The All Purpose Advice Thread

what's the problem with using an external drive?
i use a cheap $20 internal drive, with a sata to usb powered adapter to use it with laptop, no issues at all.

 

I've got a Saga inbound to pair with my Jotunheim.

Looking for a tube suggestion to open up the soundstage a bit, something fairly transparent and adding little color to the sound.

Will be pairs with balanced-out HD6XX and Atticus.

Source is a Gen5 GungnirMB via Audivarna.

Sub $100, NOS or new production.

Thoughts?

 

There is nothing wrong with using an external drive, mine just sucks.

 

@Luckbad - A little ($30) over your stated budget, but @Torq recommended this drive:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MR3UBDRW16/

Edit: Here is an Amazon link to the same drive.

 

ebay,

the usual suspects are way overpriced.

 

Ctrl+V this from my original post elsewhere. I spent all morning working on it between other tasks, but now I have to leave the office so I hope to add more details to my requirements later! All input is appreciated.

TL;DR - My Gustard H10 and Burson Opamps are unreliable, the new V6 Vivid opamp sounds like crap, and Schiit caused me to be mildly annoyed. I need some help to determine how to move forward. Apologies for being long winded. This year in audio has proven to be very uninspiring for me and I'm extremely frustrated. I don't like tubes. I need something that is very, very open and detailed. I want the transparency and fast response that the Focal Elear is capable of. I don't know what amp would provide this.

Spoiler

I've been trying to come up with a reasonable desktop system at work but I have recently become very frustrated. I am not into portable equipment, but my desktop space is limited such that a Schiit Yggdrasil chassis will not suffice. This should still leave me with plenty of options. I finally found some equipment that I thought would be end-game, but the lack of long-term reliability and quality is concerning me. It is now to the point that my headphone amp may be damaging my beloved Focal Elear, so I need to fix it or get rid of everything and start over again. I need some help.

Begin March of this year. I obtained a used Focal Elear after drooling over them for quite sometime. My home stereo is a pair of Focal Electra 1028Be2, so I am very fond of the Focal sound. I was, and still am, in love with the Focal Elear. I went on a spending spree and got a Schiit Bifrost and Asgard 2. Much to my sadness, this sounded like absolute dog shit. The Asgard 2 is undoubtedly the worst headphone amp I have ever used. After several months of sitting I finally managed to sell it.

The Asgard 2 was replaced with a Gustard H10 that I purchased from Massdrop. For the price, there was no way it could have been worse than the Asgard 2. Thankfully it sounded good right out of the gate. I bought a set of Burson V5 opamps shortly thereafter and I had some issues with the install. The mechanical fit of the DIP socket is very poor so the opamps sort of float in place. This caused them to not work at all at first. I then realized that an insert inside the Gustard DIP socket had been stuck in one of the stock IC when I pulled it out. I managed to get the insert back in and things were working well for awhile. It sounded absolutely fantastic. At this point I decided I was done, and I was quite smitten with myself for finding such amazing performance for a reasonable price.

Cut to only 5 weeks later and one of the Burson opamps burst (Burston?). This was certainly due to the poor connection of the DIP socket. I contacted them and they requested that I send the bad opamp back to them and they will send me a replacement. I am empathetic to the fact that they are in Australia and I am in the US, but shipping this one opamp would cost me $60-80, where an entire set of V5 for the Gustard H10 is $120. On top of this, just a few days prior to my V5 failure Burson had released the V6 Vivid and Classis opamps. This was unsettling.

Burson offered to sell me a new set of V6 Vivid opamps for $100 shipped. I went along with this and I am now using them in my Gustard H10. Unfortunately the poor connection of the DIP socket is causing me headaches again. Right out of the gate one of the single opamps is not making a good connection. This creates an extremely loud crackling and popping through the headphone stage output. This will most certainly destroy my headphones and lead to another failure of the overpriced Burson opamps. I have been operating the H10 with the cover off so I can physically press the opamp into place as it works itself loose during heat cycling. But this is obviously unsustainable and I cannot deal with it anymore. On top of this, the V6 Vivid does not sound as good as the V5. I am reminded of the Asgard 2 and how much it sounded like an animal defecating in my ears.

In addition to the Gustard H10, I sent my Bifrost in for the Gen 5 USB upgrade and I must say, Schiit's handling of the upgrade and communication was very, very poor. After 4 weeks of waiting and no updates, it took 2 emails for them to respond and tell me that they could not ship the DAC back to me because their original PayPal invoice had expired. They needed to send me another invoice and have me pay it before they could ship. It took almost 7 weeks from time of purchase to receipt of my upgraded DAC. I bought the DAC in April of this year and just 3 months later they came out with this upgrade for "free" to anyone who chose the correct time to buy a new Bifrost. I saw some folks who were able to send their recently purchased Bifrost in and just swap it with a new one that had the Gen 5 USB. I went along with the consumer game by biting the bullet and just paying for the upgrade. I was as patient as I could have been, but the additional investment of money and time without my DAC on top of just spending retail for the thing has left a bad taste in my mouth. At this point, I cannot discern any difference that the Gen 5 USB made. However, I am hopeful that this is not the fault of the DAC, but the fault of the new Burson V6 Vivid opamps which don't seem to be satiable to me. I changed two variables at once which is never a good approach. I have to hang onto the Bifrost because of the money I now have invested in it. I am hoping that it will once again shine through as an exceptional piece once I am able to find an appropriate amp to pair it with.

