Burn in can help a bit, but to go from shrill to musical is probably too much to hope for. Planers do well with powerful amps, if you can borrow one it would tell you if that's the problem. I'm a Schiit fan, good bang for the buck, I'd guess either of the Magni's would make a big difference in...

Yes, good enough for the time being, and you will very probably be very happy listening. But you are definitely on the right track getting more power on tap. My choice is the relatively inexpensive Schiit Asgard 3, and I am very happy with it.

I've had a Saga S in various systems now, and typically I hear similar results to those you describe: in buffer mode a very slight impression of more SPL in higher frequencies, and a very slightly brighter tonal signature. I don't know a possible technical reason for this, but would guess it...

Impressions of HE400se a few days in, compared to the 5 year old HE400S. The biggest structural difference is the driver is double ended, magnets on both sides of the diaphragm. And that exerts better control of the driver diaphragm, and yes they do have less distortion than the older single...

I tried a few pads with my older pair of HE400S and the run away winner in every way (comfort, durability, and sound quality) are the Dekoni Elite Sheepskin pads. They seal better giving a nice increase in bass warmth, and super comfortable...

I have a pair of HE400S driven by a Schiit Asgard 3 which drives it nicely in the higher power mode. So nicely in fact that I can't find much to complain about. BUT I am curious... always a but isn't there =^) So we know the HE400SE uses a double side ferrite magnet structure. OK that's...

WTB Schiit Freya S preferably in black

Same thing here with the HE-400S and Dakoni Elite Sheepskin pads...big improvement. But now I'm thinking of giving the 400S with original pads to a friend and swap the Dakoni pads onto the 2020 HE-400i.

What about pads? Are the standard round HE series pads and rings interchangeable w/ Deva stock pads?

Or they are destroyed acoustically by electronic "sound reinforcement". Why is the word force hiding in reinforcement? I was at a concert at Carnegie Hall...well it's been a while ago now. Maybe 25 years. It was a Brazilian big band. Why the hell someone decided a big band needed "reinforcement"...

Well I'm happy it struck a chord. It is an interesting topic with lots of corners. We're riding the history of the technology of art train, which at bottom one might think is the drive to find and create better and better conveyances of aesthetic experience. Then you hear a tune on your phone...

Thank you. Yes, probably. There has to be a certain suspension of disbelief, more organic and less synthetic. But we only have to look at the history of cinema to see that suspension of disbelief is a moving target correlated with technological evolution. Systems of reproduction compress...

1000x the distortion sounds about the correct amount :) Can an objectivist come to appreciate the value in the subjective approach? Even more, can they come to value (shock, horror) measurable distortion in the signal chain? Maybe. It's not all that complicated either: Let's propose that aural...

Yep, nice. Thanks!

Good subjective/objective story. 60WPC! I had the opportunity to hear the Cellos back in the day. The best I ever heard them was in the studio of a well known mastering engineer driving Duntech Sovereigns. They had their place, I thought of them as arc welders :) IMHO speakers were not Cello's...

@Jason Stoddard I like how you guys have taken a huge step onto straddling the subjective/objective line. Irreverent perspective, innovative aesthetic and engineering design, and value used to be the factors that separated you from the crowd and made you a "disruptive" force in this industry...

Stunning shot really. And happier now I chose the black Asgard 3 (which arrives soon :))

Hey Tim Yes it looks like you've figured it out! Thanks for going to the trouble! When I was in my early 20's I was knocking around Europe with a backpack, which would be about 45 years ago now, with no music playback device of any kind (before Walkmans, almost hard to imagine now, like...

Tim van der Leeuw: Trying to figure out how to intersperse comment and reply to your post...hope this works...perhaps someone could clue me in :) At first, we fed the optical output of the Node 2i into the NAIM, so no DAC involved at that point. Yes of course, dumb mistake on my part. That...

Well and that's the problem isn't it. Or perhaps the phenomena that drives the merry-go-round. I've had this experience more times than I can count - put the new piece in the system and I'm blown away by the difference. A few days go by and the system sounds "normal" again. Was there a...

Boenickes Is new to me, looked at the website, extraordinary attention to detail, very impressive!

THANKS for finding that...good one, a triple play! I don't know what it is, but the burns on the bottom of the feet seem to be the worst. Maybe STANDING on the bloody thing with your full weight has something to do with it? LOL...ouch.

I wonder if I'm going to turn out to be biggest fanboy for Saga S...let me say why: It is so damn efficient, it just makes so much sense. It is crazy good value (up there I reckon with Asgard 3). And as near as I can tell, transparent, or at least very close to it. Not that I wouldn't like a...

Yes I new that, but it did remind me of when as a young lad of about 12 stepped (bare foot) on a hot soldering iron. I smelt it before I felt it! Was difficult getting to sleep that night... How did I manage that one you might ask. I had left it on top of a steel tool box, and then, maybe 10...