[gimmeheadroom]

When I can only hear 500-5kHz, just put me out of my misery.

You can always quit your current gig and get a job as a flight-line mechanic. Look, Ma, no hearing protectors!

 

[ThanatosVI]

If that cat lets go on your gear, it's gonna be another unexpected expanse

The only thing the cat ever destroyed Was a stock IEM cable.

The rest of the gear and also thick cabling is "not interesting" to my cat.
Therefore I ordered a regular 19awg Silvergarde S4 for my IEMs, and everything is fine.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

The only thing the cat ever destroyed Was a stock IEM cable.

The rest of the gear and also thick cabling is "not interesting" to my cat.
Therefore I ordered a regular 19awg Silvergarde S4 for my IEMs, and everything is fine.

I have to admit, that is the smartest, most useful cat I have ever heard of!

 

[ThanatosVI]

I have to admit, that is the smartest, most useful cat I have ever heard of!

Yeah my Babies are special!

 

[Pharmaboy]

I have absolutely no $$$ left over for drugs or hookers!

(loan sharks)

 

[gimmeheadroom]

(loan sharks)

"He spent all his money on women and wine, and squandered the rest." -- Benny Hill

 

[ARCXENOS]

I really was not ready for how good these actually are

 

[Ari Pereira]

Testing Day

 

[judomaniak57]

Testing Day

looks like a fun day

 

[betula]

Tweaking your ideal DAC/amp pairing

It is not very often in this hobby when we manage to acquire an ideal DAC/amp combination for our beloved headphones. By ideal I rather mean superb and perfectly matched for our taste. The line of priority should be the following: headphones, amp, DAC, tweaks. (I have always been a bit sceptical about the superiority of amps in this line versus DACs, I am even more sceptical now. I would rather put amps and DACs on the same level.) This priority list is based on how much of a difference/improvement certain links make in the audio chain. It is a rough guide only, which should be kept in mind, as the whole system has to match well and work together.

I bought my Meze Elite in February this year and I still love them to bits. I prefer the Elites to many other flagship headphones because on the right system they are technical enough and I find their musical involvement unparallel. This year I tried several amps, DACs, DAC/amps to search for the right chain running them. They sound pretty good out of the Chord Dave, but a little uninteresting/anaemic from the TT2. I can't afford a Dave, so I started to look for different combinations around the price of a used TT2 which is my budget.

I fell in love with R2R DACs earlier, so I bought a Pegasus. I loved it immediately. Natural, smooth, musical R2R sound with surprisingly good spatial rendering, detail retrieval and bass quantity/quality. The Pegasus did feel a bit soft though through the iFi iCan, so I got a GSX-Mini which has tremendously tightened up the sound. Brought control and discipline to bass and treble, speed and spaciousness able to mirror/further improve the pretty excellent 3D qualities of the Pegasus.
I find the GSX Mini surprisingly transparent in the sense it really lets the DAC shine through. Many amplifiers colour the sound more than the DAC would (at least delta/sigma DACs) but the GSX Mini is clear/transparent enough to adapt to the sound of the DAC. I imagine, with certain D/S DACs the Mini can sound bright or fatiguing, but with a good and smooth R2R DAC it is just a dream combo. You get the smooth, extremely natural and effortlessly spacious sound of R2R while the Mini being a good class A amp really brings energy and clarity to the picture. Bass and treble extension is maxed out and everything is brought under supreme control which results in a tight and punchy sound with excellent clarity and resolution.

So, back to the original aim of this post; if you have found a similarly pleasing and matching combo with your beloved pair of headphones, it is probably time to fine tune/tweak that system to squeeze out even the last drops of enjoyment.
Most of these tweaks are controversial in the community, and my aim is not to open any cans that contain worms. I am simply sharing my experience here in order to bring fellow hobbyists closer to the mirage of audio nirvana.

