Gavin C4
Member of the Trade: Hercules Audio
The tube glow is so awesome. The minimalist design on Schiit amps is nice. Much better than some other tube amp with tubes and boxes sticking out at all bizarre directions.
The tube glow is so awesome. The minimalist design on Schiit amps is nice. Much better than some other tube amp with tubes and boxes sticking out at all bizarre directions.
Even the cheapest of my better grade headphones, Sennheiser HD600's have separate wires right down to the plug. These cans are 300 Ohms and if they shared a common ground wire I doubt that any resulting crosstalk would be audible.
My Planar/Ortho cans are much lower impedance and might be more susceptible to such a problem, however, they have separate wires so that's not an issue.
Hello Stan,
Thanks for your comments. This is a really late reply so I don't expect an answer from you but welcome responses from everyone. Perhaps I wasn't clear: keeping separate wires merely *to the plug* will lower crosstalk in any circuit, but that is far inferior to a balanced *or* single-ended circuit which separates the grounds *within the amplifier.* Connecting the grounds at the amp terminal is roughly equivalent to connecting the negative terminals of a power amp. You could manage to do it with certain cheap, protective circuits and prevent catastrophe, but it would measure and sound lousy.
Now, of course the current and reactance of a pair of headphone transducer negative terminal are vastly smaller than with loudspeakers, so you can easily get away with that topology without the need for protective circuits. But the channel crosstalk of a linked ground SE circuit compared to a balanced or an unlinked circuit is vastly higher. Headphone amps of the first type are not high-fidelity instruments.
Anyone seen / have photos of the new Schiit? (Saga, Freya, Vidar)
Hey does anyone Know if the Schiit Vidar is headphone compatible or is it speaker only?
Ok so I have a pair of AKG K7xxs and I think I want to try tubes. I currently run a JDS labs element and its nice but too neutral for my taste. I would like something a bit more fun and musical sounding. I had a Fiio e10 before and that actually sounded more fun than the element but it didnt have enough power.
So Im looking at maybe tubes....obviously Im looking at the vali 2 and the Lyr 2. Obviously the Lyr is far more expensive and has far more power than the Vali. How much of a difference will I notice between the 2? The thing is with the Lyr every time I tube swap if I choose to, and Im sure I will, I will need 2 tubes. That will get expensive quick. The power of the Lyr is really sexy but do I really need it all of the headphones Im using.
Is there anything in the SS line of Schiit I could also look at too?
Ok so I have a pair of AKG K7xxs and I think I want to try tubes. I currently run a JDS labs element and its nice but too neutral for my taste. I would like something a bit more fun and musical sounding. I had a Fiio e10 before and that actually sounded more fun than the element but it didnt have enough power.
So Im looking at maybe tubes....obviously Im looking at the vali 2 and the Lyr 2. Obviously the Lyr is far more expensive and has far more power than the Vali. How much of a difference will I notice between the 2? The thing is with the Lyr every time I tube swap if I choose to, and Im sure I will, I will need 2 tubes. That will get expensive quick. The power of the Lyr is really sexy but do I really need it all of the headphones Im using.
Is there anything in the SS line of Schiit I could also look at too?
I think, you need to think about what in the sound signature of your headphones that bothers you before taking any action. I wouldn't expect an Amp to make big changes for you. If it's FR related either try using some EQ or you might consider getting a pair of headphones that will scratch that itch the best. The Magni 2 (or Uber version) will most likely provide more power than you will need for all but a few headphones that are out there and is probably in your budget. It is low in distortion and doesn't affect SQ. IMO it's the headphones that make the big difference.
Power isn't the issue I don't think and from most things Ive read the Magni just doesn't sound that good with the K7xxs. I'm not looking to completly change the sound signature...just maybe warm them up a little.
Ok so I have a pair of AKG K7xxs and I think I want to try tubes. I currently run a JDS labs element and its nice but too neutral for my taste. I would like something a bit more fun and musical sounding. I had a Fiio e10 before and that actually sounded more fun than the element but it didnt have enough power.
So Im looking at maybe tubes....obviously Im looking at the vali 2 and the Lyr 2. Obviously the Lyr is far more expensive and has far more power than the Vali. How much of a difference will I notice between the 2? The thing is with the Lyr every time I tube swap if I choose to, and Im sure I will, I will need 2 tubes. That will get expensive quick. The power of the Lyr is really sexy but do I really need it all of the headphones Im using.
Is there anything in the SS line of Schiit I could also look at too?