[Schopenhauer]

Just arrived. Initial impression: These might be tell-tale heart-level revealing. 

 

[jgwtriode]

Just arrived. Initial impression: These might be tell-tale heart-level revealing. 

Congrats! You will love them!

Jgwtriode

 

[FlySweep]

Congrats on the Slants!  They're my favorite closed headphone of all time 

.. and they sound wonderful with the H10, too

 

[Schopenhauer]

  Congrats on the Slants!  They're my favorite closed headphone of all time 

.. and they sound wonderful with the H10, too

Thanks! I plan on pairing them with the H10 tonight. So far I've been blown away with only the E18!

 

[Schopenhauer]

 

Just arrived. Initial impression: These might be tell-tale heart-level revealing. 

Congrats! You will love them!

Jgwtriode

Thanks! I already love them! I worry my LCD-2F has been made unnecessary. We'll see!

 

[Maximum476]

Someone isn't going to be watching much tv this christmas 

 

[pp312]

There's nothing on anyway.

 

[Schopenhauer]

Haven't watched TV since I got them. I think they confirm that ears > eyes.

 

[tarsonis]

 

[SynthAddicted]

So,
 
Not much going on around here anymore. Is there another more active Paradox thread I'm missing? or is it just that everyone is going for the Slants? In any case, I just paid for a pair of Custom Paradox (Mini XLR inputs, painted black- should be similar in look to the black ones pictured in the Headfonia review). So I have two weeks to acquire suitable D to A conversion and an amp (all i have at the moment is a pair of Monoprice studio monitor headphones that have been my stand in pair while i dithered and bought audio production equipment last year). I went for standard Paradox over Slant because I am taking audio production/recording classes at College (Along with normal liberal arts B.A. stuff) and so I am looking for as much honesty as possible in my headphones. 
 
So my wallet stings a bit from the Custom Paradox purchase- for now, I've got $500 for a DAC, Amp, and cables (unless i get a combined unit like a Geek Out V2). At the moment I'm leaning towards an Uber Modi 2 and a Gustard H10 (which technically breaks the budget on cables and Modi shipping, but whatever- worst case, i will replace cables later). I basically selected this combo because I want an amp that actually has enough power (current on tap) to do the Paradox justice, as it seems they really scale in that regard. The Modi 2 uber is basically a stand in until I fit a Multibit Gungir into my budget, honestly.
 
What do you guys think? I'm favoring an asymmetrical setup at the moment so at least one of the components isn't hopelessly outclassed by the Multibit Gungir i sense in my future (I haven't heard it, but I have always wanted a DAC that doesn't throw away the original signal it is fed-again because I am looking for accuracy). The other approach I am considering is something along the lines of the Geek out V2 or V2+ - something that will become my portable amp/dac when I upgrade. The other consideration I have in mind is studio compatibility (as I am regularly in studios/production rooms at school) which makes the balanced inputs of the H10 a huge benefit. I'm also tempted to consider an audio interface for studio/production reasons, but I doubt I will be able to find one with a headphone output that has enough current to make my upcoming Paradox sing.
 
Any advice out there? This is a bit difficult for me, as while I have auditioned almost all the planar options out there (and I believe all the closed planars on the US market except the Ether- and really I want something more portable), I have listened to very few amps. I'm kicking myself at the moment for not auditioning the Audeze Deckard when I had the chance- but then again I doubt it was designed to be accurate (but more reference points are always helpful).
 
-MPZ       

 

[tarsonis]

Maybe aim at one Lake People G100/G109 with an ODAC if you don't want to carry around a lot. Back then with my basic Paradox I used to work with the RME 9632 and the G100 and made some great mixes/releases. Important note is the impedance below 1Ohm which makes a noticeable difference coming from amps around who are about 50Ohm like the Multiface HP output. The Fostex driver are around 50ohm.
Maybe if your pocket allows it get an Benchmark DAC which I did and it was a step up regarding transient response. Clearly easier to make compressor decisions now. With the balanced outputs you can use it as monitor controller too. Great piece of gear.

Of course there are a lot more possibilities out there.

 

[Claritas]

So my wallet stings a bit from the Custom Paradox purchase- for now, I've got $500 for a DAC, Amp, and cables (unless i get a combined unit like a Geek Out V2). At the moment I'm leaning towards an Uber Modi 2 and a Gustard H10 (which technically breaks the budget on cables and Modi shipping, but whatever- worst case, i will replace cables later). I basically selected this combo because I want an amp that actually has enough power (current on tap) to do the Paradox justice, as it seems they really scale in that regard. The Modi 2 uber is basically a stand in until I fit a Multibit Gungir into my budget, honestly.

Bear in mind that I haven't heard H10 and I don't want to mislead you. I really enjoy Leck with 1B (http://www.leckertonaudio.com/products/uha-6s-mkii/) with Paradox. Granted that its DAC isn't anything special, the amp certainly is. The GO v1 are great DACs, but their amps don't stand out; so I have little confidence that v2 can compete with the Leck for amping. My advice is buy a Leck (new or used) and save the rest of your money for the upgrade to Gumby and whatsoever else you may be desiring. Cheers!

