The All Purpose Advice Thread

On a speaker rig?

 

Out of curiosity, if I wanted to upgrade amplifiers from Lyr 2 / Valhalla 2, using an HD650m, what would you gents, knowing what you know, suggest as a next step? I would presumably be trying to jump a tier rather than sidegrade in this scenario, though I can't spend $1500 on an amp. Maybe $800 range? I figure the Mjolnir 2 is an obvious pick but am trying to get a sense for what else is on that tier of price/performance. Thanks.

 

I would prob love it for at least a few hours.

Valhalla 2 is soft with grainy treble but I want to upgrade! Not sure I could live with the 90s CD player tone of the Mumby exclusively.

 

I'm curious about embracing my deviant bass loving nature. What would yall recommend for a bassy, gooey, warm but still highly resolving tube amp and DAC for the hd650s?

I don't really have a budget because this is all long term saving stuff, so the sky's the limit.

 

I'll leave your actual question to others. But here is something that you might be interested in if you are thinking about adding subbass.

http://www.garage1217.com/garage1217_diy_tube_headphone_amplifiers_019.htm

There is interest here, but I have not read about anyone trying one.

 

Mr Kiss,

The HD650 and tube amps are often paired together with OTL tube amps, and starting from the beginning there are 2 distinct paths; one being the Bottlehead Crack, and the other being the Schiit Valhalla2. The crack has a very satisfying tone, decent tube imaging, and a laid back quality like falling face first into a feather bed after a long day of hard labor. The Valhalla shows the OTL's diversity and surprises many that it isnt the laid back gooey misconception of what most thing tube amps are. Valhalla is more forward, engaging, detailed and even sharp at times. Characteristics of both amps can be fine tuned with tube selections, and the Crack has an endless amount of tweaks that can be performed to help one understand why things sound the way they do. If you are looking for a boomy basshead amp, the crack might be a better fit, where if you are looking for a tight articulated bass, the valhalla might be a shorter road.

Others could recommend which Garage1217 amps pair best with what cans and which tubes to pair them with, I personally haven't heard these, but know others have had great success.

There are many tube amps out there to research / mess around with that will satisfy your basshead needs, but I would recommend starting at a less expensive option and familiarizing yourself with tube life before you dive into the deep end. My advice for most beginners is to do a bit of research, try something out, stick with it for a while, and get to know the characteristics of the chain. Once you are familiar with your setup, you can begin to analyze new gear and see what best fits your preferences.

 

For that request, I would say Gungnir Multibit as the source, and maybe the Kenzie from Ampsandsound. I found it to sound quite warm/romantic. I also found the DNA Stellaris 2 to sound warm, yet resolving. Not sure how it compares to the original Stellaris...
Black Widow 2 I also found very warm and resolving, but this is SS.
I would recommend Zana Deux over all of these, but it is a lot less romantic sounding, and lacks goo

 

Way to go and trump my recommendations @Mikoss . I figured the guys wallet might need a break after to holidays and you let him in on the Zana Duex secret. A EC Balancing act with 2a3's might be a great recommendation too!

 

Haha we were writing at the same time, sorry. He did say the sky's the limit... that does include outer space right?

 

This is more of a general inquiry than a request for purchase advice but I'm going to post my question here anyway because Im sure not if it deserves its own thread in the speaker subforum.

I have not had a chance to demo any planar speakers yet though I've always been curious about Magnepans. So I wanted to ask on here if anyone has experience with this type of speaker and would be willing to describe how their sound characteristics differ from dynamic speakers. I have amps that I believe would be a great match for Magnepans but am unsure if they would be the best speakers for my tastes. I know that they are generally well regarded but I am a little afraid of them exhibiting the 'planar compression' that so many planar headphones have. It bothered me so much I have switched to solely dynamic drivers for this reason. Any info on these would be very helpful. Thanks!

 

Looking to buy a new amp with my HD650, and likely to go with Schiit's offerings. Can't decide between the Vali 2 or the Magni 2.

