The All Purpose Advice Thread

@cskippy
Oh, so all I need to use, is just its front-end portion, for 1-to-1 XLR to RCA w/ 2 internal transformers for just the L & R channels?
Cool, seeems easy enough!
Was not sure what Marv meant, when he mentioned that it's a 4:1 box type.

 

I think that's just the turn on the transformers. Make sure you use as short of rca cables as possible. Under 3ft max. Long XLR runs are fine.

 

@cskippy
Saga will be right on top of Freya; MDF-shelf board in between, and right under that shelf is a Gungnir Multibit then an Yggdrasil at the very bottom.
All should, easily, be within 3 feet of cable routing... but I'd need AT LEAST 8ft to 12ft of RCA cables going off from Saga/Freya and into the Power Amp(s).
Is that not gonna work properly, for Passive Mode (of either Pre-Amp) w/ a Jensen Transformer, doing its converting duty, along the chain?

 

No that's fine. Just the RCA from the Jensen needs to be as short as possible into the preamp/amp.

 

@Marvey was the Sagaheim one of the cases that you preferred active over passive?

 

So I've managed to climb up the dynamic ladder without trying much in the way of planar magnetics (I've heard them, just not the flagships).

If I have the opportunity to borrow some flagships and can pick 2 out of 3 which should I pick? I'd be using Yggdrasil/Raggy for this.

LCD-4,
Abyss Phi 1266 Deluxe,
Susvara

I love my Utopia sound wise, but also think the Abyss sound intriguing so I'm leaning towards at least including them. LCD-4 is the one I'm kinda wishy washy on. Susvara seems good just horribly expensive.

Any advice for someone who is really loving Utopia? This isn't really for buying any of them, I doubt I'll want to give away Utopia, but want to have a fun experience.

 

If it were me I would choose Abyss and Susvara. Audeze house sound isn't for me and while the LCD-4 might be an improvement, it still retains the same overall character. This is just my personal observation as I've only heard an LCD 2 and 3.

 

So I'm looking to piece together a turntable and speaker system for my gf without spending more than around $800. I'd like for her to be able to play music from her turntable as well as from her laptop into a pair of active speakers. I'm willing to buy used but ok with buying new. Now I'm totally in the dark on turntables and would appreciate some help. I just had to read up on what the heck a phono preamp is and all I've ever dealt with is laptop to usb dac into amp and headphones.

turntable - Orbit Plus Turntable (I could just buy preamp built in but I don't think I want to go that route?) - $290 new
phono preamp - Pluto Preamp - $89 new
speakers (active) - JBL LSR305 - $280 new on massdrop right now

 

I agree with @cskippy and forgo the LCD4's. They don't offer much next to the Abyss or Susvara. I would also add that if you were interested in an LCD, I would look at the 3's over the 4's having owned both. The LCD's, to me, aren't great headphones but they offer a certain something - it is a romantic, warm sound and they are great for everything by Krall, but don't do as well with other music versus the competition. If you have a great collection of headphones, the LCD's fit right in, but not as a single headphone. Again, IMHO.

 

Got my first tube amp off the Market here (Fostex HP-V1), and so far I love the sound. Lately, though, I've noticed it occasionally accents sounds with a... farting noise, almost. It's a quick burst of static that sounds somewhat like what you'd get on cabled CRT TV after the station signs off, lasting no longer than the snap of a finger. Wondering if this means the tube is close to calling it quits.

Also, how much of a PITA is it going to be to replace the tube? Found a close enough substitute on alibaba, can't get the original since the 6N16B-Q looks to be OOP.

Or maybe I can just go straight for that $$$ desktop tube amp a few years ahead of schedule. Hrmm.

 

I'm thinking of upgrading from my Magni 2 Uber. My headphones are HD-6XX and TH-X00 Purplehearts. DAC is a Modi Multibit. I find the M2U's treble a bit steely and am also curious about the sound of tube amps (never had a tube before).

I was looking at the Vali 2, Valhalla 2, or Jotunheim. Valhalla 2 would really be the top of my budget but I could squeeze to a Jot if the difference was big enough. I've done enough reading to see that the HD-6XX plays nice with any of these, but opinions on the Fostex with the Vali/Valhalla are more divided with some saying they sound great and others saying they don't. The Fostex apparently is good with the Jot, but I've also read the Jot has a bit of glarey treble which I would like to stay away from. I prefer a warmer, more laid back sound. For example, I had the Hifiman HE-400S but the lack of bass and the somewhat peaky treble was not my taste at all.

