The All Purpose Advice Thread

My friend is an audio engineer and he was my gateway into the hd600. He uses the hd600 to mix the mids and dt880 for bass and treble. A fairly cheap setup, personally My time with the Elex wasn't that enlightening, the lower treble seemed wonky and the timbre is off by a quite bit. However, my setup wasn't as accurate as it is now and this is all going off a hybrid tube amp. No experience with Sonarworks, also my friend records acoustic music. The few audio engineers I've met have a dt880 or 990 on hand for acoustic recording. I would definitely suggest another headphone for bass alongside the hd6xx, couldn't tell you which one exactly. I have the dt1990 and find that to be accurate for some recording issues especially near the 8k peak. Bass is good but a bit tame to call it a good measurement for mixing.

 

So really looking to get a bifrost 2 soon but I see A2 Gungnir USB gen 5 for same price used. That extra SE out really makes me want Gungnir. Kind of torn. 85% headphone listening, one balanced headamp and 2 SE is what I have. I can always run an SE out of liquid platinum which sounds more transparent than OG saga passive.. opinions ?

 

I *finally* pulled the trigger on a LYR 3. I want to pickup a pair of Sennheiser cans. 6XX, 600 or 650 is the question. I have a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 600 OHMs (Dekoni pads) and ZMF Classics. It seems like the 6XX manufacturing got wonky in the end (per thread). I read the other threads and conclude that it is preference for 600 or 650. It seems most go 650. I am in search of mids and advice.

 

Context: had DT880 (250ohm) for years and loads of time with both HD650 and HD600, but no experience with Schiit amps at all. I'm weirdly okay with HP-3's harsher sparkle but can't easily stand the treble on HE4XX, so maybe I'm not totally deaf yet!

Are your DT880s felt disc modded? You'll be able to tell if there's... a felt disc under the foam on the ear-facing side of the baffle. Seems like some of the units out in the wild come with less harsh treble than traditionally attributed to them stock. If so then they should measure close to "flat" save for a warm bump lower down and a mild elevation around 9-10kHz; the sound signature of the HD600 will be close to what you're used to save for the lesser bass extension; DT880 had more present sub-bass of similar quality to HD600.

Did measurements of the DT880s with and without the felt disc, latter was VERY v-shaped, makes me wonder if the disc wasn't all there was to mods. I contacted Beyerdynamic and found my unit was made in 2010, if that helps any.

HD600 has less wide headstage but more depth (DT880 headstage is weird! Super extended to sides but pretty close to face). Sennheisers also less warm than the Beyers as far as I'm concerned, but not by very much. Consensus states that HD650 is supposed to be more resolving with better matched drivers, but I couldn't hear that with my (admittedly uninspiring) upstream— I just say go with whichever has the tonality you prefer.

The HD650s were a greatly relaxed listen, but you get kinda close if you use HD600s with very worn out pads (haha). The 650s have a more gentle midrange-through-treble transition than the 600s, but that's a matter of preference for loads of people; I know I'm in the minority siding with 600s. Mids I'd say the HD650 are more pleasing, moreso than either the HD600 or DT880 for vocals, but I like how the HD600 does string overtones more.

Microdynamics are comparable but there's more "mush" and haze to the sound of the Beyers, kinda like a mask to smoothen out some nuance, that isn't present on HD650 or HD600. I think the Senns are more resolving by half. The Beyers might have an edge in macrodynamics/impact, but it's negligible and falls far short of many other cans.

I ultimately find the Beyers less resolving than any of the Sennheisers listed, which is ultimately why I let the 880s go despite the sentimental value. Still, might side with them depending on preferences and genres listened; the Beyers do EDM much better than the Senns

As for amps, I'll leave that to others but say that there are popular pairings shared in the Schiit amps thread

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the suggestion!
Sorry but the Valhalla2 is famous about its anti-tubey sound.

Any other suggestion for max $1000?

 

Maybe Bottlehead Crack w. Speedball? They show up used for pretty cheap sometimes. A nice one with upgraded caps sold on headfi recently for like $350 or something. I don't have a use for it now, or I would have jumped on it.

 

There is the Hagerman Tuba.
https://hagerman-audio-labs.myshopify.com/products/tuba-vacuum-tube-headphone-amplifier

 

Hi all - Hope you're all staying safe and healthy. Curious as to people's thoughts about a budget-friendly headphone amplifier for Focal Utopia in a living room system. So far I've tried with Utopias my former ECP Torpedo 3, my Ragnarok 1.5, and the loaner Ragnarok 2. Of those three, I preferred the Ragnarok 2. I recently purchased a big boy preamp and monster speaker amp for my speaker system, so the Ragnarok 1.5 is out of the chain for now. Headphone chain will be: source --> Yggdrasil Analog 2 --> RCA outputs --> [new headphone amp].

