[sennsay]

Bixby, Sennsay, DavidA,
Thanks for the advice. I do have the Focus-A pads and they did improve it over the stock pads (ill check into the information on modding the HE400 as well)
Looks like i'll wait until I find a comfortable upgrade in earphones before switching out my Schiit set.
Again, thanks for all the opinions and information.

Glad to be of any help.

 

[SomeTechNoob]

What's this about a new volume pot? The old crappy, noisy pot was why I sold mine, but I've been thinking about getting a new one and just replacing the pot with one of my choice, that will likely cost $25+ on its own. Maybe an Alps RK27, maybe an ebay SMD stepper, but the old pot seemed to be the amp's obvious weakness. I think the design has tons of potential otherwise.

BTW, I have a pair of ATH-AD2000, and they're so sensitive I don't really gain anything with an amp vs. straight out of an iPhone or V20 headphone jack.

They supposedly tuned the lower range for easier fine control. The volume should ram up slower.

The pot is an Alps RK09

 

[almarti]

Need help for the final decision about what Schiit amp to purchase.
It will be paired with Mimby and Ether Flow.
I will be always using the amp in SE mode, no balanced.

Magni 3 - best price and enough power after reading a lot of reviews/forum
Jotunheim - is it worth the $300 difference as the balanced section will not be used?
Lyr 2 - is it worth over Jotunheim and Magni 3?

Valhalla 2 not considered I am concerned about the output impedance of 14 ohms, very high for Ether Flow

All your comments/recommendations are very welcome!

 

[Kevin Tam]

Need help for the final decision about what Schiit amp to purchase.
It will be paired with Mimby and Ether Flow.
I will be always using the amp in SE mode, no balanced.

Magni 3 - best price and enough power after reading a lot of reviews/forum
Jotunheim - is it worth the $300 difference as the balanced section will not be used?
Lyr 2 - is it worth over Jotunheim and Magni 3?

Valhalla 2 not considered I am concerned about the output impedance of 14 ohms, very high for Ether Flow

All your comments/recommendations are very welcome!

I never listened to the Ether Flows. What kind of sound signature do they have?

Forget about the Val2. It's just not designed to drive anything other than high impedance headphones. What I can tell you though is that the Lyr 2 isn't that impressive of an amp at its price. I owned it, liked it with my HE-560 and later discovered that there are better value hybrid amps out there. The Lyr2 is great for brute driving power. For example, It'll be an ideal choice if you have a collection of ridiculously hard to drive planars like the HE-560 or HE-6. However, the sound is slightly loose, wooly and unrefined for this price point. Plus, it doesn't reflect tube rolling differences as transparently as any tube amps from Garage1217. The Ember 2 could be a better alternative if you are prepared to indulge in tube-rolling. On specs, the Ether flows don't look like they are too hard to drive either. Lyr 2 could be an overkill.

I've never owned a Mimby, so take my words with a grain of salt. But from what i read, it is a dark sounding DAC. Mimby + Lyr2 could result in an overly warm sound.

Never owned the Jotunheim nor the Magni 3.

Cheers

 

[Kevin Tam]

What's this about a new volume pot? The old crappy, noisy pot was why I sold mine, but I've been thinking about getting a new one and just replacing the pot with one of my choice, that will likely cost $25+ on its own. Maybe an Alps RK27, maybe an ebay SMD stepper, but the old pot seemed to be the amp's obvious weakness. I think the design has tons of potential otherwise.

BTW, I have a pair of ATH-AD2000, and they're so sensitive I don't really gain anything with an amp vs. straight out of an iPhone or V20 headphone jack.

Yeah, the AD2000 don't scale very well. The tuning on these have such a strong character that no tubes or DACs can balance it out. I have had better luck with class A solid state amps. They bring out the speed and refinement on the AD2K.

 

[FrivolsListener]

Need help for the final decision about what Schiit amp to purchase.
It will be paired with Mimby and Ether Flow.
I will be always using the amp in SE mode, no balanced.

Magni 3 - best price and enough power after reading a lot of reviews/forum
Jotunheim - is it worth the $300 difference as the balanced section will not be used?
Lyr 2 - is it worth over Jotunheim and Magni 3?

