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

I need advice!
4420

The Ety triple flange tips seem to be a love it / hate it proposition. Regardless of that, Ety tubes stick straight out your ears like electrodes. It’s a difference that you may or may not care about. The flanges feel…different…and seem to want to creep in further. I didn’t like the flanged tips on my ER4XRs, and switched to the factory memory foam cylinders (as included in the box). They felt pretty average after that, and do indeed block sound better than anything else I’ve tried.

Ety uses a very thin sound tube, and the resulting brightness/hissing/sibilance wasn’t to my taste. I’ve also found that I prefer Bluetooth in most travel scenarios because cables cause issues at the worst times. However, I still carry spare cabled IEMs for when Bluetooth isn’t available. At this time I’d travel with my old Moondrop Kanas Pro IEMs but mainly use my Sony over ear noise canceling headphones.

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4421

Personally, the triple flange tips never bothered me. It look me about 5-10 seconds to get used to them. I also know I came having worn a custom mold earpiece for work, that took a month to get use because of the pain. And when the custom mold got ripped out, it hurt; it did not if it was popped out from the front. I really like the natural background isolation.

I’ve read some people hate the feel of them. They could not get used to them. I don’t know if they could stand the feel of something that far in their ears or were not patient enough to give enough to learn to adjust from earbuds.

I’m like Generic. I still have my Ety 4T, but I don’t use them much. It is purely out of convenience. Bluetooth is quick and works most of the time. The Eyt, I have to mess with cords and headphone amp. The ER4 I had purchased from my parents did not require a headphone to run well.

The one thing to note with the Ety, at the 4XR, and 4P/T is that they have filters that caught dirt and wax. You will need to replace them, which is easy. You’ll need to buy replacement filters. It may be possible to clean, I never tried that. I have Bluetooth IEMs and do not have replaceable filters. I’ve had them come off or get clogged with dirt/wax muffing the sound. It turns out you can get replacements, but that took me two replacements IEMs and several emails to find out from that manufacturer.

4422

Fortunately, not many people experience the unpleasantness you describe. And the foamies are my second favorite tip. Nothing wrong with them at all.

That thin sound tube you describe bypasses the geometry of the ear, and delivers accuracy as close to the eardrum as possible. No need to alter the frequency response curve to account for amplification properties of the ear shape or chamber resonance damping.

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4423

So it’s almost 80% of Sundara?

4424

I think so. YMMV. HE-400se is a bit more V-shaped and consumer-friendly, less analytical.

4425

Hi, I want to buy a new headphone amp/dac. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how the MusicFidelity stack MX-DAC/HPA would stand against a Burson Conductor 3 performance or a SPL Phonitor SE. Since the MusicFidelty stack is developed in 2015/2016 it missed some years of recent technology I suppose…

4426

Additional info: I will be using a Dan Clark Ether C Flow 1.1 and a Grado RS2e

4427

Afternoon to all,

I asked on the Resolve/Crin stream yesterday what would be a good contrast Headphone to the Arya V3 between the Clear MG, Clear OG or Auteur. After listening to their response I realize I limited that question way too much beings all 3 have similar characteristics of the Arya outside of the MG being a bit darker on the treble side.

So - curious to what others think when I don’t limit it to a certain headphone, but perhaps just a price range of the 800-2k? I’m not looking for bass cannons, but something that pairs nicely with Rock, Electronic/EDM and the like. Staging is nice but not super important but imaging is.
Thoughts/advice?

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4428

I need help with dongles for my Focal Clear OG.

I recently upgraded my android to a new android device which–I hadn’t thought about this before–does not have a headphone jack. I have an old Mojo, but sometimes I don’t want to drag that brick around with me. So I’m in the market for a dongle.

I don’t want to spend a ton–let’s say $150, and preferably less–and want something that is easy to transport. I listen to classical music.

Thanks for your help!

4429

I don’t own the Clear, but if it’s anywhere as easy to drive as its closed-back cousin Elegia, you could probably get away with a $9 Apple DAC dongle.

The Apple dongle doesn’t provide much power, but its DAC measures as well as some in the $100-150 range. It’s a superb value.

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4430

DDHIFI TC35 Pro is a good sounding, attractive solution.

DDHIFI makes a lot of cool adapter gadgets.

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4431

Assuming you have USB port, it may depend on your phone. Some manufactures put in decent DACs and some power. You can get a cheaper USB C to 3.5mm adapter as suggested earlier. I’ve have/use Jsaux one (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XYQ2ZKH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

If you want something with a bit more power and very portable, and reasonably priced for what it is, I would check out the FiiO BTR5. I use with the Focal Stellia and works very well. The Clear need a little more power than the Stellia, but not much.

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4432

This is meant to be helpful if only by way of warning: I recently tried my Clear out of a Lotoo Paw S1 and a Cayin RU-6. Avoid them both. They sounded too thin, underpowered, and could make for a bright if not shrill sound. I was driving both dongles out of a MacBook Air, which should provide more power than a phone.

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4433

@adornoWest - a little over your target, and would need an otg cable, but good tried and true solution: AudioQuest Dragonfly Red USB DAC + AMP Open-Box

Might also find them around 150 out in the used market.

4434

I’ve been shopping for a DAC to replace my Denafrips Ares II of which I was never really satisfied. It seemed to veil the potential of my headphones and amp. I’ve only recently delved into, at least for me, higher quality audio gear. I researched headphones and finally settled on some ZMF Vérité open backed headphones and paired them with a ZMF Pendant SE tube headphone amplifier and so far, I’m liking them very much. I also have a Burson Audio Soloist 3XP solid state headphone amp.

