[upstateguy]

Quote:

I tried a lot of things, it was a persistent thing. At first I had the DAC plugged into the hub on the cooler, so I though, oh, easy fix, plug into the laptop header, but there was absolutely no change in the pitter patter of fan static... So I tried adjusting the fan speed on the cooler while listening and that changed it, and turning it off changed it, but with it off there was still a low hum. Only unplugging it removed the noise completely.

 
Yeah, I would have thought those things would cure it too...........  strange.  What brand cooler are you using?
 
How about a different port on the laptop?  I have 6 ports on my laptop.  the two on the side are connected to the same header as two on the back, but there are also 2 ports on the back that have their own separate headers.  I usually connected my usb transport to one of the separate headers and everything has always been quiet. 
 
I have an external cooler too, but I power it separately from an old 5V cell phone charger.

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

Oh dear hes back... sarcasm, ageism... It's all hear folks (see what I did there!)
 
Me thinks that you are trying to convince yourself... I don't need convincing. My human ears tell me that a pure digital signal sounds better than a direct usb one. A trained ear can pick things up that an untrained ear won't. Just like a trained eye can tell a forged banknote. You have to know what you are listening for. I'm not against USB! but its the first step in computer hifi. If you are serious about competing with high end cd players then you have to look at either BNC coaxial or toslink connections to feed your dac the purest and most stable signal. If you want to go down the science route to try and prove that direct usb to dac is as good then by all means do but I assure you that it isn't.  
 
Incidentally does anyone have a dac that can accept 24/192 direct via usb? I'm genuinely interested.
 
(I love my 650's!) 
 

 
Was that comment was really called for?  There was nothing wrong or incorrect with what Satellite_6 said.
 
I agree with you that a trained ear can pick things up that an untrained ear won't, but a scope picks up everything and measurements are reproducible. 
 
Btw, just because you have not heard usb that can compete with coaxial doesn't mean it doesn't exist.  You might want to ask Shahrose, who has some very high end gear, if his usb is inferior to coaxial.

 

[Wapiti]

Quote:

Btw, just because you have not heard usb that can compete with coaxial doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Indeed.  More and more DACs handle USB well.
 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by LugBug1 
 
Incidentally does anyone have a dac that can accept 24/192 direct via usb? I'm genuinely interested.

 
Ayre QB-9, a magnificent USB DAC with superb jitter rejection.

 

[Austin Morrow]

Quote:

Indeed.  More and more DACs handle USB well.
 
 
 
Ayre QB-9, a magnificent USB DAC with superb jitter rejection.

 
That's why I'm getting a Bifrost.
 
 

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

 
That's why I'm getting a Bifrost.
 
 

Maybe that dac plus a really good usb transport.........  I have no idea what they are putting on that $100 usb board, but you generally get what you pay for and since you're not paying very much for the usb transport board..... well, you figure it out......

 

[LugBug1]

 
Quote:

 
Was that comment was really called for?  There was nothing wrong or incorrect with what Satellite_6 said.
 
I agree with you that a trained ear can pick things up that an untrained ear won't, but a scope picks up everything and measurements are reproducible. 
 
Btw, just because you have not heard usb that can compete with coaxial doesn't mean it doesn't exist.  You might want to ask Shahrose, who has some very high end gear, if his usb is inferior to coaxial.

Erm I didn't make that comment for no reason. You may not find "old fart" offensive but us "old farts" do. Ageism has no place here, You may want to read back to his constant attack on my posts before you pass judgment. In other words he started it haha.
 
If you read my original post you would have seen that I was talking about the HD650's (remember them?) and how smooth they sound via toslink quoting a toslink recommendation prior.  
 
I also asked if anyone was able to feed a dac 24/192 direct through usb, because I'm genuinely interested. This is because I want to know if USB can be as good as coaxial etc... I have no argument here so don't start one.
 
