The All Purpose Advice Thread

Discussion in 'Advice Threads' started by purr1n, Sep 26, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. maverickronin

    maverickronin Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2018
    Likes Received:
    313
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Midwest, USA
    If you're up to experimenting with modding and it's a good enough deal that you could sell them with minimal loss then I'd say go for it.

    If you don't want to play around with mods to better tweak them to your tastes and you're already not a fan of them stock then you'll just end up regretting the purchase.
     
  2. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    681
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Sacramento, CA
    It sounds like the HD800 are not your jam, and if you don't like the HD800S either, no mod is going to change your mind. If you know you like the Clear better, why get the HD800 and wonder how good things could have sounded? IMO in the HD800+ tier, headphones stop being about which one can retrieve the most detail or which one does X better, and start being far more about finding something that matches your preferred signature. If you know you like the Clear better, why even bother with the HD800?
     
  3. deniall83

    deniall83 Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2015
    Likes Received:
    85
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Melbourne
    That's kind of where I'm at. I just wouldn't want to miss out on the HD800 if I later decide I like it with a TOTL tube amp or something. I dunno, just in two minds.
     
  4. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    681
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Sacramento, CA
    I don't understand what you worry about missing out on? If you already know you like something better and go for something you know you like less, that's when you should worry about what you're missing. HD800 sounds wonderful out of tubes but ultimately it's still the same headphone, same sound signature, same presentation. More liquid and alive, not as dry as from solid state, but still clinically clean and analytical even in the midst of gooey tubeyness.
     
  5. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2017
    Likes Received:
    8,973
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Denver CO
    Home Page:
    CLR + qtips works very well, it turns out. Cleaned clr off with distilled water on more qtips. Still working on the rust on that one pin. Not sure if that is beyond fixing/cleaning or not.

    Thanks.

    IMG_20181107_200403.jpg
     
  6. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    7,463
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Winnipeg
    @Elnrik
    - I can't really tell from the pic... but are the pins possibly plated copper? In which case cleaning at this point won't do anymore.
    - Another option if there's heavy corrosion is to put some flux on it and touch it with a soldering iron (then be sure to clean the flux off afterwards, and/or even possibly thinly tin the pin)
     
  7. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2015
    Likes Received:
    385
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Just buy this
    [​IMG]

    It's super cheap & will completely remove rust from the pins with the small wire brush in a few short seconds & polish them to a nice gloss with the soft buffing pads (absolutely make sure to wear safety goggles when using the wire brush, it will send small metal pieces flying around your eyes).

    Or buy buy soft rubber polishing tips like these & use that to clean more delicate pins.
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/MOUNTED-SI...=item23a15f6f9e:g:iaIAAOSwq1JZLxLS:rk:19:pf:0

    Pins will look brand new.
     
  8. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2017
    Likes Received:
    8,973
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Denver CO
    Home Page:
    That's very possible. Hard to tell. I'll try to find out.

    @Thenewerguy009 - I already have more Dremel gear than I can shake a stick at. :) I'll give a buffing wheel a try.
     
  9. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Jan 19, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,512
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Eastern Iowa
    What about using a fine grade steel wool? You'd just need to make sure all the remaining metal particle dust was removed before use.

    But maybe all this isn't even necessary. I've never been convinced that gold plated pins made any difference, despite their claim to corrosion resistance, and nor have I heard that tube sockets degrade the sound much as long as they aren't defective and blow up your amp. So by that logic, maybe as long as your pins (semi-corroded or not) make contact with the sockets, then all is good.

    Just a theory. I have not investigated this beyond the hypothesis stage.
     
  10. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2017
    Likes Received:
    3,026
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rapallo, Italy
    I've never had it happen myself (paranoia means relying on nos tubes makes me sleep poorly) but I've seen enough guitar amp repairs on YouTube to know that yeah, it can absolutely make a difference.
     
  11. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Jan 19, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,512
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Eastern Iowa
    I guess if the corrosion is really extreme then that could be the case. But I think Elnrik has cleaned to the "pretty good" stage.

    I am a little intrigued by the resolder idea.
     
  12. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    7,463
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Winnipeg
    I haven't tried that with tube pins, but some flux and solder for tough love on old corroded contact terminals has worked for me. However, on a tube you have to be very careful that you don't put too much so you can still fit it into the socket.
     
