Shortest Way 51 (SW51+) Amp Impressions (Only)

I put the F pads on my Grado PS500x and listened to the SW 51+, and ZDT Jr. this morning at work. I like the Bass (mid bass most likely, I've little skill at describing sound) better with the F pads. It may have a touch of bloom, but it's not bothersome, just a little flavorful.

I had been listening to these amps at work - mostly using the HD660S2. Both sound really nice out of the High-Z.

Both of the amps have RK27 pots. Stock tubes in SW51+. GE JAN tubes in the ZDT Jr. Bifrost 2 OG dac. USB in from Macbook Pro.

Tool - 10,000 Days - Wings for Marie Pt. 2

• SW51+ -- some bass bloom, Danny Carey's drum work sounds just a bit less impactful than it should, but Justin's bass shines brightly. Good bass tone differentiation. Detail/Air is a bit down, probably due to the F pads.
• ZDT Jr. -- same bass bloom (maybe it's just the recording?), surprisingly, better treble with natural timbre on cymbals, Drums are impacts are more impactful. No detail complaints at all here.

Nothing But Thieves - Broken Machine (Deluxe) - Amsterdam

• SW51+ -- Cymbals are mushy, or like white noise to an extent. Not so prominent to be a big issue here however. Bass sounds pretty on. Slightly light. Drum impact is not great.
• ZDT Jr. -- I don't like the cymbals in this song, they sound a little like white noise when played fast. Bass guitar and drums seem just right. They don't stand out, but aren't hiding either. About the cymbals - sometimes other songs (Foo Fighters in particular) have this same white noise like sound in the cymbals.

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories - Doin' it Right

• SW51+ -- Everything sounds fantastic. I don't FEEL like I am missing any bass notes. I don't believe that these headphones can deliver the lowest notes impactfully, but it still sounds "right". Cymbals are probably samples, so maybe that's why they sound so clean here.
• ZDT Jr. -- OHHH this is NICE. Smooth and buttery. Again, I don't miss the bass I'm probably not hearing, but the bass "hits" are all there. This is a song for speakers IMHO. Meant to be danced to in a club. Room reverb sounds very nice. It's probably another digital effect tho. I'm not sure if Daft Punk records with real instruments or if they sample everything. I'm good with it either way!

Coheed and Cambria - Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind - Shoulders

• ZDT Jr. -- Starts with that crunchy guitar. Got chills! Vocals are forward in this recording. Cymbals are once again - just ok. Not offensive. Not too noise like. Guitars sound damn nice. I think this recording is too hot. Not enough dynamic range here...loud and too compressed. Might sound better in the truck or at home on speakers.
• SW51+ -- Guitar crunch is great again here. Treble is not as prominent as ZDT Jr.
• Both amps made me decrease volume due to hot recording. Possibly a good data point to use to evaluate how a system handles music that is recorded too hot and with little dynamic range.

The Goo Goo Dolls - Magnetic (Deluxe) - Come to Me

• This song is one I've heard on all of my systems and I listen to it a LOT with my wife. It's OUR song so I know it well. My wife and I have seen them twice live so I know how this sounds live in outdoor venues.
• SW51+ -- Acoustic guitar sounds so good. Good bass note delineation. Cymbals are present and clear and just great. Wonderful vocals. I wish the recording had a little less DR compression.
• ZDT Jr. -- That intro! Perfect acoustic guitar. Great cymbals. This sounds a bit "fuller" than the SW51+. More meat on the bone, but it's still very close.

Jack White - Fear Of The Dawn - Fear Of The Dawn/The White Raven

• ZDT Jr. -- Powerful bass, fantastic crunch on the guitars. Does not sound DR compressed. Great balance of tone. I think this is a pretty good recording.
• SW51+ -- Same powerful bass, same crunchy guitars. This sounds a bit more speaker like than the ZDT Jr. That's good thing. No treble problems at all.

This is all my ears can take of these F-Pads. Overall - I agree with most others, that the two amplifiers (with my setup) sound very very close. I'd hate to have to part with either amplifier. I think both were money very well spent.

 

Dynamatted HD650 with ZMF perf lambskin. The Dynamat and Perf Lambskin help a lot in tightening the bass. Where I got it wrong was doing the spider and foam removal which I assume makes my HD650 quite undamped bass-wise and the SW51+ in High Z takes it over the top. Maybe that's why I thought High-Z was so much bloomier while @ChaChaRealSmooth thought it was mild. Likely mine now has massive bass overshoot due to high Z out and no foam to hold the impedance peak in check. If I could pivot now it would definitely be HD600 for the more open baffle (Axel Grell confirmed HD600 is more open than HD650 in a podcast and the difference affects more than FR) and Custom Cans mod with foam left intact and ZMF pad for the focused sound.

 

Last night I turned on the SW51 after not listening to it for many many months. I have the amp specifically for the HD600 and for the first time I'm using High Z. The holography is wonderful and weirdly it's the widest amp I've heard these headphones on. Running off SE outs on Yggdrasil OG/A2.

I hadn't looked at this topic in a while and didn't think to attribute what I'm hearIng on the high Z out. I figured I just forgot what it sounds like. Now it all makes sense.

Bought at the original ~$400 price and very happy with it

 

I do concur with the above. I've never heard the Senn HD650's (stock) sound better or more open than with the SW. It's definitely not the last word in resolution, and bass impact, tactility, speed etc is average. But it's just such an involving listen: just holographic and real, and that's really rare, especially with the HD6xx series.

 

I can see what you mean now that I'm trying out HD600 with High-Z. I still think High-Z is the true resolution mode of the SW51+ but HD600 with High-Z becomes a bit punishing and is pushing BF2OG to the edge for me, which is a crazy thing to even say. If the BF2/64 is edgier and less thick than BF2OG which from forum impressions it is, that would get into wince territory. I'll be honest, the SW51+ and HD600 combo seems brutally punishing on DACs for me and I'm not sure I'm gonna keep HD600 since the HD650 blooms up the bass and damps the treble to sound so much more pleasing. If the Multiform card for BF2 comes out and makes the treble truly damn smooth and more resolving at the same time like they're saying in the Gungnir 2 thrread, then hell yes.

 

So after all this time I wonder what's the best DAC combo for SW51+ with HD6XX in mind? (Minus the Wavedream test that happened awhile ago )

I've re-bought a SW51+ to use with my 6XX. From my experience Bifrost 2 OG was close but has something funky in the treble and a bit veiled sounding. OG Modi Multibit was actually pretty good. Modi Multibit 2 too bright.

 

Yggdrasil LiM is better with the HD600 imo as the treble is already mild mannered. Maybe the A2 would be a great fit. From what I read here there A2 is a bit similar to the Bifrost 2

 

Thanks, not sure I can swing that much on a DAC right now. I was looking in the sub $1k. That cheaper Soekris might be worth trying.

 

I personally liked the Metrum Amethyst significantly better than the BF2 OG with my SW51. Texture and timbre were two of the upgrades that stood out to me (using optical connection from Amethyst--usb is quite poor).

When I upgraded to the Onyx detail improved slightly, but the Onyx was a bit less warm and had more forward upper mids, which made it less relaxed, and sometimes a bit sharp to my ears.

All these impressions were with the HD600, and were mostly with vocal and natural-instrument heavy music, so I can't speak much to other genres. Also, I like the Metrum/NOS sound, but many don't, so obviously take that into account.

 

Anyone happen to have an extra SW51+ faceplate?