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Page 7 of 9

joch
It seems that as the industry is zigging to R2R, Schiit has zagged to DS with Mesh and Singular.

Oct 31, 2025
1. roderickvd and rhythmdevils like this.
2. bixby
  A very microscopic piece of the industry is trying to differentiate via r2r. I would be surprised if it is a fraction of 1%. We have to be cognizant that we are freaks and not the mainstream. :)
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  RestoredSparda, MellowVelo, joch and 1 other person like this.
lcmusiclover
K13 R2R vs Hifiman Serenade — on first casual listen, very close to indistinguishable.

Oct 31, 2025
1. Lyander, rhythmdevils and joch like this.
2. lcmusiclover
  mScaler as digital preamp (S/Pdif out to both) ==> K13/Serenade (bal out) ==> 4-pin XLR switch box ==> cans
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  rhythmdevils likes this.
3. lcmusiclover
  Paid $310 for K13, $760 for Serenade, so more than double for Serenade.
  
  Oct 31, 2025
yotacowboy
Can a boy be so lucky? New Daniel Avery and Byggy just landed like a double barrel buckshot

Oct 31, 2025
1. zottel, Tchoupitoulas, RestoredSparda and 3 others like this.
2. yotacowboy
  first piece of forkbeard kit. couple requests: enable iphone mirroring on MacOS control on the fbeard app. otherwise, please consider adding DAC digital volume control via BT through a new remote.
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  joch and Gazny like this.
3. Gazny
  Yup, the bluetooth not working on iPhone mirroring was very annoying.
  
  Oct 31, 2025
darmok
New toy day: Ada arrived! It's a lot more comfortable than I thought it'd be for an effectively on-ear design.

Oct 31, 2025
1. zottel, Jinxy245, ilikebananafudge_ and 4 others like this.
2. darmok
  First impression: these punch WAY above their price tag.
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  Jinxy245, ilikebananafudge_, Gazny and 2 others like this.
3. Gazny
  Oh, that's awesome. Glad you like them.
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  darmok likes this.
4. StageOne
  I had a chance to hear these on the loaner tour and really enjoyed them. But by the time they reached me, they were sold out and have been since. Fingers crossed them come back in stock soon! I think they are underrated.
  
  Oct 31, 2025
zottel
I think I finally get what so many of you see in the HD650. Seems I have a system that provides synergy now.

Oct 31, 2025
1. Qildail, CEE TEE, Deep Funk and 6 others like this.
2. View previous comments...
3. zottel
  Some things are different from the HEDD2: The HD650 likes the amp’s high gain setting, which (although it requires more power) doesn’t bring the HEDD2 to its full potential. I prefer different filters on HQPlayer.
  Anyway, I think what I called “authority” is what makes the difference: The DACs I had before the Cyan 2 all sounded somewhat thinner.
  
  Oct 31, 2025
4. darmok
  What amp?
  
  Oct 31, 2025
5. zottel
  Meier Jazz FF
  
  Oct 31, 2025
ilikebananafudge_
FYI Verite Open and Closed are on sale right now, but then they're effectively discontinued as of 2026 except as special runs.

Oct 31, 2025
1. edd, joch, SofaSamuraiX and 3 others like this.
2. ilikebananafudge_
  I saw on Head-Fi here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf-november-2025-were-going-retrovember-this-year-full-schedule-and-more.978304/post-18887154
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  Lyander likes this.
3. wkw
  I thought they were moving it to the custom shop and making it special order. You should be able to get a set anytime you want.
  
  Nov 1, 2025
  
  ilikebananafudge_ likes this.
4. ilikebananafudge_
  @wkw looking at it again, it seems that you're right. Not sure how I missed that.
  
