[notfitforpublic]

uh, do they have google up in the great white north?   

lmgtfy

Ya ya ya, one of the dogs on my sled tripped over the phone cord outside yanking the Internet connection from my igloo. It was tragic but the dog survived

Found em, and no, I didn't have to look that hard (hangs head in shame). More concerned on finding the right kind but apparently that's not a big deal either. I will scurry back into corner now.

 

[Magic77]

Just got my new Project Polaris yesterday. Only 3 hours of listening so far, but I am really impressed with this amp. I'm just starting to tweak some of the settings. Sounds awesome!

 

[HOWIE13]

Just got my new Project Polaris yesterday. Only 3 hours of listening so far, but I am really impressed with this amp. I'm just starting to tweak some of the settings. Sounds awesome!

 
Congratulations-take your time and enjoy!

 

[Drrizzt]

I just got a new headphones for my Polaris, the outstanding Audeze Lcd-2.2 prefazor. And i feel miss Polaris is on the verge of colapsing, she performs at his max capacilities, because in low gain, the sound lacks of dynamics, it's a bit flabby, the Lcd really come to life in high gain, but high gain is not the ideal when it comes to distorsion and soundstage, it becomes narrower.
 
I feel the Audeze could benefit from a higher quality amp than miss Polaris. Nevertheless, for its price it's still a bargain.

 

[HOWIE13]

  I just got a new headphones for my Polaris, the outstanding Audeze Lcd-2.2 prefazor. And i feel miss Polaris is on the verge of colapsing, she performs at his max capacilities, because in low gain, the sound lacks of dynamics, it's a bit flabby, the Lcd really come to life in high gain, but high gain is not the ideal when it comes to distorsion and soundstage, it becomes narrower.
 
I feel the Audeze could benefit from a higher quality amp than miss Polaris. Nevertheless, for its price it's still a bargain.

 
That's a pity.
Hopefully someone who has those headphones will comment here but I'm surprised a relatively powerful HA like Polaris should be distorting and having soundstage problems at high output.
 
You could contact G1217 and ask Jeremy if he is aware of any known problems between Polaris and your headphones. He's very knowledgeable and helpful.
 
You could also post a question on DIYAH. They have a wealth of knowledge there and Frans (Solderdude), who designed the amp with Jeremy who builds them, is always most helpful.

 

[Drrizzt]

I feel this is not an issue and in conformity with what i have read once about setting ouf little amp gems in high gain, that it could affect a little bit the soundstage. The article was posted on headphonia, i will try to find it out, that was interesting.

 

[HOWIE13]

  I feel this is not an issue and in conformity with what i have read once about setting ouf little amp gems in high gain, that it could affect a little bit the soundstage. The article was posted on headphonia, i will try to find it out, that was interesting.

 
That would be interesting. I've wondered what it is in the auditory spectrum that contributes to the impression of sound-stage.

 

[Drrizzt]

http://www.headfonia.com/headfonia-tips-keep-your-amps-at-low-gain/

 

[HOWIE13]

  http://www.headfonia.com/headfonia-tips-keep-your-amps-at-low-gain/

 
Thanks for the link. I certainly notice a cleaner background in general at low gain and, when I can, I prefer to use low gain than high for that reason.
 
I've never noticed a difference in sound-stage though and I don't keep my vol pot at 3 o'clock, though he may have a point there. I like mine above 9 for good channel balance, but below 12. I feel the amp has more headroom there than if the vol pot is almost maxed out. But then I listen mainly to Classical which is often recorded at a lower level than other genres because of the wide dynamic range required. 
 
There are situations though were a headphone does sound much better at high gain. With Vali2 for instance my HD600/650 sound very much richer and the sound fills out much better at high gain.(others have noticed this too).
I guess It just depends on the amp and can.

 

[raoultrifan]

Technically, lowest gain setting will provide best signal/noise ratio because there's lowest amplificaton in the voltage gain stage, so it would be wise to use the lowest gain when possible. Also, I have a kid around my desk and it much safer to know that I'm using the lowest gain setting, at least when I'm heading to the bathroom.

I had the feeling myself that with high gain on some headamps (sorry, I don't own Polaris) dynamic is better, but there is a high chance that voltage gain stage (solid-state or opamps) to perform differently, depending on the gain used and also if it's inside or outside the output stage loop.

 

[iancraig10]

Also try listening at slightly lower volumes. The dynamic range seems to improve sometimes.

 

[Drrizzt]

It's a trade-off, better dynamics and punchier sound vs clean technicalities.
 
