The All Purpose Advice Thread

Can anyone help me to locate a cable thread in SBAF? I try to search and could not find one. I am particularly interested in learning more about balanced cable...

 

I didn't know about this deal.. I'll keep it in mind.

 

My Vali is pretty special fed by my Pulse into HE500s.

 

@schiit : This is precisely why a (suitably hidden and protected, warranty-voiding) switch is needed on Schiit products. Just because someone may move countries and voltages doesn't mean they can (or indeed should) splash twice for e.g. a Yggdrasil/Rag combo...

 

What is it about the K7XX that is, for you, an autosell in favor of the 600? I'm an admitted noob so bear with me. I will definitely consider your advice and I'm going to examine the buy/sell forums at HF.

 

Alternatively, if he prefers the AKG sound then get the K612 pro instead. It's cheaper and sounds better.

 

I owned AKG K702s for a few months. I ran them from a Bifrost UBER and Lyr 2. They were clean and clear but just didn't make music. It's hard to put my finger on what wasn't right. I haven't heard an HD-6XX for years so I can't comment on how they compare, but I'm inclined to say try different headphones anyway.

 

At the moment, my Momby is connected to Macbook Pro 2011 via Toslink. I read somewhere that it is better to avoid Macbook optical, but I can't find anything that explains the reason. Should I keep using Toslink or change to USB with Wyrd? I suspect Momby has noisy USB line.

 

Thanks. Right after I bought these barely used/like new for $165 I saw some used 600's for like 180. Wish I'd seen those first.

 

Very interesting, thanks!

Regarding HD600 vs HD650, why do you suggest that it should be modded? And what mods are we talking about (perhaps a link)?

As entry level transducers, I was eyeing a pair of HD650, so I'm surprised to see (though not for the first time) that some prefer the HD600 to it...

 

Very interesting!

I'm curious, in the balanced headphones above did you also consider electrostats (e.g. Stax)? Or are they too not really that balanced...

 

Hi everyone, I know I haven't been around much, been in and out of the hospital since July, this is the first week I have been home. I won't go into details here since this is the all purpose advice thread,. That being said, I need some help and advice on a custom HD800 Cable. A few months back, @fraggler made me a really nice HD800 cable. I am not sure how this happened, but the right cable that connects to the right driver is starting to come apart. I cannot explain why. I have never taken the HD800 out of my home, and when I listen to music, I just sit in my music chair and listen. I take extremely good care of the HD800 as they are my favorite headphones, so I am baffled as to how this could of occurred. (P.S. @fraggler is on vacation in Japan so I have no way to speak with him on this).

Anyway, the right cable that connects to the right channel driver is starting to come apart. Those who are familiar with the HD800 know that there is a rubber piece that covers the wires that connect to the metal piece that connects to the drivers. On the right channel cable, the rubber piece has somehow slipped down the wire exposing the extremely delicate wires and pins that connect to the right driver. I can get the right driver to work if a manually hold the pins into the right channel/driver speaker, but I have to hold it there, so I am not sure how to fix this. I tried to slide the rubber piece up and over the very thin wires and metal connectors that connect to the right channel driver, but I cannot get the rubber piece to move. It appears to be clamped on very tightly, which has me baffled as to how it could have possibly slipped down off of the metal connector piece all the way town to the main cable. I attempted to try to loosen the clamp on the rubber piece, but no such luck. The only thing I know to do in the meantime, is to cover the extremely thin wires that connect to the driver with electrical tape (as you will see in the pictures below. Does anyone know how I can fix this? I cannot afford to go out and purchase another HD800 cable, even Sennheiser's stock cable replacement is outrageous.

Please if anyone has any advice or can explain to me how I can fix this, I would GREATLY appreciate it. The HD800 is my favorite headphone and I simply cannot afford to get a replacement cable. Below are some pics to give you a better idea of what I am talking about:

First, here is the Left channel (which so far, hasn't had any issues:



Now here is the Right Channel cable where you can see the grey rubber piece has come off of the metal connector to the HD800 and has slid down to the main cable, and I cannot get it to move, no matter what I have tried. I initially thought that the rubber piece was clamped on, but as I tried to loosen it, I had no success. Here is what the right channel cable looks like:


And here is a side-by-side comparison of the right cable (the one I am having issues with, and the left cable which is perfectly fine:




As stated above, I wrapped the very thin wires with electrical tape in order to try to prevent the small, thin wires and pins from getting damaged. I am at a loss as to what to do or how I can fix this. The grey rubber piece on the right channel of the cable (pictured on the left as you can see) will not budge. I cannot get the rubber piece to move back up the cable to cover the small, thin wires and pins that connect to the right driver. It is like the rubber piece is completely stuck.

Please, if anyone knows how to fix this, will you please help me?

Thank you everyone for your time.

 

In the realm of IEMs, the UERMs definitely fit the bill for being balanced with only a few minor negatives here and there. For some it's the treble, for some it's the lack of subbass extension. Personally I think both problems can be alleviated to an extent by a good dac and amp. The Andromedas also fit the bill, but only when used with a 2-3ohm output impedance. Otherwise, I find them too warm sounding.

It's strange... the UERMs are considered to baby hd800s but I've always found the UERMs more enjoyable. Maybe if I had @Serious's HD800x and a ZDS then I would probably enjoy the HD800s a lot more.

 

Nah, some people just won't ever like the Sennheiser sound, and there's nothing wrong with that. By the same token I think the Beyerdynamics are fatiguing with that wonky treble spike, but if someone likes that house sound and the spike doesn't bother them, I'll recommend the DT880 (or possibly the DT6## family for budget reasons) over the others.