[Hutnicks]

  Keep the lights on.  The little suckers don't procreate as much when they think somebody's watching.

Oh these devils are well beyond that, they're forming gangs.

 

[henrikolsen]

 
No reason not to go with 4-pin XLR, since the LCD-3s come with a balanced cable.  I used Ron Kerlin (Hiflight here on Head-Fi) who built me an XLR-terminated speaker tap for $50 delivered, much cheaper than BTG and it was delivered in a couple of days.  It works fine. 

 
Does the adapter from Ron look similar to this?
 
12 8strand.jpg
 
8 stranded and sleeved? With bananas or spades?
 
I consider making one myself. Likely a couple of meters long, as I would like some more flexibility to move around. I can get a Neutrik 4-pin XLR and some bananas, but am unsure about a suitable cable. What should I use? 4 or 8 strands? Twisted? Balanced microphone cable, and then bundle 4 of those and sleeve them? Perhaps CAT5 UTP or STP ethernet cable (very easily available)?

 

[FlySweep]

I'm running the Sennheiser HD600 via the Millenia/resistor box right now:
 
It sounds heavenly.  So smooth.. effortless.. open.. tonally balanced.. and utterly transparent.
 
I've owned the HD600 before (before I moved up to the HD800).. but I think I've really underestimated just how impressive its bass performance can be.  The bass doesn't extend as low as the HD800 or texture with quite the nuance that the current Senn flagship does. but it comes surprisingly close.  Something I've heard from many HD600 lovers is that it deserves to be heard in a balanced configuration.  There is some real credence to that recommendation.. the HD600's already alluring midrange, in particular, sounds nothing short of jaw dropping when driven by a balanced amp.
 
I've had to re-evaluate if I can bring myself to sell the Millenia, now... and.. I just can't.  In fact, I like the HD600/Millenia combo more than the HD800/Millenia combo!

 

[zilch0md]

Nice save, FlySweep!   

 
I've auditioned HD600s on other amps, but have never owned them, and haven't had a chance to hear them with the MG3.  Still, I liken them to the LCD-2 in some traits (with the major exception being that the HD600 is almost perfectly neutral, instead of bass heavy).  
 
At what voltage are you running the MG3?
 
Thanks,
 
Mike

 

[zilch0md]

PS>  Do let Jan Plummer know that the impedance match resistors he chose for the HD800 are great with the HD600.  (I would hope he's taking notes for future customers.)
 
Mike

 

[FlySweep]

Nice save, FlySweep!   

 
I've auditioned HD600s on other amps, but have never owned them, and haven't had a chance to hear them with the MG3.  Still, I liken them to the LCD-2 in some traits (with the major exception being that the HD600 is almost perfectly neutral, instead of bass heavy).  
 
At what voltage are you running the MG3?
 
Thanks,
 
Mike

 
I hope you get a chance to hear the HD600/Millenia combo, Mike.. maybe at the meet you'll taking the Millenia to?  I'm sure there'll be at least one balanced HD600 there.  One of the most impressive qualities I hear with the HD600 is the soundstage.  Coming from the HD800, one would think most anything else would sound closed in and intimate.. especially the HD600 which, despite being open-backed, has a fairly intimate presentation.  Well w/ the Millenia, the HD600 sounds more spacious than I ever though it was capable of.  It isn't on the level of the HD800.. but again, it's not all that far off.  With both driven off the Millenia, the HD800 has more depth (front to back space).. but, honestly, it (sometimes) became too much of a 'good thing.'  While the HD600's stage is comparatively flatter, I like how it presents music as if it's more in "front" of you.. instead of it (constantly) surrounding you..
 
I've got to get my hands on an LCD-2 some time.. I've heard just about all the popular TOTL full sized cans.. but I am a bit miffed I haven't heard (any version) of the LCD-2, yet.  I'm not sure how that happens.. LOL.
 
Re: voltage.. I'm running the Millenia off (24v) AC power... w/ a fancy 'audio' power cord between the brick and wall, of course.
 

  PS>  Do let Jan Plummer know that the impedance match resistors he chose for the HD800 are great with the HD600.  (I would hope he's taking notes for future customers.)
 
Mike

 
Yep!  I've already done it.. I raved to him about how much play I have on the pot.. and how there is no hiss anywhere except with the pot's fully open!

 

[zilch0md]

Excellent!  
 
I know what you mean about the MG3 enhancing soundstage - I never would have thought an amp could do that.  The LCD-2 are often condemned for their lack of soundstage, but just as you've said with the HD600, they "spread out" with the MG3.  It's uncanny.  
 
The Dallas meet was this past weekend, but I decided not to go.  Having planned to wow everyone with my "transportable" MG3 rig, I recalled the price-consciousness that I had seen at the last meet I attended.  I don't want to throw everyone under the bus, but I sensed that a majority of attendees were unreasonably excited about headphones like an HE-60 that was on hand (connected to a Headamp Blue Hawaii), where I found it to be not much different in sound signature from my lowly AKG K550, frankly.  There's also a strong HD800 vs. LCD-3 sentiment in our local Head-Fi community, with the LCD-2 actually considered to be "intolerable" by one fellow I met there.  
 
On the whole, Head-Fi folks everywhere (not just in Dallas) tend to rave about "the sound" of gear that's expensive or nearly unobtainable (HE-60), while eschewing "the sound" of that which is affordable.  That said, at the last meet, I was personally very very impressed by "the sound" of JazzerDave's Peachtree DAC + Cavalli Liquid Glass + balanced HD800 - a very expensive combo that sounded amazingly organic/natural/sweet/detailed/smooth - just like our relatively inexpensive rigs!  

