Tachikoma
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Tachikoma

Almost "Made", Male

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Why are portable amp/dacs never compared to desktop amp/dacs? But I guess it would be funny if a $1.5k portable is outperformed by a Magni Mar 7, 2024

Tachikoma was last seen:
Mar 28, 2024 at 9:39 AM
    1. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      Why are portable amp/dacs never compared to desktop amp/dacs? But I guess it would be funny if a $1.5k portable is outperformed by a Magni
      1. Lyander likes this.
      2. View previous comments...
      3. rhythmdevils
        Mar 8, 2024
      4. Cryptowolf
        Cryptowolf
        I have a Gryphon, Phonitor X, and Piety. When I travel for work, I take the Gryphon because it sounds great with xbass and drives my iems without hiss. Piety gets more home use with iems because of convenience.
        Mar 10, 2024
      5. Cryptowolf
        Cryptowolf
        The Piety and Gryphon are different flavors, though I have no strong preference for IEMs. If the Piety were battery-driven, maybe it would be my portable amp, but the Gryphon has nicer portable features.
        Mar 10, 2024
        Kernel Kurtz likes this.
    2. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      So, I have a form of tinnitus where I get a ~500 Hz whine whenever I hear low-frequency sounds. Have I reached the actual end of this hobby?
      1. gsanger and Thad E Ginathom like this.
      2. View previous comments...
      3. Claritas
        Claritas
        But it's possible your body is "telling" you to take a break from listening altogether for a while. That doesn't *have* to be a bad thing. I couldn't use my dominant hand for what turned out to be 14 months. After a few weeks, I realized that I had to teach myself to write with my non-dominant hand. I wish you a complete recovery.
        Jul 27, 2023
        Cryptowolf and Tachikoma like this.
      4. Serious
        Serious
        Definitely don't lose hope! Tinnitus can have remedies (like pink/white noise, tones, even certain meds or supplements) and many simply haven't tried them. My brother says he got a custom retainer to fix his jaw clenching thing and it improved his tinnitus.
        Jul 27, 2023
        Cryptowolf likes this.
      5. gsanger
        gsanger
        Fellow tinnitus listener here. I find great satisfaction listening at low volumes (around 65 dB) in near field. There should be some way you can find to still enjoy music, but it might take some time to find the right combination. Maybe some bookshelf speakers with a decent LF rolloff and a chair rumbler so you feel bass, rather than hear it?
        Jul 29, 2023
        Tachikoma, Tchoupitoulas and Claritas like this.
    3. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      The Sony MDR-MV1 is actually rather nice - balanced FR, decent technicalities. They're definitely legit at ~$300 (local discounted price).
      1. Sqveak, Claritas, JK47 and 4 others like this.
      2. ColdsnapBry
        ColdsnapBry
        they look pretty comfortable too?
        Jul 6, 2023
      3. Tachikoma
        Tachikoma
        Jul 6, 2023
      4. Armaegis
        Armaegis
        Interesting to see them finally add something to their "professional" lineup. It's been a while.
        Jul 6, 2023
    4. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      TIL you can run a HD6XX with Grado pads. Sounds pretty decent too
      1. Jinxy245, Cryptowolf, Lyander and 3 others like this.
      2. View previous comments...
      3. Philimon
        Philimon
        How are you keeping the Grado pads attached? Double-sided tape?
        May 4, 2023
        Lyander likes this.
      4. Tachikoma
        Tachikoma
        @Philimon just pressure, in the picture I shared, since I was still deciding which grado pads sound the best. Right now I'm trying weak paper glue. Double-sided tape would work, but it might leave residues, or peel the screen when you remove the pads.

        Result of glue experiment: Nah doesn't work.
        May 4, 2023
        Lyander and Philimon like this.
      5. E_Schaaf
        E_Schaaf
        I loved doing this too. You can actually use the plastic pad mounting rings from an aftermarket Senn pad to hold the foams on and snap them in for a cleaner fit... Or you could run the drivers in no enclosures at all for a more porta-pro style fit. https://imgur.com/a/16fuc42 The enclosureless, no-damping foam pad config is also about 8dB more efficient. Pretty wild.
        May 5, 2023
        Tachikoma and Philimon like this.
    5. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      Heard the DCA Expanse. If I owned one, I would probably rip out half of the damping, at least.
      1. rhythmdevils likes this.
      2. View previous comments...
      3. ChaChaRealSmooth
        ChaChaRealSmooth
        I'm just going to say that if you have the chance to see the Expanse disassembled, you'll know what I mean. I agree it sounds way overdamped but the damping itself isn't the whole issue
        Oct 31, 2022
        Tachikoma likes this.
      4. penguins
        penguins
        I'm a bit late, but just saw this - educated guess is that the passive components and the wave guide inside are probably a big part of this whole "tuning the waveform" thing that makes Expanse + Stealth sound much more like live music vs "a headphone".

        However, in the process of putting all these things in, yes, it dampened the sound. Tradeoffs.
        Nov 4, 2022
      5. penguins
        penguins
        Granted, this is only based on a few brief listens, a brief glance (of a privately owned pair, NOT ripping apart a pair at a demo / public event) where I may have missed a few things, and the videos DCA made with HF (I think) where they talk about the wave guide and managing long wave forms for bass vs short wave forms for treble, etc.

