e.schell

Sorry about the snow!

It's melting off... at least a few hundred miles south of chicago... forecast is telling me at least there won't be anymore falling while i'm there... so WIN!

I am flying into Chicago this January for a concert. My California body is probably not ready for a Chicago winter!

The trouble with turntables (not their fault!) is that people buy them to tinker with, rather than just to listen to.

Based upon certain threads here, apparently that's also true of headphones, IEMs, amps, DACs, and CD players.

So…tinkerers will tinker?

Lol. Well, yes, but for physical twiddling, as single components go, I still suspect that turntables have the most capacity.

Get impressions done by an audiologist, perfect sounding attenuators. -10 & -25dB inserts.

I got some custom earplugs with filters from UE. https://pro.ultimateears.com/microsonic-earplugs.html

I use it all the time for movies and concerts, generally the -15db filter. IIRC, UE used my previous ear impressions and gets the filters from a third party.

Funny story. In July went to a concert with a few friends. I had my ear plugs and brought an extra set. I asked my friends if they wanted the extra and they declined. First set goes on and one friend asked to use them.

After the concert the unprotected friend said his ears were ringing for hours afterwards.

I know I’m a biased fanboy, but I do like Martin Axenrot as well. His drumming is less overtly showy or complex than some, nor does Opeths stuff usually call for anything absurd, but he has a lot of subtle depth to his playing.

Saw Animals As Leaders live. That drummer has a small drum kit but when he stops jazzing it up it is hard to believe. When a drummer can make a small drum kit sound like a thunder storm like that, I listen.

Danny Carey is a god, but I’d put Tomas Haake in the same breath

I had the previous gen X5 3rd Gen. Warmer sound, does a lot of things but master of none. Buggy software, which is nothing new with Chi-Fi. I would bet a Chinese region ZX300 will blow the M11 out of the water.

It's like this, do you want more features like streaming, youtube, video games which you can play on the M11? Or you just want a pure DAP?

I would like the ability to cache albums from Tidal as I've gotten accustomed to that on my phone, but the sound quality of a zx2/zx300 is probably quite a bit better. Have some time to think on it between now and when the JVC HA-FDX1 is dropped and shipped. Plan on that being my mobile/work system. Thanks for the info!

@k4rstar Of those newer models you listed, will the marantz or cambridge significantly outperform the Onkyo as transports only? Asking since the price difference is significant.

Never compared them directly so couldn’t really say. They all use the same Sanyo mechanism found in most modern CD players. However the Cambridge is designed with a singular function in mind which is to act as a transport and has their own servo tech found in their top of the line player. It’s probably the best on transport duty.

FWIW famish99 has it hooked up to Gungnir Multibit A1/Aficionado and I thought it sounded great, but I have no frame of reference, since I have not heard Af hooked up to any other transport.

These days 90% of my listening is done with Clears, that will be my main focus when comparing these amps.

My Gungnir Multibit/LP/HD650 setup has kept me smiling for months now. No desire to alter anything. At all.

If you're trying to inject a little speed and athleticism into the setup, look elsewhere; the LP is even more laid-back than the Lyr 3. That being said, I think the LP has superior timbre and stage.

I splash?

https://unsplash.com/

Tool and Mars Volta making new music? Imagine that even the Black Eyed Peas made a good album this year. 2019 has been full of pleasant surprises in music.

Gungnir Multibit + Lyr3 (sylvania) + Clears is an addictive combo still for me. ZDT Jr. is great as well but with Clears i feel there is a bit of a bass boost (guessing it's caused by OI even on low output). Depending on mood and what I'm listening to I feel both of these amps fit into my system well. Would still absolutely LOVE to hear a DSHA-3F before saving up to buy one, but thinking that's where I'm headed.

I always knew these things were tiny but until I actually held one it never clicked... really pretty amazing. Looks almost silly sitting between my Gungnir Multibit and Lyr3. hah

I’ve used a Vali 2 on top of a Yggdrasil, that looks ridiculous!

@Elnrik : Vali can only fall so far - as Mrsdegraded's friend told her the other day, the reason old men take Viagra is to stop themselves falling out of bed.

Used Periodic Be (with or without mods)? Modded HSE A2000?

Been using a HifiWalker A2 ever since the cables on the Fostex TE-02n started failing; very solidly built. All of @james444 ‘s budget recommendations are the real deal.

The Pinnacle PX needs quote a bit of power to get sound good.

Look at the two e's.. Hanging out, shootin' the shit

Did you receive an honorable dislike from JK47? If not that is a thing here. Sometimes you earn them, sometimes only he knows.

^correct

Morphine > Clears. Haha

Hope you're feeling okay.

Pretty sure I typed Gungnir Multibit, did it auto correct to Gungnir Multibit when it posts? hah

Okay mystery solved!

If we still lived in the wild west, these same high end cable guys would travel from town to town in wagons, selling an elixir that will " give you the strength of 1000 men!"

Sounds like Viagra.

@skem "I really wish there were a way to punish these scam companies"

It has been done. The UK Trading Standards folks prosecuted a cable company for unsubstantiated claims. But afterwards, they probably went on selling the same thing with different words.

Maybe it's just me being paranoid, but I always let all of my amps warm up for at least a minute before I plug headphones into them. Volume off, unplug headphones, power down amp is the reverse procedure I use. I've been doing that for years.

@jexby : DC coupled amps (any vendor) have always given me pause during power up before servos have stabilized. Formed the habit of waiting several minutes prior to connecting and now it is routine in my lab. There may be no reason to worry, especially with amps employing protection relays. But I'm set in my habits.

I’m also cautious and turn on amps before plugging in my headphones, then unplug my headphones before turning off the amp. It may be unnecessary in most cases, but it’s two seconds out of each listening session and saves me a ton of money if it was useful even just one time.

My only concern is OI. With Utopia, my DSHA-1 created a pretty significant bass boost, too much IMO. Will be similar for Clear if OI of BD is high. DSHA-1 low gain is ~20 Ohm and high gain something like 90 Ohm.

That BD gets not enough respect, it is a great amp. The BD doesn't have that bass bump the DSHA-1 had...

Thanks! Does anyone happen to know the OI of the BD?