The All Purpose Advice Thread

I wouldn't call it an upgrade, but I guess personal preferences and transducer of choice might push it ahead for you.

 

Yeah, I saw a good price on the bha-1, and from a Canadian seller, but the impulse has passed.

 

Hi Bill, I've been in the same position regarding the Mojo2. I like it a lot but find it a little veiled. It might be worth considering upgrading the tubes, there're solid impressions of NOS tubes in the dedicated thread. The Western Electric 396a seem to get the most praise all around, including by Mike Moffat on HF. It appears that the Philips/Mullard E188cc may be the best for technical performance though. I'm planning to take the plunge myself when I can find good pairs of those two. Good luck.

 

Hey Ben, I'm actually running a pair of LM Ericsson 2C51's which are mentioned in the Mjolinir2 thread as being some of the better pairings. I don't have any complaints at all, veil or otherwise, with the Mjo2 (with Gungnir Multibit and Ether Flows) except for lack of sound stage depth.

 

Do you have an HD650 to try? Planars are notorious for a "3 blob" kind of imaging which kills soundstage. Some are better than others but it's still always there to a degree. Try some dynamic headphones such as HD650, HD800, and TH-X00 and see if your still missing soundstage depth.

 

I have spme D2000's that I bought years ago, Beyer T5p.2's bought for portable, and the EFlows. They all lack depth but how much of that is the phones vs. the amp, I dunno. 'If' the EFlows are always going to lack depth then I guess that is what it is, but apparently the Mjo2 is known for a shallow/flat stage as well. Would it be Doofy to take my own amp and dac to the headphone shop where I've already bought a few things this year for the sake of demoing his stock? Do people do that?

 

That is literally the best thing in the world that you could do! As long as the store manager is amenable.

Regarding stage depth you may want to temper expectations, they're headphones after all. I'm probably not in the majority on this topic though: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...such-thing-as-headphone-depth-or-height.4148/

 

That's what he's there for. Call ahead, check he's cool with you setting your stuff up. Bear in mind that your DAC will be cooled down, so if he has a DAC you can stand, consider giving that a go, too, in case the Gungnir Multibit isn't sounding its best.

 

I had considered that. I have an electrical wall socket type outlet in the car and ought to be able to keep the Gungnir Multibit plugged in and warm. The best DAC/Amp I'd expect to be able to audition at the shop would be Woo's WA8, thus my interest in bringing my own stack. I told the guy when I was picking up my EFlows that I had bought the Gungnir Multibit/Mjo2 and he seemed to enjoy that. He might even enjoy hearing some of his own stock on that stack.

 

Very good, carry on then, Number Six!

 

Aye Aye!

 

I'm finding the HD600s harsh even with a Mjolnir 2 and Mojo as DAC, I've tried changing tubes and some do sound a bit smoother than others but even then I can't tolerate these more than a few songs at a time. I mainly use Ether C 1.1 which give me no fatigue at all especially with tubes.

Should I sell my HD600s and get 650s (285€ B-stock) instead or are there better open headphones in that price range that would work? (I like how neutral HD600s are and don't want anything muddy sounding) Just something in the upper midrange I think screws with my ears...

 

HD650 will most likely be what you want. They have slightly more mid bass which helps balance the treble plus the treble is smoother compared to HD600.

 

@Delayeed - I sometimes find the upper midrange bump in the HD600 to be unpleasant. (It sounds like you are even more sensitive to the upper midrange bump than I am.) I never experience anything unpleasant with the HD650. The upper bass bump in the HD650 can be a bit much if the program material already has more than I would prefer, but that is rare for me.

It sounds like the HD650 would probably solve your problem. If it sounds "muddy" to you, I suggest modding it. I did the HD650M mod and it opened up the sound without any added brightness, to my ears. It also eliminated the mid bass bump on mine.

I have not heard the KISS mod. Since it's purpose is to be a simplified means of achieving the results of the HD650M mod I would guess it is at least in the same ballpark.

 

Thanks to both. I will sell my HD600s at least for now since I have no use for them.

The 600 does so many things right so I'm sure your both right about the 650 being a good choice.

 

@Delayeed Before you go selling/buying/etc, play a little bit with EQ and see if you can narrow down any specific spots that cause fatigue. Along that vein, trying a little bit of crossfeed or Isone Pro costs nothing to try.

 

This is good advice. Also, back in the day @Hands did some easily replicated rear damping on his hd600 that brought it very close to the hd650. It doesn't capture the full clarity, but the flavor is a good approximation.

I think his work is still on changstar, I will edit this to add the link once I'm not on a phone.

(In full disclosure, he ended up keeping the 650, selling the modded 600 to me. I undid the mod because I wanted the native 600 experience first, then added the rear damping, liked it better and then bought the 650. I also had an hd800 at some point along the way...)

 

I’m a bit hesitant posting this, don’t want to come off as being lazy or something right of the bat. But past month I’ve spent hours every day, reading about various audio gear, headphones, DACs, amps, transports, etc. Everything is starting to become a bit blurry by now, might have overdone it, so decided I’ll let everything settle in for a bit. Anyway, enough excuses, this post is me again trying to get some recommendations for my planned audio setup upgrade.

I’m starting from nothing pretty much, my previous gear doesn’t have to be in the equation. So, I’m looking to purchase a pair of headphones, a DAC, and an amplifier, with a planned budget of around €3000. Big investment for me, and rather tricky as I lack reference and knowledge in this price range. But I still want to take this step within the year, so I can have something I can consider endgame, at least when it comes to the DAC and amp. I’ll probably buy more headphones in the future to find my preference and have options for different materials. Powered speakers are something I might go for in the future, and rather interested a vinyl system too as a lot of the bands I listen to release their albums in that format. But that is not in the equation right now, headphones first.

I want a setup that can stay somewhat true to the record, I’m more interested in listening to what the artists created rather than to what the gear sounds like right now. Well, at least as close I can get with this budget. Most of the time I listen to Melodic, Melodic Death, Neoclassic, Symphonic, Power and similar metal sub-genres. So, a lot of double bass drum action, a lot of layers in the mix, especially when there are orchestral elements involved. I’m not limited to this kind of fast and “complex” music, but still what I spend most time listening to.

Based on everything I’ve gathered so far, I have my eyes set on Gungnir Multibit as DAC, and AEON as headphones. The AEON seem to be an interesting first planar headphone to me, but that’s only based on early impressions, so will have to see after the first shipment if that’s the case. I’m just curios to try planars… not a necessity though. As for amplifier, I’m quite lost right now, main reason things became a bit blurry. The Gungnir Multibit seem to be a very good value DAC, but all the mixed impressions on Schiit amps, I don’t even know if they would do it justice. I’m not talking about individual preferences in terms of sound signature, but are any of them capable of presenting the Gumbys full potential? Maybe the Rag is, but that’s kind of a stretch with my budget. The Black Widow 2 seem like an interesting amp, but not exactly easy to find.

Anyway, I’m not necessarily looking to get a shopping list, I’d just like some recommendations, see which route someone who knows their shit would take if they were in my position. So, don’t pay too much attention the gear I listed.

Alright, that will have to be it, I think. As always, this post became a bit long, too much rambling…

Thanks in advance to those of you who bothered reading this desperate plea for help!