[greyforest]

Great pairing, I had the TT2 for several months. You don't need the balanced outs with the Ether 2, they got way louder than I needed not even close to full from the single ended outs. I used the XLR outs for my Abyss headphones, which really did need the extra power compared to the Ether 2.

thankyou！ i got the 4.4 cable for my ether2, with hugo 2 the sound stage is not as spacious as when connect to a balenced amp. does tt2‘s se got good sound stage？

Apart from the loudness is there any difference between the xlr and se on tt2? I do listen to quite loud level almost max level(white ball) on my Hugo 2

 

[klyrish]

I just got a pair of these and excited plugged them into my ZDT Jr. and...while I can hear some amazing clarity and bass response, these headphones are insanely difficult to drive which seems to be counter to everything I've read about them online. I'm at 3 o'clock on the amp and this is only a moderate volume. If I go higher, clipping starts. For reference, on my HD6XX, having the volume at this level is nearly at ear-damaging levels. I've tried both the low- and high-Z inputs with no difference. Maybe this is just a bad pairing in terms of amp/headphones, but it seems very weird for there to be such a difference in volume levels, especially since these are supposed to be easy to drive and the HD6XX are on the harder end of the spectrum. Anyone else experience this or something similar with a different amp?

 

[jamato8]

I just got a pair of these and excited plugged them into my ZDT Jr. and...while I can hear some amazing clarity and bass response, these headphones are insanely difficult to drive which seems to be counter to everything I've read about them online. I'm at 3 o'clock on the amp and this is only a moderate volume. If I go higher, clipping starts. For reference, on my HD6XX, having the volume at this level is nearly at ear-damaging levels. I've tried both the low- and high-Z inputs with no difference. Maybe this is just a bad pairing in terms of amp/headphones, but it seems very weird for there to be such a difference in volume levels, especially since these are supposed to be easy to drive and the HD6XX are on the harder end of the spectrum. Anyone else experience this or something similar with a different amp?

Must be your amp. I drive them with ease with my DX220 and the AMP8, in fact, the sound is excellent.

 

[mkozlows]

I just got a pair of these and excited plugged them into my ZDT Jr. and...while I can hear some amazing clarity and bass response, these headphones are insanely difficult to drive which seems to be counter to everything I've read about them online.

I don't think they're supposed to be easy to drive, are they? I don't have these, but the Aeon Flow Closed are easily the hardest-to-drive headphones I own; the Fulla 2 that'll drive the 650 or LCD-X with no fuss just falls over completely into clipping with the AFC, and the Lyr 2 is able to handle them well, but does require the volume turned higher up than those other headphones.

 

[LCMusicLover]

I just got a pair of these and excited plugged them into my ZDT Jr. and...while I can hear some amazing clarity and bass response, these headphones are insanely difficult to drive which seems to be counter to everything I've read about them online. I'm at 3 o'clock on the amp and this is only a moderate volume. If I go higher, clipping starts. For reference, on my HD6XX, having the volume at this level is nearly at ear-damaging levels. I've tried both the low- and high-Z inputs with no difference. Maybe this is just a bad pairing in terms of amp/headphones, but it seems very weird for there to be such a difference in volume levels, especially since these are supposed to be easy to drive and the HD6XX are on the harder end of the spectrum. Anyone else experience this or something similar with a different amp?

Not what I'm experiencing with my Liquid Platinum. Also, I drive them fine from my portable rig (Plenue 2 or Opus#2 w/ AlgoRhythm Duet amp). I'm pretty sure I barely need to move the volume knob when switching between Ether 2 and HD-6xx on both rigs.

I'll compare volume settings from those rigs vs my HD-6xx tonight and post results. Note that all my rigs are fully balanced.

 

[Chidi]

Deleted

 

[LCMusicLover]

...these headphones are insanely difficult to drive.... I've tried both the low- and high-Z inputs with no difference...Anyone else experience this or something similar with a different amp?

