[JohnnyOps]

Question before I write to support...

I have a Gungnir MB that I bought off a seller on eBay a couple months ago. While it's sounded overall wonderful, I kept hearing occasional raspy noises around mid-bass percussive (tom-toms, jazz piano), played through Pi2AES->Gumby->Mjolnir 2->HE5XX (balanced all the way through, but also when I was listening to HD6XX on SE output). I wrote it off as "it's so good that I'm hearing poor recordings, and it was subtle so I thought nothing of it. Then I decided to hook up my Emotiva A-100 to the SE out, and through a number of different decent speakers (Paradigm Atom, Infinity Primus 360s) and a really good pair of speakers (Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand). So this resulted in a fuzzy noise / light hiss coming out of the tweeter for all of these.

Things I tried:

• replacing power cord (nada)
• switching from BNC/SPDIF to Unison (nada)
• switching from SE to balanced to SE again into Mjolnir 2 as pre-amp into Emotiva A-100 and as headphone amp (no change)
• turning the volume on the amp way up with the gungnir playing a silent track vs. not playing (same hiss gets louder on a silent track, moment I hit pause it goes completely silent)
• Modern recordings I knew were really really silent in some passages (exactly as expected, they had hiss in the background when turned up)
• Finally, replaced the Gungnir with my Bifrost 2, and no more hiss (using either SPDIF or Unison, using the same RCA interconnects and balanced XLR cables). Pure blackground, percussive mid-bass sounds just fine and solid. Lose all the stuff you'd expect to lose for Gumby vs Biffy2 (bass texture, etc) but that's normal. but you gain actual near-silence appropriate to the recording.
• nd also moved my gumby down to my bedside rig with my Jot 2 and Meze99's - same hiss again

Ok, what should I do? Anything else I should try before contacting support? Any hypotheses?

Thanks!

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

Sounds like it's time to contact support.

JC

 

[Balthazar B]

There is no way a deal that big happened "because" of the Spotify announcement. It has almost certainly been being worked on for a while. the Spotify announcement might have thrown a curve ball at the negotiations though.

You're right, and it could have been the trigger for the deal to get done. But it wouldn't have been so much a curve ball as a 100 mph fastball to Jay-Z's gonads. If there had been negotiations going on about price, etc., the Spotify announcements might well have starkly clarified the proper valuation for the Tidal brand and service going forward.

Like Tim Cook, Jack Dorsey's public image is that of a kindly, introverted and lovable nerd, but they're both as ruthless and effective in negotiations as Furio Giunta with a Louisville Slugger in hand. You can be sure that all the kissy-kissy-huggy-huggy PR with him and Jay-Z is as sincere as Tom Brady's apology over Deflategate.

 

[tincanear]

Question before I write to support...

I have a Gungnir MB that I bought off a seller on eBay a couple months ago. While it's sounded overall wonderful, I kept hearing occasional raspy noises around mid-bass percussive (tom-toms, jazz piano), played through Pi2AES->Gumby->Mjolnir 2->HE5XX (balanced all the way through, but also when I was listening to HD6XX on SE output). I wrote it off as "it's so good that I'm hearing poor recordings, and it was subtle so I thought nothing of it. Then I decided to hook up my Emotiva A-100 to the SE out, and through a number of different decent speakers (Paradigm Atom, Infinity Primus 360s) and a really good pair of speakers (Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand). So this resulted in a fuzzy noise / light hiss coming out of the tweeter for all of these.

