[tan.phan.vt]

I have a question. When my source volume on PC is 50% and the volume of my Magni 3 is at 12 o'clock with high gain, the sound feels somewhat warmer and fuller, compared to when it put the source at 100% and amp volume at 9 o'clock. Is the distortion of the amp or my ear playing with me?

 

[phthora]

I have a question. When my source volume on PC is 50% and the volume of my Magni 3 is at 12 o'clock with high gain, the sound feels somewhat warmer and fuller, compared to when it put the source at 100% and amp volume at 9 o'clock. Is the distortion of the amp or my ear playing with me?

Distortion, of a sort. The PC is attenuating the volume by compression; in other words, to lower the volume, the PC is taking information out of the signal. Then you are raising the signal again through the amp's gain, then lowering the resulting volume with the volume potentiometer.

That result may sound warmer because of the compression of the signal, particularly the dynamic range. But that is a guess. It will certainly sound more blurred, less precise, less separated.

 

[tan.phan.vt]

Distortion, of a sort. The PC is attenuating the volume by compression; in other words, to lower the volume, the PC is taking information out of the signal. Then you are raising the signal again through the amp's gain, then lowering the resulting volume with the volume potentiometer.

That result may sound warmer because of the compression of the signal, particularly the dynamic range. But that is a guess. It will certainly sound more blurred, less precise, less separated.

Oh, so the recommended way is to maximize the source output, and slowly increase the amp volume to minimize distortion right?

 

[phthora]

Oh, so the recommended way is to maximize the source output, and slowly increase the amp volume to minimize distortion right?

Basically, yes. Max out the source, use the amp to adjust gain and volume.

If your PC does not have an actual amplifier, which is most likely, then the DAC creates a signal at one set volume. To change the perceived volume of that signal, the DAC can only remove information/compress the signal to do so. Most people start to notice a degradation of quality at about 4 bits -- once 4 bits of signal have been lost, then people begin to care. Of course, that depends on the listener. The lower the volume is from max, the more compression will happen. It works good enough most of the time because the lower the volume of something, the less details will stand out anyway, so the effect seems natural and generally is unnoticed. However, since you are then amping the result, the degradation of sound will likely be noticeable.

If your DAC is paired with an amp, then you amp that signal, typically the result doesn't sound bad at all. In fact, that is essentially how a pre-amp works. The signal will be uncompressed and you will just pick up whatever distortion occurs from passing through 2 separate amps. Usually, that won't even be noticeable.

 

[AnotherN00b]

Hello Fellow Hi-Fi-Men (and Women),
Recently grabbed one of the HE-560s on sale at Adorama and I am upgrading my Schiit Magni 2 Uber to a Garage1217 Polaris since the HE-560s sound a bit thin and bright to me on the Schiit stack (will be replacing the Modi with a Topping D50 as well).

Anyway wondering what settings (attenuation, bandwidth, output resistance, gain) other Polaris owners have found the most satisfying with their HE-560s. I also have the m1060s, HE-400i, and TH-X00 so would welcome any Polaris recommendations for those as well.

Thanks!

 

[Emmett]

It works fine with XDP-300R. I also have the Onkyo DP-S1 and it was fine with balanced mode. It does, IMHO, sound a little better if you plug the DAP into an amp and use the HE560 though.

Thanks for the input.

 

[DavidA]

Hello Fellow Hi-Fi-Men (and Women),
Recently grabbed one of the HE-560s on sale at Adorama and I am upgrading my Schiit Magni 2 Uber to a Garage1217 Polaris since the HE-560s sound a bit thin and bright to me on the Schiit stack (will be replacing the Modi with a Topping D50 as well).

Anyway wondering what settings (attenuation, bandwidth, output resistance, gain) other Polaris owners have found the most satisfying with their HE-560s. I also have the m1060s, HE-400i, and TH-X00 so would welcome any Polaris recommendations for those as well.

Thanks!

