The All Purpose Advice Thread

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

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  1. Cooper32

    Cooper32 Facebook Friend

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    Vali 2+?

    I have a Vali 2 and really like how it sounds with my Modi MB and HD 6XX / HE-4XX. Take a look at the Vali 2+ thread where there's some discussion on the differences between Vali 2+ and its predecessors.

    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/schiit-vali-2-review-and-measurements.10139/
     
  2. loadexfa

    loadexfa MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    The MCTH synergizes well with the 58X and has a laid-back presentation. I haven't heard the Nighthawk or PM3s so take my recommendation with a grain of salt. Modi MB -> MCTH -> HD 6XX is my favorite budget combo.
     
  3. Gazny

    Gazny MOT: ETA Audio

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    Have it repaired by Schiit? Shoot them any email, ask around and see where that takes you. Cheapest solution for a sound you will know.
     
  4. PoochZag

    PoochZag The Shadow knows - Friend

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    I haven't paid attention to new products in the last couple years, especially closed backs as I haven't had the need. I need one now and am wondering if I can improve on the dt770s I have laying around.

    They need to isolate well (no Eikon or THxxx here) and be comfortable. Preferably dynamic drivers as my headphone amp is An Eddie Current ZDS. Would prefer to keep it under a grand but can go higher if I have to. Something in ballpark of neutral or mid forward is preferable.

    The focal elegia have caught my attention on a quick look around, and seem reasonably priced now. I also liked those Sony Z1R a while ago but looks like they're still pricey. Thanks for any recs
     
  5. dasman66

    dasman66 Self proclaimed lazy ass - friend

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    Out of curiosity, why no Eikon? I have one and it seems to isolate pretty well (unless you need IEM level isolation). My wife can't hear my music when she's sitting next to me (and somewhat more importantly, I can't really hear her either :p).

    I originally used the Eikon in an open office environment, and didn't have complaints from coworkers either.
     
  6. PoochZag

    PoochZag The Shadow knows - Friend

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    I had an Eikon right when they came out and I loved it. Only got rid of it because I didn't need closed backs at all for a while. I need decent isolation now because our television is in the same room as my office desk, and from what I remember Eikon may not cut it, but maybe I'm wrong. I have campfire Jupiters for IEMs but they're not great in an OTL headamp lol.
     
  7. saint.panda

    saint.panda Friend

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    If it helps, my focal Stellia didn't isolate more than the ZMF Verite closed which should be similar to the Eikon.
     
  8. Baten

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    I truly love my Audeze Sines (MSR7 earpads on them + EQ) but they don't isolate that well, either... pretty easy to drive though, even a dongle at full volume gets plenty volume out of them.
     
  9. PoochZag

    PoochZag The Shadow knows - Friend

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    Hmmmm maybe I'm wrong about Eikon isolation and I'll give it another go. The dt770s I have now work great for my needs so maybe it's not as big of a bar to clear as I thought
     
  10. dasman66

    dasman66 Self proclaimed lazy ass - friend

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    I guess it comes down to how loud the TV gets played vs how loud you listen to music. If you're a quiet listener and others are loud TV watchers, then you're probably going to have a problem no matter what closed headphone you use. Only a good IEM will probably work for that use case
     
  11. imackler

    imackler Key Lime Pie Infected Aberdeen Wings Spy

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    Happy nearly New Year from the West Cost! Thankful for the community here.

    I've got an Ultimate Ears UE4 and a pair of HD569 (which I like quite a bit for a cheap closed-back). I currently have a UHA-6S Mkii with ADA4627-1B op-amp. Out of the Leckerton, the UE4 does not have a lot of volume play before it gets too loud. The HD569 doesn't need much power either. I'd like to improve on the Leckerton dac as well.

    My first desire would be a DAP under $300 that I could use either internal storage or Tidal from a computer (or android); and yet be a good match for either the UE4 (prefer close to 0 Output Impedance) or HD569. (Are there daps that take a USB-Source? It would be kind of cool if a dap had a line out as well that could go to an external amp, if I wanted to run a HD600 while sitting on the courch. So chain Computer/Smartphone > Dap > External amp, for when I wanted to.) I would be ok with just a good DAP that runs tidal but they are quite expensive with quality UI / Larger Screen. I really don't like TIdal on a fiddly little screen.

    The other option is an external DAC/Amp with a smartphone w/ internal storage for stored music (when offline) or TIdal (when online). I'm not a fan of some of the battery quirks or software updates of iFi, though the Nano BL is about as close as I can think of. I'd be interested in the XDUOO XD-05 Plus...but I don't think it'll be a good match for the UE4 because of Output Impedance.

    I'd love any recommendations you all have! (Hope what I wrote is clear.)
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2020
  12. MPZ

    MPZ New

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    I also suspect that you could get away with Eikons just fine- when I demoed them at Canjam NY back in 2017, i distinctly remember appreciation the isolation from all the background noise. It might even be worth asking Zach at ZMF which of his pads tend to isolate the best on the Eikons.

    Funnily enough, I have almost the same search criteria as you for my next set of headphones as I finally rebuild my setup from scratch.

