The All Purpose Advice Thread

Hi everyone, first time poster here and was looking for some advice on my next headphone purchase. I presently have a ZMF Aeolus which I enjoy very much. I can spend hours listening on it and not feel any fatigue. I love the mid-range and think its perfect. The rawness of guitars comes out so beautifully. I like the bass, but I do wish there was some more of it. This, along with the small soundstage, is my only complaint when it comes to the Aeolus.

This has me thinking of upgrading and I am considering ZMF Verite Closed and Audeze LCD3. I am hoping that you guys can help me make the decision on which one would be the better option for me. I prefer warm sound signatures but not overtly dark. What I just love listening to is string instruments and electric guitar in classic rock. The presentation of electric guitar is thus the single most important thing for me. This, combined with a warm signature and a good low-end, is what I really like. This thought process has led me to consider two headphones so far: Audeze LCD3 or a Verite Closed. Note, I will likely sell the Aeolus if I end up like either of these. I cannot afford to keep both. I will also likely purchase them used. I wish I could buy both and compare, as that would be the best. I might still but I wanted the opinions of listeners here.

From what I read about the Verite Closed, the tonality is somewhat different than other ZMF cans. Some people call it very natural whereas say it is not as natural as the Aeolus. The mids apparantly have a recession that worries me somewhat. Another take away from my research online is that the VC has more sub-bass than the Aeolus but less mid-bass. Is this conclusion correct? If so, I wonder if it means the Aeolus is more suited for classic rock than the VC? I also read in this thread that the VC has some reverb in its bass and its not as clean as a Audeze planar. I think I am going to be fine with that - I enjoy reverb as long as its not too muddy and isn't bleeding into the mids.

I would prefer to own the ZMF VC over the LCD3 for multiple reasons. The VC is more comfortable, is more reliable and ZMF has the best customer support in the business. The LCD3 is significantly cheaper on the used market but the driver issues worry me.

Considering my preferences, what would you guys recommend? TL;DR: looking to keep the creamy mids of the Aeolus but want more bass.

 

Had the LCD3 for a while and have heard the VC a few times.

If you go LCD3, 1) sounds dumb, try to get at least a B- rated one - I've heard "lesser" rated ones before, not worth the $. LCD2 this is not as big of an issue. 2) get a proper amp with enough power output (read: current too, not just a high total power output via high V) - for example, my LCD3 was not nice at all on the Stellaris 3) Be prepared for ~5khz suckout and disjointed overall sound (even if the individual parts sound good). 4) Not neutral, has a warm and dark sound 5) I have heard Audeze driver failure rate for new LCD2 and 3 drivers is much better now (but not completely fixed) and if it happens, it's typically within ~1 year

The one and only thing holding me back from a VC is how prominent the W shaped freq response was to me. Like I can live with a few different signatures, but the mids were so prominent to me that I decided to focus on the rest of my chain instead. I will revisit with different woods and cables to see if it's enough to fix this - the Auteur also had some traits I didn't like until I a denser wood choice made those traits "acceptable" to me (and I have been very happy with my Auteur since then).

 

Looking for an amp. Budget - Max 400GBP. Headphones i will mainly use it with are HD800S and i dont want tube as i plan on getting an Arya at some point in the future and also i dont think tubes and me will work because i like to leave electronics on a lot and the idea of replacing tubes i dont like.

I currently have an RME Fireface 800 and heres the problem - Can't tell the difference between the monitor out on this and anything - a laptop, onboard on my desktop, an ipad, my phone. I did a load of blind tests and theres just no difference.

So I'm not able to test amps myself unfortunately so i am curious whether a sub 400 quid amp will have any decent of an impact.

I've been looking at stuff like the Asguard 3, Schiit stack and Atom Stack. There is also the Element 2 which im told is a less warm Asguard 3, but warmth isn't too much of an issue to me as i can tune it with Equaliser APO and i do like the look of it. But am concerned i wont tell the difference between it and other stuff. I can buy stuff to demo and then return ofcourse but then must bare delivery costs so i want to be sure before i order anything to return it.

Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

fyi,
Don't be a dotard!
Read these "rules" AND introduce
yourself before your first post

 

Question - which is better, Schiit Magni 2U or Magnius? A family member has the Magni 2U paired with a Modius. Wondering if getting them a Magnius would represent any sort of an upgrade. It would look good...

 

When I owned the Magni 2U, even the magni 3 which I bought was a noteworthy upgrade to my ears. Others will have to chime in on the Magnius,

 

I'd like to equip my living room (quite small like 430ft² / 45m²) with a complete sound chain (Dac/amplifier/Speaker) I will probably use my Ipad to feed the Dac with lossless files from whatever internet music provider. I have limited knowledge when It comes to headphone gear, but I'm a complete noob when It comes to Speaker gear.

