Cat Whisperer Bob
100+ Head-Fier
ZMF Auteur- Liquid Platinum w/Telefunken ECC88 tubes- Pegasus- MXN-10
For those of us with multiple headphones, which ones are you listening with now?
- Thread starter timb5881
- Start date
ZMF Auteur- Liquid Platinum w/Telefunken ECC88 tubes- Pegasus- MXN-10
JAnonymous5150
Headphoneus Supremus
On the road in the dark listening to my ThieAudio Prestige LTDs driven by the Cayin N8ii which is serving up all my musical favs in the wee hours of this morning.
As for the actual music, I've got The Comet is Coming's 2019 offering entitled Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery in hi-res at the top of my queue. This group puts out a great melding of ambient electronic soundscapes with some jazz influence to produce a sound that's very much unique to them. The way the saxophone is enveloped and supported by all manner of electronically created sonic textures often rising out of nearly subsonic blackness creates a uniquely chill vibe that's so cool to close your eyes and let your mind wander to. The synth bridges and accompaniments add another rich layer to the musical tapestry. That said, the occasional British accented spoken word piece sometimes strays into corny territory, but the interesting music to be heard makes ignoring that fault easy enough for me. FWIW, they have other albums without that problem.
As for the actual music, I've got The Comet is Coming's 2019 offering entitled Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery in hi-res at the top of my queue. This group puts out a great melding of ambient electronic soundscapes with some jazz influence to produce a sound that's very much unique to them. The way the saxophone is enveloped and supported by all manner of electronically created sonic textures often rising out of nearly subsonic blackness creates a uniquely chill vibe that's so cool to close your eyes and let your mind wander to. The synth bridges and accompaniments add another rich layer to the musical tapestry. That said, the occasional British accented spoken word piece sometimes strays into corny territory, but the interesting music to be heard makes ignoring that fault easy enough for me. FWIW, they have other albums without that problem.
Cat Whisperer Bob
100+ Head-Fier
Auteurs still going strong
Modius (AKM 4493) -> Pietus Maximus -> Diana V2
Last edited:
treys1
100+ Head-Fier
Wiim Mini > Modius > Lokius > Valhalla 2 -> 300ohm "K100" Beryllium Ziricote DIY's
Cat Whisperer Bob
100+ Head-Fier
Auteurs -Liquid Platinum
JAnonymous5150
Headphoneus Supremus
Over the last few weeks I have been making my way through the new ThieAudio Hype series IEMs. I started with the Hype 2 and Hype 4, finding the Hype 2s to be very impressive for the money. The Hype 4s came off as kind of a slightly less musical, less dynamic, and more expensive Hype 2 where the two extra BAs weren't really providing anything in the way of a sonic advantage and simply driving the cost up. Thus, the Hype 4s have been sold, but the Hype 2s remain in my arsenal and with the news I just got that the Hype 10s are on their way from SoCal to the Hotel we'll be at later next week, I figured now was a good time to break them out. So I've got the ThieAudio Hype 2s plugged into the Cayin N8ii as the road trip continues...
At the top of my queue is a classic album from all the way back in 2011: Heritage by Opeth. I know I've said this here before, but when this album came out I was so stoked that Opeth took a turn towards the proggy side. In their past more metal albums I heard flashes of something I really liked, but Heritage was the first Opeth album I could really sink my teeth into and it remains one of my absolute favorite albums. In fact, it's one of the few albums that I own in hi-res digital dl, on CD, and on vinyl. I can remember listening to this album a lot while trying to sleep on a few very long plane and boat rides I took shortly after this came out. It's just too good to pass up so if you haven't heard it, now's the time!
To those about to rock, I salute you!
Edit: Just to explain, I can't sleep to boring music. I sleep best to music that provides atmosphere that I can explore while I let my mind wander so my saying that I listened to this album while trying to sleep shouldn't be taken as an indicator of it being boring or anything. For reference, I also often sleep to stuff like Polyphia, Scale the Summit, etc. Weird, right?
