[FLTWS]

True.

Woo stand is very tall and well built.

 

[FLTWS]

I have not made decision between Freya, MJ2 and Rh5 yet.

Which is better to drive 1266 Phi between Mj2 and Rh5 from your experience?

2 slightly different sounds to my ears; my MJ2 tends towards clinical truth, my RH-5 is more of a warmer / romantic sound.
But, complicating matters with both is tube selection which can accentuate or mitigate those qualities enough to alter what I think about the sound.
One size doesn't fit all and your choice of music may play into it as well.
What satisfies me may not satisfy you.
Personally, I like driving my 1266 with my Formula S / Powerman combination.
I'm tube versus SS versus hybrid agnostic. I've heard examples of all types that I like or don't like so...

I should also mention that I've been on as steady diet of SR1a since my Jot R arrived Jan 21. I've spent a little time with my Phi and Utopia and all I can say from my perspective listening to classical and acoustic Jazz genres, the SR1a is my sound preference. Transparency; coherence, speed, openness, and uniformity of frequency response still has me shaking my head and gives me a "that's what the instruments sound like when I go live" experience that really comes into sharp focus when I switch to another headphone. It may not be the best HP for all genres so there is room for other options that other listeners will prefer and find more satisfying. I've found the bass response is as much a function of recording quality as anything else. And a little 20Hz Loki takes care of any shortcomings in a given recording for my taste.

And I am looking forward to the release of the new version of the HSA-1 coming to be able to compare my other phones against the SR1a using the same amp. While it may not be the optimal driving engine for all types of HP loads it will help me be able to better compare them and maybe come to some final conclusions for myself. I'm also still fond of my HD800 (and 800S) but I have a custom OTL coming to be used with just that headphone that is just right for that model.

Sorry for the non-answer to your question but that's all part and parcel of the "audiophile" experience.

 

[thomaskong78]

2 slightly different sounds to my ears; my MJ2 tends towards clinical truth, my RH-5 is more of a warmer / romantic sound.
But, complicating matters with both is tube selection which can accentuate or mitigate those qualities enough to alter what I think about the sound.
One size doesn't fit all and your choice of music may play into it as well.
What satisfies me may not satisfy you.
Personally, I like driving my 1266 with my Formula S / Powerman combination.
I'm tube versus SS versus hybrid agnostic. I've heard examples of all types that I like or don't like so...

I should also mention that I've been on as steady diet of SR1a since my Jot R arrived Jan 21. I've spent a little time with my Phi and Utopia and all I can say from my perspective listening to classical and acoustic Jazz genres, the SR1a is my sound preference. Transparency, coherence, speed, openness, and uniformity of frequency response still has me shaking my head and gives me a "that's what the instruments sound like when I go live" experience that really comes into sharp focus when I switch to another headphone. It may not be the best HP for all genres so there is room for other options that other listeners will prefer and find more satisfying. I've found the bass response is as much a function of recording quality as anything else. And a little 20Hz Loki takes care of any shortcomings in a given recording for my taste.

And I am looking forward to the release of the new version of the HSA-1 coming to be able to compare my other phones against the SR1a using the same amp. While it may not be the optimal driving engine for all types of HP loads it will help me be able to better compare them and maybe come to some final conclusions for myself. I'm also still fond of my HD800 (and 800S) but I have a custom OTL coming to be used with just that headphone that is just right for that model.

Sorry for the non-answer to your question but that's all part and parcel of the "audiophile" experience.

Thanks a lot for your detailed answer.

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/tube-amps-pocket-change-nobsound-ns-08e
fitted with Nos RTC 5654 RT tube sound fantastic with HD 800s.

I connect this from headphone output of Dave using 15 ft Grado extension cable.

I had tried the output of the above amp with headphone to RCA adapter to Jot R.

Oh my god, Sr1a sounds much more musical with less aggressive trait but also with slight loss of transparency.


Since I am happy with this result, I had ordered more Nos RCA and Sylvania 5654 tubes for tube rolling about 20 minutes ago.


Audio depends on personal taste.

I firmly believe that Nos tube amplification in front of Jot R will help to make Sr1a more musical.


My 2 channel system of Lansche 4.1 driven by Line Magnetic 508 (lot of tube rolling done it) augmented by two 18 inch Scaena subwoofers still sound better than any headphones on tonality and dynamics.

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...-make-your-speaker-sing.948501/#post-23705185

But I also take turns at Sr1a, 009s and HD 800s for intimate listening and not to disturb my wife at night.

I listen to music around 10 hours a day.

 

[Ciggavelli]

Woo stand is very tall and well built.

Definitely. I have a Woo stand for each of my headphones.

 

[Jon L]

My 2 channel system of Lansche 4.1

That plasma tweeter in Lansche speakers is one of my very favorite drivers (not just tweeters) I've ever listened to. Lucky man.

I have been enjoying the Jot R with iFi iTube2 tube buffer with Bendix 2C51 tube rolled in, skipping the interconnect with RCA-to-RCA adapter instead. This contraption minimizes the transparency loss to a very minimum amount while giving that lovely tube magic.

