The All Purpose Advice Thread

I'm not entirely sure what this means or does (would love to hear an explanation) however I can tell you that Mjolnir 2 definitely just has a regular 4-pin XLR and not that 5 pin one. Presumable same for Mjolnir 1

 

Oh woops, wasn't paying enough attention and didn't notice it was 5-pole.

Basically what I was asking was if it was switched, like the Valhalla 2, so when you plug headphones in the preamp outputs are muted and when you unplug your headphones they're unmuted again. At least based on the description of the Valhalla 2 it should have this?

 

Oh, gotcha yeah the 5 pole threw me. I can speak for Mjolnir 2 in that it does NOT switch, both headphone out and preamp out play at the same time. Somewhere in the Schiit Happened thread Jason explains this, I think it had something to do with the Ciroclotron topology. Can't speak for Mjolnir 1 though would assume a similar fate?

It's annoying, but not a huge deal to me. I have my powered monitors on their own power strip, and just use the on/off on the power strip to turn them off when using headphones.

 

Interesting, I'll have to go have a look for that.
"Mjolnir is the only dedicated headphone amp using a Circlotron-style, or cross-shunt push-pull topology. This Crossfet™ topology allows us to use only N-channel MOSFETs, for better matching and lower distortion. It also significantly simplifies the output stage."
Taken from the Mjolnir 1 description, so I'm going to assume it's the same story.

That was something I kind of wanted to avoid but it seems like my options are pretty limited.[/QUOTE]

 

I'm actually in the same boat and plan on using a power strip to switch between headphones and monitors. Not ideal but no biggie.

 

I mean I could get away with the Valhalla 2 sitting on top and just have the DAC2 feed it unbalanced lineouts, but I'm not so sure about a tube preamp for my LSR305s. I do have some unbalanced RCA -> XLR cables to run it but I've heard these weren't the best idea, even if the speakers do accept unbalanced signals, though what I read could have been in regards to fully or 'real' balanced systems.

That or I just close my eyes, stop the temptation from all this gear discussion and live happily with what I've got.

 

Hi guys,

I'm all set to get a EC BW for my HD800S but the comments about the EC ZDS with the HD headphones keeps me in doubt. For the $1000 over the BW what is the sonic improvement? 5%, 10%?

I don't want to pay $1000 extra for 5%.

Please advise!

Also how costly is the ZDS in terms of tubes? How much for a complete new set and are the stock tubes good enough?

I'm willing to spend the $1000 over the BW if necessary but if the amp+ the right tubes takes the total over $3000 there better be a significant improvement over the Black Widow.

Current Eddie Current owners please guide a new initiate, this will be my first EC amp.

Cheers!

 

I'll preface this by saying I have nothing to do with this sale, and I haven't heard the ZDS, but I just heard the 445 on my HD800s and lord if I wasn't poor.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/802269/eddie-current-445-plus-tubes

 

Thanks for the link, thats the kind of money that I can't justify without an audition in person.

I'm not somebody who wants to spend 3 to 5 times more for improvements that are barely discernible.

The 4-45 clearly blew your mind. Could you let me know what other totl amps you have heard with the HD800?

Thanks!

 

I actually didn't realize that the ZDS was less $ than the 445, my bad.

 

I believe the 4-45 was a $4200 amp when released without any tubes included and the guy selling it has spent $1000+ on tubes. He is going to take at least a $2000 hit when it sells.....

 

While I really like the BW (I own one), I think tube amps bring out a certain musicality and sparkle to that you don't often get from solid state. For me it's entirely worth it. The EC ZDS or the ECP Torpedo III would be an ideal HD800/HD650 amp.

 

I'm not sure if the audiences of SBAF and VR enthusiasts align, but does anyone have a recommendation for a good bluetooth headphone? I know that sound quality will take a huge nosedive, but I'd prefer not to add extra wires to the Oculus Rift. Currently I have a ZMF Omni but I think it will be too cumbersome for the Rift, so I'll probably use my PM-3 or Lyra IEMs. Still, I'd prefer a wireless solution if possible but I've had bad experiences with bluetooth so far. Any suggestions?

