[M-83]

I placed my order, I'll find out soon haha.

Awesome let us know what you think.

I am really impressed with mine. Only setting change I've made is to revert back to low gain.

Edit: I'm interested to know which setting you apply.

 

[Hyde00]

Man I only placed order mid day yesterday and today I got tracking number.

To my understanding is that they build it upon order. I'm super impressed at their fast response to email also fast turn around time.

Looking forward to see it soon!

 

[bequietjk]

Ive had nothing bit good experience with the G1217 crew.

I emailed them about any future plans and what is next for G1217. Jeremy said there may be something in the works this year but no details as to what it could be.

Anything that comes from there is amazing!

 

[M-83]

I'm currently running my Denon AH-D2000 off Dragonfly Red, once you get your Project Polaris and if you could share some sound impressions that would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

How do you find the D2000 & Dragonfly Red?

 

[M-83]

Man I only placed order mid day yesterday and today I got tracking number.

To my understanding is that they build it upon order. I'm super impressed at their fast response to email also fast turn around time.

Looking forward to see it soon!

They were rapid shipping mine too. Impressive turnaround time! I ordered 22nd December, and it arrived in my hands here in the UK on 7th January. I think that's a great lead time especially considering Xmas & Covid disruption.

 

[M-83]

Ive had nothing bit good experience with the G1217 crew.

I emailed them about any future plans and what is next for G1217. Jeremy said there may be something in the works this year but no details as to what it could be.

Anything that comes from there is amazing!

Same. I bought Project Ember a few yrs ago and the experience was great back then too.

Interested about Jeremy's comment saying something is in the works...

 

[M-83]

I ordered a Schiit Modi 3 today from Schiit UK. Hopefully Mark turns the order around quickly so I can get using it with the Polaris asap

 

[Hyde00]

How do you find the D2000 & Dragonfly Red?

lol funny you ask because I saw Dragonfly Red in your "previous kit:" section that's why I brought it up, figure it's a good reference point haha. Oh I also see you had Project Ember and Fidelio X3, how did you like it compare to D2000 and Project Polaris?

Short Answer:
To be honest I really enjoyed the Dragonfly Red, it emphasize female vocal / string instruments which I listen to a lot while giving a small bump to mid bass to give it the extra warmth D2000 needs (otherwise typically sounds too metallic/cold). I really like the timbre / tonal balance of the overall presentation of Dragonfly Red, only complaint is that it sounds a bit 2D / flat. After some research it sounds like people are saying it's due to the weak amp section (I guess it can't be helped, it's super efficient and low power) of Dragonfly Red so hopefully Project Polaris can preserve the same sound signature but give it better separation / depth / layering.

Long Answer:
LOL I guess even my short answer was kind of long, my bad. But before I go on I must get this out of the way. Personally I like colored sound, I actually find neutrality / linear doesn't sound that nice to me (didn't enjoy my SDAC/O2). Which explains why I like Dragonfly Red despite it not having the best measurement + colored sound. Though I'm gonna assume since we're at the Project Polaris thread so I'm hoping most here are onboard with this idea (slightly colored sound).

As I mentioned at the top I actually really enjoyed the Dragonfly Red sound despite so much hate from a lot of people towards AudioQuest as a company lol. I mean, that could be another huge topic but for now let's just say I enjoy the warmth that Dragonfly Red brought. I even sampled the Dragonfly Cobalt out of curiosity but for my preference I like the Dragonfly Red sound signature better so I've since returned the Dragonfly Cobalt.

This next part might get me in trouble but I find a lot of people these days only look at measurements and doesn't care about how it actually sound which puzzles me. I was previously debating to try Topping L30 because it's at a good price also measures well, so I went on YouTube to ask someone how their L30 pair with Denon D5200. The answer I got is that he cannot answer my question with his "subjective" impression, that I'm better off to read the review on ASR and read the measurements. I was thinking man is this what the audiophile world has come to, people only read measurements and doesn't care about how the headphone actually sounds anymore.

In any case I apologize that I'm a bit side tracked, so when I was researching I came across a few posts by VRacer-111 (otherwise known as vincentcarguy on other forums) regarding his modded TH-X00 Purpleheart (not the same but otherwise share a lot of similarity) so I asked him for advice on amping. He really enjoyed his Purpleheart with Project Ember and with his new D5200 he enjoyed it with Project Polaris. He let me tried his Project Ember (super super super huge thanks) while I do like the sound and tube made everything super 3D / layered but I find I didn't enjoy the background noise / interference / scratchy volume pot that came with the tube (CV4024), also the tube changes the tonal balance a little bit (which I actually enjoyed before). Also I have to admit I'm a bit too lazy too deal with the maintenance work that come with tube amps (warm up time, tube aging.....etc). That's when he point me to Project Polaris and this is where I'm at. According to him it should preserve the same sound but just make everything better. My amp got shipped today so hopefully I'll find out soon haha. Worst case scenario I can always pick up a different dac later but I want to try this first and see how it goes.

