[dano1122]

ok fellas, just got in my zu xlr, zu regular in, and of course my stock cables for the HD650. hooking em all up to dac1 for some comparisons. so far UNIMPRESSED, marginal differences happening b/w both xlr and normal zu. infact xlr sounds muddier then normal zu. this very very raw first impression so lets see what goes on when i switch em around here. will update.

 

[Duncan]

If you have balanced signal all the way through from source to headphone output, you should (technically) have a 30% ish improvement in perceived sound quality when compared to standard...

...How you equate what 30% is - pass

 

[dano1122]

it's the dac1's balanced headphone out into the zu mobius terminated with xlr' for those outputs so.. ok time to switch cables. i can feel the barrage of burn in people on the way.

 

[dano1122]

holy **** i almost went deaf there. why are the xlr's so much harder to drive to volume then the standard cable.

 

[breez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan If you have balanced signal all the way through from source to headphone output, you should (technically) have a 30% ish improvement in perceived sound quality when compared to standard...

I'm well aware that balanced is the better way to go, but can you provide me with the math that generates the ~30% improvement over standard?

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by breez I'm well aware that balanced is the better way to go, but can you provide me with the math that generates the ~30% improvement over standard?

No

It was some salesman speak from a while back that I remember... as to specifics??

No, sorry

 

[PeterR]

Make sure to set the internal jumpers to 0dB attenuation for the XLR outputs. The factory setting is -20dB (at least on newer DAC-1s). This results in 500 ohm output impedance which is desastrous for Sennheisrs.

 

[eriksson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterR Make sure to set the internal jumpers to 0dB attenuation for the XLR outputs. The factory setting is -20dB (at least on newer DAC-1s). This results in 500 ohm output impedance which is desastrous for Sennheisrs.

This is interesting, I'm awaiting my Zu XLR cable and I havent done any changes to the internal jumpers of the DAC1.. Could you explain a bit more in detail Peter?

Thanks

 

[dano1122]

pleaese do peter....... at about 5 o'clock it is loud enough, though

 

[drp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dano1122 pleaese do peter....... at about 5 o'clock it is loud enough, though

When I got the DAC1, it was set to the -20db position and my first thought was not enough power; suspect yours is set as such, given your volume knob position-related comment.

Take a look at the Benchmark's documentation (also downloadable from Benchmark Media's Web site). You'll see the instructions for moving the jumpers to provide 0db reduction.

With the 0db setting and XLR'd Zu/HD650s, 11 o'clock was loud and 1 o'clock absolutely crankin'.

 

[rsaavedra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by breez I'm well aware that balanced is the better way to go, but can you provide me with the math that generates the ~30% improvement over standard?

I think when balanced does provide improvements, it can be rather around 0.3%. When it doesn't provide improvements, it can be around -0.3%

 

[dano1122]

why do they use the CHEAPEST SOFT METAL screws, i got all 8 out except for 1 which got stripped. WHY DO THEY USE THESE CHEAP CRAP SCREWS WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

 

[waltermeyer]

Maybe before you put it back together you should go to some sort of fastener place in your area and take the old screws with you and ask them for some nice stainless screws that are the same as the stock ones you took out. I have a place by my house that has an incredible selection of any kind of fastener you could need. Its only a Coast to Coast Hardware, but they have everything as far as thats concerned. I usually go there and replace the screws, bolts, etc. everytime I take something apart.

 

[dano1122]

do you have any advice for dislodging a stripped pos screw

 

[dano1122]

i got it with my pliers, fukn pos i cant believe how they could use such a cheap part on this thing, my screw driver just sliced right through it