[Hansotek]

I always go balanced simply because it's easy to go from balanced to se and impossible to go the other way.

That's a great point.

 

[shuto77]

Hey guys: I have a BNIB Audeze Sine from an authorized seller.

HMU if you're interested in trading anything cool. I can add or will accept cash as needed. I can furnish the receipt for warranty purposes.

I'm looking for:
Beyerdynamic DT1770 (willing to add cash if warranted)
HIFIMAN HE-400i
OPPO PM3
Alpha Dogs

Let me know if you want to check the, Sine out, risk free, as they'll be under warranty.

 

[simulatedrain]

Hey everyone! thanks for the quick responses so far.  Im glad i decided to ask before i bought anything. 
 
 
Quote:

Hey man, welcome to the thread! All those bands you mentioned favor a somewhat bright, under-produced style of recording. That, in addition to "low quality audio", as you said, leads me to the conclusion that you'd be best served by a setup with a smooth, dark, weighty sound. I'd look into the Audeze LCD-2 and LCD-3, the Focal Elear, the ZMF Omni or maybe the HD650 with a high-end OTL tube amp. I'd probably avoid Schiit in your setup, as their house sound is somewhat forward and dry and will probably make your music a bit fatiguing. I'd probably look to gear with a darker, weightier, more spacious and atmospheric sound like Vioelectric, Cavalli and Linear Tube Audio.

A ZMF Omni and Questyle 600i would probably be a nice combo, giving you an extremely nice amp/DAC integrated combo and a dark, atmospheric headphone for about $2,300-$2,500, depending on your Omni options. It also has the advantage of being semi-open so it will attenuate a little outside noise (though it wouldn't block it out completely). A Cavalli Liquid Carbon, Chord Mojo and a balanced LCD-2 or Elear combo would also likely serve you very well, provided you can get your hands on a Carbon. Or you could go front-end heavy and get something like a Metrum Musette and a Linear Tube Audio Micro ZOTL2 to be a conduit for the HD650.

If I had my choice of the above, I'd probably go with the 600i and the Omni or Elear.

 
 Ive been doing some research on the questyle 600i and its a new amp/dac.  Have you had experiences with it?   What made it special?  Technically it seems like it would be an awesome foundation for my setup. It can also turn into a good preamp/dac,  i could pair it with other amps later on.  Have you had any experience with the grace m920 thats on mass drop right now?
 
The LCD-2 was one of my top choices because they have a 30 day trail period and seemed to be a good match with metal.  The zmf omni seemed like they would be very fun and comfy to use, but i would want to talk to zach to figure out what wood etc.   After the announcement of the ether flow upgrade , i think i might wait a lil bit before i buy any cans just in case.
 

   
You should attend a meet and try gear yourself before you drop a thousand dollars or more.

 
 
One of the big problems for me is that i live on the central coast in california, so im a fair distance away from san francisco and LA areas.  Along with work being 6 days a week for a while, i wont have the option to attend a meet ( i wish i could).   Ive also checked out audio stores in the surrounding areas and i havent been able to find anything thats not car audio or basic entry level stuff.
 
Ive been a mechanical keyboard enthusiast for a while, so im no stranger to investing large amounts of money into something that isnt necessarily tangible.  Its easy to dump 1000$ into custom pcb,cases, switches , key caps and artisan caps.  The main thing i wanted to avoid is getting stuck in the middle range spending money for smaller gains when it could be put to use for the "end game".  This is why i was hoping to get some opinions on if i should try out some mid range or avoid it.  
 
Apart from the hd 650 / asgard setup, what would be your preference for low fi black metal?  I do plan have alternate cans and amps over time , the more i look the more i find there is no one can to rule them all.
 
Thanks for all the advice!

 

[emptymt]

apparently there is a new ETHER on the block(ETHER flow), I really need an impression for this with metal.
It seems like most of the changes made in the sound(bass and dynamic, etc) will make metal tracks sound better on it than it was already.

