[musicbased]

I am about to buy an m stage for my birthday treat!
 
Question: I have a Hifiman hm801. Should i use this as the dac and get just the amp, or get the new usb dac version and leave the hifiman for portable use?
Using the hifiman dac involves getting a usb to spdif converter, which means more leads etc, but i don't know how much that would affect the sound..?
 
I know the hifiman dac has got mixed reviews,but it must be better than a $30 dac right? ...

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

I am about to buy an m stage for my birthday treat!
 
Question: I have a Hifiman hm801. Should i use this as the dac and get just the amp, or get the new usb dac version and leave the hifiman for portable use?
Using the hifiman dac involves getting a usb to spdif converter, which means more leads etc, but i don't know how much that would affect the sound..?
 
I know the hifiman dac has got mixed reviews,but it must be better than a $30 dac right? ...

For another $30 you can get the Matrix with a DAC, I would get it with the DAC, worst that will happen is you've wasted $30!

It's also a very compact solution.
I wouldn't think that a USB to SPDIF converter would sound that bad or affect the sound much.
 
If you don't think it sounds good enough, get a better DAC when you have the funds.

 

[EinZweiDrei]

what are other good headphones that go well with m stage other than  akg K/Q70x

 

[wilky61]

Paused the David Bowie album to which I had been listening to check out your YouTube link.
From where I left off in the Bowie album, my volume knob was at 12 o'clock (beneath the L in VOLUME). 10 gain, of course.
I would say at this position, your song is very slightly soft for my liking. I moved the knob over to the M/E in VOLUME... looks pretty close to 1 o'clock to me.
 
Yeah, not a bad song.

Quote:

can matrix m stage + hrt ms2 and k/q70x users help me with a listening test?

this here is apparently a track for testing. from the looks of it the recording is good.
i listen to this track at with my m stage's volume knob at 9 O' clock position. with 10gain
i just wanted to know people's listening volume with the same setup as mine.
im just wondering if its safe to turn up my my volume knob a bit more without damaging my ears.

 

[Chris J]

what are other good headphones that go well with m stage other than  akg K/Q70x

An excellent question!
Anybody have any opinions?
Do Grados go well with the M?

I certainly don't have an answer, but I DON'T recommend DT880s with the M.

 

[purrin]

The stock M-Stage is all so slightly warm. It works with a lot of headphones, but it's not one of those colored amps which is going to take the edge off a lot of problematic headphones. Personally, I had no issues with HF2 or PS1000s (but modded with TP over the drivers to tone down treble.)

 

[the search never ends]

I have the 325's and it sounds good, My beyer 990's sound kind of rough, I really prefer tubes for beyers. Adds a holographic stage to them.

 

[chicolom]

Head-Fi Jeopardy:
 
 
     "...By far the most popularly paired amp with the AKG K/Q701 headphones on Head-Fi..."
 
        "What is an m-stage?"

 

[wilky61]

HAHAHA. I think you just likened me to Alec Trebek, but this was very tastefully done, chico.

 
Quote:

Head-Fi Jeopardy:
 
 
     "...By far the most popularly paired amp with the AKG K/Q701 headphones on Head-Fi..."
 
        "What is an m-stage?"

 

[Chris J]

Head-Fi Jeopardy:



     "...By far the most popularly paired amp with the AKG K/Q701 headphones on Head-Fi..."


        "What is an m-stage?"

Hmmmmm, I don't remember that episode!
Did he win?

 

[Chris J]

I have the 325's and it sounds good, My beyer 990's sound kind of rough, I really prefer tubes for beyers. Adds a holographic stage to them.

The nice thing about 600 ohm Beyers is you can easily drive them with a vacuum tube OTL amp!
At 600 ohms you don't need to worry about OTLs with 50-100 ohm output impedances.

DT880 with the M has a tendency to sound bland with a lot of recordings. But with some rock recordings the combo sounds great.

 

[CAfromCA]

I bought mine on Amazon and am loving it with my AKG701's and my Sennheisers. Made all the difference in the world!   

 

[hodgjy]

Which version did you get? There seems to be a few versions being sold. Did yours come with the small vents in the side of the case?

I bought mine on Amazon and am loving it with my AKG701's and my Sennheisers. Made all the difference in the world!   

 

[the search never ends]

Quote:

The nice thing about 600 ohm Beyers is you can easily drive them with a vacuum tube OTL amp!
At 600 ohms you don't need to worry about OTLs with 50-100 ohm output impedances.
DT880 with the M has a tendency to sound bland with a lot of recordings. But with some rock recordings the combo sounds great.

Agreed, 100 percent, although from memory the 880's are a bit less colored than the 990's.  But yeah, even a cheap chinese hybrid will drive beyers decently enough, the woo audio 2 is splendid!!

 

[the search never ends]

Quote:

Which version did you get? There seems to be a few versions being sold. Did yours come with the small vents in the side of the case?

As far as I know all versions marked 2011 or later have the vents, I'd get them from Tam audio/Coolfungadget, I would imagine he is only selling the vented ones now.  I have 2, and bought a third for a friend, all 3 have the slots.