Home Theater/Personal audio thread...

[Vracer111]

Originally Posted by krayzie

Shit I didn't even know Koss does electrostatics. That looks like it's from the 80's or something.

It actually doesn't look all that massive to me, at least not Sony MDR-R10 massive lol!

Actually about 15 years ago I won an eBay auction of some deadstock 80's JDM high end earphones (Aiwa HP-V9 and Technics RP-HV100) from a former Koss engineer in the US. He told me that during the mid 80's they were studying the sound reproduction of high end Japanese products (maybe Stax too?) in order to further improve upon their own product line.

Close, the ESP950 debued in 1990.

[Clipdat]

Interesting, they don't look as huge when you put them beside the Fostex cans. I guess on your holder they just looked like they were extra long, from top to bottom. So I figured that part would extend beyond your actual ear. Glad you are enjoying them, are you done now with headphone purchases?

That's crazy about the Bifrost vs the X20U. I would not have expected you to describe such a night and day difference between the two units. Makes the Bifrost sound like a waste of money to be honest. I guess it makes more sense to skip the bifrost and save up for the X20U.

One question regarding it's use, if I want to have it hooked up to my PC via USB and then have a set of powered speakers hooked up to it that have their own volume control (Klipsch Promedia), what volume levels would you set in Windows and on the X20U? Right now what I do is just set the speakers at a reasonable level and then use the Windows volume control slider to control the listening level. Typically this means it will fluctuate between the 60-100 range.

With the Gustard, since it has it's own volume control, what would you set it at? 100 or maximum, so that it it isn't trying to apply any volume attenuation to the signal and just passing it through? Any tips regarding this or how you use it in your setup would be appreciated.

Edit: Also, what is that cable for that connects both of the boards?

Originally Posted by Vracer111

They do have big cups/pads, but it works fine - not as annoying as Sennheiser HD800s. The sound quality is beyond any regular headphone except for the bass. You get these for their detail/finesse and fluidity/speed above most any other headphone available. While the bass extension and detail is absolutely excellent, the presence/impact just cannot match the level of a dynamic driver - its the physical difference in ability between a dynamic and electrostatic planar driver. I love both the TH-X00PH and ESP950 for what they each do, perfectly complimentary headphones... I could live with just those two cans and their setup for the rest of my life:

About the Schiit Bifrost, it's not really 'wowed' me, ever. It's competent for sure, but just cannot compare to the Gustard X20U, two completed different levels of DAC. Bifrost is cold/sterile and soul-less sounding compared to the Gustard and when comes to technical abilities it lacks in detail, speed, dynamics, bass extension, and bass impact... absolutely no comparison between the two. The X20U is often compared head to head with the Schiit YGGDRASIL.... it's that level of DAC for a MUCH lower price, and I picked up mine used for almost half off new. Only thing I wish is the display could be turned off, since DAC is left on 24/7 - at least it is a black TFT LCD display that can be dimmed.

My bandcamp selection is just a small sample of what I have, most of my collection is on CD ripped to FLAC. Some examples of stuff not on bandcamp I like is instrumental electric guitar (Joe Satriani, Jeff Beck, Paul Gilbert, Eric Johnson), orchestral/classical, and female vocals (Imogen Heap, Lacey Sturm, Venus Hum).

Used or refurbished gear always is great bang for the buck. Interested to hear your impressions of it.

[Vracer111]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

Interesting, they don't look as huge when you put them beside the Fostex cans. I guess on your holder they just looked like they were extra long, from top to bottom. So I figured that part would extend beyond your actual ear. Glad you are enjoying them, are you done now with headphone purchases?

That's crazy about the Bifrost vs the X20U. I would not have expected you to describe such a night and day difference between the two units. Makes the Bifrost sound like a waste of money to be honest. I guess it makes more sense to skip the bifrost and save up for the X20U.

One question regarding it's use, if I want to have it hooked up to my PC via USB and then have a set of powered speakers hooked up to it that have their own volume control (Klipsch Promedia), what volume levels would you set in Windows and on the X20U? Right now what I do is just set the speakers at a reasonable level and then use the Windows volume control slider to control the listening level. Typically this means it will fluctuate between the 60-100 range.

With the Gustard, since it has it's own volume control, what would you set it at? 100 or maximum, so that it it isn't trying to apply any volume attenuation to the signal and just passing it through? Any tips regarding this or how you use it in your setup would be appreciated.

Edit: Also, what is that cable for that connects both of the boards?

Thought I had responded to this, apparently not.

So, as for the DAC level, max out the DAC gain so it's 100% for line level output and leave the windows volume slider at 80%-MAX, use the speaker gain knob to control the actual volume.

I believe that cable on the X20U is for the clock timing. There is also a newer version out now, the X22:



Not quite done with headphone purchases...still have STAX SR-L700 to get in the future and maybe a Focal Clear/Elex, would want to definitely audition a Focal before thinking about purchasing one. I did get in on the new Sennheiser HD58X on Massdrop (delivery in middle of 2018).

I also think I found a headphone amp I REAAAALY LIKE....



But there is also a much less expensive version of it that sounds the same but has reduced selections/features...

[meWant]

hey guys, i was looking into a nice little speaker set up for the room. was thinking maybe something along the lines of 2 speakers and a small sub. it'd be used for music and was wondering what a good way to power the speakers would be. a smaller footprint for power source would be recommended as well.

[Clipdat]

Well in order to effectively and accurately answer that, you're going to need to tell us more. What size room, what model speakers, what sub, what kind of music do you listen to and from what source, etc.

You can start looking here for general shopping though: https://www.turntablelab.com/collect...pre-amps-alpha

Originally Posted by meWant

hey guys, i was looking into a nice little speaker set up for the room. was thinking maybe something along the lines of 2 speakers and a small sub. it'd be used for music and was wondering what a good way to power the speakers would be. a smaller footprint for power source would be recommended as well.

