑
"Looking (and sounding) good, AB. I will be getting the HD 650 hopefully if and when the xmas pricing comes out, but will be using the Cavalli Liquid Carbon amp along with the Gungnir Multibit. Should be a winner for me for a long while."

Why wait for Xmas pricing... email the Sonic Electronix rep and ask for a deal on them. I did last month and got them shipped for $320. PM me for his email if you're interested. When and if I'm ready to jump on the Senn HD800's, he will be the first place I check for a deal.

UPDATE: It appears they wont go down to $320 anymore...
JK47, Sep 29, 2015

 

9
@FlySweep

Black Gungnir Multibit looks uber hawt.
FlySweep, Sep 29, 2015

 

10
@atomicbob

Skyline said: ↑
"Is the sunrise 3 OTL or hybrid?

I chose the Ember over the Valhalla, but that's purely because I'm driving planars. They're both fantastic amps."

The Sunrise III is OTL in that the output is transformerless. First stage of gain is a tube with the plate fed directly to the gate of a MOSFET run class-A. So this is a hybrid OTL amp. It will drive my AH-D5000, TH-900 and HE-500 just fine to suit me. Then again, my listening habits are typically 10 to 15 dB SPL lower than most others and my listening space has a very low residual noise level.
atomicbob, Sep 29, 2015

 

11
@Skyline

atomicbob said: ↑
" Sunrise III is OTL in that the output is transformerless. First stage of gain is a tube with the plate fed directly to the gate of a MOSFET run class-A. So this is a hybrid OTL amp. It will drive my AH-D5000, TH-900 and HE-500 just fine to suit me. Then again, my listening habits are typically 10 to 15 dB SPL lower than most others and my listening space has a very low residual noise level."

I would love to hear some people discuss how the garage amps do with various DACs. I've got the Modi 2 Uber paired with my Ember and the HE-500. I wonder how sensitive it would be to DAC changes, if I would notice at all.
Skyline, Sep 29, 2015

 

12
mickeyvortex

Beautiful photos. @atomicbob and @AustinValentine, let me ask you this. If there was a (hypothetical) fire, which piece of gear would you try and rescue before fleeing (excluding the PC)?
mickeyvortex, Sep 30, 2015

 

13
AustinValentine
Man, hypothetical fires are the worst!

Pragmatically, I'd grab the Gungnir Multibit because the rest of my setup (sans the HD800) is on the lower budget side and can be more easily replaced. If I had to pick in absolute terms though, I'm not sure I could get by without my Paradox. Even with the HD800 and HD650 here, it's still the headphone that I listen to the most. I feel like a bit of a dick because I haven't gotten around to buying a fully decked out balanced pair of regular Paradoxes or Slants from Luis yet - that's been on my to-do list for months now.
AustinValentine, Sep 30, 2015

 

14
mickeyvortex

AustinValentine said: ↑
"Man, hypothetical fires are the worst!

Pragmatically, I'd grab the Gungnir Multibit because the rest of my setup (sans the HD800) is on the lower budget side and can be more easily replaced. If I had to pick in absolute terms though, I'm not sure I could get by without my Paradox. Even with the HD800 and HD650 here, it's still the headphone that I listen to the most. I feel like a bit of a dick because I haven't gotten around to buying a fully decked out balanced pair of regular Paradoxes or Slants from Luis yet - that's been on my to-do list for months now."

So hypothetical fires can be decisive
mickeyvortex, Sep 30, 2015

 

15
@atomicbob

mickeyvortex said: ↑
"Beautiful photos. @atomicbob and @AustinValentine, let me ask you this. If there was a (hypothetical) fire, which piece of gear would you try and rescue before fleeing (excluding the PC)?"

I'd be looking after my wife and cat. Everything else can be replaced. However, the GuMB would be the first thing replaced, most likely along with everything else on the list I gave. The EC ZD, Yggdrasil, BH Crack, MSD192 and HD800 would also be replaced. I'd have to think hard about replacing much else in my collected assortment of cans, amps and DACs.
mickeyvortex, Sep 30, 2015

 

16
@Maxvla

If replacement were the concern, I'd say the ZD would be most difficult to get another copy of, everything else on your list is still available new.
Maxvla, Sep 30, 2015

 

18
@atomicbob

zerodeefex said: ↑
"I see my black Gungnir Multibit has started a trend

I find the Wyrd/Gungnir Multibit > modded ZD prototype > HD600 to be exceptional. Such a great system."

Indeed, I am spending time with the Yggdrasil, GuMB, and Vega. all level matched into a ZDSE and then alternating between HD600 and HD800. Spending a lot more time with the selector knob set to GuMB of late. The Yggdrasil has better transparency, but the GuMB slightly euphonic in just the right way.I heard a ZDS but it was at a meet of which ambient noise level very high, preventing a really comprehensive listening evaluation.
atomicbob, Oct 1, 2015

 

19
audiofrk

AustinValentine said: ↑
"I'm running Uptone Regen > Gungnir Multibit > Val 2 LFF Paradox."

how is the val 2 + paradox?
audiofrk, Oct 2, 2015

 

20
AustinValentine

audiofrk said: ↑
"how is the val 2 + paradox?"

Not great. Gets a bit soft, and Val 2 doesn't drive orthos (even t50rp mods) very well. I generally use my ALO Rx MK3-B for the Paradox - which sounds phenomenal with it.
AustinValentine, Oct 2, 2015

 

PAGE 2 of the O.G. thread:

 

21
audiofrk

Damn I need an amp while I wait for the carbon and I eventually want a hd650 too was hoping to get the val to tide me over
audiofrk, Oct 2, 2015

 

22
AustinValentine

audiofrk said: ↑
"Damn I need an amp while I wait for the carbon and I eventually want a hd650 too was hoping to get the val to tide me over"

If you need a tide over with the Paradox, the Vali does just about as well as the Val 2. (Then, sell it and get a Val 2 for your HD650 after the LC arrives.)
AustinValentine, Oct 2, 2015

 

23
@Koth Ganesh
Yggdrasil > KGSShv > Stax SR 009
Yggdrasil > ZD Super > HD 800 (w/ Anax 2.0)
Koth Ganesh, Oct 3, 2015

 

24
johnjen

So bob I assume you're using the phase reversal trick in this system.
Does this 'trick' provide an even greater improvement over the mousai 192dac based system?
JJ
johnjen, Oct 3, 2015

 

25
@insidious meme

atomicbob said: ↑
"Ha! Brilliant minds think alike. I am early on the LC list and have my balanced cable for the HD650 with this very system in mind for a SS balanced alternative."

Right now I have an HE-560 that I had recabled so I could use balanced outs. When the HD-650 makes it here, I'll have them balanced as well. And this will most likely be the only changes I'll make to my desktop system for a long while.
insidious meme, Oct 3, 2015

 

26
@atomicbob

johnjen said: ↑
"So bob I assume you're using the phase reversal trick in this system.
Does this 'trick' provide an even greater improvement over the mousai 192dac based system?
JJ"

I haven't tried polarity reversal with this setup yet. It sounded very good with more dimension and depth without it than the MSD192 with the phase reversal. That will be another day's experiment. I have a considerable backlog of experiments. No doubt, the MSD192 is an exceptional performer, even better at such a price point. Will want to compare the Bifrost MB to the MSD192.
atomicbob, Oct 4, 2015