[Acapella11]

Quote:

Acapella, congrats on the Auditor. It truly makes those headphones sing.  How does it compare to you Little Dot III?  How does your M-DAC compare to other DAC's out there?
 
For a second there I thought you had ran sacked my place and scooped my gear while I was away this weekend
 
p.s. You have a great taste in headphones

 
Hey Rezolver, did you check your gear just now? Thanks
 

OK, Little dot is a long story, as it all comes down to which tubes you use, and definitely, the standard kind of tubes are not the ones. However, if you use 6N6P-IR power tubes (mine are from 1974) and CV4015 driver tubes, you can create a signature, which is very similar to the Auditor. I was really surprised about that. But then, the Auditor has more definition and that is expressed in a better three-dimensional reproduction of instruments etc. Of course, the Auditor sounds also a bit more dynamic and non-stressed, it just has more power and doesn't overdrive. There are new higher gain tubes, completely new families discussed at the moment, which may actually give the LD more power, enough to drive the HE-500 "sufficiently" (kind of) and you could buy for $300 some really fancy power tubes too. However, the Auditor is better than the best I heard from the Little Dot.

 

The Audiolab-M, I found has some traits, which I liked with the Musical Fidelity M1, as in holographic sound reproduction. The Audiolab offers a larger stage though and is also versatile due to different digital filters. The Beresford Caiman has an even larger stage than the Audiolab-M, but it does not image musicians or instruments as well as the Audiolab-M does. So, I use the Audiolab these days.

 

I would have been curious to hear the Auditor with your Audio-gd Reference 5.2, also. Maybe someone brings one along on the London Meet in April

 

HD800 next then?

 

 

[daniel_hokkaido]

I found the HD800s do add what you say..really emotional visceral with good, live recordings. After trying my hd650s with the new senn hdva amp im not so sold on 
them though. I found that amp added the tightness and resolution I find the hd650s lack on the auditor. But imo the auditor is a lovely, warm and quite
relaxed amp. Im not sure why people think its so neutral. Its great though! I found audioquest nrg-2 mains cable added bass weight for use with HD800s..but too much with
HD650,,,it made them farty. 

 

[Cante Ista]

Quote:

I found the HD800s do add what you say..really emotional visceral with good, live recordings. After trying my hd650s with the new senn hdva amp im not so sold on 
them though. I found that amp added the tightness and resolution I find the hd650s lack on the auditor. But imo the auditor is a lovely, warm and quite
relaxed amp. Im not sure why people think its so neutral. Its great though! I found audioquest nrg-2 mains cable added bass weight for use with HD800s..but too much with
HD650,,,it made them farty. 

after living with it for while, and having had the opurtinity to hear other amps, I have to agree that it is right off center on the cool-warm scale. Like it has been said in the past, it has almost tubby sound sig. I listened to it all weekend with my hd800 and on some tracks I was amazed when i thought call this can bass-light. I think people call it neutral becuase if i recall correctly it measures that way. I am not sure where I saw that so dont quote me on it. And I do think that it is largely a flat freq resp, but the bit of lushness tilt (for an SS amp) gives it that warm feeling. Combining that with the crossfeed functions, this the phonitor is a very very special amp. 

 

[redmagic]

What are some good DACs to pair with the Phonitor in the <=$500 price range? I will be using the DAC with the Beyerdynamic DT 880s and the HiFiManHE-500s if that matters.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

What are some good DACs to pair with the Phonitor in the <=$500 price range? I will be using the DAC with the Beyerdynamic DT 880s and the HiFiManHE-500s if that matters.

 
I'm using the Apogee mini DAC with my Phonitor, you can try to get a used one for around $600.

 

[twizzleraddict]

If you believe someone who recently suggested the ODAC sounds no different than a PWDII, you might want to try that. 

 

[redmagic]

Wouldn't I want a balanced DAC to go with the Phonitor?

 

[twizzleraddict]

Quote:

Wouldn't I want a balanced DAC to go with the Phonitor?

 
Yes, stand corrected, but you could theoretically use RCA to XLR adapters. But you're correct in that it's not a straightforward fit.

 

[HaVoC-28]

Quote:

Wouldn't I want a balanced DAC to go with the Phonitor?

 
Use what ever DAC you want , balanced or not . First i used a NFB-17.2 balanced DAC , but the ODAC sounded the same ... just the volume was a bit lower with ODAC ...Send a mail to SPL and see what they will tell you

 

[daniel_hokkaido]

Quote:

Wouldn't I want a balanced DAC to go with the Phonitor?

 
I use audiolab mdac. I find it works well for the price, and its balanced. its 1k new, but try for a second hand one too. 

 

[Acix]

If you're using a tower computer with a PCI slots, the RME Digi 96/8 PAD (24/96 around $100 used) will be a great value.
 

 

 

 

[Cante Ista]

Quote:

What are some good DACs to pair with the Phonitor in the <=$500 price range? I will be using the DAC with the Beyerdynamic DT 880s and the HiFiManHE-500s if that matters.

I bet you can get the PS Audio Digital LinkIII for that much. I think it is out of production though and you would have to get used. Still it is very smooth sounding dac and as balanced and RCA out.

 

[redmagic]

I think I may raise my budget up to $700. What could I get for DACs in that price range?

 

[daniel_hokkaido]

just dont get the dac magic Plus  

 

[redmagic]

just dont get the dac magic Plus  

Whats wrong with the DacMagic+? It seems good enough. Oh, and would the Benchmark DAC1 be a good match with the Phonitor and the aforementioned headphones? I was offered it on another forum for $600.

EDIT: Added the thing about the DAC1