[Allanmarcus]

Uh-oh...

Just splurged on e-bay, a late model SRM-313 with only pro level outs. Interior picture, all caps look good. Have the plugs already from Moon, and Koss is sending me two extension cords. I'm gonna hear better dynamic range, whether it is really there or not. What other lies can I tell myself to help justify the four hundred?

Whatever; TIA!!!

Stage! It's all about better sound stage!
Deeper lows. You need the extra power reserve to hit those low notes.
More detail in the 3.25 to 3.5 mhz range. Very important there.

 

[VRacer-111]

Uh-oh...

Just splurged on e-bay, a late model SRM-313 with only pro level outs. Interior picture, all caps look good. Have the plugs already from Moon, and Koss is sending me two extension cords. I'm gonna hear better dynamic range, whether it is really there or not. What other lies can I tell myself to help justify the four hundred?

Whatever; TIA!!!

Uh-oh is right....now you can get some STAX Lamdas!

 

[ratboi]

Uh-oh is right....now you can get some STAX Lamdas!

Seriously, I am like, just Soooo surprised by your response...

FWIW, the seller has your Lambdas, and some SR-007 - I think. His pitch - and the pics - convinced me I was getting my money's worth. Proto-323, better than SRM-1/MK2, anyway. I'm mildly excited.

 

[ratboi]

Stage! It's all about better sound stage!
Deeper lows. You need the extra power reserve to hit those low notes.
More detail in the 3.25 to 3.5 mhz range. Very important there.

Well, I did save a couple of grand on a second hand car today - had to replace the one I totaled Saturday - so WTH, let the mHz flow! Could have ended up in traction - or worse - so I think I'm celebrating being able to still listen to music.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Hey folks. At the recent Phoenix meet, I had an opportunity to listen to my Koss ESP950 headset using HeadAmp's Blue Hawaii amp (I have a Stax adapter). They also had an SR-009 and a Mrspeakers Voce. The Voce with the dampening material was excellent, and deserves TOTL status. The Koss with my vesper pads really did impress, although not nearly as resolving and bass impactful as the Mrspeakers. The Koss really did sound great.

I can say for all of you considering the Blue Hawaii; it’s a worthy upgrade.

 

[ratboi]

Hey folks. At the recent Phoenix meet, I had an opportunity to listen to my Koss ESP950 headset using HeadAmp's Blue Hawaii amp (I have a Stax adapter). They also had an SR-009 and a Mrspeakers Voce. The Voce with the dampening material was excellent, and deserves TOTL status. The Koss with my vesper pads really did impress, although not nearly as resolving and bass impactful as the Mrspeakers. The Koss really did sound great.

I can say for all of you considering the Blue Hawaii; it’s a worthy upgrade.

The Voce seems like it would be fun to have. So would a BH, but looks like the only one HeadAmp sells right now is the BHSE. Maybe 10x what my ESP950 cost. Well, not counting the Vesper. You can certainly get in the same range with Mjolner, but he has some lower price options. Ever hear one of those? Anyway, how did the Voce compare to the SR-009? I presume you compared them. And, well, it's nice to know the Koss scaled with amp. Step by step? I've still got some solder to drop, after I clean the insulation off the Koss extension wires. SRM-313 arrives on 14th. I'm getting a little more excited...

 

[Allanmarcus]

The Voce seems like it would be fun to have. So would a BH, but looks like the only one HeadAmp sells right now is the BHSE. Maybe 10x what my ESP950 cost. Well, not counting the Vesper. You can certainly get in the same range with Mjolner, but he has some lower price options. Ever hear one of those? Anyway, how did the Voce compare to the SR-009? I presume you compared them. And, well, it's nice to know the Koss scaled with amp. Step by step? I've still got some solder to drop, after I clean the insulation off the Koss extension wires. SRM-313 arrives on 14th. I'm getting a little more excited...

Yep, I listened to the BHSEss with the BHSE, but it did sound good.

The small consensus was the Voce was too smooth with the optional dampening material in the cup (easily removed), and with it, it sounded quite a bit like the 009. With the dampening material removed, the Voce had a lot more sparkle, but some might find it fatiguing. It’s nice it can be customized, similar to the Ether with the inserts.

We are way off from the Koss now, so I would encourage you to look at the Voce threads, or start one, if you are interested in that headset.

 

[Kukuk]

Got my headphones sent in. Kinda a shame to be without them. Tomorrow I can play with my new ELAC B5s at least, so I got that going for me.