Not what I'm experiencing with my Liquid Platinum. Also, I drive them fine from my portable rig (Plenue 2 or Opus#2 w/ AlgoRhythm Duet amp). I'm pretty sure I barely need to move the volume knob when switching between Ether 2 and HD-6xx on both rigs.

I'll compare volume settings from those rigs vs my HD-6xx tonight and post results. Note that all my rigs are fully balanced.

From desktop system (Liquid Platinum balanced) Ether 2 is about 3 dB louder than HD-6xx at the same volume setting. Note that I manage volume w/ my passive pre-amp, which has digital volume control w/ LED readout. So w/ my LP volume set to 12 o’clock I’m at 34 (-30 dB attenuation) w/ Ether 2, and 37 (-27 dB attenuation) w/ HD-6xx.

Don’t know what to tell you. Bad set? Bad amp pairing? Cable issue?

Given Ether 2’s very low impedance, I would assume the low-Z output would be best. Does the same thing happen w/ your other amps?

 

[mkozlows]

The ZDT Jr's spec page on Drop says:

• Low-impedance output: 32–100 ohms
• High-impedance output: 100–600 ohms

So probably not the ideal amp for a 16 ohm headphone.

 

[LCMusicLover]

The ZDT Jr's spec page on Drop says:

• Low-impedance output: 32–100 ohms
• High-impedance output: 100–600 ohms

So probably not the ideal amp for a 16 ohm headphone.

Hence my question about performance with other amps.

 

[klyrish]

I need to update my signature: I sold the Jotunheim and shipped it this morning. And I haven't tried the Ragnarok yet but planned on doing so tomorrow. It's boxed up in hopes of it selling on Reddit but I'll have to give it a try.

Maybe I just don't understand impedence but shouldn't a set of headphones well below the intended impedence be extremely easy to drive?

 

[LCMusicLover]

I need to update my signature: I sold the Jotunheim and shipped it this morning. And I haven't tried the Ragnarok yet but planned on doing so tomorrow. It's boxed up in hopes of it selling on Reddit but I'll have to give it a try.

Maybe I just don't understand impedence but shouldn't a set of headphones well below the intended impedence be extremely easy to drive?

I would not expect that an impedance mismatch would cause your cans to not play as loudly. The main consequences of mismatches are inadequate damping and changed frequency response.

The latter is much more prevalent with dynamic cans. They tend to have non-linear impedance curves, so the amp is delivering more power at frequencies where impedance is low. That’s typically at lower frequencies, and can result in boomy/bloated bass.

Less prevalent with planars as their impedance tend to be (much) more linear.

So if your amp is the culprit, it’s most likely due to inadequate damping. Still, I wouldn’t expect that to cause the reduced volume. But hey! What do I know?

 

[klyrish]

I hooked up the Ragnarok again this morning and, using the balanced output, and gain setting 2 (+6dB I believe), the headphones sound wonderful. On the first gain setting, it was the same as the ZDT Jr.: had to turn the volume all the way up and they were still not loud enough. Kind of bummed I can't use these successfully on the ZDT because I definitely prefer its sound to the Ragnarok.

 

[bagwell359]

I hooked up the Ragnarok again this morning and, using the balanced output, and gain setting 2 (+6dB I believe), the headphones sound wonderful. On the first gain setting, it was the same as the ZDT Jr.: had to turn the volume all the way up and they were still not loud enough. Kind of bummed I can't use these successfully on the ZDT because I definitely prefer its sound to the Ragnarok.

I've had the Rag 1 for almost 5 years, almost everything - speakers and headphones sound best on gain 2. gain 1 is pure class a and is notably low on drive in the bass, but good if you want a very sweet passive type sound. Gain 3 is rougher sounding and only needed for speakers at loud volumes.

The Rag amp IMO is quite close to the X series of Pass amps. Potent bass and slightly sweet sound (Gain 2), the pre-amp is the weak point, it does shorten the edges of the sound stage and is a bit more transistor sounding. Rag 1 also drives speakers of over 88 db/1w quite well, unlike most headphone amps, also drives the HFM HE-6 on gain 2 - the legendary power hungry headphones.