Sorry for the rant and hopefully my answer is not too long LOL.

 

[M-83]

lol funny you ask because I saw Dragonfly Red in your "previous kit:" section that's why I brought it up, figure it's a good reference point haha. Oh I also see you had Project Ember and Fidelio X3, how did you like it compare to D2000 and Project Polaris?

Short Answer:
To be honest I really enjoyed the Dragonfly Red, it emphasize female vocal / string instruments which I listen to a lot while giving a small bump to mid bass to give it the extra warmth D2000 needs (otherwise typically sounds too metallic/cold). I really like the timbre / tonal balance of the overall presentation of Dragonfly Red, only complaint is that it sounds a bit 2D / flat. After some research it sounds like people are saying it's due to the weak amp section (I guess it can't be helped, it's super efficient and low power) of Dragonfly Red so hopefully Project Polaris can preserve the same sound signature but give it better separation / depth / layering.

Long Answer:
LOL I guess even my short answer was kind of long, my bad. But before I go on I must get this out of the way. Personally I like colored sound, I actually find neutrality / linear doesn't sound that nice to me (didn't enjoy my SDAC/O2). Which explains why I like Dragonfly Red despite it not having the best measurement + colored sound. Though I'm gonna assume since we're at the Project Polaris thread so I'm hoping most here are onboard with this idea (slightly colored sound).

As I mentioned at the top I actually really enjoyed the Dragonfly Red sound despite so much hate from a lot of people towards AudioQuest as a company lol. I mean, that could be another huge topic but for now let's just say I enjoy the warmth that Dragonfly Red brought. I even sampled the Dragonfly Cobalt out of curiosity but for my preference I like the Dragonfly Red sound signature better so I've since returned the Dragonfly Cobalt.

This next part might get me in trouble but I find a lot of people these days only look at measurements and doesn't care about how it actually sound which puzzles me. I was previously debating to try Topping L30 because it's at a good price also measures well, so I went on YouTube to ask someone how their L30 pair with Denon D5200. The answer I got is that he cannot answer my question with his "subjective" impression, that I'm better off to read the review on ASR and read the measurements. I was thinking man is this what the audiophile world has come to, people only read measurements and doesn't care about how the headphone actually sounds anymore.

In any case I apologize that I'm a bit side tracked, so when I was researching I came across a few posts by VRacer-111 (otherwise known as vincentcarguy on other forums) regarding his modded TH-X00 Purpleheart (not the same but otherwise share a lot of similarity) so I asked him for advice on amping. He really enjoyed his Purpleheart with Project Ember and with his new D5200 he enjoyed it with Project Polaris. He let me tried his Project Ember (super super super huge thanks) while I do like the sound and tube made everything super 3D / layered but I find I didn't enjoy the background noise / interference / scratchy volume pot that came with the tube (CV4024), also the tube changes the tonal balance a little bit (which I actually enjoyed before). Also I have to admit I'm a bit too lazy too deal with the maintenance work that come with tube amps (warm up time, tube aging.....etc). That's when he point me to Project Polaris and this is where I'm at. According to him it should preserve the same sound but just make everything better. My amp got shipped today so hopefully I'll find out soon haha. Worst case scenario I can always pick up a different dac later but I want to try this first and see how it goes.

Sorry for the rant and hopefully my answer is not too long LOL.

Haha okay cool. To be honest, my "previous kit" section is more about me keeping a tab of what I have had in the past than anything else. It's certainly not intended as a form of bragging so hopefully it doesn't come across that way

Yes I had a Dragon Fly Red - I used it with a laptop when I was away with work. I used it With Mrspeakers Alpha Prime and enjoyed the synergy between them. Like you, ultimately I thought is didn't have the guts to properly drive my headphones at the time (Primes are Planar and love to eat up power). But for a portable and short term solution it worked very well.

Project Ember was one of the earlier amplifiers I had, and if my memory serves correctly, I think I used a Fiio E17k with it. I loved the Ember - I wish I kept it. Fun, musical, powerful, warm. I didn't tube roll... I was using it with Alpha Primes. But, at the time I lusted for more. So I moved to Bifrost & Lyr 2...then Gungnir & Mjolnir 2 with Amperex Bugle Boy 1960's tubes (still have them in my lounge display cabinet lol). I spent a fortune chasing diminishing returns and then work circumstances changed and I sold the lot. I'm now on a new head-fi journey again but will keep it much more sensible.

I did have Philips Fidelio X3 for a short while, but I returned them first and foremost because of QC issues - the headband leather started peeling from the central seam. The other reason was the (to me) dry / thin / analytical sound that contrasted heavily with my X2HR. I was really disappointed in the X3.