While I don't have a Polaris at the moment I have borrowed one from a friend a few times and its responds to changes in output resistance like my Ember so with the HE560 I usually have them on the middle setting.

 

[AnotherN00b]

While I don't have a Polaris at the moment I have borrowed one from a friend a few times and its responds to changes in output resistance like my Ember so with the HE560 I usually have them on the middle setting.

Thanks David -- appreciate the feedback!

 

[tan.phan.vt]

@Asahi Templar

I think the Magni 3 is barely sufficient for these if you want to EQ them though, even with just a -6db preamp I have to go into high gain and keep it around 9 oclock for general pc use and low dr music, but have to crank it to 1-3 o clock range for higher dr music which is not ideal as its getting very close to its distortion point. I really think more EQ in the bass region would improve these further but dont think the Magni can handle it.

I've tested my pair today, with low gain and high gain respectively. I'd say its clear that low gain mode is not enough for those headphones, the bass is just too soft!!! It makes the sound sound brighter too.

But i can't make full use of it in high gain either. The sound is loud enough for me at high gain, but the pot sits at 9 o'clock, and theres a slight but very noticeable channel imbalance on my amp. Looks like i need to increase the electrical resistance somehow.

 

[raoultrifan]

Massdrop THX 789 (6 Watts) and JDS Lab ATOM (1 Watt) are the new contenders for driving planars. THX is both balanced and single-ended nad gain-adjust included, so could be a very good all-rounder here, from IEMs to planars.

 

[minervadreaming]

Massdrop THX 789 (6 Watts) and JDS Lab ATOM (1 Watt) are the new contenders for driving planars. THX is both balanced and single-ended nad gain-adjust included, so could be a very good all-rounder here, from IEMs to planars.

A coworker of mine just had his 789 delivered - he hasn't had a chance to put his 560s through them yet (will this weekend) but I'm very curious about the combo specifically because of how neutral the 560s are and how neutral the 789 is described to be. In his limited use thus far he is saying that it is far more neutral than his Asgard 2.

I imagine that the 789 + 560 combo will either be remarkably boring or will just be a great combo for reference listening.

 

[Asahi Templar]

@Asahi Templar

I've tested my pair today, with low gain and high gain respectively. I'd say its clear that low gain mode is not enough for those headphones, the bass is just too soft!!! It makes the sound sound brighter too.

But i can't make full use of it in high gain either. The sound is loud enough for me at high gain, but the pot sits at 9 o'clock, and theres a slight but very noticeable channel imbalance on my amp. Looks like i need to increase the electrical resistance somehow.

You can always just turn down your source volume or add a digital preamp to reduce the volume. But yeah Magni is not great with the 560 without going into high gain and going louder than I would like.

I will say that without eq and cranking the volume up to around 12 on high gain and listening to Dragonborn off Skyrim soundtrack was a hell of an experience. The 560 works really well with epic music makes them sound extra grandiose!

I have also ordered a thx 798. I think it will be a amazing pairing with the 560. Should be amazingly clean sounding.

 

[Brahmsian]

extension to the sub-bass area.

If you get a chance, listen to this recording of Shostakovich's 8th, 3rd movement. The bass is extraordinarily deep, rich, and textured. Full and tight at the same time. Quite a treat.

the HE400i...sound quite different to me

400i and 560 sound very different yet I hear a family resemblance in how they present the music, particularly in what parts of the mix they tend to bring forward.

 

[calebthelion]

I’ve been using the THX AAA 789 with the HE560 (was using Modi/Magni2u before) and it has made a huge difference, I can say that I actually enjoy listening to them now and they have a real spot in my rotation finally. Given the linearity of the pair they make for a great analytical listening session.

 

[raoultrifan]

THX AAA 789 is a very-well measuring headamp, it's perfectly normal to pair perfectly with HE-560. I'm glad you're using it and you're happy with it...quite a powerful single-ended & balanced headamp.