[qboogie]

Has anyone ever tried running a headphone from the back balanced XLR line outputs? I was thinking a 2x 3-pin XLR to 4-pin XLR cable would allow me to drive headphones off, which would help me compare headphones while driving them both balanced at the same time. Since I can control the volume of the line output from the front of the device as well, I don't really see why that wouldn't work.

You should confirm the Niimbus outputs via the rear XLR while a headphone is also plugged into the front.

Also, I'm sure you know this but wouldn't you want headphones of equal sensitivity? otherwise the music volume will be different on each.

Individual volume control for multiple outputs should be a more common thing.

 

[curvz]

You should confirm the Niimbus outputs via the rear XLR while a headphone is also plugged into the front.

Also, I'm sure you know this but wouldn't you want headphones of equal sensitivity? otherwise the music volume will be different on each.

Individual volume control for multiple outputs should be a more common thing.

Thanks. Yeah I get what you mean with the volume - it's still not ideal. I figured I could play around with the gain control on the line output to help match, but won't be perfect unless I get real lucky!

Cheers. I'll check if it's possible to run both outputs at the same time and then I'll have to decide if it's worth the effort. Might be easier just to run both headphones unbalanced and compare that way.

 

[Rayon]

Impression of the Niimbus US 5 Pro and Ferrum Hypsos OOR. Impression is based on the paring with the Utopia and Susvara.


I will be solely focussing on the sonic aspect of the two amps.

The width of the sound stage with the US 5 Pro slightly ahead of the OOR. The stage with the US 5 Pro slightly sounded wider to the left and right. This characteristic also gives the upper hand to the US 5 Pro in terms of separation. Whereas for the depth of the stage, the OOR has a slightly upper hand, some instruments sounded further back at the stage. It may be due to tuning and the blacker background in the OOR, it sounded there are more contrast between black areas and color, this creates a deeper stage. The black background contributes to the presentation of the stage and positioning of instruments on the stage.

For both amps. The size of all instruments and vocals are very well controlled with an accurate amount of space added between them, as if the resolution is enhanced slightly.



The tuning and tonality of the US 5 Pro is very neutral. I really agree with the sonical description that it is a reliable " tool " for music amplification. It does not have much sonical character or coloration to it. It is studio monitor quality neutral, it does not exaggerate your bass, does not add any additional emotion to the vocals, highs are extended and articulated as a studio monitor reference signature. It reveals exactly what is given to it from your upper front gear. It is extremely transparent to it point that it makes everything up front counts including your DAC, XLR analog cable, power cable and even your power source. It is a reliable Tool or a professional device for you to evaluate and compare your headphones and DAC. It is the most neutral and well balance amp that I have came across. Perfectly studio monitor neutral and reference quality in all aspects including tonality, details and staging.


The tuning and tonality of the Hypsos and OOR stack leans slight to the side of coloration for enjoyment. As most of us here have a general consensus that the tuning of the Hypsos and OOR leans slightly warmth of neutral. The higher frequency is also very detailed while being very well controlled in quantity to ensure no excessive hotness or brightness for particular headphones, while maintain the details it some how may masked off some unwanted artifacts in the remix. The tonality characteristic of the Hypsos OOR and tuned with one sole purpose in mind, is to create a musical amp that enables you to enjoy music at the top level of detail and transparency for an extended period of time without fatigue. The Hypsos OOR is not a neutral amp, it has a very slight tasteful coloration to it.

Though the two amps are placed at different price points. Both the US 5 Pro and Hypsos OOR are solid choices. If your preference leans towards the raw performance and wanted to reveal the original track as it is recorded as in the music mastering and production studio, the US 5 Pro is prefered. I would also give the upper hand to the build quality to the US 5 Pro. The amp is masive, heavy duty and the volume nob is like a tank. You are getting a Germany made level of craftsmanship and this tool will last literally more than half a centry.

Have you ever tried HPA4? To me the thing you just described on Niimbus section sounds like HPA4 on paper. Would be interested in your comparison between the two.

 

[Tubewin]

How does this compare to the Enleum amp-23r? I have a 23r on the way and curious to know how the niimbus US 5 Pro compares.

 

[OCC7N]

Impression of the Niimbus US 5 Pro and Ferrum Hypsos OOR. Impression is based on the paring with the Utopia and Susvara.


I will be solely focussing on the sonic aspect of the two amps.

The width of the sound stage with the US 5 Pro slightly ahead of the OOR. The stage with the US 5 Pro slightly sounded wider to the left and right. This characteristic also gives the upper hand to the US 5 Pro in terms of separation. Whereas for the depth of the stage, the OOR has a slightly upper hand, some instruments sounded further back at the stage. It may be due to tuning and the blacker background in the OOR, it sounded there are more contrast between black areas and color, this creates a deeper stage. The black background contributes to the presentation of the stage and positioning of instruments on the stage.