If you are a cable denier, stop reading, skip to the next post and forget me, as the most obvious upgrade is cables. We will go even deeper than cables, so cable deniers just go and get a rest somewhere else.
I am a sceptical person, but not the kind who only believes in measurements. On the contrary, I think measurements can quantify only a fraction of truth. Therefore I believe my own ears only, but I do test and challenge my ears regularly.
The fact that headphone cables make a difference hasn't been a question for me for quite a few years. Headphone cables can make a difference, but of course they are overpriced and there is a lot of misunderstanding and snake oil in the industry regarding them. One misconception is that the metal (copper or silver) makes the difference. To some degrees it is true, but not in all cases. There is insulation and other materials like carbon foam or graphene that has an effect on shielding and so on.

There are other bits you can improve too, and I was very sceptical about them, but they work so I have no choice but to share my experience. I am talking about fuses and power cables. It did sound crazy to me too at first, but they both work. Sure, you can spend a fortune on these too, it still seems insane to me that you can buy an 'audiophile fuse' for $1500 and power cables for $10.000, but I think as long as they are in proportion with your system they worth it. I don't think you should spend more than 10% on cables/fuse upgrade of the full worth of your system, but that 10% will very much worth it as they can bring more than 10% improvement to the sound.

Let me close with my personal example:

1, WyWires Platinum balanced headphone cable:

The best headphone cables I tried to date. Better than both Meze upgrade cables. It brings clarity, balance, improved resolution and black background to the picture. It surpasses the clarity improvement of many pure silver cables I tried, while keeping the natural warmth of most copper cables. Bass separation, clarity, body and smooth balance makes this cable exceptional. Especially with the 40% seasonal discount. (Around $400 with the discount depending on your desired length.)

2, Synergistic Research Purple Fuse

I was the most sceptical about fuse upgrades, but at least in my Pegasus it makes a big difference. Again, blacker background, more definition, more details, more soundstage depth, better instrument separation. I tried other fuses too in the £50-£150 price range but none of them performed at the level of the Purple one. The Purple fuse costs £190.

3, QED3 pure silver balanced interconnects

Improved clarity and definition versus stock copper interconnects.

3, Russ Andrews YellO power cables

These are only entry level power cables (£60-80+ each depending on length and discount deal) , but I think for my combo they are probably just enough. Same record here: blacker background, more clarity, more details, more depth with better separation.

Most of these upgrades seem to decrease electrical noise which you do not realise is there until it is gone.

I listed these tweaks in the order of the impact they make on the overall sound, but in fact they all work together. Adding all of these tweaks to my system cost almost like a new component but combined they also bring the improvement level of a new component. Pretty much like a DAC and amp upgrade.

I hope, I managed to put the effect of these tweaks in context and nobody will go and buy £1000 power cables for their £100 amps.
We shouldn't forget, ears and hearing play a big role too. Ears can be trained to some extent, but we can't deny inherent genetic hearing abilities either. I met audiophiles who can't hear difference between headphone earpads or DACs and they are still happy audiophiles with their stuff. I think, most cable deniers simply have hearing limitations with all due respect. Headphone cables can sound pretty different which I think is relatively easy to hear. And then there is the rest like fuses, interconnects or power cables and so on. This abyss of upgrades is bottomless, so you have to set sane levels where you stop and enjoy what you have.

I hope some will find my experience useful and it will also bring some other enthusiasts closer to that mirage of perfect sound we keep chasing.
Tweak and upgrade responsibly.

 

[orrman]

Tweaking your ideal DAC/amp pairing

It is not very often in this hobby when we manage to acquire an ideal DAC/amp combination for our beloved headphones. By ideal I rather mean superb and perfectly matched for our taste. The line of priority should be the following: headphones, amp, DAC, tweaks. (I have always been a bit sceptical about the superiority of amps in this line versus DACs, I am even more sceptical now. I would rather put amps and DACs on the same level.) This priority list is based on how much of a difference/improvement certain links make in the audio chain. It is a rough guide only, which should be kept in mind, as the whole system has to match well and work together.

I bought my Meze Elite in February this year and I still love them to bits. I prefer the Elites to many other flagship headphones because on the right system they are technical enough and I find their musical involvement unparallel. This year I tried several amps, DACs, DAC/amps to search for the right chain running them. They sound pretty good out of the Chord Dave, but a little uninteresting/anaemic from the TT2. I can't afford a Dave, so I started to look for different combinations around the price of a used TT2 which is my budget.

