[Anaz]

I'm using the Meze 99 Classics. According to the site, it says:
"Sensitivity: 103dB at 1KHz, 1mW".
"Impedance: 32 Ohm".

Received my Massdrop plus not long ago, going to test it out soon.

Edit: Forgot to add. Via USB to my desktop. Running Foobar and 192 kHz Flacs.

Get an iFi Ear Buddy or iFi IEMatch if you want to use the Mezze 99 and MD+ with your 11.38 because both are too sensitive to get enough movement on the volume pot, even at low gain. ...I'm talking from experience: I have an R2R 11 (which has the same amp as your 11.38), a MD+ IEM, an iFi Ear Buddy, and also had a 99 Neo. Also, the 2 Ohm output impedance of the Audio-gd R2R 11/ NFB 11 is too high for the MD+ without one of the iFi accessories I mentioned.

 

[tskeng]

L or H gain?

L gain.

Get an iFi Ear Buddy or iFi IEMatch if you want to use the Mezze 99 and MD+ with your 11.38 because both are too sensitive to get enough movement on the volume pot, even at low gain

The 2 Ohm OI part I'm aware. So I'm going to use the MD+ with my iFi xDSD on-the-go.

the 2 Ohm output impedance of the Audio-gd R2R 11/ NFB 11 is too high for the MD+ without one of the iFi accessories I mentioned.

So you're saying that getting the Ear-Buddy or IEMatch will improve the sensitivity situation I'm having?

Update: I got the IEMatch. Set it to "Ultra" and indeed allowed the volume dial to go up!

Thanks for the tips fellas!

 

[USAFPharm86]

Hello.

Just wanted to post these questions here and see if anyone had any recommendations.

I received my Audio GD R2R 11 Monday, June 11th and it has been burning in for maybe 120 hours so far now.

Purchased the Audio GD in hopes to find a musical amp/dac that would help with my ear fatigue, usually this fatigue comes from high treble/shouty mids.

Out of the box the R2R sounded muffled and lacked dynamic sound. Everything sounded as if it was behind a veil, I wasn’t impressed. Also using my Sennheiser HD6XX my ear fatigue seems worse now with the R2R. Maybe something to do with the mids.

So after reading this forum and emailing Audio Gd I decided to burn it in for a week and see if the sound changed. At 100 hours I added an ifi AC Purifier and Pangea Audio AC-14 powercord, thought this might help, but still no improvement in sound.

Today I ran my old Schiit Magni amp purchased in 2012 through RCA to my R2R, used the Magni as the amp, and the sound opened up and was much more dynamic. I was shocked at the improvement. Ear fatigue was also decreased some as well. I prefer to not add my Magni, just want the best from the R2R.

My questions are should I add an Schiit Eitr to my setup and a ifi SPIDF Purifier for optical use? Will this clean up the dynamics and improve the sound? If any other recommendations please let me know.

Also thought I might purchase a good power conditioner, but with no improvement with the AC purifier, this may be a waste.

Headphones used: Sennheiser HD6XX, Hifiman HE-400s, and Denon D2000.

Source: Spotify Premium through PC/Mac and Movies/TV shows when connected by optical to my TV.

If no luck with the improvement in sound I might have to sell it and look for another amp/dac.

Thanks so much for your help and information.

 

[sennsay]

Hello.

Just wanted to post these questions here and see if anyone had any recommendations.

I received my Audio GD R2R 11 Monday, June 11th and it has been burning in for maybe 120 hours so far now.

Purchased the Audio GD in hopes to find a musical amp/dac that would help with my ear fatigue, usually this fatigue comes from high treble/shouty mids.

Out of the box the R2R sounded muffled and lacked dynamic sound. Everything sounded as if it was behind a veil, I wasn’t impressed. Also using my Sennheiser HD6XX my ear fatigue seems worse now with the R2R. Maybe something to do with the mids.

So after reading this forum and emailing Audio Gd I decided to burn it in for a week and see if the sound changed. At 100 hours I added an ifi AC Purifier and Pangea Audio AC-14 powercord, thought this might help, but still no improvement in sound.

Today I ran my old Schiit Magni amp purchased in 2012 through RCA to my R2R, used the Magni as the amp, and the sound opened up and was much more dynamic. I was shocked at the improvement. Ear fatigue was also decreased some as well. I prefer to not add my Magni, just want the best from the R2R.

My questions are should I add an Schiit Eitr to my setup and a ifi SPIDF Purifier for optical use? Will this clean up the dynamics and improve the sound? If any other recommendations please let me know.

Also thought I might purchase a good power conditioner, but with no improvement with the AC purifier, this may be a waste.

Headphones used: Sennheiser HD6XX, Hifiman HE-400s, and Denon D2000.

Source: Spotify Premium through PC/Mac and Movies/TV shows when connected by optical to my TV.

If no luck with the improvement in sound I might have to sell it and look for another amp/dac.

Thanks so much for your help and information.

