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

[timeslip]

First batch is 20 amps (of which 6 were already ordered as of a few days ago). But, unlikely some wrong info I think that was shared somewhere, I confirmed personally with Ray that he will continue to produce it based on demand. So, it's not intended as a limited edition, but will be made to match whatever demand there is.



Well, slippery slope and all...

yea, estat is a commitment. a whole different chain. specific amps (or "energizers") that can't be use with anthying else. a real PITA. but... a whole different presentation. like dynamic and planars are different, except even more so.

I recommend spending some time demo-ing a couple of headphones at a dealer or canjam to see what it's all about. some people spend their lives listening to estats, others spend their lives never listenign to them..

part of the value prop of the B-21 is that you get 2 in 1- saves quite a lot of space and effort getting two-in-one instead of needing to build a dedicated chain.



When stacked, height is about 10" and width is about 16" (depth a bit less). so, foot print is close but a bit smaller than a full size rack component.



It's truly a musical masterpiece. I love mine to death.

Ok, if not limited than I think I will wait to really see if estat is a commitment I want to make. Based on recent reviews of the felik, armageddon, viva... It seems like all roads point to AIC-10 as a possible upgrade to the wa33 elite jps.

I love RSA and I am glad that he has something new up his sleeves. That tomahawk brought me so much joy before any real dap was on the market. Next week I have a tungsten coming, sus unveiled soon and immanis in august. The last 2 HP and SoCal CJ will help me decide what to do for a full size amp. In the mean time, storm sounds beautiful off the wa33 / dac501 combination.

 

[goldwerger]

It seems like all roads point to AIC-10 as a possible upgrade to the wa33 elite jps.

I've learned there's no such thing as end game in this hobby (and, I kinda find that term depressing as, personally, I hope the journey continues; I love the ongoing disovery). That said, the AIC10 is, for me, the best resting point at this moment in the market.

I love RSA and I am glad that he has something new up his sleeves. That tomahawk brought me so much joy before any real dap was on the market.

I love the RSA The Intruder. What a powerful little unit. So much clean power. Much like the B-21 in small scale.

Next week I have a tungsten coming

That's a unique headphone (wrote a very detailed review on it last summer before it came out: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/mod-house-tungsten.26823/reviews#review-32108)

sus unveiled soon and immanis in august.

PLEASE... share your impressions here when you get them. Was hoping to get a demo Immanis unit this week but after 3 promised delivery dates on it I'm giving up for now..

 

[timeslip]

PLEASE... share your impressions here when you get them. Was hoping to get a demo Immanis unit this week but after 3 promised delivery dates on it I'm giving up for now..

I love it "resting place". That is a very appropriate state for our hobby. As far immanis.... There is a Bay Area (California) audio meetup July 28th that I connected Danny up with @DeviousEnigma to bring Immanis for demo. It looks like your in NY, but if you happen to be in California then... Come by and check it out!

 

[goldwerger]

I love it "resting place". That is a very appropriate state for our hobby. As far immanis.... There is a Bay Area (California) audio meetup July 28th that I connected Danny up with @DeviousEnigma to bring Immanis for demo. It looks like your in NY, but if you happen to be in California then... Come by and check it out!

Cool! Thanks

 

[LoryWiv]

In my case I listen to something as old as pre 1950s Blues all the way up to current releases. I am 40 years old, and I realize that all erras of music have high points as well as low points. My first music listening as a kid was my mother's classic rock LP collection via a 2 channel speaker setup.

I might not be the norm for my generation, but I believe good music stands the test of time.

Listening to the Bach Partitas BWV 825-830 as I type, closing in on 300 years old and fresh as anything you could long to hear. Greatness and music that communicates something that resonates within us doesn't age.

 

[LoryWiv]

I love it "resting place". That is a very appropriate state for our hobby. As far immanis.... There is a Bay Area (California) audio meetup July 28th that I connected Danny up with @DeviousEnigma to bring Immanis for demo. It looks like your in NY, but if you happen to be in California then... Come by and check it out!

Is there a thread or link to the 7/28/24 meet up?

 

[timeslip]

Is there a thread or link to the 7/28/24 meet up?

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bay-area-meet-july-28-2024.973144/

I'll be helping out MusicTeck with a table for IEMs and DAPs as well. May bring the v281 and weiss dac501

 

[LoryWiv]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bay-area-meet-july-28-2024.973144/

I'll be helping out MusicTeck with a table for IEMs and DAPs as well. May bring the v281 and weiss dac501

Thank you. I am in Marin / No. Bay so quite a ways from the meet, but perhaps will make it. In any case sounds like it will be a blast! Thanks for the effort to get it together!

 

[timeslip]

Thank you. I am in Marin / No. Bay so quite a ways from the meet, but perhaps will make it. In any case sounds like it will be a blast! Thanks for the effort to get it together!

All @DeviousEnigma work!

 

[Toonartist]

Most of my vinyl listening is on my two channel system, but every once in a while I listen with headphones, which is always a good time. An ultrasonic cleaner helps tremendously with noise, I use a Degritter Mark II, but they are pretty expensive.

Here's my turntable, Thorens TD 125 MKII I restored with a Sorane TA-1 tonearm and Hana EL MC cart.



Phono I made is underneath, but it will be changing soon. I have an tube LCR phono build in the works, using D3a and E55L tubes. Probably will upgrade my cart after the new phono is done.

