That's like asking would you recommend a tomato over a peach...
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$500 cans on, this is how you dream right - Official Headphone Thread
- Thread starter HiResDes
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That's like asking would you recommend a tomato over a peach...
FallingEdge
Member
lol fair enough
hahahahha, that comparison really made me laugh, I do apologize for my ignorance.
I think I am just trying to find an excuse to get the m80s as those were a pair that I really wanted when I first started to really look at headphones, even if I don't need them atm.
One word of warning, the vali is susceptible to more interference and you definitely want to plug your headphones into it first before you turn it on. My EF2A did the same thing too, I think it's kind of a regular thing for lower budget hybrid amps.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Just ordered these.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I9UKKS0/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Think it's a good deal? Ah well, bought them anyway.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I9UKKS0/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Think it's a good deal? Ah well, bought them anyway.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Probably! Been wanting to try something new, and these are in my price range.
If it weren't I certainly wouldn't have posted it in here multiple times
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Ahaha whoops. Haven't been checking the thread for awhile now seeing that I haven't really got much new audio stuff till now. 
Jzero
Member
lol you're such a dick. I love it.
Phat Michael
Banned
Amp/dac and hd800 balanced cable arrive tomorrow night! This is going to be an awesome weekend! Lcd3 arrives next week as well. The monster is almost complete...
yes! i bought it at full price a few years ago when it came out, and it was worth it
Phat Michael
Banned
got my new centrance power supply - running the HD800s single ended off this. It sounds amazing, even with zero burn in. My god these things are so clear...so clinical. Really like the sound.
Tomorrow they will be run balanced off a much better AMP/DAC - but for now this is very very nice.
Tomorrow they will be run balanced off a much better AMP/DAC - but for now this is very very nice.
So excited! Bought the HD 650's at $314 from Amazon and they are coming today 
I currently have...
Shure SRH840
Shure SRH940
Sennheiser PC350 Xense (Gaming use)
Denon AH-D600 (Growing meh on these)
Westone W4R (my portables)
These are my first opens... running through my Xonar Xense amped card
I currently have...
Shure SRH840
Shure SRH940
Sennheiser PC350 Xense (Gaming use)
Denon AH-D600 (Growing meh on these)
Westone W4R (my portables)
These are my first opens... running through my Xonar Xense amped card
I've read up on it like pretty thoroughly and I've found unbalanced versus balanced doesn't really affect headphones, especially quality cans that don't share a common Conductor throughout the cable. It's pretty much not a factor. Also if you're running a balanced cable relatively close to the source it doesn't seem like you'd ever pick up noise.
Phat Michael
Banned
have you listened to the difference between the exact same setup running balanced vs unbalanced?
The major selling point for me was that Oppo said with their PM1/2 - if you run balanced cables you get 4x the power and 2x the voltage - which should be pretty significant?
In any event - the Audeze comes with a balanced cable...and the CH800 S was a christmas present to me so im not paying anything extra.
Phat Michael
Banned
Ill run some back to back tests tomorrow as I should have everything then.
Phat Michael
Banned
That and the headphone can be driven better with more power running through it. The Damn things are so expensive though. The CH800S for the hd800s is $389usd retail..
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
The V-Moda M80s are great, they are what I have, but after a while the top of your head hurts. Which is why I'm looking for over-ear headphones (with low noise leak) for work to replace them.
fluffydelusions
Member
Ordered! How do these compare to my now broken sennheiser hd 280s?
2x voltage + 4x power basically tells me that the Oppo HA-1 is a bridged amplifier. Anyone remember bridge mode on cheap stereo power amps from folks like Rotel? I believe its the same principle here, just that its done in a way to allow for differential signalling since the Oppo HA-1 claims to be fully balanced.
For that reason, I don't think the balanced connection itself is all that useful for headphones unless you've got some awful noise issues. Although there's no reason not to use it if its available.
For that reason, I don't think the balanced connection itself is all that useful for headphones unless you've got some awful noise issues. Although there's no reason not to use it if its available.
Have you tried bending the head band?
Union Carbine
Member
I think that the preference on balanced on the high end gear comes from their background being used in actual music studios where the reduction in noise provided by balanced connections is absolutely necessary. As home adopters began adopting pro studio gear, the balanced connections came with them. However, I'd guess that most home setups don't generate enough noise to make balanced connections truly necessary.
Phat Michael
Banned
Burning in the hd800s... Done about 5 hours so far. Will leave them on all weekend then let's see how they sound after that once the new amp has been run in as well.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
That's kinda what I figured. I mean, aren't balanced cables only useful for extremely long runs of cable (like in a studio) where fidelity can decrease?
cpp_is_king
Member
How do people feel about the audioengine D1? I already have one, and I'm probably going to end up getting a set of Mad Dog Pros, and I'm wondering if I should keep this audioengine D1 or sell it and get a Schiit Vali (or higher) instead.
