The All Purpose Advice Thread

In the event you are still looking, Lindsay at Impact Cables makes very good cables at reasonable prices. Just email and inquire since he just has stock ads but builds custom often.

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/ImpactAudioCables

Blue Jean Cables is always helpful for things like this as well.

 

thank you @msommers - I appreciate your help!

 

I currently have an og, pre auto switch, JDS Element that I used primarily with a pair of k7xxs. I got it based on a lot of good reviews when it first came out including some here. I guess it does what I want, provide a lot of clean power..but I've always felt a bit underwhelmed by it. I just though maybe it was because it seems very neutral...but every now and then I think maybe I can do better.

When I was shopping it was basically between that and the schiit stack...having an amp and dac in one box doesn't matter to me. I went with the Element over the schiit because at the time everything I read on head fi and r/headphones said the schiit stuff was bright and wouldn't pair well with the k7xxs.

Still I'm curious would a magni 2u and a modi 2 be any better. I could also bypass the dac in the Element and only use it as an amp so would just a modi make a difference and now there is even a modi multibit..so it becomes even more complicated. Then finally if I'm already at 250 for the mb and eventually 150 for a magni 2u why not just got to a Jotunheim at that point.

At this point I'm open to just about anything suggestions...price well the jotunheim is 500 with the dac so let's start that as the absolute max.

I game a lot so soundstage is important but I don't find it lacking with my current setup. I do like bass so extension and slam are relatively important. Event think I'll be adding some hd650s or 6xxs to the setup for music.

So sorry about the long post but I wanted to be as specific as possible to see what my options were.

Thanks

 

I am not big on quoting myself....but I have a question. When do you know a subwoofer would improve the overall sound quality of your speaker setup? The only time I have used a subwoofer was in a surround sound setup for a home theater. This is about is for my 2 channel setup. Looking at the graph, I wouldn't think that my system is lacking in bass. I don't listen to hip-hop or rap but I do listen to classical, classic rock, and jazz. Thoughts?

 

Going off memory of your listening room, I would focus more on putting thick broadband absorption behind your couch (GiK 244s or Monsters?) and trying to tactfully bass trap elsewhere before adding a subwoofer. Could help even out the couple nulls around 30 and 55Hz.

Edit: Hit up GiK's acoustical advice guys for their opinion too:

• http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...e-and-recommendations.4062/page-5#post-149414
  
• http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...e-and-recommendations.4062/page-5#post-149510

 

Let's say I have a laptop and a PC desktop computer, along with a Magni 2 Uber and Modi 2 Uber.

If I want both devices to be send audio thru USB output from the laptop and PC to the Magni Modi stack USB input simultaneously, what gadget would I need to get? (If this exists, is it expensive? does it degrade sound?)

Thanks!

 

You can get a USB to SPDIF converter so you can use the coax input on the Modi for your second computer, essentially giving yourself two USB inputs. Cheap ones can be found on Amazon for around $20, probably won't sound great though. A high quality one like the Schiit Eitr can actually improve your sound quality, but it costs more than the Modi itself at $180. You can read more about it with comparisons to other solutions here: http://superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/schiit-eitr-preview-thread.4729/ (Fair warning, read carefully before posting additional questions there in case you haven't already read the SNR posts)

 

Thanks, ibzrg! I was considering doing the converter, but specifically what I'm trying to do is to send simultaneous signals to the modi. For example, a potential use case: Gaming on main desktop PC with sound, while playing music out of laptop, all funneled into "gadget" and then sent as one signal to modi/magni. IS this possible? And thanks for the link, I will take a look and read carefully. Appreciate all of the help.

 

I highly doubt you could (easily) combine USB audio signals from 2 devices into one. If you play both your game and music on your PC, then send that out by USB to the Modi, you'll hear both. I just ran foobar2k and youtube on Windoze out to my USB DAC and could hear both.

 

Oh ok, the previous solution would require you to switch between the inputs, so no simultaneously listening. For combining audio from two USB sources you'd need a second DAC and a mixer feeding into your amp. I've been looking for a single-box solution for the same use case but I don't think such a device exists.

 

Typically the advice I've read around these parts is to avoid sidegradeing and save your money for something that's a clear improvement. I don't know where the Element stands, but if it's performing similarly to the objective stack then it's probably not much better (if at all) than the Modi/Magni U combo, which which is of similar calibre (e.g. see Marvey's blind test of Modi U vs O2).

On the other hand, the Modi Multibit is one of the, if not the strongest contenders for DACs ranging up to several hundred dollars. I don't recall if the Jotunheim DAC is worth it, but I haven't heard any of the above with the the hardware you have, so take this rando's words with a serving of salt.