Valhalla 2 not considered I am concerned about the output impedance of 14 ohms, very high for Ether Flow

All your comments/recommendations are very welcome!

Jason recommended the Magni 3 in that use case when I asked him a similar question at RMAF. For single ended, go with Magni 3.

(my opinion. I like mine.)

 

[DavidA]

Need help for the final decision about what Schiit amp to purchase.
It will be paired with Mimby and Ether Flow.
I will be always using the amp in SE mode, no balanced.

Magni 3 - best price and enough power after reading a lot of reviews/forum
Jotunheim - is it worth the $300 difference as the balanced section will not be used?
Lyr 2 - is it worth over Jotunheim and Magni 3?

Valhalla 2 not considered I am concerned about the output impedance of 14 ohms, very high for Ether Flow

All your comments/recommendations are very welcome!

Since I haven't heard the Ether Flow in a long time and didn't try it with a Magni3 or Jot take this with a grain of salt.
The Lyr2 can be a good or average amp and it really depends on the tubes used. Agree with @Kevin Tam that the Lyr2 is great at brut force for hard to drive headphones and its a great match for the HE560 but to me and the Ember is a more flexible amp. The Ember lacks the sound stage of the Lyr2 is the only point that might concern some and its why I still have both a Lyr2 and Ember.

The Jot was a decent amp but not worth the $300 over the Magni3 and to me its slightly on the bright side since it didn't pair well with my HE560, T1, HD700 and HD800.

I'd also pass on the Valhalla2 since its a cold dry sounding tube amp and doesn't reflect tube rolling well.

 

[almarti]

I never listened to the Ether Flows. What kind of sound signature do they have?

Forget about the Val2. It's just not designed to drive anything other than high impedance headphones. What I can tell you though is that the Lyr 2 isn't that impressive of an amp at its price. I owned it, liked it with my HE-560 and later discovered that there are better value hybrid amps out there. The Lyr2 is great for brute driving power. For example, It'll be an ideal choice if you have a collection of ridiculously hard to drive planars like the HE-560 or HE-6. However, the sound is slightly loose, wooly and unrefined for this price point. Plus, it doesn't reflect tube rolling differences as transparently as any tube amps from Garage1217. The Ember 2 could be a better alternative if you are prepared to indulge in tube-rolling. On specs, the Ether flows don't look like they are too hard to drive either. Lyr 2 could be an overkill.

I've never owned a Mimby, so take my words with a grain of salt. But from what i read, it is a dark sounding DAC. Mimby + Lyr2 could result in an overly warm sound.

Never owned the Jotunheim nor the Magni 3.

Cheers

Thanks for your response. I agree with your approach.

 

[almarti]

Jason recommended the Magni 3 in that use case when I asked him a similar question at RMAF. For single ended, go with Magni 3.

(my opinion. I like mine.)

Then this makes the short list to one, the Magni 3.

 

[almarti]

Since I haven't heard the Ether Flow in a long time and didn't try it with a Magni3 or Jot take this with a grain of salt.
The Lyr2 can be a good or average amp and it really depends on the tubes used. Agree with @Kevin Tam that the Lyr2 is great at brut force for hard to drive headphones and its a great match for the HE560 but to me and the Ember is a more flexible amp. The Ember lacks the sound stage of the Lyr2 is the only point that might concern some and its why I still have both a Lyr2 and Ember.

The Jot was a decent amp but not worth the $300 over the Magni3 and to me its slightly on the bright side since it didn't pair well with my HE560, T1, HD700 and HD800.

I'd also pass on the Valhalla2 since its a cold dry sounding tube amp and doesn't reflect tube rolling well.

So, after the 3 answers, I think I should start with Magni 3 as it is not a great investment (expense) and after progress with other products coming.
I will let you know.
Thanks to all

 

[ScOgLiO]

So, after the 3 answers, I think I should start with Magni 3 as it is not a great investment (expense) and after progress with other products coming.
I will let you know.
Thanks to all

You might be happy enough with the Magni and decide you don't need to look any further, who knows
Hard to go wrong with it at that price point, anyway!