D2000 is much more my style. Warmer, lovely lower frequencies, decent soundstage, and a hell of a lot of fun. The Project Polaris pisses all over the Fiio K5 Pro and the Zen Dac that I recently had. It's clearly better. It really opens up the D2000 with plenty of power and crucially there is a ton of headroom which helps the headphone perform.

Personally, I prefer the Polaris just with line out from my pc (without a dac) than most of the other dac/amp combinations I've had. The fun is infectious. The bass is gorgeous, there is a lovely warmth to the sound the Polaris provides. There is plenty of detail but it's not analytical and overbearing. I've not had issues with highs causing discomfort.

Sound stage is wide - embarrassingly, it's honestly made me jump a few times with instruments perceived to be so wide that I thought it was a noise out in the rest of the house and I turn to look out of my home office instantly to see nothing is there haha.

There is a tiny bit of noise when no music playing, but bear in mind I'm pulling from a Pc lineout directly into the Polaris. I think the noise will be from my PC internals. It's not a problem and I cannot hear it at all when music is playing even at low volume. When I get a dac this should resolve.

I am looking forward to getting the Schiit Modi 3. I spoke with Frans (Solderdude) and he said that Modi 3, Topping E30, and a Khardas Tone Board, will all sound similar so I should just go for the one with the aesthetics and features/functionality I prefer. So, I decided on the Schiit Modi 3. Frans said it's a good dac so I'm sure it will be fine.

Give this a go when you get your Polaris - https://music.amazon.co.uk/albums/B...07FFBSBZF&ref=dm_sh_cc78-8fff-e624-be5d-d6547

 

[Hyde00]

Haha okay cool. To be honest, my "previous kit" section is more about me keeping a tab of what I have had in the past than anything else. It's certainly not intended as a form of bragging so hopefully it doesn't come across that way

LOL no no no don't worry I didn't read it that way. I mentioned "reference point" as in since you've heard Dragonfly Red before and I've heard Dragonfly Red before so it's easier to use it as a baseline for comparison. Though I guess you don't have it anymore so it's probably not apples to apples LOL.

Yes I had a Dragon Fly Red - I used it with a laptop when I was away with work. I used it With Mrspeakers Alpha Prime and enjoyed the synergy between them. Like you, ultimately I thought is didn't have the guts to properly drive my headphones at the time (Primes are Planar and love to eat up power). But for a portable and short term solution it worked very well.

Project Ember was one of the earlier amplifiers I had, and if my memory serves correctly, I think I used a Fiio E17k with it. I loved the Ember - I wish I kept it. Fun, musical, powerful, warm. I didn't tube roll... I was using it with Alpha Primes. But, at the time I lusted for more. So I moved to Bifrost & Lyr 2...then Gungnir & Mjolnir 2 with Amperex Bugle Boy 1960's tubes (still have them in my lounge display cabinet lol). I spent a fortune chasing diminishing returns and then work circumstances changed and I sold the lot. I'm now on a new head-fi journey again but will keep it much more sensible.

I did have Philips Fidelio X3 for a short while, but I returned them first and foremost because of QC issues - the headband leather started peeling from the central seam. The other reason was the (to me) dry / thin / analytical sound that contrasted heavily with my X2HR. I was really disappointed in the X3.

D2000 is much more my style. Warmer, lovely lower frequencies, decent soundstage, and a hell of a lot of fun. The Project Polaris pisses all over the Fiio K5 Pro and the Zen Dac that I recently had. It's clearly better. It really opens up the D2000 with plenty of power and crucially there is a ton of headroom which helps the headphone perform.

Personally, I prefer the Polaris just with line out from my pc (without a dac) than most of the other dac/amp combinations I've had. The fun is infectious. The bass is gorgeous, there is a lovely warmth to the sound the Polaris provides. There is plenty of detail but it's not analytical and overbearing. I've not had issues with highs causing discomfort.

Sound stage is wide - embarrassingly, it's honestly made me jump a few times with instruments perceived to be so wide that I thought it was a noise out in the rest of the house and I turn to look out of my home office instantly to see nothing is there haha.

There is a tiny bit of noise when no music playing, but bear in mind I'm pulling from a Pc lineout directly into the Polaris. I think the noise will be from my PC internals. It's not a problem and I cannot hear it at all when music is playing even at low volume. When I get a dac this should resolve.

I am looking forward to getting the Schiit Modi 3. I spoke with Frans (Solderdude) and he said that Modi 3, Topping E30, and a Khardas Tone Board, will all sound similar so I should just go for the one with the aesthetics and features/functionality I prefer. So, I decided on the Schiit Modi 3. Frans said it's a good dac so I'm sure it will be fine.

