The All Purpose Advice Thread

Not sure I ever thanked ya for nudging me, so thanks a bunch! Contrary to advice I read elsewhere, after having them for a bit I can attest I do hear the HD600 quite differently, and I'm liking them very much.

 

Now, I think I'm gonna move my Asgard 2 to a secondary location, had been eyeing Vali 2 before getting the HD600 but I dunno if it makes sense anymore. I need a DAC too (will be using SPDIF in) and I also use or plan to keep using my PM-3 (isolation) & X2 (gaming) about a 1/3rd of time, so:

Modi 2U + either Lyr 2 / Val 2 / Ember II

^ makes more sense than:

Bifrost 4490 + Vali 2 (or Asgard 2 if I prefered it)

No? Amp before DAC right? Between Valhalla 2 and Lyr 2 I'm kinda waffling, seems like Val 2 would be pretty borderline with the X2 or PM-3 but the HD6x0 pairing is so praised, I like the comments about how it opens up the stage etc.

OTOH I also like what I read about how Lyr 2 sounds more dynamic and impactful, and it's certainly more versatile... Thoughts?

 

I was looking at http://12ax7a.com/ and really like the sound of the "Clean and Compressed" tube. Do you guys know of any alternatives that fit this bill for the 12au7 and 6080? I want to replace the stock tubes in the bottlehead crack.

 

Hey guys.

Curious what the best portable amp/dac would be under 150 dollars. Would be using it with a macbook pro and a pair of Oppo PM-3s.

I've heard good things about the Schiit Fulla, Micca Origen and Audioquest Dragonfly. Then I saw the dragonfly getting shit upon by a few people and it caused me to rethink the whole thing.

Looking for the form factor mentioned above. Best price to performance. Not looking for a swinging dick going to blow my face off type of amp. Synergy with the PM-3 would be a nice bonus.

 

This is tough, many are just okay. Good reason why the older Dragonfly was crapped upon. I liked what I heard out of the Fulla, I think they fixed one problem and the volume control was wonky down low. I would wait for Austin Valentine to chime in, he has good experience with a number of small dac/amps and the Oppos. There is just a lot of mediocre stuff out there in this space, it is hard to really find a diamond in the rough.

Edit:

Although the Dragonfly black has my interest as a portable dac/amp for iems and a phone, something the Geek Out 100 iem could not do but sounds great.

 

Geek Out 450? They should still be floating around.

 

I'm a noob compared to a lot of the other members here, but since you've not gotten any replies yet, here are my two cents...

First, yes I would go Modi 2U + Lyr 2 / Val 2 over Bifrost 4490 + Vali 2. I am hard pressed to hear a difference between Modi and Bifrost Multibit, whereas I can hear subtle differences between Asgard 2 and Lyr 2. YMMV.

Sometimes I wish I had gotten Valhalla 2 instead of Lyr 2, because people say the HD600 / Valhalla 2 pairing is pretty special. That said, Lyr 2 sounds great with all my headphones.

 

The thing I like about the Dragonfly is it's a perfect size for what I want to use it for. I saw some others in the same range Fiio Q1 looked okay as well.

I'm not really worried about the power of the thing. Really I just want something that's not going to suck.

Based on that if I buy blind I'll probably go with the Fulla just because I trust the Schiit guys more then anyone else.

 

Thanks @Kon Peki , even tho many favor the Val pairing I get the sense that I can't go wrong either way and to a certain extent it just comes down to tuning differences and preference...

There's no denying Lyr 2 is far more versatile tho. I've pm'd a few people to try and better understand the more subtle differences but I guess ultimately there's no substitute to picking one up and listening for myself.

The more closed in soundstage is the only thing I've read about Lyr 2 that stuck out to me as something that could potentially bug me. (not an HD6x0 strength to begin with) Did you roll any tubes on yours?

 

My etymotic HF2s are falling apart. I love their neutral sound whereby the lows, mids and highs are not accentuated, good enough for classical music, my main listening genre. Their sound isolation is also useful especially in noisy surroundings. Of course compared to my speaker (Yggdrasil-> Rag -> Monitor audio GX100) or headphone (HD800S) setup they are veiled and bass light.

I was aiming for the UERR but several recent reports seem to suggest that they not as neutral as the now discontinued UERM.

