[xtcriott]

Quote:

That's great man.  After hearing all the high-end amplifiers and DAC combinations yesterday, I have a new found respect for the FUN.  Which of my phones did you like best or did you try your own?
 
 

I was the guy set up next to you, with the Apple iBook. I got a chance to hear your K701s, and that was a treat, as they were one of the top three cans I wanted to demo. I'm still torn between those, some Beyers and a couple others, but at least now I have an idea of how they sound, especially with that amp juicing them. I think I'm going to finish some DIY projects that I picked up from the meet yesterday, and by that time I will probably be able to pick up the FUN without my lady killing me

If I do end up making the FUN purchase, you will probably see me posting in here a bit more with questions and whatnot. Thanks again dude.

 

[olor1n]

Quote:

That's great man.  After hearing all the high-end amplifiers and DAC combinations yesterday, I have a new found respect for the FUN.  Which of my phones did you like best or did you try your own?
 
 

sphinx, look what you unleashed in the HD650 appreciation thread. Lol. Anyway, care to elaborate on how the Fun held up against the other gear you heard? Were there any other Audio-GD gear at the meet?

 

[sphinxvc]

Quote:

sphinx, look what you unleashed in the HD650 appreciation thread. Lol. Anyway, care to elaborate on how the Fun held up against the other gear you heard? Were there any other Audio-GD gear at the meet?

I know, haha.
 
The only other Audio-GD equipment at the meet was an NFB-12 being used as a DAC for a Schitt Lyr & Woo Audio 6 SE.  I didn't have a chance to plug my 650s directly into the NFB-12 but it was quite nice as a standalone DAC, very affordable too at $237 shipped in the US.  I would expect a better DAC to have more resolution in details but the details resolved were just about the same as the FUN.  Not saying the NFB-12 is meant to be a better DAC, just saying that I didn't notice anything outright different with the dual Wolfson chips compared to the FUN's single.  That probably means nothing though as I'm just assuming equal power, output stage, etc. 
 
Right next to that setup was a Meier Concerto + Stagedac.  I wouldn't bother moving from the FUN to that chain.  I tried it with my K701s and HD650s and there wasn't much improvement to either can (with respect to their weaknesses).  The only other solid state kit I tried was[size=x-small] the über high-end RSA Apache.  I tried the other-worldly cans on that amp (Sony R10s & Qualias) as well as humble balanced HD600s (nice), but nothing special after the R10s.  I tried the same HD600s SE from the Apache and it wasn't much better than average.  For the record, the balanced cable on the HD600s was one of those boutique cables.  I'm not sure if the difference I heard had anything to do with going balanced or the boutique cable, or both.[/size]
 
I found tube amps from Woo Audio to be the most impressive in comparison to the FUN.  The headstage was enormous on the WA6 SE and the WA22 was just on a different level.  Pick anything, the WA22 did it better.  I tried some other tube amps as well, including some cool DIY ones, but nothing on the level of the Woos.  I'm backtracking on a statement I made earlier, but I think the FUN reaches very far into the 650s potential, it does a lot of things right.  

 

[olor1n]

Thanks for elaborating sphinx. Your findings just goes to show how much value there is in the Fun.
 
I presume you'll be keeping the Fun as a dac? So which tube amp are you getting for the K701? Are you going all in for the WA22?

 
Also, did you hear the HD650 through a completely balanced setup from the dac to the cable?

 

[sphinxvc]

@Olor1n
 
No, I'm not plunking down $2K for an amplifier, or $1.5K on the HD800s for that matter!  (Not to mention the $1K source to match.)  We're talking some *serious* diminishing returns here.  I'm okay with compromises, especially considering that the next best rig, to my ears, will cost about $4.5K.  

 
Still trying to keep the headphone habit as close to $1K as possible.  I may have a chance to buy the WA6-SE I heard at the meet and any used WA6-SE is a steal.  Other amplifiers I'm considering are the WA6-non-SE and the Ming Da MC 84 C07..
 
Once I have a tube-amp I will probably sell the FUN and get a NFB-12 as the FUN's modularity and excellent performance as a combined amp/DAC is a bit overkill for me.
 
There were no fully balanced HD650 rigs at the meet.  = /

 

[tama]

Hi all,

I am going to get the FUN for my first setup but Im not exactly sure about A/B and Moon/Earth etc.
Im going to be using it with Swans MK200MKIII and K701/HD650 (leaning towards K701 as it will be cheaper to get to Australia)

Postage to Australia is going to be $80 which is bit of a pain so I would prefer to be a bit on the conservative side  

Cheers,
Tama

 

[ljperez84]

@tama

If you visualize the Fun as your Dac/amp for several years, as I do, go with version A. Otherwise you may regret later not having the neutrik jack, goldplated connectors, etc.

As for the opamp you should at least get both Moon and Earth. Earth is very neutral, Moon makes the sound warmer, but I supose that with certain cans, it would be like putting too much syrup on your wafles.

Also regarding the Spdif module, go with Dir9001, it has less jitter and is very neutral, if you want to tweak the sound you can do it later with the opamps.

My 2c

 

[RTF]

Is there a reason most go for Earth or Moon over the Sun?

 

[bobxxxbob]

Quote:

Is there a reason most go for Earth or Moon over the Sun?

Depends on your headphones. I highly recommend Moon for AKG K-701.

 

[sphinxvc]

Quote:

Is there a reason most go for Earth or Moon over the Sun?

They are still natural sounding.  Sun is not.  It's a nice thing to try, but too gimmicky to keep.
 
 

 

[RTF]

Thanks for the replies, I ask because I have a Pac Valve version of the Fun on order and I'm pretty sure they use the Sun opamp along with some other adjustments, now I'm considering changing my order to the stock version A unit.

 

[fourwed]

Tama, I had same question as you and finally I got version A. The parts are not going to be changeable and components are very important to sound good. At least, I have no regret of my choice. For Moon and Earth, I do say that it is safe to buy both, because of the high postage and low opamp price comparatively.

 

[N0sferatu]

Natural = boring

Version A + SUN + D7000 = "FUN"


 
RTF...I bought the Pacific Valve version you won't regret it.  It's great.  Someone like me loves Grados and Denon and that in your face fun sound.  If you're an AKG 701 type of guy who likes the analytic neutral profile then maybe you won't like this setup as I can't stand those cans.  Hope this helps.    I use my setup for modern rock, trance/techno, and classical music.

 

[sphinxvc]

^ 
 
+1 on the Sun being fun.
 
 

 

[RTF]

Thanks for the reply Nosferatu, right now my main phones are HE-4s which I'm pretty happy with so I'm looking to match the amp with those. I think I tend more towards neutral on the phones and fun/lively on the amp so the Sun could be just the ticket.