[Defiant00]

Question: I have a sennheiser HD600, which would be a better pair, the Asgard 2 or the Valhalla 2? And would it match well with the Schiit Modi? I don't have DSD files, only 320kbps MP3 and Apple Lossless. Thanks a lot!

Both amps are good with the hd600. The Asgard is better suited to a wider variety of cans, but if you're exclusively using the hd600 (and like tubes), the Valhalla also has lots of fans (I haven't heard it yet so all my Valhalla info is secondhand)

As far as DACs, if you're only going to be using a single input, Modi is a great way to go for the price.

 

[freedom04]

Both amps are good with the hd600. The Asgard is better suited to a wider variety of cans, but if you're exclusively using the hd600 (and like tubes), the Valhalla also has lots of fans (I haven't heard it yet so all my Valhalla info is secondhand)

As far as DACs, if you're only going to be using a single input, Modi is a great way to go for the price.

 
Thanks! As much as possible I would really like to test them before I purchase, problem is that there is no distributor here in the Philippines so I'm pretty much dependent on user reviews.

 

[StanD]

  Question: I have a sennheiser HD600, which would be a better pair, the Asgard 2 or the Valhalla 2? And would it match well with the Schiit Modi? I don't have DSD files, only 320kbps MP3 and Apple Lossless. Thanks a lot!

It'll work fine with either amp. The question is what amp do you prefer, SS, Tube or Hybrid (Vali or Lyr2)? You can also consider the Magni. If you are looking for a DAC on a budget, you can't go wrong with the Modi.

 

[freedom04]

  It'll work fine with either amp. The question is what amp do you prefer, SS, Tube or Hybrid (Vali or Lyr2)? You can also consider the Magni. If you are looking for a DAC on a budget, you can't go wrong with the Modi.

Actually.. I have no idea yet, but for now, I am interested in a Tube amp. So I guess I'll just go for a Valhalla 2/Modi combo then?

 

[StanD]

  Actually.. I have no idea yet, but for now, I am interested in a Tube amp. So I guess I'll just go for a Valhalla 2/Modi combo then?

You can't go wrong with that. Just watch your expense of time and wallet with tube rolling. Personally I prefer a clean neutral sound so I prefer an SS amp. To each their own, in either case the sound should be enjoyable.

 

[freedom04]

  You can't go wrong with that. Just watch your expense of time and wallet with tube rolling. Personally I prefer a clean neutral sound so I prefer an SS amp. To each their own, in either case the sound should be enjoyable.

Tube rolling maybe a problem. So I think I'll just have to stick with the Asgard then. I don't think my wallet's gonna stay fat for long if I go for the Valhalla due to the tubes. Haha!

 

[StanD]

  Tube rolling maybe a problem. So I think I'll just have to stick with the Asgard then. I don't think my wallet's gonna stay fat for long if I go for the Valhalla due to the tubes. Haha!

If you go with the Asgard 2, you're going to get a clean pristine sound. Some folks, not me, prefer adding in some even order harmonic distortion to color the sound in a way that pleases them. In that case the object for tube rolling is to find tubes that pleases one's ears. Like I said, all I want is a straight wire with gain. To me the Asgard 2 takes an excellent shot at it, without breaking the bank. Pssst, here's a secret, the Magni is pretty darned good too.

 

[knorris908]

I can see that your wallet has already beaten the daylights out of you. I have a fully loaded Bifrost and can't imagine the need for anything else as far as DACs go.

OMG... An old post, but SO side-splittingly FUNNY that I just had to offer you my heart-felt thank you for the first full belly-laugh of the day.

That's one for the record books! Ranking right up there with, "We'll NEVER need more than 64k, so let's be totally radical and make the DOS memory ceiling 640k!"

 

[KLJTech]

OMG... An old post, but SO side-splittingly FUNNY that I just had to offer you my heart-felt thank you for the first full belly-laugh of the day.

That's one for the record books! Ranking right up there with, "We'll NEVER need more than 64k, so let's be totally radical and make the DOS memory ceiling 640k!"

 
Well, its not like the Biforst is outdated by any means and since it's upgradable I'm not so sure what is so funny about what StanD said. Now, if one wants to spend a lot more they certainly can...I have few DAC's that cost more than the Bifrost, but I doubt the Bifrost would be put to shame by any of them. 

 

[knorris908]

   
Well, its not like the Biforst is outdated by any means and since it's upgradable I'm not so sure what is so funny about what StanD said. Now, if one wants to spend a lot more they certainly can...I have few DAC's that cost more than the Bifrost, but I doubt the Bifrost would be put to shame by any of them. 

