Home Theater/Personal audio thread...

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

How many hours you got on them? I'm guessing they're not going to sound that great right out of the box.

Well they are used but yes starting late last night after I've had them running for like 10 hours straight the sound is starting to smooth out some noticeable sibilance. Okay I did bust out some Deoxit D5 cleaner and Deoxit Gold spray to clean up the plugs and jacks.

Apparently Kimber Axios doesn't make a balanced cable for my PHA-3 and I'm wary of moving to the new 4.4mm balanced plug straight out of the Walkman and ditch the slightly more powerful amp altogether.

To me getting an $1000 cable is kinda like buying $6000 forged rims for the twins. Okay maybe $4000.

[Clipdat]

Oh ok, I didn't realize they were used and not new.

I suppose Deoxit might be good if there was visible corrosion or nasty build up on the metal.

Can you try them with a different headphone amp? Schiit Asgard 2 might be a good test.

[krayzie]

I actually wanted to get this Elekit 22 amp for the longest time, keep forgetting about it.

[Clipdat]

Might be cool for high efficiency speakers!

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

Might be cool for high efficiency speakers!

Talk about efficiency I gotta keep the gain switch on my PHA-3 at normal instead of high with these Z1R cans otherwise the grain sets in.

[Clipdat]

Been thinking about picking up one of these:


Triode Corporation TRV-88SER



http://www.triode.co.jp/english/22.html (it's actually 45wpc, not 35)

[Vracer111]

That Triode looks interesting. Eventually I'll get a tube amp via going with a Bottlehead S.E.X. + C4S kit, since it will work well with nearly all my headphones which are mostly low impedance.

Tuesday I got in my Sennheiser HD58X Jubilee, which were ordered back in December... liked them right off the bat, they changed most of what I wanted from the HD6XX - punchier and livelier sound with better bass from what I remember of the HD6XX. I do like how the HD58X Jubilee looks with the graphite grey grilles:





For only $150 it's an absolutely impressive headphone, more so than the HD6XX.

[krayzie]

IIRC Sennheiser HD580 and HD600 had an old skool darker speaker like sound that needed a lot of power to drive before they went hella bright with HD650 and beyond. I remember listening to the HD580 off the demo rack at Bay Bloor Radio many times in the 90's and it was brilliant. However the cheaper Denon AH-D950 was actually my favorite (I always suspected this was a clone of the Sony MDR-CD999 as they both used Foster as OEM since the 80's).

Kinda like when Sony with the help of Ajinomoto (yes the company that makes MSG that goes into JDM food) went from amorphous diamond to biocellulose in the early 90's (from musical to analytical sound). The current generation of Sony is trying to go back to the 80's sound.

Sennheiser imo always wait for Sony to make a move first, like how their HD800 looks like an MDR-SA5000 many years later or with using balanced connection.

[Vracer111]

When I hear biocellulose I think more along the lines of awesome musical sound with stellar bass than analytical sound from my Fostex experience... only thing more awesome for bass I've heard so far is STAX Lambdas on a high power, warm amp.

[Clipdat]

You guys ever listen to the Beyerdynamic DT-880 headphones?

[krayzie]

Game Over.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fyPdolxWrw[/ame]

[krayzie]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y9n6A1s8sk[/ame]

[Vracer111]

How can something this inexpensive be so awesome?!!



Massdrop/Koss Porta Pro X with Yaxi sponge pads... total investment under $50. I've had them for nearly a month now... still can't believe the sound that comes out of them... much better than stock. Fast and detailed with great bass extension and impact, smooth mids and highs, slightly warm and non-fatiguing. Comfortable too with the Yaxi pads. Combining with the Shanling M0 DAP makes for sweet portable setup.

[MuseChaser]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

You guys ever listen to the Beyerdynamic DT-880 headphones?

I've got two pairs of Beyerdynamic DT990-pros. They are extremely comfortable and very involving.. I love them. To be brutally honest, I find them a little forward/unnatural in the high end. Not shrill, but just a little more "revealing" than the actual acoustic events would be in real life. Full disclosure --- I listen almost exclusively to acoustic classical and jazz music, and play those styles for a living. Grado Sr60s sound more realistic, at the (large) expense of comfort. For extended sessions purely for enjoyment, I grab the Beyers. For mixing and mastering checks or truly critical listening, I still pull out the much less expensive (and MUCH less comfortable) Grados.