PSA: profit margin on audio products: cable >>> headphones > speakers > electronics.

Gear is already well grounded and if I just measure rca/bnc to ground without any connection I have no offset. However there is just a tiny amount of offset once two pieces of gear are connected - we are talking about 1mv. Now connecting a separate wire from BNC to ground reduces the tiny offset...

For those with mscaler or external clock or those that still use SPDIF input, you may get better sound by connecting the ferrule on the BNC plug to the actual ground in your AC. I was dong some system optimization and measured a couple mv of offset between my BNC ground and AC ground so I...

That guy did consulting work for hifi brands and IMO he is way too friendly with the owners and designers to say anything really negative in public. The ones he dumps on probably are not his friends or clients. The video was at least entertaining. Might be a good person to speak with IRL to get...

Well, in that case I can't think of a reason why headphone cables can have this dramatic effect on the cans. Are you sure CFA3 does not control the driver better than Envy (evidenced by better bass control, quicker, greater transparency, greater soundstage depth, more air and blackness between...

What do you mean “not mesh” with your system. Any data drop outs or network error?

It should be “almost never”. “Often” is bad. Back to the amp, it’s not bad. Not better than the $500 offering from Nitsch. Great company and great people, however.

IMO 50wpc is meaningless without understanding the actual amp, the load and the SPL requirement. Do people spend a lot on cables when they have 600W mono blocks? Sure. Those amps are probably $50k and their speakers are probably 80-100k so budget 5-10k for speaker cables to find the right sound...

I never said cables make no difference. Read my post again.

I have tried enough cans and enough cables to know otherwise. Try a good speaker amp (you will need preamp unless integrated) and don’t waste money on cables. Planar magnetic drivers need musical and highly powerful solid state amp to bring out their best performance. This is common knowledge in...

FYI, your view that tube amps take “edge off the famous treble peak/bright sound the HD800S and HD800 often has, even with great solid-state amps” is limited by your experience with solid state amps. I hear no such edge with my CFA3, M^3 ( this one has Staccato discrete opamps) or the head amp...

Here is an unpopular opinion, if a cable makes that much difference for you that means your amp is not adequate to drive the headphones (note "drive" is not the same as "loudness"). Try using speaker amp or a more powerful amp to drive 1266 and you should find the more expensive cable doesn't...

I would look at your source and amp to see if all is dialed in. The Utopia can sound from anemic and thin with piano, on the one hand, to full, warm, and dense with a good amount of weight, all depending on the source and amp. However, if you want to max out violin and piano you should look at...

Merlot is more dynamic, more natural sounding, greater sound density with fine details not heard on dac07. Merlot is both higher resolution and more analog sounding. Think of Merlot as dCS Lina in terms of dynamics and sound density but is more analog sounding and higher level of micro details...

Should be fine.

they only sell direct. You can email them or DM them in Discord or SBAF. You can always try your luck on the used market.

Had a head to head with Jeff Rowland Aeris ($13k MSRP). Dac 07 sounded better to me and Aeris has been sold.

For sale is the current production Headamp Gilmore Lite MK2 with matching golden reference power supply. The amp has the white LED. Note that the LED in the power supply broke during transit so there is no LED on the power supply; so only the LED in the amp lights up. Have too many amps and...

For sale is an original Headamp GSX MK1 upgraded with MK2. modules. The amp will also come with the original MK1 modules if you prefer the original sound signature. See below: GSX (with MK2 modules) is IMO an upgrade from the current production GSX MK2 for the following reason. Compared to the...

ATH is not worth the money TBH. The cheap ones are good for FPS (so you can hear steps and gun shots easier etc.) but they are colored and just not worth whatever they are asking, including the current flagship.

ETA Mini Closed. My impression here https://www.head-fi.org/threads/eta-mini-closed.963861/post-17017931 New is $500 but you may be able to find a used one

Now you are only missing the CFA3. 👍

I perceived unnaturalness closer to 4khz in the case of E3 . Not sibilant or harsh. Rather, an overemphasis of clarity and a bit too focused on the initial attack - kind of annoying and a departure from an otherwise great cans. Again 3-4khz perception is not universal among all people so YMMV.

Borrow/buy one to listen for a couple of weeks. The cans initially sounded pretty great (CFA3 + Emm Labs) but once you hear the upper mid issue it will stick out like a sore thumb because everything else is done so well. It bugs me every time I hear them. If you don't hear them (upper mid...

Okay agree on soundstage but that’s only one aspect of reproduction. They are different in a lot of ways.