My headphones are Sennheiser HD600. I’ve landed on these after trying out; Mr Speakers Aeon Open, HD6XX, HD58X, LCD-2C.
My Amp/Dac is a Asgard 3 w/ built in AK4490 DAC.
I heard some Aeolus locally and thought I liked them. However, I still am sort of happy with my HD600. I was thinking of getting a Bifrost 2. And then getting an Aeolus or Auteur later. Or maybe just getting the Aeolus now… Can’t decide. I know headphones will be the best bang for your buck, but yea I’m sort of happy with the HD600. And I know the built in DAC on the Asgard 3 is my limiting factor right now. I also do like that the Asgard 3 is an all in one, but I’ve realize as I get farther down the rabbit hole I’m probably better off with a stack.
If you’re happy with the HD600 sound signature (neutral-bright to my ears), I’d suggest you including the HD800S in your radar as well.
I used to be a HD650 (6XX) kind of guy, with the HD600 having very low usage. After getting the HD800S, and getting used to its sound signature, now my HD600 gets much higher use than the warmer sibling.
As far as of amp, any heavy-lifter (a.k.a. class A/AB or another discrete topology) should be good enough. Tons of suggestions in the community.
Listening to high impedance 300 ohm headphones on my tube amp, comparing 8, 32, and 300 ohm outs. 8 ohm is the most damped - sound is constricted, less open, smaller, bass is tighter and more controlled. Keeping volume dial constant, using lower ohm causes a drop in volume, and lower noise floor.
Thanks.
This conforms a little bit what I was expecting.
I’m not into tubes but I expect with low impedance headphones/IEMs the same things could be observed with changes in output impedance between different semiconductor based (IC or discrete) amps.
Asgard 3 arrived today. Three vinyl and I’m already in love. Let’s see how the thing grows up. My warm thanks to @ProfFalkin@antdroid@generic for their kind help and to all the community for the tons of posts I’ve read. Enjoy
any suggestions for best wireless headphones with 2 sets of headphones( one for me and my CFO) for listening to new sony bravia android 4K smart tv with/without using sony 5.1 avr(use amazon 4k firestick apple tv youtube tv) any thoughts on avantree phones-they come with 2 sets of headphones? have sennheiser rs 195s but extra headset is too dear$$$ and sennheiser told me not recommended would have to buy rs 175s plus extra headphone set !$$
thanks bobbmd
I had a little time last night with the clears. Sound is pretty close to the arya. I thought the clears were a little bright but I have yet to put a lot of time into them. I’ll be able to dive in a little more this weekend. Last weekend, on the left side, I had where the arya were uncomfortable where I had to take a break. I do wear glasses. I’ll have to see if this is an issue with the clears. The build quality is definately better on the clears versus the arya.
My experience so far with the blessing 2 is good but very light on the bass. I need to not compare the apple beats wireless as I’m guessing the bass is boosted and throws everything off.
By it’s nature dynamic driver sounds brighter than a planar. Build quality on Focal’s headphones is near to maniacal and they’re hard to beat. I believe that glasses will give you less problems with Clears than with Arya.
For a more pronounced bass on IEM sadly you have to invest a lot more than in Blessing 2 and very often at expense of mid/bass area. I believe Blessing 2 can be a good compromise between your needs and money.
Enjoy
I’m gravitation towards the Arya still. Don’t know if getting older and ears getting larger, the ears don’t touch on the Arya but on the Clears, kind of feel like I’m stuffing my ears in the pads. Oh, my other thoughts on the Clears is the grey, what will it end up looking like down the road, might be interesting to keep clean and grey.
I might just walk away from IEM’s then, the Blessing 2 were very lacking in my opinion. I listened to the same music I was testing bass on when I got home (and I know it’s not a fair comparison but the other side of the coin, I would think an in the ear with a good fit should get good bass), I compared the bass song to the Arya and Clear which of course excelled. Whats your thought on which IEM and price range would get a better bass response?
(I did some searching, the focal is 48mm in width where others are 60mm+)
I believe you have to patient with the Clears and get a little familiar with them. Focal pads can be annoying when new but with a week of use they start getting easier to wear. Think of it as a pads “burning”.
The problem with IEM and basses IMO lays in the way sound is sent to our ears.
Before you think buying something else did you try some tips rolling? Using memory foam tips usually increases the bass because of isolation.
The price range for an IEM with a dynamic driver dedicated to bass frequency (while other frequency are done by armature drivers) is at least the double than Blessing.
Easier and cheaper to try foam tips and see if they do the job for your needs.
I am in search of an upgrade from my iFi hip dac, which I currently use as my main desktop unit. I’d prefer a single dac/amp unit but I would also be open to a stack. Also, this may be a bit arbitrary but I would really like something that is designed for proper desktop use - the iFi hip dac I use now is too small and it slides around on the desk too easily if it gets interfered with by the mouse cable/any other movement. I’m looking to spend $450 maximum, need something with USB input, solid state, and I would use it with the following:
Sennheiser HD518
Fiio FA7
Sony XM4
Klipsch R15PM Monitors
Klipsch HP-3
(fingers crossed) Focal Celestee
Is it generally inadvisable to use one DAC/AMP for the variety that I use it for? IEM, some pairs of headphones and speakers? Seems to have worked out so far. I was looking at the Marantz HD-DAC1 but I haven’t really found much information about it. Recommendations?
I was in a similar boat, and wanted a rock solid reference, no worries about matching, just clean, easy and idiot proof.
Schiit Modius and Magnius stack. Highly resolving, super clean and stupid easy. Great entry to the next steps, as it is a very neutral, well measuring reference. Also from a great company, and has a good warranty.
Everything I use currently uses cables that terminate in 3.5mm. If I buy the stack from the Schiit website does it come with the cables I need to connect the two? What type of cables would those be? And do I need an adapter for plugging in my headphones/etc. into the Magnius?
For the cables, you could get a pair of Schiit’s PYST cables. You need the RCA ones. Note that they’re only 6 inches long. That’s plenty for your purposes here. The PYST cable is well made and perfectly acceptable. You can get cheaper RCA cables elsewhere. Monoprice has acceptable ones for just over $3 (these are quite bulky though).
You will need an adapter for plugging in your headphones. Get a 1/4" one. You don’t need to fork out a lot for it. I’ve seen folks recommend these Sennheiser ones. I assume that’s what I’ve got as it came with my HD 6XX headphone. Again, it does the job fine. A much cheaper option, under a buck, can be found again on monoprice.
Edit to correct mistake above: PYST XLR cables can also be used to connect the Modius and Magnius, not just the RCA. Sorry, wasn’t paying enough attention.
