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

Hi, thanks for the reply, not really… there’s no hifi stores here in Panama, the stores here just sell headphones that are super cheap and sound like crap or famous brand that are way too expensive and doesn’t give what i need.
But just like i say to @rex4539 if you know a headphone that go with the description i give, i’m here to read what you have to say.

Well… i havent use a noise cancelling headphones yet, but i really want that feeling that when i put my headphones on, it’s like the world just shutdown and i can listen to music, like… listening to the music and not much if the environment.
If you think a can get that without a noise cancelling headphones, just drop your recommendations i just want to get the right headphones.

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IEMs did this better for me than the airpods max. And the max was the best NC I have heard (and best sound quality from an NC set. But that isn’t saying much)

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Good day to everyone.

I’d would like some purchasing advice.

I’ve been thinking about getting a tube amp, specifically the DNA stratus or amp&sound amps, to pair with a vertie closed that will be arriving soon, and I’m looking at getting into planars along the way. Thanks a bunch!

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Noise cancelling will not do that. It is good for reducing constant noises like fans, or air conditioning or motors, but they are still there. As @Dynamic says, an IEM gives the best isolation. @SenyorC could you point @genio to some of your IEM reviews in his price range?

Have you listened to any IEMs? Which have you tried? What did you like or not like about them? Do you find them comfortable? These are important questions to help us help you.

If you do not want to stick something in your ear, than a closed-back headphone is probably the next best.

I did try and search for a good hi-fi store in Panama, and all I could find was car audio and online stores.

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I agree totally with @pennstac about ANC headphones, they are great for long droning sounds (such as airplanes etc.) but are not great for general noisy enviroments. Passive noise cancelling, such as IEMs, works much better for these kind of situations.

If you haven’t tried IEMs, then probably something in the cheaper end of the market would be a good starting point. For example, the Aria are a great set of IEMs for their price, check out the Moondrop thread for reviews from myself and others. Here are links to some reviews:

If you want to go cheaper, you can check out the The Ultra Cheap IEM Thread that has lot’s of budget options and reviews, the thread is over 1000 posts long, so maybe start from the end and work back a little looking for photos that usually accompany reviews. Things like the Tanchjim Tanya are great for a very low price.

The isolation of IEMs can vary a lot from brand to brand, and also depends a lot on the tips used. The kings of isolation are Etymotic (which is to be expected as they make hearing protection) and their IEMs get good reviews. The ER2 series is within your $200 budget (at least it is in Europe and US, I don’t know about Panama) and has lots of praise. I personally don’t have experience with Etymotic as I don’t like the deep insertion of IEMs and the Etymotic do have deep insertion, this is something that adds to isolation of course.

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Just a note that there are noise canceling IEMs like AirPods Pro. I think they sound pretty good for what they are and are convenient as heck.

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Thanks for all the info,
Well i’m with you, i don’t like that insertion think, definitely go more with something over mi head, thinks more comfortable, i’m on my way of reading the forums you say, but if there’s something else, that are not in-ear, even if they are like 100 more from my budget there’s no problem, if they are what i need i’m ok with going up on my budget.

Hi, thanks for the reply, but not really, the closet could be the earphones that come with the phones when you get one, but don’t think that count tho…
And well, my personal preferences are headphones, don’t get the vibes of something inside my ear, but still can try, no problem with that…

Someone else has to help you now. My problem is that I have not heard any ANY ningun closed back headphone that I liked. I have not listened to the $$$$$ expensive ones, but the most difficult review I did was when I was sent an Audeze LCD-2 headphone to evaluate for the forum here. And I wanted to like it. But I did not. It was not bad enough to make me hate it, or I could have written about that.

But it was just sort of miserable. It had echoes. It was heavy. Yes, it did close off quite a bit of the outside world. And it was about 3 times your budget. MIERcoles, as they said when I was in 8th year in Argentina. MIERcoles.

I’m sure there are closed back headphones that I have not heard, and that others can recommend. @TylersEclectic :phone: , please call out the usual suspects for this quest.


:phone: And you could, you know, give me a report on my poor old AR turntable that I entrusted into your care.

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Gracias bro, but if there’s no headphones that you know, i’m still here to listen to some recommendation of a earphone you think could fit my necessity, i think i have to change my mind to choose what give me what i need and stop looking for what i want that not necessarily give what i’m looking for.

I was checking the Aria that @SenyorC tool me, and they look like fit what i describe so i put then in the list.

But still, if someone know one that give that being a headphone would be perfect.

@Nick_Trumbull I’m not familiar with xduoo DACs but I do have a Pendant OG, currently with a mixture of Amperex EL84’s, Mullard Mullard EZ81 and Brimar CV4034, then into VO, Stellia or Aeolus, so not the same as your setup, but perhaps somewhat close.

If you’re still looking for a new DAC, you might also think about getting a Bifrost 2 to start with. It’s cheaper, and you should be able to sell it quite easily if you want to upgrade further in the future.

I originally had a Bifrost 2, and I found it to have a lot of synergy with the Pendant (and all my amps, actually) when it came to musicality. I upgraded to an Yggy A2, and the biggest change for me was the additional detail that the Yggy gave me, in addition to the blacker backgrounds, which definitely took my enjoyment up a notch. When AB’ing, I enjoyed both DACs, and even though I liked the Yggy more, the BF2 definitely didn’t embarrass itself. Note that I found the BF2 to be a little warmer than the Yggy A2.

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Curious for the price difference between the BF2 and the Yggy (almost 4x), did you find it worth the price or was it small but yet noticeable? (goes back to diminishing returns I guess)

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I found the difference to be quite noticeable. The first time I tried the Yggy, I was also using the Nautilus and Stellia, and the extra detail I was hearing for the first time was overwhelming at first.

I try not to get into value discussions for the more expensive gear, because it’s so subjective. It was worth the price for me because I could afford it and it was a definite step up from the (already very good) BF2. Not 4x better, but as you know, that’s not how it works.

I’m looking forward to your impressions of the Yggy vs your Matrix DAC. I wonder if you’ll find that they’re just slightly different takes on great sound.

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And that’s why I was asking you, it’s all subjective and I know how the price thing goes. I’ve always been curious about the Yggy and the Matrix just works well. I know they’re in the same ball park, they just get to the same destination a little differently.

Thank you for the feedback I am almost certain I am going to go with the yggy A2 Uni. I can sell it for the same cost I can get if for, so I would be out very little if I don’t like it, but I have talked to so many now that say there is really nice synergy with the yggy and pendant.

Thank you!

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I should also mention that if you happen to see a Gen 5 USB version of the Yggy at a much lower cost, it’s very easy to install the Unison USB card yourself. That’s a money-saving tip that I got from this forum, and should pass onto you.

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I’ve seen analog 1 with usb x Yggy’s floating around for around the 1100 range, good to know that swapping the usb is pretty straight forward, takes it to around 1300 plus shipping, etc

Schiit had a b stock BF2 for a very short time this morning and then it was gone… go figure.

Be aware of the Yggy Garage Sale model when seeing low prices too. It’s a prior gen franken-product.

https://www.schiit.com/products/yggdrasil-gs

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Yes, I was reading the 1599 garage sale A1 Gen5, then 200 for the usb takes you to the used prices the Yggy A2 Unison. But you get a three year warranty from Schiit. Maybe they’d install the Unison for the 200, then ship it to you?