[kumar402]

I trust head-fi classifieds
May have to wait though as more ppl get their hands on it.

 

[Blejzeros]

I'd also add, if you have a preamp or dad with volume control, see how your 3XP does with the Tungsten when you out the 3XP in "power amp mode". Remember to turn down the pre or DAC volume first. I prefer the 3XP in power amp mode with my other headphones

Yes I did try it in power amp mode (didn't know that I have to turn the volume all the way down before the switch) with few preamps (Freya plus and wired4 sound) but I really like it straight out of esoteric cd player. I also like it with my v280 and Freya plus as pre.
and few other setups that I have. It's a wonderful sounding headphone. One of the best. Cheers

 

[Ateefi]

FYI for anyone attempting to get in on the next one, I suggest setting up your web browser to autofill everything, card, address, name.
Took me 15 seconds start to finish.

I ordered mine a few weeks ago, had no issues at all, the only thing I had on hand was the custom colour code and filled in everything else took a few minutes. This was even a good 5 minutes after the ordering opened. Just your luck i guess, if I didnt get it I was going to go the mimic route as well.

 

[dl95]

I ordered mine a few weeks ago, had no issues at all, the only thing I had on hand was the custom colour code and filled in everything else took a few minutes. This was even a good 5 minutes after the ordering opened. Just your luck i guess, if I didnt get it I was going to go the mimic route as well.

Think the hype is starting to explode with it getting talked about a bunch on some recent Youtube vids and reviewers getting their hands on it.

 

[gammi]

I ordered mine a few weeks ago, had no issues at all, the only thing I had on hand was the custom colour code and filled in everything else took a few minutes. This was even a good 5 minutes after the ordering opened. Just your luck i guess, if I didnt get it I was going to go the mimic route as well.

This round closed much faster, under 2 minutes.

 

[Audio Addict]

This round closed much faster, under 2 minutes.

Does anyone know how many were available in the round?

 

[dl95]

Does anyone know how many were available in the round?

No clue, probably like 30 at most I'm guessing. But they had separate quantities for Single vs Double Sided, Stock Color vs Custom Color Grill / Chassis. The stock colors ran out of stock earlier than the customs.

 

[BassicScience]

Right, the "vast majority" of class D amps are simply not even worth considering when Hypex and Purifi designs are so demonstrably superior, and at very reasonable prices in the realm of high-end audio.

The Purifi designs have in fact been measured and proven to have load invariant frequency responses by ASR and others, so clearly the issue can be made to go away and doesn't require a "known load impedance", as you state above. You are correct in that these measurements have typically been done in the range of 1-16 ohms, and I have just fired off an email to Purifi asking for clarification on whether the results would theoretically be the same for load impedances in the range of 20-155 ohms (i.e., popular planars), as well as whether that has actually been measured in practice. With Purifi's permission, I will be happy to post whatever information I receive........ somewhere (not sure how this discussion ended up in this thread, actually).

I made the above post in the Schiit Mjolnir 3 thread in response to a post (apparently since deleted) from @GoldenOne wherein he asserted that the vast majority of class D amps are unsuitable for driving headphones due to unpredictable frequency response when driving other than a specific load impedance (nominally within the range 2-8 ohms typical of speakers). I'm following up here because the discussion was OT in that thread, and because speaker amps can be a sensible option for driving (particularly low-sensitivity) planar headphones. Here is the information I received from Kim Madsen (Applications Manager at PURIFI):

Dear [xxxxx],

Yes the Purifi amplifier modules, like the 1ET400A, are load invariant.
Yes we measure frequency response and THD unloaded – that is with 10kohm load of the audio analyser.

You can see the frequency response with open load in the datasheet, figure 3 on page 5:

As figure 3 in the datasheet shows, the 2ohm, 4ohm, and open load (= 10kohm) frequency responses are the same to over 100khz, and so will any in-between load be.

Best regards, Kim

===============

The bottom line is that class D amps based on Hypex or Purifi modules are indeed well-suited to drive headphones of any impedance. I have been doing so since around the time I acquired my Susvara (~3 years ago), and can't recommend them highly enough.

As a practical tip to Tungsten listeners who currently own an underpowered headphone amp with preamp outputs (preferably XLR): consider purchasing a Purifi or Hypex amp and simply driving the power amp from the headphone amp's preamp. You'll also need an adapter from the speaker lugs of the amp to a female 4-pin XLR. A 2-channel PURIFI amp can be had for around $1100 from Buckeye Amps, for example, but there are a host of companies in the US and abroad offering amps based on the same modules at various price points, feature sets, and levels of fit and finish. Of course, there are also a myriad of class A(B) amps that would fit the bill, but class D amps have the advantage of being relatively compact and running barely warm to the touch, making them easily stackable with other components for desktop usage.

It is not my intention to derail this thread, but I wanted to set the record straight based on previously posted misinformation here and elsewhere on the forum. Thank you for your indulgence.

 

[GoldenSound]

I made the above post in the Schiit Mjolnir 3 thread in response to a post (apparently since deleted) from @GoldenOne wherein he asserted that the vast majority of class D amps are unsuitable for driving headphones due to unpredictable frequency response when driving other than a specific load impedance (nominally within the range 2-8 ohms typical of speakers). I'm following up here because the discussion was OT in that thread, and because speaker amps can be a sensible option for driving (particularly low-sensitivity) planar headphones. Here is the information I received from Kim Madsen (Applications Manager at PURIFI):

Dear [xxxxx],

Yes the Purifi amplifier modules, like the 1ET400A, are load invariant.
Yes we measure frequency response and THD unloaded – that is with 10kohm load of the audio analyser.