  Nov 2, 2025
The Zone
Brilliant synergy today with Mimir>Valhalla 3>HD650. All stock, no mods, with all musical genres. And I'm not usually an HD650 fan

Oct 31, 2025
1. CEE TEE, atomicbob, wkw and 7 others like this.
SoupRKnowva
Dr Toole did a presentation on sound reproduction the other night, probably cause a new version of his book came out

Oct 31, 2025
1. atomicbob and Lyander like this.
2. View previous comments...
3. SoupRKnowva
  https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Reproduction-Psychoacoustics-Loudspeakers-Engineering/dp/1032761938/
  
  Oct 31, 2025
4. SoupRKnowva
  this should probably be a thread...
  
  Oct 31, 2025
5. SoupRKnowva
  https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/dr-floyd-toole-on-sound-reproduction.15328/#post-451421
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  Lyander likes this.
purr1n
Let's just be honest and say we love blowing X dollars on Y audio gear for pleasure instead of saying we made an "investment".

Oct 30, 2025
1. Qildail, Deep Funk, Priidik and 13 others like this.
2. View previous comments...
3. Thad E Ginathom
  @YMO "People should be investing in their penises."
  
  Growth may look good at first, but does not keep up with inflation.
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  roshambo123, zonto, YMO and 3 others like this.
4. zottel
  Audio gear is stuff I use. It’s like a computer, a car, a camera, a tea cooker. All the mentioned gear is stuff I care about in one way or the other, and on all of them I spend more than required for strict usefulness.
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  rhythmdevils likes this.
5. zottel
  (The difference between strict usefulness and actual spending is by far the largest for cars even though we don’t even own expensive cars.)
  As long as I actually use the stuff and it’s not just gathering dust, I’m fine with that.
  I’d never call it an investment, though.
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  Thad E Ginathom and rhythmdevils like this.
Pescatore
Site question. Badges under some member names. Staff, Gearmaster are obvious, but BWC, MZR, etc are a puzzle. Reference somewhere for these?

Oct 30, 2025
1. SofaSamuraiX likes this.
2. Riotvan
  Big woofer club, measurer. Dunno if there is a reference.
  
  Oct 30, 2025
  
  Pescatore and SofaSamuraiX like this.
3. rlow
  My fav is “Slaytanic Cliff Clavin” hahaha. Love it.
  
  Oct 30, 2025
  
  RestoredSparda, zonto, SofaSamuraiX and 3 others like this.
4. YMO
  BWC was originally known as Big Wide Cock
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  Pescatore likes this.
Thad E Ginathom ► ilikebananafudge_
"Many things are better when baked"

Not including chocolate-cake mix. My mum would very occasionally make the cake, then, we both agreed that licking the bowl was nicer than eating the cake. So she stopped bothering with baking bit and we just ate the mix.

Oct 30, 2025
1. atomicbob, RestoredSparda, Abhishek Chowdhary and 6 others like this.
roderickvd
Coming from a LIM, first hour of Byggy has pretty prickly treble. Will let it bake in more.

Oct 29, 2025
1. atomicbob, Riotvan, Merrick and 10 others like this.
2. View previous comments...
3. Riotvan
  Treble does settle on the previous models. Whether that is enough or your ears adapt is tough to say.
  
  Oct 30, 2025
4. roderickvd
  Short listening session a day later and prickliness is gone, confirming Schiit claims on bake-in.
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  roshambo123 and Riotvan like this.
5. Thad E Ginathom
  He just vanished. Why? People were on to him?
  
  Oct 31, 2025
  
  Riotvan likes this.
darmok
I'm a sucker for a choral symphony, but god damn is Vagn Holmboe's Fourth something else.

Oct 29, 2025
1. Qildail and Claritas like this.
darmok
FiiO QX13 first impression: surprisingly good for an ESS dongle! Nice sense of space, good tonal balance.

Oct 29, 2025
1. FlySweep, RestoredSparda, Lyander and 1 other person like this.
purr1n
Audio gear isn't an investment. It's dollar averaging to zero.

Oct 29, 2025
1. Khai, bixby, gxleetw and 10 others like this.
2. View previous comments...
3. Azimuth
  It is, just not an investment in capital gains.
  