At the top of my queue is a classic album from all the way back in 2011: Heritage by Opeth. I know I've said this here before, but when this album came out I was so stoked that Opeth took a turn towards the proggy side. In their past more metal albums I heard flashes of something I really liked, but Heritage was the first Opeth album I could really sink my teeth into and it remains one of my absolute favorite albums. In fact, it's one of the few albums that I own in hi-res digital dl, on CD, and on vinyl. I can remember listening to this album a lot while trying to sleep on a few very long plane and boat rides I took shortly after this came out. It's just too good to pass up so if you haven't heard it, now's the time!
To those about to rock, I salute you!
Edit: Just to explain, I can't sleep to boring music. I sleep best to music that provides atmosphere that I can explore while I let my mind wander so my saying that I listened to this album while trying to sleep shouldn't be taken as an indicator of it being boring or anything. For reference, I also often sleep to stuff like Polyphia, Scale the Summit, etc. Weird, right?
Last edited:
JAnonymous5150
Headphoneus Supremus
Wiim Mini > Modius > Lokius > Valhalla 2 -> 300ohm "K100" Beryllium Ziricote DIY's
Dude, those DIY Ziricote closed backs look freakin' beautiful! I need to find time on my next break at home to do another DIY build. Did you make the cups yourself? Care to give me/us a rundown on the tuning, technical process, etc? No worries if you don't.
treys1
100+ Head-Fier
Dude, those DIY Ziricote closed backs look freakin' beautiful! I need to find time on my next break at home to do another DIY build. Did you make the cups yourself? Care to give me/us a rundown on the tuning, technical process, etc? No worries if you don't.
Thank you! I don't make the cups, I source everything from AliExpress and assemble / tune them. These have Qigom K100 drivers in them, which are some of the "higher end" DIY drivers from Ali and for tuning, I change the filter paper on the back of those to a lighter material. The rest of the tuning is on the cup, I use some dampening tape around the perimeter of the cup and on the very rear, and then some absorption foam on top of that, all of that is to keep resonance and nastiness down.
This is a different set, but the same treatment:
The frequency response for this set is (you can see the _6 on that filename, that means I was in and out 6 times adjusting the filters on the driver to end up where I wanted to be):
Mhog55
Headphoneus Supremus
The tuning is beautiful. He put a lot of time, trial, and error into the damping process and materials. No bloat, no bleed, zero distortion or nasty reverb that I can hear.Dude, those DIY Ziricote closed backs look freakin' beautiful! I need to find time on my next break at home to do another DIY build. Did you make the cups yourself? Care to give me/us a rundown on the tuning, technical process, etc? No worries if you don't.
They sound very natural. Instruments actually sound like instruments. Drum kits sound alive with authority, yet not overkill. A wonderful blend of attack and decay. Bass is clean, ever so slightly North or neutral. Just the right amount of warmth without becoming gooey. Mids are not recessed, but just a small tick of forwardness. Male and female vocals sound brilliant, just like the vocalist is sitting in the room with you. Upper mids and lower treble are relatively neutral, with perhaps a small splash of extra juice in the presence region. Treble is pretty brilliant without ever getting harsh, bright, or strident. Not super extended. Cymbals have never sounded so correct to me. The tonality and timbre are magnificent.
I could go on and on as these are the best closed backs I've heard. The drivers are top notch. My closest comparison would be the 9200, with a little less treble extension, better overall note weight, and more meat on the bone. I also have the Ziricote cups. I'd take these over every Focal, Fostex, and Denon I've owned.
So, are you on the NuPrime or the Shangling?
How is the Shanling, now that you have had it for a while?
Gulipan
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2016
- Posts
- 20
- Likes
- 122
Sony WM1A (balanced) -> Oppo PM-2 (w/ PM-1 leather pads)
pataburd
Headphoneus Supremus
Plan to swap the Shanling back in later today/tomorrow. So far, as a dedicated CD transport, I prefer the NuPrime [e.g., more neutral-, balanced- and spacious-sounding].So, are you on the NuPrime or the Shangling?
However, upsampling with the NuPrime does not work with the SMSL D400EX(!), whereas upsampling with the Shanling does work with the D400EX(!). The Shanling is also much more versatile [e.g., Bluetooth, USB (CD) audio out, streaming application]. I also like the fact that the Shanling is a top-loader . . .
We'll see. Maybe I can post a brief a/b review in the future.
Thank you for asking.
Last edited:
