Post Pictures Of Your Headphone Setup

[ColdsnapBry]

1 minute ago, Bengineer said:

And what is it

 

It's an ETA Min Open. They've been around for a while now, but never had a chance to listen to one of their mods until now.

 

https://www.etaheadphones.com/

[Bengineer]

So its a OEM bicelluose driver in a 3D printed open cup?

[ColdsnapBry]

7 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

So its a OEM bicelluose driver in a 3D printed open cup?

 

It's a graphene driver from what I know, they've used it a few times but this one has a few changes from the OEM themselves. Then manipulating the airflow / dampening with some filters.

[Bengineer]

3 minutes ago, ColdsnapBry said:

 

It's a graphene driver from what I know, they've used it a few times but this one has a few changes from the OEM themselves. Then manipulating the airflow / dampening with some filters.

Fascinating.

 

Detail of Utopia is a bold claim padawan

[ColdsnapBry]

11 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

Fascinating.

 

Detail of Utopia is a bold claim padawan

 

I said clarity! And just realised I misspelled it to 'clatiry'

 

It is pretty fascinating, that's how I've been putting in my head. Like **** this headphone is really interesting... It's not without faults, build and it doesn't stage. But it's fast, incredibly clear, and actually has sub-bass. Oh and dare I say it has better timbre than more headphones in the TOTL category.

 

I can send it around for a tour once I've had my time with it.

Edited June 15, 2022 by ColdsnapBry

[xtiva2000]

Just got a new headphone stand from Austria... Browsing through Etsy and misreading Austria as Australia..

 

But happy with the stand, looks unique enough and high enough so doesn't kink the cable 

 

Cable is made the one and only Bengineer

 

[Ccollins]

2 hours ago, xtiva2000 said:

Just got a new headphone stand from Austria... Browsing through Etsy and misreading Austria as Australia..

 

But happy with the stand, looks unique enough and high enough so doesn't kink the cable 

 

Cable is made the one and only Bengineer

 

 

[Gerbi]

The photos will follow, but I've received late yesterday a pair of Denon AH-D9200. My sources are the Naim Uniti Atom and the Dragonfly Cobalt running off my iPhone. They sound amazing even if the mids are a bit pronounced to my ears, but I've been using slightly V shape sets so I guess it will take me more time to get used to them. Shall I look at adding a dedicated headphone amp?

[Bengineer]

Is the Uniti Atom the headphone edition with the decent amp?

 

The Denon uses a very easy to drive dynamic driver, could drive it with 3 potatoes and some lemon juice.

 

I wouldn't bother added a dedicated amp.

[Gerbi]

5 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

Is the Uniti Atom the headphone edition with the decent amp?

 

The Denon uses a very easy to drive dynamic driver, could drive it with 3 potatoes and some lemon juice.

 

I wouldn't bother added a dedicated amp.

No, it's the "normal" edition".

While using the Cobalt the volume on the iPhone was about 80% hence my thought of maybe upgrading it...or maybe even using the Atom as a pre amp? I'm old, but fairly new with high...ish end equipment.

Edited July 13, 2022 by Gerbi

[Bengineer]

Yeah ok. So your "Amp" is always just the Cobalt?

 

In that case I would yes. Set a budget and any other features it needs (inputs, outputs, small, big, battery etc).

[Gerbi]

3 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

Yeah ok. So your "Amp" is always just the Cobalt?

 

In that case I would yes. Set a budget and any other features it needs (inputs, outputs, small, big, battery etc).

When I use the iPhone as a source yes. But honestly I think that the Denon will stay in the lounge room so I will use them exclusively with the Atom. I'll stick with the IE900 as my portable option.

[Bengineer]

Yeah ok.

 

In which case I wouldn't bother. The Atom would do a reasonable job.

[Gerbi]

3 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

Yeah ok.

 

In which case I wouldn't bother. The Atom would do a reasonable job.