 

I don't have much experience outside the Momentum 2 which I though was pretty decent. If you like the sound of the Sennheiser headphones, this is a decent offering.

 

The Sony MDR-1A(BT) remains the comfiest closed back I've ever worn, even more so than the PM3, mainly because it's lighter. I didn't use the bluetooth a ton but had no issues using my phone or DAP to connect to it. If sound quality isn't the most important aspect, I would suspect the older model (MDR-1R BT, also I think there's a mk2) may be just as effective for cheaper. Same build I believe

 

Have you thought about using something like this bluetooth adapter? http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Portabl...6&sr=1-7&keywords=bluetooth+headphone+adapter I had a similar thing a long time ago so that I could use better headphones with my PS3.

 

Why not just use your PM-3 or Lyra (semi) wirelessly? They won't run as well as from a better amp but you already have them so it'd be cheaper and will likely sound better than many dedicated wireless headphones...

I've been using a Sony MW600 Bluetooth receiver for years when on the go, either with my Ety IEM or V-Moda on ears, I believe the current age equivalent models are the SBH52 or SBH54. If you wanna pare down the cabling just get a short 1-3ft cable and clip that receiver to your collar or even the PM-3's arms.

There's a few other brands that make similar BT receivers but I've liked what I've seen from Sony's, they currently have a lower end/cost one without display for like $30 too (forget the model), I've no idea how it'd compare sonically. ClieOS reviewed the MW1 once on HF but I haven't seen very many other useful reviews of these things.

Like I said tho, I've used the MW600 for quite a while with like 4 different phones and I've thought it even sounded better than some of those phones (not a high bar but still, 3 HTC EVO + 1 Nexus 5 + a dumbphone FWIW).

Edit: Oops, fraggler beat me to it, I'm too long winded... Battery life on my MW600 is stellar even years later btw, and being able to see call ID and track info on it is pretty neat (tho I also have a smartwatch for that now).

 

This is probably an easy one but I would appreciate some help....

I have a set of Ultimate Ears Superfi 3 that I purchased about 10 years ago. With a set of comply tips they've been really great for flights, the isolation is super and the sound is good enough. The cable finally broke on me and I figure 10 years is great mileage for the $100 purchase price. I've checked out the IF WOF and the RE400 and MHA750 caught my eye as being decent replacements.

At this point my choice is to buy a replacement cable for the Superfi3 for $40 or spend a bit more and replace them outright.

Some questions...
1) The RE400 and MHA750 have dynamic drivers, will the isolation be much worse than my superfi 3?
2) The Superfi 3 had decent reviews when released but I have no frame of reference for how they perform today besides knowing that they sound better to me than any of the free buds I've had with the 5 or so smartphones I've used since.... is replacing the cable on these as foolish as say picking up a new belt clip for my 2000 Palm Pilot?

 

You might want to try the Zero Audio Carbo Tenore before spending any more than $50 on IEMs. They're $42 CDN on amazon and they sound excellent for the price, so you could always try those out as a point of reference before spending more on the RE400 or MHA750. The RE400's are good (still have a pair lying around somewhere) but I'd say the Tenore is directly competitive for less than half the price. They have a pretty warm tone with good clarity, but not sure how they compare to the Superfi 3 directly as I haven't heard those before.

 

I'm liking my Momentum 2 AEBTs. Don't expect anything groundbreaking in terms of SQ, but they work quite well for what they are and the noise canceling would likely be good for your immersion if you're going to be using them with the Rift. I've gotten interference from walking around the city but nothing too pervasive. Tyll's review on Innerfidelity is pretty spot on regarding the tonality, and I noticed that the soundstage was a bit better than the Momentum 1 (probably due to the angled pads) which should be helpful for gaming.

They're out of stock on BuySonic at the moment, but keep an eye out for their next sale (it was a hefty discount when I got mine).