The All Purpose Advice Thread

Discussion in 'Advice Threads' started by purr1n, Sep 26, 2015.

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  1. Mdkaler

    Mdkaler Friend

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    Read the plankton thread, still not exactly clear.
    Does that imply good tube amp is better at plankton than solid state? When I compared Valh 2 (as well as Vali 2) and Jot, tube seemed to add some microdetails/tubey sound/spatial cues that I didn't hear with the Jot. But then I am kind of deaf to super fast things need to pay close attention.
     
  2. winders

    winders boomer

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    That was denied by Nick at Schiit...but I trust the ears here! Maybe there was a part change on the BOM that went unnoticed.
     
  3. Mdkaler

    Mdkaler Friend

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    Schiit people are humorous. I think Mike said MB can barely fit into the Modi/Magni chassis too.
     
  4. Grahad2

    Grahad2 Red eyes from too much anime

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    I'm rather allergic to harsh treble, but my ~8 month old Jot is smooth even driving the Andromedas, which is the most treble happy thing I have. Then again it's probably cooked itself a few times being on 24/7 in the tropics.
     
  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Baking it in heat and leaving it on all the time seems to do the trick. Have been trying to get @Bill-P to confirm, but he might be in Vietnam on vacation banging his bride to be. I believe he's directly compared my Socal baked Jot to his newer one. This is second hand information, so I am not too sure.
     
  6. imackler

    imackler Key Lime Pie Infected Aberdeen Wings Spy

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    I've got a question for the AK JR owners our there:

    Is the sweet spot this as a stand alone unit or is the DAC implementation good enough to justify a portable amp, maybe like the Pico Power? Or has anyone used it as a source for a desktop amp? Curious whether its DAC is a limitation or if the line out is good enough to justify using in some set ups...
     
  7. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    LOL yeah, I wish.

    Well, gonna write up some more stuffs soon. I just got home and everything. Will do a combined comparison thread that's separate from all of the various threads. :)
     
  8. kida

    kida New

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    @Marvey @Hands @Vansen Thank guys.
    I'll go with MCTH + SDAC that's up on massdrop now.
    SDAC feeding my pc speakers (they just added a line out for dac a few days back, i believe) and Modi Multibit feeding the amp part.
    I'll probably add an eitr for Modi Multibit later when mcth is close to shipping.
    Should be settled for a while (hopefully).

    Oh, anyone tried amperex orange globe on the mcth yet? I'll probably stick with stock EH, but I have a few amperex lying around so just wondering if it's good with MCTH
     
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I'd use the Amperex.
     
  10. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    @Robert777 if you wanted to go for the Garage1217 Project Horizon for the TH900, get the Project Sunrise instead. It's the same PCB and everything, just for lower impedance headphones.
     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I actually prefer the TH900 with a little higher Z because of the lower mid suckout and sharp treble. Slows things down a bit. Otherwise too clean and zippy.
     
  12. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    Oh I see! You can actually get higher Z on either the Horizon or Sunrise with the front jumpers. Sunrise does 1.5, 32, or 69 ohm, and Horizon does 1.5, 35, or 120 ohm. So yeah, you might actually prefer the the Horizon with 120.
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I was thinking more like 6 to 20 ohms.
     
  14. Griffon

    Griffon 2nd biggest asshole on SBAF

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    In most portable conditions an AK Jr should be fine as a stand alone unit. I've not heard many good portable amps. If you're driving more demanding cans, go for a higher power portable player.
     
  15. Lasollor

    Lasollor Friend

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    I use my AK Jr daily as a standalone portable player, but it is not that good as source. It has an amp-coupled line output so basically you would double amping with any portable or desktop amp. (I’ve tried it with Vali 2, Jotunheim, Elekit Tu-8200 and I preferred the direct out from the Jr.)
     
