darmok

@Merrick I have the CB19 cable and I’m using it with an iPower2, but I didn’t find it to be a huge difference from my iPhone. I suspect it’s a bigger improvement from a laptop or desktop

@Merrick definitely not long enough on tube burn in. I also found that it sounds better in high gain. Will keep experimenting, these are just early impressions

Yeah I use the DC Elite with my computers only because the battery drain on the phone is too much. Granted the CB19 would eliminate the battery drain on the phone but that would be too unwieldy to use.

Another vote for Slagleformers. They're the same one used in EMIA and iCon passive pres. I got the $400 modules, put them in a case and called it a day.

Would be interesting to compare to Kara. The problem is that passive is not always best and because of that, people will bitch. It's too niche for Nitsch even. There are too many stupid old fogies in audioland. Believe it for not, SBAF people are probably the smartest of the bunch.

LOL, I was just looking at weird steppers last night: https://www.dhtrob.com/impressies/amtrans_sats.php

@CEE TEE So buy now is what you're saying? The only problem is that I need another headphone amp like a hole in the head.

@CEE TEE , looks like there's a month's reprieve - stock up now!!

Oh! Oh...takes at least month and a half to two months to make and ship. But thanks! I have to try and figure out which parts to try and get ASAP. <3

Trust your ears

@joch totally, I’d just like to see if a two-conductor shielded cable brings a bit of the bass back without sacrificing the “effortlessness”, for lack of a better word

I like those WBC cables for certain uses. They actually have a pretty great selection of well-constructed options with reputed OEM cabling and connectors. I use them for my guitar cables too - could pay 3x for the EXACT same Mogami cabling and nuetrik connector with Mogami branding lol.

BJC LC-1's are exceptional too, half of my rigs are that.

What's the use case? Can it be used on the move or will it keep ringing?

@Ksaurav402 I expect it’s for sitting in the comfy chair listening to music, which is what I do

@edd right now I’m using Hosa, but the RCA connectors on these are super stiff and I don’t like that, so I’ll be looking for alternatives at some point

Got one of the Jensens. Thanks for heads up.

Modius + Jensens work well with the TA-66 too. I threw another balanced DAC on it (iFi Zen One Signature) and it didn't change much other than rolling off the highs, so this is definitely a particular synergy with Modius.

I am disappointed. The M15c is really really good. This thing is so shrill, it’s painful.

velvety and shrill?

@Gazny ”Velvet Sound” is AKM’s marketing name, but I’ve had multiple AKM DACs that all have this same treble fuckery

The cutesy voice it uses is annoying, but there are worse things out there. ANC quality is poor. I was hoping it'd at least be fair, but it's really not good.

The good news is that the sound doesn't really change when disabling ANC, so it's possible to use it just as a pair of wireless closed-backs without too much trouble. It's somewhat bright but otherwise inoffensive, and that's a real achievement.

I can’t recommend these overall. They’re too bright and the sound signature is just… weird. Is this how IEMs are tuned these days? It’s an interesting antidote to the Beats et al of the world though

After dozens of reviews you do know how it sounds... it sounds GREAT! (and here's a link of where you can purchase it, so I can get a kick-back)

This is because you're integrated and familiar with SBAF. We use common descriptors and comparative impressions to convey how we think something sounds. Meanwhile most other reviewers just pull adjectives out of their ass that ultimately mean nothing.

@rlow and @dasman66 understood what I was getting at. :-)

BIS even messed up the Polish "ł"s on the insert of this CD, despite getting the Latvian diacritics right. Shame.

"Everything is in Korean for no reason" usually means I can't find the track anywhere else, too. The CDs won't go away without a fight.

I went a little crazy learning Hungarian orthography. No effin’ way am I doing East Asian languages! https://nontxt.com/typing-in-chinese/

I'd love to bring my Vali 2++ to work and swap out the Piety. Too many lookie-lou's

@Lyander occasionally the spicy treble of the MMB2 shows through but Vali 3 does a really good job of smoothing it out without smothering, which Piety sometimes did. I expect tube rolling could change this too

@Lyander rolled in a NOS 5670W and it’s SUPER smooth, maybe even a bit rolled off. Takes some of the slam away too, but it’s pleasing in its own way

BF2OG>DSHA3F>Clear OG remains, several years later, one of the best headphone systems I've heard at any price.

I wish I could afford a 3F because I really like Elex and clear OG in the stable. Listening with BF2 2/64, Liquid Platinum with some 12AU7 tubes and love it.

Guess I should hear a Clear OG at some point. A Utopia too for that matter.

Hot damn does this energizer pick up noise, though.

LMAO I've only ever heard the original ESP/950 but I think I get exactly what you mean. Not my cup of tea really, at least with stock gear, but can be really rather fun.

Any plans to try a different energizer (Stax)?

It depends what “not good” means. It might mean “has a really low tolerance for noise”, in which case it’ll help. I find it helps a lot with the Mojo 2’s USB for instance.

I, too, picked one up to use from iPhone to Yggdrasil Unison. Removes a bit of spitty hashiness in the treble; very good bang for the buck.

Worthwhile to get one with the fancy aluminum case (is it functional)?

Porta Pros are such a fun headphone and super practical. Try a Ksc75, as I legit think they are TOTL. Porta Pro very muddy but 'fun'. But Ksc75 is like a clearer hd600 with better transients to me..

KSC75 with the clips just don’t do it for me. You’ll need to mod it with a headband.

Nah, headband kills the stage and transients. Ksc75 sounds like speakers in a room with clips. With a headband they just sound like every other decent headphone.

The xDSD Gryphon seems to (also incorrectly) ignore this flag. The Chord Mojo 2 respects it and applies a de-emphasis EQ, which reduces the highs significantly.

I suppose this isn’t much different than complaining about cheap turntables. Unfortunately, it’s not like there are expensive portable CD players to buy instead.

I reckon you figured this out by listening, right? Why would the Moondrop player do this, it sounds counterintuitive?

That’s the only headphone I’m curious about, because I go for neutral closed-backs.

@Claritas giving it a bit of time to break in, but so far the tuning is reminiscent of the Clear OG but a bit more forward in the upper mids. Technicalities are not great though. They really sacrificed the Elegia’s staging to achieve a more neutral tuning.

You might want to give the Azurys a try as well. The build is a lot better and it’s easier to transport. I only had a quick hands-on at Bay Bloor Radio but the sound profile was pretty good, albeit a bit more V-shaped than the higher end Focals.

(I bet that SMSL "cd player" is a embedded-Linux device with lousy playback software)

@Thad E Ginathom violating specs is SMSL's forte, as I found out when I bought one of their DACs and found it used a USB type A female port for the upstream-facing port, or their USB to SPDIF dongle that didn't work on macOS...

@darnok: regular DiscDream 2 vs. 2 Ultra. Do both have the same SPDIF issues?

None of my holes are Pentaconn. Stock cable should match what people have, not what you think they should have.

4 pin XLR all the way. What makes it worse is pentacon removes one of the greatest strengths of balanced—impossibility of creating a short.

Pentacon more like pentagram. Super bad and it's a delicate piece of shit. If we used them in production they'd be destroyed in a week, and worst of all, they're no fun. 1/4" is inferior but it's so satisfying to plug in.

My silly counter point: bigger better case = weight and attention = more cost + higher possibility for the customs catching my buying headphones abroad!

But seriously, do you keep headphones in their case nicely, or just leave them on some shelf "in case I might want to use them in the near future"?

How to turn $500 headphones into $900 headphones: add a fancy case.

But giving out a nice case with purchase goes away from the less for more strategy of money making!! Tradeoffs are what we bank on now!