[Kiats]

Listening to a new album recommended by Roon. Love how the CRBN handles the various changes in pace without breaking sweat.

 

[Kiats]

[duplicate post]

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Got my replacement CRBN's yesterday. Appear to be a new set dated 1/22. So far, no farting. Fingers crossed. Breaking them in now with some blues...

 

[Kiats]

Got my replacement CRBN's yesterday. Appear to be a new set dated 1/22. So far, no farting. Fingers crossed. Breaking them in now with some blues...

That’s good to hear! Now settle back and enjoy the CRBN.

 

[rizena]

hello. I am using srm-007tii 6s4a mod amp.
Since CRBN headphones are used here, distortion occurs in the high register.
What causes distortion?
Dac is using schiit bifrost2.
I use a translator. sorry. i can't speak english

 

[ColSaulTigh]

hello. I am using srm-007tii 6s4a mod amp.
Since CRBN headphones are used here, distortion occurs in the high register.
What causes distortion?
Dac is using schiit bifrost2.
I use a translator. sorry. i can't speak english

Your English translation is fine - I assure you, it's better than my Korean.

The distortion you hear could be from a number of causes:

1) Early versions of the CRBN (those made back before November 2021) had a design flaw. They were subject to what is commonly referred to as the "Estat Fart" type of distortion. The best way to describe it is almost a "static over-modulation" sound. It's caused by various things, including but not limited to changes in air pressure inside the cup, pressing on the outside of the cup, or too much static electricity in the air. The Electrostatic design, by design, makes them very sensitive to environmental changes. Even too much dust can cause this issue. Excessive amounts can damage your headphones.

2) Your tube or tubes may be going bad. You could be getting an over-voltage distortion if one of your tubes (or more) are starting to fail. Have you tested the tubes lately? Have you re-biased your amp after replacing tubes? Who did the mod?

3) You may have the volume up too loud/have the pre-amp volume too low on your Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC. Are you using RCA or XLR to your amp? Does your Bifrost 2 have the variable output enabled, and if so, do you have it turned down very low? You might need to turn that up and provide the Stax amp enough voltage to properly process (amplify) the signal.

Those are just a few thoughts, I'm sure others will add more. I'm new to Electrostatics myself, so I have plenty to learn on my end, too. Good luck!

 

[rizena]

Your English translation is fine - I assure you, it's better than my Korean.

The distortion you hear could be from a number of causes:

1) Early versions of the CRBN (those made back before November 2021) had a design flaw. They were subject to what is commonly referred to as the "Estat Fart" type of distortion. The best way to describe it is almost a "static over-modulation" sound. It's caused by various things, including but not limited to changes in air pressure inside the cup, pressing on the outside of the cup, or too much static electricity in the air. The Electrostatic design, by design, makes them very sensitive to environmental changes. Even too much dust can cause this issue. Excessive amounts can damage your headphones.

2) Your tube or tubes may be going bad. You could be getting an over-voltage distortion if one of your tubes (or more) are starting to fail. Have you tested the tubes lately? Have you re-biased your amp after replacing tubes? Who did the mod?

3) You may have the volume up too loud/have the pre-amp volume too low on your Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC. Are you using RCA or XLR to your amp? Does your Bifrost 2 have the variable output enabled, and if so, do you have it turned down very low? You might need to turn that up and provide the Stax amp enough voltage to properly process (amplify) the signal.

Those are just a few thoughts, I'm sure others will add more. I'm new to Electrostatics myself, so I have plenty to learn on my end, too. Good luck!

1) My crbn was made on March 24, 22, so it's okay.

2) Since I bought the amp completely refurbished from Mjolnir Audio in January 2023, I think it's probably not a problem with the tubes.

3) I connected to bifrost2 with xlr. And it's a fixed output. And when I unplugged the amp and headphones and put them back in, the problem went away.

The world of audio is complex. Thanks for the help.

Cheers.

 

[normie610]

I just listened to these 2 albums on my system with CRBN and the vocals are simply stunning!

1. Melissa Menago - Little Crimes (Binaural 192 kHz - 24 bit)

This is one of Chesky’s binaural+ recordings, and Melissa’s voice is hauntingly beautiful, very engaging and I can somehow feel the singer’s emotion. And of course the soundstage is truly immersive and expansive since it’s binaural, I believe this was recorded in a Brooklyn church on a rainy day. The sound of heavy rain provided a backdrop in some of the songs and it adds to the realism. CRBN conveys all of these elements into a stunningly beautiful sound.


2. Willie Nelson - Stardust (Qobuz 88.2 kHz - 24 bit)

No need for further introduction to this one. I was always impressed by Willie’s voice on this particular album. And yet somehow CRBN is able to deliver this rawness in his voice that I’ve not heard before. The icing on the cake is this huge soundstage as if he’s singing in this enormous hall. Usually I hear this recording as more on the intimate side, but this time the reverbs and echoes can be truly felt. Amazing.

 

[UberHaxorMarty]

Picking up a new CRBN this week for 50% off MSRP (since I learned if it has too much static noise Audeze will replace. That was the one thing that turned me off before when I tried them).
I am going to use this cheap portable amp for them (just ordered it)
https://www.myheadfi.com/product/ki...Option+2:+200V+(Shure)+and+580V+(STAX)+2-IN-1
I listen at much lower volumes than normal people so the amp just has to be decent (good amps made no difference at my listening volume when I tested in general for regular and estat headphones).
I'll look into a budget desktop estat amp in the future, but for now I'll use this portable one plugged into a charger like how I use the amp that comes with my KSE1200

 

[jlbrach]

I own the 1200,that amp wont drive the crbn even close to potential

 

[UberHaxorMarty]

I own the 1200,that amp wont drive the crbn even close to potential

The amp I bought has more power than the one that comes with the 1200, but yeah it's weak. I really listen fairly quiet though like for the HE6SEV2 I stay on low gain (on EF400) and don't even pass 12 oclock (middle top of amp dial) and for me that's very loud already (with -6.6 preamp as well).
I wanted this amp anyways for the 1200 so I can just use it temporarily for the CRBN until I have more money for something else.
I shouldn't need anything more than a basic modded stax amp though I'm thinking. When I tried some estat amps in a store I didn't find any meaningful difference at my volume between any of the $1000+ options

 

[Axel]

If anyone is interested I'm selling my few weeks old CRBN.
Decided to drop from the e-stats wagon.

 

[rizena]

If anyone is interested I'm selling my few weeks old CRBN.
Decided to drop from the e-stats wagon.

I was going to sell it, but I gave up. It's uncomfortable to ship overseas.

Maybe you're easy to sell.

 

[ThanatosVI]

If anyone is interested I'm selling my few weeks old CRBN.
Decided to drop from the e-stats wagon.

I was going to sell it, but I gave up. It's uncomfortable to ship overseas.

Maybe you're easy to sell.

It usually helps if you link your classified listing and mention a price and Region you ship from

 

[Axel]

It usually helps if you link your classified listing and mention a price and Region you ship from

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/audeze-crbn.41840/