I guess I should also say that I tend to listen at lower volumes. I have a Schiit SYS between the Modi Multibit and M2U. The SYS volume is at 50% and I usually run the M2U at around 9:00 for the TH-X00, and maybe 10:00ish for the 6XX. Magni on low gain. Without the SYS I run into channel imbalance on the Magni at typical volume.

Being in Canada, I can't just buy two amps and return one to Schitt as the return shipping and the restocking fee plus exchange makes that unfeasible.

Appreciate any thoughts or comments.

 

I would recommend the Vali 2 but one issue you might run into is too much gain with the TH-X00. I know I couldn't listen at low levels even on low gain without channel imbalance. Valahalla 2 is excellent obviously with HD6XX and I actually like it with the TH-X00 as it pulls back some bass and lets the mids shine through a little better. Jot is an obvious winner with both as you will have no issues with low volume and pot imbalance and it will also have the least amount of noise with sensitive headphones.

My vote is for Jot. You can also run it single ended, which you would be doing with Modi Multibit, and Low gain, which helps with the glare plus leave it on 24/7. I can forget about it with those two headphones especially. It's only when you step up to a much more expensive amp that you notice the slightly off sound.

 

Thanks for your input. The low volume/channel imbalance issue I can solve with the SYS, so that's no big deal. I'm torn between Valhalla 2 and Jot but it sounds like I can't really go wrong with either. Is there less bass on the Valhalla compared to the Magni 2 Uber?

 

Not sure but most likely. Valhalla 2 is lean but can be mostly fixed with the right tubes. It will never have the bass of Jot or to a lesser extent Vali 2.

These were the best tubes I used but you'll need an adapter for them.

https://tubedepot.com/products/396a-2c51-we

The easiest and most flexible choice if you want tubes is the Vali 2, or if you want an amp that will work with pretty much anything get Jot.

Another new choice is the Massdrop CTH amp. Seems to compete well with the Vali 2. Check out that thread here:

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/massdrop-cavalli-tube-hybrid-amp.4866/

 

I was looking at the CTH, but I forgot to mention preamp outs are a must, so the CTH is out, plus the drop has ended so who knows when it will be available again.

 

Bit of confusion here as to what's happening in the chain. Picked up a Yggdrasil to compare to my DSJr. and the Yggdrasil has a couple things happening that are weird.

1) For now, I have to use USB for both devices as my lynx card outputs aren't consistently working (which is a whole other headache). I get bus noise with the Yggdrasil and not when selecting the DSJr which is dead silent. Switched cables, USB inputs, 2.0/3.0...same thing. The selector box is functioning fine, same cables throughout.

EDIT 2: For whatever reason Exclusive Mode and shutting down the Lynx Mixer has AES working on both.

2) The Yggdrasil in Roon is saying the last step in the chain is the OS Mixers, which I'm thinking could be part of the issue of (1). Latest Gen3 drivers are installed for W7.

EDIT 1: Yggdrasil needed Exclusive Mode enabled to fix this!

 

Valhalla 2 has a very nice midrange and soundstage. It's great for Jazz and Classic, with electronic music I find the bass lacks some definition. The Modi Multibit doesn't help here. With HD650 I prefer high gain and use a Sys to adjust the volume. Personally I'm happy with the stock tubes. Rolling can get expensive very fast. I think Valhalla 2 needs a very good DAC to sound best. It also sounds quite lean.

Another option might be to look into the Garage1217 Project Sunrise or Horizon which got some good reviews here in the headphone am section recently.

 

Hello everyone,

I have been debating an amp upgrade for my TH900 headphones for a couple of years now but all the really solid recommendations are way out of my budget.

Recent Massdrop activity has got me thinking about this again.

Does anyone have some thoughts on the Liquid Carbon / MCTH / Jot / Vali 2 for any of the Fostex dynamics?

I was mostly interested in tubes but a nice solid state would be okay too if there is synergy.

I have nearly bought a MJ2 several times but it is just too expensive for me.

Thank you for your time and thoughts.

Cheers.

 

What would be your max budget, Robert?