[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

As @JamminVMI already said, there must be more to it. The sonic differences between the Æon Noir and the Æon 2 Closed are much too drastic to be caused by just a bit of perforation in the pads. At least to me, they sound like different headphones entirely. So different, in fact, that you wouldn't catch me dead with any one of the other Æon models. I know and very much appreciate that they have a lot of avid fans, and I'm sincerely glad and happy that people like and enjoy them. Variety is the spice of life, and all that. But I, personally, find them borderline insufferable, while the Noirs are without any hyperbole my favorite headphones of any set I've ever auditioned — DCA or otherwise, and regardless of price point.

Not to rain on your opinion but I had another experience with the HD-800.
When I replaced the standard pads for "Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin" pads I had a very different, like new and other pair of cans.
The only way to be sure with one's own is just to test it. Buy a pair of new pads and compare.
There's no discussion that can replace listening.

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

There's no discussion that can replace listening.

True dat.


JC

 

[BraveNewWorld]

In case anybody is going into feline withdrawal, here is a recent picture of our formerly feral kitty Xambo, passed out with full body extension, including his tail. He's taking a siesta after doing farm work all morning.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

Urd impressions Part 2.

No issues with drawer alignment.

The lack of a shuffle feature isn't an issue for me.

A dedicated eject button would be nice but isn't necessary.

Urd runs a little bit warm, even at idle.

I have yet to hear any odd "metallic" noises that some have noticed when playing CDs via USB.

The CD mechanism itself is dead quiet. This was quite a surprise as I spend time with a very noisy external CD/DVD/BluRay drive attached to my computer.

I spent a few hours listening to four CD tracks. The same tracks were also ripped to FLAC and streamed using Roon. The playback variations were:

Urd/CD > USB > Yggy
Urd/CD > XLR > Yggy
NUC/Roon > USB > Yggy
NUC/Roon > USB > Urd > USB > Yggy
NUC/Roon > USB > Urd > XLR > Yggy

All listening was done with Lokius in bypass mode.

This may cause some disagreement amongst Urd owners, but CDs played on Urd via USB or XLR to Yggy sound close enough to be identical. There may be some differences but they're so slight that I can't effectively describe them.

Not surprising then that I was unable to distinguish a meaningful difference in SQ between USB or XLR when listening to NUC/Roon > Urd > Yggy.

NUC/Roon > Yggy without Urd in the middle sounds just a tiny bit better but, again, the differences are so minor that I don't have enough command of audiophile lingo to properly convey what I heard. Might be due to having one less box in the signal chain?

The most noticeable differences are when playing a CD on Urd and listening to the same tracks ripped to FLAC.

The CD wins every time. The Urd/Yggy combo sounds, to me, like a very nice all analog source.

Urd is a fantastic CD transport. The highs are crystal clear without being etched or fatiguing. The mids are buttery smooth. The lows have plenty of presence without being boomy.

Takeaways -

Urd does a great job of coverting USB to S/Pdif. If your source only has a USB output and your DAC doesn't have a quality USB input, Urd will take care of you.

Having a high quality USB switcher could be a game changer for some.

If you already have a DAC that you enjoy then Urd will be able to feed it a very high quality signal so long as you're not relying on toslink.

Much of what I've been hearing is due to the synergy of Urd and Yggy. YMMV if using different sources/DACS.

I understand that many were hoping to hear a consistent message of "Unison USB blows S/Pdif away" but that hasn't been my experience. I realize that this may be interpreted as "damning by faint praise", but Unison USB to Unison USB is merely excellent.

Regardless of which DAC will be used, Urd is a fantastic CD transport that will sound great with any system.

Tracks used for today's listening (no rhyme or reason, just songs I wanted to hear) -

Mystic Mile - Robben Ford & The Blue Line - Mystic Mile
Running on Faith - Eric Clapton - Unplugged
Dreaming Out Loud - Gov't Mule - Peace Like A River
Wicked Rain - Los Lobos - Kiko

 

[filthy mechanical]

This is why the $40K milled-from-a-block-of-titanium stuff gets really pricey. They (ought to) have polishers and aligners making all cracks and slots perfect. Yachts in the high end used to have the screw slots “timed”, that is when the screw tightened up at the end all the slots were horizontal. Nowadays I’m sure no screws show at all. I’ve never owned a yacht nor a $10K plus piece of stereo gear. I’m a Schiit head. But if visual perfection floats your boat it can be purchased.

