The All Purpose Advice Thread

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

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  1. Climber

    Climber Facebook Friend

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    The 1More Triple Over Ear is a good idea though I seem to remember it had a shorter-than-average stock cable? Cool headphone -- has midbass that boogies in a weird but very fun way -- and super comfortable, I thought.
     
  2. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Or the Beyer DT150, for when you want an even uglier and harder to drive headphone, but want to ratchet up the industrial look a bit.
     
  3. MellowVelo

    MellowVelo Friend

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    What’s the going rate for a new Focal Utopia these days? I know that the list price is $4500, but how much are dealers actually selling it for?
     
  4. Wilewarer

    Wilewarer Almost "Made"

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    I want to get a better idea of what different headphone amps can do for sound. I just have 2 cheap ones - a Magni 3+ (sounds normal to me) and a JDS Atom (distractingly misshapen stage), so I don't have much sense of what other amps can do better. I'd like to get one or two more to see, but I'm not sure what would be worth it here. Sidegrades and upgrades are both fine, I just don't want to spend a ton until I have a better sense of what I really want. I'd probably get a Vali 2+ or Jot 2, but I don't think those are in stock right now.

    My most used dac and headphones are a Bifrost 2 and Aeon Flow Closed (one notch white).
     
  5. shaney777

    shaney777 New

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    Consensus on the best mid-fi Hifiman to get these days? I don't want to go over $200, and I prefer a neutral sound. Amp will be JDS Labs Atom.

    I want something that competes with the Senn HD-600.

    Thank y'all!
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2021
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    LOL. That's not what he asked for. He didn't complain about the J2. The J2 is very good with the right DAC and running balanced.

    Try to be helpful and nice. We can't tell people to ditch their amps when they ask specifically about headphones to complement their existing ones, especially after giving this amount of context.

    VC may be the ticket. VC's tonal signature is less laid-back than VO. I'd say that it's somewhere 36.23% from VO to Aeolus. I totally get what you mean about the VO.

    A concern is the stronger bit of reverb and wood resonance. However, this can be largely minimized with the proper selection of wood. Call ZMF. They know their stuff for sure.

    The VC is a keeper for me. It's the seductive sounding that I use in my current rotation ever since I got it. I tried EQ'ing it and only got bad results. It's good as designed and will provide a great third complement to your HD800 and LCD-X.

    Be sure to terminate VC in balanced for J2.
     
  7. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I was! I don't like the J2 much, and I think it is holding those headphones back and I know you agree actually. Is this Marv or has your account been hijacked? I would take a better amp with those headphones than a third headphone out of the J2. 3 flavors of mediocre isn't good advice to me vs 2 flavors of really good or awesome. Esspecially if the guy likes those headphones already.

    And this is the advice thread, redirecting a question towards a better decision can be good advice.

    case in point: i got a Super 7 here for 1k. That would be a much better system for the same money.
     
    Last edited: Sep 27, 2021
  8. MLegend

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    I actually own an H10 with Burson V6 opamps (most recent iteration). I've never heard any Topping or SMSL amps, so I cannot compare them. However, compared to the Liquid Platinum and Schiit Mjolnir, it's not great. The H10 is a bassy, to a fault, amp with good dynamics and a pretty spacious soundstage. The H10 actually has good bass slam, so it works well for metal, but the largest issue is that it's way too warm and reserved in the highs. I've seen Marv describe the Violectric V200 as murky, that same trait transferred over to the H10.

    This was with Gungnir A2 which is more neutral/lean in the midbass and has forward mids, which I thought would work well, but it didn't. I also use the HD650, so the H10 might pair better with headphones that are brighter and have less midbass. If you're interested in hearing it, shoot me a pm and I'll loan it to you, so you can hear it in your system.
     
  9. aamefford

    aamefford Nothing like chamberpot coffee

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    I know I’ve jumped in here and asked this before - please bear with me…. Adorama has another one of their $399 deals on the Elegia today. I’m strongly considering at the price point. Questions:
    1) do they suck? Past closed cans I’ve liked - ether C, mad dogs, all incarnations, Denon D7000, D5000. Purpose - music from and guitar playing from GarageBand.

    2) does Focal suck? Are parts available, and do they cost more than the headphones?

