The diary entries of a little girl who is now 30! ~ Part 2 - Page 311

Quote:

Originally Posted by 333jeffery 

I just took the plunge on some HD800's. I hope it's as wonderful with the Zana Deux as folks around here say it is.

Congrats. The HD800 + ZDSE is a legendary pairing.

On the subject of amps for the HD800, I was really amazed by the Cavalli Liquid Glass. As much as I like the sound of the Senns with the ZDSE and Balancing Act, the LG just had this amazing engaging quality, this ability to draw the listener into the sound field. It seemed to emphasize width less and depth more. It just sounded so dynamic and---dare I invoke that most nebulous of terms---musical. My only crit at the time was the background noise: there was a noticeable hum with the HD800. Apparently that issue was only on the prototype, however.

One amp I'd love to try with the HD800 is the DNA Stratus:

The synergy between these two is said to be amazing. My main concern is that it may not be the best choice for highly sensitive headphones. For that, there's the Sonett 2:

I'm partial to the sound of 2A3s though, so I'm still more interested in the former. Either way I respect Donald. He's a nice guy and willing to chat with folks about this hobby, upfront and open about his methodology when it comes to amp design. Most of all, I like that he refuses to give in to peoples' demands for other colors on his amps. You always see posts where people are lecturing him on how he'd sell more amps if they came in piano black or silver. His response to this is that he's just not interested in making black or silver amps. As fellow head-fier Radio_Head says: Donald is making functional art.

Similarly, you can only get Manley Labs gear in their powdery steel blue color:

That's the NeoClassic 300B, another amp that has intrigued me for a while now, though I'm much less familiar with the fabled "300B sound." It's generally ranked among the top tiers of headphone amps (and has a price tag to match), though you seldom if ever see it mentioned here on head-fi. The most exposure it had was back in 2003 / 2004 or thereabouts when another head-fier experienced audible hum with the R10. The response from Manley Labs was fantastic: a rep joined the thread and worked as a go-between with the engineers to isolate the problem and correct it. They fixed the issue, but the owner in question didn't even give the amp a second chance, dismissing it and moving on after raising such a huge fuss in the first place. Fortunately the result was positive: it lead to the amp's further refinement.

But yeah, the response from Manley Labs continues to stand out in my mind as a prime example of customer service at its best. I also really dig their sense of humor. Reminds me of Schiit Audio. Oh yeah, and the company is run by a woman, EveAnna Manley.

I feel like I should get an amp that uses 300B or PX4 at some point. Aside from the ZDSE whose tube compliment is really weird, the amps I use are either 2A3 or EL34.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mosshorn 

For something that uncomfortable looking, don't waste your money unless you want it as a collector's piece.

 

 

Muramasa VIII, anyone?

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrViolin 

:/ man, way to shoot down a potential customer that could potentialy shoot down more potential customers... tbh, I've never heard about them outside of this thread. They only offer up cables, but everyone's got cardas, double helix, moon audio, etc. Also agree on the being stuck-up or gung ho. I seriously doubt anyone is going to buy those phones. just look at them. 5k without any impressions or hearing is pretty risky.

Just checked the abyss page, and they're labeled as "the worlds finest headphones". That's pretty bold for 5k up against the R10, Orpheus, and 009

 

Yeah, it's a little disheartening to see some of the directions this hobby has taken in recent years. Uber-expensive headphones have always been around, but in most cases those were well established companies whose offerings consisted of a fairly wide range of products. With full-sized headphones growing in popularity and $100-500 sets becoming relatively more common place, the number of $1k offerings also increases while the boundaries of summit-fi continue to expand. We're also seeing newcomers showing up with increasingly expansive first time entries. Six or seven years ago, a cable company showing up out of the blue with a $5k pair of headphones would have been unheard of methinks.

 

Seems like the ortho market best illustrates this: smaller companies getting into the scene, offering flagships with increasingly lofty price tags. I mean, the transition from LCD-2 to LCD-3 was a doubling in that sense. The LCD-4 may just be closer to the Abyss unfortunately.

 

Still for as much as this hobby is growing, summit-fi remains a niche within a niche, a relative microcosm. Dr. Fang was smart enough to realize this with HiFiMan, and when he was getting ready to launch the HE-6, he offered a listening tour and allowed people plenty of opportunities to listen to them. Audez'e likewise stayed close to the community with an ear to the ground, though they seem to be drifting away a bit these days.

 

JPS isn't going to last very long with their current attitude. Uber-expensive headphones fail without that sense of familiarity and trust. They fail miserably. It happened just last year, in fact.

 

Muramasa VIII, anyone?

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by compoopers 

Heading back to college... I like college, but I hate living in dorms.