[fufula]

Do you guys make it work with streaming services somehow? I just trialed Roon which has a built-in crossfeed (and many other issues that unfortunately make the platform a no-go for me) and it reminded me how great it can sound. APO is kinda janky, are there any other solutions to use it with Tidal HiFi?

 

[elira]

A Hugo 2, and a couple of amps from Meier Audio and SPL have it.

 

[jiiteepee]

Do you guys make it work with streaming services somehow? I just trialed Roon which has a built-in crossfeed (and many other issues that unfortunately make the platform a no-go for me) and it reminded me how great it can sound. APO is kinda janky, are there any other solutions to use it with Tidal HiFi?

Meier crossfeed as a VST plugin. https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php?topic=108412.0

 

[mugbot]

RME ADI-2 DAC FS can crossfeed at several levels. I like it for the Beatles.

 

[chesebert]

crossfeed is a waste of time and degrades performance. Get a better amp/DAC and music will no longer be between your ears.

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

On Windows, just download HeSuVi.
Pick ooyh_0 preset.
Done.
For many people (depending on your head and ear shape), it will work way better than any crossfeed plug-in. the "wow" effect is generally there.
You could also use my free app for the exact same purpose and many other EQ features (check my signature).

 

[Anaz]

If you use crossfeed a lot, I second the ADI-2 DAC recommendation for it's flexibility. ...I'm currently listening using an iPad > ADI-2 DAC.

 

[fufula]

If you use crossfeed a lot, I second the ADI-2 DAC recommendation for it's flexibility. ...I'm currently listening using an iPad > ADI-2 DAC.

While it doesn't sound like a bad idea to forgo the crappy software implementations in favor of a hardware one, I don't think I'm ready to drop that kind of money on a DAC. I I'm currently using the LCD2Cs with Aune T1SE, and was hoping to upgrade to something at most as expensive as the headphones. Is there anything a little cheaper? Say, up to $700?

 

[Anaz]

While it doesn't sound like a bad idea to forgo the crappy software implementations in favor of a hardware one, I don't think I'm ready to drop that kind of money on a DAC. I I'm currently using the LCD2Cs with Aune T1SE, and was hoping to upgrade to something at most as expensive as the headphones. Is there anything a little cheaper? Say, up to $700?

That makes sense. If you use IEMs, I suggest you start with a the $50 Emotiva Little Ego which has a "blend" setting that's not a bad implementation of crossfeed. I use crossfeed when listening to old blues or jazz recordings and started with a Little Ego, upgraded to a Meier Corda Jazz ff amp, and then then the ADI-2.

Meier's CORDA DACCORD would have fit the bill a few years ago, but it seems a little outdated these days. The SPL Phonitor One and One D are approx. $400 and $600 respectively - I don't know much about them, but the power output may be a tad low for planars. Some iFi dac/amps have a "3D" feature that appears to be crossfeed - e.g. the micro iDSD Signature refers to crossfeed in the user manual.

 

[piglet]

I use cross-feed about 90% of the time when I am using headphones. I have it on my Meridian Prime headphone amplifier and I also have xSpace on my iFi Audio xDSD Gryphon.

I've only ever used hardware cross-feed. I used to have a Meier-Audio DAC which had it and that was excellent. When I buy a headphone DAC/Amp today I want it to have a system of cross-feed.

When you put on headphones you are separating the left and right channel absolutely in a way that was not intended in the original recording unless it was mastered specifically for headphones. So, you could say that not using cross-feed degrades performance, if you are trying to listen to the original intention.

There are different systems for cross-feed and I recommend trying out as many as you can. My experience is that cross-feed can greatly improve the listening experience on headphones.

 

[jamesjames]

Generally I don't use headphones without crossfeed. I feel it can simply transform the listening experience into something much closer to being in the audience at a live performance. The basic idea is to allow the listener to hear a recording through headphones as it was intended to be heard through speakers. This involves feeding some of the left channel into the right, and vice versa. Recordings are generally mastered for loudspeaker listening, where the listener in fact hears some of the left channel through the right ear, and vice versa. The point of crossfeed is not, as is sometimes suggested, simply to overcome 'hard-panned' old recordings (although it no doubt helps). It is, as I say, to allow the listener to hear a recording as was generally intended. To hear only the left channel through the left ear, and the right channel only through the right ear, can present a 'super-stereo' effect and - to my ear - often creates a quite unnatural image. I've found crossfeed generally improves the three-dimensionality of music - creating a better sense of being located in the audience at a performance that is occurring forward of the listening position. I've found this can improve imaging and timbre of acoustic instruments quite significantly.

Having tried many versions I've come to prefer the 'analogue' approach; that is, implementing a crossfeed circuit in the amplifier. I find 'digital' approaches - that is, DSP at the signal processing stage - less successful (although sometimes still quite good). I find the digital approach - additional digital processing - can drain some life from good recordings.