 

[Psalmanazar]

   
 Ive been doing some research on the questyle 600i and its a new amp/dac.  Have you had experiences with it?   What made it special?  Technically it seems like it would be an awesome foundation for my setup. It can also turn into a good preamp/dac,  i could pair it with other amps later on.  Have you had any experience with the grace m920 thats on mass drop right now?
 
The LCD-2 was one of my top choices because they have a 30 day trail period and seemed to be a good match with metal.  The zmf omni seemed like they would be very fun and comfy to use, but i would want to talk to zach to figure out what wood etc.   After the announcement of the ether flow upgrade , i think i might wait a lil bit before i buy any cans just in case.
 
 
 
One of the big problems for me is that i live on the central coast in california, so im a fair distance away from san francisco and LA areas.  Along with work being 6 days a week for a while, i wont have the option to attend a meet ( i wish i could).   Ive also checked out audio stores in the surrounding areas and i havent been able to find anything thats not car audio or basic entry level stuff.
 
Ive been a mechanical keyboard enthusiast for a while, so im no stranger to investing large amounts of money into something that isnt necessarily tangible.  Its easy to dump 1000$ into custom pcb,cases, switches , key caps and artisan caps.  The main thing i wanted to avoid is getting stuck in the middle range spending money for smaller gains when it could be put to use for the "end game".  This is why i was hoping to get some opinions on if i should try out some mid range or avoid it.  
 
Apart from the hd 650 / asgard setup, what would be your preference for low fi black metal?  I do plan have alternate cans and amps over time , the more i look the more i find there is no one can to rule them all.
 
Thanks for all the advice!

Yeah you can dump thousands into gear for no real return on performance or sound. It's called "audio jewelry". There is no real endgame. The endgame is speakers.

Every individual Audeze LCD 2/3/X headphone (as in the actual unit) varies with metal as Audeze can't make the upper mids and treble consistent at all. The X tends to be the most consistent but is always a bit grainy. They're not actually better than the HD 600/650 after the bass region and planar bass is still textureless and compressed despite being less distorted than dynamic driver bass. They can't make the bass and lower mids sustain enough. If I were to go planar I'd do a modded HE-6 out of speaker taps but that's a whole different ballgame.

The Grace m920 is good but has the bad ESS Sabre treble timbre. Otherwise it's just not particularly bang for buck and the amp in it is only okay. As a DAC, it's about equal to the Matrix X-Sabre but both of them were bested by the Audio-GD NFB-7 for Sabre DACs. Sabre's really just aren't worth it and you can similar to better performance (especially with regards to treble) from the Emotiva DC-1 (Analog Devices 1955 based)and sigma-delta Schiit DACs (AKM 4490 based so bit warm meaning you might prefer the Emotiva). You're really just throwing money down the toilet with Sabre that you could be using to improve other parts of your chain. I like the Emotiva as it sound good, is neutral, is cheap, is a tank, and has AES input but still doesn't make me jump out of chair compared to my Schiit Modi 2 Uber (AK 4396 version without the inner-bloom of the AK4490) like the Yggdrasil did.

If you want a huge step up from all of this stuff, buy the Schiit Yggdrasil. The only problem is you have to keep it on all the time and the warm up period is about a week to reach the optimal operating temperature. The Bifrost Multibit has the same amazing filter with only an hour warm up time but is too warm and soft. It's softer than the Bifrost 4490 but not as warm. I've never heard the Gungnir Multibit but that might be the best balance of performance and convenience except for no AES input.

For lo-fi black metal? Nothing boomy, v-shaped, or with any treble problems. It's not really "lower fidelity" (I don't really like low and high fi for recordings more well-recorded vs poorly-recorded) compared to pop music, its just qiuck and dirty. Treble problems excludes entire brands of headphones like Beyerdynamic, Hifiman, MrSpeakers, and modern STAX cans.

 

  apparently there is a new ETHER on the block(ETHER flow), I really need an impression for this with metal.
It seems like most of the changes made in the sound(bass and dynamic, etc) will make metal tracks sound better on it than it was already.

They made it brighter so forget about it. "Doggy Treats to front damp the driver yourself" is a sign to just buy something else.

