THE WATERCOOLER HEADPHONE EDITION – Headphones, Amps, DACs, and desktop/home audio related – a freewheeling discussion of gear, impressions, music, and musings.

[fidgeraldo]

Miki the founder calls it like a Maybach of his amps so that speaks a lot

Wow, certainly does look fantastic!
I have HA-2 SF, which sounds impressive. This new generation style is a nice step further.
I don't doubt the sound is splendid, too!
If HA-2 SF sound is so great, I can imagine even stepping up with Nirvana!

Enjoy the music!

Cheers!

 

[Exekuhtor]

There's a new function in the forum:
YOU CAN NOW SEND YOURSELF A MESSAGE!
No longer "You are not able to send a message to yourself".
So now i can haggle with myself regarding my classified listings!

 

[betula]

There's a new function in the forum:
YOU CAN NOW SEND YOURSELF A MESSAGE!
No longer "You are not able to send a message to yourself".
So now i can haggle with myself regarding my classified listings!

Finally! I never understood this silly limitation. Why couldn't I message myself about serious decisions? Important matters might need written discussion and not only verbal.

 

[Exekuhtor]

Finally! I never understood this silly limitation. Why couldn't I message myself about serious decisions? Important matters might need written discussion and not only verbal.

Especially because you're probably the one who has the most hunch of what you like the most! It only makes sense!

 

[baneand]

I remember the "problem" with headonia 300B was the gain too high, so I could barely moved the potentiometer. What's your usual volume with HE1000SE?

Agree, new generation of Auris truly built like a tank.

Wavelight dac is also a preamp and I reduce the volume pretty much to about 50% to use for both saeq pda-1b (which is also powerhorse!) and nirvana. So for he1000se that gives me volume knob to position to about 10h (or step number 5-6 on display). So yeah I guess if I am using a simpler dac with no option to reduce the volume/voltage it can be overpowering.
For sensitive iems/headphones like XTC the volume goes to about 8h

one thing I would like for them to upgrade is to have option to set sensitivity of vu meters on display. Currently it is basically never passing -20dB, like 2-3 lines max dancing on the display.

Wow, certainly does look fantastic!
I have HA-2 SF, which sounds impressive. This new generation style is a nice step further.
I don't doubt the sound is splendid, too!
If HA-2 SF sound is so great, I can imagine even stepping up with Nirvana!

Enjoy the music!

Cheers!

Time for upgrade, lets book you a tour of the factory in Auris if you visit here

 

[goldwerger]

On the topic of Auris, I received my Nirvana 6 amp a week ago, still burning in the tubes but initial thoughts are very very positive. Build quality is "like a tank", and this color touch looks way better in person than on pictures. From what I know it is successor to the previous Nirvanas with new tubes and metal build.
I call it headphone beautifier so musical, making my he1000se sound smoother open and easy to listen but still not missing on the details. I demoed the Immanis with it in Auris headquarters and left with unique soundstage impression which is probably characteristic of immanis and didn't feel something was lacking. But didn't have a chance to try Headonia though...Miki the founder calls it like a Maybach of his amps so that speaks a lot

From a design esthetics perspective, I was a huge fan of the older wood and leather versions (below is my Nirvana Mk2). It may possibly be one of the two most beautiful amps I've come across (the other being the Luna WA23). It looks even better in person - the wood and leather finish is superbly finished and of the highest quality. I guess it had a very high cost of materials and required careful manual labor. I'd assume the new metal chassis let Auris produce larger quantities faster and at lower cost. But it was such a departure from that classic analog design cue for me. Quality of that build, even after 4 years of ownership, remains supreme:

 

[normie610]

From a design esthetics perspective, I was a huge fan of the older wood and leather versions (below is my Nirvana Mk2). It may possibly be one of the two most beautiful amps I've come across (the other being the Luna WA23). It looks even better in person - the wood and leather finish is superbly finished and of the highest quality. I guess it had a very high cost of materials and required careful manual labor. I'd assume the new metal chassis let Auris produce larger quantities faster and at lower cost. But it was such a departure from that classic analog design cue for me. Quality of that build, even after 4 years of ownership, remains supreme:

I agree, this looks much better than the new design.

 

[TheAbyss2022]

Finally! I never understood this silly limitation. Why couldn't I message myself about serious decisions? Important matters might need written discussion and not only verbal.

I would also appreciate the ability to receive messages from myself in the future to warn about a bad purchase. Let's see if the admins can do something.

