The discovery thread!

[JEHL]

expensively beautiful?

...At least it's not TRN Gold.

 

[nraymond]

...At least it's not TRN Gold.

You know, all this negative talk about the TRN Gold, but how else am I going to match when I'm out and about with my 1984 Nikon FA Gold SLR?

 

[PhonoPhi]

expensively beautiful?

Feels like another modern audiophile rendition of "The Emperor's New Clothes" to me, but to each his own, of course...

 

[wayofthedawn]

Beautifully expensive.

Feels like another modern audiophile rendition of "The Emperor's New Clothes" to me, but to each his own, of course...

I asked about this cable, and i got completely ignored.
(Penon replied to everyone's questions except mine)
The fact that my questions about the cable got ignored, should already say enough.

Do you have a frequency graph of the Volt?
Why is the Totem cable so expensive? Does it improve the sound quality over the stock cable? If yes, in which way and how does it improve the sound?

I see other palladium cables go for around $150, so i'd like to know why yours costs five times as much.

 

[kmmbd]

Received the iFi Zen Can amp and it is now my default recommendation if you are looking for an amp to drive high-impedance/low sensitivity cans under $200 (and you have a DAC that has at least 2Vrms line-out).

In fact, I prefer it over both the THX amps (Massdrop one and the SMSL amp) in terms of how well the Zen Can drives high impedance Sennheisers/Beyers. The HD650/HD600 are immensely enjoyable with the bass boost switch on and gives both of these headphones some actual low-end extension.

The balanced out is something I'm not too convinced about. Most headphones come with XLR terminations if you're going balanced so the 4.4mm pentaconn connector is very curious indeed. Also it requires a proper balanced DAC to make the most of things. I used the line out of Cowon R2 for that and the sound was great, but didn't seem much different from the single-ended out. Either way, it's there mostly for headroom as even with 6dB gain the HD650 is comfortably driven.

The big issue for me was the stock power adapter (which was noisy) but later it turned out that the review package didn't have the iPower power adapter that retail versions come with. I ended up buying the iPower X which is very pricey ($100) but does what it says so... I recommend that one too if you have the budget.

 

[JEHL]

You know, all this negative talk about the TRN Gold, but how else am I going to match when I'm out and about with my 1984 Nikon FA Gold SLR?

Well I just remembered seeing this in a video like 3 years ago and I can only wonder. Why would I want this?

 

[audio123]

Craft Ears Craft 6 Review. Enjoy & Happy Listening, as always.
I must say that Craft Ears has a winner in the Craft 6. Such an engaging IEM. Highly recommended.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Received the iFi Zen amp and it is now my default recommendation if you are looking for an amp to drive high-impedance/low sensitivity cans under $200 (and you have a DAC that has at least 2Vrms line-out).

In fact, I prefer it over both the THX amps (Massdrop one and the SMSL amp) in terms of how well the Zen Can drives high impedance Sennheisers/Beyers. The HD650/HD600 are immensely enjoyable with the bass boost switch on and gives both of these headphones some actual low-end extension.

The balanced out is something I'm not too convinced about. Most headphones come with XLR terminations if you're going balanced so the 4.4mm pentaconn connector is very curious indeed. Also it requires a proper balanced DAC to make the most of things. I used the line out of Cowon R2 for that and the sound was great, but didn't seem much different from the single-ended out. Either way, it's there mostly for headroom as even with 6dB gain the HD650 is comfortably driven.

The big issue for me was the stock power adapter (which was noisy) but later it turned out that the review package didn't have the iPower power adapter that retail versions come with. I ended up buying the iPower X which is very pricey ($100) but does what it says so... I recommend that one too if you have the budget.

Looks like a really nice amp. Very nice. how much is it?

Synergy is everything. Out of the Cowon J, the A7 sounds good. Very nice, but not wow. Out of the Sony A45, the A7 sound really good. high quality audio with an enveloping sound with the amp. Out of the Hiby R5, holy moley! The A7 sound like something ethereal! special! Near TOTL sound if not TOTL balanced and straight out of the player. Just a complete treat for the senses. Regular 3.5mm out of the player? Still special. Still magnificent natural sounding and pure. With the amp, scales up close to balanced for a very high end listening experience. Remember 11.11 is coming, and the LZ A7 will be on sale. Don't let it get by you for something else. You'll just regret it.

 

[nraymond]

The balanced out is something I'm not too convinced about. Most headphones come with XLR terminations if you're going balanced so the 4.4mm pentaconn connector is very curious indeed. Also it requires a proper balanced DAC to make the most of things.

XLR, Pentaconn, or 2.5mm TRRS can all be adapted to each other. They’re just connector types. Don’t confuse balanced amps with balanced interconnects, they are different things, and the word balanced should not have been used for both, but here we are. Balanced interconnects are all about noise rejection and are a standard in pro audio for that reason. “Balanced” headphone amps do not use that technology and the primary difference (when they are implemented well) when compared to “unbalanced” headphone amps is they provide more power which can help with hard to drive headphones, though an “unbalanced” headphone amp can be designed with plenty of power. Either way, the iFi Zen is a good device for the money:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/ifi-zen-dac-and-headphone-amp-review.9885/

 

[audio123]

Synergy is everything. Out of the Cowon J, the A7 sounds good. Very nice, but not wow. Out of the Sony A45, the A7 sound really good. high quality audio with an enveloping sound with the amp. Out of the Hiby R5, holy moley! The A7 sound like something ethereal! special! Near TOTL sound if not TOTL balanced and straight out of the player. Just a complete treat for the senses. Regular 3.5mm out of the player? Still special. Still magnificent natural sounding and pure. With the amp, scales up close to balanced for a very high end listening experience. Remember 11.11 is coming, and the LZ A7 will be on sale. Don't let it get by you for something else. You'll just regret it.