Awesome! Thank you for the advice

[Gerbi]

I thought I might add the ie900 getting acquainted with the new room mate

[npw112]

Here's the latest version of my set up. 

 

Audeze LCD2 Classic

Schiit Lyr MK1

Musical Fidelity M1 LPS Phono Stage

Rega DAC

Rega Planar 3 (Ortofon 2M Blue / Rega 24 volt motor upgrade kit) 

[Bengineer]

[Ehrmantraut]

3 hours ago, Bengineer said:

Has the Eagle landed? Thoughts?

[Bengineer]

56 minutes ago, Ehrmantraut said:

Has the Eagle landed? Thoughts?

Cons

 

1. Fully closed pads are a straight no. Foam sucks, midbass bloat, muffled.

2. Open pads foam better. Still sucks somewhat. Just less suck. People are trialling all sorts of pads atm, so some hope there.

3. Not much cup twist/rotation about vertical axis

4. Cable is "eh" and smells strongly of cigarettes

5. Not a high level of fit refinement, sort of industrial prototype feeling

 

Pros

 

1. Nice soundstage and imaging

2. Punchy

3. Good bass level

4. Totl detail 

5. Fairly comfy despite the foam on skin.

6. Sonic bang for buck is very high

 

 

 

[Ehrmantraut]

Thanks Ben - seems like there's some gold in there for sure with "Pros 1-4" in particular. Are you willing to compare with any other TOTL from your experience? Maybe a ranking like "Resolve"? 

[Bengineer]

Yeah will do, just need to listen some more and get to know them.

[Falcon 500]

Maybe some driver break in to happen as well.

[AlurkA]

Its been a while and a journey with the WA22.  The current tube compliment...the Sylvanias 6SN7's in the mix have added some nice highs.  Big fan of the CV378 fat bottle.

 

[Ehrmantraut]

I asked @bengineer a question about HP comparisons with his new Raal CA-1A and at the risk of being trolled, I've put up some rankings of my own:

 

Exactly like "Resolve" on the Heaphone Community forum, I'm basing my rankings on the following metrics:

 

Tonal Balance - The headphone achieves an appropriate balance between fundamental and harmonic tones
Detail/Resolution - The headphone is incisive, well-controlled during busy passages, and retains good clarity for the finer nuances in the music
Separation and sense of space - Being able to isolate individual instruments in the mix is more important to me than overall ‘soundstage’, because headphones won’t ever get to be like speakers. But it still counts.
Contrast/Punch - The headphone has good contrast for large volume swings, the opposite being a compressed kind of sound.
Timbre - The headphone sounds sufficiently ‘natural’, whatever that means.

 

Other assumptions:

Good digital front end, Roon only

NO EQ - I don't like it!

My genres are female vocals, singer-sonwriter, Jazz, 70s West Coast etc

 

Electrostats:

= First - Stax X9000 and HiFiMan Shangri-La Jr. Both demonstrate what is great about electrostats. Detail, speed, resolution and clarity. They suit my genres well. Both HPs still need a lot of voltage swing to sound their best. The Stax X9K can be a bit "soft" compared to say the HFM or a 009s. I probably prefer the HFM

3) Audeze CRBN - The best all rounder and has a great timbre for an electrostat. Needs heaps of power and has the best bass of any electrostat.

4) Stax 007 Mk2 (2.9) unmodded - Slightly dark signature with great mids (some of the best) and bass. Slightly odd fit and needs drive. 

5) Stax 009s - Right up there for detailed mids and highs. Slightly wonky response can make some songs sound artificial

6) DCA Voce - a bit love and hate (like all DCA for me). With the right track, male vocals for example, lovely mid range and decent bass. Otherwise a bit mushy.

