The All Purpose Advice Thread

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

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  1. Beefy

    Beefy Friend

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    Yep! If I want to just plop down something on top of something, I'd much rather build Lego with the rugrat. It's also much easier on my rapidly aging eyes.
     
  2. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Careful, that's how you wind up with another rugrat... :D
     
  3. Yonany

    Yonany New

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    Hey,
    plan on getting the Verum One, which i heard a long time ago but it was on a very expensive gear that i have no idea what were the models.

    anyway, from what i have seen online my Magni 2 wont be enough to properly drive them, those headphones are very picky it seems due to their very low impedance.

    so im looking for an Amp to drive them and wanted to upgrade myself into a balanced setup, which means i need a new dac too (currently have Modi2).

    the Monolith 788 looks like exactly what i need, balanced amp\dac that is also in one unit.
    but i kept on looking and the 887 amp supposed to be better and more powerful, but has no DAC.
    also saw that Topping A90 get good reviews, but again, no DAC and a little bit expensive.

    so i would like to get some recommendations about the 788 and a good DAC to pair with a standalone amp.
    my total budget for amp\dac is about $500.

    thank you in advance :)
     
  4. 7seven

    7seven Acquaintance

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    As a bit of general advice, just because an amp can drive more voltage into a HP with less THD does not mean it will actually ''drive'' them better, ''drive'' as in the amps ability to control the driver in practice, at any or all parts of audible band, at normal listening levels, not clipping point.
    Magni could well be better in this regard with it's discrete output stage, I haven't tried either so I cant advise you, but in an age where a common belief is that better measurements=better sound I would not trust much of the impressions you find on hype-fi or, god forbid, ASR with regards to amp 'drive'.
    Verum One is one HP where you would be probably be better off looking into speaker amps if you want a better chance of good drive.
    Seeing what are some of the recommended choices on here for the HE-6 would be a good place to start.

    A lot of an amps sound and drive ability will come from the the power supply, big transformers and power supply caps can be a good clue.
     
    Last edited: May 17, 2021
  5. Yonany

    Yonany New

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    Thank you for the reply.
    i guess i should just get the verums first and see if im missing anything?
    just wanted to know what kind of investment i need to make in case my current setup isnt good enough.
     
  6. 7seven

    7seven Acquaintance

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    Definitely see what you think first.
    I notice the Verum is very low impedance at 8 ohm (speaker load basically) but the sensitivity is very high... a lot different to the HE-6 really (HE6 = typical HP impedance but very low sensitivity) so that wasn't a very useful suggestion.
    Typical speaker amps would have way too much gain and would likely be very noisy (among other problems), but 8 ohm is very low for a headphone amp... it's a bit of an unusual one.
    You should ask in Verum thread to see what people have used and preferred.
     
  7. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    The brand Cable Matters is my current favorite non audiophile cable manufacturer. All their cables are shielded, he USB cables are all double shielded.

    I haven’t seen another brand that shields all their cables. They might be ok for audio use. But I imagine a Pangea or likewise cable is better. If audible I don’t know.
     
  8. MichaeLeroy

    MichaeLeroy Almost "Made"

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    Supersearch can be your friend. There are 90+ pages in a Verum 1 thread, I'd invest the time reading/skimming that.

    A search on "Verum Amp" provides some indications that the Asgard 3 plays nicely with these HPs. You would not get a balanced setup with this choice, but is that really a problem? You could keep your Modi2, get the Asgard with a DAC module, or get a new DAC such as the Modius or the Geshelli J2. These alternatives give you a price range of $200 to $500.

    But don't listen to me; read the posts of trusted members who have solid experience with the Verum. I considered the Verum; but decided against it because too much drama.
     
  9. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Is there a way to pull the file structure of a RAID 5 array from a single drive? This will help me figure out what I need to replace since my last backup which was quite a while ago.

    There were 3 drives in total. Too many hard shutdowns due to the recent power outages and a couple of failed recovery/rebuild attempts, so the data and other drives are pretty much gone.
     
