The All Purpose Advice Thread

I chose an XLR plug to take advatage of the GOv2's awesome balanced power and for a few amps that I no longer have (Liquid Carbon, and Mjolnir 2).

Pink=Right +
Blue= Left +
Brown=Right -
Brown=Left -

Check for 25ohms across the blue and brown to find that channel's matching - wire. Tape the woven part or heat shrink it to stop it from unraveling after you have cut the cable.

 

You may also find female 4 pin XLR to 3.5mm male TRRS adapter cables online. I made a couple myself and the TRRS connections can be a real tough time to solder. (I cheated and just cut up an existing TRRS cable for one of them, instead of trying to solder onto the tiny TRRS connections).

The 4 pin XLR connection is not as tough to solder... so you could probably do the balanced male 4 pin XLR connection yourself, as JK47 suggested.

 

One of these: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11580 + a 4-pin XLR does quite nicely.

 

@purrin found some TRRS pigtails that make adding a female 4 pin XLR a breeze. I bought a few of them to save on shipping, and I have two extra that I would be willing to donate to the first people to PM me.

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11580

I like to order parts from Markertek because they have no minumum for free shipping.

edit: looks like fraggler beat me to the punch

 

I have planning to have a Schiit amp for my HD650. Can you guy help me choose between the Valhalla 2 and Mjolnir 1. Thanks in advance

 

Noble 4 is recommended around here. I think it is fantastic and affordable universal. Some may want more bass, but I've found it satisfying. Reminds me more of a HD600 than a HD650, but its in that ballpark. For me, its crazy comfortable and I really like the supplied red tips.

 

Thanks for the replies, now all I have to do is find them in French stores.

 

How important to you all is it that your dac is asynchronous?

 

Please help me to choose from:
- L&P L3 on indiegogo: 310$
- iBasso DX90 (used, like new condition): 300$
- Astell & Kern Jr. (used, mint condition according to seller): 360$

Will mostly pair it with iems at home and on the go. However it would be great if it can drive some full size at decent level since I don't have good amps...
Appreciate any help from you.

 

I'm looking for an amp upgrade for my HD800. I currently have a Mjolnir. My budget is sub $2000.

The two leaders are the Black Widow and Ragnarok. My priorities are resolution, dynamics, and staging. I leaning towards the Ragnarok simply because I've had great experiences with Schiit gear and customer service. Also, I have an Yggdrasil, and matching gear automatically sounds 25% better.

 

So I have 3 headphones, the HD800, LCD-X and the Ether. I currently have a Mjolnir 2 right now but I kinda dislike the tube rolling so I'm trying to think if I should go to an Audio-GD Master 9, Ragnarok or keep the Mjolnir 2 and have a taste of audio-gd via their NFB-1 amp which is also modeled with the Master 9 in mind. Someone is giving me a deal on a 1 year old Master 9 for around 1,150 and I know a good price for the Ragnarok is also around that price.

I have a Gungnir Multibit with me. I really want an amp that is highly resolving.

 

Oh yeah. the 2kj really hits my preferences. All other IEMs (BTW, I have heard only 3-4, the RHA MHA 500,the IE-800 and the Hifiman RE400) and all of them sounded either very bassy or sibilant without a decent deep end). The 2kj reminds me of my Fostex TH X00 actually. I do wince occasionally at the brightness but hey I am used to the Senn HD 800 so...

 

So I'm back in the headphone game after a two year hiatus, and after spending a few grand on setups that didn't seem to synergize with my tastes (e.g. PWD MK2 -> Master 9 -> HE-560), I've really fallen in love with my current, much less expensive setup (Modi 2U -> Valhalla 2 ECC85 tubes -> HD650). After rolling a few tubes out, it seems that I have a preference for the fast, clear, resolving, and dynamic sound (with a hint of warmth), than I do for the traditional tube sound (I liked but not loved the BHC/speedball HD650 combo). So right now I'm wondering what sort of upgrade path to take from here with a budget of about $1500.

After reading a few threads, including Purrin's one on allocating budget on gear, it seems that the DAC might be the limiting factor in my setup. So I'm wondering whether or not I should spend most of my funds on a killer DAC or whether I should split the cost between getting a good DAC and a better amp? A couple upgrade options I've thought about were:

1. Gungnir Multibit DAC ~$1100 used
2. Bifrost 4490 + Used EC Super 7 ~$1500 used

My concerns however are whether the Val 2 would become a big bottleneck with the Gungnir Multibit in the chain (it's said to be resolving but is it resolving enough?), and whether or not the Super 7 is in fact a noteworthy upgrade to the Val 2 as I've read a lot of mixed impressions on it (some say Val 2 comes close, others say EC S7 approaches performance of top tube amps). Also my music tastes are pretty diverse, I listen to pretty much everything. Any thoughts or advice?

 

I'm back in best bang for my buck mode. I've currently got a Vali 2 that will run with a Bifrost Multibit when it arrives in a few days and an HD600. Is it worth upgrading to a Valhalla 2 or Lyr 2 or am I not going to see much improvement?

 

@merrik if you do end up on the lyr2, you know who to ask.

I have not heard, but see the vali 2 as a very resolving entry tube amp. It will drive any headphone, give off decent power, and be good enough for most people.

I see the Valhalla as a big step up in sound for high impedience cans, and a synergistic match to the hd6x0.

Lyr delivers much more power, great how hard to drive ortho's.

Please others, chime in. I think it's a case of what you plan on using for headphones.

 

The HD600 is the bedrock of my system and will remain that way. At the moment I have no plans to get any orthos more powerful than the 400S, but plans can change.

 

Hi Guys,

I'm looking to upgrade the stock cable of my HD600. I don't believe in cables making a big difference in sound, I just need something thats durable, high quality and looks good.

Any sensible cable companies out there who don't charge hundreds of dollars for a cable?

I think its a bit ridiculous when people spend $300 on a cable for a $300 headphone and then claim that the difference is night and day.

Looking forward to a few recommendations.

Thanks!