The All Purpose Advice Thread

wouldn't the stock connection deteriorate more easily over time? I live quite far away from the US and don't want my headphones to break or get damaged from normal use.

@Hands I'd like a warmer sounding amp definitely to pair with the paradox if I do get them. And I don't want to buy a tube amp as in my country it is quite hard to get hold of tubes and it would be a hassle. Otherwise I'm either for the Omni, if any b-stock is available when I get to US, or the HD650 it is.

Project Polaris being $250, is there any dac you could recommend under $100 that's neutral?

 

I own the Polaris and 650s. Very good match and leaps above low cost OTL and quasi OTL tube amps. Way better balanced and shall I say more accurate than Magni, Asgard2, and Lake People G109s I owned. Flexible as all get out to tailor the sound a bit even with the stock 650s.

I also agree with Hands on the 650 vs T50rp driver. Having owed a few planars and especially the T50RP based Mad Dogs, I concur with Hands general observations.

As for dacs under $100 that are neutral, nope none exist, full stop. Closest to that would be the new 4490 M2U but even that is a bit warm on an absolute scale. I'd be all ears if anyone can come up with some ideas on a good under $200 dac that is better all around than the updated m2u. I know gov 2+ will probably come up but I am just not a fan, although some may like.

 

A schiit modi 2 is the popular choice for a cheap dac.

 

Hi guys,
I'm currently debating what amp/dac combo to buy from audio gd. My budget is $750(though I could go a bit higher)and will be pairing it with a pair of paradox slants and perhaps a modded he600 down the line. The ones I am considering are the nfb 10.33, nfb 10ES3, or the nfb 28. I'm wondering which is more likely to synergize better with the headphones mentioned. Any suggestions about which dac/amp to buy or alternative options are all welcome.

 

Sounds like I can be happy with the BW then, thanks.

I'm not interested in tubes for practical reasons so that's why I was curious about BW. I love tubes though!

 

Hi everyone,

I mainly listen to headphones but also spend a large chunk of listening time using bookshelf speakers too. Because of this I picked up the Ragnarok amp as an all in one solution and it has fit my needs perfectly so far! It is the only amplifier I have heard of that has this dual functionality and honestly I am surprised because that feature was such a huge selling point for me.
I have been using it with my SVS Ultra bookshelf speakers but recently have been looking to upgrade them mainly due to their lack of resolution and timbre in the highs and through the midrange compared to my HD800S headphones. They are not bad speakers however I am sure that it can get better. I have struggled to find potential replacements due to three concerns. The amp is relativity low power so the speakers would have to be efficient, they would have to be bookshelf sized due to room constraints and lastly any upgrade would have to be a significant improvement over what I'm already using.
Because of this I have been wondering what speakers other people have tried with the Ragnarok and how it worked out for them. Feel free to comment if you have exprience using speakers off of this amplifier, the speakers don't have to match my criteria but if you have any reccomendations for me as well that would be appricated.
I have been looking into Omega speakers which seem to check all the boxes but I am open to exploring other potential cadidates as well.

 

Hey everyone, I just bought a small form computer to replace my laptop and I need some simple speakers to go with it. They need to be small and portable since I'll be traveling with them back to China next month.

I was considering some active speakers like the Audioengine A2 but I heard they sound pretty anemic. I'm currently looking at the Riva S or maybe even the new Oppo Sonica. But I am open to feedback!

They don't need to be the best sounding since I do most of my audio listening with headphones. But I want them to sound reasonably good and be portable. They don't necessarily need to have an internal battery since they'll be plugged in at all times but the lighter and more compact for traveling the better!

Thanks!

 

Trying to stop my friend from buying Bakoon Hpa-21 for his HD800S (personally i think paying full price for that is not so good value proposition) , so i decided to ask here for an amp that i can recommend to him, his dac is Bifrost Multibit. The budget will be around ~1,500$ i think.
I remember that Ecp L-2 and BW is great with HD800 but one is very hard to find and i'm not so sure when is the next BW run. Tube or SS is fine for him i think.

 

Hey! I need some advice from the portable dudes here.

I need a DAP of some sort to work out with. Looking for cheap (probably budget around $200) and easy to use. I will be driving Shure SE535's. Sound quality isn't the absolute most important thing, more concerned with durability and ease of use. Could use my android phone, but don't know of any useful flac players and I would be concerned with taking up a lot of storage. Sansa clip is popular, but only 8gb storage or no album art would bug me. Previously owned and sold a Fiio X3 gen 2 - pretty meh, but could work.

