[Chastity]

I want a tube amp. I can't decide. And I like... want an all in one.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=36735

Cavalli Liquid Platinum by Monoprice Open Box, $249 this thing has magic

 

[RugbyPlayer]

Hi all,

Im trying to figure out what cable i need to buy. I have a Shiit DAC/AMP (Modius/Magnius) stack that i want to use with a PS5, but from what i understand the PS5 only supports UAC1, which the Modius DAC does not. I think i can use the G6 to passthrough audio INCLUDING tempest audio correct?

So the chain would be PS5-> (USB) G6 -> (Optical - this is the cable i need) Modius -> Magnius -> HD800s.

From what I can tell on bestbuy i cant get one locally unfortunately so i need to know a trusted brand i can find on amazon.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out what cable i need to buy. I have a Schiit DAC/AMP (Modius/Magnius) stack that i want to use with a PS5, but from what i understand the PS5 only supports UAC1, which the Modius DAC does not. I think i can use the G6 to passthrough audio INCLUDING tempest audio correct?

So the chain would be PS5-> (USB) G6 -> (Optical - this is the cable i need) Modius -> Magnius -> HD800s.

From what I can tell on bestbuy i cant get one locally unfortunately so i need to know a trusted brand i can find on amazon.

For gaming, I would assume plugging the HD800, directly into the G6's headphone jack, would work fine.
You also could connect the G6's line-output (1/8") to the line-input (RCA) on the Magnius.

Have you tried connecting the PS5's USB port to the Modius USB port, just to see if the PS5 can work with the Modius?

P.S.
Run optical from the G6's 1/8" S/PDIF output, to the optical input, on the Modius.

 

[Evshrug]

anyone have any opinions on the HD660S2 for gaming yet?

Just received one for review

 

[Evshrug]

@Piemonkey you’ve just discovered the inconvenient truth about headphones, which objectivists and EQ-heads do not want to believe exists: there are different tiers of driver quality, and two headphones EQ’d to exactly the same frequency response will not necessarily sound identical. So many people spend days and days trying to find “the right EQ settings” that will match a $100 headphone to a $1000 headphone, convinced that audio is all a scam anyway and a little bit of EQ will be like a firmware update to improve performance of the Steam Deck or something.

Rant time! Frequency response graphs literally just how much louder or quieter other frequencies are relative to a 1 kHz midrange tone, and they’re created with simple, artificially generated, perfect sine tones with 0 harmonic overtones (purely just the foundational note). Like music from a Sega Genesis or NES, or maybe even an Atari It does not show the attack and decay of a headphone’s performance (though a square wave does), it does not illustrate where a foundational tone causes sympathetic resonance from the enclosure in other harmonic frequencies, and quite simply the beeps and bwoop test tones do not represent the more complicated sounds of a band full of instruments playing at once, or the entertainment value of audio (tho I won’t bash anyone who admits that they just enjoy testing and science more than music and games).

Long story short, there was room to improve on the DT 880 design, and I’m glad you found something that has increased your enjoyment!! I’m not quite sure I would blame the headphone for poor phantom rear sound localization (though you’ll note that Mad made the same comment in his original DT 880 review), as a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup that Dolby emulates does not have a speaker directly centered behind the head (though I always felt imaging was better with 7.1 than 5.1). I would agree that a headphone might be able to be less boxed in and be able to cast distances out more freely and accurately, without necessarily removing the ability to hear when something is close too. Some people say intimate, I think claustrophobic

I personally wanted to get along with the DT 880, looks amazing and gets heaps of praise, it’s certainly a lot better than other headphones out there, but it hurt my ears and left them ringing. Your comment about the DT 900 Pro X gives me some hope for Beyerdynamic!

 

[Evshrug]

Hi all,

Im trying to figure out what cable i need to buy. I have a Shiit DAC/AMP (Modius/Magnius) stack that i want to use with a PS5, but from what i understand the PS5 only supports UAC1, which the Modius DAC does not. I think i can use the G6 to passthrough audio INCLUDING tempest audio correct?

So the chain would be PS5-> (USB) G6 -> (Optical - this is the cable i need) Modius -> Magnius -> HD800s.

From what I can tell on bestbuy i cant get one locally unfortunately so i need to know a trusted brand i can find on amazon.

Yeah, I’m with @PurpleAngel here. The G6 could be an all-in-one solution with DSP, DAC, and Amp in one box. However, it also offers the flexibility to just use the G6 as a DAC with line-out to connect your Schiit Magnius amp, or if you think the Modius DAC is better you could just use the G6 as a Digital to Digital Converter (DDC) to send digital audio signal out to the Modius via an included optical cable (assuming the Modius has an optical input). My G5 doesn’t have as good of a DAC or amp as the G6, but it’s functionally the same if I just use it as a DDC, so I’m not jumping to buy a new thing (unless I wanted to use the G6 by itself, and have another DAC/amp setup for another room). The G5 and I presume the G6 both come with the optical cable you would need.