  13. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5,773
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    small island claimed by China
    I'm using my Magni 3 with Cthlulu for power with no problems. But I lent it to a friend to use with the wall wart and was getting a fairly loud humming that sounds like 60Hz triangle wave. It's loud at all volume settings on high gain, and quieter, but still noticeable on low gain. It's strange because the first time he gave it back I tested the wart at home and it was fine, so I thought it was just dirty 120VAC at his place. But then I tested it at work when he wanted to borrow it again and heard the hum (haven't tried it at home again yet). This is all with nothing plugged into the inputs.

    I'm in Asia, so it's a bit of a hassle to get a replacement from @schiit. I was wondering if it's safe to use a 16VAC Modi2/Modi Multibit wall wart for a short term test (Magni is 14VAC). The fact that it sounds fine out of Cthlulu pretty much points to the wart, but I thought I'd do one more check before sourcing a replacement.

    Wait, I just realized the 16VAC connector is probably designed not to fit into Magni, specifically to prevent giving it too much voltage.

    Anyway, does anybody have any ideas?
     
  14. Bitter

    Bitter Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2016
    Likes Received:
    57
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Just some feedback so others with the same problem could solve it using the search function.

    I tried a pci board but unfortunately It turned out not solving my ground loop problem, I returned it.

    There was an amazon warehouse deal on Ifi Idefender 3.0 so I got it for 35$ and It solved the ground loop issue.
     
  15. ductrung3993

    ductrung3993 Facebook Friend

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2017
    Likes Received:
    228
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Montreal
    Best phones with a headphone jack atm (I don't want Samsung)? Looking at the one Oneplus 6 now, and Poco F1 for a better value too.
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2018
  16. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,904
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Europe
    Still v30 for performance/value imo. G7 is also available.
     
  17. ductrung3993

    ductrung3993 Facebook Friend

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2017
    Likes Received:
    228
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Montreal
    Yeah, you think of LG when you think of audio quality. I once had a G3 and had a traumatizing experience with it and thus has been reluctant of the brand...But I might just try to give it one more chance hmm
     
  18. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2017
    Likes Received:
    10,961
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Philippines, The
    I've found LG's screens a bit less pleasant to look at than Samsung's panels though; their POLED stuff is kinda disappointing compared to other modern phones, even HTC's LCD panels. As far as SQ goes the OnePlus 6 seems to have a weird hump in the subbass when using headphones, as per GSMArena: https://www.gsmarena.com/oneplus_6t-review-1843p3.php, though it's the slightest fraction of a dB so could very well be benign.

    MKBHD posted a video comparing the image quality on some popular flagships some time ago. It was pretty cool to look at and cemented my desire to get
    a Pixel 2XL, if I can find one locally
    . Could be useful depending on how much you care about being able to take nice photos:

    OnePlus's Oxygen skin doesn't look that far off stock Android, and the beefy internals mean that it performs wicked fast for the most part. The 3.5mm jack is a novelty nowadays, weird as that sounds, and the build quality on the 5 (or 5T?) I got to play with for a while was nice.
     
  19. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,904
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Europe
    I focused mainly on sound so the fact that they aren't in that same level as u12 or S9 doesn't disappoint me. Actually overall, for me , u12 is the best phone as I always liked sense + root + box and all the customization that it gives. I don't agree with the fact they didn't use 3.5 but it is what it is.

    That said I still prefer v30 for performance/price like I stated before. I don't agree with paying 600 or 800 for any phone.
     
  20. Noldir

    Noldir New

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2018
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Hope someone can help me with my growing conundrum: I have a Taurus MK2 which I really like for home listening. I like it when something sounds, for a lack of better word, "clear". A wire with gain would also be a good description.

    This has (until my Freya) precluded any tube based stuff because it was always too coloured and "slow" for my tastes. Having said that: I'm looking to upgrade my deskopt stack (O2 + ODAC) because while it does the job, I want something better. I thought I wanted a Modi mb / Magni stack until I read up on the Jotunheim. And then the Lyr3. Followed by the THX AAA 789 amp. And the HeadAmp Gilmore Lite mk2 and GSX-Mini.

    I'm pretty settled on the DAC I think (something something mutlibit probably the Modi or just maaayybbee a Bifrost because that's about as much as I want to spend on the DAC part). But does anyone have a good recommendation about which or what amp would be a good step up? I was looking around the 500 dollar / euro mark

    edit: I basically only have planars and don't really plan on getting any dynamic headphones anytime soon again
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2018
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page