[yuhengtiger]

Hi, can I know what is the best headphone cable you all have used for Thror big oak? thanks.

 

[frost15]

Within a few weeks I should have something perfected which should smooth the frequency and keep the curves closer to Harmon ideal that Amir and so many others seek -
But Kennerton needs to approve the mod for a production model
For the future up until that point I would mod the Rognirs for those similar to the way I am for the GH50 JM Edition Mk2 -

John, how are you doing man? I was wondering. Is the process of installing your latest mod difficult or dangerous? If I could do it diy style, would you send me the pieces? I think it's too expensive for me to send you my unit and everything but tell me what you think.
Best regards,
Javi

 

[duranxv]

Rognir is a great match for tube amplifiers. I was very pleased with how they worked together with Manley Labs Absolute (USA). Excellent result and full synergy with the Viva Egoista 845 (Italy) and Rivera Audio Labs AIC10-Bal (Italy). And the combination of Rognir with Ray Samuels Emmeline 2 "The Raptor" deprived me of sleep! In my opinion, this American brand is the best I've heard. Ray Samuels amps are fantastic! Don't think of it as advertising, it's just my personal impressions, nothing more. But I'm sorry that so few people pay attention to the humble American company Ray Samuels Audio. His products are brilliant!

@VKazanzhi Interesting! I was originally thinking of getting a Woo Audio WA22, but now you've piqued my interest with the Manley and the Ray Samuels amps. Between Manley and Ray Samuels, which one do you feel is a better match with Rognir?

The Manley looks very interesting because of all the controls it comes with

 

[VKazanzhi]

@VKazanzhi Interesting! I was originally thinking of getting a Woo Audio WA22, but now you've piqued my interest with the Manley and the Ray Samuels amps. Between Manley and Ray Samuels, which one do you feel is a better match with Rognir?

The Manley looks very interesting because of all the controls it comes with

A very difficult choice... Eyes choose Manley, It not only sounds great, but also looks like a piece of art. But the ears choose the RSA - it not only sounds great, it sounds mesmerizing. I know there are owners of these great amps on this forum. Maybe they can help you decide better than I can. Alas, I don't even want to compare them in terms of measurements and specifications, I just enjoy their sound.

 

[John Massaria]

John, how are you doing man? I was wondering. Is the process of installing your latest mod difficult or dangerous? If I could do it diy style, would you send me the pieces? I think it's too expensive for me to send you my unit and everything but tell me what you think.
Best regards,
Javi

I sent u message but the process takes me 3+ hrs - plus I include the shipping insured back to you - diy is probably not possible- it’s a complete inside and out change that doesn’t translate to a simple change but top to bottom mod

 

[duranxv]

A very difficult choice... Eyes choose Manley, It not only sounds great, but also looks like a piece of art. But the ears choose the RSA - it not only sounds great, it sounds mesmerizing. I know there are owners of these great amps on this forum. Maybe they can help you decide better than I can. Alas, I don't even want to compare them in terms of measurements and specifications, I just enjoy their sound.

@VKazanzhi So basically the Rognir shines with a good tube amp?

 

[Mike C]

Hi, can I know what is the best headphone cable you all have used for Thror big oak? thanks.

As there are no replies so far I will try a cautious answer.
I have Thekk, not Thror, but I think there are similarities so this may be relevant.
I have several cables, some DIY, obtained when I was using the Empyrean. These comments are with the Thekk.

Absolute best of several I've tried is Plussound palladium; expensive, but you did ask for 'best'. Silver/copper hybrid. Simply superb. Detailed and transparent without any top end emphasis, it just seems to give more of the signal everywhere, without adding any character. A bit like a good valve amp.

Forza hybrid noir is very good, seems well balanced across all frequencies, sounds right to me.

This is in my system with Aqua La Scala dac and a good valve amp; results in your system may differ.

For better advice it would be useful to know more, such as what the system is, what cable you use at present, and what kind of change you want to make to the sound.
One issue is the choice between copper, silver and hybrid; each has advantages and may, to an extent, give its character to the sound; you need to work out how much you like these characters. Each type has many fans - no wonder cables get discussed so much! What matters is what you like, not someone else.
The silver I tried was good, but there was a bit of something I didn't like, but it was DIY and I know there are some truly excellent silver cables out there so don't be put off by my experience or taste; what matters is your taste.

 

[Alien HP]

Has anyone seen this recent review of the Gjallarhorn JM edition from the Honest Audiophile?

Although he enjoys the bass and soundstage, he thinks the mids are uneven and unnatural. He says the upper mids have some harshness and sibilance resulting fatiguing mode. He also says there is too much excessiveness, intensity, and aggressiveness "in your face" in the treble region.

He compared it with the Ether C and found Ether C more technical, accurate, and less fatiguing. But he believes the Gjallarhorn is more engaging and fun.