I don't listen to music at a very high volume so I don't need anything very powerful, on the opposite, I'd like something that doesn't need high volume to have a nice balanced sound.

Are there some "synergetic" chains You would advice ? There is such a thread for headphone gear, but none for speaker gear AFAIK.
As for budget, I'd like to find a sweet spot, I could live with Mid-Fi performance, I don't have the king of money needed for high end stuff.

Thanks in advance !

 

First, you’re going to need to provide more info than this. What’s your actual budget? “Don’t have the king of money” is not a budget. Also, other than listening at low volumes, do you understand your sound preferences and what you’re going for? Can you tell us some of those preferences? What kind of music do you listen to? Also, do you have any preferences at all as far as the equipment itself? Do you prefer floorstanders or bookshelf speakers? Do you want an integrated amp or separates are ok? Are you planning to watch tv and movies as well or just music? Also what are your actual room dimensions?

Second, the reason there’s no 2-channel synergy thread is because this is mainly a headphone forum, with some folks who also do 2-channel, but not nearly to the degree of headphones. It’s also a heck of a lot harder to try dozens of speakers, speaker amps and DAC combinations than it is to try and mix/match headphone gear (Unless you’re a professional reviewer of course). Regular people also don’t generally have the space to store all that 2-channel stuff and keep a bunch of it on hand for comparison purposes. But lots of people have many headphones on hand and multiple hp amps and/or DACs etc at the same time. On top of that, the number of options in the speaker world are almost endless, and your room can have a huge impact on what you find “synergistic” (headphones at least don’t have that particular issue).

Third, what country are you from? This can make a big difference when it comes to 2-channel becuase it’s not practical in some cases to look at speakers for instance that only have online ordering or distribution in the US/North America vs Europe/Asia. The same with some electronics as well.

Anyhow I’m not sure this will be the best forum/site for your question, but if you want to provide more details maybe we can give some pointers at least. Hopefully the tips above may also help you on other sites too.

 

Even though I agree with @rlow's points, I know it can sometimes be overwhelming to start your journey. You should 100% keep all the points @rlow said in mind but based on your (@Bitter) comment that you were a complete noob with respect to 2 ch gear, you gotta start somewhere.

My recommendation is to start with affordable gear to get experience with what stereo imaging and soundstage are like in a speaker setup. Then you can start thinking about all other things. Gotta build a foundation, so to speak, to learn what you like and don't like before spending big bucks on a 2 ch system.

Disclaimer: This is just my opinion and I only have about 2 years worth of experience with my speaker setup.

For reference, this is what I started with:
Ross Martin PCM1794 DAC
Yamaha R-S202 stereo receiver
Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2

Not saying you should get this. I don't have much experience with a wide variety of gear to outright recommend specific components. This is just to show how affordable you can start with. You can also build cheaper or more expensive starter systems.

 

To add to the comments above, if you're trying out a speaker rig for the first time, I'd suggest keeping it as simple as possible until you figure out what is important to you. There's no need for a DAC at this point, the iPad has an internal DAC and line out via the headphone jack.
Speakers are the hardest choice, there is an order of magnitude more variance in sound there than in the amplifier.
The absolute simplest is to use powered speakers, then it's just one purchase. Something like a JBL 305P MkII gets good reviews and can be had in the US for $200/pair. And are pretty easy to resell, which is important if you realize that you want something different/better.
Alternatively, get an amplifier and speakers. There's loads of used gear around. Older stereo or AV receivers can be had for $100 or less. Same with speakers; find something used or inexpensive new that has some decent reviews that seem to fall in line with your preferences.

Listen for some weeks, then consider what is lacking and post again. Then I think folks here can help you with suggestions for changes.

 

Thank you both to take the time to answer me.

-I wasn't providing budget because I'm searching for a sweet spot maybe 2000$ max or something ? Not that I want to spend that much.
-As for precise dimension It's 6 *7.5 or more or less 20ft *24.7ft.
-For sound preference, I usually prefer a warmer sound signature, with a slight emphasis on bass and slightly recessed highs. i tend to listen mostly to jazz and trumpet and saxophones are fatiguing otherwise.
-I don't really have space issues so I guess floorstanders might have better price to performance ratio ?
-I don't mind having separate Dac and Amp.
-TV will be connected to the speaker (because why not ?) but I don't want to spend money on home cinema stuff, my focus is music and if that's better TV sound fine If that's not well not a big deal.
-As for country, I'm from France.

Sorry If that's not the best place to ask, I've learned to trust the judgement of some of the people on this forum but If You think i'd better ask somewhere else please point me in that direction !

 

Sorry! I have done now. Do you have any suggestions for dacamps?

 

@rlow, @Cooper32 and others have some great suggestions. Since I have been trying under $1000 speakers lately and been very disappointed allow me to share my experiences.

