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Toys for Boys
Aug 1, 2014 at 12:18 PM Post #32 of 93
lfc_sl said:
I think some of the TH900 price premium is the hand made finish, see http://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/products/TH-900.shtml

Because frankly the packaging in general ain't much better than my HD600 lol
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...this review comes to a similar conclusion like you. Interesting, that sound-wise the author also comes to a similar conclusion when comparing the 900 with the 600, as me when I compare the d7100 and the d600 (major improvement more "smoothness" in the sound*). Just that when upgrading from Fostex TH 600 to a TH900 you have to pay much more for a relatively small improvement; compared to an upgrade with a similar improvement-effect from the d600 to the d7100.

* in my short comparison I actually wanted to say that the d7100 is "slightly less grainy" than the d600... Which would somehow have implied that the d600 is kind of grainy. Which definitely is not the case. So I didn't write it at all. Expressing it the other way round as in above linked review, by saying the d7100 sounds slightly "smoother" than the d600 expresses it much better...
 
Aug 30, 2014 at 9:11 PM Post #33 of 93
Nice thread here, Musikalidin :)

Have you tried the Sennheiser HDVD 800 with the HD 800? I've had the HD 800 for a few years and am finding that the HDVD 800 and balanced cable work a treat together with great synergy.

smily_headphones1.gif

 
Sep 7, 2014 at 2:20 PM Post #34 of 93
windsor said:
  Nice thread here, Musikalidin :)

Have you tried the Sennheiser HDVD 800 with the HD 800? I've had the HD 800 for a few years and am finding that the HDVD 800 and balanced cable work a treat together with great synergy.

smily_headphones1.gif
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...yes, I did. And actually the synergy is great. I have never been a big fan of the HD800, but in combination with the HDVD I actually quite like it.
I came to the conclusion, that the HDVD800 was kind of designed "around" the HD800: The damping factor respectively the output impendance seems optimized for the HD800: 300 Ohm / approx. 40 Ohm = Damping factor between 7 and 8. Some claim that around 8 is the optimum for the damping factor...
 
And here lays also my problem with the HDVD... most of my phones are rather low in impendance. My AH-D7100 with 25 Ohm and the LCD-X with 22 Ohm... both leading to a damping factor smaller than 1 in combination with the HDVD. Not good. That's why the sound seems to kind of sticking to the membranes, not really transparent, quite limited space / soundstage.
 
Took me some time to understand and accept that, and only after I tried numerous other amps with the mentioned phones I recognized how huge the shortcomings of those two cans were when combined with the HDVD800.
 
But again, as you say, with the HD800, especially driven balanced, its a perfect match. Also with the high impendance K-1000 it sounds great, and used as a DAC it sounds fabulous via my speakers (... all inputs but not the USB, with this one I have issues with the configuration, even after the firmware update)...
 
Sep 8, 2014 at 7:16 PM Post #35 of 93
musikaladin said:
...yes, I did. And actually the synergy is great. I have never been a big fan of the HD800, but in combination with the HDVD I actually quite like it.
I came to the conclusion, that the HDVD800 was kind of designed "around" the HD800: The damping factor respectively the output impendance seems optimized for the HD800: 300 Ohm / approx. 40 Ohm = Damping factor between 7 and 8. Some claim that around 8 is the optimum for the damping factor...

And here lays also my problem with the HDVD... most of my phones are rather low in impendance. My AH-D7100 with 25 Ohm and the LCD-X with 22 Ohm... both leading to a damping factor smaller than 1. Not good. That's why the sound seems to kind of sticking to the membranes, not really transparent, quite limited space.
Took me some time to understand and accept that, and only after I tried numerous other amps with the mentioned phones I recognized how huge the shortcomings were when combined with the HDVD800.

But again, as you say, with the HD800, especially driven balanced, its a perfect match. Also with the high impendance K-1000 it sounds great, and used as a DAC it sounds fabulous via my speakers (... all inputs but not the USB, with this one I have issues with the configuration, even after the firmware update)...
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I don't know if you know about the following but something that may be of interest to you is the Schiit Wyrd. Apparently it's an excellent product for cleaning up the signal of a system's USB connection and could be just the thing to provide sound resolve with your HDVD 800 used in USB mode. :)
 
Oct 4, 2014 at 3:26 AM Post #36 of 93
A short update concerning DSD in my desktop system:
 
As you can see, there now is an Abacus Prepino combined to the Abacus Ampino. Together with my new ifi iDSD micro they make up a really great team. The two Denons are "permanent guests" on my desktop and make up for a perfect match with the different amplification options!
 