I've used usb for years, I bought the superpro 707 when it first came out and i've constantly upgraded since then. But it wasn't until I found out that pretty much all budget to mid dacs with USB input only accept up to 16/48 that I thought mmmm? how do I listen to my SACD recordings? thats when I started adding links. The sound with HD since has been so much better, not subtle but lots better.  
 
If someone like me who cannot afford high end gear has to fork out £1000's for a usb dac to compete with coaxial... am I better not just better off using a  £20 spdif converter so I can use coaxial with my existing dacs? You do the math.  
 
I used to really like this thread... when we used to appreciate the 650's.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[Wapiti]

Quote:

 
I also asked if anyone was able to feed a dac 24/192 direct through usb, because I'm genuinely interested. This is because I want to know if USB can be as good as coaxial etc...
 
. . .
 
If someone like me who cannot afford high end gear has to fork out £1000's for a usb dac to compete with coaxial... am I better not just better off using a  £20 spdif converter so I can use coaxial with my existing dacs?

I threw out the Ayre only because I am familiar with it.  There are much cheaper DACs that handle USB fine at high bit rates.  I would avoid the converter route as the cheaper units transfer the high USB jitter to S/PDIF.  The receiving DAC is more likely to be able to handle it, but it is a poor kludge.
 

 

[colmustard]

Man I've been in shock and awe the past 2 weeks at how well these headphones scaled with my amp upgrade. I should have listened to you guys from the beginning, all the wasted time!

 

[Hennyo]

Quote:

Man I've been in shock and awe the past 2 weeks at how well these headphones scaled with my amp upgrade. I should have listened to you guys from the beginning, all the wasted time!

 
LOL!
 
Hey that's great! I don't doubt it at all. Now go get a (hopefully diy to minimize costs) re-cable on your 650's. and be satisfied for quite some time.

(I prefer Silver to Blue Drag on mine).
 
 

 

[colmustard]

 
Quote:

 
LOL!
 
I don't doubt it at all. Now get a re-cable on your 650's.

(I prefer silver to Blue on mine).
 
 

I've got a headphile blacksilver cable and I think it makes them sound worse

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

 


I've got a headphile blacksilver cable and I think it makes them sound worse

Yeah, my experience with silver and the 650's hasn't been great. I personally don't think they need it. I have an upgraded (thick) copper cable and it added a little bit more of everything but didnt change any of the character that I like about them. D.I.Y is the way forward if poss, but I wouldn't fork out anywhere near the price you paid for the headphones for an upgrade cable.
 
I was happy with the standard cable for 5 or so years before I upgraded and it was purely out of curiousity, but I'm pleased I did. 
 

 

[MayaTlab]

I'm now the owner of a brand new Sennheiser HD 650. I'm currently amping it with a very suboptimal TTVJ Slim (which still is enough to at least not under power it to the risk of damage).
 
I quite like these so far, and I'm eager to power them appropriately (next month maybe). I don't find them veiled at all (granted, I cannot stand edgy headphones and I'm very sensitive to sibilance). The very one thing which I instantly noticed was timbers. I find them better than most headphones I've tried, even despite the portable amp.

 

[GeorgeNapalm]

I have hd650 for almost a year now and must say - it's the best headphones for classical music I've ever had. Detailed sound, rich mids, decent soundstage and instrument separation.
 
It's a bit bright for metal and that's why I almost stopped listening to this sort of music. But maybe I'm just hyper sensitive to treble (that horrible screech the trains of Boston's Green Line make - arghhhhh!).

 

[Hughkk]

i am planning to get hd650 with a matrix m-stage amp.
are those two good combination?
 
 
BTW, i will use my audinst as my dac.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

i am planning to get hd650 with a matrix m-stage amp.
are those two good combination?
 
 
BTW, i will use my audinst as my dac.

 
Not sure, but isn't the M-Stage fairly dark? I don't know where I read that, but it's probably not true. Seems like it's always mentioned as being very good for the K702.
Have you considered the Asgard? For $250 it's a pretty good match, but mine didn't do very well with my K702, so I switched to the Headroom Micro Amp.