[Charente]

Well, now.... that should be easy enough to test.

Indeed so !

 

[SilverEars]

Reasonable points regarding so called 'burn-in', be it equipment or US ... or both. I do experience some feelings of SQ degradation in my hearing if I have been away for some days (having switched everything off before I left) and it seems back to 'normal' the next day (or so). Is it me or the equipment ? Is my hearing re-adjusting after an absence of not hearing what I'm used to ?

I haven't really come up with a strict pattern for my hearing, but I've had instances I've not listened to audio equipment for a long time, the audio equipment sounds more impressive and detailed. I've had those moments. I've also had a situation I listened to something, walk away, and come back and realize that the volume is much louder than I recall. I've also had times when treble seems more excessive than other times. I've had times when I notice more details and other times not. The most noticeable differences(or not) I hear is when I switch rapidly, otherwise I really cannot know with high confidence what I've heard prior was that much different. I've had moments when audio sounded worse. Given all this, I realize I'm not a machine, and there is a psychological element involved.

I'm sure we heard people repeatedly say Volume Matched when doing comparisons. You need a fair comparison, and consider all the variables. You have two DACs fed to an amp, one outputs higher volume than another. Our hearing have different frequency sensitivities at different volume levels has generally been proven statistically. Same goes for optical vs usb or various other interfaces. Before any conclusions to be made, you'd have to take all the considerations. If we had a judge that did a poor job with taking all the necessary considerations, wouldn't be fair outcome would it?

 

[ColtMrFire]

Very excited to be upgrading to a Torpedo III amp next week to pair with Gumby. Should be end game. Until I get curious about Yggy/Zana Duex S

 

[goldsgym]

The Gumby came in today and has been on for about 4 hours now. I can already tell that the highs are starting to mellow out just a tad. The combination with the V280 and the HD800 S creates a pretty beautiful sound.

 

[hikaru12]

So here's some more impressions after spending more time with Gumby:

It sounds effortless and has a pretty damn wide soundstage. I quite like it as it gives room for my music to breathe, this is it's most distinguishing feature. I can hear a little bit of more detail but not otherwise game changing (could be described as masked by the Gumby warmth which I'm quite okay with - I wasn't looking for a detail monster).

The other distinguishing factor is the Gumby just sounds transparent. I can much more clearly hear tube differences in my Valhalla 2 as the DAC doesn't add too much of it's own coloration which the Mimby did (I never realized the Mimby was too warm until I went with the Gumby). This means it's actually changing my perspective on warm tubes. I used to like warm tubes w/ warm headphones like the 650s when the DAC was something like a Chromecast audio or non-multibit variant as the brightness of the DAC + Mixed with the warmth of the tubes made for a quite nice sound. Brighter, more forward tubes with the neutrality of the DAC does lend itself to more detail but at the expense of dryness. The Gumby is going to cost me a lot of money as I try to find the best combo now lol Some Miniwatts might actually be good or a Crack w/ Speedball might be up my alley.

 

[RCBinTN]

I have the same experience when switching between my HD800 and LCD-4 headphones.
Takes my brain a while to re-calibrate. So, I don't usually switch day-by-day.
Too much re-calibrating is not good for an old guy like me

 

[KeithEmo]

Maybe you should consider getting a nice neutral (solid state) amp so you can hear all the nice NON-coloration of your new DAC....
(Get off the "balancing this coloration with that coloration" treadmill and just stick with transparent.)

So here's some more impressions after spending more time with Gumby:

It sounds effortless and has a pretty damn wide soundstage. I quite like it as it gives room for my music to breathe, this is it's most distinguishing feature. I can hear a little bit of more detail but not otherwise game changing (could be described as masked by the Gumby warmth which I'm quite okay with - I wasn't looking for a detail monster).

The other distinguishing factor is the Gumby just sounds transparent. I can much more clearly hear tube differences in my Valhalla 2 as the DAC doesn't add too much of it's own coloration which the Mimby did (I never realized the Mimby was too warm until I went with the Gumby). This means it's actually changing my perspective on warm tubes. I used to like warm tubes w/ warm headphones like the 650s when the DAC was something like a Chromecast audio or non-multibit variant as the brightness of the DAC + Mixed with the warmth of the tubes made for a quite nice sound. Brighter, more forward tubes with the neutrality of the DAC does lend itself to more detail but at the expense of dryness. The Gumby is going to cost me a lot of money as I try to find the best combo now lol Some Miniwatts might actually be good or a Crack w/ Speedball might be up my alley.

 

[hikaru12]

Maybe you should consider getting a nice neutral (solid state) amp so you can hear all the nice NON-coloration of your new DAC....
(Get off the "balancing this coloration with that coloration" treadmill and just stick with transparent.)

