Ever tried iFi Audio Zen One Signature? I think it uses a burr brown chip, how do you rate those?
Kennerton ODIN, MAGISTER, VALI, Magni, Gjallarhorn, Rögnir, Thridi, Wodan, Thekk, and Thror Discussion.
- Thread starter bowei006
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With the D8000Pro you have one of the best HP available on the market (apart of comfort for some, like me). What problem do have with it?
Your chain with Burson C3XP + tube amp (which I do not know anything about) is also pretty advanced. Replacing anything in the 500-1000 range will not bring you much further - maybe an R2R dac (I was reading nice opinions about the ones in this price range like Pegazus or Soekris dac2541), depending on your music preferences.
How do you feed your Burson? I experienced that feeding it through coax or optical removes a lot of digital glare compared to USB from computer. The difference was pretty remarkable. I am still planning to try what benefits brings adding a DDC there.
Which Rögnir do you have! Planar or dynamic?
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Im really surprised that some people call the D8K Pro a laid back or relaxed headphones. For me, it sounds very dynamic with hard hitting bass and pretty bright in the highs. The only laid back part is the upper mids, but I don't think that this makes it a relaxed headphone at all.
I owned the Wodan for over a year and it was way more polite than the D8K Pro.
About the Thror vs D8K Pro, looking at graphs, the main differences in the tuning would be:
Bass: More subass on the Finals and more midbass midbass/upper bass on the Thror.
Mids: More forward mids on the Thror (specially in the upper mids/ear gain region), this combined with the higher presence of upper bass, should give the sensation of a meatier and fuller sound on this region.
Highs: D8K is the brighter headphone and has more energy there overall, althought the Thror isn't a dark HP by any mean.
Of course this is the only information that you can get from graphs. To know the whole picture (imaging, soundstage, resolution etc), there's no other way than listening to both.
I owned the Wodan for over a year and it was way more polite than the D8K Pro.
About the Thror vs D8K Pro, looking at graphs, the main differences in the tuning would be:
Bass: More subass on the Finals and more midbass midbass/upper bass on the Thror.
Mids: More forward mids on the Thror (specially in the upper mids/ear gain region), this combined with the higher presence of upper bass, should give the sensation of a meatier and fuller sound on this region.
Highs: D8K is the brighter headphone and has more energy there overall, althought the Thror isn't a dark HP by any mean.
Of course this is the only information that you can get from graphs. To know the whole picture (imaging, soundstage, resolution etc), there's no other way than listening to both.
Following the talk about the DAC I had with @fullbass I went ahead and got a Topping D70s that has some very interesting reviews.
The guy I purchased it from got a GUSTARD R26 and said he cannot tell the difference between that and the topping, but he decided to stick with the GUSTARD R26. I read reviews praising it for having a similar sound to R2R.
Anyway, I hooked the Topping up, and to be honest, I did not like it.
The sound was thicker, with elevated bass, and it was missing the highs and female voices sounded capped, like they had no more airiness and soul, especially Soprano. High guitar notes also went lost in the thickness of the sound, I had to go back to the Burson. The magic in female vocals was just gone.
Maybe I'm an ESS guy, maybe the Burson is specifically good, I don't know. Maybe the Topping D70s is not suited to my HPs.
After a few hours of A\B testing I decided to stick with the Burson and disconnect the Topping.
The seller opinion that the topping and the GUSTARD R26 sound the same sounds believable to me, I guess I should stick with what I have and know. It's not the the Topping is terrible, but the Burson is better for my ear.
The guy I purchased it from got a GUSTARD R26 and said he cannot tell the difference between that and the topping, but he decided to stick with the GUSTARD R26. I read reviews praising it for having a similar sound to R2R.
Anyway, I hooked the Topping up, and to be honest, I did not like it.
The sound was thicker, with elevated bass, and it was missing the highs and female voices sounded capped, like they had no more airiness and soul, especially Soprano. High guitar notes also went lost in the thickness of the sound, I had to go back to the Burson. The magic in female vocals was just gone.
Maybe I'm an ESS guy, maybe the Burson is specifically good, I don't know. Maybe the Topping D70s is not suited to my HPs.
After a few hours of A\B testing I decided to stick with the Burson and disconnect the Topping.
The seller opinion that the topping and the GUSTARD R26 sound the same sounds believable to me, I guess I should stick with what I have and know. It's not the the Topping is terrible, but the Burson is better for my ear.
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I own the Rognir Planar.
The Burson, is apparently, not bad at all. I'm going to stick with it.
I guess the D8000 Pro are very very good, It's just the disease that got you thinking about looking for something better non-stop.
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I guess compared to the Rognir everything sounds laid back, also, my personal experience with HPs is limited.
Awful. All ifi gear sounds lifeless to me and I don't think would do justice to Thror/Rognir (also: hello iFi represneative
)As you may or may not recall, I owned the D8K Pro for a while. I would describe them as very refined and very balanced. But to my ears, they were quite smooth perhaps due to the mid-centric tuning I heard. The Thror to me is a way more energetic headphones with sharper transients and more impactful dynamics. Technically, the Thror is also more incisive with clearer layering/imaging (again to my ears).
However, Thror doesn't have the weighty lower mids of the D8K Pro, and some might miss that if converting.
Yeah, I remember that you owned the D8K Pro and you have the Thror now. Must be that you are more sensible to upper mids and that's why you find then smooth. For me, the D8K pros where slightly sharp at first due to the boosted highs. Anyways I EQd them giving some upper mids and reducing a bit the upper treble.
What I like about the Kennerton Planars that I've tried (Wodan, HP-1), is that they have really good dynamics for a planar, so Id love to hear the Thror in the future.
Haha you can always find something that you like more (at least in that moment, cause tastes changes).
If you find the D8K pro very soft for you, you can either try to EQ them, or sell and try other models, like the Thror, for example.
fullbass
500+ Head-Fier
I had this Topping, it's a good AK-chip DAC in its price range. If that guy can't hear the big difference between gustard and topping, he's either deaf or lying.
fullbass
500+ Head-Fier
I have cognitive dissonance. If you think that this DAC is too bassy and everything that you described above, then how did you get Rognir?
With the Topping D70s the bass portion of the sound is very prominent, while the highs are like caped, they don't seem to go all the way. With the Burson as a DAC female vocals would ring and go higher into a very pleasing tone, and with the Topping I felt the voice is blunted, the edge rounded off or something.
I decided to stick with the Burson as my DAC.
I am assuming you are asking me why I like the Rognir which is bass heavy while I do not like a DAC that has elevated bass.
The Rognir is Bass forward, the high female vocals are still there, but with the D8000 Pro it sounds better. If I use the Topping then even with the D8000 PRO it sounds blunted, nothing I can do, it's like that part of the sound is not there anymore no matter which HPs I use.
The Burson to my ear is more natural, and I can decide the coloring or emphasis by the HPs I choose to use. The sound is all there for the HPs to work with.
Maybe the topping DAC can be nice with an ARYA or some HPs that need warming up, I'm not sure, but with the Rognir and D8000 Pro I did not like the result.
The Topping D70s is not terrible or bad or broken. I bet some people like it, the difference is subtle and others might feel differently.
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Any guide on how to replace pads on GH50 ?
