General purchase advice: Ask your questions/for advice here!

I’d say it’s among the best sub $1000 tube amps I’ve tried.
The closest comparison sound wise is probably the Haggerman tuba.
I bought from the second batch, out of vague interest and to support someone on the forum, I ended up using it in my secondary system until yesterday, when I moved the DNA Stratus over.

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Sigh. The 6SN7 vintage tube situation is weird. My used Lyr 3 came with a bundle of tubes, including a Westinghouse, KenRad black glass, Sylvania Bad Boy, etc. The tubes were in Brent Jesse boxes, and I have no reason to doubt their authenticity.

It seems that there are few true “NEW Old Stock” tubes around – and many vintage tubes have been passed around for years. Some are on death’s door and deliver no detail or energy. Wear might transform the ‘NOS’ character description into something else entirely, but how can one compare without any/many true NOS items out there?

Notes:

  • I rather like my KenRad black glass with a brighter DAC, as mine rolls off the treble and emphasizes mid harmonics. I’d not call it bright under any conditions.
  • My Bad Boy is really bright and whistles like a banshee on an AKM 4490 DAC. The glass and base look very aged but authentic.
  • Some of my other tubes image poorly or distort in very odd ways. Again, unknown use history and unit-to-unit variation. It’s what we have to work with today.

@Mick: Be aware that people post old $20 to $30 tubes for $100+ on auction sites. One could spend a lot of $$$ for disappointment in the 6SN7 world. I’d try new production 6SN7s if starting from scratch.

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I have a question for the fine folks here. If I have a balanced headphone cable that terminates in a 4-pin XLR like this:

xlr

And my headphone amp has unbalanced 1/4 outputs like this:

jack

Is it safe to use a 4-pin XLR to 1/4 extender like this?

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Yes, going that way is fine. I do it all the time. Going the opposite way from a single-ended headphone cable into a balanced amp (1/4" TRS into an XLR jack) will damage/short the amp.

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Thanks for your help!

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This seems to get asked a lot. I’m bored so let’s explore it a bit.

A VISUAL EXPLANATION ON HEADPHONE CABLE ADAPTORS

HEADPHONES:

A transducer needs two things to work and make a complete circuit, right? Connection to a source and ground. Or a positive and negative ( + / - ). You need this for each transducer, so, you need 4 wires per headphone.

image

The negative ( - ) connection can be shared between the transducers with a common ground. That’s how a TRS (tip ring sleeve) 1/4" connector functions. Tip = L+, Ring = R+, Sleeve = shared ground ( - ).

image

This works fine. Connected to a single ended amplifier, the electricity flows through both transducers to ground, no problems.

AMPLIFIERS

There are many ways to build an amplifier for headphones, but we’ll keep it simple and talk about balanced dive and single ended types.

Balanced: Each connection is actively driven. For each transducer, one connection pushes while the other pulls.
image

Single ended: Only the + connection is driven.
image

CONNECTOR TYPES

4 pin XLR connections:

Using a 4 pin XLR connection provides a dedicated wire for each connection on a balanced amp. Great!
image

Single ended amps can also use a 4 pin XLR connection, mostly for convenience.
image

Either way, having 4 dedicated pins/wires is nice to have.

3 contact TRS (Tip Ring Sleeve) 1/4", 3.5mm, etc, connections:

Balanced amps can also offer TRS jacks for convenience, although half the amplification is unused.
image

Single ended amp driving a 3 connection TRS cable and headphones:
image

PROBLEMS

Where we run into issues is when we short active amplification to each other. If we convert a 4 connection XLR to a 3 connection TRS plug, we are REDUCING the number of pathways. By doing so, it then creates a short circuit across ALL of the active amplification sections. (You can draw a path from any single amplification section to any of the other amplification sections in the example below.)

Poof. Bad. Flames and smoke.

image

As you can see, all active amplification sections may now interact with each other via a single short circuit.

CONCLUSION

All of the above is just a really long winded way of saying: Going from the amp to the headphone, do not REDUCE the number of contacts / wires / pins.

Do not covert a 4 pin connector on the amp into a 3 pin connection for the headphone cable.

This, however, is just fine:

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Great explanation, thanks for taking the time. The last graphic was especially useful in understanding how there would be a short if going the opposite direction. :bowing_man:

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Great explanation. We should have a FAQ for all the questions that get asked on a regular basis.

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I don’t get it. :upside_down_face:

Omg I’m just kidding! My friend. How long did that take you? That was fantastic. It was like an engineer was taking me through it. Even though I knew all this already, it was still awesome! :slight_smile:

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You’re welcome. Uhh… ~15 min? Ish.

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As a point of utility and flexibility, it’s a good idea to purchase 4-pin XLR cables and use an adapter.

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Yeah, you say 15 minutes “ish”… but I’ve worked with engineers on scheduling and planning, so it was probably 2 months. With an unfinished punchlist.

Kidding, (maybe).

Thanks @ProfFalkin !

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I’m busted. I started this when I was 12. Furthermore, once it was completed I had to wait for the right time (years!) to post it. :laughing:

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Many thanks for such a comprehension and clear explanation.

One question, though: does this apply to ANY point in the chain - for example, if I had a 4-pin XLR out from my amp connecting via a 3.5mm TRS to an A/B switchbox (this would be a custom-built interconnect - 4-pin XLR one end, 3.5mm TRS the other), then a 3.5mm TRS out from the switchbox to my headphones?

Your amp would go boom.

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What he said. Bad idea. You are doing exactly what is shown above - creating a short. This will do bad things.

On XLR connections, because both + and - are always assumed to be actively driven for each channel, you cannot just shunt one to ground or tie these connections together. Harm will come.

The only way to do this safely would be to convert the output via transformers, similar to how this device works:
https://www.jensen-transformers.com/product/pc-2xr/

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Hello all!

The type of headphone I am looking for is: full-size headphone, preferably closed. Could be open if it doesn’t leak a ton of sound, since I’ll be using it in an office with 6 other people. I own the HiFiMAN RE-400 and I really like their sound signature, though they can sound a bit dry and too revealing for some genres. I’d love something that retains their level of detail, their mids, and their fast and tight bass, but maybe have a bit more bass quantity.

My price range is: up to $400, but I’d rather stay around $250 so that I can have some cash to buy a DAC and an amp if the headphones require it.

I like to listen to: lots of 70s, 80s, and 90s rock, lots of jazz and classical, some hip hop, EDM, and R&B, little bit of pop here and there.

I will be using them: at the office, as I mentioned before, to listen to music while I work.

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Hi @Alejandro_Arias_Mart , welcome to the forum!

Out of interest, what is your source going to be? It sounds like you don’t have a DAC or amp, so are you currently using a phone or DAP?

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Welcome to the forum!

I always enjoyed the m40x and add zmf pads. I had cowhide but I don’t know if you can still get cowhide. It won’t break the bank lol.

Also like the cooler Master mh751. Gaming headphone but it’s comfy and decent sound for price. Just don’t use the mic, leave it detached.

Also you could try to find a used focal Elegia. That’s close to your max price tho.

Another option is the porta pros with yaxi pads. Not full size but punch above their price. Love mine.

@Torq
@ProfFalkin

Is that Jensen gadget similar to the Decware ZBIT (albeit no gain) and ampsandsound add on input transformer.