[Chucked]

omg so funny, I was just thinking this last night. I only had OG for 6 years, though.


Knowing fully well that I'm at risk of making a declaration w/r/t OG vs MiB, I will strive to remain neutral.

The B&W 800 diamond tweeters can be unyielding if the source material is bright. I vaguely remember that somewhere in one of my recent verbal diarrhea attacks (posted here), I mentioned that snare drums and cymbals occasionally sounded edgy/over-bright, depending on the source stream, when played on the big rig...

That occasional, faint and localized edginess is completely gone with MiB. <- see what I did here? I love, you, OG!

Want a treat? Listen to Chris Stapelton's "Death Row" on "From A Room: Volume 1" on Qobuz, through MiB.



The intro to this song will blow your mind. <g> What in the hell is that sound in the intro? <G>

Then listen to "Either Way" on the same album. When he sings "We can just go on like this... say the word we'll call it quits..." - wow.

Then listen to the entire album, because it's spectacular, regardless of your DAC / amp / 'phones / et al.

OK, back to work... oh, hell - I'm off today!!!

A superior recommendation, another cool intro is Charlie Crockett's "The Man From Waco". Mr Stapleton's latest release "Higher" is worth a listen, might be his best yet. John Moreland is always worth a listen. The new Buddy & Julie Miller release was well worth the wait.

 

[ricksome]

I'm not expecting it to fix anything. I'm just saying that a DAC that ensures that bad sounding recordings sound really bad isn't a strength in an era of phenomenally bad sounding recordings.

Now if Schiit could release a gadget that undoes dynamic range compression and a lot of the other sound destroying tactics used by modern sound monkeys, er...ah..."engineers", my wallet would be open for that!

You are looking for a dbx 128. They were made in the 1970's. Still available on eBay, etc.

 

[riffrafff]

I like it a lot. Certainly the best tube I have had in it and that includes a Gold Electro-Harmonix and an RCA NOS tube. I'd like to try the CV181-T MKII.

The CV181-T MKII works pretty well in the Vali 2, I can attest to that.

 

[JanMc]

I can't imagine how anyone listening to headphones only can have a reasonable discussion on soundstage and imaging. It just isn't there to any reasonable degree no matter what phones you are using. With them sitting on top of your ears you are guaranteed to lose most of it. This alone make listening to speakers far superior, then add in the visceral feel of speakers and it is obvious why I rarely listen to my phones anymore.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

I'm just saying that a DAC that ensures that bad sounding recordings sound really bad isn't a strength in an era of phenomenally bad sounding recordings.

In the context of "in an era of phenomenally bad sounding recordings", what would be the strengths of a high performing DAC?

 

[mystaiced]

In the context of "in an era of phenomenally bad sounding recordings", what would be the strengths of a high performing DAC?

Maybe MIB needs a “Buy better recordings” light that triggers on inferior recordings.

 

[FLTWS]

I can't imagine how anyone listening to headphones only can have a reasonable discussion on soundstage and imaging. It just isn't there to any reasonable degree no matter what phones you are using. With them sitting on top of your ears you are guaranteed to lose most of it. This alone make listening to speakers far superior, then add in the visceral feel of speakers and it is obvious why I rarely listen to my phones anymore.

To my way of hearing it (when I could hear), the issue with HP's with regards to imaging and recreating some semblance of a 3 dimensional sound stage arises from the fact that without time delayed sound of the L channel sound going to the right ear and vice versa you may be able to get tight imaging but not a true 3 dimensional sound stage. Stop and think about it, when you listen live do sounds from the left side of, say, the stage, only end up being heard by the L ear and again, vice versa? There is a very tiny delay in a sound that goes to both ears from the opposite sides of the stage or studio. Some electronics have tried to
duplicate that delay between the ears but I have never experienced any of them and I've also never heard anyone say it's indistinguishable from what happens listening live.

Add in all equipment that makes a recording and then all the equipment to play it back and all variations possible with regards to phase, and slight variations in frequency response and distortion levels, the best you can hope for is a combination that allows your brain to create an illusion. While every once in a while I found a specific recording(s) coupled with a chain of specific amplification and speakers to help with the illusion it was never the same as live. I attended well over 250 classical concerts starting in 1970 and up until 2 years ago. (And a couple dozen Rock and Jazz ones as well.) If I listened from anywhere in any of the 10 different concert halls I attended over the years with eyes closed, the imaging was never as pinpoint nor the sound stage as obvious as with some recordings plus some electronics and some transducers in the home would, on occasion, deliver.

