[pure5152]

This is best solid-state headamp I've used (and still use, on my work system). If I wanted to go really big leagues, I'd skip the HPA-1 and the GSX MKII for one of these. My current headamp ranking:

Asgard 2 < Cavalli Liquid Carbon < Jotunheim < Neurochrome HP-1 < Lyr 3 (with the right tube) < Apex Peak (with the right tube)

(still own)

Do you have a tube you would recommend with the Lyr 3? I'm using the stock NOS tube (I've tried tung sol, and prefer the NOS tube), but am interested in going the next step

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

This is best solid-state headamp I've used (and still use, on my work system). If I wanted to go really big leagues, I'd skip the HPA-1 and the GSX MKII for one of these. My current headamp ranking:

Asgard 2 < Cavalli Liquid Carbon < Jotunheim < Neurochrome HP-1 < Lyr 3 (with the right tube) < Apex Peak (with the right tube)

(still own)

You are an evil evil Man. The HP-1 offers a PCB build your own with like a hundred super tiny SMD parts. After the coaster I'm not taking on a SMD project without some serious contemplations.

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

And Mimby/Bimby share the same 4x closed form filter.

[Beating dead horse]

Not saying that the Mimby and Bimby sound identical, but the sonic difference (if even audible) is not worth $300 for me to move from Mimby to Bimby. The key sales point on the site is not the sonic difference between Bimby and Modi MB, but the fact that Bimby is an upgrade-able DAC. On the Bimby, other than a Gen 3 to 5 USB upgrade, there's not been any upgrades (at least that I know of), so the upgrade-ability factor for Bimby is less of a driver -- especially if one uses S/PDIF and not USB. It's still compelling if you get the Bifrost DS since you can upgrade to MB, just not so much for the Bifrost MB right out of the gate.

I'm not poo-poo'ing Schiit's products here. I'm just of the opinion that the Bimby (as we know it) is due for an upgrade, and not just to a new USB. Not because Bimby sucks (it doesn't), but because Mimby is so good. They need a midrange level DAC option that offers more of a differentiator from Mimby and the next jump to a real differentiator product (Gumby) is too big a leap financially for many, and doesn't match up aesthetically with Lyr or Jot. There's a prime opening in the mid-range MB DAC line-up for a refresh that would drive new customer sales and additional sales from folks upgrading after sitting pat on Mimby. I'm confident that I'm not the only one ready to upgrade from Mimby if there was a more compelling mid-range DAC in the Schiit line-up. IMHO -- a mid-priced single-ended DAC with the Gumby DAC and filter would be a killer offering.

Of course this is all my opinion. YMMV.

And that's all I have to say about that.

[/beating dead horse]

I agree that would be a good thing. I have a Mimby and for me IMO the next logical upgrade is the Gumby which is out of my price range and size requirements.

 

[earnmyturns]

You are an evil evil Man. The HP-1 offers a PCB build your own with like a hundred super tiny SMD parts. After the coaster I'm not taking on a SMD project without some serious contemplations.

I confess I bought mine pre-assembled, I don't have the time, recent experience, or high-quality tools to do that kind of precision electronics work. What happened is that someone lent me their HP-1, I compared it with my Jot, and I decided to get my own HP-1, since I was planning to give a headamp to my daughter anyway and the Jot suited the space and requirements in her setup.

 

[earnmyturns]

Do you have a tube you would recommend with the Lyr 3? I'm using the stock NOS tube (I've tried tung sol, and prefer the NOS tube), but am interested in going the next step

Of the tubes I've tried, the new Psvane 6SN7-SE is has the best balance, instrument separation, clean mids, effortless bass. But it is expensive. Next best, a NOS 1944 Ken-Rad VT-231. Both beat the new stock Tung-Sol, which is pretty good but a bit lean and 1-dimensional comparatively. I also have a few other tubes to test out, including a NOS Bad Boy (2 hole). There's a Lyr 3 tube-rolling thread that could be rather dangerous to one's bank balance.

 

[Scott Kramer]

A remote in Ragnarok does make sense since it is also an integrated for a 2-channel system (although my 2-channel system has no remote and I am just fine with that.) But I still say the only people who need a remote for a headphone system are those with T-Rex arms.

Man, Rag if rife for a diy arduino/ir/bluetooth remote module -- there's a microcontrollor (controling the relay resistor array) watching Rags 50K pot -- tap into that with the Arduino controlling the 50K range, with clever code to not blast your speakers (ie tend to ramp down, like the saga) ;D

Hell, maybe Schiit put a header on Rag 1.5 to do just that!

 

[JamminVMI]

One is a 5v draw and the other is 3.3 volts, which they sell a handy battery holder for conventional AA batteries to run whatever the second board is. I am looking forward to the HiFiBerry Pro HAT so I can use the toslink

You’re gonna smile. Sounds brilliant!

 

[pure5152]

I just noticed schiit posted measurements from their new Audio Precision APx555 for the modi 3 and modi multibit on the specs part of the modi product page. Have these always been there? .-.

(And if they haven’t, bravo to schiit for publishing them!)

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

You are an evil evil Man. The HP-1 offers a PCB build your own with like a hundred super tiny SMD parts. After the coaster I'm not taking on a SMD project without some serious contemplations.