Yeah I'm thinking that myself that way I can better figure out how I want to tweak the sound. You have any good recommendations for a neutral balanced SS amp for around $500? I was thinking the Joteinheim but I've heard it's bright and not neutral.

 

[ColtMrFire]

Jotunheim is transparent, not necessarily "bright". I owned it.

It will give you a clear picture of the DAC. Your headphones will contribute more to any perceived brightness.

For what its worth, some people rave about the Jot/Gumby combo.

I had Jot/Mimby and it was extremely good. I even preferred it to Ragnarok when I demoed it. Gumby would obviously be a large improvement.

Jot could be considered an end game amp for some people, it's exceptional and definitely under-priced (like most Schiit gear).

 

[hikaru12]

Jotunheim is transparent, not necessarily "bright". I owned it.

It will give you a clear picture of the DAC. Your headphones will contribute more to any perceived brightness.

For what its worth, some people rave about the Jot/Gumby combo.

I had Jot/Mimby and it was extremely good. I even preferred it to Ragnarok when I demoed it. Gumby would obviously be a large improvement.

Jot could be considered an end game amp for some people, it's exceptional and definitely under-priced (like most Schiit gear).

Thanks for your impressions. I'll definitely give it a try. I've heard it's a good pairing with the 650s, just can't dig as deep in the micro-details as tubes but that doesn't matter as much to me as getting the perfect hint of coloration w/ the right amount of detail.

 

[ColtMrFire]

Only place Jot falls short of other TOTL amps is the soundstage is relatively flat. I didn't really notice or care much though, as everything else is exceptional. But SS amps are always going to be compromised in soundstage vs. tubes.

 

[goldsgym]

So here's some more impressions after spending more time with Gumby:

It sounds effortless and has a pretty damn wide soundstage. I quite like it as it gives room for my music to breathe, this is it's most distinguishing feature. I can hear a little bit of more detail but not otherwise game changing (could be described as masked by the Gumby warmth which I'm quite okay with - I wasn't looking for a detail monster).

The other distinguishing factor is the Gumby just sounds transparent. I can much more clearly hear tube differences in my Valhalla 2 as the DAC doesn't add too much of it's own coloration which the Mimby did (I never realized the Mimby was too warm until I went with the Gumby). This means it's actually changing my perspective on warm tubes. I used to like warm tubes w/ warm headphones like the 650s when the DAC was something like a Chromecast audio or non-multibit variant as the brightness of the DAC + Mixed with the warmth of the tubes made for a quite nice sound. Brighter, more forward tubes with the neutrality of the DAC does lend itself to more detail but at the expense of dryness. The Gumby is going to cost me a lot of money as I try to find the best combo now lol Some Miniwatts might actually be good or a Crack w/ Speedball might be up my alley.

Ok, more than 24 hours in with the Gumby + V280 combo and I am now in audio heaven. I finally see why everyone raves about the Gumby. The music is just plain amazing! I've been listening to Disturbed - Live at the RedRocks using Tidal, so it's their Masters edition. Absolutely incredible.

 

[hikaru12]

Ok, more than 24 hours in with the Gumby + V280 combo and I am now in audio heaven. I finally see why everyone raves about the Gumby. The music is just plain amazing! I've been listening to Disturbed - Live at the RedRocks using Tidal, so it's their Masters edition. Absolutely incredible.

Unfortunately I don't share your sentiments. My impressions are mixed, I don't yet feel like I got my money's worth. It's good but not amazing or incredible like everyone is describing. I think I really need to up my amplification to benefit the most from it. My main headphone right now is the HD650 so tubes usually win out on that run. I'm not willing to spend $2k on a tube amp and another $2k on a SS so it's kind of picking where my focus will be. SS will deliver the slam but I want to ensure the warmness and micro-detail is preserved. How is your V280 in terms of micro-detail? I don't care much for soundstage. I'm one of those weird cats that got an HD800 and couldn't really hear a soundstage difference (probably because I don't listen to Classical or other genres that require it).

 

[Globox]

I'm not willing to spend $2k on a tube amp and another $2k on a SS so it's kind of picking where my focus will be. SS will deliver the slam but I want to ensure the warmness and micro-detail is preserved.

How about taking both in one ?
Schiit MJ2 is your friend !

 

[hikaru12]

How about taking both in one ?
Schiit MJ2 is your friend !

Haha, yeah I've thought about it. One of my concerns for it has been the recent up in RMA from users over on the Impressions thread but Schiit's got a good warranty on their top amps. Might give it a go. One of their founders has the Gumby + Mjonir stack and he really likes it.