On USB cables they do make a difference. Digital in the transmission line is actually more like an analogue in nature. I have tried 13 cables, and I kept 2, the Curious USB silver, and the Phasure Lush USB, both diametrically opposites, the first very detailed, the second slightly less but warmer and more organic / natural. I don't want to know how it works, only accept it does, and it isn't subtle. IMO this is thus a great way to tune your system, after all the other elements are right for you. And if you do the research can be inexpensive relative to the main components.
I just got the Norne Draug all silver today, wow, fantastic cable, it has taken my HP system another big level up, so 700 USD very well spent. Note not 2K+ dollars.....
On USB cables they do make a difference. Digital in the transmission line is actually more like an analogue in nature. I have tried 13 cables, and I kept 2, the Curious USB silver, and the Phasure Lush USB, both diametrically opposites, the first very detailed, the second slightly less but warmer and more organic / natural. I don't want to know how it works, only accept it does, and it isn't subtle. IMO this is thus a great way to tune your system, after all the other elements are right for you. And if you do the research can be inexpensive relative to the main components.
I just got the Norne Draug all silver today, wow, fantastic cable, it has taken my HP system another big level up, so 700 USD very well spent. Note not 2K+ dollars.....
Happy for you. I’ve never been able to hear differences between expensive vs. cheap USB cables. It’s a good thing for me. Money in the bank for other things...
That goes for well constructed solid state amps as well. I had a pair of Ayre Monoblocks around 10 years ago (MX-Rs) and A/B’ed them with some Emotiva monoblocks. They sounded exactly the same to me. The Emotivas smelled bad though. Literally. Not sure what they used to build the circuit boards back then, but it smelled toxic.
Tubes are a whole other kettle of fish (to continue the olfactory theme). I’ve heard some interesting differences with tube setups.
I won’t even get started on comparing DACs...
For me, the single most important thing is the transducer. I hear wild differences between different speakers and headphones. Matching them with gear that can drive them properly is the next most important thing to me. After that, most ancillary equipment sounds the same IME.
I say this after spending decades listening to and comparing equipment, sometimes for painful hours on end, trying to hear differences people say they are hearing.
At some point you have to think how much of your hobby is chasing the best or diverse/complementary SQ vs gathering a collection of nice-to-have equipment.
More wrong again, sorry. Talk to Mulder, you know, the guy who posts the most on here about the Abyss, think he knows something or two. He has the V281.
Again, read that IF review I sent you, the V281 has enough juice for the HE-6, guess you didn't read it?
It can also power the HE-6 very well, read the IF review.
And quote from Dubgirl
'The GSX mk2 is good for He-6 too but seems a lil underpowered esp in the bass and sometimes the highs, not just volume cos thats alright, but it clips soon and cos its an ortho can, clips different than underpowered dynamics do, which just dont get loud. it works alright for fun but can be a hot mess at louder volumes, and the treble is more biting as the he-6 need warmth in the audio chain to work best.'
Check out the V281 thread and the LCD4 thread, many posters have the V281 with the LCD4s and love the sound, no sign of any lack of power or current or authority.
Moving on, check out my profile, I don't own the HOLO Spring, though it is a nice DAC (well above it's price point IMO) and if we are on cost = performance as you say, my current DAC is the Aries Cerat Kassandra Ref II which costs 18.5K Euros and which is the best DAC I have ever heard. I had the DAVE on day demo and it was good, but not on the Kassandra level of realism IMO. Nor was the CH Precision C1 either.
The GSX MK2 has had other posters commenting on it's brightness. Also there are posts saying it struggles with the HE-6 and clips. I will dig out that review later. It is a nice amp, but is bright to my ears.
Can't think of anything else at the moment, think we are done?
If you're getting clipping with the HE-6 and GS-X Mk2 then you must be listening at literally ear damaging levels. I ran an HE-6 with a less powerful balanced Dynalo (Pure BiPolar) and encountered no such thing.
I've really had my eye on the 1Z for a long time, but could never justify its price over the 1A or even ZX300. Some people claim that they cannot hear any appreciable differences from the ZX300 to the 1A or 1Z, which perhaps speaks to the point of diminishing returns.
Where I live here, it's difficult to find something like the 1Z to audition. However, I have the decade-old Sony X1060 which I still love the sound signature of. Very intimate and organic sounding without any fatigue after long listening sessions. I could imagine that the 1Z is likely a far more articulate iteration of the same, with the same romantic and liquid sound signature. Knowing Sony, the price for the 1Z / 1A will plummet when they release the next best thing in a year.