Hmm, that's not exactly a good start, is it. I know the R2R takes a long time to fully run in, but mine has performed better than that with the same headphones, with only two weeks of running in. My R2R would have around 150+ hours of running so far, maybe a bit more. One thing I have noticed is that I prefer the sound of the USB input over the optical, even with an incredibly pure and clean QP1R as a source at times. I'm having very good results used in the lounge system to play TV/movies etc, sometimes with optical out from the BluRay player and otherwise coax from the TV.
The USB input via a Jitterbug/Kimber cable USB and MacBook Pro from iTunes sounds pretty damn fine! Even with the HD6xx that I have not been entirely happy with as a whole, not even from my Schiit stack, which is such a magic combo with the Senn HD540 Ref1s - the only team to do a disappearing act and vanish the hifi.
My own R2R has actually increased noticeably more in it's dynamic expression with the HD6xx since I've turned it off a few times and then left it on again for long periods. This is an essential part of the burn-in process. The many parts in the R2R need to go to cold and then reheat again a few times, it's the same for almost all ladder DACs, the Yggdrasil being no exception! The same for the Mimby, if to a lesser extent.
I suspect, even more so now, that the HD6xx truly comes to life with a good tube amp and I'd like to use mine as such in the future. I've almost sold them several times in the last couple of months because overall, they haven't been anything like the musical gems the Ref1s have with the Schiit gear. Oh I've had some fine results with them and the R2R at times and for now they are staying in the family, so to speak.
I sincerely hope you can find a way to really enjoy your R2R, there are a number of folks who now use one as a hub in their main hifi system, myself included, it's certainly a versatile and fine sounding bit of kit.

 

[USAFPharm86]

Thanks man.

I have some Mod Audio Argon Mk3s on order right now, If the Argons don’t work out I might just sell a few of my old headphones for something brighter/faster/more dynamic to test with the R2R, maybe some DT1990 or even Focal Elears “per the wife’s approval” haha.

Thanks again.

 

[sennsay]

Thanks man.

I have some Mod Audio Argon Mk3s on order right now, so if I spend anymore money on audio equipment/headphones my wife might just kill me haha.

If the Argons don’t work out I might just sell a few of my old headphones for something brighter/faster/more dynamic to test with the R2R, maybe some DT1990 or even Focal Elears “per the wife’s approval” haha.

Thanks again.

No worries From what I've read about the Elears though, they might be too warm for the R2R, polar opposites almost, to the Utopias. I understand the Clears may be the best balanced of the lot and given the $$, they are the only ..... well, almost only ...... headphones I would want to add to my collection for the time being
I live well over 100km away from a really decent hifi store, so getting to hear more now is a bit of a journey.

 

[USAFPharm86]

Does anyone own the Sennheiser HD660s, HD700, or Beyerdynamic DT1990 to pair with the R2R 11?

Since my HD6XX are causing ear fatigue with the R2R (probably mid related), I plan to try a different headphone to test the fatigue issues.

Treble bothers me on some headphones, but the louder upper mid range of the HD6XX is causing some crazy fatigue on the R2R 11. Maybe a higher treble headphone will be toned down on the laid back sound of the R2R?

Any other recommendations would be awesome.

Just looking for something smooth sounding with great clarity and dynamics. Budget would probably be $500 or less.

Thanks again.

 

[393699]

You should consider using the R2R 11 as just a DAC, and upgrading your amp. The C-2 2017 Edition stand alone amp from Audio-GD is a big upgrade from the amp in the R2R 11. I actually bought the C-2. I will have it on Monday.

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/C22015/C22015EN.htm

 

[393699]

Oh, and if you don't want a different amp, I would suggest buying the Amiron Home headphone. This headphone is very smooth sounding. It is completely different from every other current higher end Beyer headphone, and not bright at all.

https://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic...18912&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=amiron+home&psc=1

 

[sennsay]

Does anyone own the Sennheiser HD660s, HD700, or Beyerdynamic DT1990 to pair with the R2R 11?

Since my HD6XX are causing ear fatigue with the R2R (probably mid related), I plan to try a different headphone to test the fatigue issues.

Treble bothers me on some headphones, but the louder upper mid range of the HD6XX is causing some crazy fatigue on the R2R 11. Maybe a higher treble headphone will be toned down on the laid back sound of the R2R?

Any other recommendations would be awesome.

Just looking for something smooth sounding with great clarity and dynamics. Budget would probably be $500 or less.

Thanks again.

Have you tried moving the internal jumper over to the 'warm' setting? The HD6xx are a little forward on my R2R as well, and, also more forward than the original HD650s I used to have six or seven years ago. I sold them quite happily as well, the HD6xx have come close ..... very close ... to the same fate. It's those stock pads, both the Brainwavz HM5s and the Dekoni Elite Velour relieve the HD6xx of all spikiness in the upper mids and lower treble ..... they also relieve the headphones of varying levels of life too! The HM5s being the worst for that in my systems, although both HM5s and the EVs are vastly more comfortable to my ears. In saying that, if you have a lean and bright amp or DAC/amp, then these pads could well be ideal!

 

[gLer]

Does anyone own the Sennheiser HD660s, HD700, or Beyerdynamic DT1990 to pair with the R2R 11?

Since my HD6XX are causing ear fatigue with the R2R (probably mid related), I plan to try a different headphone to test the fatigue issues.

