[tjkohli]

things can initially sound incredible but our tastes change, as does our hearing. It's possible you might not get that feeling back even if you recreated the entire setup

I second this 100% — when I first tried the Meze Liric (coming from B&W PX8), it was the best thing I had ever heard. Then added an amp and gained 10% or so in fidelity. Then I heard the Focal Utopia, and the Liric sounded like garbage in comparison (even though it's a brilliant headphone). Then I added the Chord Mojo 2 (and eventually a TT2) and I could never listen to the Utopia through the standard 3.5mm jack again.

Needless to say — my Utopia sounds "normal" to me now and I can discern flaws in it. It doesn't sound "wow" to me every time I put it on. My ears have gotten used to it and have come to expect this level of audio fidelity.

So that "wow" moment you first had with the Denon may never come back. It's very much an emotional effect as much as a sound quality one.

 

[Whazzzup]

Im wowing still, everyday

 

[chesebert]

Hello everyone,

Years ago, I walked into Bay Bloor Radio, in Toronto. I went over to their headphone testing section, and tossed on a pair of Denon AH-D2000's, and hit the play button that was connected to the store's hardware.

What came into my ears was the best auditory experience I've ever had. The soundstage was absolutely immense. To even call it a sound-"stage" is to do it a disservice. It was a sound-amphitheater. Instruments sounded like they were many feet away, in all directions around me. The drums were physically behind me, the strings to my front and left, etc. The detail and resolution were astounding.

At least, compared to what I had ever heard before or since. I was only 20 at the time, and did not own any audio equipment of any kind, beyond a pair of $50 Sennheiser on-ear headphones.

I have been wanting to get back to that kind of sound ever since, and I'm finally starting to have enough money to buy some basic audio gear, under $1000.

The reason I'm not posting this in the "Shopping and Setup Help Desk" thread is because I'm not actually looking for suggestions about what to buy specifically.

Rather, I'm wanting to know what part of the auditory chain is most responsible for the great sound that I heard, those years ago.

• Was it the Denon D2000's? My understanding is that they're good headphones, but should have a smaller soundstage than a pair of open-backed headphones. Yet, the Sennheiser HD 6XX's I currently use sound much, much smaller. The sound is barely outside my skull, let alone a dozen feet away from it.
• Was it the amplifier or DAC they were using at the store? This equipment was unfortunately hidden from view, so I have no idea what it was. Right now, I use an SDAC from GRACE, running directly from my computer, and powering my HD 6XX's directly. My intention was to buy a Schitt Stack, such as the Modius DAC and the LYR amp (The Lyr because it looks great, can operate as a solid-state amp, and also gives me the option to hear tube sound for the first time), but I'm not dead-set on this specific product set.
• Was it a pre-amp? I have no idea if they even had one in the audio chain that was powering the headphones.
• Was it the music files themselves? I try to purchase only .flac music files when I can, though I still haven't found a good place to buy those from. I use 7Digital, but it doesn't feel trustworthy. I often wonder if the .flac files I'm buying are really just the .mp3's, converted.

• Was it everything together? I mean, of course it was, I know that your music will only sound as good as the weakest link in the chain, but given that I already have some HD 6XX's, and only have around $1000 to spend on amps and DACs, am I likely to be able to get noticeably better sound than my current setup, running off the GRACE SDAC?

Any thoughts are appreciated, thank you!

Get Dangerous Music Source and a linear power supply and continue to use your 6xx.

You are too limited by your budget. Standalone units are out of the question. Your best bet is to put as much as you can in a dac that also has an okay headphone out. You can add better amp in the future. Don't do the other way around - amp with dac chip built in like many Schiit amps. These dacs are meh and will not impress you at all.

 

[FunkyBassMan]

Hello everyone,

Years ago, I walked into Bay Bloor Radio, in Toronto. I went over to their headphone testing section, and tossed on a pair of Denon AH-D2000's, and hit the play button that was connected to the store's hardware.

What came into my ears was the best auditory experience I've ever had. The soundstage was absolutely immense. To even call it a sound-"stage" is to do it a disservice. It was a sound-amphitheater. Instruments sounded like they were many feet away, in all directions around me. The drums were physically behind me, the strings to my front and left, etc. The detail and resolution were astounding.

At least, compared to what I had ever heard before or since. I was only 20 at the time, and did not own any audio equipment of any kind, beyond a pair of $50 Sennheiser on-ear headphones.

I have been wanting to get back to that kind of sound ever since, and I'm finally starting to have enough money to buy some basic audio gear, under $1000.

The reason I'm not posting this in the "Shopping and Setup Help Desk" thread is because I'm not actually looking for suggestions about what to buy specifically.

Rather, I'm wanting to know what part of the auditory chain is most responsible for the great sound that I heard, those years ago.