My other thought is that most high end IEMs have a reference/neutral sound signature, with varying degress of musicality, which perhaps is why they match up better to the "warmer" sounding 1Z based on what I read. Still, does that mean that the 1A will be a poor match for my current AKG K3003? I plan to use IEMs only for the portable setup.
Also, I listened to the IFI micro iDSD black label, and enjoyed the sound signature, but found zero practical use cases for the DAP/Source + DAC/AMP stack system for portable use. Will the 1A or 1Z sound better and retain a similar sound signature? I, too, would prefer the 1A if it offers me a warm enough sound signature to pair with my IEMs.
Regarding a desktop setup - I was able to audition the Focal Clear this past week. They are neutral, with a slight bit of musicality added, and no doubt very articulate and technically great headphones. However, they annoy me at the same time because they are neither here nor there with their sound signature. No arguments about their detail retrieval or balanced sound though.
The thing is, I have too many separate headphones and amp/dac setups in my collection that it might be best to consolidate them into one or two headphone systems that are far better.
Stax might be the next logical step. I need to find a place to audition them first though.
The ZX300 was noticeably warmer to me than the 1A. And........that was listening at a shop and from memory........But your right the differences between the 1A and 1Z take time at home to decipher. It's like after a day the differences become big if your not used to the two players. It's not that the 1A is too cold it's just more flat than the 1Z or ZX300. I would be happy with just the 1A only. The 1Z is not a deal, but for those who want that extra 10% it's there absolutely. With the right headphones/IEMs the difference in that 10% can become really big. Laughably some would say the 1Z is 100% better than the 1A? The 1Z does make the sound slightly more forward and clear. It's a good combo if your listening to a headphone or IEM which needs the slight bass and treble extension it offers. It can take something dull and make the sound exciting. But the 1A is the deal. And of course the value will drop when Sony reintroduces the next hot THING, whatever or whenever that is. Probably the big deal is being able to run full-size headphones off the two players, though not endgame for most, they do a good job, and maybe better than we have seen in the past?
I’m into cables. Chords Sarum t digital works for me, audio quest fire xlr interconnects, prion 4 dhc hp cable. All fantastic, don’t add up the price tags tho...
I have been in this hobby for 11 years now. I am an engineer but also a published photographer and artist.
Over the years, I have bought, kept, and sold a lot of gear. I learned that expensive multi-thousand dollar gear are sometimes not worth their price tag. In fact, in a lot of cases, those $2,000 headphones or IEMs are created by small "boutique" brands that just do not have the R&D know-how that the more established brands have to make really great gear. There are exceptions, but I find this more often true than not. Don't even trust reviews unless you share similar points of view consistently with the reviewers' other reviews from the past. I found that the biggest improvements in sound have typically been from going from one type of driver technology to another (dynamic drivers or BA to electrostats, typically, for example).
But, more than that, I am finding that IEMs and a portable system makes the most sense for my use case. When I am at home, I can reach for my headphones, yes- but why should I when my speakers system is perfectly decent and allows music or videos to be enjoyed and shared with others? Headphones get hot, uncomfortable, and with today's inflated prices, is sometimes nonsensical when you compare a TOTL headphone system to a genuinely great speaker system. (Remember when the HD650 was considered a flagship product and costs ~$500?)
With that said, I don't hate headphones typically and plan to keep a pair or two of the best. I just have no interest in incremental upgrades every year to chase the gains hyped in reviews, but I'd love to buy the best gear for the money today and perhaps revisit again some years later. Bottom line, I love great sound, but I refuse to fall prey to consumerism and marketing.
Some ideas I am pondering for end-game (*within reason).
1) Buy a Focal Clear to replace my T1 and LCD3F + Deckard. The bonus is that the Focal Clear can be powered by most portable sources so it's not limited to at-home use only. The tonality of the LCD3F is completely inaccurate and the soundstage is pretty small and detail retrieval is mediocre. To be honest, they sound like a good pair of headphones with a dynamic, punchy sound and excellent bass, but not much more than that perhaps. I am even using Audeze's own Deckard DAC and amp to drive them.
2) Buy a Sony WM1Z and be actually be able to enjoy music on the go. Is there a better choice than this, and how much better is the WM1Z compared to a ZX300 to justify the price? Is a refresh to the WM1Z coming soon?
3) Sell all my gear and buy an electrostat + TOTL amp and be done. I love my ESP/950. It's definitely worth a lot more than its retail price in my opinion. Something like a Blue Hawaii? (but again, this ties me to my desk)
Or- some combination of the above. My current gear is in my profile.