 

[SynthAddicted]

Bear in mind that I haven't heard H10 and I don't want to mislead you. I really enjoy Leck with 1B (http://www.leckertonaudio.com/products/uha-6s-mkii/) with Paradox. Granted that its DAC isn't anything special, the amp certainly is. The GO v1 are great DACs, but their amps don't stand out; so I have little confidence that v2 can compete with the Leck for amping. My advice is buy a Leck (new or used) and save the rest of your money for the upgrade to Gumby and whatsoever else you may be desiring. Cheers!

 
Thank You for reminding me about the Leck! I totally forgot about it, but a battery powered DAC/Amp for $289 would be really convenient! From what I hear, the Paradox is happier with more current on tap (I think the fact that he has a custom 50w headphone amp speaks for itself

), but IIRC Luis has said that it still performs with less. I'm willing to wait on a high-power amp- especially since the Leck would simply be repurposed to 100% portable duty in that situation. Given that a Geek Out V2+ costs over $100 more (that balanced output though...) and as you say, there's something of a question mark over its amplifier performance (I'll have to see what I can dig up- they did move to a Texas Instruments TPA6120A2), and it has no analog input. I am now certainly considering the Leck- especially given that my teachers might not appreciate me messing with the settings on the studio audio interfaces to use their headphone amps sans-conversion with analog sources.
 
Did you do some opamp rolling to arrive at the 1B, or is it the only option you've heard? I was going to dig up some spec sheets and see which opamp could push the most current at 50ohms, but it's definitely great to have a particular opamp suggestion for the Paradox.   

Maybe aim at one Lake People G100/G109 with an ODAC if you don't want to carry around a lot. Back then with my basic Paradox I used to work with the RME 9632 and the G100 and made some great mixes/releases. Important note is the impedance below 1Ohm which makes a noticeable difference coming from amps around who are about 50Ohm like the Multiface HP output. The Fostex driver are around 50ohm.
Maybe if your pocket allows it get an Benchmark DAC which I did and it was a step up regarding transient response. Clearly easier to make compressor decisions now. With the balanced outputs you can use it as monitor controller too. Great piece of gear.

Of course there are a lot more possibilities out there.

 
Thanks Tarsonis! (also I replied to your PM). I would certainly enjoy a Lake People amp, but even with their current sale only the G103-s would be cheaper than the Gustard H10, and unlike the Gustard it only has single-ended inputs (meaning a DAC upgrade would see me selling it). The H10 is actually a super similar circuit (some say clone even) to the Violectric V200- so not quite as neutral as the Lake People (those who have compared it to the G109 in the H10 thread say its just a little warmer/more tubelike) but on the other hand it is a fully dual-mono design with a beefier power supply (according to the H10 thread).
 
As far as spending more money is concerned, I would move straight to the Dangerous Source, as it's designed as a mobile all in one studio Dac/amp (exactly what I need) unless I had enough for a Multibit Gungir and a nice balanced amp and a nice balanced cable (the single-ended one I'm getting is just mogami). While I doubt it has quite as much current on tap as some of the more expensive standalone headphone amp options (I can't find an exact number anywhere) the thread on it here quotes good results with Audeze headphones, and even better with the HD800- which indicates to me that its headamp is very high quality, just probably not pushing 3+ watts at 50ohms. If I decide to spend this much I will certainly ask Dangerous for specs on the Source's headamp.
 
The other option at $500 is the Emotiva Stealth DC-1- but if anyone on HeadFi has anything actually complimentary to say about its headphone amp (more positive than "its ok"), I haven't managed to find it. So I feel like i might as well save money instead- Custom Paradox are expensive enough!
 
Thanks for the Replies!
-MPZ 

 

[Claritas]

Did you do some opamp rolling to arrive at the 1B, or is it the only option you've heard? I was going to dig up some spec sheets and see which opamp could push the most current at 50ohms, but it's definitely great to have a particular opamp suggestion for the Paradox.

No, I just went with what the guys I trust use. If you find out something different from the specs, I'd be curious to know.

 

[SynthAddicted]

So apparently I can't read (or was just more tired than I thought after work yesterday)- I just realized the Leck (and the new Leck 760) only do 16 bit over USB (and the 760 only does 16 bit period)- that's a dealbreaker for me (all my classwork will be at 24 bit). A bummer because I really like the feature set and value of the Leck. Currently, I find myself thinking about the Geek Out V2+ simply because I have yet to find another portable option that provides similar value for money in terms of features (especially given that the GOV2+ has TRRS balanced output). I looked at the Pico Dac/Amp, but it's $500 (As is the ifi Micro IDSD). The HifiM8 is even more expensive- is there a high-value portable option I'm missing?
 
At this point I find myself... scouring the internet for a used Dangerous Source, because it's actually exactly what I want: a designed-to-be portable studio monitor controller/dac with a headphone amp that means business. $900 is more than my custom paradox though. Granted the DC-1 Stealth is $500, but according to all reports its headphone amp is not in the same league as the one on the Dangerous (not to mention the other ways it loses in that comparison- but then, it should given the $400 price difference).
 
If I can't find the Dangerous Source used and decide $900 is too much (I probably will), then at this point I'm thinking I will just grab a Geek Out V2+ and call it good (and live with its lack of analog input) unless there's a better value in portable dac/amps that someone can point me to (I suppose I should consider the idsd micro as well- but Purrin kinda turned me off of it...)