I fell in love with R2R DACs earlier, so I bought a Pegasus. I loved it immediately. Natural, smooth, musical R2R sound with surprisingly good spatial rendering, detail retrieval and bass quantity/quality. The Pegasus did feel a bit soft though through the iFi iCan, so I got a GSX-Mini which has tremendously tightened up the sound. Brought control and discipline to bass and treble, speed and spaciousness able to mirror/further improve the pretty excellent 3D qualities of the Pegasus.
I find the GSX Mini surprisingly transparent in the sense it really lets the DAC shine through. Many amplifiers colour the sound more than the DAC would (at least delta/sigma DACs) but the GSX Mini is clear/transparent enough to adapt to the sound of the DAC. I imagine, with certain D/S DACs the Mini can sound bright or fatiguing, but with a good and smooth R2R DAC it is just a dream combo. You get the smooth, extremely natural and effortlessly spacious sound of R2R while the Mini being a good class A amp really brings energy and clarity to the picture. Bass and treble extension is maxed out and everything is brought under supreme control which results in a tight and punchy sound with excellent clarity and resolution.

So, back to the original aim of this post; if you have found a similarly pleasing and matching combo with your beloved pair of headphones, it is probably time to fine tune/tweak that system to squeeze out even the last drops of enjoyment.
Most of these tweaks are controversial in the community, and my aim is not to open any cans that contain worms. I am simply sharing my experience here in order to bring fellow hobbyists closer to the mirage of audio nirvana.

If you are a cable denier, stop reading, skip to the next post and forget me, as the most obvious upgrade is cables. We will go even deeper than cables, so cable deniers just go and get a rest somewhere else.
I am a sceptical person, but not the kind who only believes in measurements. On the contrary, I think measurements can quantify only a fraction of truth. Therefore I believe my own ears only, but I do test and challenge my ears regularly.
The fact that headphone cables make a difference hasn't been a question for me for quite a few years. Headphone cables can make a difference, but of course they are overpriced and there is a lot of misunderstanding and snake oil in the industry regarding them. One misconception is that the metal (copper or silver) makes the difference. To some degrees it is true, but not in all cases. There is insulation and other materials like carbon foam or graphene that has an effect on shielding and so on.

There are other bits you can improve too, and I was very sceptical about them, but they work so I have no choice but to share my experience. I am talking about fuses and power cables. It did sound crazy to me too at first, but they both work. Sure, you can spend a fortune on these too, it still seems insane to me that you can buy an 'audiophile fuse' for $1500 and power cables for $10.000, but I think as long as they are in proportion with your system they worth it. I don't think you should spend more than 10% on cables/fuse upgrade of the full worth of your system, but that 10% will very much worth it as they can bring more than 10% improvement to the sound.

Let me close with my personal example:

1, WyWires Platinum balanced headphone cable:

The best headphone cables I tried to date. Better than both Meze upgrade cables. It brings clarity, balance, improved resolution and black background to the picture. It surpasses the clarity improvement of many pure silver cables I tried, while keeping the natural warmth of most copper cables. Bass separation, clarity, body and smooth balance makes this cable exceptional. Especially with the 40% seasonal discount. (Around $400 with the discount depending on your desired length.)

2, Synergistic Research Purple Fuse

I was the most sceptical about fuse upgrades, but at least in my Pegasus it makes a big difference. Again, blacker background, more definition, more details, more soundstage depth, better instrument separation. I tried other fuses too in the £50-£150 price range but none of them performed at the level of the Purple one. The Purple fuse costs £190.

3, QED3 pure silver balanced interconnects

Improved clarity and definition versus stock copper interconnects.

3, Russ Andrews YellO power cables

These are only entry level power cables (£60-80+ each depending on length and discount deal) , but I think for my combo they are probably just enough. Same record here: blacker background, more clarity, more details, more depth with better separation.