    3) any super shrill treble tendencies (not sure I can ask this given I spent 3 years enjoying the HD800S) or muddy bass / low mids. I understand that closed cans can be susceptible to both, so just looking for egregious violations.

    4) Music, mostly rock, blues, singer/songwriter “girl or guy with a guitar” stuff, a little jazz, a little metal, very little classical.

    5) upstream - Old ALO Pan Am amp and OG modi multibit. iPhone or Allo Signature. It’s all I have left after the purge….

    6) any good straight from an iPhone or laptop?

    I’m getting the itch to pull the trigger, but I don’t want to impulse buy on this one. Would I be better off with a $100 - $200 pair of athM50’s or equivalent?

    thanks all!
     
  10. señorhifi

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    MLegend, you're a real legend for the loaner offer, but since I did my post, I've been reading about the amp all over the internet. Turns out it was popular around 2015-2016 as it's a much cheaper Vio200 clone.

    Issue is, and this is now even more clear to me with your comment, I simply won't like it. Seems to be an amp in line with the THX stuff, only murkier. I really felt emotionally sick after using the THX AAA 887 and got rid of it, so I have the feeling, this won't cut it. At least the THX was detailed, but this seems to be worse in technicalities (of course I have no real clue, but that's what I think after reading around for a while).

    I also got a Jot2 just a few days ago and sweet lord almighty, yes, this is it. Detailed, has actual depth, has enough width and damn, that slam and bass... I really feel like I did the right choice.

    There's no need for me to check the Gustard anymore, but thanks for the offer!
     
  11. M3NTAL

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    Does anyone have any idea(s) what HEAD acoustics is working on? I watched a YT *video talking about what active noise cancelling and augmented reality may become very soon. We've always wanted a true immersive experience and it seems like they are almost getting it figured out as a whole. Imagine AR audio streams. I know being on the beach in Hawaii was pretty relaxing. *Head-Fi+Jude+ANC video
     
  12. scblock

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    I own a pair and don't think they suck (probably my second most used pair after HD650 for most listening), but I've also read the impressions thread and know that it definitely does not work for some. Hard to say which camp you'd end up in honestly. They are the most open sounding closed headphones I have, but I haven't heard some of the higher end closed headphones so take my opinion with reservations.

    An iPhone 11 with the lightning adapter drives the Elegia fine, though not to the same level as a good headphone amp. But unlike the HD650 it doesn't feel like so much is missing from the sound. Plenty of volume and the main characteristics of the headphones come through well. Similar from an old MacBook Air.
     
  13. Beefy

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    Yep. Haven't heard the Elegia specifically, but I do think that all the Focal are incredibly easy to drive, even with their enormous impedance hump. I have the Focal Clear, and have listened to them directly from a Samsung S10 headphone out. Not as good as a dedicated amp, but definitely the best I've heard direct from a phone.
     
    Last edited: Sep 27, 2021
  14. aamefford

    aamefford Nothing like chamberpot coffee

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    Thanks @scblock , thanks @Beefy .

    mill give it a bit and see if impulse forces my hand. It sounds like they will work though. I’m off to the impression thread to see if there’s anything that scares me there.
     
  15. MarcoGV

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    By my measurement, the stock cable is about 57" or 150cm long. I agree with your assessment: weird but very fun. I would add: very easy to drive. Tyll Herstens had a similar evaluation in his 2018 review and put them on the Wall of Fame; listen especially to his assessment of the sound starting at minute 8 of his review, which can be found easily on YouTube. I noticed that Purrin listed them in his entry for "The Worst Sounding Headphones and Why." So: you have been warned!
     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I so much wish Tyll was still around. I'd love to do a YT video discussing this headphone with him.
     
  17. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Does anyone from here keep in touch with him? I was just wondering about him the other day, wondering how he's been especially this past year and half living out of his mobile home. I have no idea how that community has been affected.
     
  18. roshambo123

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    At CanJam last weekend someone at Dan Clark Audio said they communicated with him regularly and he was still in the boonies doing the #vanlife thing.
     
  19. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I hope he doesn't have a batshit girlfriend with him.
     
  20. aamefford

    aamefford Nothing like chamberpot coffee

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    Lol, good to hear Tyll is doing well. I saw a naked (no paint) delivery truck the other day and thought of him.
     
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