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Getting My Feet Wet With Balanced- MKVII Initial Impressions - Page 2

post #16 of 103
8/20/09 at 12:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pyriel0 View Post
I'm pretty sure the D5000, Rs1, and Ed9 all have 4 wires all the way down. You should be able to balance all 3 by just reterm'n the stock trs plug with a 4 pin xlr.
That sound pretty interesting. 'cos I'm a cable non-believer, so just changing the plug maybe interesting for me.

Does anyone know any other headphones with 4 wires all the way down to the plug ?

This gonna help us alot.
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post #17 of 103
8/20/09 at 1:55pm
The K1000 comes terminated in 4 pin XLR plug.
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post #18 of 103
8/20/09 at 11:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xiaobao0707 View Post
That sound pretty interesting. 'cos I'm a cable non-believer, so just changing the plug maybe interesting for me.

Does anyone know any other headphones with 4 wires all the way down to the plug ?

This gonna help us alot.
Pretty much all Sennheisers with detachable cords.
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post #19 of 103
8/20/09 at 11:42pm
Been waiting ever since the MKVII came out for a review. Thanks.

Is the sound signature like any other amps?

How does the LD dac compare to the DacMagic?
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post #20 of 103
8/20/09 at 11:50pm
How much did it cost you? Is their DAC balanced too? One of my DT48 has a 4 pin plug.
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post #21 of 103
8/21/09 at 12:35am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunneebear View Post
Been waiting ever since the MKVII came out for a review. Thanks.

Is the sound signature like any other amps?

How does the LD dac compare to the DacMagic?
Hey sunneebear

I was about to PM you to let you know I received it, per our last PM, then noticed you had posted.
In reference to the sound sig, the only other SS amp I have is the KICAS (non-caliente), which I mainly use with my Denons and Ultrasones. The MKVII has some power. It has 2 gain settings, low and high. High is only used for K1000 and low for everything else. I don't have the K1000, so no need to change.
Not much time to listen last couple days, due to work schedule, but doing some burn-in. I only used the LD DAC via usb input when I received it. This weekend I'm going to try all inputs and hook up the DacMagic for comparison. David advised the DAC_1 and MKVII were designed together, so synergy is there...




Quote:
Originally Posted by kool bubba ice View Post
How much did it cost you? Is their DAC balanced too? One of my DT48 has a 4 pin plug.

The amp $399.00, DAC $269.00...Got a small break on the shipping since I purchased together....Total shipped for both was $740.00...Yes the DAC is balanced.
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post #22 of 103
8/21/09 at 1:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeatFan12 View Post
Hey sunneebear

I was about to PM you to let you know I received it, per our last PM, then noticed you had posted.
In reference to the sound sig, the only other SS amp I have is the KICAS (non-caliente), which I mainly use with my Denons and Ultrasones. The MKVII has some power. It has 2 gain settings, low and high. High is only used for K1000 and low for everything else. I don't have the K1000, so no need to change.
Not much time to listen last couple days, due to work schedule, but doing some burn-in. I only used the LD DAC via usb input when I received it. This weekend I'm going to try all inputs and hook up the DacMagic for comparison. David advised the DAC_1 and MKVII were designed together, so synergy is there...







The amp $399.00, DAC $269.00...Got a small break on the shipping since I purchased together....Total shipped for both was $740.00...Yes the DAC is balanced.
Wow, that's a crazy price.
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post #23 of 103
8/21/09 at 4:34am
Thanks for the PM. You said you'll get it Wednesday so I just check the forum for your out of box impressions.


Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict View Post
Wow, that's a crazy price.
Real crazy.

