[GoldfishX]

   
It's always great when you find a headphone that sounds more realistic than you expected, though! (Especially when it's one that is far more affordable than others.) In the past, I thought certain recordings were the problem, but then, when I heard them on better gear, I couldn't believe how much better it sounded. I have no idea when my playback system will be good enough. All I know is that after hearing a few mid-range / high-end headphones, they are nowhere near good enough to my standard of absolute perfection. lol

The headphone is a slave to the rest of the chain. If you have noisy power and a high noise floor, you'll never heard "into the mix" regardless of how much much money you throw at a rig. That is why I said this review is ever-so-slightly misleading...Mahler has a rock-solid chain from his power conditioner to his source to his DAC that extends to the amps/headphones and a lot of people overlook that and just look at the headphones part. I imagine even an Orpheus cannot save music from sounding noisy, over-busy and harsh if care is not taken with the source.
 
I tend to find, since adding the power conditioner, the various pairings are much easier to evaluate. Even the bad pairings, at least the musical image is much cleaner and everything is there.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  The headphone is a slave to the rest of the chain. If you have noisy power and a high noise floor, you'll never heard "into the mix" regardless of how much much money you throw at a rig. That is why I said this review is ever-so-slightly misleading...Mahler has a rock-solid chain from his power conditioner to his source to his DAC that extends to the amps/headphones and a lot of people overlook that and just look at the headphones part. I imagine even an Orpheus cannot save music from sounding noisy, over-busy and harsh if care is not taken with the source.
 
I tend to find, since adding the power conditioner, the various pairings are much easier to evaluate. Even the bad pairings, at least the musical image is much cleaner and everything is there.

 
Meh. I'm talking about differences between headphones here. Source components are hyped up far too much. It's not hard to get everything you need that will do everything you could ever want in terms of reproducing audio. The fact that there isn't a whole lotta difference between source components (not counting colored tubes or whatever) has been documented extensively. Electrostat amps are an exception.

 

[GoldfishX]

It's trickier than people realize. I generally agree that a half decent DAC will present a good enough image. The problem is the noise floor and the noise that gets in the system and shows up in the headphone. I've heard the exact same rig at a Hifi shop and then would be surprised when it sounded spectacularly bad at home.
 
I chose the HD800 because I wanted to hear EVERYTHING in the recordings, good or bad. However, both my power and source were questionable and it hasn't been until recently I got them sorted out. Now the HD800 is performing as advertised and is playing much nicer with the various amps I have sitting around. I tube roll regularly with my Luxman N-100 and the difference now is night and day on the headphone, vs before when everything kinda sounded harsh and meh. Raytheon 12au7's give me that clean, hifi sound (let's me hear the laid back, somewhat dry mids with the forward treble/harmonics), RCA 12au7's for deep rich bass/lowend with a fun (slightly muddy) treble.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  It's trickier than people realize. I generally agree that a half decent DAC will present a good enough image. The problem is the noise floor and the noise that gets in the system and shows up in the headphone. I've heard the exact same rig at a Hifi shop and then would be surprised when it sounded spectacularly bad at home.
 
I chose the HD800 because I wanted to hear EVERYTHING in the recordings, good or bad. However, both my power and source were questionable and it hasn't been until recently I got them sorted out. Now the HD800 is performing as advertised and is playing much nicer with the various amps I have sitting around. I tube roll regularly with my Luxman N-100 and the difference now is night and day on the headphone, vs before when everything kinda sounded harsh and meh. Raytheon 12au7's give me that clean, hifi sound (let's me hear the laid back, somewhat dry mids with the forward treble/harmonics), RCA 12au7's for deep rich bass/lowend with a fun (slightly muddy) treble.

 
That's cool. But even some portable players have a noise floor below the threshold of audibility. Perhaps you're thinking about something else when you say noise floor.
 
Someday I would like to do a serious experiment to determine the differences between the capabilities of a parametric equalizer and mechanical modifications like tubes -- specifically, what tubes can do that an equalizer cannot.

 

[GoldfishX]

Probably a combination of noise floor with electrical interference. The other thing I did was I got my source as far away from my computer as possible (gave the Monster conditioner it's own private outlet and just plug my gear into it). That was another consistency with the hifi shop rigs...No computer audio and no computer near any of the equipment. Portable players probably have a low noise floor, but some degree of electrical interference with all the insides (opamps, Dacs, battery, screen, etc).
 
Of course, David has done all this, given the picture of his rig. But it's probably lost on something trying to plug their USB from their main computer into a DAC that's in the same outlet as the computer. It's just asking for trouble. Getting away from that type of mess trickled down to the rest of the set-up.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Probably a combination of noise floor with electrical interference. The other thing I did was I got my source as far away from my computer as possible (gave the Monster conditioner it's own private outlet and just plug my gear into it). That was another consistency with the hifi shop rigs...No computer audio and no computer near any of the equipment. Portable players probably have a low noise floor, but some degree of electrical interference with all the insides (opamps, Dacs, battery, screen, etc).
 