 

[Skeza]

I want a tube amp. I can't decide. And I like... want an all in one.

Really loving my Schiit Lyr, perfect with my HD800S and LCD3

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

The Antlion guys provided one of their wireless mics at CanJam.

Let's see if I write something up for that. It's been too long.

 

[JdeFalconr]

The Antlion guys provided one of their wireless mics at CanJam.

Let's see if I write something up for that. It's been too long.

I'm a big fan of mine. I had a wired one but running the extra wire down with my headphones was super-awkward. Connectivity has been excellent and sound quality has been good.

If you decide to keep the wireless mic it's 100% worth it to get a magnetic charging stand on Etsy. Here's the one I bought:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/882420408/modmic-wireless-magnetic-charging-stand

 

[Piemonkey]

@Piemonkey you’ve just discovered the inconvenient truth about headphones, which objectivists and EQ-heads do not want to believe exists: there are different tiers of driver quality, and two headphones EQ’d to exactly the same frequency response will not necessarily sound identical. So many people spend days and days trying to find “the right EQ settings” that will match a $100 headphone to a $1000 headphone, convinced that audio is all a scam anyway and a little bit of EQ will be like a firmware update to improve performance of the Steam Deck or something.

Rant time! Frequency response graphs literally just how much louder or quieter other frequencies are relative to a 1 kHz midrange tone, and they’re created with simple, artificially generated, perfect sine tones with 0 harmonic overtones (purely just the foundational note). Like music from a Sega Genesis or NES, or maybe even an Atari It does not show the attack and decay of a headphone’s performance (though a square wave does), it does not illustrate where a foundational tone causes sympathetic resonance from the enclosure in other harmonic frequencies, and quite simply the beeps and bwoop test tones do not represent the more complicated sounds of a band full of instruments playing at once, or the entertainment value of audio (tho I won’t bash anyone who admits that they just enjoy testing and science more than music and games).

Long story short, there was room to improve on the DT 880 design, and I’m glad you found something that has increased your enjoyment!! I’m not quite sure I would blame the headphone for poor phantom rear sound localization (though you’ll note that Mad made the same comment in his original DT 880 review), as a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup that Dolby emulates does not have a speaker directly centered behind the head (though I always felt imaging was better with 7.1 than 5.1). I would agree that a headphone might be able to be less boxed in and be able to cast distances out more freely and accurately, without necessarily removing the ability to hear when something is close too. Some people say intimate, I think claustrophobic

I personally wanted to get along with the DT 880, looks amazing and gets heaps of praise, it’s certainly a lot better than other headphones out there, but it hurt my ears and left them ringing. Your comment about the DT 900 Pro X gives me some hope for Beyerdynamic!

I mostly EQ'd them with those oratory1990 presets to give them as even a start as possible to pick out the differences—I still had the opportunity to return the DT 900 X's if they weren't any different for my purposes (as I've seen some people suggest that DT 880s with EQ are just about the same). To be fair, neither of these sounded markedly different with and without EQ to my ears but I imagine people with much more experience could pick out some small but key differences and I was not listening for a wide array of music so much as I was testing games and movies with a few music tracks that do some interesting things.

I really don't know what it is with that rear sound localization. I've seen other people mention it as well but it doesn't seem to be universal. Maybe just a combination of tech and ear shape and just biology that comes together for many but it was a noticeable quiet spot. Not quite dead but definitely fuzzier imaging and quieter sound. There's a few of those 3D virtualization tests that go through all the HRTF presets on YouTube, and it was consistently happening for me. And, of course, since it was HRTF tests the headphones and computer were set to pure stereo mode, no VSS applied at all.

I'm blessed to say I never really noticed or was affected by that Beyerdynamic frequency thing I've seen many people point out but those oratory1990 presets really did even out some shrillness I made sure to pay attention to when I got the DT 880 back. The DT 900 X didn't really have it as much out of the box, a claim I've often seen and can now corroborate. And in terms of the soundstage, it's not like the DT 900 X is insanely better than the DT 880 but there are certain moments where the extra space just makes it all come *alive*. In particular, some Radiohead tracks with intesne strings felt like they had gained a whole new... depth lol.

 

[Seamouse]

Hi All, thank you for all the information in the thread. Just looking to clarify a few things.

I'm currently using a gen 3 mixamp pro plugged in via usb and fidelio X2's. From astro on reddit "The MixAmp Pro TR GEN3 was produced before 3D spatial sound. On Windows, it natively pulls 5.1 surround sound from your games using the USB cable." This would mean the device scales to surround sound right? What should the ingame sound type be set to?

