New Here? This Is The Spot To Introduce Yourself

[angstorms]

Welcome Dexcom7 to the community, The Bifrost 2 is a very nice DAC. I hope you are doing well.

[DEXCOM7]

Thanks @angstorms All is well. Hope all is well on your side.

[DEXCOM7]

Thanks for the link, A nice good read for lunch

[prfallon69]

Hello and welcome @DEXCOM7. I’m sure you’ll fit right in. It’s an enjoyable place to hang if Audio is your thing. Of course it helps if you like headphones too. .

[DEXCOM7]

Thanks for the welcome!

[jb77]

Welcome to this great community @DEXCOM7 lots of great people here

[DEXCOM7]

Thanks for the welcome!

[jb77]

Welcome @Fairly_Near to this great community

[prfallon69]

Hello and welcome @Fairly_Near.

[FLTWS]

Welcome to all new members this week.

[nugget]

Hello everyone! I’m an ultra-running, car-racing software geek in Houston Texas who has been involved in AV for decades but new to headphones specifically. I have a long history with ANC headphones when flying (I’ve owned most generations of the Bose stuff, including their pilot headset) but not much experience with home A/V headphones. My current travel headphones are some Etymotic ER4p in ears, which I’ve been really happy with since 2012. I’ve started wearing headphones while I work, though, so lately I’ve been buying gear. Earlier this year I started with a set of Drop HD 6XX hooked up to a Topping D90 DAC and a Monolith THX 887 amp and the experience has been transformative. I’m listening to a local library of ripped CDs (ALAC) using Roon paired with a Qobuz streaming subscription.

My girlfriend complained about the sound leakage from the open HD6XX headphones, so I can’t listen to them when she’s nearby. That started me shopping for a pair of close back headphones. So last week I ordered a DX7 Pro dac for my bedroom and a pair of Focal Stellia which will surely become my new daily wear headphones. The Stellia will arrive tomorrow according to UPS.

Thanks to headphones.com for a painless shopping experience and for building this community. I’ve been lurking through the threads and discussions all day today.

[andrew]

Welcome to the community @nugget!

[pennstac]

First, welcome @nugget I’m very pleased to have yet another gearhead joining the forum. You say how you like Etymolic, then you say this:

@nugget

My girlfriend complained about the sound leakage from the open HD6XX headphones

Well, sir, I have a solution for you. Get some of these etymolics:

What are you using to protect your hearing? (Earplug Reviews)

Great topic. Right now I’m using the Etymolic Standard Fit blue High Fidelity earplugs. https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/er20.html What I like about these is that they have a cord. Last year, I used something else. I can’t find the order, but they did not attach to a cord, and I found that I had inserted one rather deeply and it was not easy to get out. The Etys pull out with the attached neck cord. If you go to live music, it’s imperative to have something. Years ago I us…

And insert them into her ears. Your leakage problem for the Sennheiser HD-6xx is solved. And for only $20.

[ValentineLuke]

Welcome David @nugget to the forum.

The Stellia is actually a headphone I’m interested in, looking forward to your thoughts and impressions.

Here’s a link for the Stellia thread:

Focal Stellia Closed-Back Headphones - Official Thread

Specifications (from Focal)

Type: Circum-aural closed-back headphones Impedance: 35 Ohms Sensitivity: 106dB SPL / 1mW @ 1kHz THD: 0.1% @ 1kHz / 100 dB SPL Frequency Response: 5Hz–40kHz Driver: 1.6" (40mm) pure Beryllium “M” shape dome Weight: 0.96lb (435g) Cabes: 1 x 4ft OFC 24 AWG cable with 1/8" (3.5mm) TRS Jack connector 1 x 10ft OFC 24 AWG cable with 4-pin XLR connector 1 x Jack adapter, 1/8" (3.5mm) female – 1/4" (6.35mm) male Includes a hard-shell case

Although…

[prfallon69]

Hello and welcome @nugget. That’s quite the jump in quality from your everyday Bose. I’m not knocking Bose either but the sound quality should be a noticable improvement for you. Enjoy.

[rrwwss52]

You’re gonna like those Stellia’s!

[MartinTransporter]

welcome to the forum David!

[angstorms]

Welcome to the forum @nugget. The Stellia are very nice headphones, it also what I use when I have my family around.

I hope your doing well down in Houston, Hello from Austin.

[DEXCOM7]

Welcome @nugget!!! I need to test your Stellias!

[tommytakis]

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been lurking for quite some time now here, and maybe today’s the day I start participating? I’m a postgrad trying to prepare for medical school and somehow found my way into this crazy hobby. I started off participating in a little bit on headfi back when I owned the Verite, but now I mainly participate in SBAF. I do like having multiple sources of information such as here and I think the best part about this hobby is the people I get to meet.

Anyways, for headphones, I mostly prefer dynamics but I do enjoy planars as well like the Verum 1 and HE-6. HD650 has been my reference (oh wow, what a surprise! an SBAFer loving HD650? lol) and after cycling through many headphones, I settled down with a JAR-modded HD650 as my main headphone. JAR650 is basically the modded version of the HD650 that is very controlled and focused sounding while retaining the balanced tonality that I love about the HD6x0 series. Bass still rolls off at the very low, but it actually has better extension without bleeding much into the mids. Maybe I’ll do a write up about it in the near future.

I also really dig the ZMF house sound. I appreciate Verite’s 3D-spatial presentation, Auteur’s easy to love tuning, and Atticus’s pure fun sound. Oh and Zach and Bevin are awesome as well

I also have a Aurorus Borealis that should be arriving tomorrow and DNA Starlett preordered that should arrive ~4 months (RIP)

Currently, my listening rig is:
Pi2AES > Schiit Bifrost 2 > Eddie Current Black Widow v2 | Shortest Way 51+ > JAR650 | Verum 1 (loaner from a friend)

Wowie, this intro got way too long so I’ll stop right here. I’m excited to meet all of you and hope everyone is safe with the current outbreak, happy listening!