Who has an end game setup?

[SoAmusing777]

By experts I meant the true experts; those who have the SR009 , who have bought this headphone and have owned it for long enough to be classed as endgamers. These people are the true experts because they have lived with a headphone for 100s if not 1000s of hours

Awesome then! Things look great for the He1000. 
 

It's some crazy high ohm headphone. Like 5 figures high. It can only be driven, that I know of, by taket's special headphone amp which is a big ass 50lb. hunk of metal. The amp pretty much made it a no go in my setup. 

Wth, forgetttt that. 

 

[preproman]

 
It's some crazy high ohm headphone. Like 5 figures high. It can only be driven, that I know of, by taket's special headphone amp which is a big ass 50lb. hunk of metal. They show up on ebay time to time. I believe Jude said it was the best bass out of any headphone that he had heard but that he eq'd it. Last I saw the headphone was around $1500 and the amp around $2500 but I have not checked it out for a while. The amp pretty much made it a no go in my setup. I'm still waiting for a ribbon headphone. I love my adam speaks, that would be badass if they came out with something. Lots of talk about ribbon but very little action so far.

Thanks..
 

 

[jibzilla]

 
Thanks..
 

Your welcome

 I'm into one off audio and the taket imo. is very one off. I found out about it around the time the lcd-3c came out and thought about going with the taket instead. Sometimes the bespoke/rare stuff is a big flop. Paying too much for scarceness. My current bespoke centerpiece really paid off though imo.
 

 
Only 40 peak/volcano's as of 3/14 and pete took them off the apex site at least a few months ago. Guesstimated 50 wheatfield's made and I would not be surprised if half of them went up in house fire's. Runs very hot to say the least.

 

[Takeanidea]

Wow that tube amp looks a monster! So, we can conclude that the Taket did not live up to it's expectations.
Having recently purchased a Mr Speakers Alpha Dogs which is a highly modded Foster T50, are there end gamers who have modded a phone successfully enough to call it a day for upgrading?
I have always been happy with the sound signature of my hd800s so haven't felt the need to later them but some have mentioned about their treble performance? Maybe I'm losing my hearing....

 

[jibzilla]

Wow that tube amp looks a monster! So, we can conclude that the Taket did not live up to it's expectations.
Having recently purchased a Mr Speakers Alpha Dogs which is a highly modded Foster T50, are there end gamers who have modded a phone successfully enough to call it a day for upgrading?
I have always been happy with the sound signature of my hd800s so haven't felt the need to later them but some have mentioned about their treble performance? Maybe I'm losing my hearing....

Thanks. I thought the peak/volcano was a decent sized amp till I got the wheatfield. The Teton is as big as both amps combined.
 
I never bought or listened to a taket. They are so rare that I probably never will. I ended up getting a 3c and bryston instead. From what I remember the amp is big, even bigger than the Teton and I do not like being tied down to one amp, even stat's have options. I was just pointing out that bespoke stuff seems to one extreme or the other.
 
Gladly for me the flops have been few and far between and mostly rare tubes rather than gear and I was lucky enough to try out the tubes before purchasing. Most of the bespoke gear has usually bested the commercial offerings but quite a large margin. Nos tubes are just crazy prices any more compared to 10, shoot even 5 years ago, and you can not really knock the prices all that bad cause the new issue tubes imo. are even worse than the inflated nos prices.
 
When it comes to tubes I highly suggest finding someone in your area that has a large collection and bartering something for some head time with them. This can save you thousands literally. In my wheatfield you could drop a grand easy on a western electric 422 and 421a but listening to a hundred dollar rca 5u4g and bendix 6080wb yields very similar results if the 6sn7 is high up the food chain. Every amp is different and the wheatfield def. likes the 6sn7 for sure the most and the 5u4g and 6080wb are enough to let the 6sn7 shine as long as it is a good one. For just the wheatfield and probably the Teton I would say a hundred dollars minimum on a red base all the way up to the three hundred b65, the wheatfield will scale with the b65. Lucky for me the peak is a 6sn7 only amp so that works out pretty nifty and no large, expensive 5u4g and 6080 collection needed.
 
As far as upgrading I like trying out different ear pad combinations but the hd800 already has some pretty comfy ear pads that are uniquely shaped so pad rolling is out of the question. I like messing with the hd800's sound through a pete millet or dna amp.

