[ostewart]

Awesome! I just remembered that i have never tried the legendary 800. Seems like i'm going to spend quite some time auditioning next week.

And you're right about these Monks. Even though mine are single ended, pinpointing an enemy is very easy. But on very crowded & confined spaces (like in school on the original map), sometimes it is difficult to tell how many people are coming around the corner, or from above.

A bit cheaper, but the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home are well worth a listen.

 

[bahaja]

A bit cheaper, but the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home are well worth a listen.

Thank you! I look forward to trying it this weekend.

Apparently, there will be an audio show at the end of the month here. Sennheiser and MrSpeakers are confirmed to be there so i hope there will be a significant discount. Stax is also confirmed, but I guess i'll have to get the Headphone and Amp bundle to make it work. Any idea on how good the DAC section is for the 400i?

 

[ostewart]

Thank you! I look forward to trying it this weekend.

Apparently, there will be an audio show at the end of the month here. Sennheiser and MrSpeakers are confirmed to be there so i hope there will be a significant discount. Stax is also confirmed, but I guess i'll have to get the Headphone and Amp bundle to make it work. Any idea on how good the DAC section is for the 400i?

I have used the DAC section on a few occasions, it is incredibly detailed, clean and neutral. Its excellent.

 

[bahaja]

Sounds like an excellent DAC indeed! This thing turned out to be a great buy after all

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I'm between jobs and I'll sell blood and organs before I consider putting my 400i/LCD3 combo up for sale. I'll be homeless with this thing.

 

[knowhatimean]

I'm between jobs and I'll sell blood and organs before I consider putting my 400i/LCD3 combo up for sale. I'll be homeless with this thing.

He,he,he....... I have only one thing to say about the sentiment of your comment....... True Dat !!!!!

(We can never recover the money we've spent on our 'Hobby' ; Selling blood & organs besides being less painful, might even be more profitable)

 

[Raphael DeLaGhetto]

I'm in between this & the Jotunheim for my end game, Jot being more powerful at least on the spec sheet. Given the jitter from the lack of USB Gen 5 on the Jot I'd need an Eitr too which will make them pretty close in price. Decisions decisions...

 

[knowhatimean]

I'm in between this & the Jotunheim for my end game, Jot being more powerful at least on the spec sheet. Given the jitter from the lack of USB Gen 5 on the Jot I'd need an Eitr too which will make them pretty close in price. Decisions decisions...

I think it might depend on how detail oriented you are.

The Schiit HP amps are almost always powerful enough to do what you need them to do. Personally, regardless of their low distortion specs, I'm always a bit underwhelmed by the sound of the Output Transformers they're using. I'm not so sure I'd agree with their version of Neutrality. The output stills sounds slightly Digital sounding to me. It's like they've used a used a 5lb hammer to do the job that a very light finishing hammer is more appropriate to accomplish the job. (& I'm currently using an Asgard 2; which will suffice for the time being) (I applaud Schiit for their economic alternatives, but I've moved beyond them with the rest of my playback setup: The CMA400i is on my short list of amps I'm interested in)

 

[Raphael DeLaGhetto]

I think it might depend on how detail oriented you are.

The Schiit HP amps are almost always powerful enough to do what you need them to do. Personally, regardless of their low distortion specs, I'm always a bit underwhelmed by the sound of the Output Transformers they're using. I'm not so sure I'd agree with their version of Neutrality. The output stills sounds slightly Digital sounding to me. It's like they've used a used a 5lb hammer to do the job that a very light finishing hammer is more appropriate to accomplish the job. (& I'm currently using an Asgard 2; which will suffice for the time being) (I applaud Schiit for their economic alternatives, but I've moved beyond them with the rest of my playback setup: The CMA400i is on my short list of amps I'm interested in)

I wouldn't call myself micro-detail obsessed. I have fallen prey to listening to my headphones rather than my music but that's primarily because I'm transitioning from mid to hifi.

I have a pair of LCD-2Cs & I read a few times that the Jot doesn't provide adequate bass control & slam in addition to the usb distortion. Some have called the CMA40i boring because it's too neutral but that's what I'm after to be honest. I'll probably end up buying both to a/b, or at least finding a local shop to demo. Hopefully there's some around Chicagoland that has both.

 

[knowhatimean]

He,he,he..... I don't tend to pay much attention to people calling an amp boring because it's too Neutral .

(I'm a Dinosaur as far as sound is concerned as I listened to Analog for many more years than Digital; It's usually harder for me to tell if I'm listening to a 'Good' recording or a Mediocre one if the Digital processing isn't as resolved as it could be) (Too Neutral ? A lot of guys crack me up as they have it completely backwards)

 

[DaaDaa]

I'm between jobs and I'll sell blood and organs before I consider putting my 400i/LCD3 combo up for sale. I'll be homeless with this thing.

are you ok with the weight of LCD-3? for me afte 10 minutes it hurts my neck,

///////////

have you compared the 400i to any audio-dg? i kinda wanna buy a 400i but i want to make sure that i wont lose out on the great tonaity (voices sound real, natural, and organic versus the digital stelly sound of schiit DACs for example) that i experience with R2R11.

 

[xenithon]

Now that this has been out for a while, I wanted to ask 3 brief questions:
- has anyone had extensive experience with the HD800 and is there synergy?
- has anyone listened to ZMF headphones with this, such as the Atticus / Eikon?
- has anyone perhaps compared to the AGD R2R-11?

Thanks!

 

[ostewart]

Now that this has been out for a while, I wanted to ask 3 brief questions:
- has anyone had extensive experience with the HD800 and is there synergy?
- has anyone listened to ZMF headphones with this, such as the Atticus / Eikon?
- has anyone perhaps compared to the AGD R2R-11?

Thanks!

Personal taste wise, I prefer the HD800 with a good tube amp. The CMA400i works very well with them but for my tastes is a little too analytical.

If you like the analytical sound of the HD800 and want to keep that without smoothing them out, then the CMA400i is a great choice. If like me you find the HD800 borderline bright, a nice tube amp makes them sound a little more natural.

 

[Mkoll]

Anyone else noticing that pretty much everyone's reporting the CMA400i to be a major power plant exceeding expectations?

Yeah very powerful. On standard gain via balanced out, I'm listening at around 8 o'clock on the TH-900 with 9:00 almost hurting my ears, and around 10:00 on the HD 600 with 11:00 almost hurting. I could probably damage the drivers in either of these headphones if I turned the knob high enough. I would think these could drive anything via balanced out to hearing-damaging levels except for the most power hungry Hifimans.

 

[spookanide]

If like me you find the HD800 borderline bright, a nice tube amp makes them sound a little more natural.

What's something you'd recommend?