The All Purpose Advice Thread

Thank you very much for all your inputs. I really appreciate them.

Curious about this though: what motivates veterans like a lot of you guys, who are so farther along the journey, to take the time and muster the patience to put up with some of the questions that relative noobs like me come up with?

I find it amazing how a lot guys always take the time to indulge the ignorance, in varying degrees, of some of us! Lol! Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely grateful for it!

 

Check out Marv's explanation here. Also some other definitions you may find useful in that thread.

Some of us just like to help people out. I personally wish I had such a community to rely on when I was starting out, it would have saved me a lot of time and money. Eventually you may become knowledgeable enough to offer help yourself, and pay the favour forward.

Ignorance isn't the correct word, since to me that demonstrates an inability or lack of desire to learn. A newcomer asking for help or advice is not being ignorant. See these threads for examples of ignorance (and some cheap laughs): 1 / 2 / 3

 

Yes, the UE4 as a baby UERM is pretty much the best description that most of us could come up with. Pretty much the same sound signature but less refined and smoothed. Still extremely good for a neutral sound at $400 though. However, there are definitely more options than there used to be. If you want something less bright, you could go for the campfire audio Orion. It is said to be the andromeda-lite, aka what the ue4 is to the UERM. Figure out what kind of sound signature you're looking for and look at some of the IEM measurements here.

HD600 or HD650 with a Fulla 2 may be a good choice. However, not many people have received the Fulla 2 yet so there aren't many impressions. Personally I would go for the IEM route if you spend a lot of time outdoors.

 

As someone who gives both HD650 and HE-560 a fair bit of head time, I'd say that if you were fixated on dark/warm, HE-560 is the opposite of what you want. It's sparse/lean sounding- has surprisingly nice low bass- but it's crisp and fast rather than slamming. Some people find the treble a bit piercing, especially out of SS- so if you're going dark/warm partly to avoid that, it might be like Kryptonite to you.

I really like mine, but then I keep it precisely because it's a different flavour to my other headphones.

 

I've now ordered the RE-00 (and am already waiting for my PortaPros), but should I be worried about quality build and/or build variations? I've seen reports in the RE-00 thread of channel imbalance, one side falling apart, some units being noticeably different than others... (Recalls me the Shozy Zero variations, one bassy and the other more neutral-ish.)

 

Thanks for the response! I was primarily looking at the UE 4 as a great entry-level CIEM for a low price for both at home and portable listening. I've tried IEMs (RE-400 and the ER 4P-T respectively) but I don't like the fit and insertion, so I'm looking at less expensive CIEMs. I'm wary of the support of lesser well-known CIEM manufacturers so the UE 4 seems like the perfect choice for me considering UE's track record.

That being said, I think I may end up just getting a HD 600 since they're the cheapest they've ever been on Amazon and I've had them before and I really like the mids on them. I know the Fulla 2 hasn't been heard by many people yet but would you recommend the Fulla 2 or the Magni 2U? I'm asking because I'm not planning to spend much more than ~$400 so if I get the Magni 2U, I'll be without a DAC. Meanwhile, the Fulla 2 gives out a lot less power than the Magni 2U but comes with the same DAC as the Modi 2/2U. Additionally, Schiit could very well replace the Magni 2U relatively soon since it's been two years since its release.

 

Hi

Wasn't sure where to post this, so thought I'd be safe and post in the All Purpose Thread.

I'm finding the treble on my setup to be too bright(?) for me. It depends greatly on the music track being played, some tracks being okay and others being difficult to listen to. I'm finding many tracks to exhibit a nasty edge (glare?) to the treble combined with a graininess or roughness (or perhaps one could call it a brittleness) to the sound. After awhile my ears become a little dead and I have slight earache - even on a lowish volume with the Jotunheim (8 o'clock with high gain). If I try to watch the blu ray of Top Gun, I very quickly get bad ears, there is no way I could watch the whole movie with this setup.

My chain is:

Elfidelity AXF-8 -> Toslink -> Gungnir Multibit -> Jotunheim -> Balanced HD650 (unmodded)

I only received my Gungnir Multibit a couple of days ago (yay!), before that I was using a Modi Multibit. The problem is present with both Schiit DACs and with my Audiolab MDAC.

According to the "Which Schiit Amp Should I Get?" thread, the Jotunheim is a bit forward with treble glare - I've also read this from other sources. I conclude that the Jotunheim is the primary cause of the unpleasant treble I am experiencing. I have a pair of HD202's which I could try with the Jotunheim, but I doubt the problem is with the HD650's.

If this conclusion is correct, I should really be looking for a replacement headphone amp. Ideally, I would like one that can double as a transparent speaker preamp (if such a thing exists). The Audio-gd NFB-1AMP seems to fit my requirements (it is a cut-down version of the Master 9). It is a more neutral amp than the Jotunheim and includes an I/V conversion volume control.

