[sslim3883]

Final audio SONOROUS X review is look poison to audit 
http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?p=2605632

 

[ph0n6]

Well if I have that much money a pair of bookshelf speaker seems more "reasonable" to me. But of course if one doesn't mind carrying around 5000$ on his/her head it would makes a nice portable rig (along with the AK380&Amp pair lol, that would be 10000$ on your head )

 

[jellofund]

They can't be anything special. The Hope VI are the only ones they've got stored in a glass case under lock & key (probably alarmed & surrounded with laser beams too) 

 

 

[AlterSack]

  Final audio SONOROUS X review is look poison to audit
http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?p=2605632

Just FYI - I talked to the FAD guys at the Munich High End Show  last Weekend. They had to rename the Pandora - the new Name is "Sonorous".

Reason for this is that there is an American Company that has the Name rights for "Pandora" and requests them to change it.
 
So - now we will have Sonorous IV, VI  and soon VIII and X.
VIII and X Sound fabulous - but are waaaayy out of my financial abilities. The VIII will be around 3.500 USD and the X will be -  I believe - 6.000-8.000 USD.
Enjoy your Pandoras - they may increase in value due to the Name Change.

 

[MDVictor]

anybody knows how to buy original 3m cable in Canada or US ?
 
Sonorous VIII or X at Stax price range...
Final Audio vs Stax
It will be interesting


 

 

[yorktronic]

  just spoke to the authorized dealer at my town. they're ordering the alcantra pads for me. but thanks again @yorktronic for the offer!

Anytime sir!

 

[AlterSack]

No idea - but one thing that I forgot to mention is that they will offer a balanced cable which will be produced by ALO (if I understood them correcly)
 
 

 

[Orky261]

Will this headphone benefit from having desktop amp/dac compared to portable amp/dac ? I went on and use my Note 4, it sounds loud but when I went and use my iBasso D12, it felt far more satisfying and this makes me consider stepping up on the dac/amp game. I'm looking at Burson Audio HA160DS and for portable RSA Intruder.

 

[Lorspeaker]

u might want to check out Gustard H10 and X12 combo....instead of the Burson.
GUSTARD H10 High-current Discrete Class A output Stage Headphone Amplifier

 

[yorktronic]

Another option is the JDS Labs O2+ODAC. I use the Maverick Audio Tubemagic D1 Plus (with an upgraded 1x 2C51 Tungsol black plates NOS "D" getter halo tube) as a DAC and tube preamp, and then the JDS Labs O2 as the headphone amplifier. It sounds amazing.
 
My portable setup is a Meridian Explorer and the O2 headphone amp if I feel like carrying it, otherwise I just use the Meridian. Sounds good but not as good as my home setup.

 

[moriez]

The VIII will be around 3.500 USD and the X will be -  I believe - 6.000-8.000 USD.

 
Just got word from the European distributor that the VIII will be €2800 and the X €4600. Available from the 1st of June.

 

[ItsMeHere]

I've just posted my review of the Pandora Hope VI, check it out here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/final-audio-design-pandora-hope-vi-headphones/reviews/13227

 

[Orky261]

So here's the situation, after 3 days of research, I'm willing to pay about $700-800 for my setup, getting DESKTOP headphone amp/dac here is a pain in the arse because everyone in my country has more tendency of using portable dac/amp which I already have. I want to have the capability to utilize bookshelf speaker in the future hopefully without needing to buy another amp/dac.
 
- There's a shop with bifrost and old version of Asgard (I don't want tube amps), kinda worried if the old Asgard wouldn't be worth it
- Surprsingly I found NAD distributor that has NAD 1050, 3020, 7050 - I'm confused which one to get, I've been reading and 1050 sounds like the best one for headphone currently with amp upgrade path in the future
- TEAC A-H01
- Cambridge Audio DAC Magic Plus - I know this headphone is easy to drive but will it provide soundstage ? Considering it was kinda advertised as more of a stand alone DAC and I'm new to this so I'm kinda worried
 
I found maverick D1 and the price really entice me but I can't seem to like tube amp characteristics.
 
I cannot obtain any JDS or ODAC or Meridien products, living in a country where people still like to **** on other headphones because they bought beats sucks.
 
All that said though, my priority now is to make this headphone sounds the best and at least it can replace my Xonar Essence STX to drive this old corsair SP2500

 

[yorktronic]

To clarify, the headphone out on the Maverick Tubemagic D1 does not pass through the tube signal path, it's solid state. I simply bought an O2 headphone amplifier as the headphone stage so that I could use the tube out, because I like tube characteristics. It uses two TI OPA627 OpAmps. On the back it has a tube pre-out, and solid-state line out, along with an analog in, USB in, digital coaxial in, and optical in. You can easily upgrade the opamp (or tube) with whatever you desire down the road if you want to try something different. 
 
I'm in the camp that thinks that for the price, it's incredibly hard to beat. If your budget is $700-800 then @ $254 you would have enough for a separate power amplifier for passive bookshelf speakers (if you went that route). You could do what I did for a long time which is use the tube out for your speakers for a little change of pace, or just use the headphone out and then the standard analog out for your speakers. Speaking of price - did you email JDS Labs to see if you can persuade them to ship to you? Just a thought.
 
NAD products are top-notch so if you want to go that route, I wouldn't blame you. Between $750-800 puts you right in the range for a pre-owned Benchmark DAC-1, which if you're a solid-state guy might be right up your alley.
 
Some other thoughts:

1. The 1050 has the added benefit of balanced XLR outs, and 24/192 (the D1 also has this, but not balanced outs). So if down the road you get active (powered) bookshelf / studio monitors that have balanced inputs, you can take advantage of that
2. I wouldn't go with the 3020 because I think it's doing more in one unit than you need it to, and it's "only" 24/96. The power amp would be nice if you already had some efficient passive bookshelves that you love, but you don't, and down the road you might get active monitors which would eliminate the need for a power amplifier
3. The 7050 is an awesome unit if 1) you use a mac / iphone and 2) you want / need AirPlay to stream to it from a different place in your house. That said, if you don't need streaming functionality now, but might in the future, you could always add something like a Meridian Source 200 or whatever equivalent product you choose
4. I feel the same way about the TEAC as I do about the 3020 - if you already have passive monitors that you love, great, otherwise you may be wasting money on a power amplifier that you don't need in a unit that you only need to be a DAC / preamplifier
5. The Cambridge is a great unit, I've heard nothing but wonderful things about it

 
So, if my opinion matters, I have narrowed your choices down to four! The Mav, the NAD 1050, the Cambridge, and a pre-owned Benchmark DAC1. There are so many other choices out there, but this is my two cents.

 

[yorktronic]

Also, for those of you that were thinking about trying different earpads, the ATH-M50x velour pads are back up on Massdrop for $20.