0410201542 by drjlo2, on Flickr

 

[FLTWS]

I remember a plasma speaker my brother and I auditioned at a dealers back in the 80's I believe. It was big, expensive, and dangerous as I remember it.

 

[thomaskong78]

That plasma tweeter in Lansche speakers is one of my very favorite drivers (not just tweeters) I've ever listened to. Lucky man.

I have been enjoying the Jot R with iFi iTube2 tube buffer with Bendix 2C51 tube rolled in, skipping the interconnect with RCA-to-RCA adapter instead. This contraption minimizes the transparency loss to a very minimum amount while giving that lovely tube magic.

0410201542 by drjlo2, on Flickr

It is good to hear about your experience in having tube in front of Jot R.

But I will try to get tube pre with balanced input and output so that I can use it also in front of KGSShv Carbon amp which has only balanced input.

 

[thomaskong78]

I remember a plasma speaker my brother and I auditioned at a dealers back in the 80's I believe. It was big, expensive, and dangerous as I remember it.

It was expensive at 55k$ on 2007.

Also I need to change tube in plasma tweeter every two or three years which cost around 2k$.

But I had been happy with it for more than 13 years.

That pays for the cost.

 

[Thenewguy007]

That plasma tweeter in Lansche speakers is one of my very favorite drivers (not just tweeters) I've ever listened to. Lucky man.

I have been enjoying the Jot R with iFi iTube2 tube buffer with Bendix 2C51 tube rolled in, skipping the interconnect with RCA-to-RCA adapter instead. This contraption minimizes the transparency loss to a very minimum amount while giving that lovely tube magic.

0410201542 by drjlo2, on Flickr

Pretty nice, where did you get those adapters?
A quick search online lead to a eBay seller from Hong Kong, but they were a little different from yours.

 

[Jon L]

Pretty nice, where did you get those adapters?
A quick search online lead to a eBay seller from Hong Kong, but they were a little different from yours.

I've had these forever.
Male RCA to male RCA adapters can be found anywhere. Here's a pair on Amazon, for example: (to connect iTube2 to Jot R)
https://www.amazon.com/Link-BM105-M...rca+to+male+rca+adapter&qid=1586918422&sr=8-3

Then a 90 degree RCA adapter to connect to your DAC via cable:
https://www.amazon.com/VCE-3-Pack-F...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

[joseph69]

I recommend you to use this cable lending service

https://fatwyre.com/

Choice of cable is dependent on personal taste and system matching.

Sr1a and Jot R sounds fast and open but close to hot.

If you contact them on the phone or e-mail, then they will recommend you to try out up to three different cables.

Then you may choose one among them after home audition.

FatWyre is the The Cable Company according to their same address & phone#.
Anyway, as of right now you can't borrow anything from them due to CV-19.

 

[koven]

FatWyre is the The Cable Company according to their same address & phone#.
Anyway, as of right now you can't borrow anything from them due to CV-19.

They also have a sister site https://www.usedcable.com/ w/ second-hand cables. Some good deals on there. I hope no one is paying MSRP on high end cables, most of the prices are ridiculous.

 

[tunes]

I recommend you to use this cable lending service

https://fatwyre.com/

Choice of cable is dependent on personal taste and system matching.

Sr1a and Jot R sounds fast and open but close to hot.

If you contact them on the phone or e-mail, then they will recommend you to try out up to three different cables.

Then you may choose one among them after home audition.

Thanks for the reference. What a range in price from $400- $3K plus. After much research of the reviews I decided to go with this one for $150: http://stagersound.com/silver/ until my SR1a is fully burned in and ready to take it to the next level.

 

[tunes]

One other thing...

Before connecting to my DAVE HMS set up wanted to make sure the advice below is correct to avoid damage any component in the chain. I assume the RCA cables go from the JOT-R input to the DAVE RCA outputs on either side of the XLR outputs?? Also, right now I have XLR outputs connected to my high efficiency speakers. The XLR out is active to the speakers when there is nothing plugged into the headphone jack in the front. But if I leave in the XLR cables to the speakers and have the JOT-R amp connected to the RCA outputs, when nothing is plugged into the headphone jack, do I have to unplug the speakers from the XLR outputs every time I listen to the SR1a???? Which DAVE analog output is active when both XLR and RCA are plugged in and headphone jack not used???

See below....

“With the Jotunheim R, if your DAC (or whatever source) has variable output, you can bypass the attenuation and use it simply as your “power” amp too. Simply turning the volume ALL the way up effectively turns the pot into straight wire.

DO make SURE your source has variable output, and that it is turned down, before doing this!

“Note that the Jotunheim R will be outputting exactly the same amount of power for the same output SPL regardless of whether you use its built-in volume control, or turn it all the way up and use your source for volume control. So no concerns about “running the amp flat out” or some such.”

Thanks for any advice!

 

[openbaffle9978]

True.

Thanks, that looks like the right choice. Appreciate the suggestion.