I currently own only open back dynamic headphones. To be precise, I have a Sennheiser HD800 S and a Focal Clear MG. I’m absolutely in love with both, but I’m confined to my bedroom for listening because I like it loud and my wife can’t take the sound leakage while she’s watching TV or on the phone.
So I’m looking for something that I can use with my portable DAC/AMP while walking around the house that will not disturb her. I’m considering 2 options, both of which review excellently. First is the Thieaudio Monarch and the other is the Audeze LCD-XC Creator Edition. I would love to see a head-to-head comparison of these two items. Why does no one do any unconventional comparisons such as this. I for one would like to see it and then more of it. I can only speak for myself but I’d like to say that the community would like to see something different like this now and then, rather than simply comparing like or similarly priced items.
Comparisons between similar items are more common simply because there’s a much smaller range of possible “like” items a reviewer could choose to compare against.
So, if they review an HD800S there is a fairly small number of like products in a small price range - which makes it easy to pick one or two points of comparison.
What you’re suggesting/wanting is effectively an arbitrary comparison, which means a near infinite number of possible comparisons could be made. There’s no meaningful way for a reviewer to choose the comparison items in that situation. Why not Focal Stellia vs. KZ ZST?
In a near infinite field, the chances of them comparing two or more items that were actually of interest to any specific reader in that scenario are as close to zero as makes no difference.
You’d have to get someone to do a comparison based on a specific request. At which point, if it’s going to be arbitrary, your best bet is to do that comparison yourself.
Question: Is there any good Tube Buffers? Not huge, not expensive.
Or I guess a Tube Preamp, again, not huge or expensive.
Wondering if I try put something inline between Qutest and SparkoS Aries. Or I just go tube amp and use Aries as the preamp.
I went down an extreme comparison path in my Sennheiser HD-58X write-up. I included a table with headphones ranging from the $35 Koss Porta Pro to the $4K Focal Utopia. This was explicitly meant for newbies who want to understand “What do I get for my money?” I focused on mainstream audiophile products that are frequently recommended or mentioned – I wouldn’t attempt such a comparison with less common products.
I didn’t even think of the existence of these adapters and I think it’s a very good idea I’ll look into that, thanks
Thanks for the recommendation, thats looks really good, is also the mic decent? Do you have any IEM as a recommendation?
I currently have a cheaper bud, but I don’t like, that I have to put it back in the case when I’m not using it and like to have it hanging on my neck. so the neckband is pretty much a requirement. However I didn’t even think of the separated BT neckbands without IEM which seems to be a good solution. Besides that, the Sennheiser doesn’t look bad, even though it’s a bit over my budget
That depends on your budget for them and what your sonic preferences are. The IEMs that I usually have connected are the Moondrop Aria, a great set of IEMs for the price.
If you want to go cheaper, take a look at the Ultra Cheap IEM thread: The Ultra Cheap IEM Thread
There are many reviews of budget options in there.
If you share a budget and sound preference, I’m sure you will get a bunch of recommendations.
One thing to consider is that the MW200 comes in two different versions, one with 2pin connectors and the other with MMCX, depending on which IEMs you decide to go with, you should choose one or the other.
My review of the MW200 is here: Shanling Audio - Official Thread - #9 by SenyorC
I agree. And can/do such things within my limited experience.
Closed backs didn’t do it for my wife. However, IEMs did.
I haven’t heard the monarch. I have heard (and love) the dunu zen. I also heard the Audeze Euclid. And, the LCD-XC is in my top 3 headphones with the LSA HP-2 Ultra and Drop Ether CX. All of which are very different.
From a sound isolation from others perspective, my answer is short: Get the IEM you want.
From a sound quality perspective, you can find what you love in IEM or Over Ear. Since I haven’t heard the monarch, I will talk about the Zen vs the XC.
For me, these two are more similar than they are different. Both hold similar values and have similar flaws to my preferences. My biggest argument for the Zen would be that the XC isn’t double the price better (that may apply to the monarch as well). The zen has near planar speed while still maintaining some of the note weight and slam that a DD driver can have. Before I found my HP-2, the Zen was hands down my favorite headphone of any type. It has fantastic articulation, but bass quality, quantity and texture that I personally don’t even get out of planar over ears.
The XC, certainly a step up in resolution and detail. But it didn’t really beat the Zen in the bass, which was a surprise to me. It was clearer but seemed to lack some texture and slam was only present at very high volumes. As a very competent over ear, it definitely is a larger soundstage. It feels cavernous. The zen feels like a super coherent coccoon. I wouldn’t cry if that was the only headphone I could ever listen to again in my life.
Now, I directly compared the Zen to the Euclid in a post on here. And, for me, the things the Zen did well made it better than the euclid. But, the euclid, at twice the price is a touch better in things not relating to slam or note weight. And it is very similar to the XC. So if you wanted the XC in an IEM, that is where I would go. It was also a touch more relax in the mids, which I am sensitive in 1-2k. And the FR extends in both ways a bit more, which can make some music sound more “complete”.
So, IEM for the isolation. I joked that if I ever wanted to buy an open back headphone again, I would buy the LCD-XC. To me, closed backs are pointless for isolating your music from others. At least my wife can’t sit in the same room and deal with it. IEMs? Work great. Even the Zen which are vented and leak more sound than others.
Happy to answer questions.
Thanks, I just posted in the forum.
