Here’s my background explanation for choosing the Ken-Rad. After I got the RebelAmp I sat down with all the bundled 6SN7s and rated their performance on the Lyr 3. Nerd that I am, I created 10 or 20 variables and filled out a data table. The Ken-Rad happened to sound the most technical, accurate, and clean of them all. AFAIK black glass tubes were higher spec and should perform well.
As the best I had, it was my available way to estimate how headphones would perform on the Lyr 3. In contrast, the vintage Foton I recently had in the amp is a terrible choice. My Fotons have loads of sustain, ring, and fuzzy creaminess. This can be enjoyable, but you don’t hear the uniqueness of the drivers.
Hi. These are truly terrific impressions and helpful as well.
Thank you for this, especially since I am very much getting into the world of TUBES.
I’m getting an I-HA-1 Dragon Inspire from Moon Audio very soon. It is a Transformer coupled amp and I’m looking forward to tube rolling with it, especially because the signal path is really short and the quality of the tubes will have a big impact on the sound of the amp. Feel free to give me more of your tube impressions anytime.
Went back and looked at @Resolve ’s headphone Ranking list after comments and am presently considering used or possible new STAX SR-007. Not sure what the diff is between the 007A and MK2 unless it’s a country related model issue. Also thinking about Arya Stealth with the Sennheiser 820s in third place.
Any help in refining my thinking (or thinnin’ for fans of QuickDraw McGraw) will be appreciated. While portability is not a major concern I have only one possible amp for the estat and if I get that I know I will be tempted by a Mjölner Audio KGSS or similar in the future.
If there’s any opportunity to try before buying I’d recommend that. I only heard the Stax at shows, and even though it was over a longer session, it’s still not sufficient to feel super confident about it. At the same time, I know I liked it better than the 009. Also consider the Shangri-la Jr. It’s also one of the better tuned E-stats, so I highly recommend researching that. Lastly, we were all keen on the Bravura at High End. It was a bit expensive because you have to buy the whole system, but it has a really nice tuning overall.
Have you had a chance to hear the Nectar Hive? I know some think it compares well to the higher end estats. I’ve never seen any comparisons when the reviewer had both a Nectar Hive and something else at hand.
Any suggestions for a good mini pc type thingy for a music server? I’m currently using a very old laptop (Win. Vista era) and it’s getting a little flaky - not to mention the fan noise. I’m using Daphile so it has to be x86 (no rpi) - I’d prefer i3/i5 over Celeron. I was looking at the Intel NUC systems, but way too much $$ for just a music server
Hi all. Currently have the Atticus and am looking for a closed back complement around the same price. Have been looking at the LCD-XC or potentially the Focal Radiance, but sure if the Radiance would be too similar to the Atticus.
I listen to Rock generally, with some EDM and acoustic (which I think the Atticus will likely remain my go to for).
I’ll chime in as I’ve had the Radiance a few months now. I’ve not heard the Atticus so I don’t have a reference point there. However you said Rock and EDM…hell yes Radiance is great for that! The Radiance is a Focal so you get that Focal punch and slam. Guitar riffs sound so good on the Radiance to me. Vocals can be a little recessed at times and being a closed back it can also be a bit aggressive to me.
These are not piercing to me in the highs and you get fantastic extension in the lows for a DD. Loving my Radiance if you can’t tell.
Summer months now so the leather pads do get a bit warm over time, but that is all depending on you and your temperature climate.
You’re already using an ancient laptop. Take a look on EBay for a used intel NUC, add your own hard drive or SSD. Looks like you can upgrade by about 12 year or more for $100-300.
Type: TWS
My price range is: under 50$
I like listen to: rock, pop, rap, chill, bass
I will be using them for: home, walks, gaming on PC (not professional for this I had another headphones)
Now im stuck in choice between Edifier TWS1 and Skullcandy Dime (in my town some headphones are missing and this 2 models are the best choice what I found, but I still cant choose from these 2)
Please help me
Since I’m also in need of a new laptop, I figured I can scavenge the ram and m2 out of my current one. I also found some Asus Chromeboxes on eBAy that might fill the need. Only a 4th gen processor, but it’s an i7. Anybody use a Chromebox? How about something like an Optiplex type pc?
Hi guys! First of all I have a budget of 500€. I’m looking for a closed headphone that isolates well enough to be used in fairly noisy places because I want to be able to use it in transport. I listen to my music on Tidal in CD quality and I don’t have a dac yet but I plan to get one (portable preferably). I mostly listen to funk, pop and rap. I’ve never had quality headphones so I can’t give you a benchmark (sorry for that). Here I hope I haven’t forgotten anything and I’m waiting for your recommendation. Thank you!
If using this headphone during noisy transit is one of your main use cases, then I would recommend that you get something with active noise cancelling, which will by far make the biggest difference for your audio pleasure. The Bose QC45 is quite excellent, and I personally prefer them over the Sony counterparts for both audio quality and ANC performance (flight tested).
Since you won’t need a DAC with the QC45, you can save half of your budget for a later purchase for either the office or home.