 

The "gadget" is called a mixer. There is a wide selection of mixers for analog audio but digital mixer is very specialized and only found in professional equipment for recording studios. Here are some options that come to mind:

1. Get a second Modi so that the two computers each have their own, run their outputs into a mixer and out to the Magni.
2. Run analog output from one computer to the microphone input of the second computer. The second computer effectively becomes a mixer.
   • To keep it digital, you'll need a digital audio input on the second computer. Not sure of the options, but a possibility is SPDIF which would also require a SPDIF output from the first computer.

 

Im not sure either..If I could just throw the Modi Multibit in the mix because from what little I can find it is the dac section of the element that is the weak spot, but I also have never heard of anyone doing that either.

looking more into the yount..it seems that it would complicate things a bit because if I got that then I would feel compelled to convert all of my phones to balanced. not that that would be bad by any means..its just more time and money is all.

Then Im like well there is the lyr 2 for 500 bucks.....and so on and so on...you know how this goes....

 

Hi friends,
I'm looking to refresh my rig, do someone have experience with Perreaux amplifiers?
I have found a good deal for an SXH2, but I don't know how it compares with newer products, eg Schiit amplifiers.
The same for a Job DA96 dac, is it worth buying an old design today?

Thanks
Lorenzo

 

What are the best portable dac amps around 2k or under?

I feel like I'm getting pinned into a corner alone with Hugo 2, hoping I'm just under researched.

I wanted a dap, but the low volume Tidal distortion on android is a dealbreaker on my DX200 and the Sonys are awesome but don't have Tidal. So that leaves a dac/amp combo with my phone like I currently have with Mojo. I do like Mojo it paired well with my ie800s but I'm under no delusions about Chord worship. While overpriced as usual however, it does seem like the Hugo 2 is pretty hard to beat... Certainly sounds bounds above the Hugo 1. It can almost fit in a pocket (could in a coat) and has bluetooth if I wanna let quality take a hit but walk around with it.

This is for hopefully walking around / on my desk at work so I really don't want like a bmby for this. But the market does not seem large.

 

While this won't directly answer your question, the first three posts in this thread: Easily Lost: "Portable" DAC/amp Comparisons, might provide some useful information, if you've not seen it before. It covers both things like the Mojo as well as some DAPs. By no means exhaustive, however.

The ALO CDM is interesting, if not very practical for me, but not covered in the above.

 

Thanks Torq!

I've read it a couple times actually it had proved very helpful in the past... The graph in particular is awesome and reassuring as I'd compared the Mojo and Modi Multibit (the only two I've heard) very similarly to yours so I can extrapolate what the others sound like. This time I'm struggling just because well first Hugo 2 isn't covered at all (as they're so slow to roll out...) and I haven't been overly entranced by Delta Sigma dacs recently...

The Mojo while it has audible shortcomings to me is still very "romantic" just a smooth pleasing sound. The detail level of ie800 wasn't all that high enough for it to be much of a both, but the Dreams want more power and reveal a lot more so the urge to upgrade returned.

That ALO CDM is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to know about so thanks for that! Will look more into it! I don't know much at all about the Wolfson dac chips so I'll have some reading to do.

Haha so it seems once again I'll be awaiting your Hugo 2 review. Did you get to try the ALO CDM or is it just a product you've heard about? (thanks either way)

Otherwise the Geek Out was the other product on my short list.

 

Personally I tend to rather like well-done WM8740/8741 based units. They are, for example, the converters in my favorite A&K players and Linn use(d) them to good effect in the DS line.

Given the number of slips and ridiculous changes in delivery estimates I would say that should be ready in, oh, two, maybe three, million years.

I've heard it. I like it a lot. It's not very practical for me for portable use though, and I wasn't using super-sensitive IEMs at the time, so that's something to check in to. Also, not sure how it works with current iOS/Lightning-to-USB cables ... the ALO International+ OE I had for a while shit the bed on that front (wasn't a product that stuck around very long, and I'm not sure if that was part of why it went away).

 

Very good to hear. I'm looking at other dacs that use it as well just to try and get a general sense of them. I haven't looked to hard at the A&Ks though I suppose I can now with this budget... More things to research haha.

I wonder if the AKs don't get the distortion at low volumes...

I find there is a correlation between things like this and quality control... Not necessarily sound quality but... Not a good sign. Different from the hold on the "other" dac I'm waiting for sounds like.

Sorry to be explicit, but is it your favorite sounding dac/amp overall you've heard (practicality aside). Like when you get Hugo 2 is that what it's up against?

Cheers!

 

Have a problem with my th600. They were sitting on my wood stand for a few weeks and I went to go grab them but were physically stuck to the stand. Now both ear pads have a nice ring of leather missing that's stuck to the stand...

After searching, it seems like Dekoni sheepskin or fenestrated (same but cooler on the head?) would be worthwhile replacements vs the same stock ones. Is this still a present recommendation or is something else better? I only paid $325 cad shipped for the phones so I'd like to keep any worthwhile pad replacement <$100.