[ghahn]

How did the 702s sound out of the matrix vs. the ef2?  
 
 
 

 

[timwillhack]

I can't really say because with the EF2 it has a built in DAC whereas with the matrix, I have to plug it into my old low end Nuforce Icon Mobile.  So the DAC just isn't of the same calibur (or the amp / tube of the EF2 is just far superior to the complete unit of the Icon Mobile).
 
I'll have a better idea tomorrow after I get the Xiang Sheng DAC-01 - and I'll also have the Canamp tomorrow as well - so it will be a fun day.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Quote:

I can't really say because with the EF2 it has a built in DAC whereas with the matrix, I have to plug it into my old low end Nuforce Icon Mobile.  So the DAC just isn't of the same calibur (or the amp / tube of the EF2 is just far superior to the complete unit of the Icon Mobile).
 
I'll have a better idea tomorrow after I get the Xiang Sheng DAC-01 - and I'll also have the Canamp tomorrow as well - so it will be a fun day.

can't wait to see your review 

 

[cravenz]

Quote:

I can't really say because with the EF2 it has a built in DAC whereas with the matrix, I have to plug it into my old low end Nuforce Icon Mobile.  So the DAC just isn't of the same calibur (or the amp / tube of the EF2 is just far superior to the complete unit of the Icon Mobile).
 
I'll have a better idea tomorrow after I get the Xiang Sheng DAC-01 - and I'll also have the Canamp tomorrow as well - so it will be a fun day.

Just making sure that you have set ya M-Stage to 10 gain. Works best that way. I'm assuming you already know this, but doesn't hurt. heh.

 

[Mysteek]

Quote:

 
So Mysteek as for the Maverick D1, isn't the Xiang Sheng Dac 01 the same unit maybe just older?  

It looks similar, but I have been told by a few sources that:
 
''The original TubeMagic (D1) was a Xiansheng DAC-01 clone (picture/ post - compare with above) but has since evolved into a more thoroughly researched and tested unit with several modifications and upgrades, not to mention a better looking case.''
 
I've heard the D1, but not the Dac 01--I think you'll end up having the same impressions as me, where the headphone out of the dac is only decent at best, where as the dac's tube pre-out to another quality amp will make the whole system shine.

 

[timwillhack]

Got them both today - the Canamp already has some burn in time from the previous owner.  I have it plugged into the preamp tube out of the xiang Sheng and it sounds pretty good - will give a better impression later today.  So far I like that combo better than the matrix however I didn't get a chance to put in the stock opamp (matrix) which is my next move.
 
I also received the Sennheiser HD438's and they are super comfortable but super muddy and distant.  I'm letting them run out of a ss amp to burn them in a bit.  But that is my initial impression (I didn't see any glowing reviews for them here but needed a cheap pair of closed cans).  I think I'm going to try out the HD280's next, and maybe a pair of Grado S60's since I've never heard what Grado sounds like. 
 
It probably would have been cheaper to just get plane tickets to the next meet!

 

[Pragmataraxia]

Thank you so much for doing this!
 
I received a pair of 702s for my birthday, and have found them entirely underwhelming.  I want to believe that it's because I need some magic DAC/Amp combo, and not that people just want them to sound good because they paid so much for them, but I wasn't willing to go buy everything on the market to find out.
 
From what I gleaned from the thread so far, it looks like at this point you've had at least some success with the EF2A.  Have you found anything that brings any fullness to the bottom end?
 
Anyhow, thanks again; you're my hero.
 
~C

 

[BournePerfect]

Burn them in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For 300 hours no joke. I HATED mine out of the box, and they literally went from night to day after 2 week of continuous burnin! No joke. And obviously get a good amp/dac as well. But for real, if you've read enough on these AKGs, you'd know they are a whole 'nother beast after burnin-and I can attest to that.
 
-Daniel

 

[timwillhack]

Quote:

Just making sure that you have set ya M-Stage to 10 gain. Works best that way. I'm assuming you already know this, but doesn't hurt. heh.

When I open up the Matrix to pop in the stock opamp I'll have to do this (not sure how but I guess I can find it on the forums)  Unless you know off the top of your head...
 
Quote:

Burn them in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For 300 hours no joke

I have them burned in for probably close to 200 hours so far.  I'll have to be more religious with making sure they are running 24hrs each day though (they haven't been - I've been running them at night for about 10 hours each day or so)
 
 
 
 
So I bought a pair of Grado SR225's (non i version)  haven't gotten them yet though, I also bought a Musiland Monitor 02 to add to the mix.  
 