Most of these upgrades seem to decrease electrical noise which you do not realise is there until it is gone.

I listed these tweaks in the order of the impact they make on the overall sound, but in fact they all work together. Adding all of these tweaks to my system cost almost like a new component but combined they also bring the improvement level of a new component. Pretty much like a DAC and amp upgrade.

I hope, I managed to put the effect of these tweaks in context and nobody will go and buy £1000 power cables for their £100 amps.
We shouldn't forget, ears and hearing play a big role too. Ears can be trained to some extent, but we can't deny inherent genetic hearing abilities either. I met audiophiles who can't hear difference between headphone earpads or DACs and they are still happy audiophiles with their stuff. I think, most cable deniers simply have hearing limitations with all due respect. Headphone cables can sound pretty different which I think is relatively easy to hear. And then there is the rest like fuses, interconnects or power cables and so on. This abyss of upgrades is bottomless, so you have to set sane levels where you stop and enjoy what you have.

I hope some will find my experience useful and it will also bring some other enthusiasts closer to that mirage of perfect sound we keep chasing.
Tweak and upgrade responsibly.

Nice write up thanks for sharing. I have a soft spot in my heart for the gs-x mini especially when paired with the Denafrips Ares II and with a Hifiman Arya or LCD-5. Those were some of my favorite combinations and to this day, even after moving to higher end gear, I have times I miss that chain!

 

[David222]

 

[Pharmaboy]

Love the airplane (and the Milo)

 

[David222]

Love the airplane (and the Milo)

thank you! Both were hand-made in the USA

 

[rangerid]

Tweaking your ideal DAC/amp pairing

It is not very often in this hobby when we manage to acquire an ideal DAC/amp combination for our beloved headphones. By ideal I rather mean superb and perfectly matched for our taste. The line of priority should be the following: headphones, amp, DAC, tweaks. (I have always been a bit sceptical about the superiority of amps in this line versus DACs, I am even more sceptical now. I would rather put amps and DACs on the same level.) This priority list is based on how much of a difference/improvement certain links make in the audio chain. It is a rough guide only, which should be kept in mind, as the whole system has to match well and work together.

I bought my Meze Elite in February this year and I still love them to bits. I prefer the Elites to many other flagship headphones because on the right system they are technical enough and I find their musical involvement unparallel. This year I tried several amps, DACs, DAC/amps to search for the right chain running them. They sound pretty good out of the Chord Dave, but a little uninteresting/anaemic from the TT2. I can't afford a Dave, so I started to look for different combinations around the price of a used TT2 which is my budget.

I fell in love with R2R DACs earlier, so I bought a Pegasus. I loved it immediately. Natural, smooth, musical R2R sound with surprisingly good spatial rendering, detail retrieval and bass quantity/quality. The Pegasus did feel a bit soft though through the iFi iCan, so I got a GSX-Mini which has tremendously tightened up the sound. Brought control and discipline to bass and treble, speed and spaciousness able to mirror/further improve the pretty excellent 3D qualities of the Pegasus.
I find the GSX Mini surprisingly transparent in the sense it really lets the DAC shine through. Many amplifiers colour the sound more than the DAC would (at least delta/sigma DACs) but the GSX Mini is clear/transparent enough to adapt to the sound of the DAC. I imagine, with certain D/S DACs the Mini can sound bright or fatiguing, but with a good and smooth R2R DAC it is just a dream combo. You get the smooth, extremely natural and effortlessly spacious sound of R2R while the Mini being a good class A amp really brings energy and clarity to the picture. Bass and treble extension is maxed out and everything is brought under supreme control which results in a tight and punchy sound with excellent clarity and resolution.

So, back to the original aim of this post; if you have found a similarly pleasing and matching combo with your beloved pair of headphones, it is probably time to fine tune/tweak that system to squeeze out even the last drops of enjoyment.
Most of these tweaks are controversial in the community, and my aim is not to open any cans that contain worms. I am simply sharing my experience here in order to bring fellow hobbyists closer to the mirage of audio nirvana.