It's surprising to me that there isn't more interest in this - although I accept it's probably more relevant with classical and some other acoustic music, which is recorded to capture a performance space rather than a multi-tracked wall of sound (as with much pop and rock music). What's a little harder to understand is why it seems often to generate such a hostile response. I often encounter the very dismissive view that it simply 'wrecks' music, is a 'scam', a 'waste of time' and 'damaging' to recordings. I've no idea why mention of crossfeed so often elicits this kind of reaction ...

As with most aspects of this hobby, I would suggest anyone who finds the idea interesting simply try it and come to their own conclusions. Particularly with free options like foobar, it costs nothing to try. If it seems worth exploring further, there are now a number of components on the market that might be of interest. The Meier amps implement a digital approach. I use the Moon 430HA amp, which implements an analogue approach. iFi and SPL are two others which implement an analogue approach that I've also found to be excellent. Some Burson amps implement a crossfeed circuit in the analogue domain; the dCS Lina DAC/amp and some Chord DAC/amps operate in the digital domain.

 

[fidgeraldo]

crossfeed is a waste of time and degrades performance. Get a better amp/DAC and music will no longer be between your ears.

I have SPL. I tried the Matrix option when I got the amp, but I didn't notice almost any change. It depends on recordings whether there is a benefit or not.
I have a few CDs that are completely useless for listening to headphones. I will mention a few authors, an album from Talking Heads, Jethro Tull, Rare Earth, and probably a few more. These are older recordings, wholly made for speakers.
When you listen to them, you have a heavy weight on one side of the head and nothing on the other.

I still didn't listen to these albums after I got SPL Phonitor XE to see if there was any difference and if they became listenable with the crossfeed option.

I don't have bad amps or DACs, and I wonder how an even more expensive amp or DAC would solve this kind of recording.
I love listening to headphones, and I love different experiences from speakers. If I get the same feeling, I wonder if I would be a headphones fan.

But the thing is that some recordings are not listenable at all with headphones, at least for me.

Cheers!

 

[headfry]

Consider the Chord Mojo 2.

 

[jamesjames]

I have SPL. I tried the Matrix option when I got the amp, but I didn't notice almost any change. It depends on recordings whether there is a benefit or not.
I have a few CDs that are completely useless for listening to headphones. I will mention a few authors, an album from Talking Heads, Jethro Tull, Rare Earth, and probably a few more. These are older recordings, wholly made for speakers.
When you listen to them, you have a heavy weight on one side of the head and nothing on the other.

I still didn't listen to these albums after I got SPL Phonitor XE to see if there was any difference and if they became listenable with the crossfeed option.

I don't have bad amps or DACs, and I wonder how an even more expensive amp or DAC would solve this kind of recording.
I love listening to headphones, and I love different experiences from speakers. If I get the same feeling, I wonder if I would be a headphones fan.

But the thing is that some recordings are not listenable at all with headphones, at least for me.

Cheers!

I'm afraid I can't offer much on the music you mention - I really only listen to classical and some jazz music - and I've mentioned above why I think this might be relevant for crossfeed. I too owned the Phonitor and thought it was a terrific amp - I think its matrix system is very effective with good recordings of acoustic instruments - one of the best I've encountered at any price. That said, I don't doubt your experience. And I'm prepared to believe not a lot can be done to rescue some older recordings.

 

[jamesjames]

It’s also worth pointing out, I think, that crossfeed can make a difference in unexpected ways. It's not a simple difference. There’s more blending of sound and I find this can give rise to all kinds of subtle changes in balance - which may nevertheless be quite noticeable. With classical music, for example, I find this typically results in a presentation that’s generally less ‘spectacular’ – and more in keeping with loudspeaker (and live) presentation. The sound with particular instruments may also be less immediate: less like having one's head in a piano and more like listening as an audience member to a piano from some distance. This can seem a little sonically underwhelming on first hearing. I was certainly in two minds about it when I first encountered it. It took some time to appreciate what it was doing and why the departure from the hyper-detail of conventional headphones might actually be preferable.

It was when I realized that crossfeed was allowing me to hear violins properly in orchestral recordings – that is, properly blended with the cellos and basses in both left and right ears – that I began to understand the basic technical limitation with conventional headphone listening. As violins are typically grouped to the left of the orchestra and cellos and basses to the right I find the conventional headphone presentation (even with modern recordings) tends to isolate and separate the two sides of the orchestra in an artificial way. With crossfeed I feel there's generally a more natural blend of sound – as if I were in the audience at some distance from the performance. This often gives a softer, less strident presentation too. The detail is there, it's just less immediate. Even with solo instruments I find crossfeed can make a significant difference – as it may better reproduce the balance of reflected sound captured by the recording. I've read others comment that it can bring acoustic instruments into better 'focus' - and that's what I've found. An analogy that fits for me is with the advantage good high-resolution recordings may have over lower resolution recordings - they seem to create a clearer image of the performance without fundamentally altering its character.