I'll be using my PC as a source, and in addition to listening to music I'll likely use the amp when I'm gaming. And when I game I tend to use IEMs since I find them more comfortable. My taste is extremely varied to be honest. Ranging from older blues/rock stuff like Clapton, Beatles, to Motown. At the moment I'm listening to a lot of Deltron 3030 and Glenn Gould.

I'm slightly more inclined towards the Vali 2, but I'm not sure whether it'll work for my usage patterns (4 ~ 5 hours on weeknights; 7 ~ 10 hours on weekends). Also, whether using Vali 2 for such long periods in a warm climate (~90F or ~33C on average) would be an issue.

Am I just too worried, or should I go with the SS option just to be safe?

 

You're too worried. You should get a lot of hours out of the stock tube but replacements (and upgrades) can be had for cheap. Go for it.

 

Anybody know the cheapest way to ship a small parcel from the US to Asia with tracking? Fedex etc. are crazy expensive. With USPS, the site says Priority Mail International® "Small Flat Rate Boxes" don't include tracking. So I'm guess the "Small", "DVD" and "Video" boxes all fall under the same "no tracking" category.
https://www.usps.com/international/priority-mail-international.htm#legal-disclaimers--definition--4

It looks like the cheapest USPS choice is "Priority Mail Express International™ Padded Flat Rate Envelope" for $62.50 (ouch!). The item is a mobile DAC/amp which I think would be fairly safe to ship in a padded envelope, if it were first put into a sturdy cardboard box.

Any other suggestions?

 

I'm a noob so don't put too much weight into what I say, but I just got the vali 2, and compared to other SS amps I've tried it's just barely warmer, it doesn't have any overly warm characteristics or anything, to most it will probably sound neutral.

As for your heat issue, if you game with your PC, it definitely gets a lot warmer. I've had it on all day and I would say it's like touching your phone wall wart after it's been charging your smartphone for a couple hours or something. I don't think it'll heat up your area at all. Something like a Class A Asgard 2 probably would though.

 

Not in the US, but does "Priority Mail International® Small Flat Rate Envelope" not work for your case?

Edit: Just saw the small print waaay down the page that says Tracking doesn't apply. Have you tried UPS?

 

First of all, Merry Christmas to you all....

Has anyone experienced with Meier Audio Corda Concerto? I am thinking to purchase used one to pair with HD650 and not sure if it is good match... Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

If it is not a good match, any recommendation of SS amp would be greatly appreciated. I have tight budget ($500) so TOTL amp is not possible for me.

I currently have Fulla2, AQ DF Red and vintage stereo amplifier (Yamaha A-420).

 

HMMM I have a general question. I'm on the fence on getting a Gungnir Multibit or a Sony WM1A as they are both around the same price. If I get the Gungnir, I would be using them to drive them directly through my EVE SC204s with TS107 Sub. I haven't heard the Multibit R2R sound yet, but I do want to experience it. I do feel believe the Sony WM1A will also sound very very good, even through line out from its 4.4 balanced. I know some people prefered the ZX2 pseudobalanced as a dac source over the Modi Multibit through the Jot. I think the ZX2 Dac section was great in pulling microdynamics and details like no other source I've heard, including the GO v2+.

Right now I only have a Geekout V2+ Infinity, so depending on the purchase, It will be on duty for stacking, or just home working as a balanced Dac(still sounds really great).

On the Go I will be pairing with Andromedas. WM1A should be an improvement, and also there are reports of Zero hiss.

Advice would be helpful. Thank you guys and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

They're pretty much along the lines of Fedex and DHL. The HF seller has listed it on eBay so with their guarantees I don't need to worry about tracking.

 

Assuming that I'd be able to procure them at roughly the same cost, would a self-contained system like an Auralic Aries Mini w/ the Auralic linear power supply and a Samsung Evo SSD installed (connected to Yggdrasil via Coax) yield better results than a Lynx E22 based system connected via Thunderbolt to a Mac? Or, would it just be considered comparable, either or, what works best for you kind of thing with neither setup being significantly better?