    You might consider the Audio Technica ATH-WP900s. Hard to pinpoint precisely how well they isolate given the relative lack of discussion surrounding them so far (I haven't heard them), but Matty Grahm at headfonia called it "reasonably good" in his very positive review of the headphones (He bought his own pair after sending back the review sample, fwiw). They are relatively small (portable form factor but still over-ear) cans with angled, DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) coated drivers and (annoyingly, imo) AT's proprietary A2DC cable connectors. Reading between the lines of reviews/forum posts, it seems like the impression du jour is they still have that AT upper midrange/lower treble focus and some quantity of extra midbass, but go about this in a substantially smoother and more balanced way than other AT headphones. Perhaps the choice of maple for the earcups was intended to leverage cup resonance to a greater degree than Audio Technica has in the past.

    If you're willing to consider planar drivers, I can personally vouch for the quality of the paradox slants from Enigmatic Audio (aka LFF). I really enjoyed the pair that I owned, while they are rather expensive indeed for a T50RP mod, their tonality speaks for itself. That being said, those drivers (mkII t50rp drivers, not MKIII) and earcups have their limitations. You also might consider his Enigmas (though apparently they are not as neutral as the slants- I haven't heard them).

    Over the 1K mark, the Denon AH-D9200 and Focal Radiance might suit you, but I haven't investigated either seriously.

    Tbh, I tend to wait Purrin's impression of things when I can, as I have found that my tastes and impressions align with his to a surprising extent. I wish i had more helpful information for you, but ultimately haven't had a chance to listen to any closed headphones that I would buy except for Paradox Slants (Which I may well buy again lol) and ZMF Eikons (I'd rather not spend 1400+, and if i were going to I would absolutely want to hear the other options in the price range).
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2021
  13. pure5152

    pure5152 Friend

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    Very very random, but what do you guys use to clean lambskin leather earpads and headbands? Looking for something to clean my utopia pads/headband and ZMF lambskin pads. Don't know if I should just use water and a wet cloth or if I should be using something like specialty leather wipes only.
     
  14. edd

    edd Almost "Made"

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  15. royster

    royster New

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    I am creating a setup where my PC is physically located about 30 feet away. I currently use a creative SXFI amp as my main DAC for surround sound audio, which either have PC37X, HD 6XX, or HE-4XX connected to it.

    https://us.creative.com/p/super-x-fi/creative-sxfi-amp

    I also have iloud micro monitors.

    I want to have these connected to my computer, but I would need a 30-35 foot 3.5mm cable for each. Are there issues with latency/sound degradation that the average person would notice with that long of a cable? Can I buy a headphone extension that long and be fine?
     
  16. fastfwd

    fastfwd Friend

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    A long cable from source to amp is almost always better than a long cable from amp to headphones.

    TL;DR: Long cable from source to amp will probably work fine, especially if you use shielded cables.

    Latency is not an issue; even if your cable had a super-low velocity factor of 50%, the signals would propagate across the wire in 70 nanoseconds -- the time required for light to travel 70 feet, or for sound to travel a fraction of the width of a human hair.

    The resistance of a very thin (28 gauge) 35-foot cable is like 2 ohms. High current through that wire could heat it up and be a safety issue. But in your case, the powered monitors and the amp presumably have a high input impedance (thousands or tens of thousands of ohms), and the signal from your computer is only a couple of volts max. A couple of volts into thousands of ohms means that very little current will flow through the wire, so there won't be any danger whatsoever.

    Will 2 ohms of series resistance affect the sound? Probably not, but if you use thicker wire, the resistance will decrease. 22 gauge wire will probably fit in the 3.5mm connector body, and 35 feet of that is only around half an ohm.

    The biggest dangers, I think, are 1) just physically tripping over the long wires, and 2) electromagnetic interference. Your cable will be a quarter-wavelength antenna for radio transmissions at approximately 7.5 MHz, and amateur radio frequencies (and maybe other allocations) are in that area. So it's possible that your cable will pick up some interference. Shielding in the cable can help prevent that.
     
  17. PoochZag

    PoochZag The Shadow knows - Friend

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    I appreciate yours and everyone's comments, particularly on the Eikon. I was an early adopter of the Eikon back when they came out and liked it a lot sonically, and have the same headphone rig still, so I think it'll be a safe bet for me. I placed an order for a Camphor Eikon the other day. They're a touch pricier these days lol. Glad to see ZMF is doing well and still innovating
     
  18. econaut

    econaut Almost "Made"

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    I have a Schiit PYST XLR cable here, does anyone if this has 75 or 110 oder whatever Ohm?

    It works between a Pi2AES and Yggdrasil for AES, but I wonder if it's actually the correct cable.
     
  19. Baten

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    For such a short distance it'll work "fine", but it's 75Ω meant for analog transmission, while the AES/EBU standard is ideally nominal 110Ω.
     
  20. Inoculator

    Inoculator Friend

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    We are approaching the crunch few months at my work, and all adjusting to working remotely during our busy period. I did frequent end of the day vinyl spins at my work when in-person, an optional chance for people to just decompress a bit and enjoy some stuff they may have not heard before. Someone asked if I was going to be doing any sort of team music streams so people can vibe at home while we work remote. While I think he was half-joking, it got me seriously thinking about trying to do a daily spin stream. Might be a fun morale boost activity for some close team members.

    My current preamp has passthrough TAPE outs, so I would just need some sort of reliable ADC to run it to. Bonus, I could start to record some decent needle drops while taking on this project.

    Really don't want to spend a ton on an ADC, but want something that is still going to sound good in case I do want to record needle drops. Any suggestions? I guess you could even use the microphone input on the Schiit Hel as I understand it has a quality ADC? Jils seem tough to come by these days. I am sure there is more stuff in the pro-fi world as well. Thanks for the help!
     
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