Things I tried:

• replacing power cord (nada)
• switching from BNC/SPDIF to Unison (nada)
• switching from SE to balanced to SE again into Mjolnir 2 as pre-amp into Emotiva A-100 and as headphone amp (no change)
• turning the volume on the amp way up with the gungnir playing a silent track vs. not playing (same hiss gets louder on a silent track, moment I hit pause it goes completely silent)
• Modern recordings I knew were really really silent in some passages (exactly as expected, they had hiss in the background when turned up)
• Finally, replaced the Gungnir with my Bifrost 2, and no more hiss (using either SPDIF or Unison, using the same RCA interconnects and balanced XLR cables). Pure blackground, percussive mid-bass sounds just fine and solid. Lose all the stuff you'd expect to lose for Gumby vs Biffy2 (bass texture, etc) but that's normal. but you gain actual near-silence appropriate to the recording.
• nd also moved my gumby down to my bedside rig with my Jot 2 and Meze99's - same hiss again

Ok, what should I do? Anything else I should try before contacting support? Any hypotheses?

Thanks!

re pausing stops the hiss: if you turn the volume all the way down, and while playing press pause, can you hear relays in the gungnir clicking? if so, then the output muting circuit is activating when you are pressing pause (source stops transmitting digital audio stream).

you just might be hearing the limitations of the recording. gumby via xlr to MJ2 to bal HP's would be the cleanest signal path and least likely to have ground loops.

when comparing BNC/SPDIF to Unison (presumably this is an upgraded Gumby with Unison or gen 5 USB), did you also disconnect the BNC cable (or just add the USB connection)?

(added) what happens if you play a 'silent' e.g. 'all-zeros' test track?

 

[ImagesbyMurray]

Question before I write to support...

I have a Gungnir MB that I bought off a seller on eBay a couple months ago. While it's sounded overall wonderful, I kept hearing occasional raspy noises around mid-bass percussive (tom-toms, jazz piano), played through Pi2AES->Gumby->Mjolnir 2->HE5XX (balanced all the way through, but also when I was listening to HD6XX on SE output). I wrote it off as "it's so good that I'm hearing poor recordings, and it was subtle so I thought nothing of it. Then I decided to hook up my Emotiva A-100 to the SE out, and through a number of different decent speakers (Paradigm Atom, Infinity Primus 360s) and a really good pair of speakers (Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand). So this resulted in a fuzzy noise / light hiss coming out of the tweeter for all of these.

Things I tried:

• replacing power cord (nada)
• switching from BNC/SPDIF to Unison (nada)
• switching from SE to balanced to SE again into Mjolnir 2 as pre-amp into Emotiva A-100 and as headphone amp (no change)
• turning the volume on the amp way up with the gungnir playing a silent track vs. not playing (same hiss gets louder on a silent track, moment I hit pause it goes completely silent)
• Modern recordings I knew were really really silent in some passages (exactly as expected, they had hiss in the background when turned up)
• Finally, replaced the Gungnir with my Bifrost 2, and no more hiss (using either SPDIF or Unison, using the same RCA interconnects and balanced XLR cables). Pure blackground, percussive mid-bass sounds just fine and solid. Lose all the stuff you'd expect to lose for Gumby vs Biffy2 (bass texture, etc) but that's normal. but you gain actual near-silence appropriate to the recording.
• nd also moved my gumby down to my bedside rig with my Jot 2 and Meze99's - same hiss again

Ok, what should I do? Anything else I should try before contacting support? Any hypotheses?

Thanks!

Quick Q: hiss the same in both channels?

 

[Luckyleo]

As noted earlier, that particular bill was pulled in committee. But that it was proposed and seriously considered at all by the state government is writing on the wall, and IMHO there's an even chance something like it'll be enacted without meaningful legislative opposition within the next ten years.

I agree, but am more pessimistic than you. I say 5 years..... One of the former democratic presidential candidates proposed something similar at the national level as part of her campaign promises.

 

[artur9]

OK -- seriously. I've been looking at rock wool panels vs acoustic foam panels and the rock wool seems to be considerably cheaper while highly regarded. Are your panels finished (painted), or as-is? I'd like to paint mine and am curious to know if that has a detrimental affect. Also -- how did you mount your panels?

Thanks!!

Rock wool is very practical. What you can do to "dress them up" is to get art fabric to cover them. There's a whole bunch of people that do that to make them look like movie posters.