Would the NFB-1AMP be adequate to tame the treble and give me a sound that I can listen to for an extended period of time? Or would I need to investigate a tube hybrid amp? I live in the UK, so my choices are a bit limited: Schiit, Icon Audio, Little Dot. I read on SBAF that the Valhalla 2 is a good match for the HD650, but I imagine that it would not make an ideal speaker preamp? Perhaps two separate devices for headphone amp and preamp would be better? But I would like to keep the box count down.

It would be my preference to keep the sound chain relatively neutral, and not colour the sound too much - but this could be in opposition to taming the treble?

Maybe a second hand Vali 2 would be worth a try just as an experiment before shelling out big money?

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

I was going to recommend the NFB-1AMP, but you already mentioned it. I had a similar setup as you (Modi Multibit>Jot>stock 650s) and I experienced the same fatigue and harshness you're referring to. I was actually surprised at how tired my ears were getting on a stock pair of 650s. At first I thought to blame the Modi Multibit, but I got a different headamp in and swapped the Jot out, it was nowhere near as harsh.

Eventually I sold both Modi Multibit and Jot for the NFB-28, which as far as I understand has an identical amp section to the 1AMP with the exception of more dedicated power components in the 1AMP (Class A PSUs and such). All fatigue gone, I can listen for hours to even lo-fi or shitty masters. I felt the NFB unit was also less colored and had much better stage as well as detail. I say based on what you're after the 1AMP would be a solid buy, I have a friend who pairs his with the Gungnir Multibit to run both headphones as well as desktop monitors and loves it as much as me.

Hope this helps.

 

Eh, I doubt it. In any case the Vali 2 seems like a more appropriate fit for the HD600 compared to the Magni 2U.

 

Brilliant! That's a great help. Thanks very much

 

This is not necessarily true. I went through this with a Gungnir Multibit and Mjolnir 2 and HD650s. I am quite treble sensitive and was hearing a nasty etch in the top octave particularly on things like the leading edge of strummed guitars. This was also very evident over loudspeakers. While I was able to fix this to a degree with careful tube choices, in the end what got rid of it was getting a good SPDIF source into Gungnir Multibit.

I wouldn't say that Jotunheim top end is ugly, even though it is a bit upper mid-forward. So if it is some particular unpleasantness (sibilance, weird distortion, tizziness, etch, etc) rather than generally too much high end that you are experiencing, I would hazard a guess that your problem could also be source related. Now you have a Gungnir Multibit it may be worth going and looking a bit harder for a Lynx or RME card to pick up. At worst, it doesn't fix the problem but you have improved your source.

Also, did you try leaving your Jotunheim powered up for a day to see if it becomes more listenable?

 

Thanks Garns. I will do some investigating with the source, but I don't think it is that (could be wrong though).

I have my Jotunheim on all the time (has been on for many days, weeks). Actually, I just switched it off about an hour ago for the first time in ages and it is making the odd noise - I guess it is cooling down, my room is quite cold at the moment.

 

Thanks, I appreciate it but I'm probably going to buy it new so I get the full 2-year warranty.

 

What is/are your favorite test track/s when evaluating for the ff.:

1. Microdynamics
2. Macrodynamics/Slam
3. Clarity/Veil
4. Planktons/Microdetail
5. Transient Response
6. Soundstage
7. Imaging

 

Years ago I found Judy Collins - Amazing Grace. Every time I upgrade I try out that track first thing just for vocals with FLAC:


When the choir kicks in the middle of the song, the LCD-2 is fantastic on that

 

My main blame would go towards the Jotun. Second blame would be USB on the Gungnir Multibit, and third would be the rear spider on the HD650.

 

I just read a post by Zach (ZMF) that includes a comment on the SPS DAC3 :

FuriousipaduserGmby/1AMP/ECP T3/ZX2 HD800/THX00/UERM/UE900S 3 points 1 month ago

Is vibro labs involved with the new cups? Also what's your favorite dac

• permalink
• zach915m[S] 4 points 1 month ago
  
  Yeah - Vibro Labs was the primary engineering firm we collaborated with. We are also working with JDS Labs with some final touches on the design. I am a dealer for the Metrum DAC's currently, I find myself using the Menuet the most, it seems to warm up faster than the Pavane. For under 1K DAC's I really like the BiFrost MB and the upcoming JDS Labs dac. Sometimes I use this French 1543 based DAC from "Starting Point." You can find them on ebay for not too much and they are small, battery powered and pretty warm sounding.

 

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For a gift to someone who primarily listens on their computer or iphone, and price aside, would the HD598 or the HD650 be better?

Edit: And is the beige 598 fugly or pretty? Any difference with the black "Special Edition" besides color? Thanks!