Once again I had my wedding over the weekend so haven't had much more listening ability however last night I listened to the EF2 with the Bose Triports (for fun) and the K702's.  I listened to an assortment of music (mostly with the K702's):
 
Dave Mathews Crash WMA Lossless (need to find the CD to re-rip).
2004 - Bowers & Wilkins - Very Audiophile New Recordings
Smashing Pumpkins Aeroplane Flies High (Sides and infinite sadness) (WMA Lossless)
Grateful Dead - Aoxomoxoa
Nirvana Live in New York
Dream Theater (various songs across the recording career)
 
First off, Dave Mathews sounded really good (I'll be more specific after some burn in) during less intense areas however like everything I've listened to from my computer that was ripped from a CD, it seems like when a lot is going on everything loses clarity.  It sounds similar no matter what configuration I tried at the same spot on the track.  I even tried the onboard soundcard.  I'm not sure if I could find the recording in a higher bitrate than the CD if it would sound clearer (but I would hope so).
 
Since I've resurfaced in finding an awesome sounding setup, I'll say that I really have been underwhelmed by the recording quality of the majority of my collection and its not because I ripped them low bitrate.  For example Nirvana Live in New York had very high background noise which I could discern during a song not only during lack of sound.  I also noticed that some songs on Dream Theaters Scenes from a Memory had a lot of noise during quiet parts.  I was amazed I've never heard it before (must have been washed out with my old setups - onboard + bose triports)
 
I listened to some of the Smashing pumpkins b sides and they were really badly recorded (or mastered).  The guitar sections clip in the recording itself (I can turn down the volume and still hear that its clipping).  So they are not enjoyable to listen to.  I don't ever remember being able to hear this.
 
What does this mean?  Either I need to find music with higher recording quality of my collection or go out into the world  looking for high quality recordings of music I've never heard (expand my horizons).  Obviously I'd prefer to get some of my old favorites of the highest quality possible though.  
 
Ok so this was all with my K702's, which apparently are great reference headphones.  I have a feeling I'm going to like the Grado's better for my old music collection from what I've read on these forums.  I think the K702's show so much detail that it really destroys my music for me.  Apparently classical / acoustic pieces seem to sound really great.
 
I'm now intending on having two setups:
One for classical music / acoustic to listen to with the K702's.  
One for rock and everything else (hoping Grado or Sennheiser will suit the bill)
 
I really hope I can find a good mix of a dac/amp combo that will work with the two headphones I end up keeping.  I'll keep you guys up to date once I have more time to spend with the setups (going to bring them to work with me probably this week).  Also I realize most of the equipment I bought needs quite a bit of burn in.  My wife is not enjoying that aspect of this process so I put them in my travel luggage to quiet them down.  I think burnin is going to take a really long time anyway because I can really only have 2 going at once unless I have it going on multiple computers. 
 
Here is my current equipment to mess with:
 
AKG K702
Grado SR225
Sennheiser HD438
Bose Triport AE
Heed Canamp
Matrix M-Stage
Xiang Sheng Dac-01
HiFiMan EF2A
NuForce Icon Mobile
Fiio E5
cmoyBB
Muse Tube 
Presonus Audiobox USB
Musiland Monitor 02
 
Question: 
Can you burn in an amp / dac if you don't have headphones plugged into it?

 

[timwillhack]

Add a pair of Sennheiser HD650's to the mix (hopefully by the end of the week)
 
I think I may have CBD (Compulsive Buying Disorder) 

 

[drez]

When I demoed the 650 the one thing that struck me was the really nice treble sheen and good tonality.  Ill have to do a second demo one of these days, but i don't think I have 500 dollars to spare...

 

[timwillhack]

I'm hoping to like the HD650 or the Grado SR225 for rock and the majority of my old music collection.  I like the look of the Sennsheisers better - they look very comfortable and I'm willing to have two pairs of headphones for about $600.  I would have laughed hysterically at someone if they told me they spent $600 on headphones a couple years ago!
 
So quick comparison for two phones that know one will care about but I noticed it yesterday:
 
Sennheiser HD438 compared to Koss Portapro's
 
I've noticed certain nuances with the 438's that I did not with the portapros.  Specifically on my Final Fantasy XIII Soundtrack.  I'm guessing its not the phones fault but more of a 'closed back' design forcing all the sound into my ears.  The portapros sound good but seem to lose some of the detail because they are small and non-enclosing.  Just a guess.
 
