THE WATERCOOLER HEADPHONE EDITION – Headphones, Amps, DACs, and desktop/home audio related – a freewheeling discussion of gear, impressions, music, and musings.
May 13, 2024 at 5:52 PM Post #271 of 4,418
I’m curious about the Diana DZ. Since I have a WA22 and Hugo 2, I have a nice chain ready to go… Hmmm
Wrong. You have an incredible chain to go with it. Nice is how you would describe mittens. 😂
Your chain is a monster. You would get every last bit of performance from something like a DZ. That would be a great pickup. You got my vote.
 
May 13, 2024 at 5:55 PM Post #272 of 4,418
Bluetti, eco flow, jackery, yeti are the main players in home battery station manufacturers.
 
May 13, 2024 at 6:07 PM Post #273 of 4,418
Hello everyone. Nice thread and very interesting! I am really enjoying reading, and also listening to some of the albums you have shared. I thought I would also share 2 or 3 albums that I like.


I found this one recently on Qobuz. It's a kind of folk-country rock concert by an Australian singer. It's well recorded and sounds amazing. With ZMF Verite it sounds great, but I think Atrium Closed is able to bring that “I'm there” feeling even better (special attention to tracks #9 and #10, featuring other great singers).

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It seems like some people here like Jazz. I think I discovered this album from someone here on Head-fi and it's become one of my favorites. Great casting here. And the soundstage reproduction is amazing (The first track is not my favorite, but starting with number 2, the rest are very good in my opinion)

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And, of course, Houston Person (my favorite saxophonist), in this case with pianist Emmet Cohen. Nice team and nice album

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Hope you enjoy the listening!
 
May 13, 2024 at 6:35 PM Post #274 of 4,418
are u guys using power conditioner/ filter ? im not sure how many percent will it improve my setup but any good brand recommend?, i want to try and see if any differences with and without. For now i just plug direct to wall power outlet.
I have tested the Audience Power Conditioners in my 2-channel setup and they do make a slight difference. My amps ( Viva Auroras ) had a bit more “air” around the lead vocals and both increased and tighter bass.

For my HP system I just got the Puritan 1512 and Ultimate power cords. All is connected and working fine. All sounding good. After fully burned in I will try disconnecting to see if I can hear a difference. I do also like the protection they provide ( lost power once today ).
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May 13, 2024 at 6:39 PM Post #275 of 4,418
May 13, 2024 at 6:48 PM Post #276 of 4,418
A different method to tackle a problem. I admittedly did not come up with this idea on my own, rather @zach915m was the one who suggested I look into this solution.

A very long story short, I had my PSAudio Dectet looking like a Tesla coil, sparks shooting this way and that, which in turn melted my FTA Callisto USB cable, fried my Roon core and all other sorts of audiophile nightmare fuel.

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Anyways, for the price of a decent power conditioner, I picked up a LIPO battery system. The one I have has four 20 amp AC sockets. I can run my entire setup for twenty hours before it needs a re-charge, which only takes about 90 minutes to go from 0-100%. It also accommodates large, aftermarket audiophile grade power cables.

It is totally silent in operation and produces perfect sine waves. The SQ increase is quite noticeable, especially in clarity and staging. One never realizes how dirty the electricity coming from the wall is until you can a/b with a clean solution. No more surges to worry about and no more hours of the day when your gear sounds the best.

For more info check out here , an article from 'Enjoy The Music' about using batteries for running audio gear.


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For the record, PSAudio didn't even bother to assist or inquire about damages. Final Touch Audio replaced my USB cable free of charge (highly recommended).
Interesting.... :thinking:
Checking their website and product page, I realized this thing has a fan! Does it ever make an audible noise?

AFAIK it's advisable not to leave it charging unattended, which I do not. Other than that I just use common sense when using it and thus far, knock on wood, I haven't had any issues.
Do you turn it off or do you disconnect it from the wall? Just curious...
 
May 13, 2024 at 6:49 PM Post #277 of 4,418
I have tested the Audience Power Conditioners in my 2-channel setup and they do make a slight difference. My amps ( Viva Auroras ) had a bit more “air” around the lead vocals and both increased and tighter bass.

For my HP system I just got the Puritan 1512 and Ultimate power cords. All is connected and working fine. All sounding good. After fully burned in I will try disconnecting to see if I can hear a difference. I do also like the protection they provide ( lost power once today ).IMG_6040.jpegIMG_6048.jpegIMG_6035.jpeg
nice one! i might looking for a cheaper version because i don't need many outlet plugs.
 
May 13, 2024 at 7:19 PM Post #279 of 4,418
Houston Person (my favorite saxophonist), in this case with pianist Emmet Cohen.

I love Emmet Cohen, he's one of the best young jazz pianists emerging on the scene in recent years; so talented. Everyone, whether you like jazz or haven't yet found that you do, I highly recommend his YouTube channel - for the past few years, he's been posting live shows from his apartment with some of the very best musicians and singers, including some unknown and upcomign ones. I've discocvered so many new artists through his live streams:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKBb--0F0qT_deSpMLsFRA

And, for a bit of genre switch...

A couple of weeks ago I heard a unique classical concert at Carnegie Hall. It was put together by amateur musicians (Juilliared trained, former professional musicians, etc.) that have moved on to pursue other careers, but ocassionally come together to perform and share their ongoing love of music. It was quite a special and electrifying event in its unique way. One piece that mvoed me that I never heard before was played by 2 pianists on the same piano (4 hands). I've since added it to my playlist. It's a lot of fun (especially the 1st and 4th track that are a bit more energetic):

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May 13, 2024 at 7:47 PM Post #280 of 4,418
Interesting.... :thinking:
Checking their website and product page, I realized this thing has a fan! Does it ever make an audible noise?


Do you turn it off or do you disconnect it from the wall? Just curious...
It does have a fan that makes a faint sound, but only when charging from the wall, dunno about solar charging. The fan doesn't come on when not charging.

Once the charge is complete I unplug the charging cable and only turn the battery on when I'm listening
 
May 13, 2024 at 10:06 PM Post #281 of 4,418
gotta spend big to get any results from power conditioners.
 
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May 13, 2024 at 10:22 PM Post #282 of 4,418
IEMs have been consuming me a ton lately, but this is still home base for me. Hasn’t gotten as much love lately, but man do I still love this combination:

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Oceanside? We'll have to connect in the future!
 
May 13, 2024 at 10:23 PM Post #283 of 4,418
Another vote for Puritan 156. I’m using it with default classic cable and not the ultimate one.
Go for Ultimate to bring more clarity out of your system.
 
May 13, 2024 at 10:33 PM Post #284 of 4,418
Oceanside? We'll have to connect in the future!

Definitely would love to! Actually moving back to Orange County in a few weeks, but still not too far. At the very least, come up for CanJam SoCal!
 
May 13, 2024 at 10:39 PM Post #285 of 4,418
Just got the Sony NW-WM1ZM2 at many good Head-Fi friends' recommendation.

Other than a gorgeous presentation all the IEMs I've tried it with today, I found it also has a wonderful synergy with the very easy to drive Audio-Technica ATH-AWKG. Following in the footsteps of @HiFiHawaii808 and @Zachik 's reports earlier in this thread, these headphones are a good match to a good DAP. With this one, it's a wonderful synergy. The 1Z offers a bit of extra space and openness coupled with great definition, whiich works very well with these warm headphones (in their ZMF pad configuration):

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