 

i just use this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003...+dvd+drive&dpPl=1&dpID=31JpWsniizL&ref=plSrch
with this adapter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00N...6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=sata+to+usb

works great

 

My Teac UD-501 line out selector has three option: RCA, XLR2 and XLR3. My understanding XLR3 would be used if the cables are wired with 3 pin hot, instead of the second pin. I use XLR2 settings my cables are mostly DIY so I can be sure the pin 2 is hot. When I switch to XLR3 the sound becomes diffused. By what is the rationale for even having this option?

 

Update on the CD ripper: I ordered the LG WH16NS40, which is what is at the heart of the OWC Mercury Pro drive for half the price (and internal).

 

Hiiaoo

I need some valuable qualitative input from SBAF’ers, and advance warning - this will be a little long.

===
Some background first:

- I’m 35ish and have been in and out of the headphone hobby for about 15 years
- I still hear up to 15Khz, but have mild tinnitus from concert damage, along with what I thought was treble sensitivity, see more below.
- I live in place where it’s impossible to audition much of the gear that’s discussed here, and second-hand gear availability is patchy and weird. I far prefer buying second-hand but have to do so mostly blind and via ebay/fora etc.
- I recently managed to sell my Ether C’s (Thank f**k, and long story. TL;DR - it's a lottery buying blind, and I wish I'd found SBAF sooner)
- I also recently purchased an HD800S (mint dealer demo unit), and strongly preferred it to the Elear when auditioning. Weird I know. This was out of a Woo WA5 SE, iFi Pro iCan, Hugo TT. Hugo was the DAC for all listening, which is not ideal, but the best option I had in store. I had the option to return the HD800S if I wasn’t happy with it on my home chain.
- I felt the Elear was bloated and heavy, with too small of a soundstage vs the HD800S, to MY EARS. I also much preferred the resolution of the HD800S and sense of space (helps my sensitive/damaged ear). I do feel the HD800S is a tiny bit bass-light for me to call it perfect, but I appreciate the accuracy of what is there enough not to agonise over it.
- No plans to mod.
- I listen to a mix of Redbook FLAC, high-res FLAC (up to 24/96 for the most part) and Tidal Hi-Fi. No DSD. I’m a genre slut, but gravitate to (in no particular order) Opeth, Jimi Hendrix, the Stones, Radiohead, Florence + the Machine, Bonobo, Miles Davis, the Dan, Massive Attack, Bowie, Sabbath, early Metallica, Jose Gonzales…much less so to classical, but will listen occasionally.
- Big fan of Schiit Multibit DACs
- Recent revelatory experiences were the HD800S (surprisingly for me as I expected not to like it), and adding an Eitr to my chain. The Eitr made a MUCH bigger difference than I anticipated, and made me realize that I didn’t really have a treble sensitivity per se, but a digititis (sorry) sensitivity. All fatigue, ear pain, headaches etc gone and I’m able to listen longer, I feel much more involved and the the music is much more organic, all the Eitr stuff that seems to be consensus here.
- I'm not massively objectivist and I care more about enjoying my music and what sounds good to me, than analysing it with a spectrometer. Again, me liking the HD800S surprised me a lot

My home chain:
Mac Mini>Roon>Eitr>Gugnir Multibit>Mjolnir 2(Matsushita Tubes, can’t stand LISST)>HD800S Balanced

I’ve felt like I gel with the headspace (lol) here and have gleaned much that is useful from lurking, so thank you all.
===

My dilemma:

With the departure of the Ether C, I need a closed can to rebuild my office rig around.
I’m tempted by the ZMF Atticus/Eikon, and am leaning towards Eitr>Bifrost Multibit>Jot at work. Budget is not a massive concern, I’m happy to pay fair used prices for any of the above gear.

My problem is that I was turned off by the Elear so much, and from what I can infer from aggregate postings here is that the HD 650/Elear/ZMF house sound all fall broadly into the same set if one were Venn diagramming things by general sound signature.

Am I on the right track?

I would love some input from members with experience with all the above.
I’m not in any rush to buy, and may have a trip or two over the next few months where I *could* try out some ZMFs etc, but I would love to engage in a discussion and learn as much as I can so I have a knowledge base before making a buy decision.

Addendum/Wildcard - I currently use MDR-1000X’s at work - would I be better served by sticking with that and putting $$ towards snagging a used EC/DNA in a year or two? i.e go TOTL at home, and fully convenience-centric at work...

Thanks in advance peoples!!

 

@Imraan , firstly welcome! And thank you for such a well thought out post for your inquiry. I have to say that I know nothing about ZMF. It's on my bucket list though and I'll get around to it eventually, maybe.