 
 
I just wasn't in the mood for beating the MG3 drum only to have my expectations dashed, and there really wasn't any gear discussed by others, prior to the meet, that I wanted to audition.  I'll have to go to the next meet though - without expectations - on the off chance that someone else might actually appreciate the MG3 without bias for the fact that it's a $500 Class BD chip amp.
 
Note:  My negative expectations are based, in part, on the lackluster response I've received for my praise of the MG3 in other threads...   It's such a wolf in sheep's clothing.
 
Mike

 

[Gary in MD]

   
Does the adapter from Ron look similar to this?
 
12 8strand.jpg
 
8 stranded and sleeved? With bananas or spades?
 
I consider making one myself. Likely a couple of meters long, as I would like some more flexibility to move around. I can get a Neutrik 4-pin XLR and some bananas, but am unsure about a suitable cable. What should I use? 4 or 8 strands? Twisted? Balanced microphone cable, and then bundle 4 of those and sleeve them? Perhaps CAT5 UTP or STP ethernet cable (very easily available)?

Henrik:
 
Ron uses simple 4-strand microphone cable -- one wire to each combo spade/banana connector on one end, and a 4-pin XLR connector on the other.  It's cheap (a couple of meters would cost you <$10US) and it works very well, even if you are running it several hundred feet from a stage to a theater sound system.  But I really don't think the type of cable is going to matter that much, as long as it is a good conductor. On the other hand, if you are comfortable building them yourself, try a few different types of wire and then report back here what differences you heard. 
 
We love exciting comparison tests on this thread. 

 

[Gary in MD]

  Excellent!  
 
I know what you mean about the MG3 enhancing soundstage - I never would have thought an amp could do that.  The LCD-2 are often condemned for their lack of soundstage, but just as you've said with the HD600, they "spread out" with the MG3.  It's uncanny.  
 
The Dallas meet was this past weekend, but I decided not to go.  Having planned to wow everyone with my "transportable" MG3 rig, I recalled the price-consciousness that I had seen at the last meet I attended.  I don't want to throw everyone under the bus, but I sensed that a majority of attendees were unreasonably excited about headphones like an HE-60 that was on hand (connected to a Headamp Blue Hawaii), where I found it to be not much different in sound signature from my lowly AKG K550, frankly.  There's also a strong HD800 vs. LCD-3 sentiment in our local Head-Fi community, with the LCD-2 actually considered to be "intolerable" by one fellow I met there.  
 
On the whole, Head-Fi folks everywhere (not just in Dallas) tend to rave about "the sound" of gear that's expensive or nearly unobtainable (HE-60), while eschewing "the sound" of that which is affordable.  That said, at the last meet, I was personally very very impressed by "the sound" of JazzerDave's Peachtree DAC + Cavalli Liquid Glass + balanced HD800 - a very expensive combo that sounded amazingly organic/natural/sweet/detailed/smooth - just like our relatively inexpensive rigs!  

 
 
I just wasn't in the mood for beating the MG3 drum only to have my expectations dashed, and there really wasn't any gear discussed by others, prior to the meet, that I wanted to audition.  I'll have to go to the next meet though - without expectations - on the off chance that someone else might actually appreciate the MG3 without bias for the fact that it's a $500 Class BD chip amp.
 
Note:  My negative expectations are based, in part, on the lackluster response I've received for my praise of the MG3 in other threads...   It's such a wolf in sheep's clothing.
 
Mike

 
Mike: 
 
I know exactly how you feel.  I was excited to bring the Millenia to my local meet, but once there I recognized that most of the folks in attendance would not be listening with an open mind, since they were all defending either their own purchases or their own products.  There was one person there who actually listened but most were just looking for faults. 
 
And I've already recounted how I've offended folks on the LCD amp thread.  Oh well, a dented helmet has much more character, even if there are so many that the wearer can't quite remember exactly how they all got there...

 

[Gary in MD]

And finally:
 
Sorry folks, but I managed to sell the T1s today (see, miracles do occur) so I won't be sending them to Jan Plummer to play with.  I couldn't pass up that kind of money, though it would have been fun to see if Jan could create a good match.  Maybe somebody else (Preproman???) will volunteer a pair for the cause...

 

[zilch0md]

Yeah, I think we're all guilty of price bias, to some degree, but the better the bang for the buck, the harder it is for most people to be objective.

The Sony PCM-M10 engenders no excitement, thanks to its low price. I've seen people unfamiliar with it go from keenly interested to rolling their eyes as soon as they hear it sells for $219. And then when I tell them it has a proprietary DAC, instead of an ESS this or a WM that, they don't even want to listen to the line out.

In that sense, the MG3 and the PCM-M10 are birds of a feather - some serious bang for the buck.



Mike

 

[preproman]

   
Mike: 
 
I know exactly how you feel.  I was excited to bring the Millenia to my local meet, but once there I recognized that most of the folks in attendance would not be listening with an open mind, since they were all defending either their own purchases or their own products.  There was one person there who actually listened but most were just looking for faults. 
 
And I've already recounted how I've offended folks on the LCD amp thread.  Oh well, a dented helmet has much more character, even if there are so many that the wearer can't quite remember exactly how they all got there...

 
Did I miss a meet?

 

[Gary in MD]

Yup.  Labor Day weekend.  Small crowd.  Might not be representative, but given the reaction on the forums, probably was.

 

[preproman]

  Yup.  Labor Day weekend.  Small crowd.  Might not be representative, but given the reaction on the forums, probably was.

 
Ha - where's the link?

 

[Gary in MD]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/675009/va-md-dc-meet-saturday-august-31-2013
 
Don't feel bad, many missed it, and they are talking about setting up another in a couple of months.