After much research, I’ve decided on setting my DAC budget at 3-5k believing that I should be able to find a really decent DAC in that price range.

I had originally decided on the Sonnet Morpheus due to reviews I had read on its synergy with my aforementioned components, but with further research, the Holo May L2 looked very intriguing and I then decided that the Holo Spring 3 KTE might be close enough to the May in SQ and with a savings of nearly $2k. Then, I discovered the Musetec Audio (LKS Audio) MH-DA005 DAC ($3200). From what I have read in some reviews and forums, it seems to be on near or equal footing with the Holo May KTE, which is $5600. Some have even said it’s better than the Chord TT2 or the Mola MolaTambaqui DAC. Those are some pretty high claims.

Seems like a no brainer, but…?

I’ve searched this forum and have found nothing about the Musetec 005. Can anyone shed some light on this?

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4435

Sorry, I don’t have any experience with the Musetec, but I will say that it’s hard to go off other people’s reviews unless you’re pretty sure that they have similar taste in music and have similar preferences regarding how it sounds. I find that people often throw around the phrase “This is the best xxx I’ve ever heard” without explaining what their baseline was.

For instance a lot of reviewers have proclaimed the Holo DACs to be the best, and I was very excited to listen to a friend’s Spring 3 KTE, but was disappointed to find it too laid back for the type of music I like (rock and alternative). My friend has different preferences and therefore it’s perfect for him. He also had a Chord Qutest, which sounded more energetic, and I preferred that whereas he preferred the Spring. We were both right.

Similarly, I recently tried out a TT2 with MScaler and it consistently gave me a headache after about an hour of listening, and I couldn’t figure out why so many people were raving about it. I finally figured out that it was because I was playing redbook/16-44, and I had a bad reaction to the upsampling the MScaler was doing, but when I switched to hi-res versions of the same recordings, I enjoyed them, with no headache. So I’m guessing that many of the people who have proclaimed the TT2/MScaler probably listen to hi-res. Ironically, I actually preferred the TT2 with no MScaler. Maybe it wasn’t technically as good, but the sound was a little warmer, it didn’t give me a headache playing 16-44 music, and I just forgot about auditioning the DAC and ended up listening to the music for hours.

I do own a Pendant and a Soloist 3XP, in addition to a Verite, and my personal favorite DACs driving those 2 amps were the Schiit Yggy (which I own) and the Chord TT2 (without the MScaler). They both have different sounds, but I found them both very engaging and energetic with rock music. But if you want a more laid back sound, then you probably won’t like either of them as much as I do, and perhaps something like the Morpheus or May/Spring would be more up your alley.

It sounds like you’ve already done a lot of research, but in case you haven’t seen this DAC comparison, I found it very informative: https://www.sonusapparatus.com/2022/02/short-high-end-dac-comparison-pt-2/. It doesn’t include the Musetec, but it does a pretty good job at describing many other DACs’ sonic character, e.g. warm/neutral/bright and laid back/energetic.

11 Likes
4436

The type of headphone I am looking for:

  • Any made in USA or Europe preferably. Avoiding China if possible.
  • Avid HD650 headphone user looking to upgrade

My price range is: under $1200usd

I like to listen to: Classic Rock, Jazz, Classical in that order

I will be using them for: Dedicated home use

Present amps: Quicksilver, Whammy, PS Audio Gain Cell

Question: Looking to upgrade from my HD650 for what’s next.

Considering DROP Focal Elex for $700 or the Headphones.com Focal Clear OG for $990 with the $100 gift card.

The Audeze LCD-X is very intriguing, but seems heavy. I have a buddy’s LCD-4z for a week. amazing headphones, just on the heavy side for me as a prototype experience for the LCD-X. I’ve avoiding Chinese products if possible for a variety of reasons, otherwise the HiFi Man products would get a stronger look.

Really appreciate what others have used as the upgrade path from the HD650.

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4437

All three are with me at the moment. What do you want to know first?

Edit: You might have some interest in the Aeolus since you got tubes. That one you can’t go wrong with. Also here if you want comparisons.

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4438

Elex is a bit brighter than the Clear and not as resolving. The Clear’s bass slams a little harder than Elex also (I’ve owned both and currently own the Clear Professional).
I would recommend the Clear, they are also priced cheaper lately due to the arrival of the Clear MG.
I own the 650 and they do not get nearly as much playtime as the Clear; narrow staging, muddy and rolled off on both ends.

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4439

I also have the Clear OG, HD650, and ZMF Aeolus. Amps are Valhalla 2 and Lyr 3 fed by Bifrost 2, Clear OG gets my vote as well. I don’t have the Elex so I can’t comment on it. The Clear seems like the best value, especially with the gift card. It slams hard, it’s super resolving, and generally well built. I’m not too familiar with your amplification, but my Valhalla 2 being OTL is not ideal with the Clear.

The ZMF Aeolus on the other hand is ideal with an OTL tube amp, as is the HD650. The Aeolus will play nice with anything really though. It’s not quite as resolving as the Clear, but it’s tremendously fun and I use it frequently. The Clear demands your listening attention more I would say than the Aeolus, it’s a bit more aggressive.

Post what you decide, you can’t go wrong with either :grinning:

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