pennstac
Miserable old coot with tin ears and no sense of humor.
Rambles. Needs continuity editor. Types faster than he thinks.
September 2023, time to re-edit this crap.
Obligatory list:
Headphones: Rosson RAD-0, STAX SR-5N, Hive Nectar, HiFiMan HE-560,
Sennheiser HD-580, HD-6XX, Momentum 4
Grado RS1e, Grado SR60e,
Koss Porta-Pros, more Koss Porta-Pros.
Ear things: DUNU Titan S, Moondrop Kanas Pro, Sennheiser IE40 Pro,1More Triple Driver, vSonic somethings.
Audeze iSINE 20; LCDi3; LCDi4 ← that’s the flagship
And a lot of other, cheaper or old stuff. Q-tips.
Usual audio chains: Macbook Pro 14 (2021) → Schiit Bifrost 2/64, → STAX tube amp (balanced, Mjolnir-modified SRM-T1S) → Hive Nectar. Unbalanced out → Lyr 3 and dynamic headphones.
Alternate chain - At wife’s house in State College I’ve got the Sabaj a20d 2022 edition to power whatever I bring with me or the Sennheiser HD-580 that I bought new around the turn of the millennium.
Comfy Chair Chain: chair: Leather recliner with 8 way adjustment and snack tray. FiiO K9 Pro ESS on nearby table. Carry Case full of HART AUDIO connectors for whatever headphone is at hand. iPad Mini 6th or iPhone to stream. The audio stuff can go to the covered porch in nice weather. If I’m lazy, I now have the excellent Luxury and Precision W4 to make a super easy lightweight substitute for the FiiO, use an Anker dock on the iPad Mini. for power.
Mobile Audio Chain - iPhone to Cypher Cable → Audeze LCDi3 (or Koss PortaPro if I expect to actually make calls.
Real audio chain.
HOME: Speakers- Modified Rectilinear III “highboy” , (1968 Julian Hirsh’s speaker of the year). Wyred4Sound STI-1000, TEAC Dac, Sonos Connect, Rotel 940? 960? CD player (Burr Brown 20 bit DAC), Musical Fidelity v90 phono pre-amp. VPI Prime Scout turntable, Ortofon Bronze cart. Sonos Play 1’s 3’s 5’s and Sub, scattered between two houses.
OFFICE: Streaming via iPad Pro M1 to iFi Zen Blu V2 using BT5. Signal goes to vintage Sansui AU-919, Lokius, back to Sansui AU-919 to EgglestonWorks Nico Evo speakers. SoundPath wireless tapped out from Zen Blu to SVS Micro 3000 sub under desk.
And now I added Eufonika H7m OTL amp. I am currently using iFi xDSD to drive it from the iPad, and have the Senn HD-6xx. Wife just ordered ZMF Auteur Classic LTD for my birthday (March 2024) so those will go here as aspirational headphones.
Misc. other audio junk:
Electric Avenues mobile amp (circa 2000), Headroom Airhead mobile amp. Schiit Loki tone control. Every cable in the world except the one I need at the moment. That one appears after I order replacements.
iPhone is usual for calls, with Apple Dongle to Koss Porta Pro, or sometimes 1More Triple IEM
Borrow’s Julio Cortazar’s phone callouts.