[Orlok]

Reading your previous posts, I actually had assumed it would be unlimited

Haha. I wish! Fortunately, I can get these goodies as "business expense" items for the work I do but even that has its limits.

 

[jlbrach]

I guess you would say the same about my ifi Pro iCan. Still sounds great to me.

no, I would not...the ifi pro can is far better..far more powerful and a much better match...I used to own it

 

[Hoegaardener70]

no, I would not...the ifi pro can is far better..far more powerful and a much better match...I used to own it

Thanks, that is nice to hear ...

 

[Orlok]

So, I'm finished with this experiment of completely taking the setup off the grid with the Jackery 1000w battery for the TToby and running my MBP off of a battery as well and I have to say that I really don't hear that much of a difference, if any. I will say the TToby does sound quieter. When I pause the music, it's dead silent and pitch black whereas I heard a tiny bit of hiss when connected to the mains. So I guess that's worth something.

It certainly doesn't provide the sonic difference that the RAVPower batteries had with the HMS and TT2. That was significant, as were the JPS SC cables. This large battery is nice to have for the power amps but certainly not a necessity.

Running the MBP on external battery without the monitors hooked up didn't have a noticeable effect either compared to it being plugged into the mains. So I'm going to go back to "normal" although I'll use the speaker amps with the battery. The power draw of the TToby driving the TC is very small. This battery will probably last a week even if I had the music running 24/7. Anyway, my curiosity has been quenched and I'm going to just focus on enjoying the music now.

 

[Orlok]

no, I would not...the ifi pro can is far better..far more powerful and a much better match...I used to own it

Do you have a recommendation for a battery-powered portable besides the WA11 to drive the Diana Phi that I can take on long business trips with me? I haven't committed to getting the WA11 for myself yet.

 

[mammal]

Do you have a recommendation for a battery-powered portable besides the WA11 to drive the Diana Phi that I can take on long business trips with me?

Hugo 2 with BX2-PLUS, but I see your point of one device dac/amp on travels. Another option is Centrance HIFI-M8 V2, heard it works on Dianas quite well, but haven't tested it myself. Of course iFi Diablo is another option.

 

[Orlok]

Hugo 2 with BX2-PLUS, but I see your point of one device dac/amp on travels. Another option is Centrance HIFI-M8 V2, heard it works on Dianas quite well, but haven't tested it myself. Of course iFi Diablo is another option.

Yes, I'd want one portable integrated DAC/amp. The Hugo 2 with another device would be overkill for listening for several hours at night in the hotel rooms and the pool lounge. Also, it's bad enough as is going through airport security with MBP, iPad and the reMarkable tablet! Haha. The HIFI-M8 V2 looks interesting. You mentioned the iFi Diablo already and I did notice a lot of Abyss owners swear by it. I'm not interested in driving the TC with this. It's all about the Diana Phi.

 

[mammal]

The Hugo 2 with another device would be overkill for listening for several hours at night in the hotel rooms and the pool lounge.

I have seen pics of people travelling to hotels with HMS+HTT2+AB1266, that's some dedication

The HIFI-M8 V2 looks interesting.

This was recommended to me back when I was searching for a dac/amp combo for my Diana V2. I did not have access to it, so went with Hugo 2 and Diablo instead.

You mentioned the iFi Diablo already and I did notice a lot of Abyss owners swear by it.

If I had to chose between Hugo 2 and Diablo, with the constraint that I cannot add an external amplifier, I would have gone with Diablo. Also for your use case, it seems like a good option. As always, best to compare WA11, Diablo and Centrance if you can.

 

[Orlok]

I have seen pics of people travelling to hotels with HMS+HTT2+AB1266, that's some dedication

Well, I do plan to take my HMS/TT2/TToby with the TC on my upcoming RV vacation trip with the batteries but I really can't imagine doing that for short trips and lugging all that stuff around. For international travel, forget it. On my typical business trip to Asia, I'd be going through 5~7 different airports in various countries.

If I had to chose between Hugo 2 and Diablo, with the constraint that I cannot add an external amplifier, I would have gone with Diablo. Also for your use case, it seems like a good option. As always, best to compare WA11, Diablo and Centrance if you can.

Well, comparing these options in person and doing a thorough A/B really won't be easy, like with so many other things.

 

[Slim1970]

I have the CEntrance Hifi-M8 V2 and it is a nice pairing with my Diana V2’s. I experimented with it over the weekend. One thing I discovered was the volume level is close to being maxed out on it to get the Diana V2’s to open up. The good thing about it is the Hifi-M8 V2 remains composed and sounds great. it around the same power output as the WA11 at 1.6 watts max and the Diana V2’s are using every bit of it.

 

[mammal]

I have the CEntrance Hifi-M8 V2 and it is a nice pairing with my Diana V2’s. I experimented with it over the weekend. One thing I discovered was the volume level is close to being maxed out on it to get the Diana V2’s to open up. The good thing about it is the Hifi-M8 V2 remains composed and sounds great. it around the same power output as the WA11 at 1.6 watts max and the Diana V2’s are using every bit of it.

So presumably CEntrance would not be strong enough for Diana Phi, which require more power? Or it would only limit the headroom, so some music genres would not be as much affected as others?

 

[Slim1970]

So presumably CEntrance would not be strong enough for Diana Phi, which require more power? Or it would only limit the headroom, so some music genres would not be as much affected as others?

Since it takes nearly max volume to get the Diana V2’s to open up, the Hifi-M8 V2 has limited headroom. It isn’t limiting the dynamics of the Diana V2’s in any way from what I’m hearing with any music genre. They all sound good.

 

[MatW]

I just got my pair of LCD-4 this afternoon. I need more time and comparison between the two, but the LCD-4 sounds good with metal. It’s very warm (or at least for me). The imaging seems hazy, which is good or bad depending on your genre. With metal, hazy works. The TC bass is better, but the LCD-4 also has good bass. I could see myself listening to hip-hop with these headphones and not be disappointed.

I’ll continue to break the LCD-4 in and make comparisons with all my headphones.

Use the LCD4 with EQ! Audeze presets in Roon work well imo.

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

How did u do that?!

I've built an adapter for different pads. It latches on to the driver assembly via magnets like the Abyss one. The one on the picture is 104mm which works nicely.

 

[Litlgi74]

I've built an adapter for different pads. It latches on to the driver assembly via magnets like the Abyss one. The one on the picture is 104mm which works nicely.

Very Cool... can you share more details, pictures and how it was made?