I was going to pull the trigger a while back but no reviews for the amp. Also with some of the new dacs using twin dac chip architechture appose to the single in the LD dac made me wait for some feedback.
That's why I asked about the DacMagic. I think it uses a dual Wolfson chip.
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post #24 of 103
8/21/09 at 5:49am
By the way, I know it might be out of topic but is there a few standards for balanced cables out there? I'm not just talking about single 4 pin vs the dual cable. I'm asking whether even with the dual cable, there are different designs with different polarities? I was told the Japan standard is different from the US and if one is plugged in the other, the headphones could get damaged.
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post #25 of 103
8/21/09 at 8:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by donunus View Post
By the way, I know it might be out of topic but is there a few standards for balanced cables out there? I'm not just talking about single 4 pin vs the dual cable. I'm asking whether even with the dual cable, there are different designs with different polarities? I was told the Japan standard is different from the US and if one is plugged in the other, the headphones could get damaged.
the headphones can never be damaged the worst thing that could happen would be that the headphones would play out of phase

however, so far, all 4-pin headphone terminations use the same pinout
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post #26 of 103
8/22/09 at 12:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xiaobao0707 View Post
That sound pretty interesting. 'cos I'm a cable non-believer, so just changing the plug maybe interesting for me.

Does anyone know any other headphones with 4 wires all the way down to the plug ?

This gonna help us alot.
some headphones, like the k501 and k601 are easily made balanced, but the cables need to be replaced because they have three wires. removing the jumper and making them dual entry with a 4-wire cable is not hard and greatly improves the sound...on the k501, at least.
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post #27 of 103
8/22/09 at 9:11pm
Thread Starter 
Changed things up a bit....In came the E-MU 0404 USB. Ran it both balanced and single ended.....

Balanced- HD580 & HD650....Threw in some high rez files 24/96 & 24/176.4.....I have a couple of jazz tracks in high rez and I am not into jazz at all (wifey gets into it a little bit), but after listening to this with the HD650s in balanced mode, I am becoming VERY interested in this genre......The sax, trumpets and drums are just floating everywhere and I'm in the middle of it...All you can do is close your eyes and enjoy....Where did I leave my mojito....?


Zep's Fool In The Rain kicked some @ss, but Stairway just rocked my world....The separation of instruments, the vocals, the drums all right there in perfect harmony...

Tesla (live)- Modern Day Cowboy, Love Song, Heavens Trail....I am amazed how good live tracks sound in balanced mode, especially acoustic...This live version of Love Song is over 9:00 min. long with a lot of crowd participation.....Sounds like you are right there and part of it....


I tried the PRO900 in single-ended mode and again the grip was tight ....I'm a big Cure fan and my go to can with Rob and the boys is the PRO900s....This amp makes them shine...The overall bass slam, along with Rob's gloominess makes a perfect combo.

Both sources I have tried remained true with this amp. Detailed and transparent without being cold....
Did I mention this amp has some juice....


More to come.....
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post #28 of 103
8/23/09 at 9:25pm
nice review! I'm thinking about going with the little dot DAC_1, have you tried yours with different amps? I just want to hear your input on the dac by itself if your able to. thanks!
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post #29 of 103
8/23/09 at 10:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kugino View Post
some headphones, like the k501 and k601 are easily made balanced, but the cables need to be replaced because they have three wires. removing the jumper and making them dual entry with a 4-wire cable is not hard and greatly improves the sound...on the k501, at least.
Doing a full re-cable (as opposed to a simple re-termination) on the K601 isn't exactly easy, thanks to those grilles which are a bitch to open (esp. without the right tools). The K501 can be simply un-screwed so they are easier to open.

I like the price on this balanced amp. Has anyone done a comparison between it and the GS Solo?
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post #30 of 103
8/23/09 at 10:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ramenmeal View Post
nice review! I'm thinking about going with the little dot DAC_1, have you tried yours with different amps? I just want to hear your input on the dac by itself if your able to. thanks!

Thanks very much ramenmeal.

When I separated the amp and dac, the DAC_1 went to play with my Woo Audio WA2, and they are having a great time. The DAC_1 is very similar to the DacMagic (WM8740)(also connected to the WA2) and both have filters to play with (DAC _1 has two filters, sharp and slow and DM has three).
At the moment, I'm running the DAC_1 via its balanced outputs, single ended to the WA2 with female XLR to female RCA adapters...Using optical to a CDP.

Very nice sound from this DAC. Transparent and true to source material and does not get fuzzy with the 6H13C power tubes I love with the WA2 (my Grado tubes)...

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