[gryphon1911]

Hello all...just wanted to share my journey with you all. Some of you may find that my journey so far was similar to yours.

I've been enjoying getting back into some comfy and great sounding audio gear. I already went through a lot on my intro post, so I'll not rehash it here again. THIS LINK will get you up to speed if you care enough to dig into that.

I took a gamble on the Grado SR80e and I'm glad I did. So far, they are my most listened to pair of cans. The Audio Technica M50x are excellent as well, but have different strengths. Instead of them being relegated to home use, I am now using them as my work headphones as they are driven sufficiently by my portable devices alone. In the future, I think I'll look into getting a FiiO E17K or similar to power them at work to a better potential. Gotta leave something for the in-laws to buy me for birthdays and Christmas. lol

I understand the "Grado sound" signature now. The highs and mids are spectacular on the SR80e, although I do find that the low end is a little anemic at times, even for some of the rock/metal that I listen. I'm trying to debate if the SR325e or RS2e would keep those great highs but give that little bit more bass punch that I'm looking for. That is an internal debate going on in my head right now...I also have a Little Dot Mk II on the way. I'm going to see if I can find a way to sample the higher grade Grados before jumping on a different pair.

Massdrop started up the Sennheiser HD6xx again, so I jumped on that straight away. My little FiiO e10k most likely won't do them justice, so I went ahead and picked up the LD MkII for $150 on Amazon. My first "true" pair of hifi HP were Sennheisers and I want to get back to that sound and the HD6xx just seems to be the least expensive way to get to there.

I've been using Sol Republic Tracks at work for a few years now. At the time, coming from the cheapo earbuds and consumer grade headphones, they were quite a jump up. it wasn't until I got the Grado and AT M50x that I realized just what I was missing.

The SolReps have a recessed mid section, very muddy low end and that just really sounds horrible now that I know what better sounds like. So, I'm going to be bringing the easy to drive M50x to work.

I originally debated between the M50x and the Beyer DT 770 Pro (80ohm) at the store I was testing cans at. I went back there and re-sampled...and I do relly like the sound from them, so picked up a pair. The DT770 play well with the e10k, drives them well and they sound great. They can play decently on my cellphone/Chromebook unamped, but they are missing a bit of punch even at full volume. They definitely are better suited with an amp, so they will be the new all arounders at home for a while.

So that is my current situation, in a nutshell. Went from nothing good for a while to AT M50x, grado SR80e, Beyer DT 770Pro, the FiiO e10k and Little Dot Mk II/Senn HD6xx on the way.

 

[gryphon1911]

Adding more to the story....

My wife promised me that she never wanted to listen to my setups for fear that she would love it too much. She loves music and sound quality is important to her.

Last night, she needed to do some work in my office and I had the Beyer DT770 hooked up. Surprisingly, she asked me to show her how to work the whole setup.

3 hours later, she was still in the office listening to her favorite music....but she had finished up her work 2 hours ago. lol
I've got a convert in the making, I believe. She is heavily into EDM/trap/dubstep, so I think the Beyers were the right choice for her at the moment. She actually got "mad" at me now that she knows what decent to good headphones sound like. lol

Now that I've had a taste of decently amped headphone usage, I want something portable that I can use at work as well as on the go. I'm still in the tinkering/experimenting phase, so I ordered up a cmoyBB 2.03. Should be here by the weekend.

Got a notification this morning that my LD Mk II should be here today. Excited to get working on the burn-in for that and experience my first tube amp. I know the sound signature I'm looking for so if the stock tubes don't get there after burn -in, I'll look at the tube rolling thread and find something else that might fit better.

 

[Redcarmoose]

@https://www.head-fi.org/members/gryphon1911.495635/

Quote:
“ I think I'll look into getting a FiiO E17K”

You’ll love it. Easy to use, comes with every possible accessory needed. Built really well, and has a cool look and feel. Plenty of power and a transparent tone, with a smidge of warmth. Cheers!

 

[gryphon1911]

@https://www.head-fi.org/members/gryphon1911.495635/

Quote:
“ I think I'll look into getting a FiiO E17K”

You’ll love it. Easy to use, comes with every possible accessory needed. Built really well, and has a cool look and feel. Plenty of power and a transparent tone, with a smidge of warmth. Cheers!

Thanks for the info. Definitely on the Amazon "Wishlist" right now. I'm pretty sure I can convince the mother in law to spring for this for my birthday. lol

I'm not sure how I feel about the volume control. I'm partial to volume pots. hmmm....

 

[trellus]

+1 on the FiiO E17K -- one really nice feature is tone control, being able to adjust bass and treble, something not common on little DAC/amps except for some which have a simple bass boost toggle.

 

[Redcarmoose]

The volume wheel is recessed with a smooth aluminum housing, has grip edges, and kind and of floats with a spring action. The whole device is actually pretty amazing for what it costs, battery lasts a while too. So many ways to use it also.

 

[gryphon1911]

Update on the Little Dot Mark II

I get home from work last night and there it is...waiting for me. I do some work around the house before digging in. I get it unpacked. I did not expect the unit to be as big as it was. For some reason ,in my head, I thought it would be much smaller.

I also did not expect to have 2 sets of the smaller vacuum tubes.

I read the instructions and got the unit setup. I checked the gain switches and despite the manual stating that the gain is setup at the factory for high impedance headphones, both red DIP switch boxes were setup with the white switches toward the "on" markers. I left them that way. I will experiment later.



Anyone else have an opinion on what this is before I experiment? Thanks in advance.

I noticed that with the Grado SR80e, I never had to go past the #10 position on the dial. Plenty of power. I will experiment later with the different positions. Would be nice to have those switches external.

Now....to sound.

