[b-sides]

so i'm planning to upgrade:

-hd580
-go vibe III
-AD8620 opamp

total cost will be about $260... not bad at all.

my question is, i'll be using an ipod and i want to get the most out of it. should i:

a) get a cardas interconnect and use the headphone out

b) get a sik ram din, which terminates in a miniplug, and use the line out

c) get a sik din, which ends in a line out port AND get the cardas interconnect

i'm fairly sure that b) and c) will be superior to a), i just dont know if c) is overkill.

 

[milkpowder]

Sounds good to me! Instead of option C Quote:

Originally Posted by b-sides c) get a Sik din, which ends in a line out port AND get the cardas interconnect

, get the PocketDock with Line Out w/USB AND the Cardas interconnect. I believe that this option is more expensive, but probably of a higher quality since you won't be limited by the quality of the Sik din interconnects. Look at the pictures here for more information. Sendstation also do a version with firewire.

 

[Pappucho]

You should also consider the Turbo Dock II.

 

[milkpowder]

The Turbodock II is AWESOME! Too bad they are quite often sold out because of the high demand.

 

[kramer5150]

For the HD580 I prefer my Mint over my govibe/OPA2227. To my ears it sounds more dynamic and exciting on the power-hungry senn, than any of my non-buffered amps.

Garrett

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 For the HD580 I prefer my Mint over my govibe/OPA2227. To my ears it sounds more dynamic and exciting on the power-hungry senn, than any of my non-buffered amps. Garrett

Norm was building Mints at one point, and I owned one of his (Headsave Minime). He basically stopped building Mints and Pimetas altogether because he felt the BUF634 buffers sound terrible, and preferred the unbuffered sound (at that point he released the Home-Vibe and Go-Vibe and discontinued his other product lines).

I tend to agree with his assessment -- that Minime I had (AD8620, BUF634) sounded strained and constricted, like it was trying too hard to push out the music... in contrast, the go-vibe sounds effortless to my ears. I would not recommend a Mint to anyone at this point, based on what my ears have told me in the past (and would be really wary of anything with BUF634s, because I feel they sound unpleasant).

BTW, Senns are not "power hungry," they are voltage hungry, and buffers are not going to help much in that regard. Better off looking for bigger power supply caps (and otherwise overbuilt power supplies), as that would be more of a determining factor with high impedance cans IMO.

 

[Andrea]

It may depend on how the BUF634's are made to work in the MINT. These buffers have variable bandwidth, selectable through a resistor. Now, in the standard MINT schematic, they're made to work at minimum bandwidth since this results in a much lower power consumption at idle (1.5 mA, 15 mA being the consumption at max. bandwidth). In the PIMETA instead, the're given a mid-high bandwidth setting resulting in about 8 mA power consumption per buffer. It is said that the effect on sound quality is audible...

 

[b-sides]

wow... i'm kinda new to amping, and i have no idea what any of that means.