  16. kirayamato

    kirayamato Friend

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    hi my roommate really likes the apple earbuds style earphones due to its 'comfort' so does anyone know of a high-end alternative to it with the same style fit

    thanks
     
  17. uncola

    uncola Friend

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    might want to see if there's a VE made earbud that fits the bill and price range.. the guys who make the VE monk etc
     
  18. MeepMeep

    MeepMeep New

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    Hey all! New to the audiophile community... like a lot of people i joined the Sennheiser HD6XX drop & they'll be my first pair of "high-end" headphones.

    Previously had a pair of 598's which i enjoyed well enough but am looking forward to the upgrade :)

    Biggest concern now is possible DAC/AMP combinations (budget is entry level)

    So far i've decided on the new Magni 3 amp, but am still unsure about DAC pairing. Ideally i'd get the matching Schiit Modi but i've heard mixed reviews about the quality compared to other similarly priced DACs, especially regarding jitter/noise etc...

    ref: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/budget-dac-review-schiit-modi-2-99.1649/

    Now maybe this isn't as big a deal as the site makes it out to be, and maybe it won't be as bad if i use a separately powered USB hub, but the concern at least has me looking at other options – particularly the newly released Massdrop x Grace SDAC (~ ODAC), ref: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-grace-design-standard-dac

    Any thoughts or advice between the two are much appreciated.
     
  19. monacelli

    monacelli Friend

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    That's the first I've first of purported jitter issues with the Modi, and the plots in that post don't jive at all with the measurements @atomicbob took with the Modi Multibit (link), which uses the same C-Media USB input receiver. So I'd be inclined to say the dude who wrote that post is a twat. (FYI: If you post other stuff from audiosciencereview.com, don't be surprised if members here tell you to f**k off. And read this posthaste [link].) Schiit DACs (all of their products really) measure really well objectively. That's not an accident. Jason and co measure the hell of out them during the development process.

    The SDAC and the Modi 2 use slightly different AKM chips (4552 and 4490 respectively). I have the Fulla 2, which is also 4490-based, and it sounds dang good for what it is. Loads better than a Realtek chip on a Windows PC, and noticeably better than the DAC in my Macbook Air too. So if you're in the market for a budget delta-sigma DAC, you can't go wrong with the Modi 2. I haven't heard the SDAC, but Marv has provided measurements (link) and subjective comments (link). Seems like a solid product too.

    Food for thought: The SDAC was designed to stack with the O2 (like so). For me, my OCD would kick in with the weird aesthetic mismatch between the Magni 3 and the SDAC. If you can live with it, then more power to you. That's totally a personal thing. If you are willing to spend a little extra dough, consider the Modi Multibit. I'm currently saving up for one, and you can read more about it here (link 1, link 2). Good luck-
     
  20. nithhoggr

    nithhoggr Author of the best selling novel Digital Jesus

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    Could you be a bit more specific about your budget? If you don't mind stretching a little, the Schiit Modi Multibit (aka Modi Multibit) is quite well regarded around these parts as a great deal for the price (it's basically got the same internals as the Bifrost Multibit, which's over twice its price), but at $250 it's a bit more than the SDAC or Modi 2 / 2U. If you're planning on upgrading eventually, I'd definitely see if you can swing the Modi Multibit, since it'll still sound pair well even with much nicer equipment than the Magni 3, and the HD6XX will also scale well with upgrades. OTOH, if the extra $150 is a big deal and/or you don't plan on ever upgrading, I'd go for either the Modi 2 or SDAC, and I wouldn't worry too much about which one...the difference between DACs is pretty subtle compared to headphones or amps, and you'll definitely get a great-sounding system out of any of those options. Don't worry too much about jitter in an entry-level setup...if you're really concerned, get a Modi 2 Uber or Modi Multibit (or another DAC with a coax input) so you can add in an Eitr later if you're so inclined.

    Incidentally, one of the most common complaints about the HD6XX is that the cable it comes with is inferior to the HD650's. You should probably consider getting an HD650 stock cable (which are ~$12 from Sennheiser, but they seem to be out of stock at the moment)...the HD6XX has the same cable connectors as the HD650, HD600, and HD580 (as well as some older models like the HD414).
     
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