The All Purpose Advice Thread

removed.

 

@Matasho You've already gotten some really good answers. My stance is similar to @GoodEnoughGear where the quality of the song is pretty much irrelevant. Of course I advocate listening to the best quality that you can get, but be reasonable. For instance, I don't have any Hi-Res audio files except my own songs, and a select few free recordings. I probably have ~50 songs currently on my hard drive from other artists. Most of my listening is done via streaming. It was Tidal when I was a student for $10 month, but when it jumped to $20, it wasn't worth it to me. I switched to Google Play Music and am content. Sure, if I A/Bed the Tidal version and the Google Play version I would hear the differences but I generally don't listen super critically and just want to hear good music.

 

I have a Lyra1 and Modi Multibit, and I've heard the Yggdrasil on many occasions. While I haven't compared them back to back, I don't think the Yggdrasil gives up anything to the Lyra or vice versa. Direct comparison vs the Modi Multibit gives my preference easily to the Lyra though, like a haze was lifted off the music. It's also very nice having the volume control built in.

I might have a Prism Callia coming in the new year, so I'm looking forward to that one.

 

If you guys had to progress through this hobby again, where would you start?

 

Depends on budget and portability, but vaguely for an open backed setup either an HD650 or HE-500 with focus pads. Amp depends on budget and headphone, but Valhalla 2 for HD650 if in budget is easy. Personally I'd start simpler with DAC no matter the budget, as it's tougher to appreciate/notice differences when starting out.

Edit: Basically what I'm saying is I would have saved a lot of time/money if HE-500 or HD650 were one of the earilier open backs on my journey, instead of quite down the line. Again, all depends on budget and what you're looking for

 

Phillips shp9500 + Fulla 2 or CMoy

 

Assuming for home/work listening: a Geek Out v2 > HD-650 modded or TH-X00 Purpleheart w/Dekoni sheepshin pads depending on whether I needed some noise isolation or not, with the headphone's stock cable rewired for balanced termination. I'd get a CD/DVD drive and a copy of dbPoweramp and burn used CD copies of the music I love and use a streaming service for the other stuff. Then I'd try a lot of other stuff in shops, meetups, or via loaners until I was sure whether I wanted to go the high end digital or high end vinyl route and then start saving like mad for that upgrade. I'd practice saying a daily affirmation of "sidegrades are less satisfying that upgrades, and upgrades are worth saving for".

 

I currently only have a pair of HD 25's so I'm looking to sell them towards a fund for better headphones/IEMs. Since I'm looking to spend ~$400 (more or less), I'm thinking of either buying a HD 600 and a Magni 2U/Fulla 2 (which would leave me without a portable) or a UE 4. It's a bit of an older CIEM so besides four pages on Changstar and a few vague impressions on Head-Fi, there's not much information besides them being a great value and akin to a baby UERM. Any detailed impressions/opinions by people who listened/owned these?

 

Hi kitkat, please introduce yourself here before creating a post elsewhere, and read the guidelines in this thread. I will be moving your post/thread to the All Purpose Advice thread, where you should have posted your question. Somebody around there may give you a response before I get to respond later.

 

Alright, thanks.

 

I have said it before, but; UE4 with an iphone and Qobuz/Tidal/whatevs...

 

If I could only have a single headphone probably the Fostex TH-X00 Ebony. It's only slightly V-shaped, can be driven well enough from a phone, and offers just a little noise isolation. If you need more isolation you probably are not in an environment conducive to careful listening anyways. If isolation is not needed at all, HD650 with a decent starter DAC/amp like GOV2 or Schiit Fulla 2 (assuming it's as good as people are expecting, haven't read any impressions yet), then save up for an endgame amp and DAC.

 

Applicable for any budget point: I would read up on whatever was popular and buy something new-ish from a company that didn't change their lineup every six months. Then I'd log off from all audio related forums and save myself the headache, time, and wallet crunch of always looking at new toys. After a year or maybe two, come back, sell/trade/upgrade to whatever the current generation of toys seems most stable, then log off again.

 

I'd start with the very same DT770 80-ohm I did. They were a great pair for the money then, they're that still. After that I'd skip any pretty "reference" models that get thrown my way, mostly AKG. Also amps for K701.

 

Sorry, I probably can't explain it any better than you do; my specialisation is in biology, not physics or engineering. However, it is something that you can notice with headphones as well. Try using a K7XX out of a laptop jack vs say, a Magni amp. (Or maybe a HD6X0, although I have yet to hear that myself.) There will be a lack of fullness to the sound, especially in the mids which will sound not so much "thin" as "empty" or even recessed even though it can get loud.

 

I have a real question now. So my main cans are a pair of modded TH900s, and I'm in the market for a new amplifier and DAC. I honestly am at a loss with what direction to go with these. I only know how to amp Sennheiser cans.

I'm looking to spend less than $1k for the amp and around the same for my DAC. The inherent brightness of TH900 drivers makes me want something smooth up there, but I'm not sure these pair well with tube amps.

 

Hey Kiss Em,

While I am not terribly experienced with the th900 I do know a friend who paired these with a Woo WA7 because of A E S T H E T I C S (@gandhisfist trademark saying for form over function). That man was not smart. I think that the TH900 probably wants amping similar to what the TH-X00 likes, clean solid state to keep the bass clean and punchy. Start out with something like Asgard 2 and see if it is to your liking. I know Mjolnir2 with LISST is also a favorite pairing with the TH-X00. I might avoid the Jotunheim as the brightness might contrast too strongly with the th-900 treble peaks. Im sure there are many other non-schiit SS amps to try, but I am currently drawing a blank.