[Voxata]

Duly noted. I'm still very skeptical about how much of a difference a certain amount of heat going through a resistor is going to make. If someone can point to A/B comparison's, I'd appreciate it.



I wasn't going to start putting ALL my gear, or former owned gear, on a headphone forum sig, but I hear what you're saying. I speak from experience, but no, I haven't heard every piece of gear out there. I'm just skeptical about warmup times for certain pieces of kit. Apparently, some DAC's perform best after a full day of warming up. Well, blow me down.

Again, I'd love to hear A/B comparisons of kit COLD vs WARMED UP. Can someone please provide some examples? - maybe YouTube or something?

From my experience it's a bit harsh and congested on the MB dacs from stone cold. The Asgard is the most pronounced SS amp warmup difference I've heard. It's not crap when cold it just gets slightly better. No examples, just well documented.

 

[DavidA]

From my experience it's a bit harsh and congested on the MB dacs from stone cold. The Asgard is the most pronounced SS amp warmup difference I've heard. It's not crap when cold it just gets slightly better. No examples, just well documented.

Maybe I don't hear as well but my Asgard2 has never changed in sound from first on to warmed up over a day but I can tell that some tubes do need to warm up a little (5 to 10 minutes) before they stabilize.

 

[Jerda]

Someone has tried the Arcam rHead? There's no info of when the m3 will be available in EU and I'm waiting from December.... right now I'm thinking to get an used arcam rhead for like 100€ instead the magni3... someone can do some comparison?

 

[Voxata]

Maybe I don't hear as well but my Asgard2 has never changed in sound from first on to warmed up over a day but I can tell that some tubes do need to warm up a little (5 to 10 minutes) before they stabilize.

Give it a shot with your 560. I noted the difference on that can and my DT770 - I no longer own the amp though. The A1 was even more so (that amp I miss, I liked it more than the A2) though and I trust your experience.

--edit did some research, most people talking about Asgard needing to warm up are referring to the 1st one - which is the one I'd turn off and on always and notice the difference. I may have inferred it to the 2 as I never turned that sucker off during my ownership because of my experience with the 1st - my bad! YMMV but it'd sound a bit flat cold and gain literal depth and warmth once warm. No other amp I've owned has been like this. The Jot for me when nice and toasty is just slightly less steely - though that was BAL with the 560. Using my LCD2C I can't tell.

 

[J-Fly]

Well it looks like I should have been a little more patient. I sent my Magni 3 back for a refund. I then decided to do more research on my cans and discovered that hair on the driver of the DT 770s is common. I removed the hairs and did some serious cleaning around the housing and my muddled sound problem is gone. But of course now I don’t have the amp anymore.

 

[sennsay]

Well it looks like I should have been a little more patient. I sent my Magni 3 back for a refund. I then decided to do more research on my cans and discovered that hair on the driver of the DT 770s is common. I removed the hairs and did some serious cleaning around the housing and my muddled sound problem is gone. But of course now I don’t have the amp anymore.

Oh dude .. sigh Are you going to get another M3? I've added a Mimby a few days ago which has already had some 45 hours on it and combined with the Magni 3 I am getting the most stunning results with a pair of Sennheiser HD540 Ref1 headphones. I won't repeat my findings here, if you want to read on what you may be missing out on, just head over to the thread entitled "Wow! Sennheiser HD 540 Reference are so good ..". Yes, I use really good pure silver cables an an interconnect - I've had them as my reference for years in the main system - and optical out from the Questyle QP1R, a purer source than the USB out of the MacBook Pro (though it still sounds excellent) - but the results are worth it. The Mimby/Magni 3 combo is worth it! The Senn HD540 Ref1 headphones are so good here, even at 600 ohms, that I can't stand listening to the drop in performance of the HifiMAN HE400S cans with the set up (they're brilliant with the QP1R as a DAP though!).
I'm talking about experiencing a music event here, not listening to hifi. The Schiit combo as I have it here, defies the use of electronics. Music dances from the Ref1s. Intellectually dissecting the performance is virtually impossible, music sounds of a piece. Alive with communication, fabulous timing and rhythm, although these are the finest attributes of the HD540s too.
Give the Magni 3 another go if you're so inspired

 

[almarti]

HAS ANyone tested M3 with Mimby and Ether Flow?
I am considering buying a sub $500 tube headphone amp but M3 could be a great choice

 

[Kevin Tam]

From what I read from the previous posts, it seems like with the new volume pot on Magni 3, the volume gets loud very quickly.
Does this mean that low impedance/high sensitivity headphones could suffer from channel imbalance. Does anyone know how Audio-Technica headphones would pair with the M3?
I am using a pair of A2000X.