 

[cats4cans]

After a week with the DCA Noire X I’m still unable to figure out why it’s not for me. The way the frame articulates and unfolds is very cool and well executed, but the earcups look like they are too small. They’re not though. My ear fit just fine. They felt light on the head. Comfortable enough for multiple album listening sessions. I tried several different amps of all types.

Maybe I just don’t like closed backs. The only one I’ve bought are Meze 99 Classics that sit at my work desk mostly unused. I tend to reach for IEMs first. While Noire X has sparkle and detail in the highs and prodigious bass when asked, the overall timbre felt off to me.

There was a bottle of scotch I bought a few years ago that I could never quite figure out what flavor notes I didn’t like. I compared it to several others. I took some notes. Finished the bottle. Still don’t know. I may eventually need to buy another bottle just to figure it out. Hobbies can be ridiculous.

 

[Sajid Amit]

From a design esthetics perspective, I was a huge fan of the older wood and leather versions (below is my Nirvana Mk2). It may possibly be one of the two most beautiful amps I've come across (the other being the Luna WA23). It looks even better in person - the wood and leather finish is superbly finished and of the highest quality. I guess it had a very high cost of materials and required careful manual labor. I'd assume the new metal chassis let Auris produce larger quantities faster and at lower cost. But it was such a departure from that classic analog design cue for me. Quality of that build, even after 4 years of ownership, remains supreme:

Yeah, this is a looker. I would consider getting this for looks alone as long as the sound held up.

Too bad, they don't make something like this anymore. The industrial design is a bit unremarkable.

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

After a week with the DCA Noire X I’m still unable to figure out why it’s not for me.

Could it have something to do with the common complaints of a compressed, over-damped sound with DCA headphones? That was my one major gripe with the Ether 2. I'd have liked it to be more resolving, too, but otherwise it had a lot of great qualities. I've not heard the Noire X and I don't know if the lack of impact and strong macrodynamic contrast are common to all DCA offerings.

 

[Aetherhole]

Could it have something to do with the common complaints of a compressed, over-damped sound with DCA headphones? That was my one major gripe with the Ether 2. I'd have liked it to be more resolving, too, but otherwise it had a lot of great qualities. I've not heard the Noire X and I don't know if the lack of impact and strong macrodynamic contrast are common to all DCA offerings.

This has been my complaint of the Stealth and Expanse certainly. Just the few times I’ve briefly tried them, they’ve been pretty sterile and lifeless sounding. I’m pretty curious, even a bit eager, to give the Noire X a try to see how it fares comparatively.

I’d actually love to spend more time with the Stealth and Expanse to see if some time may change my mind and appreciate them more.

 

[jsabini1]

Could it have something to do with the common complaints of a compressed, over-damped sound with DCA headphones? That was my one major gripe with the Ether 2. I'd have liked it to be more resolving, too, but otherwise it had a lot of great qualities. I've not heard the Noire X and I don't know if the lack of impact and strong macrodynamic contrast are common to all DCA offerings.

That was my first thought too, but I don't know if that's where @cats4cans was going with this...

I had a DCA Aeon/RT open, and have spent a good amount of time with both Expanse and Stealth. In all three cases I've heard the dynamic compression issue, irrespective of other good sonic qualities and in all cases having more than sufficient amplification.

I just never felt they sounded "right", with the dynamic impact that's noticeable in Focal and ZMF dynamic headphones, and in other planar models too. I would turn up the volume to compensate, but that didn't fix the issue as then I'd be listening louder than I really wanted to.

I haven't heard the Noire X or E3, but I hope Dan improves this aspect of his headphones.

 

[Sajid Amit]

I dig the colorway!

 

[baneand]

From a design esthetics perspective, I was a huge fan of the older wood and leather versions (below is my Nirvana Mk2). It may possibly be one of the two most beautiful amps I've come across (the other being the Luna WA23). It looks even better in person - the wood and leather finish is superbly finished and of the highest quality. I guess it had a very high cost of materials and required careful manual labor. I'd assume the new metal chassis let Auris produce larger quantities faster and at lower cost. But it was such a departure from that classic analog design cue for me. Quality of that build, even after 4 years of ownership, remains supreme:

They also had one unused Nirvana 2 found in a storage for selling but I kind of wanted the new display and dark metal combination

I remember the founder talking in one of the interviews they had problems with the wooden design when they sold items in the humid environments, I think the deterioration or corosion or something else. But I am sure it can be handled with protection of some sort if wooden design continues.