[G8torbyte]

Nice color selection, it is similar to the military olive-drab (OD) green which I like from being prior active-duty. I love OD green/black combinations.

Received my SS Tungsten this morning.

Impressions to come.

Thanks! It’s Jesse James eastern front green H-400 color.

 

[marsmellow]

Nice color selection, it is similar to the military olive-drab (OD) green which I like from being prior active-duty. I love OD green/black combinations.

Thanks!

 

[cgarciah92]

Any “new” discoveries on relatively affordable amp/dac combos that can sufficiently power a SS? $1,500 is already a big amount for me to justify on a headphone purchase, and I know my K5 Pro won’t provide enough voltage, but not looking to drop another $1,500 on source gear…

I dunno about new discoveries, but I think the Topping A70 Pro at $499 or the Jot 2 that others have mentioned might be your best bet if you don't want to spend too much on powering the Tungsten. The Topping paired with any DAC capable of balanced output of 4v should be more than enough to power them, and with the Jot you can get the DAC built in if you want. I mentioned in my previous post, but I got mine yesterday (albeit they're DS, so power requirements are slightly lower) and with the A90D which has less power output than the A70 Pro I'm able to get pretty loud output with the capability of destroying my eardrums if I pushed it up to the top. That being said, as I also mentioned in my previous post, I'm feeding them balanced from a WANDLA that's putting out 9.3 volts and I know they're not at full potential, but they're still singing even if not at "max power".

Semi-related, throwing in another song reccomendation here, Beverly Glenn-Copeland's Ghost House really shined with the Tungstens. His haunting vocals throughout the track bounce around your ears in a surreal way and as the song picks up steam and gets more frenetic in the latter half the DS responds beatifully while still letting all the details shine. YT link to the track below, but it's also on all streaming platforms.

 

[marsmellow]

Any “new” discoveries on relatively affordable amp/dac combos that can sufficiently power a SS? $1,500 is already a big amount for me to justify on a headphone purchase, and I know my K5 Pro won’t provide enough voltage, but not looking to drop another $1,500 on source gear…

So far I’ve run the SS at reasonable listening levels with the K9 Pro, a70 pro fed by the k9 pro, and the IFi hip DAC 2 on high gain which are all relatively affordable.

I also ran them on my Black Ice Audio f35 fed by a Schiit Gungnir out of the headphone out, but that’s a $3500 integrated speaker amp.

 

[cgarciah92]

Nice color selection, it is similar to the military olive-drab (OD) green which I like from being prior active-duty. I love OD green/black combinations.

Not surprising that Cerakote would have a color resembling military drab considering Cerakote's primary use-case seems to be for painting guns, they know their target audience

 

[Slackaveli]

From all the pictures I've seen so far, these are my favourite

Can't wait to get mine and get to show off the cedar wood (the aromatherapy too lol)
havent seen anybody with those yet.

 

[Prism24]

So far I’ve run the SS at reasonable listening levels with the K9 Pro, a70 pro fed by the k9 pro, and the IFi hip DAC 2 on high gain which are all relatively affordable.

I also ran them on my Black Ice Audio f35 fed by a Schiit Gungnir out of the headphone out, but that’s a $3500 integrated speaker amp.

Do you feel like the K9 Pro was noticeably worse than the Black Ice, or just different due to the tubes?

 

[marsmellow]

Do you feel like the K9 Pro was noticeably worse than the Black Ice, or just different due to the tubes?

The difference is noticeable, but I wouldn’t worry too much about that. They are different presentations. The tubes are much more colored with a richness and texture that comes from all tube amplification. I prefer the tubes much more, but YMMV.

If you aren’t listening at super loud levels I think many amps fed by a 5V output DAC could probably work for a while and give you joy with the tungsten. When you have more money to buy more gear, it will scale.

 

[marsmellow]

First day with the SS Tungsten.

These headphones render spatial information in such a wonderful way. You get space when the recording has it or intimacy if the recording has it. At times it sounds as though recorded instruments are suspended in air around my head and into the room.

They give texture to sound such that you get the sensation that you can feel it.

Since this was my first day with them,
I listened to a mix of music: Rock, folk, jazz, electronic, dance, classical and pop.

Radiohead’s Weird Fishes and National Anthem started the party. Followed that up with King of Sweden from the new Future Islands album since I’ve been playing that a lot lately.

After that I switched gears and went with Jose Gonzalez’s version of this is how we walk on the moon. Played Bad Mind from Erin Rae. Listened to Hank Mobley’s Soul Station. Put on James Blake’s Retrograde. The texture of the synths and his voice are special. There’s been so much listening today I could on and on.

I will say that the clamp force seemed to significantly impact the sound. My steel headband needed adjusting to loosen the clamp. After I did that, the bass was much better to my ears and the headphone’s comfort improved significantly.

I’m looking forward to Can Jam this weekend.

 

[psy472]

First day with the SS Tungsten.

These headphones render spatial information in such a wonderful way. You get space when the recording has it or intimacy if the recording has it. At times it sounds as though recorded instruments are suspended in air around my head and into the room.

They give texture to sound such that you get the sensation that you can feel it.

Since this was my first day with them,
I listened to a mix of music: Rock, folk, jazz, electronic, dance, classical and pop.

Radiohead’s Weird Fishes and National Anthem started the party. Followed that up with King of Sweden from the new Future Islands album since I’ve been playing that a lot lately.

After that I switched gears and went with Jose Gonzalez’s version of this is how we walk on the moon. Played Bad Mind from Erin Rae. Listened to Hank Mobley’s Soul Station. Put on James Blake’s Retrograde. The texture of the synths and his voice are special. There’s been so much listening today I could on and on.

I will say that the clamp force seemed to significantly impact the sound. My steel headband needed adjusting to loosen the clamp. After I did that, the bass was much better to my ears and the headphone’s comfort improved significantly.

I’m looking forward to Can Jam this weekend.

If you can please test the Tungsten with a single vs Dual mono Flux Mentor. If there is any SQ improvement please let me know. I’m still wondering if I should buy a dual or leave it at single.

 

[marsmellow]

If you can please test the Tungsten with a single vs Dual mono Flux Mentor. If there is any SQ improvement please let me know. I’m still wondering if I should buy a dual or leave it at single.

I don’t have access to those amps and I don’t see them on the exhibitor list for Can Jam NYC.

Running monoblocks will typically give you better SQ. Independent power supplies for each channel will most often provide better channel separation leading to perceived improvements in clarity and soundstage.

Flux advertises a 15 day return policy with no restocking fee but shipping gets deducted if shipped free. The units come from Ukraine so that might not be cheap.

 

[Slackaveli]

there is no free shipping if there ever was. It's $120 to the US.
Now that I think of it thats a great reason to get them both at once as the shipping will likely be the same price or very close.

Also, DEFINITELY get the power cord upgrade. They are super for $100.

 

[Axel]

Anyone from the Nov 3rd (or 24th) batch receive his order? (DS)

 

[Ciggavelli]

Anyone from the Nov 3rd (or 24th) batch receive his order? (DS)

Nope, but I ordered from Mimic

 

[Dixter]

Anyone from the Nov 3rd (or 24th) batch receive his order? (DS)

@Axel nothing yet (Nov 24)