Treble bothers me on some headphones, but the louder upper mid range of the HD6XX is causing some crazy fatigue on the R2R 11. Maybe a higher treble headphone will be toned down on the laid back sound of the R2R?

Any other recommendations would be awesome.

Just looking for something smooth sounding with great clarity and dynamics. Budget would probably be $500 or less.

Thanks again.

Just goes to show how important synergy is between amp and headphone. I’d go as far as saying it’s the most important consideration when choosing either. I personally love the R2R-11 with my headphones (see sig); didn’t mind it with the HD650 (6XX) but it definitely didn’t do much to lift the Sennheiser veil.

If you find your mids a bit too shouty, maybe try the Elear, which has a slight upper mid/lower treble dip that actually works very well to subdue the higher registers of shouty female vocals, but does so without losing too much sparkle in the upper treble. You should be able to pick up a good used pair for ~$500 on HF.

Also, have you tried setting the ‘warm’ jumper on your R2R-11? Check the user manual on the AGD website on how to do this. Could change the sound signature more to your liking.

Personally I’d swap out the 6XX before I swap out the R2R-11; I’m not a fan of that headphone, but YMMV.

 

[393699]

As an Amiron Home owner, I can definitely recommend it. It is a very detailed headphone, without any hint of treble fatigue. It is not bright at all. You can hear everything that is present in the recording. Soundstage is very impressive, as is imaging. I think you would be very impressed with this headphone. This headphone is actually one of the recommended upgrades from the HD650/HD6XX/HD600. It just does everything better.

 

[sennsay]

Just goes to show how important synergy is between amp and headphone. I’d go as far as saying it’s the most important consideration when choosing either. I personally love the R2R-11 with my headphones (see sig); didn’t mind it with the HD650 (6XX) but it definitely didn’t do much to lift the Sennheiser veil.

If you find your mids a bit too shouty, maybe try the Elear, which has a slight upper mid/lower treble dip that actually works very well to subdue the higher registers of shouty female vocals, but does so without losing too much sparkle in the upper treble. You should be able to pick up a good used pair for ~$500 on HF.

Also, have you tried setting the ‘warm’ jumper on your R2R-11? Check the user manual on the AGD website on how to do this. Could change the sound signature more to your liking.

Personally I’d swap out the 6XX before I swap out the R2R-11; I’m not a fan of that headphone, but YMMV.

Yes, I too have had a hard time coming to grips with the HD6xx/650. The best I ever heard my HD650s was with a TRI TRV-4SE tube preamp and my highly upgraded Silicon Chip headphone amp - complete with Black Gate and Nichicon Muse caps, the quietest non-inductive resistors I could buy at the time and audio-gd's excellent Earth HDAM in place of the opamp first stage (I still have several versions of this amp, from stock to highest upgrade and YES, the difference is worth the effort). I used my FrankenZero DAC into the preamp and the results were stunningly good, I just had to give the tube preamp back to the dealer after a couple of days! The HD650s were so utterly and deliciously smooth, involving, detailed and 'present' with this set up. I've never heard them anything like that good since. Nor the HD6xx. They might have gone really well with my ex Valhalla 2 amp and Amperex tubes on board, but I sold that amp to buy the Mimby and it was an excellent trade up! The Magni 3 being quite superior to the more expensive Valhalla 2 with the Ref1s.
I have never found my HD6xx to be veiled in the slightest, they are actually better than the HD650s I had. They do come to life with the R2R in my system here though, but they certainly do not have the synergy of my goto Schiit/Senn Ref1 system. I have struck the finest balance in many years with that match up. I still hear great things of the HD650/6xx and Little Dot MkIII SE tube amp, maybe it really is that tubes and those cans do balance nicely together, I'd like to try it one day.

 

[FredA]

Thanks man.

I have some Mod Audio Argon Mk3s on order right now, If the Argons don’t work out I might just sell a few of my old headphones for something brighter/faster/more dynamic to test with the R2R, maybe some DT1990 or even Focal Elears “per the wife’s approval” haha.

Thanks again.

Too bad. The ac purifier has me rather unimpressed as well after a week.

Usb cable normally need burn-in and and they can have an impact on the sound signature. A silver cable i bought first made my system too bright. Today, it works fine. I would give another a try to the blue cable supplied with the dac/amp if i were you. Other than that, i would state that the r2r 11 works best with neutral headphones. I tried the K553, the MDR-7506 and HE560 with it. They all work fine.

 

[sennsay]

Too bad. The ac purifier has me rather unimpressed as well after a week.

Usb cable normally need burn-in and and they can have an impact on the sound signature. A silver cable i bought first made my system too bright. Today, it works fine. I would give another a try to the blue cable supplied with the dac/amp if i were you. Other than that, i would state that the r2r 11 works best with neutral headphones. I tried the K553, the MDR-7506 and HE560 with it. They all work fine.

The MDR-7506 you say, eh, are they alive and communicative with the R2R? They are not expensive cans and I've looked at them myself, just casually. I haven't even used my MDR-1Rs with the R2R yet, must get onto that.