  10. fastfwd

    fastfwd Friend

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    No. If you've lost more than one drive in the array, you don't have enough remaining data to reconstruct the array or even get a list of filenames.
     
  11. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    That's too bad, but not the end of the world. I thought to take some screen shots of all my "artist" folders while I could still see the directory trees, but neglected to do so for some other folders. Live and learn. UPS incoming ...
     
  12. shuto

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    Is the 824 worse than the 624? Someone has an 824 for sale near me. I also saw a pair of MR8 for $50 less. If I can sell my Kefs, I'm hoping to pounce on something.
     
  13. Armaegis

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    It's been too long for me to remember exact differences between the 624 and 824, but in general opinions online seem to prefer the 624. I'd wager it's mostly because the larger 824 winds up becoming boomy and sounding scooped in all the wannabe tiny-bedroom producers out there. If you're in a smaller room, use the trim settings on the back to adjust. If you're going to be sitting super nearfield, almost nothing with an 8" woofer is going to sound right no matter how much you dial in the settings or EQ.

    Personally I did not like the MR series and felt it was a downgrade from the HR series.
     
  14. shuto

    shuto Acquaintance

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    This is helpful, thanks.

    The group here seemed to prefer 6-inch or bigger woofers. Since I'll usually be close to these speakers, it sounds like I should just focus on stuff that's right around there and avoid the 8s (and obviously the 3s and 4s).
     
  15. 7seven

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    Im interested in round sheepskin pads, was considering brainwavz but seen some post where they started flaking and the leather looked so thin underneath, perhaps paying more for dekoni's would be wiser?
    Are there any good/better options around aside from these? ZMF has a variety of leather pads for example.
    Ideally would like a thick, premium feeling pad that seals well, not fenestrated/perforated.
     
  16. MichaeLeroy

    MichaeLeroy Almost "Made"

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    FWIW, I have both Dekoni and ZMF pads. The Dekoni's are good quality but the ZMFs are nicer. Fit and impacts on sound may be more important than the luxury level of the pads. If your headphones are common to SBAF it is likely that there is a thread somewhere discussing pad swaps for your HPs that would tell you a lot more than general considerations.
     
  17. ckhirnigs

    ckhirnigs Friend

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    My only DAC, a Bifrost 2, recently stopped working. It wouldn’t power on. I tried different outlets and different power cables to no avail. In the end I had to send it back to Schiit for repair under warranty.

    I recently purchased my first two tube amps, and I was really looking forward to comparing them. I got the SW51+ first and had a couple of weeks to listen to it in my home setup (BF2 > SW51+ > Verite Closed). I ordered a Quicksilver Headphone Amp in early April, but due to some delays in production, I just received it a few days ago. For some inexplicable reason, my Bifrost 2 died a couple of days before the Quicksilver arrived.

    The latest update from Schiit for repairing my BF2 is that they are waiting on parts to come in. I saw the estimated ship time for new BF2’s is 4-6 weeks. I’m really hoping it won’t take that long for them to repair my unit.

    With the backstory out of the way, let’s move on to the general advice part of the post. I am dying here with two new tube amps and a Verite Closed with no DAC. I need some advice on the best cheap DAC to get in the mean time while my BF2 is being repaired. I’m ok with new or used as long as it’s under $150. It would also be nice if I could sell it easily in the near future once my BF2 is back home.
     
  18. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    @ckhirnigs I've seen a Modius go for that cheap before, or even if a smidge higher they're quick to resell. Or check out your local craiglist or whatever for a Focusrite/MOTU/etc. All the prosumer stuff is easy to recycle to the next wannabe bedroom producer.
     
  19. roshambo123

    roshambo123 Friend

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    Modi 3+ looks like it's in stock and ships in 1-3 days.
     
  20. MLegend

    MLegend Friend

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    Hello everyone, I own the Gungnir Multibit A2 and I've had enough of its lean, forward, & bright signature. Does anyone have any recommendations for a DAC that is more neutral/warm, less upfront & forward (stage & midrange), but with at least the same technicalities?
     
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