 

[ratboi]

I'm thinking, once I've got the Stax amp running, the next step will be to improve the DAC in the loop. The FiiO E18 is portable, and provides much better analog outs than the motherboard, or the phones it has been Velcroed to. But... Some of the bass roll-off definitely belongs to the E18 below 30Hz. So, the (not quite so much anymore) budget rig needs improvement. Thinking very seriously about a Schiit Modi Multibit (SMM). Will I want a Wryd too? The pops from the PC are, well, irritating. In the price range, does the SMM have any serious competition? Is it overkill? Any real problems with that piece I should consider? If nothing else, the E18 can go back in the Koss travel bag, and be there for fun on the road. Yeah, don't want much, I know...

 

[ratboi]

Got my headphones sent in. Kinda a shame to be without them. Tomorrow I can play with my new ELAC B5s at least, so I got that going for me.

Word is, pretty cool stuff. Hope the top end doesn't disappoint. Hide a sub, they wouldn't be missing much.

 

[VRacer-111]

I'm thinking, once I've got the Stax amp running, the next step will be to improve the DAC in the loop. The FiiO E18 is portable, and provides much better analog outs than the motherboard, or the phones it has been Velcroed to. But... Some of the bass roll-off definitely belongs to the E18 below 30Hz. So, the (not quite so much anymore) budget rig needs improvement. Thinking very seriously about a Schiit Modi Multibit (SMM). Will I want a Wryd too? The pops from the PC are, well, irritating. In the price range, does the SMM have any serious competition? Is it overkill? Any real problems with that piece I should consider? If nothing else, the E18 can go back in the Koss travel bag, and be there for fun on the road. Yeah, don't want much, I know...

Get as good a DAC as you can afford. My Bifrost was not good enough to me, the Gustard X20U was more than adequate. Noticeable jump in quality of sound, and the used X20U was not much more than the brand new Bifrost.

 

[ratboi]

Get as good a DAC as you can afford. My Bifrost was not good enough to me, the Gustard X20U was more than adequate. Noticeable jump in quality of sound, and the used X20U was not much more than the brand new Bifrost.

Unless you just didn't mention it before, your Bifrost isn't/wasn't the multibit, though. Right? Wrong? Should be making a difference. You bought that Gustard from PWGuy? The price was right, then, and more than the regular Bifrost, less than the Multibit. Still more than 2x the SMM. But, you are right - I want to get the most I can for my money, without suffering buyers remorse down the road. coulda shoulda woulda, and all that. A little step up maybe, not so much 2x. Except for the roll-off, the E18 ain't horrible...

 

[VRacer-111]

Yes, got the Gustard X20U from PWGuy for between Bifrost/Bimby price, and after taking off the lid it's not stock either.... The 4490 Bifrost (which I just sold not even 30 seconds after listing it a little while ago) just did not match well to my taste - too sterile and flat sounding. My gear just felt so lifeless with it. Much prefer the Audioquest Dragonfly Red, which even though is less technically capable in detail and finesse, really syncs well with my phones and is clearer than the Bifrost plus more dynamic sounding - and DFR plus modded H10 amp is VERY nice combo for warm leaning headphones. The X20U though is a HUGE step up in EVERYTHING: speed, finesse, detail, dynamics, bass extension and presence, vocal and instrument intonation, clarity, sense of space, noise floor/black level, yada yada.... I am absolutely 100% content with it and have no inclination at all for a better DAC. A better DAC I like would cost me thousands... and I'm not going to spend that kind of money.

 

[Kukuk]

I'm really hoping the turnover on my repair is faster than the 2-3 weeks they estimate. I miss them already.

 

[VRacer-111]

Got a new configuration for my electrostatic system, temporarily setup right now:

Mjolnir Audio STAX SRD-7 based electrostatic transformer running off my NAD C275BEE stereo amp with my Gustard X20U DAC being used for volume control. I will say it is VERY nice sounding on the ESP950, better than on the SRM-323S... more detail, better dynamics and overall richness to the sound, and warmer while still being extremely real and natural sounding. Made some temporary speaker cables to test it out, but have some cables coming in and will be getting a passive preamp (Ci Audio VPC-3) so the Gustard X20U can be set at full line out level and I can branch off for my dynamics on the Gustard H10 amp on the second output with a selectable fixed output mode. I'll get some better pictures in the daytime...