For both amps. The size of all instruments and vocals are very well controlled with an accurate amount of space added between them, as if the resolution is enhanced slightly.



The tuning and tonality of the US 5 Pro is very neutral. I really agree with the sonical description that it is a reliable " tool " for music amplification. It does not have much sonical character or coloration to it. It is studio monitor quality neutral, it does not exaggerate your bass, does not add any additional emotion to the vocals, highs are extended and articulated as a studio monitor reference signature. It reveals exactly what is given to it from your upper front gear. It is extremely transparent to it point that it makes everything up front counts including your DAC, XLR analog cable, power cable and even your power source. It is a reliable Tool or a professional device for you to evaluate and compare your headphones and DAC. It is the most neutral and well balance amp that I have came across. Perfectly studio monitor neutral and reference quality in all aspects including tonality, details and staging.


The tuning and tonality of the Hypsos and OOR stack leans slight to the side of coloration for enjoyment. As most of us here have a general consensus that the tuning of the Hypsos and OOR leans slightly warmth of neutral. The higher frequency is also very detailed while being very well controlled in quantity to ensure no excessive hotness or brightness for particular headphones, while maintain the details it some how may masked off some unwanted artifacts in the remix. The tonality characteristic of the Hypsos OOR and tuned with one sole purpose in mind, is to create a musical amp that enables you to enjoy music at the top level of detail and transparency for an extended period of time without fatigue. The Hypsos OOR is not a neutral amp, it has a very slight tasteful coloration to it.

Though the two amps are placed at different price points. Both the US 5 Pro and Hypsos OOR are solid choices. If your preference leans towards the raw performance and wanted to reveal the original track as it is recorded as in the music mastering and production studio, the US 5 Pro is prefered. I would also give the upper hand to the build quality to the US 5 Pro. The amp is masive, heavy duty and the volume nob is like a tank. You are getting a Germany made level of craftsmanship and this tool will last literally more than half a centry.

Thank you for this impression. It made my choise a little easier between those two amps.

 

[barbz127]

Has anyone compared and can comment on any differences feeding the Nimbus via RCA vs XLR?

And can anyone comment on how it operates as a preamp? does it impart a flavor (or take away) at all?

Thankyou

 

[project86]

I don't notice any difference between RCA and XLR except when a particular DAC happens to do better via one or the other. Then of course those differences will show up, as the amp is extremely resolving.

It works great as a preamp too, though somewhat minimalist compared to a dedicated pre with tons of inputs. But again in this role it remains very transparent and lets the source shine through.

That said, it does excel at dynamics and "drive", especially compared to most DACs driving a (speaker) amplifier or active monitors directly. Those are often clean but lack emotion or authority. Adding a dedicated pre will usually fix that, but can come at the cost of reduced clarity. Niimbus feels like the best of both worlds.

 

[Arniesb]

Have you ever tried HPA4? To me the thing you just described on Niimbus section sounds like HPA4 on paper. Would be interested in your comparison between the two.

Its comparison i would also like to hear.
Both got praise for clarity and technicalities, both excellent preamps, but Niimbus is way more expensive, but also much more powerful which can come in handy with Susvaras.
P.S i wonder how much discount 1 could get with US5 pro...

 

[SLANGE00]

Its comparison i would also like to hear.
Both got praise for clarity and technicalities, both excellent preamps, but Niimbus is way more expensive, but also much more powerful which can come in handy with Susvaras.
P.S i wonder how much discount 1 could get with US5 pro...

I used to own the HPA4 , and I just spent several days auditioning the Niimbus before enthusiastically ordering the US 5 STD. I did not have a chance to listen to the Niimbus and HPA4 side by side, so take this with the appropriate grain of salt. From what I remember the HPA4 is extremely neutral but to my ears felt a little tad lifeless, which is why I sold it when I got my Bartok. Whereas the Niimbus to my ears, while still very neutral, has a subtle but discernible tuning, music seems to become more alive through it, for lack of a better way to express these subjective and subtle differences. I recently saw an interview with Fried Reim where he mentioned that there is an inflection point in amp design where he could make his amps even more clean/distortionless but that it would also make them more lifeless and boring. The Niimbus seems expertly calibrated to be neutral enough but not to the point of unengaging. In photographic terms, it seems somewhere between a UV filter and a light ND filter on your lens.