        Curious what everyone else thinks too.
        Nov 4, 2022
    6. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      Running headphones out of my DAC's pre-out using an RCA -> 3.5 mm female adapter. This... sounds good.
      1. View previous comments...
      2. SoupRKnowva
        SoupRKnowva
        what dac is it?
        Sep 6, 2022
      3. Cspirou
        Cspirou
        Are you using high impedance headphones?
        Sep 6, 2022
      4. Tachikoma
        Tachikoma
        Singxer sda-2 (10 ohm output impedance), and I’m using phones ranging from 32 ohms to 300 ohms. The iFi Gryphon (100 ohm output impedance) is also good with 300 ohm headphones and IEMs.

        All dynamics (hd650, ms-pro, es-r10, aliexpress r10 clone) of course, no planars.
        Sep 6, 2022
        hucifer likes this.
    7. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      The Fiio FD7 might be the most plankton-rich earphones I've ever heard.
    8. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      Hmm... the vali 2+ is actually a rather nice preamp if you use the headphone out instead of the preamp out (which is really mushy sounding)
      1. nishan99 likes this.
      2. View previous comments...
      3. rlow
        rlow
        Preamp into what exactly?
        Jul 31, 2021
      4. Tachikoma
        Tachikoma
        Another tube amp (3-stage 45 PP). It has its own volume pots (highly inconvenient dual mono "stepped" pots), and for whatever reason, it did not like having the Sys in front of it either. Then again, neither did the Magni 1.
        Jul 31, 2021
      5. Tachikoma
        Tachikoma
        Ok, I have definitely exaggerated the differences. However, I still detect a decrease in bass definition and softened treble from the preouts (but not with a very high level of certainty... and I'm tired of AB-ing). Would be nice to have more data points.
        Aug 1, 2021
    9. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      Just realized that putting two pots in series really fucks with your sound, even if one of them is maxed out, at least with a 1k ohm source.
      1. cameng318 likes this.
      2. View previous comments...
      3. gixxerwimp
        gixxerwimp
        I'm following @atomicbob's SOP of passive attenuator and amp pot set at unity gain. Does this count as 2 pots in series? Maybe it's anti-synergy of the source and pot impedances.
        Jun 2, 2021
        crenca likes this.
      4. Tachikoma
        Tachikoma
        @crenca significant loss of detail and immediacy. Having a Sys between the parasound dac2000 and magni/45 tube amp significantly worsened their sound. I first noticed this with the Magni, actually.

        Although cable length is a possible confounder, the setup with Sys had 1 m cables, while the setup without has a 2 m cable.
        Jun 2, 2021
        crenca and gixxerwimp like this.
      5. Tachikoma
        Tachikoma
        @gixxerwimp Yeah, its possible that lower impedance sources won't be quite as badly affected. The Theta Gen VA (which happens to be available locally...) with its 1 ohm output impedance probably wouldn't care as much.

        The setup you described is exactly how I had previously configured my own setup. The dual mono pots on my amp are such a pain in the ass to use.
        Jun 2, 2021
        gixxerwimp likes this.
    10. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      Have replaced the motorolas on my Pioneer M22 with original Sankens. Slightly less bass, but feels more "real". Harmonics sound nicer too.
    11. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      shorturl.at/xTUX5 "harsh pair, do not do a copy , Don't play the way, no emergency goods." I need to see what this was in Chinese
      1. Tachikoma
        Tachikoma
        Apr 17, 2021
    12. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      I have a 45 push pull with ef86(triode)+6cg7. Would 6CG7+6H30 work with 3A on the 6.3V supply, and will it increase open loop LF response?
      1. Tachikoma
        Tachikoma
        ... the need for more open loop LF may have been alleviated by swapping in a pair of Shuguang CV-181Z from my stash. Still rolls at 20 Hz without feedback but wtf is this bass. Anyway, the answer to my question seems to be "nope", much too close to the max rating.
        Apr 15, 2021
    13. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      Head-case has been down for a few days now. I know most people here don't like them very much, but its still a bit of a loss.
      1. Hrodulf
        Hrodulf
        Yes, I was eagerly waiting Kerry's take on the CFA3. I hope they survive.
        Apr 14, 2021
      2. Tachikoma
        Tachikoma
        and the portable electrostatic amp...
        Apr 14, 2021
      3. Claritas
        Claritas
        I was checking periodically. It's working again.
        May 16, 2021
        Tachikoma likes this.
    14. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      I got a 45pp amp, but it won't fit EML45s (only 5cm between the center of each tube socket). Can I tilt one of the sockets to make room? >_>
    15. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      If anyone has ever wondered, yes, the Pioneer M22 is quiet enough to run Grados.
      1. famish99 and nishan99 like this.
      2. Tachikoma
        Tachikoma
        Also, the MS-Pro scales surprisingly well with amping. Wasn't sure it was a keeper until I had done this.
        Jan 15, 2021
    16. Tachikoma
    17. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      If you own a pair of Stax SR-003s, find an old pair of foamies, rip out the inner jacket and stretch them over the tips.
    18. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
    19. Tachikoma
      Tachikoma
      Auditioned a few chifi IEMs on a whim. TFZ No.3 Ti: disappointing, Fiio FA7: bad, Fiio FH7: I might like this better than the ier-z1r
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