I listened to some Smashing Pumpkins Infinite Sadness last night with the EQ setup to have slightly stronger bass response, neutral mids and just slightly higher highs.  It was a more comfortable experience but the low end ended up muddy and unclear and I don't have the know how to get it just right.  I noticed with the spectrum graph that (if it lines up to the eq) the low end is always populated, the high end seems to never get hit.  It made me wonder if the spectrum is not lined up with the eq.  So anyway - I listened with the Xiang Sheng DAC -> tube preamp out -> Heed Canamp, it really sounded good minus the muddy bass (sounded like a really clear set of triports - bad comparison though, but those are my old cans).  So I continued to mess with the EQ and just for giggles really got the bass to pound (not what I want) was just curious if the K702's would sound good with heavy heavy bass.  They did, it was extremely pronounced however I couldn't make out the majority of any mids while the eq was setup this way.  
 
I have a Roland V-Drum Concert set that I used to plug in my old Bose headphones, they had one hell of a synergy - it just sounded like I was in a perfect studio environment.  The electronics of the brain is pretty high end.  The whole set was like $3000 new (I didn't pay anywhere near that luckily) but it was perfect for me to learn drums without waking up the whole neighborhood or my wife (girlfriend at the time) since I could plug in headphones.  I do not have this setup right now because we moved about a year + 1/2 ago but I plan on setting it up again very soon.  At which point I'll be able to plug all my new headphones into it and test the waters there.  I'll probably end up just keeping the broken super glued bose triports on it as a dedicated headset since they are worth nothing and just are not detailed enough for music.
 
Enough of my random rambling.. I think I'm able to in my own thread though 

 
 
 
BTW, I setup the gain on the matrix (there is a diagram on the bottom)  Although I'm not sure if the white blocks were the switch tops or the black tops were (my guess I think was the white was switch tops).  I did not set it up because I have limited power jacks and had to get some programming done last night.  Oh and also because I was really lazy!

 

[itsborken]

Quote:

I think I may have CBD (Compulsive Buying Disorder) 

Don't we all 

   The Canamp, M3 and Gilmore Lite are pair well with the 701/702s.  For anyone else sitting on the fence, there's some smoking good deals on glites in the for sale section too.

 

[timwillhack]

So I tried to compare the heed to everything else last night on a couple sections of various songs.  Basically I was paying attention to the detail on cymbals, I'd say I could tell in a blind test which one was the Heed Canamp - I'm probably going to ask my wife to do the swaps for me and see if I can guess it right a couple times.  Also I noticed the matrix is warm potentially with less soundstage than the canamp.  I'm pretty sure I could tell in a blind test which was which, especially if I had something playing a certain repetition of a clip.  I'd say the matrix sounded the most like a tube however it still has a non-stock opamp in it not sure which.  So don't go by my assessment as to how it will sound stock.  Switching from anything to the Heed just sounded clearer overall.  I can't really say what I'm trying to express in words because I'm not educated enough in audiophile jargon, although I'd say the cymbals sounded more true to life.
 
Heres the bad part - the EF2A still sounds good to me, but I think it really is the bottom of the pile, the cymbals just didn't sound natural, they were cut short and impact didn't sound right.  I have about 50 or so hours of burn in with them so far though so this is not my final judgement.  Also I didn't plug into the canamp from the EF2A so maybe that would sound ok.  I have a feeling its the DAC in the EF2A though.  I believe the solid state amp out of the Xiang Sheng had more detail than the EF2A and with the tube preamp that I had the heed plugged into being the best sounding of the mix - I'd say the Xiang Sheng is going to be my first suggestion as a starter unit but only after a lot more burn in across the board.
 
The EF2A Dac clicked and popped if I reset the position of a track (guessing the buffer couldn't keep up) whereas I didn't hear that with the Xiang Sheng Dac.  However I didn't hear it after the buffer had a chance to catch up (I set it to 5 seconds).  Once again I'm amazed that some of my music has clipping going on on the recording.  I thought that would be something that any music producer would defeat.
 

 

[timwillhack]

Got the SR225's on Saturday.  Honestly I think I like the sound of the K702's better at least through the Canamp.  I really really don't like the comfort (or lack thereof) with the SR225's.  I don't know if the previous owner blasted them or what but they didn't sound good, the bass impact sounded like it was clipping and I didn't have it that loud.  I'm pretty sure they are not for me so I'll be listing them soon.  Hoping to get my hands on the HD650's this week though, which I'm hoping will be my cup of tea.