[sheldaze]

  @sheldaze
That's interesting as Jan Meier himself in the thread said the Rock was warm for not so great recordings (what I listen to) and others said "neutral-warm" compared to the Magni's "neutral neutral to neutral bright". He also said that the warm Rock + the 600 (warm mids, ever so slightly bright treble) is still warm and relaxed. If the Element is much warmer than that  who knows what nwavguy and JDS Labs mean by "a wire with gain" or "objectively neutral"! I'm going to order the Schiit ubers as I already think the HD 650 + O2 is dark enough/needs ever so slightly more high end air but not enough to do a mod.

Schiit Uber - everything powered by A/C. Sounds like a plan 

Looking forward to hearing the stack, in its entirety, at the next meet! I've heard pieces of it in past...
 
EDIT: I like the idea of an upper limit to the cost of the products in the mini-meet. What cost would it be though? And I'd prefer if you separate the headphones from the AMP/DAC. Say $500 for the AMP/DAC and a separate $500 for the headphone. But it's up to you! I'm down for the idea!
 
EDIT: It is possible The Element is less warm then the Rock. However there is a clarity or sharpness to the sound coming from the Corda Rock which to me makes the sharp, attack sounds more noticeable. Things like the drum sticks hitting the metal part of a drum (sorry, don't know the name - it's the outer edge, raised part) is much sharper and faster on the Corda Rock. It's less focused on The Element.

 

[Psalmanazar]

@Barry S
I remember you said you used the Magni at work. Do you get volume knob humming?

 

[sheldaze]

  @Barry S
I remember you said you used the Magni at work. Do you get volume knob humming?

 
Humming as you make volume knob adjustments? I've heard of people talking about an electrical hum, created by the (very low) current flowing through the person, from the Schiit Fulla. Of course, the hum stops as soon as the person stops touching the knob. Silly people

 
I had a Magni2 (non-Uber). It was beautifully built - no quality control issues of any kind.

 

[Barry S]

  @Barry S
I remember you said you used the Magni at work. Do you get volume knob humming?

No hum/interference issues at all. Magni/Modi have been rock solid.

 

[gandhisfist]

 
No hum/interference issues at all. Magni/Modi have been rock solid.

 
Barry, I know at the last meet you spoke about having a hard time adjusting between systems that are significantly different.  What is your work setup and do you think its a small enough adjustment to not be uncomfortable to switch between that and your home system?

 

[Psalmanazar]

@Barry S
@sheldaze
Thanks. I got the clipping in WASAPI again last night and reached my breaking point despite being Irish about whether the Ubers will be a real sonic upgrade. Just bought them.

 

[Barry S]

   
Barry, I know at the last meet you spoke about having a hard time adjusting between systems that are significantly different.  What is your work setup and do you think its a small enough adjustment to not be uncomfortable to switch between that and your home system?

You're asking a a fairly complicated question. On one hand, the Yggy/Rag/LCD-X very much spoils me when I'm auditioning other equipment that I'd contemplate buying. Because I'm looking for something significantly better and I'm not sure that exists. There's certainly other equipment that I'd put in the same technical class, but the end result is a somewhat different signature. Like the HE-1000, which sounds a lot like the LCD-X, without the damping. My home system has steadily pulled away from what I have at work--Modi/Magni/HD650, but I have to avoid getting too involved at the music while I'm working. If I'm doing serious listening, the difference is hard to tune out, but I need the music to fade into the background, so in that sense, it works ok. Music has always been an important part of my life and it doesn't take much to overpower my concentration on a Powerpoint presentation. So there's always the fight between wanting something immersive and dramatic vs. trying to keep the performance at arm;s length. My elementary school report cards frequently included the phrase, "easily distracted".

 

[gandhisfist]

After hearing Billheiser HD600's at the meet again, I was interested in finding a pair for myself if I came across a good deal. Just picked up an HD580 for a steal of a price. Looking forward to receiving those, will post impressions once I've had some time with them, hopefully over the Thanksgiving holiday though they make take a little longer since they are coming from Germany.

 

[gandhisfist]

 
You're asking a a fairly complicated question. On one hand, the Yggy/Rag/LCD-X very much spoils me when I'm auditioning other equipment that I'd contemplate buying. Because I'm looking for something significantly better and I'm not sure that exists. There's certainly other equipment that I'd put in the same technical class, but the end result is a somewhat different signature. Like the HE-1000, which sounds a lot like the LCD-X, without the damping. My home system has steadily pulled away from what I have at work--Modi/Magni/HD650, but I have to avoid getting too involved at the music while I'm working. If I'm doing serious listening, the difference is hard to tune out, but I need the music to fade into the background, so in that sense, it works ok. Music has always been an important part of my life and it doesn't take much to overpower my concentration on a Powerpoint presentation. So there's always the fight between wanting something immersive and dramatic vs. trying to keep the performance at arm;s length. My elementary school report cards frequently included the phrase, "easily distracted".