So there's no misunderstanding, I wasn't being snarky, or sarcastic.  I was genuinely laughing at what I have said SOOOO many times in the past.  "...I can't imagine the need for anything else..."
 
And I don't mean that the bifrost is outdated, but at SOME point, we'll all be laughing about how we were "eeking-out every last bit of resolution from old, "grainy" "low-res" 64-bit and GASP 32-bit audio files in archaic FLAC AIFF and MPx packages!  (Mind you it might be 20 years from now, but it will happen.)
 
If you're a gamer, think about the death-flag comments that NPCs make like, "When this mission is over, I'm going to ask that girl of mine to marry me..."  He might as well wear a red shirt! (Classic Star Trek reference indicating that he's a goner!) 

 

[Defiant00]

 
So there's no misunderstanding, I wasn't being snarky, or sarcastic.  I was genuinely laughing at what I have said SOOOO many times in the past.  "...I can't imagine the need for anything else..."
 
And I don't mean that the bifrost is outdated, but at SOME point, we'll all be laughing about how we were "eeking-out every last bit of resolution from old, "grainy" "low-res" 64-bit and GASP 32-bit audio files in archaic FLAC AIFF and MPx packages!  (Mind you it might be 20 years from now, but it will happen.)
 
If you're a gamer, think about the death-flag comments that NPCs make like, "When this mission is over, I'm going to ask that girl of mine to marry me..."  He might as well wear a red shirt! (Classic Star Trek reference indicating that he's a goner!) 

 
While I can appreciate the humor (and Star Trek), until someone starts offering bionic ear implants there really isn't any point going beyond current sample rate and bit depth for a playback format.
 
Will someone eventually come up with a better file format / compression method to store them in? Possibly. But for human hearing we'll still (hopefully) stick with something similar to 16/44.1

 

[StanD]

Quote:
Originally Posted by StanD 

I can see that your wallet has already beaten the daylights out of you. I have a fully loaded Bifrost and can't imagine the need for anything else as far as DACs go.

OMG... An old post, but SO side-splittingly FUNNY that I just had to offer you my heart-felt thank you for the first full belly-laugh of the day.

That's one for the record books! Ranking right up there with, "We'll NEVER need more than 64k, so let's be totally radical and make the DOS memory ceiling 640k!"

Do you remember the old saying at Microsoft? "DOS ain't done till Lotus don't run."

 

[knorris908]

  Do you remember the old saying at Microsoft? "DOS ain't done till Lotus don't run."

I do, but was never able to fully research it's validity...  Some people swear it's true, while others swear it wasn't...  Just another of the unanswered mysteries of life that keep us young! 
 
By the way, did any of you ever notice that during your burn-in, the headphones and/or amp actually got LOUDER? 

 
I wasn't expecting that, and my wife SWEARS she hasn't touched the volume knob.  But it is definitely and considerably louder than it was in the first 24 hours running the same source files!  (And to let her off the hook, I confirmed that the volume knob's fastening screw is indeed still in the 9 o'clock position...)
 
I walked by while the Hans Zimmer collection part of the burn-in loop was running and thought to myself, "Did I leave on the speakers a little too?" and was surprised to find that it was all the headphones!  (Turned it down right away!)  The gain was already on HIGH, and I had heard the difference between low and high already, so I know the gain switch wasn't in the LOW position...
 
Weird.  (SOUNDS AWESOME THOUGH!)

 

[StanD]

  I do, but was never able to fully research it's validity...  Some people swear it's true, while others swear it wasn't...  Just another of the unanswered mysteries of life that keep us young! 
 
By the way, did any of you ever notice that during your burn-in, the headphones and/or amp actually got LOUDER? 

 
I wasn't expecting that, and my wife SWEARS she hasn't touched the volume knob.  But it is definitely and considerably louder than it was in the first 24 hours running the same source files!
 
I walked by while the Hans Zimmer collection part of the burn-in loop was running and thought to myself, "Did I leave on the speakers a little too?" and was surprised to find that it was all the headphones!  (Turned it down right away!)  The gain was already on HIGH, and I had heard the difference between low and high already, so I know the gain switch wasn't in the LOW position...
 
Weird.  (SOUNDS AWESOME THOUGH!)

I'm not a believer in burn in of SS amps. Maybe a little affect on tube amps. For headphones, I never experienced shifts of volume, perhaps a small change in sound signature.
Maybe you have another volume control in your chain, the source? My wife would prank me, just to get even with me. 

 

[MrGoat]

Loved my upgrade from the Magni to the Asgard 2 so much I went ahead and ordered the Bifrost uber, can't wait to hear the improvement.