I've wrapped mine in oriental style fabric and other things. Just make sure whatever fabric you use you can breathe through. That is a simple "acoustic transparency" test.

 

[Pedro Janeiro]

No need for balance control, just mod your headphones with a volume control for each ear cup...

Headphones with volume control? Great! but i think some of you will prefer this ones with Vu meters

 

[DougD]

Headphones with volume control? Great! but i think some of you will prefer this ones with Vu meters

Perfect for the Audiophile who has everything.

Especially if everything includes eyeballs mounted on long flexible shafts.

 

[Ableza]

I am 20 db down in my left ear. That's a different situation, and, I suspect, with geezers being the primary consumers of sit-down stereo, I am not alone in having a medical rather than architectural reason for needing a balance control.
.

Sorry to hear about your issue. But I suspect yours is a rather rare situation.

 

[Derrick Swart]

Rock wool is very practical. What you can do to "dress them up" is to get art fabric to cover them. There's a whole bunch of people that do that to make them look like movie posters.

I've wrapped mine in oriental style fabric and other things. Just make sure whatever fabric you use you can breathe through. That is a simple "acoustic transparency" test.

Best seems to be 40 kg/m3 mineral wool. Higher can be and is good for absorbing the bass but be careful it doesn’t get reflective with the highs. All depends on the application. You can hardly use too much!
My Sonarwork ref4 correction is even flatter now and the headroom setting is one dB higher.
Will attach after and before pics

 

[bcowen]

Headphones with volume control? Great! but i think some of you will prefer this ones with Vu meters

ROFL!!!

 

[judson_w]

Question before I write to support...

I have a Gungnir MB that I bought off a seller on eBay a couple months ago. While it's sounded overall wonderful, I kept hearing occasional raspy noises around mid-bass percussive (tom-toms, jazz piano), played through Pi2AES->Gumby->Mjolnir 2->HE5XX (balanced all the way through, but also when I was listening to HD6XX on SE output). I wrote it off as "it's so good that I'm hearing poor recordings, and it was subtle so I thought nothing of it. Then I decided to hook up my Emotiva A-100 to the SE out, and through a number of different decent speakers (Paradigm Atom, Infinity Primus 360s) and a really good pair of speakers (Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand). So this resulted in a fuzzy noise / light hiss coming out of the tweeter for all of these.

Things I tried:

• replacing power cord (nada)
• switching from BNC/SPDIF to Unison (nada)
• switching from SE to balanced to SE again into Mjolnir 2 as pre-amp into Emotiva A-100 and as headphone amp (no change)
• turning the volume on the amp way up with the gungnir playing a silent track vs. not playing (same hiss gets louder on a silent track, moment I hit pause it goes completely silent)
• Modern recordings I knew were really really silent in some passages (exactly as expected, they had hiss in the background when turned up)
• Finally, replaced the Gungnir with my Bifrost 2, and no more hiss (using either SPDIF or Unison, using the same RCA interconnects and balanced XLR cables). Pure blackground, percussive mid-bass sounds just fine and solid. Lose all the stuff you'd expect to lose for Gumby vs Biffy2 (bass texture, etc) but that's normal. but you gain actual near-silence appropriate to the recording.
• nd also moved my gumby down to my bedside rig with my Jot 2 and Meze99's - same hiss again

Ok, what should I do? Anything else I should try before contacting support? Any hypotheses?

Thanks!

Just to confirm, have you tried sources other than the Pi2AES? Having you tried different power a different power supply for the Pi2AES? I can see you moved the gungnir to your bedside rig to test, but I am not sure what source you were using there.

 

[Timster]

https://www.marchandelec.com/pr41-passive-preamp.html

USD $2k or more for a volume control!!! Ouch.

 

[gljus]

Headphones with volume control? Great! but i think some of you will prefer this ones with Vu meters

#ORT