Synergy is extremely important. Having tried the A7 out of the R5, no offence to you but I will not go so far as to say that A7 is near TOTL sound. I understand your enthusiasm but it's a bit of a stretch IMO. Lastly, I concur with you, for the price of the A7, it is quite no brainer but the regret really depends on what is that something else if one decided to get that.

 

[kmmbd]

Looks like a really nice amp. Very nice. how much is it?

About 180 euros in Amazon Germany with iPower adapter bundled. Worth it, IMO.

XLR, Pentaconn, or 2.5mm TRRS can all be adapted to each other. They’re just connector types. Don’t confuse balanced amps with balanced interconnects, they are different things, and the word balanced should not have been used for both, but here we are. Balanced interconnects are all about noise rejection and are a standard in pro audio for that reason. “Balanced” headphone amps do not use that technology and the primary difference (when they are implemented well) when compared to “unbalanced” headphone amps is they provide more power which can help with hard to drive headphones, though an “unbalanced” headphone amp can be designed with plenty of power. Either way, the iFi Zen is a good device for the money:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/ifi-zen-dac-and-headphone-amp-review.9885/

You are right regarding the balanced vs unbalanced bit. Here the balanced topology is mostly there to increase gain without increasing distortion. My complaint was about a different thing: the adapters are added cost, and given most headphone cables usually have an XLR jack (and I can't think of a single IEM that will need such monstrous power so this is all about headphones) users will have to deal with a dongle/adapter as well. Just a minor inconvenience.

The review there is of the Zen DAC. This is the separate amp, Zen Can. They are supposed to be stacked together though I personally prefer something like the Khadas Tone Board to pair with this particular amp.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Synergy is extremely important. Having tried the A7 out of the R5, no offence to you but I will not go so far as to say that A7 is near TOTL sound. I understand your enthusiasm but it's a bit of a stretch IMO. Lastly, I concur with you, for the price of the A7, it is quite no brainer but the regret really depends on what is that something else if one decided to get that.

I believe it is. There is nothing in TOTL or as i say, overpriced product, that truly separates itself from the A7, if maybe some additional air or detail retrieval. i'm sorry, but a $1000 8 BA earphone doesn't separate itself from the $500 Trio to validate a $500 difference. The prices some of these company's are charging for so called TOTL flagships are a sham. A way to rope in the gullible "audiophile". Like the difference between my recently sold Sennheiser 650 (originally $600) and my Status Audio CB-1 are not separated sonically by roughly $550. Nope. Yes, the 650 had some more depth and high end resolution, but was it really that far ahead? nope. That's why I unloaded it. I'd much rather own and enjoy the A7 and pay what I did than spend $1,000+ for the Special Ears OU812 Pro with Beryllium driver and 7 BA's to get a little more depth, air, or detail retrieval. I went down that road already, spending $800 for the AKG K3003i and realizing they weren't that much better than my old JVC FX800, and the FX800 actually had way better, more natural, and higher resolution timbre and highs that the AKG. But i respect your position, your ears, and thank you for your comments and reviews. kepp 'em up, brotha!

But that is just my belief. my opinion. Mileage may vary by ears and heart?

and on to another subject, anyone here gonna get the Tape Pro ahead of 11.11 to review?

 

[Nabillion_786]

I believe it is. There is nothing in TOTL or as i say, overpriced product, that truly separates itself from the A7, if maybe some additional air or detail retrieval. i'm sorry, but a $1000 8 BA earphone doesn't separate itself from the $500 Trio to validate a $500 difference. The prices some of these company's are charging for so called TOTL flagships are a sham. A way to rope in the gullible "audiophile". Like the difference between my recently sold Sennheiser 650 (originally $600) and my Status Audio CB-1 are not separated sonically by roughly $550. Nope. Yes, the 650 had some more depth and high end resolution, but was it really that far ahead? nope. That's why I unloaded it. I'd much rather own and enjoy the A7 and pay what I did than spend $1,000+ for the Special Ears OU812 Pro with Beryllium driver and 7 BA's to get a little more depth, air, or detail retrieval. I went down that road already, spending $800 for the AKG K3003i and realizing they weren't that much better than my old JVC FX800, and the FX800 actually had way better, more natural, and higher resolution timbre and highs that the AKG. But i respect your position, your ears, and thank you for your comments and reviews. kepp 'em up, brotha!

I hear the nm2+ come very close to the a7 at half the price.

 

[baskingshark]

I hear the nm2+ come very close to the a7 at half the price.

There's always big diminshing returns the higher up we go in this hobby!
Some are happy to get 80 - 90% sound for a cheaper price, but others will want to chase that last 10% sound for 10 times the price, different strokes for different folks as they say

 

[Darkestred]

There's always big diminshing returns the higher up we go in this hobby!
Some are happy to get 80 - 90% sound for a cheaper price, but others will want to chase that last 10% sound for 10 times the price, different strokes for different folks as they say

True. However, this issue isnt just in headphones so i dont see the problem. I do agree its a sham but it is what it is and if you want the best sometimes you really do got to pay.