[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginetto61 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 

Hi and thanks for the explanation.  I am quite lucky here ... no ambient noise to speak of after 10 pm

 

You'd be surprised - use an SPL meter, even on a smartphone app, and you might still get above 25dB. After 11pm I can't hear anything here save for the few "ricers"* but if I run the app I still get around 35dB of ambient noise. That's like having my computer running in a dampened room, which is also why unless it's the hot dry season here and the GPU fans start going nuts, I can't hear it apart from the relatively gentle whoosh of the intake air.

 

By comparison in this one dealership we regularly go to for speaker gear but recently they got into headphones too rented a spot in the fifth floor of an upscale mall for lower noise, and inside their listening area (which isn't even sealed, and behind one wall cars are going up to the parking area on the sixth and seventh floors on that building) the noise floor with the main shop door closed is around 25dB. Except of course at such low noise floor levels the clerk shuffling a few sheets of paper can be audible over whatever you're listening to.

 

 

*US term for those who like loud as hell Jap cars; over here we call them "ciento veinte" - as in "sounds like (he's going) 100(kph), actually going 20(kph)."

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginetto61 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 

i have the feeling that the Crossfeed can be a good thing indeed but i am worried by the added complexity.   I guess that Crossfeed is not so common among listeners.

But the result now with the k701 is acceptable ... even for long term listening

 

Well if disabled on the amp the signal bypasses that part of the circuit. One thing why people don't like using it is because they want the signal to hit the headphone to be as pure as the original, even if it can correct issues that speakers and headphones inherently have.

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginetto61 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 

So a very very good amp indeed. 

 

http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/jazz.htm

 

http://www.head-fi.org/products/meier-audio-corda-jazz

 

i will look for it for sure. 

 

Im saving up for the DACcord+Classic myself, for no other reason than to have a DAC with a preamp in the same chassis as a Meier amp. Although if I run into a Symphony I'll get it - not too different from my Cantate on the amp side but it has a lot more features on the DAC like a real DAC chip (instead of a combo USB receiver-DAC chip; although the Cantate's is very detailed for what it is) and SPDIF inputs, plus a preamp output.

 

[ginetto61]

Originally Posted by ProtegeManiac /img/forum/go_quote.gif

You'd be surprised - use an SPL meter, even on a smartphone app, and you might still get above 25dB.

After 11pm I can't hear anything here save for the few "ricers"* but if I run the app I still get around 35dB of ambient noise.

That's like having my computer running in a dampened room, which is also why unless it's the hot dry season here and the GPU fans start going nuts, I can't hear it apart from the relatively gentle whoosh of the intake air.

By comparison in this one dealership we regularly go to for speaker gear but recently they got into headphones too rented a spot in the fifth floor of an upscale mall for lower noise, and inside their listening area (which isn't even sealed, and behind one wall cars are going up to the parking area on the sixth and seventh floors on that building) the noise floor with the main shop door closed is around 25dB.

Except of course at such low noise floor levels the clerk shuffling a few sheets of paper can be audible over whatever you're listening to.

*US term for those who like loud as hell Jap cars; over here we call them "ciento veinte" - as in "sounds like (he's going) 100(kph), actually going 20(kph)." 

 
Hi ! probably i have underestimated the issue.
Yet i understand you live in a big city.  I live in a small town in comparison and very very quiet (i.e. Stavanger - NORWAY)
After 9 pm nobody is around.  No cars no buses.   Instead i think that the noise in the mains can be an issue indeed.
I should try some mains filter on both digital source and amp.  But i am lost in the huge offer of this kind of equipment.
 

