The All Purpose Advice Thread

Anyone know if it safe to unplug RCA/XLR cables from an amp/dac when both are still on & then plug them back in?
I want to do A/B comparisons between two DACs, one from the USB port & one from the optical port, but my amp has only have one input.

Would it be safe to just yank the XLR cables from the back of one of the DACs while it is still connected to the powered on amp & reconnect them to the other secondary DAC?
I'm not going to blow something up in either DAC or amp doing this?

 

I'd bet you're not going to blow up a DAC doing that, there's very little current there. Either way, I think you're safe.

 

Okay, kind of silly question, but I'd like to know: how much "worse" a headphone that needs amplification sounds without it? I've decided to buy my second pair of hps (only one I have atm is UE6000) after reading and narrowing my options to a few headphones, but the thing is, all of them requiere amplification, and I do not own an amp (or dac for that matter). It is not in my plans/budget to buy one in the near future... I'll be able to afford one next year, probably a GeekOut or some >200$ schiit. I was also looking into 'phones that don't require desperately an amp, but both the 400S and Fidelio X2 bug me too much in the build quality department to really feel comfortable buying them. Right now the 400i is 249$ -cheaper than the 400S-, so that could be an option too, although from what I've read their soundstage isn't great, and that makes me a sad panda (yes, I know, looking for horsepower in a prius, but it's still important to me, dammit).

For what is worth, the 'phones on my radar -the ones I'm thinking of using without an amp for a while- are the K702 (mainly because they are 210$ at the moment, while the Q701 is 250$...also, soundstage), the HD 600 (260$) and the 400i at its current price of 249$. Holding myself till black friday to see if prices drop further. My limit is 300$, so that's why I didn't consider the K712/HD650 over the K702/Hd600.

 

I might suggest the Sony MA900. It is often called a baby HD800 with regards to soundstage and has a resister divider network to make it work with a variety or sources, amped or unamped. It's also ~$200.

 

Was considering them after reading their thread here, but lowest price online is 286$ new. I don't see myself paying more for them than the Senns or akgs.

Are the K612 easy to drive? Thought the opposite, hence my preference for the K702 (also, non-detachable cable).

Yeah, that was the initial plan, but then I got sent to the USA till Christmas (college related) and thought I could take advantage of that, aka hold on the amp and buy the 'phones, as to avoid the need to buy another headphone in a year (acquiring one in my country is a no-no; a 598 can cost up to 300$ for example). Your whole post is spot on, though.

 

Has anyone tried the HD598 C from Sennheiser? I am still looking for a budget closed headphone for noise isolation/background listening. I tried the NVX XPT100 or whatever they are called and while comfy, they sounded horrible to me. No bass and too much treble - kind of the opposite of what I need. Only trying to spend around $100. I'd keep using my QC15s, but after several hours my ears and head feel funky from the noise cancelling.

 

Hello Guys,

It has been a long time since I posted, but I'm back here looking for advice:

I still have Schitt Joten, Oppo PM-3, ATH-MSR7

I'm looking for a way to create the best headphone set up using or selling this equipment for around $3,000 I have a grand total of $6,000 that can be used.
What I am looking for ideally
-A TOTL DAC (willing to sell Joten for a better DAC/Amp combo) for desktop use fed via USB. Balanced is a big plus.
-A set of nice closed back headphones or IEM is preferred. Will consider an open headphone if noise leakage is reasonable. Grados is where I draw the line
-Not that interested in electrostatic headphones based on the ones that I tried so far. Tried some Stax headphones and they didn't do much for me. I could have been a system issue. Will keep an open mind!

Usage and preferences-
Would like a neutral sound for video editing, movies, games, etc.
Would like a mostly plug and play solution. I rarely have the time to mod products or build my own.
Music preferences lean towards- Jazz, Electo-swing, EDM, Rap, Classical but it's across the board. I like strong punchy bass on most tracks (bit of a base head)
*Having something before the end of the year is a huge plus, but not necessary

What I have tried and my ratings:
Headphones Favorite to least
1. Focal Utopia- if this was available closed I would just buy these and save up for a DAC later
2. Hifiman HE 6- this is a great sounding headphone but the build quality leaves a lot to be desired. My friends version had paint chips, scuffing, etc. Also this is very hard to find in stores/online.
3. Hifiman HEX- Not as strong as the 6 but still a solid all rounder
4. Audeze LCD4- Not worth the price but sounded quite good in the test setup
5. Mr. Speakers Ether Flow- very hit and miss. loved it for guitar songs via a tube amp. unimpressed with how it handled edm and rap.
6. Sennheiser HD-650- The only senn that I like (pls don't hate me for putting this so low)
7. Focal Elear- Don't have a great memory of this one. Tried it after the Utopia and felt it was missing something
-
-
Last:Audio Technica ATH-W5000- Holy shit these are uncomfortable and the sound isn't even that good...