You can see the frequency response with open load in the datasheet, figure 3 on page 5:


As figure 3 in the datasheet shows, the 2ohm, 4ohm, and open load (= 10kohm) frequency responses are the same to over 100khz, and so will any in-between load be.

Best regards, Kim

===============

The bottom line is that class D amps based on Hypex or Purifi modules are indeed well-suited to drive headphones of any impedance. I have been doing so since around the time I acquired my Susvara (~3 years ago), and can't recommend them highly enough.

As a practical tip to Tungsten listeners who currently own an underpowered headphone amp with preamp outputs (preferably XLR): consider purchasing a Purifi or Hypex amp and simply driving the power amp from the headphone amp's preamp. You'll also need an adapter from the speaker lugs of the amp to a female 4-pin XLR. A 2-channel PURIFI amp can be had for around $1100 from Buckeye Amps, for example, but there are a host of companies in the US and abroad offering amps based on the same modules at various price points, feature sets, and levels of fit and finish. Of course, there are also a myriad of class A(B) amps that would also fit the bill, but class D amps have the advantage of being relatively compact and running barely warm to the touch, making them easily stackable with other components for desktop usage.

It is not my intention to derail this thread, but I wanted to set the record straight based on previously posted misinformation here and elsewhere on the forum. Thank you for your indulgence.

The thread had a lot of posts deleted by the mods because it was off topic (fair enough).

I'd like to add though that I did have posts after the initial one addressing the purifi thing specifically.
It's great to see that the purifi stuff should work for high impedance headphones. (I'd still be curious to see if there are any other adverse effects with high impedance loads though, if I can get one in I'll test) Though as my initial post mentioned this is not the case for most class D amps and so people SHOULD be careful.

Particularly with a lot of people recommending the Fosi stuff which as has been demonstrated is NOT load invariant and has risks associated with it. Those really shouldn't be used as headphone amps

 

[psy472]

Class D speaker amps costs more than my amps and has high risks of blowing up my headphones and ears permanently. You need to mod the amp so it is safe to use. Yes it can sound amazing, but all it takes is one slip of the hand or forgetting to unplug your headphones when powering on/off for you to wonder if that money saved was worth a lifetime of regret.

 

[mjstealey]

Think the hype is starting to explode with it getting talked about a bunch on some recent Youtube vids and reviewers getting their hands on it.

Exactly this!
And while it's exciting to see ModHouse (Ryan) get the recognition they deserve, I fear that folks who don't understand how involved he and his family are with every single step of the process may misinterpret the reasoning behind the wait times, and ordering process, and get frustrated or angry somewhere along the way.
So I hope all of these reviewers are also emphasizing how special of an offering the Tungsten actually is

 

[BassicScience]

Class D speaker amps costs more than my amps and has high risks of blowing up my headphones and ears permanently. You need to mod the amp so it is safe to use. Yes it can sound amazing, but all it takes is one slip of the hand or forgetting to unplug your headphones when powering on/off for you to wonder if that money saved was worth a lifetime of regret.

No, you do not need "to mod the amp so it is safe to use". A variable gain control is highly recommended in practice, however.

BTW, I'm planning on starting a dedicated thread on Hypex/Purifi class D amps within the next few days, if time permits. Until then, I won't be discussing them here or in other headphone threads except to correct any blatant misinformation (such as quoted above).

 

[psy472]

No, you do not need "to mod the amp so it is safe to use". A variable gain control is highly recommended in practice, however.

BTW, I'm planning on starting a dedicated thread on Hypex/Purifi class D amps within the next few days, if time permits. Until then, I won't be discussing them here or in other headphone threads except to correct any blatant misinformation (such as quoted above).

Fair point. I am going off of the posts on here when I raised those concerns. If there are D class speaker amps that won’t have those risks then go for it.

 

[psy472]

Exactly this!
And while it's exciting to see ModHouse (Ryan) get the recognition they deserve, I fear that folks who don't understand how involved he and his family are with every single step of the process may misinterpret the reasoning behind the wait times, and ordering process, and get frustrated or angry somewhere along the way.
So I hope all of these reviewers are also emphasizing how special of an offering the Tungsten actually is

Uggg this always happens when social media gets their say on things. The local Asian BBQ place is flooded with people every day waiting out the door because of TikTok claiming they are the best BBQ in the surround states. They got people from the next state there just for the food…

 

[chrisnyc75]

Exactly this!
And while it's exciting to see ModHouse (Ryan) get the recognition they deserve, I fear that folks who don't understand how involved he and his family are with every single step of the process may misinterpret the reasoning behind the wait times, and ordering process, and get frustrated or angry somewhere along the way.
So I hope all of these reviewers are also emphasizing how special of an offering the Tungsten actually is

Much/most of this community are used to boutique products that have a long wait/lead time - i.e. DNA, Decware, etc. It's usually more on the electronics side of things than headphones, but the same rules apply. If you really want it, you have to be patient. Good things come to those who wait.