[wazzupi]

I quite like the R2R 11 with both the AFO and AFC. You shouldn't be disappointed.

Do you play video games, if so Which is your go to headphone ?

 

[jconde]

AFO is in a totally different class. I've used both, and you're missing out on the overall rich, full, impactful aspects, if not some of the resolution and detail as well. These two couldn't possibly be more different imo. That said the 400i is still a great sounding headphone, but you can't expect it to compete with the AFO. I would recommend trying them out at a store if you get the chance but your wallet might feel the pinch if you do haha. That definitely happened to me even when I heard the first AFC. Basically it's like the difference between a HE-400i and a HE-500.

Can somebody comment on pairing the AFOs with a massdrop grade design m9xx or and JDS odac?

 

[Schwibbles]

Do you play video games, if so Which is your go to headphone ?

I play some video games, not a ton. I do watch a lot of Twitch streams though.
In order to keep this somewhat on topic, I'll say that I haven't really tried the AFO with gaming. The treble seems like it would be the only issue though. If you want to talk more about gaming or audio hardware for gaming, please pm me so we don't threadjack.

When I'm playing on the Xbox, I quite like the HD700. I don't really need tonal accuracy to hear footsteps or gunshots. The forward treble helps with footsteps, the warm bass gives explosions decent weight, the comfort is excellent, imaging is very good. On top of that, the under-powered amp in the controller's keyboard accessory powers them to an acceptable, but still a little low, volume.

For PC games, I quite like the HD800S. I know some will disagree with that but the big thing for me there is comfort. My biggest complaint has to be the bass response. With a small bass boost (iFi micro iDSD BL's boost works well here), it's much better.

If I need closed back headphones for gaming - or anything for that matter - I go with the AFC.

 

[lentoviolento]

I play some video games, not a ton. I do watch a lot of Twitch streams though.
In order to keep this somewhat on topic, I'll say that I haven't really tried the AFO with gaming. The treble seems like it would be the only issue though. If you want to talk more about gaming or audio hardware for gaming, please pm me so we don't threadjack.

When I'm playing on the Xbox, I quite like the HD700. I don't really need tonal accuracy to hear footsteps or gunshots. The forward treble helps with footsteps, the warm bass gives explosions decent weight, the comfort is excellent, imaging is very good. On top of that, the under-powered amp in the controller's keyboard accessory powers them to an acceptable, but still a little low, volume.

For PC games, I quite like the HD800S. I know some will disagree with that but the big thing for me there is comfort. My biggest complaint has to be the bass response. With a small bass boost (iFi micro iDSD BL's boost works well here), it's much better.

If I need closed back headphones for gaming - or anything for that matter - I go with the AFC.

The perfect gaming/movies hp for me was hd650 with bass boost and 3d on ifi idsd bl.

However, what are the differences between ifi and r2r with afo? I'm considering selling ifi...

 

[Renato Fury]

The perfect gaming/movies hp for me was hd650 with bass boost and 3d on ifi idsd bl.

However, what are the differences between ifi and r2r with afo? I'm considering selling ifi...

What does ifi switch 3D do ?

 

[Schwibbles]

The perfect gaming/movies hp for me was hd650 with bass boost and 3d on ifi idsd bl.

However, what are the differences between ifi and r2r with afo? I'm considering selling ifi...

I'll be honest, I've never directly compared them since the BL is a part of my work/portable setup and the R2R 11 is part of my home setup. I would say that the treble of the BL is a little smoother, but also with slightly more detail. The BL has a slightly warm sound to it when compared to the HA-2SE or XD-05. The R2R 11 is (by memory) a tiny bit warmer sounding than the BL. The R2R 11 has lower latency when watching videos; sound is immediate and perfectly matched. The BL is good in this regard, but not as good. For reference, the HA-2SE is high latency and I can see/hear some occasional audio/video mismatches. The R2R 11 on low gain is still fairly loud. Even with the HD800S, the volume is loud enough for me on low gain moving the volume knob to about 9 o'clock. For reference, 0 volume on the R2R 11 is around 6:30. Essentially, the R2R 11 is not the best for IEMs whereas the BL has the iEMatch that lowers output.