DACs
1. Metrum Pavane- Sounds great but did not play well with my computer. Constant driver issues made me send it back
2. Schitt Joten w/DAC module- Amp is solid and the DAC module was better than expected. Does the Job for now
3. Chord MoJo- loved the sound but the input options were limited and mine had other issues with random shut offs while it was at full charge...

Sorry about the wall of text! Any and all replies are greatly appreciated!

 

I am waffling on desktop setup, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated .

HD600>Vali 2>Modi Multibit
HD600>Jot plus dac

I already have the hd600 and vali 2.

 

My vote is get the Modi Multibit. You get to hear Multibit goodness and it's the cheaper option to boot. It's also a chain that is VERY hard to beat until you spend at least a grand on upgraded DAC and amp. Listen to it for a while and then see if you are wanting for more.

@IndecisiveLemur
That's a really tough choice especially for closed back. I can't think of an amazing closed headphone, one that doesn't have at least some kind of issue. I might suggest looking at higher end IEMs such as the Campfire Audio line. A Gungnir Multibit and a nice tube amp would be great for $3000 but I don't know how something like the Torpedo III would be with sensitive IEMs.

I might suggest Gungnir Multibit or used Yggdrasil->Jot (plays well with everything)->Andromeda with IEMatch. Otherwise my vote is HE-6 but that opens up a can of worms.

 

@cskippy Yeah It's been very difficult to find something that really stands out in the closed back headphone category. I think IEMs are possibly the way to go.

Campfire audio's latest release have me interested and I have heard a ton of praise for the Andromeda. I'll look into that and the Vega which both seem to be the TOTL offering from them.

I've heard great things about the Gungnir Multibit multi bit and Yggdrasil. The only reason I'm suspect about the Yggdrasil is that apparently it takes weeks of burn in before it shines... which seems odd to me because most of my DACs in the past required no burn in. I'll have to look into it some more. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

No problem. In regards to Yggdrasil, it's going to sound great right out of the box. It will just get better and more refined the longer it's on as all the little components inside get to a uniform operating termprature which helps with accuracy throughout the system.

 

@IndecisiveLemur, with your budget I would support the idea of getting an Yggdrasil straight up (maybe used) because you can then be confident that your amp/HP choices are not compensating for some problem with your source you didn't know you had. In particular, if you care about bass, then Yggdrasil does bass significantly better than pretty much anything else you could reasonably buy. As you say Jotun seems pretty reasonable as an amp for the moment. If once you have found a HP/IEM you want something of a similar character to Jotun but with more punch then Mjolnir 2 might be worth investigating.

 

I would second @cskippy on the Modi Multibit. I haven't heard Jotunheim's DAC, but from the reports here it seems overall inferior to something like the Modi Multibit. As for Vali 2 tubes, check this thread:
http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...em-synergy-special-sound.54/page-6#post-96338

 

I guess it'll be the Porta Pros then... What about the KTXPRO1, does anyone have experience with it? I've been recommended it elsewhere from the Koss very-entry range, and the design looks more enticing.

 

The Modi Multibit really is a slamdunk from there. If you do actually pick up a Jot later, you can still use it- it'll beat the internal DAC option nicely. It will also feed your Vali beautifully. It's bordering on a no-brainer. Modi Multibit all the way unless you want to pay more than 4x the price for a Gungnir Multibit or similar, which would be overkill right now.

Actually, I'd probably say "Modi Multibit and try to get in on the second 6xx Massdrop, then mod the hell out of it", because I'm like that. However, you can cheerfully ignore the second part, if you prefer.

 

Thanks for the feedback . would the Modi Multibit work with 2 channel as well? I have an Acurus amp and Maggie MMGs .

 

Looking at options for listening to my IEMs out of Yggdrasil. BW2 isn't ideal. Is there any reason I couldn't just use Line Drive out of a SYS or other preamp?

 

http://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/accessory-iematch/ for using IEMs with any amp.