If you are a cable denier, stop reading, skip to the next post and forget me, as the most obvious upgrade is cables. We will go even deeper than cables, so cable deniers just go and get a rest somewhere else.
I am a sceptical person, but not the kind who only believes in measurements. On the contrary, I think measurements can quantify only a fraction of truth. Therefore I believe my own ears only, but I do test and challenge my ears regularly.
The fact that headphone cables make a difference hasn't been a question for me for quite a few years. Headphone cables can make a difference, but of course they are overpriced and there is a lot of misunderstanding and snake oil in the industry regarding them. One misconception is that the metal (copper or silver) makes the difference. To some degrees it is true, but not in all cases. There is insulation and other materials like carbon foam or graphene that has an effect on shielding and so on.

There are other bits you can improve too, and I was very sceptical about them, but they work so I have no choice but to share my experience. I am talking about fuses and power cables. It did sound crazy to me too at first, but they both work. Sure, you can spend a fortune on these too, it still seems insane to me that you can buy an 'audiophile fuse' for $1500 and power cables for $10.000, but I think as long as they are in proportion with your system they worth it. I don't think you should spend more than 10% on cables/fuse upgrade of the full worth of your system, but that 10% will very much worth it as they can bring more than 10% improvement to the sound.

Let me close with my personal example:

1, WyWires Platinum balanced headphone cable:

The best headphone cables I tried to date. Better than both Meze upgrade cables. It brings clarity, balance, improved resolution and black background to the picture. It surpasses the clarity improvement of many pure silver cables I tried, while keeping the natural warmth of most copper cables. Bass separation, clarity, body and smooth balance makes this cable exceptional. Especially with the 40% seasonal discount. (Around $400 with the discount depending on your desired length.)

2, Synergistic Research Purple Fuse

I was the most sceptical about fuse upgrades, but at least in my Pegasus it makes a big difference. Again, blacker background, more definition, more details, more soundstage depth, better instrument separation. I tried other fuses too in the £50-£150 price range but none of them performed at the level of the Purple one. The Purple fuse costs £190.

3, QED3 pure silver balanced interconnects

Improved clarity and definition versus stock copper interconnects.

3, Russ Andrews YellO power cables

These are only entry level power cables (£60-80+ each depending on length and discount deal) , but I think for my combo they are probably just enough. Same record here: blacker background, more clarity, more details, more depth with better separation.

Most of these upgrades seem to decrease electrical noise which you do not realise is there until it is gone.

I listed these tweaks in the order of the impact they make on the overall sound, but in fact they all work together. Adding all of these tweaks to my system cost almost like a new component but combined they also bring the improvement level of a new component. Pretty much like a DAC and amp upgrade.

I hope, I managed to put the effect of these tweaks in context and nobody will go and buy £1000 power cables for their £100 amps.
We shouldn't forget, ears and hearing play a big role too. Ears can be trained to some extent, but we can't deny inherent genetic hearing abilities either. I met audiophiles who can't hear difference between headphone earpads or DACs and they are still happy audiophiles with their stuff. I think, most cable deniers simply have hearing limitations with all due respect. Headphone cables can sound pretty different which I think is relatively easy to hear. And then there is the rest like fuses, interconnects or power cables and so on. This abyss of upgrades is bottomless, so you have to set sane levels where you stop and enjoy what you have.

I hope some will find my experience useful and it will also bring some other enthusiasts closer to that mirage of perfect sound we keep chasing.
Tweak and upgrade responsibly.

This is an excellent post and outlines the importance of system synergy - the sound that reaches your ears isn't just the headphones or any component but a summation of all the entire signal chain starting from the source. Unless you know you have the exact preference as someone else it takes time to find a chain that matches your preference. Throwing a bunch of high end components together just because they measure/review well don't always work unless you get lucky. The issue with 'tweaks' is most entry level stuff cables, power cords, etc. don't make much of a difference or sound that different, just like entry level DAC/Amps where off the shelf chip based/opamp components all sound pretty similar. You have to invest more than what most want in this area where there is controversy and the $ amount spent can be better put into component/headphones where the impact is more significant.