[krayzie]

Like this?

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVbHNphrEQs"]Teac reference H500 + monitor audio BR2 - YouTube[/ame]


I've never needed a sub for quality 2-channel audio.

[krayzie]

The good ol' days. Made in the UK.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9D4zVWUr8I"]KEF Video - We Made It.mpg - YouTube[/ame]

[cjd]

A sub makes it a little harder, since you'll need active signal management.

Also, price..

If you're up to assembling, I think lm3886 based options still are tough to beat (gainclone). T-amp based are also quite well priced, even assembled.

More important are the speakers, and the placement. I do my own crossover and cabinet design/assembly, etc. so haven't followed commercial stuff in forever. There are some nice options if you're in the market for DIY assembly. It still starts with budget.

[Vracer111]

Originally Posted by meWant

hey guys, i was looking into a nice little speaker set up for the room. was thinking maybe something along the lines of 2 speakers and a small sub. it'd be used for music and was wondering what a good way to power the speakers would be. a smaller footprint for power source would be recommended as well.

Two different ways you can go, powered or passive.

Powered (monitors) have amp built in, just need source to feed them. Many are for near field, but there are some that work great not near field. Something like the little Kanto YU6 is pretty sweet because you get lots of source input options, including Bluetooth 4.0 and very decent drivers with amplification designed specifically for them:
https://kantoaudio.com/product/yu6/

Then there are 'normal' passive speaker which require a separate amp/preamp. As long as you get efficient speakers, there is no need for a very high power amp...a 20ish Watt per channel high quality amp with small form factor will be more than enough (At 16 watts you'll get over +12dB increase from the base 1 watt rating, and if you have a 90+ dB 1watt rated speaker you are looking at over 112dB capability... more than loud enough!) The small TEAC AI-301DA would be a decently little pre-amp, has hi-res DAC and bluetooth: http://www.teac.com/product/ai-301da/overview/

A powered subwoofer is really not needed for music if you have the right speakers. If you can find some efficient speakers that cleanly get down to around 40Hz, there is really no need for a subwoofer - it won't add much at all and more than likely will detract if not a high quality sub. A good subwoofer for music will cost you $$$... don't want a low end ported HT sub.

Look for speakers rated at around 90dB @ 1watt and you'll have plenty of headroom with a 20ish watt pre-amp.

[meWant]

Originally Posted by Vracer111

Two different ways you can go, powered or passive.

Powered (monitors) have amp built in, just need source to feed them. Many are for near field, but there are some that work great not near field. Something like the little Kanto YU6 is pretty sweet because you get lots of source input options, including Bluetooth 4.0 and very decent drivers with amplification designed specifically for them:
https://kantoaudio.com/product/yu6/

Then there are 'normal' passive speaker which require a separate amp/preamp. As long as you get efficient speakers, there is no need for a very high power amp...a 20ish Watt per channel high quality amp with small form factor will be more than enough (At 16 watts you'll get over +12dB increase from the base 1 watt rating, and if you have a 90+ dB 1watt rated speaker you are looking at over 112dB capability... more than loud enough!) The small TEAC AI-301DA would be a decently little pre-amp, has hi-res DAC and bluetooth: http://www.teac.com/product/ai-301da/overview/

A powered subwoofer is really not needed for music if you have the right speakers. If you can find some efficient speakers that cleanly get down to around 40Hz, there is really no need for a subwoofer - it won't add much at all and more than likely will detract if not a high quality sub. A good subwoofer for music will cost you $$$... don't want a low end ported HT sub.

Look for speakers rated at around 90dB @ 1watt and you'll have plenty of headroom with a 20ish watt pre-amp.

for pre-amps would a computer be required or can they be used stand alone like a receiver for home theater? but i will keep everything in mind. thank you guys

[johan]

Originally Posted by Vracer111

Thought I had responded to this, apparently not.

So, as for the DAC level, max out the DAC gain so it's 100% for line level output and leave the windows volume slider at 80%-MAX, use the speaker gain knob to control the actual volume.

I believe that cable on the X20U is for the clock timing. There is also a newer version out now, the X22:

Based on 20+ years of studio/pro audio experience - I agree with this, and I would add:

Volume control inside a computer is done via bit rate control. So when you lower the volume anywhere in the software stack you are effectively decreasing the bit rate of your source media. For the cleanest sound out of the computer, always have the volumes in your player and computer OS at 100% with zero EQ at any level in the software stack... unless you are working inside a DAW of course

[Vracer111]

Originally Posted by meWant

for pre-amps would a computer be required or can they be used stand alone like a receiver for home theater? but i will keep everything in mind. thank you guys

You'll need some kind of source for music into the pre-amp: computer, CD, Blu-ray, digital music player, phone, tablet, etc... doesn't require a dedicated computer, except for DSD playback.

USB input for computer or optical, coax, RCA inputs for other sources.

[meWant]

Originally Posted by Vracer111

You'll need source(s) for music into the pre-amp: computer, CD, Blu-ray, digital music player, phone, tablet, etc... doesn't require a dedicated computer.

USB input for computer or optical, coax, RCA inputs for other sources.

okay that makes sense, so i could simply plug in my phone and go from there or via bluetooth if its on there?

[Vracer111]

Originally Posted by meWant

okay that makes sense, so i could simply plug in my phone and go from there or via bluetooth if its on there?

Yep, if the pre-amp is bluetooth capable can pair phone/tablet to it or can connect via RCA connection if have a headphone out on the phone. Alternatively, for better quality when using high quality music files you could go phone -> USB thumbdrive DAC/amp (like Audioquest Dragonfly Red) -> RCA input on the pre-amp.