[julianlopez85]

It did tame it a bit, but I think what's most noticeable is the separation of instruments. That said, I have not tried this combo out with the headphones you have so I am not fully sure how much of that harshness will be gone and if it is to your liking. I can safely say that most Mimby owners who got an Eitr are happy with their purchases.

Either way, see if you can use coaxial or optical from your audio source instead of USB first before considering the Eitr

So there's a suggestion that it is still quite harsh to listen to even with the eitr....hmm interesting

 

[julianlopez85]

For me Eitr-Mimby combo helped most to clean up the USB related noise. I didn't notice a lot of other changes (glare, separation) but cleaning up the USB signal was well worth it. That said, I did upgrade the mimby chip (I had an original version) at the same time as adding an Eitr. That had more of an impact on the sound quality.

do you find the sound to be quite harsh when the songs peak? be it vocals or anything else?

 

[julianlopez85]

Hmmm I don't know if this is the case but I'll just throw out a few possibilities out there if could or could not be any of those:

Mimby need to be left on 24/7 to sound correct, it has optimal operating temperature and people recommend at least 24 hours minimum before you listen to it.

I had Liquid Spark briefly before upgrading to Project Polaris. From memory I think manufacture recommend 100 hours burn in on Liquid Spark, also I do remember Liquid Spark being a little bit harsh / dry on my first impression. I didn't keep it long enough to hit 100 hour mark so I don't know.

I currently have Mimby running on USB and connecting to Asgard 3 and Project Polaris and I didn't find female vocal harsh, but treble do get loud on Polaris. And in general Piano sound is a little over emphasized.

Not too sure if the usb/optical/coax thing would fix it though. But you could probably give it a try.

Sorry I'm just throwing all the possibilities out there not sure if any of them would actually fix it LOL.

I had the liquid spark a month before the mimby arrived so i doubt it could be that...the liquid spark with my previous dac was fairly smooth albeit it was a delta sigma combo...but the mimby is not as expected...i thought it would've been a nice smooth sound possibly since it's a ladder dac

 

[darkarn]

So there's a suggestion that it is still quite harsh to listen to even with the eitr....hmm interesting

That's true cos:
1. Harshness may be also due to other factors in your chain (i.e. see your synergy)
2. My definition of harshness can be more relaxed compared to yours and vice versa

General consensus is that Eitr is a good companion for the Mimby since this essentially gives you way better USB audio than directly connecting to the Mimby. It may not make things less harsh enough for you, but the better separation of instruments and other benefits may help you to not focus that much on the harshness. In my case, being a fellow Mimby owner, the Eitr did both benefits (and maybe more that I have not discovered yet) and I am really pleased with it so far

 

[julianlopez85]

That's true cos:
1. Harshness may be also due to other factors in your chain (i.e. see your synergy)
2. My definition of harshness can be more relaxed compared to yours and vice versa

General consensus is that Eitr is a good companion for the Mimby since this essentially gives you way better USB audio than directly connecting to the Mimby. It may not make things less harsh enough for you, but the better separation of instruments and other benefits may help you to not focus that much on the harshness. In my case, being a fellow Mimby owner, the Eitr did both benefits (and maybe more that I have not discovered yet) and I am really pleased with it so far

ok...can i ask what sample rate are you using? i'm on 24-96 and how do you know use the volume of your pc? do you do windows all the way up and music player volume all the way up? and you control your levels via amp? or what's your setup? Thanks.

 

[darkarn]

ok...can i ask what sample rate are you using? i'm on 24-96 and how do you know use the volume of your pc? do you do windows all the way up and music player volume all the way up? and you control your levels via amp? or what's your setup? Thanks.

My Eitr is set to 24/192, max volume on OS level and apps, controlling volume with amp

My setup:
PC > Eitr > Modi Multibit (A2 firmware) DAC > Project Ember tube amp > JBL LSR 305 (1st Gen) / beyerdynamic Custom ONE Pro

 

[darkarn]

For me Eitr-Mimby combo helped most to clean up the USB related noise. I didn't notice a lot of other changes (glare, separation) but cleaning up the USB signal was well worth it. That said, I did upgrade the mimby chip (I had an original version) at the same time as adding an Eitr. That had more of an impact on the sound quality.

I find it to be the reverse so far, but then again that is because I added the Eitr and then upgraded the firmware chip approx 24 hours later. I mean, it makes more sense to order both at the same time so lol

 

[Runrunsmithfly]

I use the Modi multibit as an external DAC on an older CD player via a coax cable. No harshness heard through my Asgard 3 and Focal Clear Pros.

 

[julianlopez85]

I use the Modi multibit as an external DAC on an older CD player via a coax cable. No harshness heard through my Asgard 3 and Focal Clear Pros.

this is difficult since my pc doesn't have coax out....and i just bought my amp and dac within the same month so budget's out atm....maybe i can get one of those cheap sound cards that have coax out...then i can have an output to the coax

 

[darkarn]

this is difficult since my pc doesn't have coax out....and i just bought my amp and dac within the same month so budget's out atm....maybe i can get one of those cheap sound cards that have coax out...then i can have an output to the coax

Does your computer have TOSLINK/optical? That can work as an interim solution

If not, you may need to EQ

 

[julianlopez85]

Does your computer have TOSLINK/optical? That can work as an interim solution

If not, you may need to EQ

this i definitely have....i might need to go get a toslink cable and see if that helps...do cables matter? or any cables should do the trick?

 

[darkarn]

this i definitely have....i might need to go get a toslink cable and see if that helps...do cables matter? or any cables should do the trick?

For your scenario, any cable that don't look too dodgy or cost too much should be fine.

 

[SolaVirtus]

do you find the sound to be quite harsh when the songs peak? be it vocals or anything else?

I can't say I'd describe it as harsh at all. My ears are pretty used to solid state gear, and I listened to that with cans not known to be particularly harsh. Maybe in another setup it could be harsh, but not for me.

 

[julianlopez85]

I can't say I'd describe it as harsh at all. My ears are pretty used to solid state gear, and I listened to that with cans not known to be particularly harsh. Maybe in another setup it could be harsh, but not for me.

can i ask what cans did you use? thanks

 

[SolaVirtus]

Sure - HD 6XX, Argon, Hifiman Ananda