 

[DJ The Rocket]

Yeah, the AD2000 don't scale very well. The tuning on these have such a strong character that no tubes or DACs can balance it out. I have had better luck with class A solid state amps. They bring out the speed and refinement on the AD2K.

I don't see what an amplifier's class has to do with anything, are you sure it wasn't something different those amps all had in common? And what do you mean by "balance it out?"

I didn't say the ATH-AD2K doesn't scale, I said it is very efficient and doesn't demand much from an amp. At 40 ohms nominal impedance, they're not particularly sensitive to high output impedances, and they don't suck a ton of current either. I just don't think amplifiers matter too much for these headphones, unless you're trying to color the sound a certain way. If they don't scale with better and better amplifiers, it's because they sound great with just about any amplifier. Scaling with better sources is a different story though. What sources have you tried?

They're the polar opposite of my other headphones. The Mr. Speakers Alpha Prime are so inefficient they need both more current and more voltage compared to the AD2k.

 

[sennsay]

After my experience so far, I would never call the Mimby 'dark', as such, though I understand the intention, what it is not is glarey, edgy, hyper-detailed, fatiguing and leading-edge focused as are so many of the modern DACs. Certainly not with the Magni 3, natural detail galore and life-like expression it certainly does have and in fact, with the set-up I have here, HD540 Ref1s etc, I am calling it for the most 'analogue' and alive sounding gear in the best possible ways I've ever owned in over 40 years .. without the noise! I'm sure there are greater heights to be reached, but even at many times this price? As an overall musical experience, I've heard gear that costs literally hundreds of times more in dollar terms (in some cases thousands of $$ more!) that cannot do what I'm listening to in here and now!

 

[Kevin Tam]

I don't see what an amplifier's class has to do with anything, are you sure it wasn't something different those amps all had in common? And what do you mean by "balance it out?"

I didn't say the ATH-AD2K doesn't scale, I said it is very efficient and doesn't demand much from an amp. At 40 ohms nominal impedance, they're not particularly sensitive to high output impedances, and they don't suck a ton of current either. I just don't think amplifiers matter too much for these headphones, unless you're trying to color the sound a certain way. If they don't scale with better and better amplifiers, it's because they sound great with just about any amplifier. Scaling with better sources is a different story though. What sources have you tried?

They're the polar opposite of my other headphones. The Mr. Speakers Alpha Prime are so inefficient they need both more current and more voltage compared to the AD2k.

@DJ The Rocket I agree that AD2Ks don't demand much power to sound well. But when you said you didn't gain anything from an amp with the AD2K, I must say I have a different experience than yours.
In my exp, the AD2K's abilities are well displayed with minimal amplification except for their speed. I found that attack and decay are way better controlled when powered from my class A amps than on my player or my other amps. (Could be a strength of class A, or just my particular amp collection). Since I see the excellent transient response of the AD2K as an important trait, and my amps make them sound closer to their max potential, I would say I definitely gain from plugging into one. When I owned the AD2K, I only had my Cowon J3 and a TDA1543 NOS DAC. Couldn't really compare the two since the J3 doesn't have a line out. I wonder how the AD2K would pair with the Magni 3. If you decide to buy one, post your impressions!

What amp are you using to pair with the Prime?

Thanks

 

[Kevin Tam]

After my experience so far, I would never call the Mimby 'dark', as such, though I understand the intention, what it is not is glarey, edgy, hyper-detailed, fatiguing and leading-edge focused as are so many of the modern DACs. Certainly not with the Magni 3, natural detail galore and life-like expression it certainly does have and in fact, with the set-up I have here, HD540 Ref1s etc, I am calling it for the most 'analogue' and alive sounding gear in the best possible ways I've ever owned in over 40 years .. without the noise! I'm sure there are greater heights to be reached, but even at many times this price? As an overall musical experience, I've heard gear that costs literally hundreds of times more in dollar terms (in some cases thousands of $$ more!) that cannot do what I'm listening to in here and now!

Ah that's more like it. That certainly makes me want to give the Mimby a try! Currently I'm using the DAC3 by Starting Point System (a NOS DAC designed by a French guy on eBay) and it sounds REALLY fluid and musical as well. I wonder how the Mimby compares. How's the synergy with the HD600 and the M3/MM stack?

Cheers