Comments on Profile Post by MellowVelo

I adore my 3F with all my headphones, but the synergy it has with the Utopia is something special.

At what volume do you typically listen? Any issues with brightness/treble with the amp and DAC pairing?

@ilikebananafudge_ I still have not heard the 3FN with Utopia. I hope to have a chance soon.

@zonto I'm typically around 9 o' clock with a 4V source. I was worried that the DAC/amp pairing would be fatiguingly bright in the treble, but it's really not. I'm quite amazed at how the 3FN nearly eliminates the metallic timbre and resolves in such a non-fatiguing manner. I wonder, though, if the Utopia would take things too far with this DAC/amp pairing.

That's what I'm worried about with Yggdrasil A2/OG (via RCA out) and Utopia. Haven't had a chance to try it yet, but hope to soon.

@zonto I use Yggdrasil+ A2/OG with 3F and Utopia and I love it, but I use the Yggdrasil in NOS mode with HQPlayer and I use the ZMF Focal pads, both of which make the treble a bit smoother and more laid back.

@zonto is there a reason you're using RCA instead of XLR? By the way, if I digitally attenuate the XLR output by 6dB to match the RCA output, I listen around 10 o' clock.

My system is in the living room, so the XLR outputs are reserved for the Coda electronics used in the speaker system.

Alternative approach would be to use the RCA outputs from the preamp into the headphone amp, but I think the preamp adds 12 dB gain by default and I wanted to avoid that gain / extra noise and circuitry of having multiple active gain stages.

@zonto I recommend going directly from the DAC to the 3FN. One of the strengths of the 3FN is how amazingly quiet it is. When I turn the volume knob all the way up, I detect no noise in my very quiet listening space. You don't want to add any noise to this, nor do the Focals need any additional gain. A standard RCA output is already more than sufficient to drive the headphones beyond comfortable listening levels.

@MellowVelo That's the plan. I'll probably just end up trying the T4, 3FN and Mjolnir 3 from the RCA outputs. I want to try them all and they're all limited editions so... my wallet hates me and I still haven't ordered the Mjolnir 3!

@zonto that'll be quite a shootout! I haven't heard the T4 and Mjolnir 3 yet, but I can say that my system has a synergy right now that I've never experienced before. I know that my desire for better is endless, so I'm trying not to overthink the matter and instead enjoy this delightful pairing of gear. It's quite wonderful.

How dare you be content with your system and just enjoy music like some plebian?! That's not what we do here! :)