One thing that you didn't say much about was why the Ether C didn't work for you and what you were looking to improve with the next purchase. What exactly are the criteria for your office headphones? I would suggest having a good look at the Aeon headphone. It offers a friendlier signature than the Ether C...more musical and less reference than Ether C. Check out @Hands thread here for more detail and impressions on the Aeon.

I have other closed suggestions for you but I really need a bit more detail about what you're looking for in a closed headphone to make suggestions for you.

 

For transparent/neutral:
Sylvania VT231. My preference for neutral 6SN7, but a slight crapshoot, almost always as microphonic as f**k, and people try and sell them for way too much.

Hytron 6SN7GT. The earlier ones (sometimes marked JAN CHY 6SN7GT) sound pretty much neutral to me. I tried the later ones marked CBS/Hytron and found them a touch warmer.

Tungsol 6SN7GT (NOT the uber expensive round plate). Usually has 6 digit date code on base. Slightly rolled off at the top and a touch more mid colour than the other two, but still pretty neutral to my ears.

To be honest these are all very close to each other in the Freya so probably indistinguishable in the Saga.

Get them from eBay. Make sure you can identify them from the photos before you buy one, there are a bunch of sellers with either no idea or no morals. They all actually look quite similar: bottom getter (so little or no visible getter flashing) and T-shaped opposing plates with two rivet holes. Sort of like the stock tube. I would suggest not paying more than $35 for a VT231, and not more than $25 for either of the other two. Ignore all the fantasy pricings.

 

@Ice-man : thank you, very much appreciated!

Good point - you’re right

I liked the Ether C until I heard the HD800S. Part of the issue with being unable to demo a full selection of gear here is the lack of accessible comparatives. We have a new retailer who’s changing that, and actively encourages auditions - he has a lovely sofa setup just for that, which is great. But he has a limited selection of brands/models, no Schiit for eg.

What bugged me about the Ether C, in comparison to the HD800S:

The Ether C feels a little dry, lacking in shading/nuance,’dead’ and closed in by comparison. It’s a fairly lean headphone (as is the HD800S), but doesn’t have the dynamism/slam, soundstage and I would guess plankton that make the latter so wonderful for me. It also was borderline with regard to isolation, and I ended up cranking the volume a bit too much in response. I do like the Ether’s speed, and the build is lovely too.

It’s definitely not a horrible headphone by any means, just not as capable as the HD800S, and potentially leaning a bit further from my tastes at the same time.

I guess (with my limited experience) I’m a dynamic guy, and I do like a bit’o’bass, but not at the expense of resolution and ‘aliveness’…did I make sense there?

I’m basically trying to map a set of reasonably high-end cans by sound profile, and triangulate based off of my limited experience and access to audition gear.

Thanks for the Aeon recommendation, I’ll do some more homework on them for sure!

Regarding my office headphone needs:

- Closed with good seal. For e.g Ether’s are not really isolating enough.
- Musical, fun but resolving.
- Would pair well with Jot + Bifrost Multibit MB + Eitr (good deal going used here).
- I like my Sony’s, but I’m well aware what I’m sacrificing using them. They have their place, and will be used when I can’t be arsed with cables, and need total isolation/ANC for focus work. I’d use ‘The New Can’ when it’s quieter and I’m not needing to completely kill the outside world.

Cheers,

 

In most all cases you'll have to make compromises going from an open headphone to a closed one. Plus you're not just talking an average open dynamic, you talking about one of the very best out there. But you should give the Aeon a listen if you can. Although it's half the price of the Ether C, many would say it's the more enjoyable experience.

Since you said budget doesn't matter that much then consider this for your end game closed headphone.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/o...ne-almost-nos-condition-2017-09-17-headphones

 

True indeed - hence my dilemma...perhaps best served by the rational choice of not having a work rig and just using my Sony's
I have the urge however!

- Maaan I wish. Budget not a concern, but within reason, I have a child

Will see what I can do on an Aeon, and let you know @Ice-man, thanks

 

Also consider the Sony cd3k. Needs to be recabled with dual exit and good copper cable. But then some call it the poor man's r10.

 

@Imraan, Would you consider IEM's, like the Campfire Audio Andromeda? That could open up your options quite a bit.

 

^^ Good point. Custom iems can be incredibly versatile and wonderful for travel. My ciem jhaudio have -26db isolation.

 

There are currently people trying to ditch their Cavalli Carbons for cheap because there's a massdrop version coming out. I think I saw one on headfi for $300 earlier.

 

I am looking for advice on potential benefits of adding an Eitr into my existing streaming setup.

I am streaming from a Synology NAS via wifi to the Diskstation app on my IPad. The IPad is connected to a Modi Multibit/Jotunhiem/HD650 stack via a Nuforce IDo. The Nuforce IDo is a cheap DAC/Amp combo that provides a dedicated USB IPad/IPod Dock, as well as an SPDIF output. So I am basically just using the IDo as a powered IPad dock, with coax output.

The info on the IDo processing is sparse and does not mention how the USB to SPDIF conversion is being performed. The Gen5 conversion is likely much better in the Eitr than the IDo.

Would replacing the IDo with an Apple Camera Connector/Eitr combo provide a noticeable benefit with my Modi Multibit/Jot/HD650 ?