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| Headphone Amps (full-size) Discussion of desktop headphone amps. |
10-24-2008, 07:16 PM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: NY, NY
Posts: 565
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So after a few days with my OPA Moon...
I honestly don't hear much difference between this and the Earth when going DAC out to my MKIII.
BUT with the Zero's internal amp (and the 1364s) it sounds much nicer to my ears. More dynamic, more details - and closer to my MKIII than it's ever been. this is a nice surprise! I was never really that into the Zero's amp, but last night I didn't feel any desire to go back to the MKIII! It really feels like it just gels with the Senns better now with the Moon in the DAC section. Very cool, indeed! I'll see what more burn-in brings.
__________________
Xfi Fatal1ty (Coax, ASIO)-->Compass (OPA Sun V2)-->Little Dot MKIII (GE 5-star)-->HD600/SR325is/HFI-780 (S-Audio recable)/DT250-80
Gone: SR80, SR225, Sony 7506
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10-24-2008, 08:21 PM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 964
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Quote:
Originally Posted by syg
New problem(?) with my unit. Sometimes when I play a song, there would be crackling throughout the song, which corrects itself if I restart the song. The only digital out (of the correct size, I have no adapters) I have on my computer is the onboard sound card which I have not used before, at all.
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If you are using asio, you'd need to play around with the timing setting . I had mine initially down to 25ms and it would be ok on some songs, crackling on others and on a few occasions, foobar would throw an error. when I upped it to 100ms+, all problems went away
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10-24-2008, 08:47 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: GreaterTorontoArea in Sub-Urbaine hell
Posts: 3,113
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bgt
got my zero and the Hdam's earth and moon. In trying to mod the zero, taking the caps out of the audio path, I come across quite an offset at the outputs resp. 50 and 80 mv. Have to see what to do about it.
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Hmmm....from which vendor did you buy your Zero from ?
Peete.
__________________
Cans :HD650, AKG 240M (HD650 DIY cables SE and Balanced)
Desktop amps : LD MK III (6H30P-i DR's + DIY mods, Jaycar DIY kit amp (major DIY mods), 2 X Audio-gd Compass (test prototype,final version), Audio-gd C-2C W/ Stepped pot Upgrade, Audio-gd Phoenix SS balanced preamp/headamp.
Transports: Auzen Prelude PCI 7.1 SC/ASIO native driver using Media Monkey (all EAC ripped FLAC/Wav), Vanguard CDM12 Pro (BNC mod), HK HD720 (completely upgraded), Audio-gd CD7 Transport.
Sources: FrankenDAC DIY 24/192 dac (HDAMs/Teflon/PIO cap mod), Compass DAC, See Corp Vintage UK TT(Mission arm/Ortofon OM20S MM cart), Yaqin MS12B tube phono preamp, TEAC V530X Tape deck, Audio-gd Reference 1 DAC. C2C DIY pot mod http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/ste...1/#post5846722
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10-24-2008, 09:39 PM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: UCLA
Posts: 42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by glitch39
If you are using asio, you'd need to play around with the timing setting . I had mine initially down to 25ms and it would be ok on some songs, crackling on others and on a few occasions, foobar would throw an error. when I upped it to 100ms+, all problems went away
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I'm using WASAPI, not ASIO. I'm just going to chalk it up to the onboard sound being crappy. I went out and bought a 1/8" to RCA adapter and am using my Audigy 2 now - what a difference that made!
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10-24-2008, 09:46 PM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: NY, NY
Posts: 565
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Quote:
Originally Posted by syg
I'm using WASAPI, not ASIO. I'm just going to chalk it up to the onboard sound being crappy. I went out and bought a 1/8" to RCA adapter and am using my Audigy 2 now - what a difference that made!
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Oh cool! Well now you should be able to use ASIO if you want - creative has it with all their cards.
__________________
Xfi Fatal1ty (Coax, ASIO)-->Compass (OPA Sun V2)-->Little Dot MKIII (GE 5-star)-->HD600/SR325is/HFI-780 (S-Audio recable)/DT250-80
Gone: SR80, SR225, Sony 7506
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10-25-2008, 12:15 PM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Singapore
Posts: 224
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I apologise in advance for this noob question:
I just got a Zero and the optical cable provided does not seem to be able to plug into my iMac's optical out. Do I need an adapter or something for it to connect?
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10-25-2008, 12:47 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Fukuoka, Japan (was Australia)
Posts: 3,628
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Is your iMac's optical out one that uses the headphone port? You need a $2 mini-optical to Toslink adaptor.
__________________
MacBook Pro → Audio-gd Reference 3+1 → Phoenix → Sennheiser HD-800, Grado HF-2, Symphones Magnums or Parasound Zamp → Paradigm Titans + Van Den Hul or DIY cabling.
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10-25-2008, 12:52 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Fukuoka, Japan (was Australia)
Posts: 3,628
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexinExile
I have a question:
I want to get this to connect to my MacBook. Can I use the Xitel MD-Port DG2 that is included to do this? Or should I get a adapter that goes from digital to 3.5? I want to this with my AE2s and future desktop rig.. Thanks.
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If you have a MacBook, all you need is a Mini-optical to Toslink cable, or optical cable that has an adaptor. I haven't tried one yet, but the only place I could find somewhere that did the proper cables without the nasty adaptor was here.
