[ALRAINBOW]

Dynamics Is the difference from the lowest to loudest sound. Now this does not mean if you turn the volume up you increased the dynamics . So if you listen to the same song on your clock radio and your headphones the ch be is not just loud or low it's not just more detail it is also dynamics.

Al

 

[Amictus]

I'm getting amazingly good sound on the HD800s straight from the headphone socket on the Oppo 105. Now that's quite a surprise. 

 

[ag8908]

Dynamics Is the difference from the lowest to loudest sound. Now this does not mean if you turn the volume up you increased the dynamics . So if you listen to the same song on your clock radio and your headphones the ch be is not just loud or low it's not just more detail it is also dynamics.

Al

 
Wait, let's say a song has 2 seconds of 0db, 2 seconds of 20db, 2 seconds of 40db when played at X volume. If you increase the volume to Y, wouldn't the above turn into 2 seconds of 0db, 2 seconds of 40db, and 2 seconds of 80db or something close to that? Thus whereas before there was 20db and 40db difference in sound as the song played, now there's 40db and 80db of difference in sound, thus increasing the difference between highest and lowest sounds? Therefore, isn't volume dynamics?

 

[froger]

Did the objective 2 amp drive the hd800 well? Do you need to use the gain switch?

O2 amp on its own driving HD800 is indeed flat sounding. I added the ifi itube before the O2 and it improved the sound by quite a bit, smoother, more dynamic and much better soundstage. However if you consider the total cost of itube and O2, it may be more economical to get the M-stage amplifier instead though I have never heard of it.

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Ok let's try it this way. What is the difference from a small radio with one speaker to a stereo with two speakers and the speakers are about two feet high. .

Answer that question and that is dynamics.
Al

 

[ag8908]

O2 amp on its own driving HD800 is indeed flat sounding. I added the ifi itube before the O2 and it improved the sound by quite a bit, smoother, more dynamic and much better soundstage. However if you consider the total cost of itube and O2, it may be more economical to get the M-stage amplifier instead though I have never heard of it.

The objective2 guy claims his amp beats any amp under $500 in any blind test in all but electrostatic headphones.
 
Edit: I forgot to add that I'm getting it for free, so no loss to me.

 

[froger]

Let's not go into the O2 amp argument in this thread. Many of us own the O2 amp and we are sharing our findings based on our experience. Or you can choose to follow the claim and pick up an O2 amp and experience yourself. Many of us did

 

[ag8908]

Let's not go into the O2 amp argument in this thread. Many of us own the O2 amp and we are sharing our findings based on our experience. Or you can choose to follow the claim and pick up an O2 amp and experience yourself. Many of us did

 
Oh is that a controversial topic? Sorry.

 

[ALRAINBOW]

I own the o2 amp and dac and the other one than sell to the cr4020 or what ever. They are fine but most definitely not hi end. Maybe the people who feel it's fine are using the dac they sell. Now that makes perfect sense lol.

Al

 

[RUMAY408]

  Anyone have any experience with the Meier Daccord and Meier Classic with the HD800? 

I have tried almost every possible input on the Daccord and Classic, very good but not great with the HD800. Much better with the T1.
 
I recently ran a balanced XLR cable directly from my OPPO BDP-105> Daccord via a balanced RCA Y> coax and the upgrade in imaging and soundstage blew me away.  

 

[PleasantSounds]

   
Wait, let's say a song has 2 seconds of 0db, 2 seconds of 20db, 2 seconds of 40db when played at X volume. If you increase the volume to Y, wouldn't the above turn into 2 seconds of 0db, 2 seconds of 40db, and 2 seconds of 80db or something close to that? Thus whereas before there was 20db and 40db difference in sound as the song played, now there's 40db and 80db of difference in sound, thus increasing the difference between highest and lowest sounds? Therefore, isn't volume dynamics?

 
dB is a logarythmic scale - it doesn't work like that.
 
Let's try to explain the dynamics with a graph:

The black line (signal) represents the original input.
The blue line (response 2) is the ideal output of the amplifier - it is proportional to the input signal. That I'd call dynamic.
The red line(response 1) is what frequently happens in low quality gear: the amplification is non-linear, i.e. the low amplitude signals are amplified more than the high amplitude signals. 

 

[ag8908]

   
dB is a logarythmic scale - it doesn't work like that.
 
Let's try to explain the dynamics with a graph:

The black line (signal) represents the original input.
The blue line (response 2) is the ideal output of the amplifier - it is proportional to the input signal. That I'd call dynamic.
The red line(response 1) is what frequently happens in low quality gear: the amplification is non-linear, i.e. the low amplitude signals are amplified more than the high amplitude signals. 

Thanks this is helpful. What do the X and Y axis represent? Time and volts?

 

[PleasantSounds]

 
Thanks this is helpful. What do the X and Y axis represent?

x = time
y = amplitude

 

[ag8908]

  x = time
y = amplitude

OK, so you're saying that an amplifier lacking dynamics makes sounds that were intended to be relatively quiet louder than they were intended to be, and it makes sounds that were intended to be relatively loud quieter than they were intended to be.
 
So an amplifier lacking dynamics would, on the other hand, probably push more details forward, no? The dynamic amp would play the relatively quiet sounds so quietly that perhaps you couldn't even hear them. But the amp lacking in dynamics would play those quiet subtle sounds louder than you were intended to hear them, perhaps making the difference between hearing and not hearing them at all.
 
Edit: One other thought is that for IEMs and the risk they pose for hearing damage, it seems you would be justified in preferring an amp lacking in dynamics.
 
If that's all dynamics is I'm not totally sure I even want it. I actually set spotify to use the equalize sounds feature which would seemingly be a software feature that reduces dynamics?

 

[ag8908]

P.S. Thanks for the explanation.