Thanks!!

 

[henree]

I just got through listening to my He-400 planar headphones. And it is a terrible combination. There is no bass at all. Even with high gain and the volume pot to the max. The sound is very thin.

 

[SomeTechNoob]

This was true with even the old magni 2.

If your source outputs 1.5V you'll probably be fine. Full 2V? You'll probably have to lower the volume digitally or spend tons of money on an impedence adapter

 

[sennsay]

No no, other way around, dudes The pot is designed to ramp up more gently from zero, to make for easier volume adjustments.

 

[sennsay]

I just got through listening to my He-400 planar headphones. And it is a terrible combination. There is no bass at all. Even with high gain and the volume pot to the max. The sound is very thin.

And did you switch the gain to high with the switch on the back? I occasionally use my HE400S with the Magni 3 and certainly don't have that issue. Are you using a DAC with 2V output? Or something with a lot less, like a phone, iPod or similar? Admittedly, the HE400S is a little more efficient.

 

[Kevin Tam]

I just got through listening to my He-400 planar headphones. And it is a terrible combination. There is no bass at all. Even with high gain and the volume pot to the max. The sound is very thin.

Wow that's a surprise. I was gonna collect a pair of 4XX and pair them with the M3. Yikes.

This was true with even the old magni 2.

If your source outputs 1.5V you'll probably be fine. Full 2V? You'll probably have to lower the volume digitally or spend tons of money on an impedence adapter

Ah okok. I'm using a TDA1543 based DAC which has a weaker output. I think I'll be fine then. Thanks!

No no, other way around, dudes The pot is designed to ramp up more gently from zero, to make for easier volume adjustments.

Hey man, ya I'm reading mixed opinions on this. I remember Schiit clearly claimed that they made improvements to the pot, but some also said that they had trouble powering their cans right.
I see that you own the HE400S and the M3. Do you mind sharing your impressions on this combo?

Thanks

 

[sennsay]

Wow that's a surprise. I was gonna collect a pair of 4XX and pair them with the M3. Yikes.



Ah okok. I'm using a TDA1543 based DAC which has a weaker output. I think I'll be fine then. Thanks!

Hey man, ya I'm reading mixed opinions on this. I remember Schiit clearly claimed that they made improvements to the pot, but some also said that they had trouble powering their cans right.
I see that you own the HE400S and the M3. Do you mind sharing your impressions on this combo?

Thanks

Well, I did buy the M3 specifically for the HE400S and if I'm using the MusicStreamer II+ DAC from the MacBook Pro with some nice cables the sound is rather good. using the coaxial signal out from the DAC of the Questyle QP1R not quite so much. Same now that I have a Mimby (Modi Multibit DAC), my 29 year old Sennheiser 600 ohm HD540 Ref1cans with Mogami cable and pleather pads are so superior in openness and sheer life that I can barely stand the more closed in sound of the HE400S with that combo, even though for many folks it would be terrific! It's good .. but better with the MusicStreamer II+ combo, not that that particular DAC is better than the Mimby, it most certainly isn't (!), but the blend of short pure silver ribbon cables and the M3 is a better balance for the HE400S to my ears. The HifiMANs are excellent with the QP1R on it's own though! I use an Audioquest Evergreen 3.5mm to RCA cable from the QP1R to the Magni and it's excellent ... but the Mimby, superb! Effortless and natural life, with plenty of fine detail that is never in your face, smooth, even and hypnotically addictive with the Senn HD540 Ref1s! Oh my!
the HE400S need the Focus A pads to come alive in the bass and detail focus is more explicit as well.
The Magni 3 is a brilliant bit of kit! There are a couple of on-line reviews posted above here somewhere, I posted them yesterday and there are a couple of others too. I'm still aghast at it's abilities and not only for the money, far beyond it's cost! Add a Mimby and some good cables, I'm stunned. Not everyone agrees and that's cool My experience is as stated and knockout with the HD540 Ref1s. BTW, I use the QP1R as a source mostly, optical out to the Mimby, which gives utterly silent running even at max volume. The M3 performs as well at the 3 o'clock position as it does down the range. The gear is so quiet that the tiniest sounds can be heard suspended in space, at times surprising me with details I'd never heard before.

 

[Hofy]

Just got tracking notice from Schiit for my M3! It will be here Saturday.