[Bongo]

With a renewed interest in headphone Hi-Fi, I'm gathering information necessary for the inevitable upgrades to follow

... I've read the technical articles about crossfeed, now I'd like to hear your comments regarding the benefits of the effect. For those of you that have crossfeed amps ... Do you use C/F all the time...If not, for what types of music do you find it better suited? Do you find a definite reduction in listening fatigue? Do you find a significant effect on the soundstage? What are the negative effects, if any (objective or subjective) about crossfeed. The circuitry is obviously inexpensive yet there are numerous high-end amps that don't incorporate it .

... I haven't yet had an oportunity to hear for myself so your experience and thoughts are highly valued/needed

 

[elrod-tom]

I have it on my work rig (Total Airhead), and I love it for long periods of listening. That would be 8+ hours a day at work.

I find that it adds an element of realism to the music that I listen to at work. When I turn it off, I definately notice the difference. The soundstage really opens up when I've got it turned on. Particularly if you are listening to old Beatles albums (which I often do), it can make early 60's stereo mixing a LOT more tolerable.

The TA crossfeed also boosts the bass a little bit, which is nice for my work amp, as it allows me to listen at lower volumes for a longer period of time (think "loudness contour" on your amp that drives your speakers).

Having said that, I don't have it on my home rig. That's not to say that I don't want it (if I could afford a Headroom Static, I'd buy one in a minute). I've got much better components in my home rig, so frankly I don't know if I'd get as much of a bang for my buck as I do in my work rig. Also, there are other purchases that I'd make to improve other aspects of my home rig before I'd spring for crossfeed.

My opinion is that it is definately worth having. I do believe, however, that it makes a much bigger difference when one is using more entry-level audio components (particularly portable stuff like I use at work).

Hope that helps....

 

[kelly]

Quote:

Originally posted by Bongo Do you use C/F all the time...

Almost always if it is available unless I am comparing amplifiers.

Quote:

If not, for what types of music do you find it better suited?

I do adjust the amount depending on the type of music/recording. My amps that have crossfeed have Meier's Natural Crossfeed circuit which has different settings. I use the lowest setting for heavily processed pop and rock recordings, the middle setting for most things and the highest setting only for very old recordings with hard unnatural left/right seperations.

Quote:

Do you find a definite reduction in listening fatigue?

Yes.

Quote:

Do you find a significant effect on the soundstage?

With the Meier processor, the soundstage is spread more in a left right pan. Things that may otherwise occupy a far left position in space with crossfeed may image somewhere between the leftmost and center.
The HeadRoom crossfeed in my limited experience had more of a three-dimensional imaging but is achieved by a less flat frequency curve. I'd really need a lot more time to analyze that further.

Quote:

What are the negative effects, if any (objective or subjective) about crossfeed.

I don't find that the soundstage "collapses" for me as others have complained of but the sharpest edges of details are perhaps slightly sacrificed.

Quote:

The circuitry is obviously inexpensive yet there are numerous high-end amps that don't incorporate it .

In commercial products, only HeadRoom and Meier incorporate crossfeed filters. Some oppose them philisophically and some simply lack the knowledge and expertise.

 

[Bongo]

Thanks elrod-tom and Kelly. Just the sort of information I was hoping for.

 

[austonia]

maybe its just me but the crossfeed out of my Meier-Audio porta corda 2 makes my head hurt a little. definately noticeable but not in a good way, to me. i can't leave it on for very long.

 

[soleblaze]

can anyone tell me how the crossfeed that comes with the META42 plan sound? Decided instead of buying a new hard drive i'm gonna spend $100 or so and build a meta42 with crossfeeds.. mainly for the crossfeed right now as i hear it decreases how bassy things sound (bass gives me a headache at times) and the more i use my headphones the more i notice that 'blobbyness'