 
To listen to DSD I use foobar2000 with a SACD plugin.
 
This is how the complete desktop System now looks like.
 

 

 
 
In my main system there weren't too many changes. Just a new 4-pin balanced solid core silver cable for the Audeze LCD-X and a little Abacus Linedriver (variable version) which you can see behind the Krell Kid.
 

 
...did I by the way already mention that I really love that hobby...?
 
Oct 20, 2014 at 9:33 AM Post #37 of 93
...a long weekend on Sentosa Island with my family and... the FiiO X5 and the AH-D600. They make up for a great team. I enjoyed several FLAC live recordings as "club d'elf" and "Jamroom2006" with Steve Kimock... No further amp or whatsoever required... WOW, this is not just a nice mobile alternative, this is REAL portable High End!
 

 
Dec 24, 2014 at 2:31 AM Post #40 of 93
...recently the desk got too full with stuff so I built myself a "bridge"... here with the speaker front covers removed.
 

 
The Amp part is actually hidden behind he screen...
 

 
... and with the speaker covers, I prefer it that way because it looks more "homelike"... besides the right speaker you can also see my latest favorite toy, the Astell Kern AK100II (here my review).
 

 
Actually the sound improved dramatically. Not only that the speakers are on ear level, aslo the bass improved. This is related to the fact that now the subwoofer is better isolated and thereby less interacting with the large desk-plate... and I finally have more space again in my playground which I urgently need for some just recently purchased gear... yet to come...
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 5:38 PM Post #41 of 93

 
Behringer Firepower FCA610 for recording and powering warm headphones and MiniAMP for analytical ones.
 

 
A pair of Behringer Truth B1031A and a modded Takstar TS-662.
 

 
A modded Takstar HI 1500 and Addictive Two - a DIY wooden orthodynamic.
 

 
Jan 3, 2015 at 1:42 PM Post #42 of 93
hal rockwell said:
 
 
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...well, this is not "just" a toy, this is a complete and very nice playground you have there... which reminds me, that I still have an old pair of Behringer Truth 2030a monitors in my storeroom. Maybe I should once get them out from there and put it on my desktop-bridge in combination with the Velodyne subwoofer there... that could be quite interesting...
 
Jan 3, 2015 at 2:07 PM Post #43 of 93
musikaladin said:
   
...well, this is not "just" a toy, this is a complete and very nice playground you have there... which reminds me, that I still have an old pair of Behringer Truth 2030a monitors in my storeroom. Maybe I should once get them out from there and put it on my desktop-bridge in combination with the Velodyne subwoofer there... that could be quite interesting...
Click to expand...

 
Behringer make great equipment for an on-a-budget music enthusiasts. They are being dissed by purists for the quality of their products because of the QC problems they had in the past. In my opinion their products can't be beaten for the price and I've never been to anyrecording studio that didn't have any Behringer equipment in it.
 
When I've been to the first European Canjam, Philips used the Behringer Miniamp to power all their headphone models in their booth.
 
Jan 28, 2015 at 8:26 AM Post #44 of 93
...here the latest members of the family...
 
The fabulous Denon AH-MM400:
 

 

 

 
...and the great little Shure SE535...
 

 

 
...and the Beyerdynamic T50 P
 

 
Also the K702 make up a great team with the AK100II.
 

 
And this is how I listen when I visit my parent's home: The K702 sounds fabulous with the Musical Fidelity X-CANV2...
 

 
A short review of the MM400 here.
 
Cheers!
 
Jan 31, 2015 at 11:31 AM Post #45 of 93
...digitizing some of my "black gold" with the Korg MR-1. I use DSD at 2.8MHz sample rate. I keep them in this format on the hard disc of my Notebook to listen via my ifi micro iDSD, whereas I convert to flac 24bit / 96kHz for mobile usage on my AK100II.
 
The cartridge is a AT33EV, the RIAA preamp a Benz Lukaschek PPA1000.
 
Playback while recording is via the Shanling MC30 to Jeff Rowland Capri to Focal Solo6BE.
 
Here some pictures:
 

 

 
 

 

 
...playtime again!!!
 
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