Which Headphone ?

I had the same issue with my -much cheaper- DT990s left driver was dead, and the representative in Greece wouldn't repair it, they said it was fine, I had to call the head of the repair department in germany, explain the situation, send the headphones to Germany for them to fix the driver under warranty. But yes, headphone amplifiers (any amplifier really) is a joke to build if you have knowledge of basic electronics (they are actually chapter 1 in any advanced electronics class) You can build one amp from mosfets if you want. Also tubes work in the same way as transistors (in the way they respond to signals and that's by intended design)....




By the way Alien, what is that little dot clone you are talking about? I would be much interested to get a hold of one
 
Thelosouvlakia said:
I had the same issue with my -much cheaper- DT990s left driver was dead, and the representative in Greece wouldn't repair it, they said it was fine, I had to call the head of the repair department in germany, explain the situation, send the headphones to Germany for them to fix the driver under warranty. But yes, headphone amplifiers (any amplifier really) is a joke to build if you have knowledge of basic electronics (they are actually chapter 1 in any advanced electronics class) You can build one amp from mosfets if you want. Also tubes work in the same way as transistors (in the way they respond to signals and that's by intended design)....




By the way Alien, what is that little dot clone you are talking about? I would be much interested to get a hold of one
Click to expand...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Little-Do...548912&hash=item3d3e5d5394:g:sbMAAOSwcB5ZDkKP

I'm pretty certain it's a clone. If not then the price has dropped massively.

I remember years ago (around 2010, 2012) a guy I knew was big into head-fi and he paid over £450 for one.

I never dreamed of wearing headphones tbh. I always had a really loud system. When I lived in the USA the house I lived in had 15 acres, so you could make as much noise as you wanted. Then I moved into my ex wife's farm house in Dorset and same applied.

Then I moved into a flat. The first time I had ever lived with people above and below me..

What's funny is that now and then they will blast their stereos. I don't think they realise I have a full 5.1 system with a long throw 12" sub that I only use for the TV. So the other day I finally got around to using that stereo I built ages back and man, that sub is vicious with music played through it ! I had to turn the bass on the head unit all the way down to -10 :D
 
AlienALX said:
Dice is cool :) he likes his audio chat. It's a shame he doesn't know his electronics, because Graham Slee does the Novo as a kit for around £150 IIRC. Yeah it's basic inside but I must agree with the reviewers, it is the most neutral amp you can buy. I only paid £120 for mine on Fleabay, I guess the seller thought it may be a bit unknown to ask more for.

One thing I will say though about the A2 clone is that it's a Beyer design, so may suit his tastes? I mean when they designed and made it they did so for their headphones.

As I said, I will definitely be comparing it to the GS, and will post honestly about how I feel about it. I've got the perfect set of headphones for it too (Hifiman). They are the least sensitive of all of the cans I own, so take the most driving. Insensitive enough to make any amp cry :)
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Thank you, All this info is overwhelming though, There's so much to choose from ^_^

NeverBackDown said:
Them being American made has nothing to do with it. They just make great stuff. I would like to try any kind of audio gear, but I don't have the money for that and I got my schiit stuff really cheap off ebay. And I use my Beyers which are German and I like Senns too, but the Beyers were a gift. I would like some Senns but again no money for that stuff which I technically already have.

I have pretty sensitive hearing. For example in my house I can hear 95% of everything that goes on. From people whispering to people typing on soft membrane keyboards. So it's not like I am a fanboy of Schiit, I just like what I hear and to me that says something since I am very picky. Only downside of being sensitive to hearing is I have to listen to most things at a low volume(compared to others) otherwise my head will explode:p

Wonder if Dice is ever going to respond before we take up more of his thread;)
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I appreciate all the info, It's very helpful :)
 
Dicehunter said:
Thank you, All this info is overwhelming though, There's so much to choose from ^_^
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Yeah I know dude. It's a real minefield too.

Let me see how this A2 thing does (I will put it up against my Graham Slee) and if it's decent I will let you know. May be a couple of weeks, but it may be worth waiting for :)

https://www.whathifi.com/graham-slee/novo/review

That is what I am putting it up against.

https://www.hifisystemcomponents.com/headphone-amplifiers/dak-novo-headphone-amplifier-kit.html

If you want I could build it for you. Would only take an hour or so.
 
AlienALX said:
Yeah I know dude. It's a real minefield too.

Let me see how this A2 thing does (I will put it up against my Graham Slee) and if it's decent I will let you know. May be a couple of weeks, but it may be worth waiting for :)

https://www.whathifi.com/graham-slee/novo/review

That is what I am putting it up against.

https://www.hifisystemcomponents.com/headphone-amplifiers/dak-novo-headphone-amplifier-kit.html

If you want I could build it for you. Would only take an hour or so.
Click to expand...

