[spookanide]

now, often happens that music lovers and audiophiles look for gear that makes music sounds always better, I totally understand that.... people want to have fun and enjoy music as much as they can.

in this specific situation I want a headphone amp that can reveals the good and ugly of that recordings...do you consider that CMA400i would do this?

Thanks!

I honestly think you're exaggerating a bit and I understand that stigma comes from the pro audio scene, been there myself. If amps colored or veiled sound too much it'll simply become a poor all-rounder or lose detail. I do realise some headphones make a lot of things sound pleasing, but I haven't really encountered amps that do that. Any slight bits of color can still be professionally enjoyable depending on your preferences anyway, and it's not like you can't get used to color.

In my opinion the CMA400i is able to do serve a mixing/mastering position for sure and I'm sure a few others here would agree. I considered my previous ican SE setup more of a cinema-like experience with the subwoofers turned up (if I used the bass switch). While this was fun in itself it didn't really bring out detail and space like the CMA400i does. With headphones and amps like this you should be able to easily tell if a singer's mic sounds noisy or hear pumping/distortion in poor mastering jobs.
If you're still on the fence just go find a demo unit somewhere and drive. Otherwise go for some industry standard audio interface.

*EDIT*
Reporting in on the exclusive mode thing. If you use Kernal Streaming mode instead of ASIO mode it works perfectly. Will report this to questyle at some point.

 

[SonikRaven]

*EDIT*
Reporting in on the exclusive mode thing. If you use Kernal Streaming mode instead of ASIO mode it works perfectly. Will report this to questyle at some point.

I really doubt will be using a software or streaming audio thru the USB, mainly because I would connect the CMA400i t from my DAC Dangerous Music Convert2 and use the AES Thu

 

[ostewart]

I really doubt will be using a software or streaming audio thru the USB, mainly because I would connect the CMA400i t from my DAC Dangerous Music Convert2 and use the AES Thu

CMA400i does not accept are AES, only coaxial, USB and optical. So you'll always be using the internal DAC.

It doesn't have an analogue input.

 

[SonikRaven]

CMA400i does not accept are AES, only coaxial, USB and optical. So you'll always be using the internal DAC.

It doesn't have an analogue input.

yes I have to see if there is any cable from AES to Coaxial that can have the right impedance

 

[ostewart]

yes I have to see if there is any cable from AES to Coaxial that can have the right impedance

Ah I see you can get an AES to Coaxial cable

 

[azzamach36]

Anybody had a good experience with CMA400i + Fostex TH-900? Would appreciate any feedback on this pairing.

 

[spookanide]

Anybody had a good experience with CMA400i + Fostex TH-900? Would appreciate any feedback on this pairing.

I have not tried this setup. From what I saw about TH-900 measurements, they have a little peak in the treble region yes? If you're sensitive to that, be careful of the 400i and demo before buying. That's just my opinion.

*EDIT* disregard whatever I said cause people with more experience have answered below

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I would imagine they'd combine well. The TH900 is known for warmth and bass while the CMA400i is pretty neutral, so it wouldn't bloom it out nor take away from its inherent sound sig.

 

[Mkoll]

Anybody had a good experience with CMA400i + Fostex TH-900? Would appreciate any feedback on this pairing.

Briefly listened to this combo. An excellent pairing, really brings out the best in the bass. It does tame the treble a bit, but if you don't like the th900 treble already, this won't change that.

 

[azzamach36]

Thanks for the input and feedback guys. All very helpful information. Cheers

 

[MiRaCL]

Just found out about this amp and i looks awesome.
I use a pair of LCD-2F and are in the market for a new amp/dac.

Been looking at Schiit Jotunheim and deckard, but are now reading up on this.
How does it pair with LCD-2?

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Fantastically. It's a beautiful complement to the Audeze lineup.

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

Just found out about this amp and i looks awesome.
I use a pair of LCD-2F and are in the market for a new amp/dac.

Been looking at Schiit Jotunheim and deckard, but are now reading up on this.
How does it pair with LCD-2?

Works really well with the LCD-2

 

[spookanide]

Just found out about this amp and i looks awesome.
I use a pair of LCD-2F and are in the market for a new amp/dac.

Been looking at Schiit Jotunheim and deckard, but are now reading up on this.
How does it pair with LCD-2?

I own this combo, with the LCD2f 2016 that has the latest membrane update. it's hard to imagine something I'd enjoy more, without investing some serious cash and doing more demo sessions. To give context, I enjoy a good present bass and lotsa detail without excessive treble (4-8k region). I listen from anything like modern classical soundtracks to techno and metal, so I really want a good all-round setup. If you want LCD2f fun on a budget have a look into the ifi iCan SE amps. The sound is more laid back on that one and less balanced across the spectrum, but powers it well.

Deckard I did a demo on back-to-back with the CMA400i and that thing is a different beast altogether. It kind of muddies up the stereo image and has some coloration. I was genuinely surprised it sounded a bit bad by comparison considering they cost about the same. YMMV of course, demo listen the units if you are truly curious.
Jotunheim I haven't tried since I'm not aware of any demo locations within driving distance, but after hearing the CMA400i I didn't even want to bother.

 

[MiRaCL]

Went and demoed the cma400i today with my phones. Really nice amp. Was using it with balanced cable.
Deckard is out after seeing it today(didn't try it though).

Also tried Focal Clear with cma400i and all i can say is wow.. I can see why people rave about those.

My only issue with the cma400i is the price. Here in Norway the price is about $1187