[Daniel Johnston]

Mine doesn’t come close to having enough juice.

I said most.

Dongles like the USB C Apple dongle will fall short. The ifi go blu has enough juice. Woo tube mini has no issues. The headphone out from most cheap laptops may fall short except the newer MacBook pros.

The DCA Aeon series are seriously underrated. And, you don’t need an ARC reactor to power them. As the intended recipient of these headphones progresses in the hobby, the Aeon RT will scale nicely.

 

[bcowen]

Hey.
Pssst.
Yeah, you.
Listen…
There's no reason why your half-sized breadboard shouldn't include two entirely independent test circuits, a 3.3V and a 5V rail, a set of logic level shifters, two pull-up resistors, a connection to a host device, two sets of connections for your logic probe / host emulator / bus sniffer, two sets of hookups (yeah, that's right, literal hookups!) for your scope probes (they are ground-referenced just outside of that frame, no worries), AND look on point at the same time.



(Please note the Hel 2e in the top-right corner of the shot. Can you see it? So, yes. This post is indeed relevant to this thread. )

No LED's? I am SO not impressed.

 

[cschock]

How many headphones/kids in question since you mention they/them? All of them have the same tastes?

Just one, my kid uses use they/them pronouns.

For a college student, why go wired or open-back? The moment you are in a public space, open-back is a liability. Given the need for portability and work outside of the room at libraries and coffee shops, I can't imagine anything more practical than a pair of Focal Bathys or AirPods Max -- the ANC and ease of use will far outweigh any miniscule benefits from a dongle dac and wired connection.

They do not like anything stuck in their ears, so any IEM or earbuds are a non-starter. Your point about open back in public is 100% valid, but they listen at pretty low volume and want to be able to hear what is happening around them so ANC isn't something they want. Perhaps closed back but without ANC is the way to go.

 

[Godaisan]

I said most.

Dongles like the USB C Apple dongle will fall short. The ifi go blu has enough juice. Woo tube mini has no issues. The headphone out from most cheap laptops may fall short except the newer MacBook pros.

The DCA Aeon series are seriously underrated. And, you don’t need an ARC reactor to power them. As the intended recipient of these headphones progresses in the hobby, the Aeon RT will scale nicely.

My ifi Go Bar does not work with my Aeons.

 

[valiant66]

For a college student, why go wired or open-back? The moment you are in a public space, open-back is a liability. Given the need for portability and work outside of the room at libraries and coffee shops, I can't imagine anything more practical than a pair of Focal Bathys or AirPods Max -- the ANC and ease of use will far outweigh any miniscule benefits from a dongle dac and wired connection.

I like wired because I don't have to remember to charge them and I like open back because I want to hear the reckless lurching cyclist coming up on my six when I'm walking the dog.

Sennheiser HD-650/Drop HD-6XX work great for me in that context. Ymmv.
.

 

[LobalWarming]

Just one, my kid uses use they/them pronouns.



They do not like anything stuck in their ears, so any IEM or earbuds are a non-starter. Your point about open back in public is 100% valid, but they listen at pretty low volume and want to be able to hear what is happening around them so ANC isn't something they want. Perhaps closed back but without ANC is the way to go.

While the Senn 600/650 are great, not that great from a dongle, ime. Suggest the Senn 560S in the <$200 cost realm - efficient, easy to drive. Or the (mass)Dropped 58X. Neumann NDH30 in the higher cost realm - just don't take them outside, unless you want to look like a studio nerd.

 

[liamo]

Just one, my kid uses use they/them pronouns.



They do not like anything stuck in their ears, so any IEM or earbuds are a non-starter. Your point about open back in public is 100% valid, but they listen at pretty low volume and want to be able to hear what is happening around them so ANC isn't something they want. Perhaps closed back but without ANC is the way to go.

Headphones like my Sony WF-1000XM4 do ANC (very well) but you can turn it off and use the ambient sound mode. It has equalization! The newer model has even better battery life. It aint the hipster pick but checks a lot of boxes without any fuss.

 

[Plautus001]

For a college student, why go wired or open-back? The moment you are in a public space, open-back is a liability. Given the need for portability and work outside of the room at libraries and coffee shops, I can't imagine anything more practical than a pair of Focal Bathys or AirPods Max -- the ANC and ease of use will far outweigh any miniscule benefits from a dongle dac and wired connection.

I cannot speak for the Focals, but the Sony and Sennheiser Bluetooth headphones are not in the same conversation as the Dan Clark Aeon.

However, a dongle won't do them justice.

 

[artur9]

...I believe Mike confirmed MCB is a FIR filter. And at least with a FIR filter the process involves inserting zeros between the original samples....

It's all good except for the above. I think zero-stuffing is specifically something Mike avoids with his secret Bell Labs algorithms. I'm just speculating here...

 

[artur9]

...

Any suggestions or recommendations would be super helpful as I start my research in this very complex space I know little about!

I use my eta Mini-Cs to listen to everything: classical, jazz, 80s rock, swing.
They've worked great using both a Magni Piety and a Mjolnir 3.

 

[artur9]

Hey.
Pssst.
Yeah, you.
Listen…
...
Don't judge me too harshly on that crappy-AF solder job on those logic level shifter module header pins, though. Although some judgement is definitely appropriate. Tried a new (to me) solder wire. Suffice it to say that I'm not exactly in love…
...

You finish your DAC ahead of schedule?

 

[sam6550a]

I cannot speak for the Focals, but the Sony and Sennheiser Bluetooth headphones are not in the same conversation as the Dan Clark Aeon.

However, a dongle won't do them justice.

Try the Audioquest Dragonfly series dongles.

 

[Plautus001]

Try the Audioquest Dragonfly series dongles.

I have the dragonfly black, don't use it much.

I tried the red and cobalt... okay... but I prefer my desktop gear

 

[PBraith]

Here is a question for all the headphone users. (I am not one of them.)

My kid is going off to college next fall and they are a music fan. They have close to perfect pitch and quite sensitive hearing. I would like to get them a set of headphones as a graduation gift from High School, with a budget in the $500-$750 range. Preferences would be:

- Over the ear required along with super comfortable for extended use.
- Will perform well even if just plugged in to a sound card output on a laptop or a USB dongle type DAC, since this will be for dorm and school library use where space is at a minimum and a headphone amp is impractical.
- They listen to a huge range of music. Everything from J-Pop to experimental electronic and classical, so they will need a good all around performing headphone that isn't just "really great for rock!" or "amazing on acoustic instruments."
- Open back is mildly preferred for situational awareness, but they are used to closed back at school so it isn't mandatory.

Any suggestions or recommendations would be super helpful as I start my research in this very complex space I know little about!

My two cents' worth of recommendations would be.
Meze Noir 99, often called classic's. They are budget friendly and will run on very little power. I did replace the earpads
with Brainwaves; they are softer and slightly larger. Your kid, however, might have to dodge the sci-fi jokes when wearing them.

On the other high end of the budget scale, there is the Beyerdynamic T5. They look very typical and work well with various types of music and portable equipment. They also scale well when connected to real hifi.

 

[theeclone]

It's all good except for the above. I think zero-stuffing is specifically something Mike avoids with his secret Bell Labs algorithms. I'm just speculating here...

My understanding is that the real secret sauce comes in with how the taps are generated, but it's hard to say with something proprietary. Haven't seen anything so far in Mike's older posts saying that zero stuffing was being avoided but it's entirely possible I missed it!

In any event I believe zero stuffing is used most of the time w FIR filters.