Straight out of the box I noticed a massive difference in sound quality over the FiiO e10k. The sound is much fuller and the low end response was much more. Even on the Grado SR80e....I didn't think they had it in them to have that much low end. The Beyer DT770 have even more life to them!!

The FiiO definitely has a colder sound to it.

All this and the amp only has 2 hours of burn in. I don't know what to think if the amp sounds better than this after 40-50 hours of burning in the tubes!!

All I know is that this is a fantastic $150 investment so far. Very glad I took this leap of faith on the Little Dot Mk II. The Massdrop Senn HD6xx should be here end of August 2018, so this baby should be primed and ready to drive those cans and hopefully will get me back to that wonderful Sennheiser sound I have been missing.

Happy Thursday everybody!!

 

[gryphon1911]

So, I got a JDSLabs cmoyBB delivered 18-MAY.

Sounded great right out of the box with the Audio Technica M50x and Grado SR80e.
Definitely sounds warmer and fuller than the e10k amp. Will be a good addition to my work/travel kit.

 

[gryphon1911]

Got a good deal on a FiiO e17k from a member here. Been working great. I keep it in my EDC bag for travel. I leave the cmoyBB at work.

Wanted to get some IEMs, 1More Quad Drivers. Pretty awesome for the price. I tried them with some Comply tips, but it made the sound way too thick. The lows were too bloomy. They did help to tame some of the shrilly highs, but it was just too much of a sonic compromise. So the Comply tips are out, at least on those IEMs.

I might give the foamies that came with the Quad's a shot. Otherwise, I will be sticking with the current siicone tips. Might give some Spinfits a twirl sometime.

Still loving the Little Dot MkII, even with the stock tubes. Still researching other tubes...leaning toward some Mullards.

 

[Greatest Cupcake]

From a previous thread, a member filled me in on InAirs. I just ordered a pair to compare against Comply, since I find Comply very comfortable for one ear, tight fit for the other.I can fill you in on his they are, but from what he was saying they fit better and had the same foam impact on highs and lows.

 

[gryphon1911]

From a previous thread, a member filled me in on InAirs. I just ordered a pair to compare against Comply, since I find Comply very comfortable for one ear, tight fit for the other.I can fill you in on his they are, but from what he was saying they fit better and had the same foam impact on highs and lows.

I found the COmply too muddy. Perhaps the InAirs might be better. I still need to drag out the foamies that came with the Quad Drivers and see if they fit the bill better.

 

[gryphon1911]

Picked up some Dunu DN-2000J. Straight out of the box...I'm not a fan. Way to screechy and sibilant. Even with the bass ring installed, it tames it a bit, but still way too much for me to be comfortable.

On a whim, I took the Comply 600 I had for the 1More Quad Drivers and threw them on there. Nearly perfect sound!! Good bass, tames the treble woes I had. Now, I ordered a proper set of Comfort 500 for them as the 600 are a bit too loose on the nozzle.

Side by side comparison with the 1More Quads and the Dunu DN-2000J is a pretty close affair. The sound signature is different enough, with the Dunu having more piercing highs and a more intense bass. The Quads seem to have a wider soundstage and more clarity in the mids. I'm happy with both and had I not already gotten the 1More's I could see me being very happy with the 2KJ's with Comply tips.

Given that I have both and if I had to get rid of one IEM, the Dunu would be the one to go. Luckily, I'm not in that situation and I can enjoy both.

Now, I'm just patiently waiting for my Massdrop Sennheiser HD6xx to arrive and throw them onto the LD MkII!

Very much enjoying my audiophile addiction. lol.

 

[gryphon1911]

Just got the notification from Amazon that my Comply tips were just delivered for my DN-2000J!!

Excited as we have ha non-stop rain here for weeks, today being no exception....so I can listen to all my favs with the e17k or ES100, Comply tips and Dunu!!

I'm pretty happy with the gear I have now. Considering running with the Tidal trial to see if I can tell a big difference in IQ and if it is worth switching all my Google Music Playlists over....hmmmm....

 

[sleepy1der]

Hello All,
Just started my journey into Hi Res audio. Been running into snags and I haven't even begun yet. First off I ordered an AK380 and was having it sent to an APO as I work in Iraq. The post office returned it to sender and they stated they couldn't deliver it. So when Astell & Kern receives it I had to give them an alternate address so a family member could send it to me. Then I ordered the FIIO FH5 IEM's to pair with it. Order hadn't shipped due to them not being if stock at a certain fulfillment center so I have to wait an additional week. On top of that Amazon cannot ship those to an APO so again had to send them to a relative so I have to wait at least another 3 weeks or so before I even even get them. But patience is a virtue. Astell & Kern have been very good customer service wise on keeping me updated. No not a shameless plug. For my first experience of course being a rough one hasn't been to bad.

 

[gryphon1911]

Hello All,
Just started my journey into Hi Res audio. Been running into snags and I haven't even begun yet. First off I ordered an AK380 and was having it sent to an APO as I work in Iraq. The post office returned it to sender and they stated they couldn't deliver it. So when Astell & Kern receives it I had to give them an alternate address so a family member could send it to me. Then I ordered the FIIO FH5 IEM's to pair with it. Order hadn't shipped due to them not being if stock at a certain fulfillment center so I have to wait an additional week. On top of that Amazon cannot ship those to an APO so again had to send them to a relative so I have to wait at least another 3 weeks or so before I even even get them. But patience is a virtue. Astell & Kern have been very good customer service wise on keeping me updated. No not a shameless plug. For my first experience of course being a rough one hasn't been to bad.

Sorry to hear that you are having issues even getting the gear to you. Hopefully all the difficulty will be worth it once you get that sweet sounding setup you are looking for!