[jazzwave]

  H10 and He-500 are in. Still waiting on the unbalanced cable, so haven't heard the combo yet. Argh, can't stand the wait. Guess I'll start the burn-in in the mean time.
 
Tried the HD600 with the H10 and it was fine but nothing special. Wasn't blown away. Definitely better than the Magni though, that combo was terrible. I guess I won't hear the HD600 true potential until I test it with an OTL amp.
 
BTW, am I bottlenecking the H10 by using a Schiit Modi as DAC? I hope not, cause I'm way over budget as it is 

 
I got same impression with HD600+H10 duet, good but nothing special...my old amp (D1 mod) sligthly better than H10 (to my ears)
Probably my H10 still in burn in process ( passed 5 days), I will update when pass 50 hours.
 
But noticeably H10 drive Grado SR60i very good, soundstage wider, no harsh sound. I feel like have new cans...

 

[DreamKing]

  What do you use with the he-560? I'm planning to pair it with he-400i. I read +6 is a good number.

 
I agree, it's a good number with it. I'm currently on stock gain because I'm running a different kind of config, but with the H10 alone I'd be on +6.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

Alright, I will wait for a bit and give it another go.

I second what has been said here. Let the amp run for about 4 days. Also, I owned the original Modi, and while it did the job, you can do better without spending too much. The second gen. Modi/ Uber is worth it, or consider the GO V2.

Or, X12 if you can afford it.

I believe Schiit is releasing an upgrade to the Bifrost/Gungnir soonish, which will presumably include tech R2R from the Yggy. You may want to wait for that announcement, which Jason and Mike have hinted at coming soon. Yet I realize this is not a Schiit hype thread.

bottom line is that your dac should be replaced at some point and that you have several attractive options already extant and forthcoming soon.


Congrats on the H10. I like it with my Sennheisers very much.

 

[406382]

I second what has been said here. Let the amp run for about 4 days. Also, I owned the original Modi, and while it did the job, you can do better without spending too much. The second gen. Modi/ Uber is worth it, or consider the GO V2.

Or, X12 if you can afford it.

I believe Schiit is releasing an upgrade to the Bifrost/Gungnir soonish, which will presumably include tech R2R from the Yggy. You may want to wait for that announcement, which Jason and Mike have hinted at coming soon. Yet I realize this is not a Schiit hype thread.

bottom line is that your dac should be replaced at some point and that you have several attractive options already extant and forthcoming soon.

Congrats on the H10. I like it with my Sennheisers very much.

 
 
Thanks for the DAC recommendations. I guess the second gen Modi would be a safe choice wallet wise and perhaps a good quick win in the DAC area. Second hand Ifi iDac also looks to be worth its bucks

 

[pippen99]

Quote:

I believe Schiit is releasing an upgrade to the Bifrost/Gungnir soonish, which will presumably include tech R2R from the Yggy. You may want to wait for that announcement, which Jason and Mike have hinted at coming soon. Yet I realize this is not a Schiit hype thread.

 
Be advised that if this upgrade does materialize that Schiit will charge a 100-150 dollar premium to anyone who is not the original owner.

 

[fritobugger]

  H10 and He-500 are in. Still waiting on the unbalanced cable, so haven't heard the combo yet. Argh, can't stand the wait. Guess I'll start the burn-in in the mean time. 
 
Tried the HD600 with the H10 and it was fine but nothing special. Wasn't blown away. Definitely better than the Magni though, that combo was terrible. I guess I won't hear the HD600 true potential until I test it with an OTL amp. 
 
BTW, am I bottlenecking the H10 by using a Schiit Modi as DAC? I hope not, cause I'm way over budget as it is 

 

 
Are you unhappy with the sound of the Modi? DId you do the Golden Ears challenge and score very high? If not yes to both of those, then stick with the Modi and let the H10 burn in. 

 

[fritobugger]

   
 
Thanks for the DAC recommendations. I guess the second gen Modi would be a safe choice wallet wise and perhaps a good quick win in the DAC area. Second hand Ifi iDac also looks to be worth its bucks

Second hand iFi DSD Nano or DAC would be a good choice to balance the warmness of the H10.  I have the SMSL M8 which has the same Sabra chip and it is ok too.

 

[406382]

   
Are you unhappy with the sound of the Modi? DId you do the Golden Ears challenge and score very high? If not yes to both of those, then stick with the Modi and let the H10 burn in. 

 
That sounds like an ABX test. Tried some of those in the past, got mixed results between them (some totaled average, others high). I've never been fond of these tests to be honest. It takes an approach to the hobby that just doesn't work for me. I'm quite happy to let my brain play tricks on me if that helps me being content with the audio hobby. 
 