Vinyl is a PITA, but it's got that magical realism going for it that is really hard to reproduce digitally, IME.

Agree 100% with the ultrasonic cleaner. When I started up again with vinyl earlier this year I bought the Humminguru given the expense of buying everything else, Rega P8, phono stage and cartridge etc. They make a big difference as even new vinyl tends to be mucky from the manufacturing process but the cleaners really improve old and new a lot.

After a couple of passes through of noisy LPs and you barely hear any clicks etc, even with quiet sections on classical albums. I've read that the Degritter 2 is a lot better so I think I'll be upgrading to it in the future but at a bit less than 1/4 of the price the Humminguru is a great option to begin with. Either way, for headphone vinyl listening, I'd consider them as a must have!

 

[Neweymatt]

In his latest video, Rick Beato disucsses his views on the role of AI in the creative music process, as well as the diminishing value of music. I'm not sure where I land on these complex issues, but watching it was thought provoking for me so I thought I'd drop a quick share here:

Been thinking about this a lot, as it's a topic near and dear to me, and I was struggling to come up with a way to express myself without going full-blown Snark.

While I was listening to Tidal's "My Daily Discovery" playlist today a perfect opportunity presented itself to just let the music itself do the talking. John Cale's "Shark-Shark" from his most recent album of the same name was the last song on the list for me today, so Tidal dutifully did what it always does when it doesn't have anything else to play next and created this Mix based on that track:

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/a5a40295-b3ce-49e7-ad57-a2ed15ab6d74

Spotify version..



I think it's fair to say that list contains songs from some the most important & iconic artists spanning the last 60 years and quite a few more recent new & interesting ones as well. At least from a John Cale-inspired-indie-alternative perspective anyway.

But the kicker is that ALL of them have been released within the last 3 months, most of them in May or June alone. And many of them probably use all sorts of the new and innovative ways of making music that Beato thinks are somehow "ruining" music. The thing is, those are all just tools, which in the hands of Artists like those above can be used to make incredible things.

"Music" is just fine here in 2024 despite the changes to how its made and how its consumed. I for one am enjoying a hell of a lot of it on a daily basis, which was the entire point of spending $10,000s on gear in this crazy hobby in the first place.

 

[tutetibiimperes]

I’ve always been surprised that combo dynamic/electrostatic amps aren’t more popular.

Most enthusiasts who have electrostatic headphones also have dynamic headphones, and offering an ‘all in one box’ solution seems like it would be very appealing.

In addition to the new RSA unit I know the IFi iCAN Phantom does it (even if it uses the goofy as heck SD card to set bias voltage gimmick) and there’s the Audiovalve Solaris which looks super cool, but I think I’d read something about the company going out of business.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

What a hulking beast! Must sound fabulous

Thanks, yeah it sounds great! At some point in the future, I will be inheriting a Garrard 401. That will be another big restoration project.

Agree 100% with the ultrasonic cleaner. When I started up again with vinyl earlier this year I bought the Humminguru given the expense of buying everything else, Rega P8, phono stage and cartridge etc. They make a big difference as even new vinyl tends to be mucky from the manufacturing process but the cleaners really improve old and new a lot.

After a couple of passes through of noisy LPs and you barely hear any clicks etc, even with quiet sections on classical albums. I've read that the Degritter 2 is a lot better so I think I'll be upgrading to it in the future but at a bit less than 1/4 of the price the Humminguru is a great option to begin with. Either way, for headphone vinyl listening, I'd consider them as a must have!

Definitely, record cleaning is in itself a huge rabbit hole to dive into. Ultrasonic is the best way. I had DIY ultrasonic setup before the Degritter, but it was extremely noisy and cumbersome to use. The ease of use of the Degritter makes the cost well worth it.

 

[mattiastomas]

Most of my vinyl listening is on my two channel system, but every once in a while I listen with headphones, which is always a good time. An ultrasonic cleaner helps tremendously with noise, I use a Degritter Mark II, but they are pretty expensive.

Here's my turntable, Thorens TD 125 MKII I restored with a Sorane TA-1 tonearm and Hana EL MC cart.



Phono I made is underneath, but it will be changing soon. I have an tube LCR phono build in the works, using D3a and E55L tubes. Probably will upgrade my cart after the new phono is done.

Vinyl is a PITA, but it's got that magical realism going for it that is really hard to reproduce digitally, IME.

Thats a beauty! I've never really thought to listen to vinyl through headphones. My vinyl player is setup in the living room through a 2.1 system. Got me curious now. Although as my headphone system is in a different room I'd have to take logistics into account.

 

[vaporsynthwave]

hello headphone 'coolers! I've been primarily an iem guy the past few years but headphones have been pulling me back in. I have a Woo Audio WA6-SE and it's served me well. Great with a wide range of cans but at times sounds too clean and solid-state, so I've been thinking of going the otl route. My high impedance headphones are the Audio-Technica ATH-ADX5000, Verite Open, and 6xx. Atrium Closed on my radar as well if I don't default to the more portable MDR-Z1R. It seems like there's a gap in terms of pricing when researching options, either sub-1k staples like the Bottlehead Crack, or big money picks like the ZMF Decware. any under the radar options come to mind? bonus points if they can make use of some rectifiers I've collected for the Woo. Appreciate any input