Well if disabled on the amp the signal bypasses that part of the circuit. One thing why people don't like using it is because they want the signal to hit the headphone to be as pure as the original, even if it can correct issues that speakers and headphones inherently have.

this is what i was thinking.   It is a fact that at least some HP set-ups can give back fantastic sound without using crossfeed.
I will try to get only a nice out of head sound and already with the k701 i am quite ok on this subject.
As i said above i would just need some more warmth and transparency ... but the result is already quite decent with Magni 2 + k701.
Still i would like to listen to an amp with the Crossfeed feature well done ... i would be very curious to hear the effect.
When i will get the sensation of sounds coming also from the front and not only from sides that would be wonderful.
It could be just a matter of finding the right way (i.e. level and delay) to inject some L signal on the R channel and viceversa ?
To explain a little when there is a sound source going from L to R i can locate very well when it is on the L side than there is a transition in center when the sound source seems to disappear to appear again on the R side ... like the classical hole in the middle.
Very sad ...
 
However .... yesterday i received this one (i ordered it some weeks ago)
 
http://www.amazon.com/CAYIN-Spark-HA-2i-impedance-Headphone/dp/B00JSNLW4S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1446186396&sr=8-4&keywords=cayin+headphone+amp
 

 
this is the last "wild" buy ... next one will be more conscious.
It is quite silent without signal even with the volume at max (good thing)
but i get noise when i connect the source and raise the volume towards the max (this is not good at all).
I cannot understand why  ...
 

Im saving up for the DACcord+Classic myself, for no other reason than to have a DAC with a preamp in the same chassis as a Meier amp. Although if I run into a Symphony I'll get it - not too different from my Cantate on the amp side but it has a lot more features on the DAC like a real DAC chip (instead of a combo USB receiver-DAC chip; although the Cantate's is very detailed for what it is) and SPDIF inputs, plus a preamp output.

My "best" dacs have xlr outs ... and this is an issue because HP amp with xlr inputs are rare
I think i have to abandoned the idea of balanced connection.  The point is that many people are getting very high end sound with unbalanced units.
So why make life more complicated than necessary ?
I have to keep things as simple as possible ... at least in audio.
Thanks a lot again for the very kind and extremely valuable advice.
Have a nice day !
Regards, gino

 

[ProtegeManiac]

   
Hi ! probably i have underestimated the issue.  Yet i understand you live in a big city.  I live in a small town very quiet (i.e. Stavanger - NORWAY)
After 9 pm nobody is around.  No cars no buses.   Instead i think that the noise in the mains can be an issue indeed.
 

 
If it's a small town where nobody is walking around at that hour then the noise floor should be low, but of course my idea of small towns might not be as quiet as yours. The ones I stay in have wolves, coyotes, or bats. Heck I live in the city and our trees have enough bats to startle young Bruce Wayne, so just imagine what it's like in our rural areas.
 
Something like this, but a little bigger...they eat bananas but local legends say they eat unborn babies. Probably just guilty about how many unhatched ducks they ate.

 
 

 
I should try some mains filter on both digital source and amp.  But i am lost in the huge offer of this kind of equipment.

 
Look up Bada, see if there's a dealer in the EU. They're cheap and for real but not severe problems they work. I tried their smallest filter before but later sold all my speaker equipment, and my headphone rig wasn't getting any noise where I had it so I sold that.
http://www.china-hifi-audio.com/en/bada-cd-hdcd-sacd-player-c-18/bada-lb-5600-power-filter-choseal-pb-5702-power-cable-eu-plug-p-978
 

 
As i said above i would just need some more warmth and transparency ... but the result is already quite decent with Magni 2 + k701.
Yesterday i received this one (i ordered it some weeks ago)
 
http://www.amazon.com/CAYIN-Spark-HA-2i-impedance-Headphone/dp/B00JSNLW4S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1446186396&sr=8-4&keywords=cayin+headphone+amp

 
Well if you have the Magni and that now then don't spend on anything anymore. If you had at most the Magni I'd say get the Meier, but as it is you already spent on that Cayin might as well just stop spending.

 

[ginetto61]

Originally Posted by ProtegeManiac /img/forum/go_quote.gif
If it's a small town where nobody is walking around at that hour then the noise floor should be low, but of course my idea of small towns might not be as quiet as yours.
The ones I stay in have wolves, coyotes, or bats.
Heck I live in the city and our trees have enough bats to startle young Bruce Wayne, so just imagine what it's like in our rural areas.
Something like this, but a little bigger...they eat bananas but local legends say they eat unborn babies. Probably just guilty about how many unhatched ducks they ate.

