[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeggy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can't argue with that, skylab. I have 'stats, K1000s, electrets, all very good quality and outstanding in their own ways but I still gravitate to my more mellow sounding phones a lot of the time because the music tends to flow better for a long day and they don't jump out at you. I'm still very picky about my personal flavor of mellow but I fully understand where you're coming from.

Right. And I am not very good at tweaking, so for me they have to kind of stand on their own as they are.

 

[ludoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kabeer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Swt61, I think you overdamped the Donuts

I'm thinking along the same lines, from the description posted above.

And while we are on the subject of the YH-100, I might as well confess to my sin: I recabled mines with Mogami, and the deep bass completely disappeared. They have much clearer sound, more details, wonderful treble and more soundstage, but with the same damping I had pre-recable they have only decent bass (at least compared to what we all expect from the YH-100) and what there is is rolled off.

Which is puzzling me, as all the other changes (that is except the rolled off bass) are consistent to what I observed in the other Yamas I recabled, and also with the differences between my (recabled) HP-3 and Kabeer's (stock cable).

What I'm sure of is that the stock cable is really crappy, and puts a dark veil over the sound. What I'm less sure of is why the YH-100 have almost no deep bass compared to my HP-3. Their diaphragm might be less tensioned (it does not flap and crinckles like the 3s), and my damping might be too much (even though it's about half what the 3s take), but I'm pretty sure the stock housing is totally unsuited too, and makes a really bad service to the drivers.

Any thoughts?

 

[Faust2D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludoo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any thoughts?

I listened to FV's YH-100 with his damping schema and like them a lot. They were kinda like SR-X with bass. I think the stock cable and housing are perfectly fine and all that YH-100 needs is good damping schema to correct the transient and frequency response.

 

[Duggeh]

mmmm, donuts....

Well overdue in checking in here, glad to see that your Wharfedales made it safely Smeggy, that pad jorb you've done is the bees nose, very very slick, those tartan pads were a joke. I did find time to have a few wee listens with them myself, didn't think that they matched up to the Orthodome of course

 

[smeggy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludoo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Jokes aside (mine was not a serious comment after all), I don't dispute their market value. I'm just trying to convince myself that a lathe might not be only another fun way to "waste" huge amounts of time and smaller amounts of money. Even though I know perfectly well that I would probably follow in Smeggy's footsteps...

Trust me, you don't want to go down that route unless you *really* enjoy it. I'm still relatively crap at woodworking but I have fun doing it. The costs, however, are steep. I've spent literally thousands on tools and it makes me cringe when I think about it. A few hundred on a lathe, then a chuck, then an arbor, then chisels, more chisels, sharpening tools, sandpaper, vacuum, wood boring bits, wood, wood, wood, files, saws..... the list is endless, and very, very expensive.

On top of that you (me) waste a ton of wood screwing it up and retrying. It's difficult when you have much more enthusiasm than skill, and it's very slow going with much frustration. I'll never get to Steve's level in quality or speed so I just plod along as best I can.

 

[ludoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faust2D /img/forum/go_quote.gif I listened to FV's YH-100 with his damping schema and like them a lot. They were kinda like SR-X with bass. I think the stock cable and housing are perfectly fine and all that YH-100 needs is good damping schema to correct the transient and frequency response.

Believe me, the stock cable is *not* fine. And you don't know until you have listened to a different one. But then, you sort of liked the undamped HP-50.

 

[ludoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeggy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Trust me, you don't want to go down that route unless you *really* enjoy it. I'm still relatively crap at woodworking but I have fun doing it. The costs, however, are steep. I've spent literally thousands on tools and it makes me cringe when I think about it. A few hundred on a lathe, then a chuck, then an arbor, then chisels, more chisels, sharpening tools, sandpaper, vacuum, wood boring bits, wood, wood, wood, files, saws..... the list is endless, and very, very expensive. On top of that you (me) waste a ton of wood screwing it up and retrying. It's difficult when you have much more enthusiasm than skill, and it's very slow going with much frustration. I'll never get to Steve's level in quality or speed so I just plod along as best I can.

Exactly what I think will happen to me if I don't resist the temptation...

 

[scompton]

In my area there's at least 2 places that offer wood working classes and, once you've taken some basic classes, allow you to pay for shop time. It's what I'd have to do if I ever wanted to use a lathe. My house is too small for a shop, not to mention the dust. I tried setting up a shop in my garage, but it was too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter, and everything rusted too fast.

Everything I use has to be able to be set up on a work mate in the driveway.

 

[Faust2D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludoo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Believe me, the stock cable is *not* fine. And you don't know until you have listened to a different one. But then, you sort of liked the undamped HP-50.

Yep, I kinda did like it for what they were, but remember I like stats more than orthos, so for me orthos serve a very specific purpose, they are rock headphones for me,

as I am spoiled by SR-007, ESP/950 and LNS.

I really like my YH-1 and T20 but I don't want my orthos to sound like my stats, I want them to have that impact and aggression, I don't need them to be the most clear and fast and... you get the point. Regarding cables I really don't see what is wrong with Yamaha cables unless your were oxidized, but it's cool that you hear the difference.

 

[ludoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faust2D /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yep, I kinda did like it for what they were, but remember I like stats more than orthos, so for me orthos serve a very specific purpose, they are rock headphones for me, as I am spoiled by SR-007, ESP/950 and LNS.

Lucky man.

Quote:

I really like my YH-1 and T20 but I don't want my orthos to sound like my stats, I want them to have that impact and aggression, I don't need them to be the most clear and fast and... you get the point. Regarding cables I really don't see what is wrong with Yamaha cables unless your were oxidized, but it's cool that you hear the difference.