 

[bavinck]

Geez man, if you think the LCDX is grainy you have no idea what you are hearing....imo of course

 

[Psalmanazar]

  Geez man, if you think the LCDX is grainy you have no idea what you are hearing....imo of course

The Fazors killed the laid-back Audeze sound and replaced it with sandpaper. The exception was the 4 but the 4 I heard had zero texture and zero treble, making metallic percussion sound like a little hiss on top of the music even if you cranked it to 100 db. The LCD 4 made Blasphemy Fallen Angel of Doom somewhat smooth.

 

[bavinck]

  The Fazors killed the laid-back Audeze sound and replaced it with sandpaper. The exception was the 4 but the 4 I heard had zero texture and zero treble, making metallic percussion sound like a little hiss on top of the music even if you cranked it to 100 db. The LCD 4 made Blasphemy Fallen Angel of Doom somewhat smooth.

Well, no offense intended but your impressions directly contradict mine. To my ears, even on cheap sources, the LCDX is completely grain free.

 

[mysticstryk]

I didn't care for the LCD-X much, felt I preferred the warmer signature of the LCD-2. I liked the Vibros more than both, however the LCD-2 was the best of the bunch for metal of the these three to me.

 

[bavinck]

I didn't care for the LCD-X much, felt I preferred the warmer signature of the LCD-2. I liked the Vibros more than both, however the LCD-2 was the best of the bunch for metal of the these three to me.

Yes, from your posting here I can tell you like a darker (rolled off dark I say!) signature. I really like the lcdxc, I feel like the lcd2 (even the 2016 but to a lesser degree) rolls off the treble but the lcdxc keeps it all there. The newer drivers for the lcdcx reduce the thickness of the mids and bass a fair amount too.

 

[mysticstryk]

Yes, from your posting here I can tell you like a darker (rolled off dark I say!) signature. I really like the lcdxc, I feel like the lcd2 (even the 2016 but to a lesser degree) rolls off the treble but the lcdxc keeps it all there. The newer drivers for the lcdcx reduce the thickness of the mids and bass a fair amount too.

I haven't tried the XC yet. Idk if I just like dark sigs though, I really liked the Ether with metal as well. I also just got a dt880 which surprisingly, I'm really liking.

 

[shuto77]

Yes, from your posting here I can tell you like a darker (rolled off dark I say!) signature. I really like the lcdxc, I feel like the lcd2 (even the 2016 but to a lesser degree) rolls off the treble but the lcdxc keeps it all there. The newer drivers for the lcdcx reduce the thickness of the mids and bass a fair amount too.

What amp are you going to use with the Dt1770s?

 

[mysticstryk]

It could have also been typical driver variation in the LCD-X. I tried them and the Ether on a liquid carbon and felt the Ether had better slam and was more full bodied.

 

[bavinck]

What amp are you going to use with the Dt1770s?

Don't have the dt1770. They sent a dt770, I sent it back
 
I am getting a t5p2 though, as I LOVE LOVE LOVE my T1.2. T5P will be using the fiio x7, just like the supposed dt1770 would have. Fiio X7 sounds amazing with the upgraded amps (I am using am5), pretty amazing little portable for the price. I actually like it more than the mojo (and not by a small margin).

 

[shuto77]

Don't have the dt1770. They sent a dt770, I sent it back

I am getting a t5p2 though, as I LOVE LOVE LOVE my T1.2. T5P will be using the fiio x7, just like the supposed dt1770 would have. Fiio X7 sounds amazing with the upgraded amps (I am using am5), pretty amazing little portable for the price. I actually like it more than the mojo (and not by a small margin).

Dude, I'm so glad you try out all the gear first, and give me the scoop, lol.

I miss my DT1770s. I tried the Mezes 99 Classics. They were nice, but they didn't fit me well, and their soundstage was too small for my liking.

I need the scoop on the upgraded amps on the Fiio X7. I loved the Mojo, but it was too clunky for my portable needs.

I'm back on the closed back kick. I want the DT1770s, but perhaps easier to drive and with a slightly larger soundstage.

What should I go with, lol?