Apparently only the MMCX version is available in my country so I will go for that one. I’ve read your review and also some others and it seems it totally fulfills all my requirements, so I will try to find a cheap IEM
Hello!
I am fairly new to understanding DAC sound differences, as I am a number guy, and DACs don’t always follow this trend.
I am currently running a xduoo TA-30 as my DAC and then running that into a Pendent SE, then into VO, Aeolus, T1.2. (btw I am running all mullards besides the 12at7 for the pendent that is a Brimar CV455)
Would changing my setup to have something like a Matrix X-Sabre Pro MQA or a Yggy A1 usb5 be a large improvement? I can get both of these used for around $1200, is there any other better options you might suggest? Or would I be better investing in some more headphones? (Found a near mint stellia for $1300 
)
Thank You!
Someone else might chime in but if I remember correctly, the Yggy A1 isn’t an issue, slight improvement to the A2 but the usb 5 to unison usb might be the bigger difference. Good thing is, 200 upgrade for the unison usb versus 650 to upgrade to A2.
I might have said this but in the past, I’ve had the Bifrost 2 but never the Yggy and it’s suppose to be a pretty good difference, no honest idea. I was pretty happy with the move from Bifrost 2 to the Sabre but it’s been a while and I don’t have the option now to compare as I let the Bifrost 2 go. I know @PaisleyUnderground moved to the Yggy kind of recently and might be able to give some good info or opinions but I don’t know his previous dac.
I think I gave my 2 cents about the Sabre, better remote, built in filters, touch interface, pre amp or dac functionality, quite a bit smaller and a 1/3 of the weight if that even matters.
Both dac’s made @Torq top dac list if that matters also. He might be able to give you a an opinion between the two since he’s listened to both. I personally like to hear what people say about different things, then take that (as I’ve said before) with a grain of salt and hopefully make the right decision.
Sounds like either direction would be good, my only hesitation would be the usb 5.
And you’ve got two amazing headphones, the VO and Aeolus but I’m also partial to my Eikons but the VO and Aeolus would be a next pick for me also.
I would say yes, given the caliber and count of your headphones. These are good options. Perhaps also consider a used Chord Qutest.
That’s right, there is a Qutest for 1250, another option. So many decisions… Never listened to the Chord products yet.
I don’t have direct experience, but Decware, iFi, and Musical Fidelity offerings may be worth exploring.
This will likely result in greater tube sonics and overall sonic potential.
I’d also sell you a 9 month old silver Yggy with A2 and unison for 1900 shipped, then you don’t have to worry about upgrades and I’ll stick with the Sabre, so many options.
I can’t give any comparisons to the TA-30 as I’ve never heard one (as a DAC, or a DAC/amp).
I generally prefer the Yggdrasil over the X-Sabre Pro. They have rather different presentations. A lot depends on what you’re looking for/your preferences and what, if anything, you find lacking in your current DAC.
…
To get the best out of an Yggdrasil A1 you ideally want to use it’s balanced outputs; which you can’t do with the Pendant SE. You could use balanced to single-ended transformers, but that’s just trading one issue for another. With an A2 version, the difference between balanced and single-ended outputs is smaller. The A1 is still an excellent DAC from it’s single-ended outputs, but it’s not “all it could be”.
I think both A2 and Unison upgrades are worthwhile, but certainly not mandatory.
The Matrix is a more flexible (and smaller) unit since it supports DSD and MQA, and has little, to no, discrepancy between its outputs. It is likely to be more similar to what you have than an Yggdrasil would be.
Thank you very much @Torq @Roikyou @bpcarb
The reason I have been looking at an upgrade is although I am running the TA-30, I am still getting a little high frequency fatigue after extended listening. I also can tell that the there can defiantly be in improvement with the amount of detail being presented. But at the end of the day I want a dac that I can sit down an just enjoy the sounds that are being made, and the TA-30 is not doing that for me right now.
I will keep doing some searching and see if saving up to get a yggy A2U is worth the $700 over the XSP.
I hear the yggy A2 is warmer, and that is (i think) the direction I want to go.
Also, I won’t use DSD or MQA, so those are not determining factors.
If you are going to be walking around, chose the IEM.
Who knows, maybe your spouse will get so mad one day she’ll send you to the the dog’s house. In which case, the IEM will be the even more correct choice.
The Aeolus and VO in my opinion are on the warmer side. I do not remember the Bifrost 2 to be more warm than the Sabre, just very simple (push toggle for inputs, remote that honestly is worthless and a power switch in the back, the Yggy has the same push button toggle to cycle through inputs and simple led’s to tell you what the output of your dac is and power switch in the back). I’ve listened to both the Bifrost 2 and Sabre for hours and neither is fatiguing. I’ve done a fair amount of tube rolling and try to stay on the warmer yet detailed. Make sure your getting the best tubes you can for the Pendent. If anything, the Sabre will be more neutral and the Schiit more warmer. I’ll have one (Yggy) Monday (or Tuesday), so I’ll be able to side by side the two, put my money where my mouth is, see if I see the difference. This will be my first experience moving up the Schiit dac’s next week and it will be with a new amp, the Decware CSP-3. So, everything is constantly changing for me.
My point, neither Schiit or Matrix will be fatiguing. If you are the type of person that sticks with a dac, either option is good. If your on the fence, there’s a larger following and demand that is in shortage for Schiit and you can move away from it quicker if you wanted to.