More generally speaking from what I understand you either get an external device like a g6 or get dolby atmos/dts headphone:x and use a normal dac/amp?
Given Dolby Atmos/DTS Headphone X have a free trial and are cheap enough ill give it a whirl and test, am I likely to see better performance than using the mixamp? What ingame setting should be used in this case?

Cheers

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Hi Seamouse

Hi All, thank you for all the information in the thread. Just looking to clarify a few things.

I'm currently using a gen 3 mixamp pro plugged in via usb and fidelio X2's. From astro on reddit "The MixAmp Pro TR GEN3 was produced before 3D spatial sound. On Windows, it natively pulls 5.1 surround sound from your games using the USB cable." This would mean the device scales to surround sound right? What should the ingame sound type be set to?

More generally speaking from what I understand you either get an external device like a g6 or get dolby atmos/dts headphone:x and use a normal dac/amp?
Given Dolby Atmos/DTS Headphone X have a free trial and are cheap enough ill give it a whirl and test, am I likely to see better performance than using the mixamp? What ingame setting should be used in this case?

Cheers

You can still set surround devices like Mixamps to output Dolby Atmos. You would just need to set spatial audio on Windows to Atmos or DTS Headphone X, Sonic, etc (assuming you have the licenses for one of them), and turn off the surround processing on the MIxamp.

As for that MIcxamp Pro, IIRC at least back then it'd still be a variant of Dolby Headphone that takes from a 7.1 native signal.

The difference between say that, and the Atmos option is that ATmos (and other spatial audio in windows) does the conversion of multi channel audio down to a surround 2 channels before sending it to your device, whereas on the Mixamp, the 7.1 signal is sent first and then processed into surround for headphones at the device itself.

There's no advantage either way other than some software programs needing some processing time, so it's not AS fast in terms of latency as the Mixampo would be, but you'd be hard pressed to notice this.

 

[Svperstar]

I finally picked up a pair of used H800 after wanting them for years. When the pandemic was raging in 2020 since I couldn't fly to London like I planned I decided to get either the 800/800s or the Hifiman Arya. I got the Arya and it sounds great but the build quality leaves a lot to be desired.

Some very vocal people say the HD800s "ruined" what is great about the HD800. My used pair of HD800 had the SDR mod, I removed it.

I must say I understand why people said the HD800 would be a waste of money since I already have an Arya. They are a similar sound signature.

Haven't had the chance to do some competitive CSGO or PUBG but from the games I have played I have to give the 800 and the edge in 3d positioning but the Arya bass is just soooo much stronger. No amount of EQ on the 800 will make up for those huge Arya planar drivers.

If I was playing a tournament for money I think I would bring the HD800 but for just raw enjoyment I would give the nod to the Arya..........too bad about the build quality as I said tho. I ordered some stuff to protect the headband since Hifiman does not sell replacements.

 

[mercus121]

I currently use DX7 Pro + DT1990 as regular driver. I would say 70% of my listening time is for FPS games like Warzone and rest is Music + Movies.
Currently my local store is selling Creative GC7 at an discounted price. I read that the SxFI is one of the best surround sound implementation, with few folks mentioning it is superior to Dolby Atmos which I am using currently. Truth is, I am not so impressed with Dolby Atmos. I have tried Redscape as well. Thing is, I am looking for something like CMSS-3D or better. In my personal opinion, Dolby Atmos or Redscape is not quite good as CMSS-3D for audio cues and positional accuracy. Redscape I think is the best sounding VSS.
My question is, is it worth getting the GC7 purely for SxFI battle mode for using in FPS games for better audio cues, while I use my DX7 Pro for every other stuff?

 

[Chastity]

I currently use DX7 Pro + DT1990 as regular driver. I would say 70% of my listening time is for FPS games like Warzone and rest is Music + Movies.
Currently my local store is selling Creative GC7 at an discounted price. I read that the SxFI is one of the best surround sound implementation, with few folks mentioning it is superior to Dolby Atmos which I am using currently. Truth is, I am not so impressed with Dolby Atmos. I have tried Redscape as well. Thing is, I am looking for something like CMSS-3D or better. In my personal opinion, Dolby Atmos or Redscape is not quite good as CMSS-3D for audio cues and positional accuracy. Redscape I think is the best sounding VSS.
My question is, is it worth getting the GC7 purely for SxFI battle mode for using in FPS games for better audio cues, while I use my DX7 Pro for every other stuff?

You haven't played with the HRTF timing in Redscape to get it to match your physique. Once you do, it can be like CMSS-3D. Waves NX was also a CMSS-3D contender, IF you do the head measurements to get the timings spot-on.

If the game can output Dolby or DTS, using the matching plug-in will give you a very sweet experience, and if it puts out ATMOS or DTS:X then you can get above/below HRTF cues. Applies to movies too.