As of this writing, I have shifted things around a bit. This comparison has forever altered my perceptions of my own gear. So I'm going with what sounds best, and what is most practical, for the moment. On the bright side, that means I need New Gear. LOL.
The Work Setup has returned to the ipod -> Pure i-20 -> Bravo V2 -> Sony MDR 7506. I am still rolling a variety of tubes, but there's currently a 50's vintage round getter Mullard in it.
The Home Setup #1 has change to be laptop -> Schiit Modi -> Bravo V2 (this is a second amp) -> Beyer DT 770. I got this Bravo more cheaply on eBay, for 50-some bucks. It's currently sporting a 50's vintage D-getter Mullard, which sounds really, really good.
The Other Home Setup #2 has become another laptop -> Schiit Magni -> ATH M40fs. Yes, you read that correctly - no DAC. That means I'm double amping, I know. I bought a 3.5mm to RCA cord and am limping along on this until I again shuffle my setups. This has become my junkpile setup I guess. I use it to keep from waking up my kids on the weekend when I'm at another location. I have to equalize the sound coming from iTunes like mad to make the ATH M40fs sound acceptable (and it's just barely that). Fortunately the Magni is up to the task of pushing these stubbornly bad sounding cans, a bit harder. A comment someone made in my review of those cans, has made me wonder if I can break them in a bit more using the Magni.
The really curious finding was that the Beyer DT770's can sound good with the Bravo driving them. This is the one thing that baffles me the most. I just can't understand why my perception of the SQ of this amp vs. the Magni has change so much. I can't explain it. I just know that now, it sounds good. Especially with a high quality Mullard in the amp - it is really quite nice.
Another curious finding is that the ATH M40fs cans can actually be made to sound better with the Magni driving them. Even with double amping and no DAC. The SQ is still noticeably bad - it sounds "cheap" compared to my other setups, and it's got a smiley faced EQ setting just to get there. So they are still far from optimal. But they don't quite deserve to be thrown away yet, and I can credit the Schiit Magni for saving them from certain death.
One last tidbit ... my son broke another set of headphones (amazing how fast that boy seems to break stuff) .. so I decided to buy him a set of the Monoprice 8323 budget-fi cans that so many people seem to rave over. I gave them a brief listen using the Magni (sans DAC), and they were acceptable, but just as cheesy as the ATH M40's. Maybe a bit more cheesy. The headband on those is not very comfy, the ear pads are plastic and feel as cheap as they look, and quite frankly I could not figure out why some people gush over them as much as they do. I suppose for $32 bucks they're not bad, but from my perspective, you get what you pay for, and they surely are cheap $32 dollar cans. I would not recommend them.
The Work Setup has returned to the ipod -> Pure i-20 -> Bravo V2 -> Sony MDR 7506. I am still rolling a variety of tubes, but there's currently a 50's vintage round getter Mullard in it.
The Home Setup #1 has change to be laptop -> Schiit Modi -> Bravo V2 (this is a second amp) -> Beyer DT 770. I got this Bravo more cheaply on eBay, for 50-some bucks. It's currently sporting a 50's vintage D-getter Mullard, which sounds really, really good.
The Other Home Setup #2 has become another laptop -> Schiit Magni -> ATH M40fs. Yes, you read that correctly - no DAC. That means I'm double amping, I know. I bought a 3.5mm to RCA cord and am limping along on this until I again shuffle my setups. This has become my junkpile setup I guess. I use it to keep from waking up my kids on the weekend when I'm at another location. I have to equalize the sound coming from iTunes like mad to make the ATH M40fs sound acceptable (and it's just barely that). Fortunately the Magni is up to the task of pushing these stubbornly bad sounding cans, a bit harder. A comment someone made in my review of those cans, has made me wonder if I can break them in a bit more using the Magni.
The really curious finding was that the Beyer DT770's can sound good with the Bravo driving them. This is the one thing that baffles me the most. I just can't understand why my perception of the SQ of this amp vs. the Magni has change so much. I can't explain it. I just know that now, it sounds good. Especially with a high quality Mullard in the amp - it is really quite nice.
Another curious finding is that the ATH M40fs cans can actually be made to sound better with the Magni driving them. Even with double amping and no DAC. The SQ is still noticeably bad - it sounds "cheap" compared to my other setups, and it's got a smiley faced EQ setting just to get there. So they are still far from optimal. But they don't quite deserve to be thrown away yet, and I can credit the Schiit Magni for saving them from certain death.
One last tidbit ... my son broke another set of headphones (amazing how fast that boy seems to break stuff) .. so I decided to buy him a set of the Monoprice 8323 budget-fi cans that so many people seem to rave over. I gave them a brief listen using the Magni (sans DAC), and they were acceptable, but just as cheesy as the ATH M40's. Maybe a bit more cheesy. The headband on those is not very comfy, the ear pads are plastic and feel as cheap as they look, and quite frankly I could not figure out why some people gush over them as much as they do. I suppose for $32 bucks they're not bad, but from my perspective, you get what you pay for, and they surely are cheap $32 dollar cans. I would not recommend them.