Give this a go when you get your Polaris - https://music.amazon.co.uk/albums/B...07FFBSBZF&ref=dm_sh_cc78-8fff-e624-be5d-d6547

LOL I guess you could always buy Project Ember again, from what VRacer-111 said (he has both) that Project Ember is still better for that "3D tube sound" where as Polaris is not as layered but a little bit linear (relative to Ember) in sound and also has what he describe as bass that hits like freight train. So it's probably still different enough to warrant having both?

Oh I asked about X3 because it was recommended to me but based on what you said maybe I'll keep using the D2000. By the way if you don't mind may I ask which ear pad you're using? I'm still using my super worn down stock ear pad. I've been looking for replacement without success (tried like 7-8 pads by now). Though aside from the aesthetics issues it still sound really good. I just get black flakes on my ear each time I use it LOL.

But yeah I'll definitely give line out from PC a try when I get it just to see what it sounds like hahah. I'll do a comparison to my Dragonfly Red as source.

As for dac since you already ordered Modi 3 which should be fine, I was gonna say Modi 3 and Topping E30 are probably closer to each other since both uses AKM chips, but if you want to go the ESS Sabre route then Topping D10S is another alternative to Khadas Tone Board. But then there's also a chance that they all sound the same LOL.

Otherwise I'll give that song a listen when I get the amp, thanks!!!

 

[M-83]

LOL no no no don't worry I didn't read it that way. I mentioned "reference point" as in since you've heard Dragonfly Red before and I've heard Dragonfly Red before so it's easier to use it as a baseline for comparison. Though I guess you don't have it anymore so it's probably not apples to apples LOL.

LOL I guess you could always buy Project Ember again, from what VRacer-111 said (he has both) that Project Ember is still better for that "3D tube sound" where as Polaris is not as layered but a little bit linear (relative to Ember) in sound and also has what he describe as bass that hits like freight train. So it's probably still different enough to warrant having both?

Oh I asked about X3 because it was recommended to me but based on what you said maybe I'll keep using the D2000. By the way if you don't mind may I ask which ear pad you're using? I'm still using my super worn down stock ear pad. I've been looking for replacement without success (tried like 7-8 pads by now). Though aside from the aesthetics issues it still sound really good. I just get black flakes on my ear each time I use it LOL.

But yeah I'll definitely give line out from PC a try when I get it just to see what it sounds like hahah. I'll do a comparison to my Dragonfly Red as source.

As for dac since you already ordered Modi 3 which should be fine, I was gonna say Modi 3 and Topping E30 are probably closer to each other since both uses AKM chips, but if you want to go the ESS Sabre route then Topping D10S is another alternative to Khadas Tone Board. But then there's also a chance that they all sound the same LOL.

Otherwise I'll give that song a listen when I get the amp, thanks!!!

That's good lol phew.

Yes the dragonfly red was sold a couple of years ago now. I do remember being really impressed with it and I enjoyed using it. For its size and convenience it does a great job.

I will probably get another tube amp at some point. Would be cool to have Polaris and Ember II side by side. I loved the airiness and lushness of the bugle boy tubes I ran in the schiit kit.

I may end up with a Lyr 3 multibit further down the road... I won't stretch to anything more than that price wise.

I won't go with any more ESS Sabre dacs. Totally not my thing. I started off with that and I quickly learned that I'll steer clear lol.

 

[M-83]

Is it possible to change the Polaris "jumper" settings (1) whilst the amp is on, and (2) with music playing?

I have been switching it off before making changes just in case

 

[M-83]

Tech advice needed please folks!

I just adjusted the resistance setting on the amp to medium, and the headphone left channel was much quieter, then on high setting, no sound at all on left headphone cup.

On the low resistance setting, the channel balance is okay.

What does the above tell me from a technical POV?

Edit: slight re-wording to better explain my query.

 

[Hyde00]

Tech advice needed please folks!

I just adjusted the resistance setting on the amp to medium, and the headphone left channel was much quieter, then on high setting, no sound at all on left headphone cup.

On the low resistance setting, the channel balance is okay.

What does the above tell me from a technical POV?

Edit: slight re-wording to better explain my query.

The only thing I can think of is that typically it's common to have channel imbalance at low volume level if your pot is under 9:00 position. Try lower windows volume to 50% and crank up the pot to see if it still happens.

Otherwise it might be hardware issue...???? (Hopefully not)

 

[M-83]

The only thing I can think of is that typically it's common to have channel imbalance at low volume level if your pot is under 9:00 position. Try lower windows volume to 50% and crank up the pot to see if it still happens.

Otherwise it might be hardware issue...???? (Hopefully not)

Yeah I had thought the same.

It's not to do with the Polaris being at fault as is experienced this with d2000 with previous amp bit of course with by have the ability to adjust resistance myself. Lowest resistance is fine.