[KopiCPeng]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a budget DAP that can stream apple music and spotify? Am currently planning to get one for my brother, my budget probably sub-300 usd (based on my current consideration on getting Sony NW-A306 or Hiby R4)

Thanks In Advance!

 

[goldwerger]

That Head-Fier put Audeze earpads on his X9000 and has wanted to compare vs a stock X9000 since taking on/off the earpads takes time.

Love your weekend plans!

I’ve never heard of this pad mod. I’m super curious to get your comparison (as I also have the X9K in stock form). Please share your weekend impressions here when you return

I would love to hear back from @Proxima Centauri about an amp that can deal with sensitive HP, provides enough power to immanis, and has that same sound signature to Armageddon.

Is that a specific amp in development?

 

[nfandi]

I am not one that likes to be surrounded by amps, as it makes me a bit anxious to have so many high $ value items sitting there unused and a bit stressed in deciding what I want to listen to. Armageddon created a sense of excitement but it does not do well with sensitive iems and I suspect headphones. This is one knock against it, in that it is only good for Immanis as I do not own any other HP. None of my IEMs will ever work with it, where as the 465 and AIC10 has a really good black background.

As for the sound, I found 465 and AIC10 to have more depth and a refined sound that kept me wanting to listen more. AIC10 w/g73r had a laid back presentation (mids & bass) that works so well with slower paced music that you can enjoy the decay of the note like drinking a fine wine (swirl the flavors in your mouth to observe every last bit before consuming) and 465 had an faster paced presentation with tight bass even though the overall sound signature is more warm.

As of this writing, I still own a wa33 elite jps with upgraded tubes that gives a clear and holographic sound that can't be matched with any of these amps. If I sell this amp (currently posted in classifieds), maybe I would consider Armageddon. But I would love to hear back from @Proxima Centauri about an amp that can deal with sensitive HP, provides enough power to immanis, and has that same sound signature to Armageddon. That might tip me over the edge to buy.

How about the SAEQ Armageddon with a passive volume attenuator as a pre-amp? Certainly 100% meets requirements 2 and 3…..not so sure about the “sensitive HP” bit.

 

[timeslip]

Is that a specific amp in development?

Not that I am aware of. I had some questions out to Danny to see if he could find out from Djordja @ SAEQ.

How about the SAEQ Armageddon with a passive volume attenuator as a pre-amp? Certainly 100% meets requirements 2 and 3…..not so sure about the “sensitive HP” bit.

Any recommendations? I forgot to mention I also dropped the voltage on the lina down to 0.2v to try with iems and was using 2v for Immanis.

 

[nfandi]

Not that I am aware of. I had some questions out to Danny to see if he could find out from Djordja @ SAEQ.



Any recommendations? I forgot to mention I also dropped the voltage on the lina down to 0.2v to try with iems and was using 2v for Immanis.

If you have a variable output on the DAC you don’t need a passive pre-amp; I was just thinking out loud. I have Holo May which is a bit “hot” and has no output control so am looking at the Goldpoint passive pre-amps. Armageddon’s 2nd output has a switchable 5dB/10dB attenuation so I was wondering if this would work ok in conjunction with the lowest voltage output from the Lina?

 

[timeslip]

If you have a variable output on the DAC you don’t need a passive pre-amp; I was just thinking out loud. I have Holo May which is a bit “hot” and has no output control so am looking at the Goldpoint passive pre-amps. Armageddon’s 2nd output has a switchable 5dB/10dB attenuation so I was wondering if this would work ok in conjunction with the lowest voltage output from the Lina?

Ya, I had the same problem with the May in the past and was pleasantly surprised to find that I had finer control with lina and dac501. I believe I may have shared in the Immanis thread, but I was using the 2nd "high sensitivity" output on low gain and -10dB for even Immanis. =)

 

[Zachik]

Fun question for y'all...
I attended a live concert 2 nights ago, and the main act had 3 leading opening acts. In fact, I went to see the 3rd opener (not surprisingly, it was my favorite of the 4 performances).
Do you have stories of going to see a live show for the main headliner, but enjoyed an opening act better than the main headliner?

 

[jinxy245]

The closest I could come to that scenario is when I was lucky enough to see Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan at Madison Square Garden.