Should I still go for the UERR? My aim is neutrality with mids that are at par to bass and treble. A speaker like flat resolving sound.

Should I instead stick to the etymotics and go for their flagship ER4P with ER4S adapter?

I was also eager to get my hands on the GO V2+ as portable dac/amp and complete my ultimate portable setup. However it looks like LHLabs are still not delivering their product. I am also unsure whether the GO V2+ would be a good pairing with the UERR or ER4P/S

If the UERM remains the gold-standard, is it feasable to buy a used pair and have the cutoms refashioned?

Thanks for any useful advice.

 

I installed a pair of old stock Amperex Orange Globes when I got the Lyr 2. Haven't tried any other tubes. I wouldn't say that the Lyr 2 soundstage is closed in compared to my other amps (Violectric V200, Darkvoice 336SE, Asgard 2), but I haven't heard a Valhalla 2 for comparison.

 

Valhalla is the amp to go with if you pair with high z cans, lyr drives both high and low well. Lyr has the power to drive planars, orthos, low impedance dynamics. Felt the sound stage was pretty good on Lyr 2, but I've always felt headphones and source have more to do with soundstage than amp.

Lyr also trades just a bit of clarity for a bit more warmth than Valhalla. You can obviously play around with warmth and clarity on either if you roll tubes.

 

Hey all,

i'm currently using grace design m9xx on desktop. Have hifiman he400s - beyer dt700/80 - sony mdr ma900

Listening to various genres of songs (mostly rock / alt rock / smooth jazz /acoustical pop - no edm/electronic/top 40)

Would only be able to stay in mid-fi territory for the foreseeable future

With that in mind, would it be worth it for me to hunt for a second hand senn hd650 ?

Have never tried the hd650 at all, and where I live, I wont be able to audition/go to a meet with hd650 owners, so i will be blind buying them (deaf buying ?)

Biggest concerns at the moment is that getting a hd650 would only be a sidegrade at best - sounds will be too similar to the he400s/mdr ma 900, and that even if i like it, the m9xx wont be able to properly drive it.


FWIW,
i like the 400s, just wishing soundstage could be a bit more open. Still trying to do the grill mod, haven't found suitable materials for it yet.


Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can give me. Cheers

 

You should really consider the Noble 4 (or perhaps its replacement, the Savanna, which no one has heard yet; I'm guessing it will be voiced similarly. Favorite iem for classical of all time. That being said, I haven't heard the UERM/UERR. Other guys will help you more. But as someone who's owned the ER4S several times, as well as lots of other sub $500 iems... go straight past the ER4S to the Noble 4 (if you can find one) or wait for the Savanna, after reading some reviews when its released. Incredible iem.

 

Have you considered the HD600?

 

Looks like you're looking for an upgrade, but FWIW, Ety has a program listed on their website where they'll let you replace that hf2 for half the sticker price. Could be worth looking into even if you get something better. I was surprised when I found it not long ago, it's like V-moda's Immortal Warranty and probably precedes it but I'd never heard of it.

 

A friend told me the 600 is more suited for acoustic / old school jazz, and the 650 is more of an all rounder

Hence my leaning towards the 650.

Not sure now how true that is, lol

 

Dayum, 2 days left for K181 DJ UE at Massdrop. Based on @purrin measurements and impressions, do you guys think it is worth a $108 price tag (in total)?
I'm really in need of a closed cans that sounds fine unamped and straight from a PC / laptop at work, and with portable/transportable form factor.

 

Is there anything special to the Massdrop drop? Seems like you can currently get them cheaper on Amazon, maybe I'm missing something... Never heard them myself, I think I heard the K81 but it was forever ago.

If you don't mind on-ears the V-Moda might be worth a look too tho ($80-ish same as K181 on Amazon), they pack away pretty small even tho they don't fold up (they're smaller than they look) and they're built tough as nails.

 

The AKG K181 DJ is not the most comfortable headphone. Comfort matters.

I can live with less comfort and more isolation. Can you? If so the K181 is one of the best portable headphones you can find with bass boost, mono/stereo switch, unique folding mechanism, great build quality and pretty good sound for a DJ headphone. Midrange and highs are surprisingly good for something that has to render low end like a sub-woofer. Did I mention bass boost is so worth it with certain genres? It is...