All my listening on the R2R 11 has been done with the jumper in the more neutral slot. I have not tried it in the warmer setting.
The R2R 11 has an annoying popping sound whenever changing sources or codecs. Just listening through an album or playlist on Tidal or iTunes is usually fine; no pop. But if I manually change songs or switch between Tidal, iTunes, Netflix, Youtube, etc, there's an audible popping sound every time. There's a lot more discussion on this in the R2R 11 thread.
The BL can also work as a preamp which the R2R 11 cannot.
Something else to keep in mind is that I don't think I've tried the BL with the AFO yet so I'm not sure how that pairing sounds.

What does ifi switch 3D do ?

It's supposed to make the sound larger; almost like a larger soundstage. I hear some added reverb/echo and it sounds like it pushes up the upper midrange quite a bit. I've never found a time when I've enjoyed it or thought it sounded good so I usually leave it off. I also haven't tried it with gaming though.

 

[Phantaminum]

I'm really happy I purchased these headphones. I have no complaints, the build quality is fantastic, and the headphones have smoothed out after 60 hours. The only nitpick is the closed in sound stage but I knew about this before purchasing them.

If I need a wider sound stage for gaming I can switch to the X2 or for more sub bass the E-Mu Teaks. On the other hand I just haven't switched to either of those headphones since I've plugged them in. They've fully replaced the HD650s.

Great job on the headphones Dan!

 

[BuddhaBruce]

I'm really happy I purchased these headphones. I have no complaints, the build quality is fantastic, and the headphones have smoothed out after 60 hours. The only nitpick is the closed in sound stage but I knew about this before purchasing them.

If I need a wider sound stage for gaming I can switch to the X2 or for more sub bass the E-Mu Teaks. On the other hand I just haven't switched to either of those headphones since I've plugged them in. They've fully replaced the HD650s.

Great job on the headphones Dan!

How do you like these over the HEX V2? I'm sure their presentations are pretty different considering the HEX soundstage

 

[Phantaminum]

I prefer vocals and sound stage on the HEX V2. Notes just float. My issue was with the glassy treble; It was fatiguing with half of my music. With the sound filters on the AFO (I only use the black filters) I find that I can listen to them for hours and and resolve as much as I need them to. The V2s resolve more but the AFOs are more musical. Drums have more impact and bass hits harder.

If Dan creates a headphone that combines the AFO FR with the HEX V2 sound stage that would be a home run.

 

[BuddhaBruce]

I prefer vocals and sound stage on the HEX V2. Notes just float. My issue was with the glassy treble. It was fatiguing with half of my music. With the sound filters on the AFO (I only use the black filters) I find that I can listen to them for hours and and resolve as much as need them to. The V2s resolve more but the AFOs are more musical. Drums have more impact and bass hits harder.

If Dan creates a headphone that combines the AFO FR with the HEX V2 sound stage that would be a home run.

That will be my white whale! The new Klispch might prove promising taking a musical approach with a satisfying sound stage. It also happens to be priced right in the middle of the AFO and HEX

 

[wazzupi]

I prefer vocals and sound stage on the HEX V2. Notes just float. My issue was with the glassy treble; It was fatiguing with half of my music. With the sound filters on the AFO (I only use the black filters) I find that I can listen to them for hours and and resolve as much as I need them to. The V2s resolve more but the AFOs are more musical. Drums have more impact and bass hits harder.

If Dan creates a headphone that combines the AFO FR with the HEX V2 sound stage that would be a home run.

How does the atticus soundstage compare to the afos ?

 

[Phantaminum]

How does the atticus soundstage compare to the afos ?

The Atticus has a noticeable wider sound stage compared to the AFOs.

 

[wazzupi]

The Atticus has a noticeable wider sound stage compared to the AFOs.

Could you compare the atticus/hex v2/afo ?

 

[BuddhaBruce]

Could you compare the atticus/hex v2/afo ?

He compared the AFO and Hex already (read comments). The atticus is completely different. Being closed with a warm lush sound sig

 

[lentoviolento]

I would like an afo vs atticus comparing too...

However i don't understand why people complain about the soundstage... Hd650 doesn't have a soundstage bigger/better than afo but it's still considered a benchmark...