I had heard of SRV before, but hadn't heard his music until that night. I couldn't honestly say I enjoyed him more than Jeff, but he definitely blew me away that night.

Fun fact: JB & SRV were trading off opening and headliner spots that tour. Jeff actually opened for Stevie that night.

 

[BassicScience]

Fun question for y'all...
I attended a live concert 2 nights ago, and the main act had 3 leading opening acts. In fact, I went to see the 3rd opener (not surprisingly, it was my favorite of the 4 performances).
Do you have stories of going to see a live show for the main headliner, but enjoyed an opening act better than the main headliner?

Yeah, it's happened a fair number of times in my decades of attending concerts. A few particularly notable instances:

L7 opened for Nirvana at the Warfield (1991), and put on a far tighter, more inspired performance.

(Going waaaaay back)
Al DiMeola opened for Renaissance at Berkeley Community Theater (1978), and played a super high-energy set of guitar fusion virtuosity. Renaissance were excellent, but just too sedate by comparison.
Jan Hammer Group w/Jeff Beck opened for Aerosmith in Tempe, AZ (1976) and completely blew my (young) mind with an incredible set. I walked out halfway through Aerosmith, who were just sloppy.

@Zachik , I'd be curious as to which bands played at the show you went to the other night.

 

[HiWire]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a budget DAP that can stream apple music and spotify? Am currently planning to get one for my brother, my budget probably sub-300 usd (based on my current consideration on getting Sony NW-A306 or Hiby R4)

Thanks In Advance!

If your budget is low, I'd advise getting a used or new old stock (possibly refurbished) iPod Touch, 7th Generation 32-256GB or an older iPhone like an iPhone 6S 16-128GB (with a new battery).

The iPod Touch 7G is preferable, as it has a newer A10 processor and battery replacement is probably still covered by Apple.

They are both relatively inexpensive, have excellent displays, and they can run the latest Spotify and Apple Music apps directly out of their headphone jacks (no dongles required).

They don't have the battery life or user interface issues that people complain about in modern digital audio players, and they can operate with fairly modern iOS 15 and wi-fi/Bluetooth accessories.

The iPod Touch and iPhone 6S also have an upgrade path if your brother wants to get an outboard DAC or headphone amplifier like the Chord Mojo 2 someday.

 

[Zachik]

@Zachik , I'd be curious as to which bands played at the show you went to the other night.

Headliners were Five Finger Death Punch, but I went to see Marilyn Manson...
To be fair, I suspect that was the result of the "legal issues" Manson has dealt with in the last 2-3 years. Otherwise, I think the order would have been reversed
Either way, first time I actually seen Manson live, and he gave a pretty good show!

 

[AudioDuck]

Fun question for y'all...
I attended a live concert 2 nights ago, and the main act had 3 leading opening acts. In fact, I went to see the 3rd opener (not surprisingly, it was my favorite of the 4 performances).
Do you have stories of going to see a live show for the main headliner, but enjoyed an opening act better than the main headliner?

A “sort of” answer- going to a lineup of (chronologically) Kind of Like Spitting, Death Cab For Cutie, and Pedro the Lion (aka David Bazan, the headliner that night) in 2000 at the Crocodile Café, Seattle.

We went for Death Cab and had a great time, but also knew of Pedro the Lion and stayed for the whole show. It was, I think, the DCFC shows supporting the release of “We Have the Facts and Are Voting Yes”. Been a DCFC fan ever since. Ben Gibbard is a poet.

 

[Zachik]

We went for Death Cab and had a great time, but also knew of Pedro the Lion and stayed for the whole show. It was, I think, the DCFC shows supporting the release of “We Have the Facts and Are Voting Yes”. Been a DCFC fan ever since. Ben Gibbard is a poet.

Which is their favorite album of yours? I will wait for your reply, and put it on.....

 

[goldwerger]

I was lucky enough to see Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan at Madison Square Garden.

I had heard of SRV before, but hadn't heard his music until that night.

Al DiMeola opened for Renaissance at Berkeley Community Theater (1978), and played a super high-energy set of guitar fusion virtuosity. Renaissance were excellent, but just too sedate by comparison.

Now these are world class opening acts!

 

[chrisnyc75]

A very abnormal "travel" setup:

"Abnormal" is the norm here, "normies" need not apply.