Is it bad I am timing the screws in the house as I open and replace outlets? Helps keep track of which outlets have been replaced and grounding fixed.

 

[cschock]

No. Urd's USB inputs are not connected, and Urd is connected to my OG Yggy (Unison & Analog 2) with a 1.5M AudioQuest Carbon USB-C to USB-B.

It's frustrating, because Urd generally sounds so good, I mean amazingly good. Then, out of nowhere, the audio output shifts to being brittle, hissy, static-y - like a weird metallic phase shift. Hi @cschock - tagging you here bc you mentioned this this is happening to your Urd, also.

And then suddenly, it's fine again. I'm going to write up a SR on schiit.com. Would love to hear that it's a cable problem.

I too have no USB inputs connected to URD, it is purely a source. I am currently testing with a new USB B to USB C cable on the theory that the cable is the most likely culprit.

I agree, the Urd normally sounds really excellent. But sometimes, only with the USB output mind you, it has some weird staticy/metallic distortion overlaid on the music and it sounds quite awful. It doesn't always happen, even in the same places on the same discs (and those discs play fine in another playback system, namely my PC's cheap as dirt DVD drive) so I know it isn't the discs themselves. I contacted Schiit support on Monday and they suggested trying a new cable, so I ordered one and am doing that now. (They also suggested using a different DAC to test, but I haven't got another one to test with.) As I say, so far so good, keeping fingers crossed.

 

[HWB3]

I love my Schiit gear. Y'all are giving Jason quite the hard time. He said that they'd make it right if you aren't happy.

 

[Nick76]

Same just patiently awaiting my Mjolnir 3

 

[earnmyturns]

Then, out of nowhere, the audio output shifts to being brittle, hissy, static-y - like a weird metallic phase shift. Hi @cschock - tagging you here bc you mentioned this this is happening to your Urd, also.

I have a similar problem with a totally different piece of audio equipment. I'm listening to one of my solid-state headphone amps, and suddenly the sound on one channel gets messed up. When it happens, the only solution is to power cycle the amp. After a few times of this happening, I figure it out. I was listening on the sofa next to the audio rack, and I stood up to get something from my desk. If I stay put, or listen from a different seat, or move very carefully off the sofa, no issue. This is super-dry summer California. Yes, static somehow energizing the headphone cable and zapping temporarily the app's innards. Once I concluded this, I'be been a bit careful and it never happened again.

So, I wonder if you are statically discharging onto the Urd somehow, those CDs and jewel cases do get charged.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Same just patiently awaiting my Mjolnir 3

You may need some more ventilation--I'm currently redoing the manual to include provisos like "if you think 85 degrees F/30 degrees C is comfortable, you may need to put a fan on Mjolnir 3." Truly not for everyone.

Aaaand, you're gonna kill me: no silver on Mjolnir 3. We need the black for heat dissipation. Seriously.

Remind me again why we're introducing this in the summer? Ah well, timing...

 

[riffrafff]

Aaaand, you're gonna kill me: no silver on Mjolnir 3. We need the black for heat dissipation. Seriously.

Nooooooooooooo!!! You're killin' me, Jason!

Jeez. Now I have to rethink everything.

 

[Huntersknoll]

You may need some more ventilation--I'm currently redoing the manual to include provisos like "if you think 85 degrees F/30 degrees C is comfortable, you may need to put a fan on Mjolnir 3." Truly not for everyone.

Aaaand, you're gonna kill me: no silver on Mjolnir 3. We need the black for heat dissipation. Seriously.

Remind me again why we're introducing this in the summer? Ah well, timing...

Just another reason to keep the listening room 65 degrees.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Just another reason to keep the listening room 65 degrees.

That's like buying a Mjolnir 3 or two every month in SoCal summer.

 

[Rensek]

@Jason Stoddard

Do you have any leftover cases for gumby in black?

 

[Nick76]

You may need some more ventilation--I'm currently redoing the manual to include provisos like "if you think 85 degrees F/30 degrees C is comfortable, you may need to put a fan on Mjolnir 3." Truly not for everyone.

Aaaand, you're gonna kill me: no silver on Mjolnir 3. We need the black for heat dissipation. Seriously.

Remind me again why we're introducing this in the summer? Ah well, timing...

I was hoping for a black one anyway! I’ll find a way to make it work, either on top of the rack itself or with some fans (or both). Just looking forward to get my ears on one.