Still, I'll wait for the burn in to take place. No sense in switching DAC's before that, Otherwise I won't know which change did the most, if anything at all.  

 

[Liu Junyuan]

  Quote:

I believe Schiit is releasing an upgrade to the Bifrost/Gungnir soonish, which will presumably include tech R2R from the Yggy. You may want to wait for that announcement, which Jason and Mike have hinted at coming soon. Yet I realize this is not a Schiit hype thread.

 
Be advised that if this upgrade does materialize that Schiit will charge a 100-150 dollar premium to anyone who is not the original owner.

Yes, this is true. And even if buying from Schiit, the upgrade will still cost something, just more for those who purchased second-hand. But, again, this is OT. Back to Gustard.

 

[406382]

  Second hand iFi DSD Nano or DAC would be a good choice to balance the warmness of the H10.  I have the SMSL M8 which has the same Sabra chip and it is ok too.

 
If the iDac or iDSD nano lean more towards analytical / clean than warm, it might not match my preference. I've noticed that I almost always prefer the latter. Guess I'll just have to experiment. 

 

[Liu Junyuan]

   
If the iDac or iDSD nano lean more towards analytical / clean than warm, it might not match my preference. I've noticed that I almost always prefer the latter. Guess I'll just have to experiment. 

Perhaps. Nothing will replace auditioning gear, but in the absence of this, you can try to find a company that allows for a trial period.

 

[406382]

  Perhaps. Nothing will replace auditioning gear, but in the absence of this, you can try to find a company that allows for a trial period.

 
I know Schiit does that in the US. I could ask the Dutch distributor Sonority Audio (hoster of Schiit-Europe.com) if they can do the same. 
 
edit: sorry, seems like I have knack of pulling threads off topic. Back to Gustard again 

 

[natemact]

Well taking the Captain's recommendation I finally swabbed out the NE5532's in the Gusty, but instead of going with his suggested AD823AN's I opted for a pair of LME49720NA's (aka LM4562) instead. Not because I didn't believe the Captain's claims, because I'm familiar with the LM4562's sound and was hopping it would translate well to the AD797 fitted H10....well holy boats did it ever!

The Gusty is now, dare I say it.."neutral". I'm still stunned at this revelation but it's true and I love it! That was really my only quibble with the stock H10's sound as I've always preferred a neutral sound with bass being last on my wish list...I sold my OCC silver cabled JH13FP and kept my ER-4S just to give you an idea of where I stand on signature preference.

A byproduct of this newfound neutrality is an increase in details and clarity, slightly more prominent treble (yet not overly so) and just a more engaging listen (my audio vernacular is definitely lacking) bringing you that much closer to the music. Keep in mind YRMV as my H10 is hooked up to an analog rig, no DAC here..gasp! Although I find my analog rig to be highly resolving and what I would consider to be neutral (maybe even veering slightly on the cooler side) for an analog rig I suspect many digital purists would consider it to be warm in comparison to a DAC. But for all of $6 how could you not pick up a couple of LM4562's along with the AD797/AD823's for your Gusty?

 

[stuartmc]

Well taking the Captain's recommendation I finally swabbed out the NE5532's in the Gusty, but instead of going with his suggested AD823AN's I opted for a pair of LME49720NA's (aka LM4562) instead. Not because I didn't believe the Captain's claims, because I'm familiar with the LM4562's sound and was hopping it would translate well to the AD797 fitted H10....well holy boats did it ever!

 

 
Vive la difference!  I was going to try the LM4562's also, but found a lot of commentary that suggested that they sound very similar to the opa 2604's that I had already tried. The AD823's were more clearly of a different flavor -a bit more dynamic with tighter bass, so I opted to try that in place of the 2604's.  I think the key considerations of H10 op-amp rolling (swabbing...arrrr) is going to be the sound/flavor of the gear you associate with the H10 and the sound/flavor you want to end up with.  The permutations and possibilities are practically limitless and that spells FUN to me!

 

[mylica]

   
Vive la difference!  I was going to try the LM4562's also, but found a lot of commentary that suggested that they sound very similar to the opa 2604's that I had already tried. The AD823's were more clearly of a different flavor -a bit more dynamic with tighter bass, so I opted to try that in place of the 2604's.  I think the key considerations of H10 op-amp rolling is going to be the sound/flavor of the gear you associate with the H10 and the sound/flavor you want to end up with.  The permutations and possibilities are practically limitless and that spells FUN to me!

 
Have 2604 with me for few days but have not put it inside.  Still on 823 + 797.  I will buy LME49720NA as well.
 
I am aiming at some DAC as well.  Currently using citypulse.  and planning to get power conditioner.