 

 
Good morning !
i assure you if you want peace come to Norway ! 

very little populated Country ... both by people and animals
Really nice place but a little on the cold side

 

Look up Bada, see if there's a dealer in the EU. They're cheap and for real but not severe problems they work.
I tried their smallest filter before but later sold all my speaker equipment, and my headphone rig wasn't getting any noise where I had it so I sold that.
http://www.china-hifi-audio.com/en/bada-cd-hdcd-sacd-player-c-18/bada-lb-5600-power-filter-choseal-pb-5702-power-cable-eu-plug-p-978   

 
Thanks a lot indeed for the valuable advice.  I have to try something for sure.
Lately i have become completely obsessed by power supply noise 

After reading a very interesting thread here in the forum i am a believer of the benefits of using extremely low noise power supplies in audio equipment.
When the noise goes down the music details come up remarkably !
And that is what makes me a little suspicious about tube amps.  They have usually a higher noise floor ...

I like dead silent units a lot.
Anyway i will look at the brand you mention. Thanks !

Well if you have the Magni and that now then don't spend on anything anymore.
If you had at most the Magni I'd say get the Meier, but as it is you already spent on that Cayin might as well just stop spending.

 
The Cayin is new so i have to wait and listen.
But the Magni 2 is good.  Unbelievable for the price actually.
If i had the schematic i would like to use it as a base for a DIY project.
A better attenuator, some recapping, new high grade connectors ... keeping the pcb exactly the same.
This should give it a little more transparency and add some warmth ... and in that way it will be just perfect for me.
But without schematic i would not dare to mess with the internals.  But i believe a lot in fine-tuning an already very good design.
Even details are important.
Actually i have the feeling that a Magni 2 upgraded could play on the same level with the Asgard 2.
Also i would prefer a bigger and much heavier case ... something like a brick.
Thanks again,  gino

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
i assure you if you want peace come to Norway ! 

very little populated Country ... both by people and animals
Really nice place but a little on the cold side

 
Oh trust me, after all these years living with monsoons and mud and then sweltering heat with dust, snow looks good. Oh and then there's all the mold and fungi here so I cannot help but imagine how I can just leave stuff on the kitchen table over there instead of crowding my fridge. Or hell, I can probably use the winter snow to cool beverages.
 
 

 
 
Thanks a lot indeed for the valuable advice.  I have to try something for sure.
Lately i have become completely obsessed by power supply noise  

After reading a very interesting thread here in the forum i am a believer of the benefits of using extremely low noise power supplies in audio equipment.
When the noise goes down the music details come up remarkably !
And that is what makes me a little suspicious about tube amps.  They have usually a higher noise floor ... 

I like dead silent units a lot.
Anyway i will look at the brand you mention. Thanks !

 
That sounds a lot like Meier amps actually. People expect amps to boost bass or upper bass impact as some amps do, but Meier basically just lowers the noise floor so dynamics are easily audible.

 

[ginetto61]

 
Oh trust me, after all these years living with monsoons and mud and then sweltering heat with dust, snow looks good.
Oh and then there's all the mold and fungi here so I cannot help but imagine how I can just leave stuff on the kitchen table over there instead of crowding my fridge.
Or hell, I can probably use the winter snow to cool beverages.  

Hi again 

maybe i am getting old but a little more warm would be welcome
it is nice to take a walk any days of the year without the face that freezes 
 

 That sounds a lot like Meier amps actually. People expect amps to boost bass or upper bass impact as some amps do, but Meier basically just lowers the noise floor so dynamics are easily audible.

Yes that is indeed what i am looking for.
I like when they call the residual noise also noise carpet or something similar.
and actually is like having a thick or thin carpet
if small objects fall on a thick one they cannot be spotted like on a thin one 
But in conclusion noise is noise, not music.  
I will keep an eye on Meier Corda amps for sure.
Kind regards, gino 

 

[kimjunwill]

I think the best position is no position. I found the ear pads to be pressing into my head, giving me headaches. I had memory foam pads too, but they didn't help that much