  Oct 30, 2025
4. yotacowboy
  "You save $351,997.00" https://tmraudio.com/fresh-arrivals/focal-grande-utopia-em-evo-floorstanding-speakers-delage-edition-warranty/
  
  Oct 30, 2025
5. yotacowboy
  I wonder where that $350k went while the first owner enjoyed his newest endgame speakers? Even sloppy seconds has some baked in loss in the 6-figure range.
  
  Oct 30, 2025
  
  Lyander likes this.
Deep Funk
Tomorrow voting day in NL. It is a confusing mess. I hope the mud slinging populists have accountants.

Oct 28, 2025
1. Jinxy245 likes this.
2. View previous comments...
3. YMO
  Who you think will get the majority of seats?
  
  Oct 29, 2025
  
  Deep Funk likes this.
4. roderickvd
  Right-wing populists and social liberals got equal seats, followed by conservative liberals and then Christian democrats. Always a coalition, never a majority in the NL.
  
  Oct 29, 2025
  
  YMO and Deep Funk like this.
5. YMO
  @roderickvd just like Israeli politics, never a majority.
  
  Nov 2, 2025
Armaegis ► YMO
For you @YMO : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RPz14Sse_s

Oct 28, 2025
1. wkw likes this.
2. View previous comments...
3. YMO
  I'm sexier than that.
  
  Oct 29, 2025
4. Armaegis
  how we all think we look... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAVbB6K4Z6A
  
  Oct 29, 2025
5. YMO
  Kid too young to sing stuff like that in public tv.
  
  Oct 30, 2025
yotacowboy
bean bag chair + MercMini + kindacrapppy TDA1541A dac + EC Af + AN UK AZ-Three = great way to end the day.

Oct 28, 2025
1. atomicbob, Merrick, Lyander and 8 others like this.
2. View previous comments...
3. SofaSamuraiX
  Oddly enough, today I was thinking that science needs to give us a nanite beanbag chair that can form around you and get the most perfect shape for lounging.
  
  Oct 28, 2025
  
  RestoredSparda, yotacowboy and joch like this.
4. joch
  What’s so crappy about TDA1541A?
  
  Oct 29, 2025
  
  yotacowboy likes this.
5. yotacowboy
  Not *actually* crappy, just kindacrappy compared to MIB. nowhere near as resolving in the treble.
  
  Oct 29, 2025
  
  joch likes this.
SofaSamuraiX
I think I'm going to sit down and listen to some albums and smash refresh on FedEx tracking to watch my Auteur Classic crawl their way to me

Oct 27, 2025
1. roderickvd, Pocomo, Case and 9 others like this.
2. SofaSamuraiX
  It is an amazazing day here in Cleveland. Perfect weather, done with work early, girlfriend at work, SO I get to stay inside and listen to my new headphones. Thanks @Aklegal
  
  Oct 28, 2025
  
  yotacowboy, joch, HotRatSalad and 4 others like this.
3. yotacowboy
  Auteur Classic is something special. Mine will never leave my grasp as I've not heard any other headphone that nails the "lean back" acoustic aesthetic while not missing resolution/detail as well.
  
  Oct 29, 2025
  
  SofaSamuraiX likes this.
4. SofaSamuraiX
  Ya, I have been doing a lot of digesting music with them. I was worried that none of my amps would do them justice, but they are playing very nicely together.
  
  Oct 29, 2025
  
  yotacowboy and Case like this.
SofaSamuraiX
Another oldie but a goody, LTJ Bukem's - Rebirth. Good lord do I love intelligent jungle.

Oct 27, 2025
1. FlySweep and roshambo123 like this.
2. roshambo123
  Fun jungle mix I found recently. Indeed plays well at 3am:
  https://youtu.be/D6gCh0y6nh8
  
  Oct 28, 2025
  
  SofaSamuraiX likes this.
3. FlySweep
  LTJ had a crazy run. Such a unique sound.
  
  Oct 28, 2025
  
  SofaSamuraiX likes this.
4. SofaSamuraiX
  I will check that late night stuff out and I saw him do a 7 hour set with TC Islam on a cardboard covered ice rink in PA a bit back in time. Amazazing!
  
  Oct 28, 2025