Appreciated bud but I think I'm going to go down the soundcard route after doing much humming and arr'ing ^_^

The reason for this is a friend of mine in work is selling his Asus Xonar Essence STXII for £50 as he's getting an Asus Essence III which upon closer inspection is ridiculously expensive but his STXII is only 3 months old so 50 smackers is a hell of a bargain, Plus with the money saved I can buy more headphones :D

BUT I was also looking at the SMSL M7, Thoughts ?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/M7-2xAK4452-768KHz-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B071XTCRZD
 
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Dicehunter said:
Appreciated bud but I think I'm going to go down the soundcard route after doing much humming and arr'ing ^_^

The reason for this is a friend of mine in work is selling his Asus Xonar Essence STXII for £50 as he's getting an Asus Essence III which upon closer inspection is ridiculously expensive but his STXII is only 3 months old so 50 smackers is a hell of a bargain, Plus with the money saved I can buy more headphones :D

BUT I was also looking at the SMSL M7, Thoughts ?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/M7-2xAK4452-768KHz-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B071XTCRZD
Click to expand...

This company sure loves there marketing! Kinda irratates me:p
As long as you know it's not true 32 bit(no amp on the market is at any price, they don't make 32 bit chips), 768k bitrate is bogus(because nothing is recorded at that), and DSD music files are super rare, almost non-existent, then it seems ok.
I think the M6 is probably a better buy. This M7 just has a weak amp. It's power output is barely higher than the M3 you already have. I'll admit though, it's DAC is much better and it's DAC is using 2 so it'll help clear up the signal, but while I don't argue it won't sound better, it's held back by the built in AMP.
The Schiit Fulla 1/2 are cheaper and much better suited for your needs. Yes I know more Schiit recommend stuff. But heck I'd say you could get a fiio e10k, and while it's not better than the M6/7, it's so damn close at less than half the cost.
Doing more research lately on this stuff just to see if I could find any DAC/amp combo unit that's better than the Schiit Fulla 2 for less than the M7 price and came across the FX Audio DAC X6. It's cheaper then a Fulla 2, and has much more amp output. Not sure about the DAC but I'd wager it's not far off and that power output is insane for such a small and cheapish amp. Definitely look into it.
 
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Dicehunter said:
Appreciated bud but I think I'm going to go down the soundcard route after doing much humming and arr'ing ^_^

The reason for this is a friend of mine in work is selling his Asus Xonar Essence STXII for £50 as he's getting an Asus Essence III which upon closer inspection is ridiculously expensive but his STXII is only 3 months old so 50 smackers is a hell of a bargain, Plus with the money saved I can buy more headphones :D

BUT I was also looking at the SMSL M7, Thoughts ?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/M7-2xAK4452-768KHz-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B071XTCRZD
Click to expand...

If you want the best amp without spending £1000+ then get a Graham Slee. I have had numerous amps costing around the £200 mark and they've all been nowhere near as good. For the kit price the GS Novo is a steal. As I said, I've had *a lot* of amps and nothing even comes close for the sheer clarity and most importantly honesty of the Novo. I got mine (non kit version) for £130. It's been sat there ever since.

I also have an Aune (f**k you OSX !) TK1 MK2 that has sat redundant since, and have listened to loads of others too. At one point I had lots of disposable money and was spending it on headphones and amps. The cans I keep, the amps I sold on.

SMSL are a "meh" company who used to make cheap professional electronics (like amps, karaoke machines etc) all of their stuff is basically rebranded Chinese stuff. Which tbh, most of what you buy is these days. GS designed, engineered and created his own amps here in the UK. And it shows dude. Like I was saying the other day, when it comes to audiophile gear the brits, Japs and europeans own the stage (IMO of course).

I also don't think any sound card I have ever used is enough to drive a set of big cans like my Hifimans properly. Even the Novo alone was not enough for me which is why I bought a pre amp. But again, it's just that shocking level of honesty and clarity which so far has been irreplaceable to me, and a repair kit (which comes with all of the internal components) is about thirty quid, so I won't ever need to replace it.

It's like my headphones yeah.. My Grado RS2E cost 500 notes. I've bought about fifteen pairs of headphones for less than that and the Grados make them all sound crap. For a natural upgrade I would need to spend far more than that (like a grand on some Fostex) and I will never be in a position to do that. And once you reach that level of sound quality it really sucks to listen to something not as good. I only use my Hifiman HE400S because they are everything the Grado aren't. Big, bassy, brutal, loud and a bit clumsy (very American) but for certain types of music like bass driven dance, reggae ETC they match very well. That is one type of music the Grados don't like.
 
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FYI you can get Schiit stuff quite easily in the UK from here:
https://schiit.eu.com/

I have used them before when they were on electromod.co.uk. Still owned by these guys but have a dedicated site now.

I can't really comment on how good the Schiit stuff is because it's the only headphone dac/amp I've used, so nothing to compare against. However to me, the sound and build quality feel great, also no need for terrible soundcard drivers.
 
SPS said:
FYI you can get Schiit stuff quite easily in the UK from here:
https://schiit.eu.com/

I have used them before when they were on electromod.co.uk. Still owned by these guys but have a dedicated site now.

I can't really comment on how good the Schiit stuff is because it's the only headphone dac/amp I've used, so nothing to compare against. However to me, the sound and build quality feel great, also no need for terrible soundcard drivers.
Click to expand...

AlienALX said:
You can connect the amp directly to a sound card or any other 3.5mm jack. You just use Y cables. I would get a separate DAC personally.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0...gonfly+dac&dpPl=1&dpID=41T+XkTk1uL&ref=plSrch

Is supposed to be amazing.
Click to expand...

I shall look into both thanks fellers :)
 
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