__________________
MacBook Pro → Audio-gd Reference 3+1 → Phoenix → Sennheiser HD-800, Grado HF-2, Symphones Magnums or Parasound Zamp → Paradigm Titans + Van Den Hul or DIY cabling.
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10-25-2008, 02:00 PM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Singapore
Posts: 224
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Currawong
Is your iMac's optical out one that uses the headphone port? You need a $2 mini-optical to Toslink adaptor.
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Yes, that's the one.
I just went out to buy one of those adaptors and managed to plug it into my iMac, but it's not working.
Can someone help me out here?
Edit: Problem solved. It seems the cable provided is a little iffy. One of the ends was a little loose, and I swapped sides and now it works.
Last edited by shampoosuicide; 10-25-2008 at 02:03 PM.
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10-25-2008, 02:40 PM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Norway, Arendal
Posts: 574
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Hi. Just got a noob question.
Will me setup benefit from buying a zero DAc/AMP ?
I will use esi juli@ (with rca out)-- LD I+ -- K271s.
Second question.
I use a nad amp to my speakers.I would like to be able to use both amps without switching on the back of the dac. is it a good way to do this?
Can i have:
Optical out from juli@ to Zero and to the LD and
RCA out from juli@ to Nad at the same time?
Final question:
Lets say i buy the HD600s in the future and they are connected to the zero HP out all the time.will i be able to listen to the 271s connected to the LD with just pressing a button?
Sorry for the comfusing questions but i dont want to start more treads now so hope someone understand my problem 
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10-25-2008, 02:54 PM
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Junior Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 22
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Ok, solved the offset problem with 2 pots, 2M5ohm, and 2 resitors, 1Mohm, to the + inputs of the output amp. Each adjustable. So now the offset is about 1mv. Now the DAC is completely DC coupled, no caps. in the audio path. The HDAM Earth is seated on sticky tape. The sound is very nice. I am comparing it with my Buffalo/Opus DAC. I don't use a headphone so the difference is very hard to hear. Speakers are not like headphones.
The housing of the Zero is really ugly/tastless. The Zhaolu 2.5 DAC I have is even uglier. I think I will rehouse it. The headphone amp. of the zero is far too hot. I disconnected it.
Last edited by bgt; 10-25-2008 at 03:02 PM.
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10-25-2008, 03:03 PM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Singapore
Posts: 224
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One more noob question:
Is it advisable to turn the Zero off when I'm not using it? Will it overheat if I leave it on overnight to burn-in?
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10-25-2008, 03:27 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Fukuoka, Japan (was Australia)
Posts: 3,628
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HippieTom
Can i have:
Optical out from juli@ to Zero and to the LD and
RCA out from juli@ to Nad at the same time?
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You'll have to check the manual for the Juli as to what you can do with it.
Quote:
Final question:
Lets say i buy the HD600s in the future and they are connected to the zero HP out all the time.will i be able to listen to the 271s connected to the LD with just pressing a button?
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Have a read of the FAQ in my sig.  Normally, only the DAC section is in operation, with output going straight to the rear RCA jacks. If the Preamp button is pressed, the output goes through the amp/pre-amp section as well, controllable with the volume knob. If headphones are plugged in and the Preamp button is pressed, the ZERO becomes a headphone amplifier. With headphones plugged in, no sound comes out of the RCA jacks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shampoosuicide
One more noob question:
Is it advisable to turn the Zero off when I'm not using it? Will it overheat if I leave it on overnight to burn-in?
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It wont overheat, no. I've left it on for many hours with no problems. I wouldn't put other gear on top of it though so it can have some ventilation as it does get quite warm.
__________________
MacBook Pro → Audio-gd Reference 3+1 → Phoenix → Sennheiser HD-800, Grado HF-2, Symphones Magnums or Parasound Zamp → Paradigm Titans + Van Den Hul or DIY cabling.
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10-25-2008, 03:44 PM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: toronto
Posts: 101
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bgt
Ok, solved the offset problem with 2 pots, 2M5ohm, and 2 resitors, 1Mohm, to the + inputs of the output amp. Each adjustable. So now the offset is about 1mv. Now the DAC is completely DC coupled, no caps. in the audio path. The HDAM Earth is seated on sticky tape. The sound is very nice. I am comparing it with my Buffalo/Opus DAC. I don't use a headphone so the difference is very hard to hear. Speakers are not like headphones.
The housing of the Zero is really ugly/tastless. The Zhaolu 2.5 DAC I have is even uglier. I think I will rehouse it. The headphone amp. of the zero is far too hot. I disconnected it.
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Does the zero not use a phase locked loop to track this offset? Are you using that resistor network as an offset resistor to generate an offset voltage which is coupled between the inverting input of the op amp and the op amp's output? OR is this an Andrea solution. Prickly Pete, comments?
EDIT: would the HDAM not overheat by being encased in thick tape?
__________________
Xfi XtremeMusic (Coax, ASIO)-->Zero DAC (EARTH + LT1364)-->Alessandro ms2i w/ sonick's pad mod
Last edited by MasZakrY; 10-25-2008 at 03:47 PM.
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10-25-2008, 03:47 PM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Singapore
Posts: 224
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Thanks for the reply, Curra.
Do you think it would be alright if I left my Zero to burn-in overnight? I have 20 min pink noise alternating with 2 min digital silence.
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