I feel the Lcd-2 bass is tighter when miss Polaris is set to high gain. I guess it depends on one's taste...

 

[jbarrentine]

So recently I've been through several dacs in the search for a successor for my hrt music streamer II+. Everything was paired with my Polaris and HD600s.
 
The iFi iDac2. Exceptionally digital sounding. Might be good for people who like electronic/techno, etc, but otherwise should be avoided. I have no idea why this is a seemingly popular dac here on headfi. It sounds nothing like real life. It's also a bit shouty. It does make instruments jump out at you from the background in a very in your face kind of way. That might be why people call it "fun". 
 
The Meridian Director. Contrary to the iDac2 this dac is not digital sounding. It's lifelike. But man is it boring. It does drag everything out of the background detail wise but it doesn't do much with it. There's no sense of experience, it's just rather flat. I can see people who like detail but don't want an abrasive dac really liking this dac. Would be good for things like jazz in particular. 
 
The HRT Music Streamer HD. A very worthy successor to the Music Streamer II+. A happy compromise between the styles of the previous amps. Very detail driven, but with enough grunt to make you take notice of of the music without abusing you. 
 
The Schiit Modi Multibit ( Mimby ). This is the best value in the price range. Exceptionally organic sounding. It has a quality every other dac in this list lacks. It's really like listening to a live performance. After trying this dac I am a firm believer in multibit. Not as detail oriented as the Meridian Director or HRT Music Streamer HD, but makes up for it in spades with a natural sound. It sounds like life, a very hard observation to put into words. Even losing a bit of detail I would pick this dac every single time over the more detailed Music Streamer HD. I really wish I could convey more accurately how amazed I am at the multibit experience. Part of the difference in how I feel about this dac can be contributed to the startling clarity. Toslink is HIGHLY recommended over usb. It is in my ears a clearly distinct difference, to the point I won't go back to usb, having run both through this dac. Once the usb haze is lifted you realize what you've been missing. Here's the best part of this mini review : this dac costs less than all the others listed. Go get it. (Now I want a bifrost multibit, damnit).
 
I wanted to thank Jeremy for the continued service of my Project Polaris, a beautiful little amp that just keeps giving, and makes determining differences between these dacs so easy.
 
edit: amp to dac in second paragraph.

 

[k4rstar]

  So recently I've been through several dacs in the search for a successor for my hrt music streamer II+. Everything was paired with my Polaris and HD600s.
 
The iFi iDac2. Exceptionally digital sounding. Might be good for people who like electronic/techno, etc, but otherwise should be avoided. I have no idea why this is a seemingly popular amp here on headfi. It sounds nothing like real life. It's also a bit shouty. It does make instruments jump out at you from the background in a very in your face kind of way. That might be why people call it "fun". 
 
The Meridian Director. Contrary to the iDac2 this dac is not digital sounding. It's lifelike. But man is it boring. It does drag everything out of the background detail wise but it doesn't do much with it. There's no sense of experience, it's just rather flat. I can see people who like detail but don't want an abrasive dac really liking this dac. Would be good for things like jazz in particular. 
 
The HRT Music Streamer HD. A very worthy successor to the Music Streamer II+. A happy compromise between the styles of the previous amps. Very detail driven, but with enough grunt to make you take notice of of the music without abusing you. 
 
The Schiit Modi Multibit ( Mimby ). This is the best value in the price range. Exceptionally organic sounding. It has a quality every other dac in this list lacks. It's really like listening to a live performance. After trying this dac I am a firm believer in multibit. Not as detail oriented as the Meridian Director or HRT Music Streamer HD, but makes up for it in spades with a natural sound. It sounds like life, a very hard observation to put into words. Even losing a bit of detail I would pick this dac every single time over the more detailed Music Streamer HD. I really wish I could convey more accurately how amazed I am at the multibit experience. Part of the difference in how I feel about this dac can be contributed to the startling clarity. Toslink is HIGHLY recommended over usb. It is in my ears a clearly distinct difference, to the point I won't go back to usb, having run both through this dac. Once the usb haze is lifted you realize what you've been missing. Here's the best part of this mini review : this dac costs less than all the others listed. Go get it. (Now I want a bifrost multibit, damnit).
 
I wanted to thank Jeremy for the continued service of my Project Polaris, a beautiful little amp that just keeps giving, and makes determining differences between these dacs so easy.

 
I'm curious as to what source you run toslink from?

 

[jbarrentine]

   
I'm curious as to what source you run toslink from?

 
My computer with an older gigabyte motherboard, the GA-Z77X-UP4 TH. It's nothing special as far as I know.