 
I find it very interesting you describe the HD650 as not being as engaging as the LCD-X with the Ygg/Rag.  Does that change at all when you use the HD650 on your home dac/amp stack?

 

[Barry S]

...Does that change at all when you use the HD650 on your home dac/amp stack?

Sure, it's all a matter of degrees. The HD650 out of the Yggy/Rag is very good and more involving, but not up to the detail and dynamics of a big-ass planar membrane. The truth is I still have to snap myself out of the music, even with the Modi/Magni/HD650. People are also driving me nuts on a regular basis at work, so I may need a killer system just to keep my sanity.

 

[Psalmanazar]

  Schiit Uber - everything powered by A/C. Sounds like a plan 

Looking forward to hearing the stack, in its entirety, at the next meet! I've heard pieces of it in past...
 
EDIT: I like the idea of an upper limit to the cost of the products in the mini-meet. What cost would it be though? And I'd prefer if you separate the headphones from the AMP/DAC. Say $500 for the AMP/DAC and a separate $500 for the headphone. But it's up to you! I'm down for the idea!
 
EDIT: It is possible The Element is less warm then the Rock. However there is a clarity or sharpness to the sound coming from the Corda Rock which to me makes the sharp, attack sounds more noticeable. Things like the drum sticks hitting the metal part of a drum (sorry, don't know the name - it's the outer edge, raised part) is much sharper and faster on the Corda Rock. It's less focused on The Element.

The rim of the drum? I was thinking perhaps a 600-700 dollar limit or better just nothing huge, cumbersome, that needs to remain plugged in like the Yggy. Whatever headphones you feel you can comfortably judge gear with so if you use the HD 800 for everything, bring the HD 800 instead of your mid-priced pair. I should have the Ubers by this weekend but I'm not sure how long I will keep the O2+ODAC for as it's definitely going up for sale before Black Friday if the Schiits work out.

 

[sheldaze]

Per the text below in blue, I was being lazy - or busy, but cannot recall now. At the beginning of the first song on the album O by Damien Rice, the drummer musician is striking the hoop (or rim) with the side of the drum stick. It makes a particular "whack" sound, and was much clearer on the Corda Rock than it was on The Element, with both amplifiers fed externally by the same external DAC. I'm going to need to do further listening, but The Element sounds slightly muddled when fed via an external DAC. It is very slight - only noticeable to my ears when comparing to an amp-only box like the Corda Rock.
 
I've been following the thread on The Element. Seems there were certain design decisions with the original version, which could only be changed, from RCA as input to RCA as output, at the factory. They were only recently able to automate this (through a combination of power switch and whether or not the USB DAC was engaged). Otherwise the result was audible distortion issues as the RCA could not on-their-own determine which way to be used, as inputs or outputs. But I still wonder if some remnant of this direction (input/output) issue is still audible?
 

  The rim of the drum? I was thinking perhaps a 600-700 dollar limit or better just nothing huge, cumbersome, that needs to remain plugged in like the Yggy. Whatever headphones you feel you can comfortably judge gear with so if you use the HD 800 for everything, bring the HD 800 instead of your mid-priced pair. I should have the Ubers by this weekend but I'm not sure how long I will keep the O2+ODAC for as it's definitely going up for sale before Black Friday if the Schiits work out.

 
Audeze EL-8 are my litmus test - easily my most discriminating headphones. The only thing they do not do is challenge the source for current or voltage swing. The HiFiMan HE-1000 pull the most current and the Sennheiser HD650 require the most voltage swing. I could substitute the AKG K7XX because they pull significant current (at least more than the HD650) but they're still fairly balanced and don't pull anywhere near the current as the HE1K.
 
If anything, the EL-8 challenge the potentiometer in any amplifier with an analog knob control, regarding accurate it is at the lowest part of the volume. I'll frequently plug the EL-8 into my computer at work at around 10% volume, IIRC.

 

[sheldaze]

Anyone have a need for a Sennheiser or just general flat-headphone carrying case?
It was mated to a closed, noise-cancelling version - not sure which one. It's from my co-worker. His headphone broke a long while ago.

 

[sheldaze]

  I find it very interesting you describe the HD650 as not being as engaging as the LCD-X with the Ygg/Rag.  Does that change at all when you use the HD650 on your home dac/amp stack?

I tried out the HD650 last night.
 
I am going to try the Audeze EL-8C next - against my original thinking. I ordered a cable from Charleston Cable Company with 4-pin XLR, which I will certainly bring for you to try at the next meet. I'm not clear this is going to work, but the Audeze put me in a different mindset than do the HD650. I'll comment more after I hear it.

 

[yage]

  At the beginning of the first song on the album O by Damien Rice, the drummer musician is striking the hoop (or rim) with the side of the drum stick. It makes a particular "whack" sound...

 
This sorta reminds me of a trip we took to San Francisco for a friend's wedding. We were walking in Fisherman's Wharf when the sound of some jazz came wafting in on the breeze. I thought, 'Holy Moses, whatever club that's coming from - they've got a killer sound system!" Turns out it was a live band.