The All Purpose Advice Thread

Can anyone share their expert insight why over ear full sized headphone sounds better than multi BA iem in general? For instance, HD800 has one large dynamic driver but it sounds better than any of TOTL multi BA iems. Should't multi BA IEM sound better in theory since they can tune more precisely by separating their multi BA into low, mid and high where full sized dynamic driver have to work with single driver to cater all of frequencies.... This might be a dumb question but I could not figure out and it drives me nuts.....

 

Shot in the dark but doesn't the single driver push more air therefore more sound?

 

Does anyone know of a retailer in the US or preferably Canada that still sells the Sony MDR EX 1000? or is the only way to acquire them via japanese export. I was looking at the 7550 but I think i'd miss the treble sparkle of the EX1K

 

Amazon.com has some shipping from the US:
https://www.amazon.com/Stereo-Headphones-MDR-EX1000-Monitor-Receiver/dp/B0042BXSMU
Sold by IZ store and Fulfilled by Amazon.
Price: $402.60
3 in Stock

 

So, this just popped back up on Massdrop: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/grace-design-x-massdrop-m9xx-dac-amp and I thought of your post.

I have not heard this product myself, but I'm sure others have. I have listened extensively to its forebear, the m901, which was highly competent even if a little boring and digital-sounding (note: totally different dac's are used from the 901 to the 9xx; my point is Grace typically doesn't make garbage). I know you are not married to an all-in-one, but the m9xx does carry an AKM 4490 dac and will certainly drive most ortho's happily. It probably will not shine with more voltage hungry headphones like Sennheisers and most Beyers. I still agree with the recommendation to wait until schiit is done dispensing new presents, but the m9xx from Grace is something to consider. There are enough out there that you can probably find a used one in between measured releases from Massdrop.

 

@Darko

I highly recommended BF4490. I got one for $300 used on HF. But I pair mine with the Uptone Regen which takes it even further into bliss territory.

 

Modded HD650 -> ???? -> Crack + Speedball

What do I get to replace the ????
I saw this http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/dac/DAC1911/DAC19EN.htm and was also considering the Schiit Bifrost. Any other suggestions or considerations?

 

Looking around $500 or so.

 

Bifrost multibit (used).

Or 4490 (next best thing). And I would seriously not neglect cables. It wasn't until I replaced my stock RCAs that my BF4490 became incredibly impressive. Don't have to spend much either. $50 Morrow MA1s are unbelievable for the price (better than pricier cables I've heard)

 

Saw this at $230 seems like a steal for ryu.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/814261/lh-labs-geek-pulse

I believe it uses to Sabre ESS 9018 dac chip which is technically a great chip, some complain about the Sabre treble but the geek pulse is one of the good implementations, also the Crack will smooth things out anyways.

 

Looks like no one has really reviewed this thing on here. Does anyone have reason why I should buy this over a Bifrost?

 

To say LH Labs is an erratic company is putting it mildly...I'd not go that route, even though they do have some good products.

 

So you would advise against the Pulse and go for the Bifrost instead?

 

Correct. Good, dependable Schiit.

 

Any recommendations for a cheap (<400 USD) DAP or portable DAC/Amp I can pair with an Android phone to test headphones using my own music at meets with minimum hassle? I'd just need it to be able to power high impedance headphones like my HD800S cleanly to a medium listening volume (I listen to my HD800S at only around 9 o'clock on my Magni 1) so I can make a fair comparison against other summit-fi headphones. I don't care about having the most amazing portable setup since I wouldn't be able to appreciate good sound over the screeching of BART trains on my daily commute anyway, so it doesn't seem practical to spend more money on something I would only use a handful of times per year. So far I've got my eye on the XDuoo XD-05 DAC/Amp at $180 or Shanling M5 DAP at $365, both are currently available on Massdrop.

Alternatively, what minimum output specs should I look for to determine if a device can drive something like the HD800S well?

 

I have seen the iFi Micro iDSD go for as low as $350 used and $399 new (from Adorama) and that will be able to drive just about anything cleanly including sensitive IEMs.

 

Bifrost is upgrade-able though so that's always good. You could probably just sit on a 4490 bifrost and wait till schiit refreshes the bifrost line to upgrade in the future.

I don't have experience with the Pulse Dac so I didn't want to comment, but I listened to the geek out v2 and thought it was incredible for an semi-portable device. I'd imagine that the desktop pulse dac would be even better.

 

I've got a choice of a Modi 2 (non-uber) or Geek Out 450 to use at the office w/ the Magni 2 Uber. Does anyone have a preference? If the Geek Out, is their a filter preference? It also seems that I could trade the 450 for a Modi 2 Uber (non-4490 chip though)...