[MMeirolas]

I ordered the ifi hip dac and am happy with it.
It improved the sound of my k702 a lot. Everything sounds clearer, instrument separation is brilliant, voices sound even better.

The only issue is with my ath msr7b which are unusable due to annoying hiss with the hip dac.

Wanted to keep them instead of the k702 because they are closed and have a balanced cable. Could use them on the go...

Now i'll have to buy something to commute that doesn't have this hissing issue.

 

[bland125]

Hum, I wasn't expecting the MSR7B to pick up the noise floor that much. Is the hissing different on low and high gain and 3.5 vs 4.4mm output? The only thing I have that hiss on the Hip DAC are my CA Polaris V2 but they are hyper sensitive (couldn't use the Hip DAC anyway, too much volume too quick so too dangerous) they hiss less on the Hip DAC than the AQ Cobalt... I have headphones from 13 to 150ohms and will test them out.

 

[MMeirolas]

Hum, I wasn't expecting the MSR7B to pick up the noise floor that much. Is the hissing different on low and high gain and 3.5 vs 4.4mm output? The only thing I have that hiss on the Hip DAC are my CA Polaris V2 but they are hyper sensitive (couldn't use the Hip DAC anyway, too much volume too quick so too dangerous) they hiss less on the Hip DAC than the AQ Cobalt... I have headphones from 13 to 150ohms and will test them out.

It's on the 4,4mm on high gain. You could argue that this HP doesn't need high gain (which is true), but still: shouldn't there be no hiss?

I noticed something today, mainly on high gain as well: between 9 and 10 o'clock when you rise and lower volume, it's like the sound was coming only from the right earpad, and once you get to 10 it plays on the left side as well.

I am no expert, maybe it's supposed to be like this

 

[bland125]

Yes I agree with the hissing. I can't stand it, not a single bit, drives me nuts. It seems some HP and IEMs are pretty good at picking up noise floors and they need careful paring. It is the reason I have a ZX507. 0 hissing, not a single bit, silent dead but again, it won't drive everything. It's much less powerful than even the Hip DAC. The Hip DAC seems to have <0.5ohms impedance ouptut so it has to be quite a noise floor to still pick it up that much on the MSR7B. iFi makes the iematch to attenuate hissing but only for 3.5mm and 2.5mm, not for 4.4mm.

You are getting volume imbalance at low level and it is quite common. If you are stuck in it at your listening level, it means there is too much volume headroom. It's too powerful. Stick to low gain at least. My 150ohms or planars HP don't even need high gain... I doubt your MSR7B do.

There are compromises made to get to a 149$ price point for sure.

 

[MMeirolas]

Yes I agree with the hissing. I can't stand it, not a single bit, drives me nuts. It seems some HP and IEMs are pretty good at picking up noise floors and they need careful paring. It is the reason I have a ZX507. 0 hissing, not a single bit, silent dead but again, it won't drive everything. It's much less powerful than even the Hip DAC. The Hip DAC seems to have <0.5ohms impedance ouptut so it has to be quite a noise floor to still pick it up that much on the MSR7B. iFi makes the iematch to attenuate hissing but only for 3.5mm and 2.5mm, not for 4.4mm.

You are getting volume imbalance at low level and it is quite common. If you are stuck in it at your listening level, it means there is too much volume headroom. It's too powerful. Stick to low gain at least. My 150ohms or planars HP don't even need high gain... I doubt your MSR7B do.

There are compromises made to get to a 149$ price point for sure.

Yes i think i will have do live it somehow, or maybe get other HP and sell these 2.

A lot of people use HPs for every scenario, i'm a more practical guy: one size fits all LOL

So i would really like to use closed ones... Do you have a recommendation by any chance? Sound signature of the K702 (good soundstage, vocal and instruments) but closed

If not, open will do... Any personal favourites so i can may be test them in a store?

Thx

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I read a bit more about MQA and found out that it's a proprietary "thing" and not necessarily something good for the industry... The hell with it then...

What does "the industry" mean? Musicians have been screwed since day one. I'm paying for Tidal and gear with MQA, I don't feel bad about it

 

[bland125]

Yes i think i will have do live it somehow, or maybe get other HP and sell these 2.

A lot of people use HPs for every scenario, i'm a more practical guy: one size fits all LOL

So i would really like to use closed ones... Do you have a recommendation by any chance? Sound signature of the K702 (good soundstage, vocal and instruments) but closed

If not, open will do... Any personal favourites so i can may be test them in a store?

Thx

I don't really have favorites anymore for headphones. As much as I wanted to like headpĥones, every single one creates a hot spot on my head that eventually makes them all uncomfortable to just painful. Even the ever so comfortable Dan Clark Audio Aeon Flow RT closed I use now for everything but music eventually trigger the hot spot discomfort. It's my best effort at closed headphones though I think it lacks bass quantity but not extension. I had the MDR-Z7M2 but they had the most awkward fitting headband ever and sounded weird to me like a messed up soundstage or even crossfeed abuse. Had good bass though, what a shame. I had and have many others but nothing worthy of recommending except maybe the HD58X but it's open and lacks bass too (to me it does).

With my sound signature, if I was looking for headphones, it would have to be one of Meze 99 or Empyreans, Fostex TH900 series or Denon AH-D series.

I haven't heard the AKG K702 but I feel everyone should have a listen to Sennheiser HD series and Beyerdynamic DT something if you haven't. Just as a reference at least. Easy to find a used set and resell.

I am into IEMs now really, solved my head problem.

 

[bland125]

Did a few tests with from computer USB, no music on, 4.4mm, high gain:

Sony MDR-1AM2: No hiss at listening volume. Could pick up hissing at way above listening level volume
Sennheiser HD58: No hiss no matter what
DCA Aeon Flow RT closed: No hiss no matter what
CA Polaris V2: heavy hissing on low gain, can't use high gain
EE Legend X: very slight hissing on low gain, can't use high gain

 

[MMeirolas]

Did a few tests with from computer USB, no music on, 4.4mm, high gain:

Sony MDR-1AM2: No hiss at listening volume. Could pick up hissing at way above listening level volume
Sennheiser HD58: No hiss no matter what
DCA Aeon Flow RT closed: No hiss no matter what
CA Polaris V2: heavy hissing on low gain, can't use high gain
EE Legend X: very slight hissing on low gain, can't use high gain

thx for that

i just ordered the sundaras and the hd660s to compare. there's no place to test them live, since now we can't leave the house other than to work, groceries store and doctor
a bit more than what i wanted to initially spend but let's see. maybe it's worth it
i am a bit worried about a lot of supposed built quality issues on the sundaras. but i have a 3-year warranty, so it should be fine

cheers

 

[bland125]

thx for that

i just ordered the sundaras and the hd660s to compare. there's no place to test them live, since now we can't leave the house other than to work, groceries store and doctor
a bit more than what i wanted to initially spend but let's see. maybe it's worth it
i am a bit worried about a lot of supposed built quality issues on the sundaras. but i have a 3-year warranty, so it should be fine

cheers

2 very good choices for sure. I wouldn't worry too much about the Sundara. I read that Hifiman stand by their products. Hope you like them!

 

[AK74]

I would always go for the DAP because it has its own battery & mobility
Very helpful in the long run