First for source, I think a great system can be built around a decent dac like the Modi 3, but since you are in France, might be hard to find. An iFi Zen would work great but has no optical or spdif for the tv, but does have a good volume pot. A Euro equivalent makes sense.

I think powered speakers can give you the bass you might expect but then you have to live with the possibility of an amp failure since many of the cheaper speakers use pretty crappy amp designs. Although, it may be years before this possibility may occur, if ever. This may just be my paranoia, however. If you like the sound, Dynaudio and Focal make some nice stuff.

Amps that are used but good are hard to come by, with many needing parts replacements if they are 20 or so years old. New decent amps may be in the $300-$500 range unless you find a used gem. Marantz PM series may meet the warm desire.

On to speakers, the biggest thing I have observed is many stand mount and floor standing speakers selling new for under $1k do not have good bass. They are usually rolled starting at 90-100hz and do not have the slight mid bass bump that we had in speakers of the olden days. Yes, more accurate without the bump, but hearing a jazz piece with a tom tom sounding like the musician was hitting a 1 kilo empty coffee can with a plastic top is not my idea of fun. I would gladly take a bump at 60-80hz and at least try to fool me with some extra midbass. Then again subs are now cheap in the scheme of things at least here in the U.S.

EDIT: Oh, and the big thing about many speakers today that I forgot is 9 out of 10 have a rising response, not so good for your trumpet or sax listening, but great for exploding metal and glass in movies.

That said you have a good amount of French speaker manufacturers to choose from and $1000 Euros should get you something that does not suffer from the woes I just talked about. Focal, JM Reynaud, Triangle and other Euro brands could be good hunting.

Good luck!

 

Sweet spots still have a range. If you want “something that’s a step up from entry level”, then I think you’re in a good price range.

No worries about that, pretty much all regulars here would agree with you on that point. I’m just saying the overall breadth and depth of knowledge of all the various option and which how best together etc etc won’t be up to headphone levels, and might exist more completely in other places. But yes, their opinions may be less trustworthy and reliable, so there is that.

Personally in your situation, preferences and budget, and since you’re just starting out, I would look at a set of floorstanders and an integrated amp with a built in DAC. You can always add an outboard DAC later if you want.

Bixby makes some good reccos on brands in France/ Europe, although based on your listening preferences I would probably avoid Focal personally (too bright, metal dome). I would mainly stick with soft domes or AMT.

I would check out the Triangle Borea series. The Br05 or Br08. Avoid the higher series with the metal horn tweeter. Also take a look at Wharfedale, I’ve owned a couple of previous gen speakers from them and found them great. There’s a number of reviews on YouTube that will give you a good sense of what the current models sound like. PM me if you want some recommendations.

For affordable warmish integrateds, Denon and Marantz are decent choices. Iotavx SA3 is another well reviewed unit, but lower power and may not the best with Wharfedale (should be fine with Triangle though). Rega is another option for integrated amps, but may be too expensive. I don’t think they have built in DACs either.

Although integrated with DAC is what Im suggesting, as Bixby also mentioned, if you could score a Schiit Modi 3+ with one of those amps, actually that would be fantastic because with Unison USB you would have a chance at decent sound from your iPad. IFI Zen as well.

 

On the official Triangle shop there's a "pack deal" with a pair or triangle BR8 and a DAC/AMP "Advance Paris Myconnect AX1" amplifier for only 100$ above the price of the Loudspeaker alone.

Presentation of the Integrated Amp (Triangle shop is only in French so that's an english review) : https://theaudiophileman.com/ax1-integrated-amplifier-advance-paris/

Any opinion on the Deal ? i've never heard of the brand before but reviews on the Net seem fine.

 

a deal is only a deal if you love the product.

The only triangle speakers I heard were decades ago and were bright. That does not mean there are great Triangle speakers, BUT, you must hear them or you will be like me, taking the hit for return freight.

 

Well, I've already heard Triangle speakers, my step dad has a pair. But that's not the same model ofc.

I was rather wondering about the Amplifier I've never heard the brand before, I intend to go in a physical store to test the Speaker, there's a store selling that brand not too far away but with covid well... that's not always easy.

 

Not aware of that amp/brand. Based on the review, seems like detailed, analytical and a bit cooler rather than warm. Apparently the Triangles can lean this way as well, so maybe not the best pairing for your stated sound/musical tastes.

I wouldn’t attempt this without a good return policy (preferrably free).

 

Cannot help you on the Advance Paris brand. My preference is to keep things like dacs and amps separate. I have not found benefits to all in ones vs separates for most audio gear, but that does not mean there are not good examples, I am just old school. My gut would say a $100 Schiit Modi would sound better than the dac in that device. And Bluetooth on top of it?