Robobandit
Member
He'll get microphonics for about 30 seconds but then the tubes will quiet down.
After about 20 minutes when it is fully warmed up is when the Vali sounds the best.
I love that little amp. I even use it to drive my HD800s because it sounds great. It makes the 800s sound less clinical.
Phat Michael
Banned
after a few hours...the HD800s really do not sound like any other headphone i have ever heard...it's just so odd to hear how clear everything is.
Really looking forward to a back to back comparison with the Audeze once they both have been burnt in.
threetri333
Banned
I'm about to get my 02/ODAC AMP/DAC combo to compliment my Sennheiser HD 600.
How do I bring these tunes to their best potential? I never had headphones this good and never used an AMP/DAC.
I heard that you should bring the volume of your PC to max and control the volume with your AMP.
Also, how do I know if I got the O2/ODAC combo, but instead got the O2 instead in case if I get scammed?
What is good software to play music?
How do I bring these tunes to their best potential? I never had headphones this good and never used an AMP/DAC.
I heard that you should bring the volume of your PC to max and control the volume with your AMP.
Also, how do I know if I got the O2/ODAC combo, but instead got the O2 instead in case if I get scammed?
What is good software to play music?
Phat Michael
Banned
ElectricKaibutsu
Member
I think I found the answer to this: http://www.head-fi.org/t/523850/centrance-dacmini-dac-amplifier-official-thread/840#post_8902441
It looks like you have to use the Apple Lightning to USB camera adapter. And then connect via USB.
This page has more info on the Lightning to USB adapter.
I'm planning on upgrading to an iPhone 6 or 6s eventually so I'm curious to see how this works.
cpp_is_king
Member
Can someone explain the difference between a DAC and a Headphone Amp for a noob?
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
A DAC is used to convert the digital audio files into sound that transmits to your headphones/speakers.
An amp is used to power headphones.
Jzero
Member
cpp_is_king
Member
Are there any DACs that aren't also amps? Everything I've seen appears to be either amp-only, or DAC/amp, even if they advertise themselves as just DACs. That's kind of why I was confused. Everything saying that they're just DACs appear to also be amps. Unless I'm just not seeing the DAC-only devices.
Antiwhippy's explanation above is pretty clear.
DACs and amplifiers are completely different and separate components. These components can exist separately, like the Schiit Magni and Modi, or in the same unit, like the Leckerton UHA-6S MKII.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Some DACs do come with an amp as a unit, just that they usually don't have great amps if it's unadvertised.
Phat Michael
Banned
Yes. If you look at the Esoteric series of Dacs, they are Dacs only.
Ray samuels uses the esoteric dac and his dark star as the headphone amp which he says gets the best possible sound from the audeze and Sennheiser headphones. You connect the dac via interconnects to the amp and run the headphones from the amp. The dac will connect to the source (pc via USB etc)
So for headphones with a low impedance like the Sennheiser Urbanite XL's, would an amplifier be necessary? What about a DAC? I mostly use my Surface Pro 3 which has a Realtek ALC3264, and that seems to generate some decent sound, but all I have to compare it with is my Galaxy Note 4 which struggles to power my current HD 280 Pros.
Uni on Everything!
Member
Awesome, thanks! I will have to try this out once everything arrives.
Amps are never necessary just sometimes highly recommended, same with dac. I'd recommend trying the headphones without anything and then if you feel as though something is off or if you hear a bit of noise when your headphones are plugged and there's no music playing you can always get something small like Schiit Fulla or Fiio E10k
threetri333
Banned
Any other optimizations that could improve my experience?
I found that I can right click on Sound Icon (Windows) -> Playback Devices -> ODAC -> Properties-> Advanced - > Change option from 16 bit, 44100Hz (CD Quality) to 24 bit, 96000 Hz (Studio Quality)
Is this a big change?
Edit: How is this music player? Are there better alternatives?http://www.foobar2000.org/
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Only if you have 24bit audio files.
Even then there's a debate if the difference is even perceptible at all.
Even then there's a debate if the difference is even perceptible at all.
Phat Michael
Banned
If you have a DAC your PC will automatically use it and it's settings.
Lots of people use foobar it is fine.
So after several years of using an old pair of hd 280s I've decided to make an upgrade. I tend to have pretty electic tastes in music, which makes it a bit trickier, and I'm probably looking to spend somewhere in the range of $200-350 (Australian). They'll be for home listening so open is preferrable. Right now I'm taking a good look at the Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X and the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pros, but any recommendations would be very welcome!
cpp_is_king
Member
What's a good DAC to pair with a set of Mad Dog Pros and a Schiit Asgard 2? I looked at some of the other Schiit DACs and the Loki doesn't seem useful to me so if I stick with Schiit it would probably be the Modi 2 or the Modi 2 Uber. What about other brands? A friend tells me that Dr. Dac is supposed to be excellent but I trust GAF more than I trust him, lol. Would like to spend under $200