 

[drummerdimitri]

I used to own the HPA4 , and I just spent several days auditioning the Niimbus before enthusiastically ordering the US 5 STD. I did not have a chance to listen to the Niimbus and HPA4 side by side, so take this with the appropriate grain of salt. From what I remember the HPA4 is extremely neutral but to my ears felt a little tad lifeless, which is why I sold it when I got my Bartok. Whereas the Niimbus to my ears, while still very neutral, has a subtle but discernible tuning, music seems to become more alive through it, for lack of a better way to express these subjective and subtle differences. I recently saw an interview with Fried Reim where he mentioned that there is an inflection point in amp design where he could make his amps even more clean/distortionless but that it would also make them more lifeless and boring. The Niimbus seems expertly calibrated to be neutral enough but not to the point of unengaging. In photographic terms, it seems somewhere between a UV filter and a light ND filter on your lens.

I see you own an Audeze LCD-4z; I have them as well and would like to hear yours toughs on the pairing with your Niimbus as I am thinking of going down the same route.

 

[SLANGE00]

I see you own an Audeze LCD-4z; I have them as well and would like to hear yours toughs on the pairing with your Niimbus as I am thinking of going down the same route.

Unfortunately I no longer own the LCD-4z. I only have the Susvara and Z1Rs. My trial sessions of the Niimbus included a short stint with the LCD4 (not 4z though), I remember a highly nuanced , detailed yet musical rendering. I would imagine the Niimbus would deliver a fantastic pairing with the Audeze LCD 4z, but can’t confirm directly

 

[drummerdimitri]

Unfortunately I no longer own the LCD-4z. I only have the Susvara and Z1Rs. My trial sessions of the Niimbus included a short stint with the LCD4 (not 4z though), I remember a highly nuanced , detailed yet musical rendering. I would imagine the Niimbus would deliver a fantastic pairing with the Audeze LCD 4z, but can’t confirm directly

Shoot! was really hoping for some feedback on the pairing but unfortunately that wont seem to happen anytime soon. Based on what I've been reading on this thread it should be a match made in heaven. Only one way to find out...

 

[drummerdimitri]

I am thinking of purchasing a Singxer SDA-6 PRO to pair with the Niimbus US5 PRO I placed an order for.

Does anyone have any experience with this combo? I picked this DAC because it only performs that single function and I have no need for a preamp, Bluetooth or a remote control as the DAC will be sitting on my desk at all times. The internals seems to be of extremely high quality and the layout looks to be very well thought out and executed.

Also, since I will be using it with my computer the SDA-6 PRO has galvanic isolation on the USB input which is a big plus for me and my noisy gaming PC.

On paper it ticks all boxes except the fact that it is Chinese which I dislike but then again it doesn't have to be my end game DAC and I might consider upgrading it in the future if I'm not fully satisfied with the pairing when more funds will be available to allocate towards a higher end unit.

I've also considered the Gustard X26 Pro but it is slightly above my budget at the moment so only option to buy it will be used but I'm not sold on it as much since It doesn't have galvanic isolation on the USB input and according to soundnews.net only bests the Singxer with dynamics but losses in terms of resolution and transparency.

My philosophy regarding the audio chain is the following: The source and the amplifier must be as neutral as possible and in case one prefers to add some tonal color to their music, that should solely be done at the output so headphones or speakers. Reason being if one decides to grow a collection of headphones/speakers to suit different music styles they can without having to worry about also buying more gear to suit them

Willing to consider used options (US or EU made) DACs if there are any I should be looking out for.

 

[Empyah]

I am thinking of purchasing a Singxer SDA-6 PRO to pair with the Niimbus US5 PRO I placed an order for.

Does anyone have any experience with this combo? I picked this DAC because it only performs that single function and I have no need for a preamp, Bluetooth or a remote control as the DAC will be sitting on my desk at all times. The internals seems to be of extremely high quality and the layout looks to be very well thought out and executed.

Also, since I will be using it with my computer the SDA-6 PRO has galvanic isolation on the USB input which is a big plus for me and my noisy gaming PC.

On paper it ticks all boxes except the fact that it is Chinese which I dislike but then again it doesn't have to be my end game DAC and I might consider upgrading it in the future if I'm not fully satisfied with the pairing when more funds will be available to allocate towards a higher end unit.

I've also considered the Gustard X26 Pro but it is slightly above my budget at the moment so only option to buy it will be used but I'm not sold on it as much since It doesn't have galvanic isolation on the USB input and according to soundnews.net only bests the Singxer with dynamics but losses in terms of resolution and transparency.

My philosophy regarding the audio chain is the following: The source and the amplifier must be as neutral as possible and in case one prefers to add some tonal color to their music, that should solely be done at the output so headphones or speakers. Reason being if one decides to grow a collection of headphones/speakers to suit different music styles they can without having to worry about also buying more gear to suit them

Willing to consider used options (US or EU made) DACs if there are any I should be looking out for.

You want something brutally detailed but full and sweet sounding with that amp. Yggi A2 all the way.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Agree. If you can stomach always-on DACs the Yggdrasil OG with Unison is a better choice and quite the amazing pairing with the Niimbus. Also recommend to go off PC and make space for a PI2Design Transport.