• Was it the Denon D2000's? My understanding is that they're good headphones, but should have a smaller soundstage than a pair of open-backed headphones. Yet, the Sennheiser HD 6XX's I currently use sound much, much smaller. The sound is barely outside my skull, let alone a dozen feet away from it.
• Was it the amplifier or DAC they were using at the store? This equipment was unfortunately hidden from view, so I have no idea what it was. Right now, I use an SDAC from GRACE, running directly from my computer, and powering my HD 6XX's directly. My intention was to buy a Schitt Stack, such as the Modius DAC and the LYR amp (The Lyr because it looks great, can operate as a solid-state amp, and also gives me the option to hear tube sound for the first time), but I'm not dead-set on this specific product set.
• Was it a pre-amp? I have no idea if they even had one in the audio chain that was powering the headphones.
• Was it the music files themselves? I try to purchase only .flac music files when I can, though I still haven't found a good place to buy those from. I use 7Digital, but it doesn't feel trustworthy. I often wonder if the .flac files I'm buying are really just the .mp3's, converted.

• Was it everything together? I mean, of course it was, I know that your music will only sound as good as the weakest link in the chain, but given that I already have some HD 6XX's, and only have around $1000 to spend on amps and DACs, am I likely to be able to get noticeably better sound than my current setup, running off the GRACE SDAC?

Any thoughts are appreciated, thank you!

It's likely not the case, but just to be sure, I'd make sure the material you were listening to wasn't out of phase. That can do what you heard to the sound stage in headphones.

 

[chesebert]

I second this 100% — when I first tried the Meze Liric (coming from B&W PX8), it was the best thing I had ever heard. Then added an amp and gained 10% or so in fidelity. Then I heard the Focal Utopia, and the Liric sounded like garbage in comparison (even though it's a brilliant headphone). Then I added the Chord Mojo 2 and I could never listen to the Utopia through the standard 3.5mm jack again.

Needless to say — my Utopia sounds "normal" to me now and I can discern flaws in it. It doesn't sound "wow" to me every time I put it on. My ears have gotten used to it and have come to expect this level of audio fidelity.

So that "wow" moment you first had with the Denon may never come back. It's very much an emotional effect as much as a sound quality one.

I am wowed on a regular basis. I would invest in a better dac.

 

[tjkohli]

I am wowed on a regular basis. I would invest in a better dac.

I have a Chord TT2 for daily use, what DAC do you recommend that could be better?

Of course it’s an amazing setup that wows anyone who listens to it for the first time, but what I meant is that our ears get used to stuff and over time it becomes the norm.

 

[Whazzzup]

I’m ok you’re ok. Focus on what goes in and what comes out

I have a Chord TT2 for daily use, what DAC do you recommend that could be better?

Of course it’s an amazing setup that wows anyone who listens to it for the first time, but what I meant is that our ears get used to stuff and over time it becomes the norm.

 

[FunkyBassMan]

I am wowed on a regular basis. I would invest in a better dac.

Me too.

As excited as I am to hear the new stuff from Chord once it comes out, it will have to pretty sick ridiculously good to be worth spending to upgrade the M-Scaler/Dave combo for me, which blows my mind every single time I hear it.

That said, I hope they can pull it off.

 

[chesebert]

Me too.

As excited as I am to hear the new stuff from Chord once it comes out, it will have to pretty sick ridiculously good to be worth spending to upgrade the M-Scaler/Dave combo for me, which blows my mind every single time I hear it.

That said, I hope they can pull it off.

Do you have the Sean Jacobs power supply? If not you should probably consider. The off the shelf $14 SMP is not going to cut it. If you didn't already have Dave/Mscaler, I would have suggested you pick a better brand without all the tweaky stuff for the same price and potentially even better sounding.

 

[FunkyBassMan]

Do you have the Sean Jacobs power supply? If not you should probably consider. The off the shelf $14 SMP is not going to cut it. If you didn't already have Dave/Mscaler, I would have suggested you pick a better brand without all the tweaky stuff for the same price and potentially even better sounding.

I don't. I never buy anything I can't listen to.

I hear amazing things about it, for sure. But my system is already about as good as I can handle emotionally, to be honest, no matter what the power supply. I burn way, WAY too many hours lost in transcendent music.

But if the Quartet Scaler and Choral DAC are all Rob thinks they might be, I'll end up going straight there.

 

[Whazzzup]

Hope the market floods used and new Dave’s. 0

 

[chesebert]

Hope the market floods used and new Dave’s. 0

You are in luck, looks like about 30 of those are for sale globally.

This one looks like a decent deal: https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/chord-dave-with-sean-jacobs-dc3-power-supply.63761/

 

[warrenpchi]

"If I was designing Dave today, I wouldn't design it the way I've done it."
- Rob Watts

"A battery Dave is a good idea."
- Rob Watts