Whazzzup
Headphoneus Supremus
I think that’s what I said. Scale. But take this to the Oppo thread and ask
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1) For the 4th time. How can a sensitive headphone like the utopia at 104dBL which means it gets loud with very little power also play balanced? If it runs balanced therefore the amp must be supplying much greater power maybe up to 2 or even 3W than a single ended configuration. How is this possible from a technical perspective? The utopia therefore shares this characteristic with my PM1. I have no intention of buying an amp to use with my TT2. This is just a technical query. If it is something to do with scalability then i do not understand the mechanism at work here. Can anyone help?
Quick query:
My Oppo PM1 is really sensitive at 102dBL. So this means it requires very little power to play loud. However Oppo also sell a balanced cable by which you can use the headphone with their HA1 amp balanced. How can a really sensitive headphone also play balanced and take up to 2W if not more from the Oppo HA1 amp? I assume maximum loudness would be similar to maximum loudness with single ended. The website also mentions (Pulse Max Input Power 2 W). This seems like a contradiction and i don't quite understand. I know other TOTL easy to drive headphones can also do the same balanced. Feedback appreciated. Would running the PM1 balanced as an experiment be a bad idea from a TT2 or just plain dangerous? BTW TT2 is arriving tomorrow the DPD tracking is live! Photos to come. Long term maximum input power on the PM1 is 500mW.
Finally can anyone calculate the power output into 32ohms with the TT2 unbalanced by looking at the specs? That would help me immensely. The PM1 is 32 ohms impedance. (From Chord: 288 mW RMS 300Ω; 7.3 W RMS 8Ω). These figures are for unbalanced.
Quick note: I've just read that Rob definitely does not recommend balanced for headphones at all. Maybe this does not apply to monsters like susvara/abyss? Anyway this does not still answer my original query above in the first paragraph if anyone can help. I'm on a steep learning curve so bear with me
Yeah I haven't replaced the HTT2 with a new desktop DAC yet. I am using the iFi iDSD BL in the interim. I'd like to go back to the DAVE (I think?,) but I don't think I'll be able to afford it. Not sure yet what I'm going to do : )
I thought balanced was for noise not power? Increase in power is coincidental with TT2???
Msb and dcs highest regarded ? Who says ? Once you listen tt2 or Dave with HMS and then msb ( even select version ), even a kid can tell the off timing of transients in msb and that too in a YouTube video. Don't believe try yourself. I have made some mobile phone videos of tt2 and HMS and even in those videos the extremely clean transients and clarity are evident.I am not sure what you are looking at for a price range. I had a hugo 2 with an mscaler and traded to fund my two channel setup when I sold my lcd 4z. I ended up getting a metrum onyx that i really like. I use it with my ab1266 phi tc and a liquid platinum and it sounds great. I might upgrade to the pavane, TT2 or a ps audio direct stream dac down the road. My wallet needs a break after the first half of the year. Two speaker upgrades then more headphones. Thankfully I think I am at a stopping point with the abyss and the magico speakers for a good while.
Most of the highest regarded dacs in the two channel world are R2R based MSB and DCS. Might be worth a shot in you system.
CreditingKarma
Why would you not include the Dave and TT2 as well regarded in the 2 channel world? I am mostly a 2 channel guy, and love driving my speakers (Dynaudio Excite 12’s ) directly off my TT2. They do not have the scale of your Magico’s, but I will be upgrading my speakers eventually, I traded Sopra 1’s to fund my TT2, and after I get an MScaler, I will be looking at end game speakers. The short list is Dynaudio Confidence 20’s, Kudos 505’s, and Borrenson Z01’s. I live in an apartment building, so volume needs to be kept down.