Does anyone agree with his impressions?

 

[oqvist]

Yes a lot of that makes sense. Wish he tried to compress the pads to get back the warmness and full mids he went for with his tube amps though since you can´t really use the headphones like that irl maybe not that interesting. I suspect the JM GH50 would be helped a lot by a pad change with shallower pads because they can get really close to the magni frequency response with some extra thunder down low

I demoed the ether c last week and what he says about that is certainly true in comparison to both magni and JM GH50. It´s really cool how everything is allowed to shine. I found a setup where it just sound freaking right all the time. Similar trick the Magni do for me but in slightly different way. Whereas magni can be a tad on the warm side but it´s so stable and reliable it´s such a stress free listening with proper spl dynamics as in spl changes while the ether c dynamics is the best I heard in a magneplanar in term of lack of dynamic compression and quite close to magni tbh. The magni is just a tad more dynamic though and being semi closed a bit more airy still. But there is not much and the sound quality on the ether c is on another level as well as the extension both low and highs with about as flawless mids I ever heard so depend what you value most. The objective part of me will go for the ether c most often and the subjective part for rocking out probably the magni but both work well in all situations I throw to them

Certainly saving up for an Ether C flow. Rögnir is just to expensive to even consider.

 

[John Massaria]

My wife said the Kennerton custom band looks best (see blue GH50) so if you are ordering new or want to change it still looks most elegant from Kennerton but my solution of fabric works (see brown suede pads) to silence that metal band down to zero

 

[John Massaria]

Gh50JM EDITION Mk2 W/ fractal/ fibonacci 3D like pattern now in black carbon fibreglass mesh

(1) removable neoprene surround gasket under pads for even tighter more refined bass (removable without taking pads off)

(2) The last layer of Carbon fiberglass is removable for sound turning without removing pads but for me it sounds best installed

(3) now in Mk2 bass port is fully open lending itself to more tight bass and able to be customized by stuffing it if one so is inclined (see left port in pic which was hand painted black as part of upgrade)

I will show more pics of MK2 and what the internal upgrades are latter

 

[frost15]

Gh50JM EDITION Mk2 W/ fractal/ fibonacci 3D like pattern now in black carbon fibreglass mesh

(1) removable neoprene surround gasket under pads for even tighter more refined bass (removable without taking pads off)

(2) The last layer of Carbon fiberglass is removable for sound turning without removing pads but for me it sounds best installed



(3) now in Mk2 bass port is fully open lending itself to more tight bass and able to be customized by stuffing it if one so is inclined (see left port in pic which was hand painted black as part of upgrade)

I will show more pics of MK2 and what the internal upgrades are latter

Someone in Europe better starts doing these mods, becuase the shipping costs to the USA are crazy right now. And beware of lofty custom fees also...

 

[frost15]

Has anyone seen this recent review of the Gjallarhorn JM edition from the Honest Audiophile?

Although he enjoys the bass and soundstage, he thinks the mids are uneven and unnatural. He says the upper mids have some harshness and sibilance resulting fatiguing mode. He also says there is too much excessiveness, intensity, and aggressiveness "in your face" in the treble region.

He compared it with the Ether C and found Ether C more technical, accurate, and less fatiguing. But he believes the Gjallarhorn is more engaging and fun.

Does anyone agree with his impressions?

Everytime I see someone testing the Gjallarhorns without the metal band bending I simply cannot take it at full value. Seriously, that step is a MUST to get the proper sound. That being said as I stated in my review the mids are the most controversial aspect of these cans, yet I would not ever call them "unnatural" it's simply a unique type of mids, like the instruments sounding more distanced, giving the impression of great depth. If you have attended to chamber music concerts it's that feeling. I absolutely love it now, but at first it did surprise me.

 

[John Massaria]

It’s so true - they need to fit very snug by bending the frame to customize it to most peoples heads- it yields a night and day difference in sq-
in stock form they are for very wide heads and need to be tested by slowly pushing the cups inward to see/hear if an adjustment makes the head phone sound better

I promised more pics of mk2 mod here are a few


Here you can see the black nylon very hard wave pattern by 3M - and the center dot on top which is made of dense neoprene and under that the soft foam was all hand removed and a very dense carpet was put in place of the cell foam that you can still see around the edge - you can also see the fibreglass topper


And the very ordinary real dime used which acts as a non magnetic resonator helps to restore mid and high frequency reflection from the back wave of the driver once installed
The neoprene dot in the center helps to cushion and regulate the resonator and the fiber glass traps sound by slowing it down and making it think it’s in a larger area- lending to a huge sound stage and more life like 3D sound - and again the idea is not to attenuate any sound frequency so the fiber glass does that perfectly here

 

[Frabera]

Great job John as usual, I wish I could have been located in the U.S. especially in N.Y state...