It's takes a good hour to warm up. I find the BH Crack sounds a lot better with the Senn HD-600 than the Rag 1, most of my other cans are planars and obviously that's not true with those.

 

[klyrish]

I've had the Rag 1 for almost 5 years, almost everything - speakers and headphones sound best on gain 2. gain 1 is pure class a and is notably low on drive in the bass, but good if you want a very sweet passive type sound. Gain 3 is rougher sounding and only needed for speakers at loud volumes.

The Rag amp IMO is quite close to the X series of Pass amps. Potent bass and slightly sweet sound (Gain 2), the pre-amp is the weak point, it does shorten the edges of the sound stage and is a bit more transistor sounding. Rag 1 also drives speakers of over 88 db/1w quite well, unlike most headphone amps, also drives the HFM HE-6 on gain 2 - the legendary power hungry headphones.

It's takes a good hour to warm up. I find the BH Crack sounds a lot better with the Senn HD-600 than the Rag 1, most of my other cans are planars and obviously that's not true with those.

Thanks for the info. I was looking to sell the Ragnarok but after today, I think I'm going to keep two stacks for the foreseeable future: Airist RDAC -> ZDT Jr. -> HD6XX and Metrum Amethyst -> Ragnarok -> Ether 2.

When I responded this morning, it was the with the Ragnarok on about 5 minutes of warm-up and while the Ether 2 sounded "better" it was only relative to the ZDT Jr. I came back to this stack a few hours later and haven't been able to stop listening now. The amp warmed up and the Ether 2 have really come to life. I'm using the same 20-band parametric EQ settings I use for the HD6XX on the Ether 2 (with slight modifications since treble was piercing) and I'm extremely pleased with how this sounds. It's not as 3D as the ZDT Jr. but I'm getting insane detail levels and hearing some new stuff.

The Ether 2 are the best parts of the LCD-X (bass) and Focal Clear (clarity, extension) combined in a package that shouldn't weigh as little as it does.

Hopefully when I can get the rest of my old gear sold and can save up the rest for the Kenzie Encore, the Ether 2 play nicely with it (the product page says they tested the amp with the Ethers) and I can consolidate to a single stack to rule them all.

 

[bagwell359]

Thanks for the info. I was looking to sell the Ragnarok but after today, I think I'm going to keep two stacks for the foreseeable future: Airist RDAC -> ZDT Jr. -> HD6XX and Metrum Amethyst -> Ragnarok -> Ether 2.

When I responded this morning, it was the with the Ragnarok on about 5 minutes of warm-up and while the Ether 2 sounded "better" it was only relative to the ZDT Jr. I came back to this stack a few hours later and haven't been able to stop listening now. The amp warmed up and the Ether 2 have really come to life. I'm using the same 20-band parametric EQ settings I use for the HD6XX on the Ether 2 (with slight modifications since treble was piercing) and I'm extremely pleased with how this sounds. It's not as 3D as the ZDT Jr. but I'm getting insane detail levels and hearing some new stuff.

The Ether 2 are the best parts of the LCD-X (bass) and Focal Clear (clarity, extension) combined in a package that shouldn't weigh as little as it does.

Hopefully when I can get the rest of my old gear sold and can save up the rest for the Kenzie Encore, the Ether 2 play nicely with it (the product page says they tested the amp with the Ethers) and I can consolidate to a single stack to rule them all.

Good! To me the Rag 1 is sort of a Swiss Army Knife Integrated w/ very good headphone amp. Check out the stats balanced vs SE - the balanced has much better stats - more watts, more damping, and much lower impedance - see website). I run every phone via balanced on it. Likes all the HFM's such as HE-500, HE-6, HEX v2.

Still dying to hear the E2. Love the Voce, like the Ether 1 also.