Dream amp is ECP DSHA-3F. Don't want to spend that right now. Thinking of keeping new amp to $500-750 range (used or new). RCA inputs. Either XLR or RCA out is fine. Will be stacked on top of Yggdrasil, with maybe 6" of clearance to shelf above. Bonus points if the amp works well with Sennheiser 300-ohm cans.

Current amp shortlist:

• Schiit Asgard 3 - $200
• Schiit Lyr 3 - $500
• Headamp Gilmore Lite MK2 - $500
• Massdrop Eddie Current ZDT Jr. (with no hum issues) - used $?
• Shortest Way? Not sure how tall it is or if still in production.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and appreciate any advice.

 

Not sure how much help this is. I have Asgard 3 and SW51+. Zampotech is still making them and I'm pretty sure you can still snag one. My headphones are 6xx and LCD2F. While the 6xx is great in the SW51+ my other amp is liquid platinum and they are probably better in LP. Depending on preference I guess. I think SW51+ is like a super Valhalla2 for me it's about a draw. I think a couple guys around here have some focals and preffered sw51+ over liquid platinum

Asgard 3, with both headphones going between all 3 amps it's amazing how good it is in comparison. Not sure about Utopia though as I have never had focals yet. Asgard 3 and LCD2F is really fun with guitars and bassy music I can leave it on, nice pot and it's quiet with no noise. I didn't think it would be that good. My baseline comparison is to 6xx and liquid platinum with modi multibit for 18 months.

 

Can't speak for other Focals, but the Elex sounds very engaging off the SW51+. Resolving, smooth, clean, plenty of body, and the combo ameliorates Focal timbre issues to a noticeable extent. I hesitate to say it's an ideal match, though: the high-ish OI blunts some of the things the Focals excel at (transients,etc.). I'm sensing a not-shit, low OI amp gets the most out of the Focals' strengths (and you live with the weaknesses). Would the THX be an option?

 

Your first sentence is partly why I was considering the Asgard 3 and the Headamp. Overall, I preferred the Ragnarok to the T3 with them and figured the OI may have something to do with it. But only on low gain mode.

THX would be an option, but I remember reading about how it’s very neutral and clean which I thought may sound sterile with the Focals vs. an amp with more body. Did you mean the 789 or 887?

 

Gungnir SE is known to be "sub-optimal" and is holding back the Gungnir. BF2 does not share this problem as SE and XLR are basically equivalent

 

Quick intro: I would like a tube preamp and I have chosen Schiit from countless reviews of quality/reliability and price for my setup. Being said, I am having a hard time pulling the trigger on one of the below 3 setups. Based on the which preamp it changes the DAC I would get, due to pricing are my options I would like to understand and go with.

I would like to have suited Schiit gear.

Schiit Setups
Setup 1: Modi-MB ~> Freya+ ~> Vidar

Setup 2: Bitfrost2 ~> Freya gen 1 ~> Vidar

Setup 3: Bifrost2 ~> Saga+ ~> Vidar amp

I am open to hear other options but am really liking the Schiit frame work and background.


Footnote*I have wandered around the forum and many other reviews but wanted to get straight to the point on opinions from the above 3 setups instead of piece milling or triangulating threads together! gave it a solid week of that and I would like to have some live opinions.

Best,

 

Seem like we are chasing each other here! Thanks for trying to repost!

Honestly, I am not sure. Maybe I am working backwards here, my intentions where to first get a good stack set up and then invest outwardly from there. Budget is under $2000k for a schiit stack and then $500-$700 speakers. From my research so far I would like to go with efficient speakers. This was my next step after resolving the 3 setups I was looking at.

Thanks!

 

Hi everyone, which courier service (Fedex, USPS or UPS) would be best to ship a costly tube amplifier (>2000 USD) from USA to Australia?

I’m prepared to wear the extra costs of tariffs and customs.

 

Awesome, thanks for the input. I suppose if I upgrade with an additional Vidar I could go up to the freya+. I am (should I say think) a more heavier tube person after listening to my friend comparing his two different setups, just pinged my heart strings alittle more.

Any suggestion on where to start my journey looking for speaker for the setup3 you suggested? About to dive into that rabbit hole now!

Best,