Does it have to be TOTL? It sounds like you are open minded about this. How about a simple mdr-v6 with Mr.Speaker dog pads or dakoni pads and a mogami/neutrik re-cable from proaudiola or btg audio?
I know it sounds too good to be true but it should only cost a couple hundred and you will have a headphone with a better cable and ear pads than most $1k headphones. They are super light, have a perfect clamp, fold up easily and Sony has made literally millions of them so they have the ability to put out a decent sounding headphone for less than $100 ( I have seen them as low as $60 new). In fact when it comes to just vocals the mdr-v6's are really hard to beat sq. wise and why you have seen just about every singer out there wearing a pair at some point.
I use mine for djing. They are a dream for that use.
I have been in this hobby for 11 years now. I am an engineer but also a published photographer and artist.
Over the years, I have bought, kept, and sold a lot of gear. I learned that expensive multi-thousand dollar gear are sometimes not worth their price tag. In fact, in a lot of cases, those $2,000 headphones or IEMs are created by small "boutique" brands that just do not have the R&D know-how that the more established brands have to make really great gear. There are exceptions, but I find this more often true than not. Don't even trust reviews unless you share similar points of view consistently with the reviewers' other reviews from the past. I found that the biggest improvements in sound have typically been from going from one type of driver technology to another (dynamic drivers or BA to electrostats, typically, for example).
But, more than that, I am finding that IEMs and a portable system makes the most sense for my use case. When I am at home, I can reach for my headphones, yes- but why should I when my speakers system is perfectly decent and allows music or videos to be enjoyed and shared with others? Headphones get hot, uncomfortable, and with today's inflated prices, is sometimes nonsensical when you compare a TOTL headphone system to a genuinely great speaker system. (Remember when the HD650 was considered a flagship product and costs ~$500?)
With that said, I don't hate headphones typically and plan to keep a pair or two of the best. I just have no interest in incremental upgrades every year to chase the gains hyped in reviews, but I'd love to buy the best gear for the money today and perhaps revisit again some years later. Bottom line, I love great sound, but I refuse to fall prey to consumerism and marketing.
Some ideas I am pondering for end-game (*within reason).
1) Buy a Focal Clear to replace my T1 and LCD3F + Deckard. The bonus is that the Focal Clear can be powered by most portable sources so it's not limited to at-home use only. The tonality of the LCD3F is completely inaccurate and the soundstage is pretty small and detail retrieval is mediocre. To be honest, they sound like a good pair of headphones with a dynamic, punchy sound and excellent bass, but not much more than that perhaps. I am even using Audeze's own Deckard DAC and amp to drive them.
2) Buy a Sony WM1Z and be actually be able to enjoy music on the go. Is there a better choice than this, and how much better is the WM1Z compared to a ZX300 to justify the price? Is a refresh to the WM1Z coming soon?
3) Sell all my gear and buy an electrostat + TOTL amp and be done. I love my ESP/950. It's definitely worth a lot more than its retail price in my opinion. Something like a Blue Hawaii? (but again, this ties me to my desk)
Or- some combination of the above. My current gear is in my profile.
I basicaly agree quality speaker is completely different experience than headphone. Speakers sounds much real which is the most important (at least to me), it is airy easy without boundaries, visceral...
As nice as some headphone sound (and to be little objective there are of course some advantages in sound) but overal sound is compromise in most cases, also ears can quite often quickly tired, also noticeably more dangerous for ears in longer run.
answer to your questions:
1) I think this is a good idea to buy easy drive headphone. You can use it more freely anywhere at home via even some nice portable dac/amp with good result. Makes the best sense to me after years...
2) DAP for quality IEM like Andromeda or easy drive full size headphone, might be good path and it is similar to one point. The most probably it can be even DAPs from different price category, not only Sony WM1Z.
3) Electrostatic system. I heard almost all top headphone from meets and visits friend. I am more to easy drive planars but I always wanted try top exlectrostatic system at home a few weeks to make quality opinion.
But as you can see there is quite a lot people who go from top Stax back. And imagine BHSE, KGSSHV plus 009, price uff seems like nonsense to me against speaker system.
But it all depends how much we earn, if I would rich I would not solve it. Unfortunately it is how headphone busines works thinking today.
OP, have you thought about something easy to drive? LCDX or the HEX series? Those are sufficiently "high end." Grado's are easy to drive, but can be painful to use. It's a long nightmare chasing an amp to drive your hard to drive headphones.
My endgame, all tube amp, simple circuit design, top end components, focus on PSU. DHT 4V if possible. With best in class tubes it will run at 5 - 10K.
Super modified HD650 or Hifiman Susvara.
And a nice quality DAC.
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