 

Not tested but I would love too - Warwick Audio Bravura system - recent review by GoldenSound loved it

 

Planars:

1. HFM Susvara - when driven properly this is probably the best single HP out there. Gorgeous mids, lovely timbre, great bass and highs are well controlled. Very comfy too. Needs a very powerful HP amp of speaker amp to sound correct. Anything elsse, you'll be disappointed. That's why so many come up for sale.
2. JPS Abyss 1266 CC - Same as above but with visceral bass. Needs power but not as much as Susvara. Paired with Xi Audio Formula S for example is great. Fit is stupid with it balancing on your head and any movement affects the SQ. JPS cables are total crap and a rip off. Can have a bit of a wonky response on some tracks.
3. Final Audio D8000 - I prefer these to the Pro, cheaper and better bass. Some of the nicest mids in the business. Needs juice but not crazy levels, super comfortable. A real sleeper.
4. Rosson Audio RAD-0 - Crazy cup colours and too clampy even with aftermarket pad. Some of the best bass around and lovely tonal response. A "better" LCD4. Needs plenty of juice.
5. HFM HE1000Se - I love this HP, mainly for instrumentals, jazz and orchestral. Slightly peaky in the treble but a lovely timbre. Easy to drive and wear. Surprised you don't see them come up for sale very much, maybe people really like them.
6. Audeze LCD4 - I love this HP too but it can be quite genre specific and difficult to drive. Gorgeous, lush vocals and deep bass. Heavy and has a somewhat "dark" presentation with a slight wonky treble. Hard to find now.
7. Audeze LCD5 - I don't like this HP much but I've put it in just to comment on it! People love it and talk about it being on a par with CRBN and other TOTL. I think the fit is crap but otherwise it sounds good/ok. 
8. DCA Aeon/Ether/Stealth etc - Dan does something to the tuning that just doesn't sit well with me. 
9. Meze Empyrean/Elite - If you haven't listened to a lot of HPs, especially on good gear, you are likely to think these the "best" you've ever heard. A bit like a Big Mac when you're super hungry, awesome for three minutes, then you feel faintly sick. Awesome fit and build but let down on timbre, tonality and detail. Over priced (but nearly all HiFi is!)

Orthodynamics:

1. Focal Utopia - Some of the best punch and slam in the business. Can get overly bright on the wrong partnership. Needs more drive than you think for the sensitivity rating. Slightly tight fit, get Dekoni pads. Tons of detail, narrow soundstage. New version coming out soon, these are currently a bargain at 3.5K. Driver failures all too common.
2. ZMF Auteur - the older std version. Lovely tone and SQ response. Zach's best HP to me. Some woods sound a bit better like Cocobolo. A bargain compared with Atrium which is essentially the same HP.
3. Sennheiser HD800s - Near best soundstage in the business and some of the best tone, imaging and seperation too. Needs a good OTL amp to sound it's best. 
4. ZMF Verite - I prefer the closed version. Lovely mids, nice timbre and tone. Needs more detail.
5. Focal Clear - Lots of versions available. I lke the MG version best. With the Celestee as well , these are easy to drive HPs that bring a lot of simple joy. Reasonably priced too and easy to drive. 
6. Sennheiser HD650 - Old faithful Needs an OTL amp like the 800 but delivers awesome bang for buck. Start with these and some simple Schiit goodness. Then stop! You'll spend thousands (probably tens) trying to get a "better" sound.

 

Ribbons:

1. Raal SR1a - Needs some specialist gear but really good value all the same. Amazing soundstage, detail, clarity, imaging and seperation. Great bass too (I know you won't agree) if they're driven properly. Looks like a science experiement, no sound insulation and a fit you have to play with for some time but not as bad as 1266. Right up there with my favourites. Pending CA-1A audition.
2. HEDD - Way too clampy, like a head vice. Actually sounds pretty good when driven well. 

So, overall top 5:

1. Stax X9K/HFM Shangri-La Jr
2. HFM Susvara
3. Audeze CRBN
4. Raal SR1a
5. Stax 007

Have at me folks!

[Bengineer]

Final D8000 > everything else.

 

List done right?

 

I'll eventually type it up. Maybe