HP's put the music under a microscope and I found it satisfying and illuminating in many instance to be able to listen "into" the sound, to hear the smallest of details in a recording. They can create stable, tightly imaged sounds (whether they are true or not to the original recording session is another matter) . Speakers breath the sound better and have at least a chance to provide that sound stage illusion but generally don't seem to deliver the sound as finely grained as HP's. Live sound is the real deal.

 

[adias]

I'm not expecting it to fix anything. I'm just saying that a DAC that ensures that bad sounding recordings sound really bad isn't a strength in an era of phenomenally bad sounding recordings.

Now if Schiit could release a gadget that undoes dynamic range compression and a lot of the other sound destroying tactics used by modern sound monkeys, er...ah..."engineers", my wallet would be open for that!

A DAC should be neutral and recording agnostic. It should not enhance, color, or subtract any recording. Just my opinion.

 

[earnmyturns]

I'm not expecting it to fix anything. I'm just saying that a DAC that ensures that bad sounding recordings sound really bad isn't a strength in an era of phenomenally bad sounding recordings.

Of course one can always stop buying crappy recordings. Most of the modern jazz I buy on Bandcamp is capably recorded, sometimes very well recorded. Some recent examples:













I know, maybe not to your tastes, but I can't keep up with good, well recorded new music.

 

[earnmyturns]

I can't imagine how anyone listening to headphones only can have a reasonable discussion on soundstage and imaging.

Maybe you need to upgrade your headphone gear HQPlayer>Holo May>Mjolnir 3>ZMF Caldera place instruments very precisely in perceptual space. Sure, not the same as my top speaker system (see sig) but by all means discussable.

 

[jonathan c]

I can't imagine how anyone listening to headphones only can have a reasonable discussion on soundstage and imaging. It just isn’t there to any reasonable degree no matter what phones you are using.

~ Those discussions actually take place!
~ Have you listened via every headphone that we use?
~ Cogito ergo est (I think therefore it is) …

 

[theveterans]

Maybe you need to upgrade your headphone gear HQPlayer>Holo May>Mjolnir 3>ZMF Caldera place instruments very precisely in perceptual space. Sure, not the same as my top speaker system (see sig) but by all means discussable.

No need for even a top end gear. Even a BF2 > Piety (High Gain) > ETA Mini Closed is enough to even show this expansive soundstage and layering more than decently.

 

[AstronomerXI]

I've rolled a pair of new NOS Brimar 12AT7 / CV455 tubes with adapters into the Freya N and I like the sound with them. All good. But, I've started to get a heavy crackling static-like sound. Re-seating the tubes can help a little, but it will start again and sometimes it can get very and painfully loud. I pulled them out and replaced with a pair of HP-branded Amperex Bugle Boys. There was a little crackling in the right side of the headphones initially, but it settled down.

Could this be electrical interference? Failing tubes? The simultaneous death of a pair of low-use and good tubes a couple of weeks ago has me concerned.

​

 

[adydula]

I'm not expecting it to fix anything. I'm just saying that a DAC that ensures that bad sounding recordings sound really bad isn't a strength in an era of phenomenally bad sounding recordings.

Now if Schiit could release a gadget that undoes dynamic range compression and a lot of the other sound destroying tactics used by modern sound monkeys, er...ah..."engineers", my wallet would be open for that!

Been there done that....had this in my 2 ch setup back in the late 70's with vinyl....hated those pops and tics etc..

 

[adydula]

I've rolled a pair of new NOS Brimar 12AT7 / CV455 tubes with adapters into the Freya N and I like the sound with them. All good. But, I've started to get a heavy crackling static-like sound. Re-seating the tubes can help a little, but it will start again and sometimes it can get very and painfully loud. I pulled them out and replaced with a pair of HP-branded Amperex Bugle Boys. There was a little crackling in the right side of the headphones initially, but it settled down.

Could this be electrical interference? Failing tubes? The simultaneous death of a pair of low-use and good tubes a couple of weeks ago has me concerned.

​

Try re-soldering the pins?