Also I would like to add that charging $225 for the PCB is highway robbery. The Schiit coasters are 4 for $12, and Pass Labs and their affiliated DIY Audio Stores sell all of their PCBs for roughly a tenth of the cost.

@earnmyturns Thank you for the link to the HP-1. While I like the feature set it looks "eerily like the Jotenhiem" (probably just parallel/convergent evolution) and it offers the chance to build a Jotenhiem like amp, I'll swipe left on this one , building it would cost more than my Jot and it would be very unlikely to actually function if I built it due to the number of super tiny parts and my limited SMD soldering skills. And troubleshooting to find the bad solder joint would be like listening to Boney M for hours.

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

I confess I bought mine pre-assembled, I don't have the time, recent experience, or high-quality tools to do that kind of precision electronics work. What happened is that someone lent me their HP-1, I compared it with my Jot, and I decided to get my own HP-1, since I was planning to give a headamp to my daughter anyway and the Jot suited the space and requirements in her setup.

Sharing means Caring. (sharing the need to build/buy just one more thing ) And knowing is half the battle.

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

I’m reminded of a posting in the Vali 2 thread. A wise dude/dude-ette compared the Vali to the locked-down nature of the iDevice (and I think the other tube amp required elaborate tube bias[?] or gain[?] adjustment after every tube swap)... the compared amp was like an unlocked Android phone. Evocative post, @CAPT Deadpool ... nice!



My SYS is battleship grey, sitting underneath my Modi, under my nook’s end-table. Steel, not aluminum.



I try to ignore that tempting I/O port. Christ, I wonder how many black-hat Schiitheads have plugged a cable in to snoop around. With the manifesto of the iFixIt website echoing in their noggins. I assume @SchiitFerBrainz and his peeps insert some kind of lock-code (embedded on the C-media chip) to prevent tampering.


A-*** men, @RickB .


Ibid. @Aleza .


Audio nervosa... it might sound cutesy; however, it captures the sensation. What else comes to mind... for me... contentment is realistic... happiness? Meh...


Sir, your avatar is bang on. The anti-hero, DEADPOOL. I’ll just move behind the Pb-lined bunker over yonder...


Interesting observation, @artur9 . I find the frothy, gung-ho, anybody-can-do-it layout difficult to navigate (and somewhat naive). And yes, I see the “paradox-of-choice” issue you pointed out. I want a cook-book Pi recipe... like the one posted on this blog (link... thanks to the JS’s thread). @HumanFly & @Robert Padgett also recently posted instructions I could follow (and even offered to provide a little feedback [wow]).

Not sure if I should like this or not but who cares! I'll just assume that your one of my millions of adoring Head-fi fans (Deadpool is insane and delusional)! That said I'm swiping left. Just you wait for my next movie Deadpool Unleashed...

Very tempted to buy a bunch of B-Stock today (Modi, Mani, Magni, Asgard, and/or Vali).

Also for all you audiophile DIYer's and Deadpool Fans out there Arrow.com (no known affiliation with Hawkeye (Marvel, who wants to be the human with no superpower anyway) or Green Arrow (DC)) has a 15% off sale for first time orders. They have free shipping and have competitive prices but less broad inventory than Mouser or Digikey. The deal was supposed to expire on the 26th, but I put in an order last night and got the discount. The deal is still posted on their webpage.

 

[Paladin79]

You are an evil evil Man. The HP-1 offers a PCB build your own with like a hundred super tiny SMD parts. After the coaster I'm not taking on a SMD project without some serious contemplations.

Also I would like to add that charging $225 for the PCB is highway robbery. The Schiit coasters are 4 for $12, and Pass Labs and their affiliated DIY Audio Stores sell all of their PCBs for roughly a tenth of the cost.

@earnmyturns Thank you for the link to the HP-1. While I like the feature set it looks "eerily like the Jotenhiem" (probably just parallel/convergent evolution) and it offers the chance to build a Jotenhiem like amp, I'll swipe left on this one , building it would cost more than my Jot and it would be very unlikely to actually function if I built it due to the number of super tiny parts and my limited SMD soldering skills. And troubleshooting to find the bad solder joint would be like listening to Boney M for hours.

I plan to look into the HP-1 but I agree the PCB price is pretty high, I do not mind the challenge of building one depending on total parts cost.

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

I plan to look into the HP-1 but I agree the PCB price is pretty high, I do not mind a challenge of building one depending on total parts cost.

The BOM is another $250 according to the webpage. Also the volume pot looks really small I think I'd have to spend some more to use a different attenuation device.

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

The BOM is another $250 according to the webpage. Also the volume pot looks really small I think I'd have to spend some more to use a different attenuation device.

More details at https://www.neurochrome.com/hp-1-ultra-high-end-headphone-amp/

 

[Paladin79]

The BOM is another $250 according to the webpage. Also the volume pot looks really small I think I'd have to spend some more to use a different attenuation device.

Yeah I was just reading through the review as well as parts prices. Chassis another $250 so $750 and quite a bit of time to build, I will probably weigh other options. I am already running class a solid state amps that have plenty of power so that might be redundant anyway.

Maybe I can find some DIY tube mono blocks to build, I need a wintertime project.