Why do you want special pricing? Everyone knows the more expensive it is the better it sounds? Why do you think the WA33 Elite sounds twice as good as the WA33.
Why do you want special pricing? Everyone knows the more expensive it is the better it sounds? Why do you think the WA33 Elite sounds twice as good as the WA33.
Well, now that I'm back home... I've spent more time with the AB1266 Phi (pre CC) in my system with the upgrade, Riviera AIC-10. Holy wow. What else can I say. Some say it reduces transparency for a more mid forward sound. I think it's something else.
The HMS/TT2 has a very sharp and detailed sound. Sound stage from the TT2 rear XLR outputs is vast. I'm starting to believe it's a sort of artificial vastness. Great as it is, putting the Riviera into the mix it seems to smooth out that last tiny digital edge, making it more analog sounding. It brings the soundstage back to something I'm more familiar with, soundwise. It just sounds more real.
I'm more addicted to this sound than I've been before the Riviera. I can listen all day long and never feel fatigued. I bet more people would prefer this sound, as the time I've spent at headfi meets in the past I've seen how most people prefer a sound that is less mids recessed.
This amp really does bring the mids more forward, to a true neutral sound, to my uncalibrated brain. Much more real sounding. Gonna sit now until I can fall asleep listening to CCR songs. Awesome!
Oh, and the bass is much more than from TT2 rear XLR. Some say boomy, I don't want to use that term because, to me, it implies artificial boost. It's stronger, more full and enveloping. Still very controlled and articulate. Not artificial at all.
And another thing. Maybe it's the smoothing caused by this amp. The difference between PCM and DSD is less obvious. If you've noticed the difference before, the soundstage with PCM was huge, but DSD was not. Just that DSD somehow sounded more musical, if not as accurate. So now, everything sounds more musical and a more natural soundstage. It's overall much more enjoyable. You'd have to hear for yourself.
Ordered and received 100 Buna #213 O-Rings. $8.94. I'm not sure what I'll do with the other 98, but I can say that after replacement it's almost like a new pair of headphones. I should have don't this a few months ago. This might have been the biggest return on investment that I've experienced in this hobby.
Now that I have the Dakoni nuggets installed I need to order some bigger o-rings. 217 sounds about right.
Soon I can become an o-ring dealer since I have so many.
Abyss, please include a bunch of different sizes with the 1266. Cost is virtually zero, and it would help with fit substantially!
Now that I have the Dakoni nuggets installed I need to order some bigger o-rings. 217 sounds about right.
Soon I can become an o-ring dealer since I have so many.
Abyss, please include a bunch of different sizes with the 1266. Cost is virtually zero, and it would help with fit substantially!
+100. I've said this a bunch of times (and been derided for it). It makes perfect sense because everyone's head is different. No way one size fits all. I needed a substantially larger one, which completely transformed the comfort of the new headband for me. From unusable to great. A small cost to include say, three sizes... and a big help for the customer.
I’m surprised you didn’t like m scaler. I found the difference was most notable with the abyss because it has an easy time of picking up depth cues which the m scaler enhances. Of course, I’m using it with a Dave, so it could be completely different with another dac.
I too didn't think the mscaler was a meaningful upgrade, when used with the Dave and Utopia (no HP amp). Not to mention it reduces volume by 3db, which is very annoying with harder to drive headphones.
+100. I've said this a bunch of times (and been derided for it). It makes perfect sense because everyone's head is different. No way one size fits all. I needed a substantially larger one, which completely transformed the comfort of the new headband for me. From unusable to great. A small cost to include say, three sizes... and a big help for the customer.
Totally agree here. The stock size is (I think) 213. They could include 211 and 215 to help purchasers at least get a fix on the most appropriate size.
I too didn't think the mscaler was a meaningful upgrade, when used with the Dave and Utopia (no HP amp). Not to mention it reduces volume by 3db, which is very annoying with harder to drive headphones.
Makes sense. To me, the biggest difference with the m scaler is staging. I use the abyss the most so it was pretty apparent - though not night and day. I can’t hear a difference as much with headphones that have a smaller stage.
I too didn't think the mscaler was a meaningful upgrade, when used with the Dave and Utopia (no HP amp). Not to mention it reduces volume by 3db, which is very annoying with harder to drive headphones.
I didn’t know the M-Scaler reduced volume; where did you learn that? Not questioning you, just really genuinely curious! I’ve been contemplating trying the DAVE so that’s useful information.
I didn’t know the M-Scaler reduced volume; where did you learn that? Not questioning you, just really genuinely curious! I’ve been contemplating trying the DAVE so that’s useful information.
It does, it's in the manual and Rob Watts has mentioned on the m-scaler thread. I think it's in order to provide headroom for the DSP being applied, but not sure.
I didn’t know the M-Scaler reduced volume; where did you learn that? Not questioning you, just really genuinely curious! I’ve been contemplating trying the DAVE so that’s useful information.
True, but when running HPs straight from the Dave it's a different story. The Dave's HP output is not mega-powerful, so a 3db reduction in volume is not good news for harder to drive HPs.
True, but when running HPs straight from the Dave it's a different story. The Dave's HP output is not mega-powerful, so a 3db reduction in volume is not good news for harder to drive HPs.
Out of curiosity, which headphones are you driving with the Dave? I plug anything that's harder to drive into an amp. Direct from Dave only with efficient headphones like the Empyrean, IEMs, and soon the Utopia.
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