What would you guys recommend?

 

Clip+ can take microSD cards, up to 32GB and potentially 64GB(?). (Source) I love my Clip.

Album art doesn't matter on a portable player if it's not your phone. Looking at the screen except to scroll/play only drains battery life.

 

Awesome missed that. Looks like the newer clip sport may be able to show album artwork as well - roughly $50. Fiio has a newer model the M3 thats $50 that looks semi interesting as well.

In the $200 range looks like Fiio X3, Sony NW-A25, some I basso stuff, maybe a cowon Plenue D. My quick guess is these are all poop and I should save the money and just go Clip and be happy with the money saved.

 

I agree. Especially because your use will be workouts. The Clip variants are small, unobtrusive, lightweight, and durable. Plus you can Rockbox if you want, at least the earlier versions.

Clip to your waistband and you're done. Only thing you'll ever feel or notice is the headphone cord.

Brave man working out with SE535s...

 

You saying I'm brave for using a $250 iem or just plain old listening to the Shure's. I don't think much of them, and if they died/broke/stunk and had to be replaced I wouldn't lose any sleep. Their main use right now is late night youtube / netflix on my phone or for mowing the lawn in between beer runs. I like how they are pretty snug in the ear.

Thanks for the push in the less is more direction.

 

Have you considered the vibro mk2? if you're worried about the hd650 not having enough bass for you, this may be the way to go. You could use a project ember and the $400 bifrost/modi2u.

 

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I'm having trouble finding prior posts on this...

Could anyone recommend good tubes to pair with the Mjolnir 2? I've tried looking around online for some insights and everywhere leads to a giant rabbit hole ending in $400+ NOS Russian tubes designed by Stalin or something. I really just want something that is decent, can be replaced in the foreseeable future, and won't break my bank. I'm not even sure what is reasonable to pay for tubes but anything under $100 would seem fine to me.

If it's helpful, right now I've tried briefly the stock tubes that Schiit gives, and I didn't prefer them to the LISST's. The bass impact seemed noticeably less on the stock tubes than on the LISST's.

Are tubes something that legitimately need to burn-in? I haven't given the stock tubes much of a chance; maybe I need to give them more time?

 

The former. Always wanted to hear them, but don't use my portable rig enough now to justify another purchase like that.

And you're welcome!

 

Mjolnir uses same tubes as Lyr 2, Vali 2, and output tubes of Valhalla 2 and many other amps. The 6922's are pretty versitile and you can find them with a couple of different names (from Schiit's website) 6BZ7, 6DJ8, 6922, ECC88. I reviewed a couple different tubes on the Lyr 2 here, and you can find lots of reviews in the other threads for the schiit amps listed above. I specifically liked the Russian 6H23P-EB's but it looks like my regular source only has the premium versions available for $60, which still isn't too bad. I also thought the $25 Electro-Harmonix tubes were a significant improvement over stock.

I found thetubestore.com to be a easy to deal with, reputable place to buy but there are many. Ebay can be less expensive, but there are many risks (are tubes matched, used, really NOS etc).

Burn in is real, but is often over exaggerated. I found that the stock schiit canadian tubes dont get much better with time and that a swap will produce a significant gains. Most say burn in should be complete in the first 50 - 100 hours. If you really want to test, leave the amp on for a day or two.

 

I would suggest looking for eBay deals on Valvo or Phillips Miniwatt tubes from the '50s and '60s. If you're diligent you should be able to snatch a matched pair for around $100. Look for a delta in the tube code.

I'm currently running too-expensive Russian tubes in my Valhalla 2 and they sound great but honestly if I were doing it again I'd likely snag a pair of matched Herleen-produced Valvos or Phillips for around $100 and call it a day. They sound fantastic and aren't going to break the bank.

 

Can anyone recommend OTL amp for HD600? I heard bottlehead OTL amp and it is hard to get it where I live and do not really want to spend time to assemble it for myself. I have terrible soldering skills so prefer ready made one. Budget is under $400.

I was told that Schiit Vali 2 is not OTL but great value for money and go well with HD600. Not sure Schiit Lyr 2 is OTL though...

Thank you.