You would hear it too if you had two pairs to compare, one with the stock cable and one recabled.

Edit: and btw, undamped orthos may have qualities, but surely not impact and aggression.

 

[wualta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif My impression is that it doesn't know what to do about the reactive load it's seeing. My only suggestion wrt the Dared MP5 vs. the Signet is that maybe a zobel network will help.

Interesting, and thanks for the ideas. I thought of a zobel, but then there's the question of why the Dared doesn't trip its protection driving the Staxenboxen. I opined to Dmitriy that the Dared was marginally stable with the Sbox but the A-T pushed it over the edge. I wonder if it would also fail to drive the Sony box, which [like the A-T?] has an unusually high step-up ratio iirc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Donuts sound like no other headphone I own. In a way they are superior to every other headphone I own. And in a way, I like them less than any other high-end headphone I own. Part of it may simply be this - the JVC DX1000 are the perfect headphone for ME. I like them [the Donuts] so much that I won't sell them for less, so if they do not sell for my asking price I will just keep them.

Well put! Say no more.

But I think Kabeer may be right-- it sounds like the Donuts were taken all the way to that codeine-overdose individual-carpet-fiber-obsession point, which indicates slight overdamping. The music comes apart in pieces, and all that.

Interesting. I never had a chance to listen to the Strawberries, only the Chocolates, so I was never sure what had been achieved. Thanks for the very to-the-point review. Glad to see you respect them enough to put a high price on them. Loving them, well, that's another matter, as I've mentioned elsewhere.


Quote:

Originally Posted by ludoo I recabled [my YH-100] with Mogami, and the deep bass completely disappeared. Any thoughts?

That's not what I would've expected, certainly. If anything, I would have expected it to increase. Disturbed something in the cup when you desoldered the old cable and put on the new one? Bad solder joint? Loose strand of wire brushing against another wire/lug? Small child turned the bass down when you weren't looking? Crumb of biscotti in the eustachian tube?

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeggy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Trust me, you don't want to go down that route unless you *really* enjoy it. I'm still relatively crap at woodworking but I have fun doing it. It's difficult when you have much more enthusiasm than skill, and it's very slow going with much frustration.

Enthusiasm and the persistence it engenders is everything. Just ask the person who's lost them. In any case, don't sell yourself short just because the latest management fad is Results Oriented (aka ROMA).

Your Smeg-A-NAD is boxed up and as soon as I figure out a way to stick a T30 in there too it'll be on its way to that cage aux hamsters.

 

[dBel84]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludoo /img/forum/go_quote.gif And while we are on the subject of the YH-100, I might as well confess to my sin: I recabled mines with Mogami, and the deep bass completely disappeared. They have much clearer sound, more details, wonderful treble and more soundstage, but with the same damping I had pre-recable they have only decent bass (at least compared to what we all expect from the YH-100) and what there is is rolled off.

this may seem a silly question but did you invert the polarity of the drivers?

..dB

EDIT - little time and trying to catch up on this sudden buzz of activity.

F2D , sounds like a load issue with the Dared. My stacker really dislikes the added inductance of braided cables. You know anyone with a scope - you could check if the mosfets oscillate. Not sure how esle to check but ericj's zobel may well do the trick

 

[ludoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dBel84 /img/forum/go_quote.gif this may seem a silly question but did you invert the polarity of the drivers? ..dB

Nope.

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dBel84 /img/forum/go_quote.gif F2D , sounds like a load issue with the Dared. My stacker really dislikes the added inductance of braided cables. You know anyone with a scope - you could check if the mosfets oscillate. Not sure how esle to check but ericj's zobel may well do the trick

If we knew the inductance and DC resistance of the signet transformer primary, it would be simple to calculate a likely effective zobel network.

But we don't, and F2D doesn't have the instrumentation.

I could calculate values for SRD-7 and for the ECR transformer box this weekend. My guess is that they will come out in the same ballpark.

Could also just use the values that Ti Kan recommends for the epsilon-22 backplane board that goes with his beta-22 amp boards: http://www.amb.org/audio/epsilon22/

 

[Faust2D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wualta /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting, and thanks for the ideas. I thought of a zobel, but then there's the question of why the Dared doesn't trip its protection driving the Staxenboxen. I opined to Dmitriy that the Dared was marginally stable with the Sbox but the A-T pushed it over the edge. I wonder if it would also fail to drive the Sony box, which [like the A-T?] has an unusually high step-up ratio iirc.

All of Stax boxs do not give it any issues and sound really good, so I don''t think it's marginally stable.

I am also not sure if chip has a build in protection. If Sony box is like AT it would be said as I like MP5 as my PC amp

Quote:

Originally Posted by dBel84 /img/forum/go_quote.gif F2D , sounds like a load issue with the Dared. My stacker really dislikes the added inductance of braided cables. You know anyone with a scope - you could check if the mosfets oscillate. Not sure how esle to check but ericj's zobel may well do the trick

It is mostly likely a load issue but I though that Stax box as well as AT box is a standard 8 Ohm load. What do you think AT box does that Stax box does not? My MOSFET amp has no problem with any of the boxes and even drives my "watch me dip to 1 Ohm" ribbon speakers so I was not surpriced to see it handle AT box with ease. It seems that AT box needs at least 10W to sound good, MP5 is like 14W and my MOSFET amp is 25W in class A. Maybe it's dips low and thus makes the STI TDA7265 power chip shutdown temporarily? The data-sheet talk about some kind of mute attenuation, what is that feature?

I will try different cable tonight. I was using rather thick speaker cables....but I bet it will not change much.

What small amps would work well with Stax, AT and ECR boxes? Will this amp push them? It seems that it can be used as stand alone amp with 25WPC.