Of course, David has done all this, given the picture of his rig. But it's probably lost on something trying to plug their USB from their main computer into a DAC that's in the same outlet as the computer. It's just asking for trouble. Getting away from that type of mess trickled down to the rest of the set-up.

 
I would love to have a dedicated music server (like the Musica Pristina A Capella), but they're crazy expensive. Note that even though I try to look for objective data, I lust after expensive gear just like the average Head-Fi'er. I talked to a former Sennheiser engineer who told me that things like high-end cables, vibration control, power management, and so on are essential for the best sound. For the time being, I remain agnostic on such matters, until I can do my own proper tests.

 

[GoldfishX]

I paid $200 for the power conditioner used. At worst, it will protect the amp and the source (a Sony HAP-S1). At best, it cleaned up the power mess I had before and resulted in a cleaner sound in my overall rig. I'd be afraid to be without it now.
 
(I have a problem with pricy cables/power conditioners that claim to be the cure for cancer...that is when this hobby gets very stupid).

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I paid $200 for the power conditioner used. At worst, it will protect the amp and the source (a Sony HAP-S1). At best, it cleaned up the power mess I had before and resulted in a cleaner sound in my overall rig. I'd be afraid to be without it now.
 
(I have a problem with pricy cables/power conditioners that claim to be the cure for cancer...that is when this hobby gets very stupid).

 
You mean it's a surge protector too? That same former Sennheiser engineer told me about how surge protectors reduce sound quality...but he is also selling a high-end power strip. I don't know what to believe.
 
I don't think I have any power issues -- at least not any obvious ones.

 

[paradoxper]

Yea, ask James to show the internals for his power strip. 

 

[Music Alchemist]

 

Yea, ask James to show the internals for his power strip. 

 
Don't think he will...and that was probably your point. XD

 

[GoldfishX]

   
You mean it's a surge protector too? That same former Sennheiser engineer told me about how surge protectors reduce sound quality...but he is also selling a high-end power strip. I don't know what to believe.
 
I don't think I have any power issues -- at least not any obvious ones.

It's the same one David uses in the review.
 
You can see it sitting all the way on the bottom of his rig in the picture. The DAC and the various amps are all plugged into it. I saw that and thought, "hey, if this guy's comfortable with plugging his $40,000 DAC and $5000+ headphone amps into that thing, it's good enough for me!" Hence, my most important takeaway from the review.

 

[catspaw]

 

Yea, ask James to show the internals for his power strip. 

Power strips and surge protectors are two separate things. I studied them extensively online after I bought my Plasma tv to give it some protection from small voltage spikes.
Overall, :"good" power strips does not mean expensive, but its actually hard to get a good one.
I use two currently at home. One is a 30 dollar brennensthul power surge protector and one is a cheap surge protector by HAMA or Belkin or similar (cant recall now).
The cheap one gives issues even with my laptop display when connected through it.There is a clear snow/grain effect that becomes more apparent the longer the signal has to travel (to my projector, its 10M).
 
The one by brennenstuhl not only has no issues over all, but when my fridge in the living room stops its cooling cycle, it holds power to my speakers for under a second (yet my tv does not turn off), so its possible it even stops low voltage swings (those that most electronics actually can handle, but is never good for them), thou obviously not confirmed.
 
In terms of audio quality, there will be a difference if the power strip, power surge protector or power conditioner is uses the wrong protection model. If not, it simply wont since the transformer of your amp will basically negate any imperfections (at least to such a degree that the human ear cannot notice the difference).
 
When you talk about noise, the most common comes from magnetic or electrical interference (Laptop, close to a big magnet like a subwoofer). 
I for one do not believe in expensive cables or power conditioners... unless your electricity provider really stinks.

 

[Music Alchemist]

 
Here is a link to the power strip, just for reference. It claims to give better sound quality than power conditioners, etc. That's the controversial part.

 

[GoldfishX]

   
Here is a link to the power strip, just for reference. It claims to give better sound quality than power conditioners, etc. That's the controversial part.

"Validation
It doesn’t really matter what we think if our customers can’t appreciate the difference.
For validation we conducted customer focus groups with our customers who were using the higher priced power strips and conditioners. The results were eye-opening! Replacing these devices with our Endorphin design, in virtually every case, opened up a whole new level of refinement in the bass, sound-stage, transparency and accuracy these systems delivered.
Every customer reported a refinement in the overall music/video presentation specifically noting a blacker background with better bass, mids and an increase in clarity and transparency."
 
I'd say this describes my thoughts exactly when I added the Monster to my system.
 
But $650 for a power strip is...no, just no. That's when I start to smell ********. Look for a Monster Power Center with Class 3 or Class 4 clean power around $200-$300 used and you're good. It's a big unit. IMO, it looks good in an audio rack too.
 
(I'm onboard with cleaning power, I'm not onboard with charging an arm and a leg for devices that do it)

 

[Music Alchemist]

(I'm onboard with cleaning power, I'm not onboard with charging an arm and a leg for devices that do it)

 
I'll buy power management equipment after I have $10,000 worth of headphones and other gear.