 

[gixxerwimp]

Just finished reading this thread and found it very interesting. I only got back into audio seriously less than a year ago, but have learned a lot here and from other online sources.

I've just put together my short/medium-term mid-fi "end game" setup: ZMF Blackwood (Purpleheart Ltd. Ed.) and iFi micro iDSD. I think the phones are actually closer to hi-fi as IMO they compare to LCD-2/3 (haven't heard the X, thought the XC's bass sounded boomy) and HE-560. What I wanted was a closed HE-560 and the Blackwood pretty much fills the bill.

I'm pleased with the micro as well, even if Purrin's DAC list puts all iFi gear down at the bottom under "crap".

Anyway, thanks to all above for describing their systems. Not sure that I'll ever have a chance to hear anything of the like, let alone own one. This thread is like a Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren owners' discussion. One can only read and dream.

 

[icebear]

I still can't put it adequately into words but since I have the GSX-Mk2, I do indeed feel I have arrived.
 
End game for me :
Marantz SA11S3 (DC filter off, noise shaping off, Filter 2)
anti cable XLR
GSX-Mk2 (230V, DACT)
Norne Vanquish 2x 3pin XLR
Sennheiser HD800 (no mods)
 
I have listened to a couple of CD's that I thought I knew quite well and that from time to time I pulled from the shelf listened to a few tracks and put them back. ALL of the CD I was spinning with the above combination I listened from start to finish unable to press the skip or stop button.
 
I was driving the HD800 previously from the speaker tabs of a First Watt M2 and would have been perfectly fine with it w/o comparing it to the GSX ... and yes, the HD800 can be pushed further in performance. What is most surprising though is that everything became so relaxed.

 

[Takeanidea]

Just finished reading this thread and found it very interesting. I only got back into audio seriously less than a year ago, but have learned a lot here and from other online sources.



I've just put together my short/medium-term mid-fi "end game" setup: ZMF Blackwood (Purpleheart Ltd. Ed.) and iFi micro iDSD. I think the phones are actually closer to hi-fi as IMO they compare to LCD-2/3 (haven't heard the X, thought the XC's bass sounded boomy) and HE-560. What I wanted was a closed HE-560 and the Blackwood pretty much fills the bill.



I'm pleased with the micro as well, even if Purrin's DAC list puts all iFi gear down at the bottom under "crap".



Anyway, thanks to all above for describing their systems. Not sure that I'll ever have a chance to hear anything of the like, let alone own one. This thread is like a Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren owners' discussion. One can only read and dream.

 



I am glad you've found it interesting, most people decide what type of sound they like and the end gamers therefore don't always pick the most expensive kit, the search is invariably exhaustive and large sums of money are spent along the way.
There are also a considerable number of headfiers that don't fit into the end gamer category because they are still buying headphones from time to time. But they may well have a set of phones that none can match and they are buying different types to suit different needs.
For instance , my HD800s are still the best phones I have and the most pleasing all round sound I've heard even allowing for headfi meets I've been to where SR009s and LCD3s and Abyss and HE6s have been available to listen to .
But I still get the odd phone out of interest. But an endgamer I can not claim to be.

 

[Takeanidea]

I still can't put it adequately into words but since I have the GSX-Mk2, I do indeed feel I have arrived.


 


End game for me :


Marantz SA11S3 (DC filter off, noise shaping off, Filter 2)


anti cable XLR


GSX-Mk2 (230V, DACT)


Norne Vanquish 2x 3pin XLR


Sennheiser HD800 (no mods)


If "you are that satisfied with your set up that you have bought nothing, done no modifications to improve your set ups in the last 6 months", this puts you as a member of a very exclusive club(one I don't belong to myself)
Do you fit the criteria? Can we put you in the hall of fame?
Trev

 

[icebear]

If "you are that satisfied with your set up that you have bought nothing, done no modifications to improve your set ups in the last 6 months", this puts you as a member of a very exclusive club(one I don't belong to myself)
Do you fit the criteria? Can we put you in the hall of fame?
Trev

OK got me there, I just received the GSX 2 weeks ago, but have the HD800 since 1.5 years. So I will reconfirm in 5 month and 2 weeks

 

[Takeanidea]

OK got me there, I just received the GSX 2 weeks ago, but have the HD800 since 1.5 years. So I will reconfirm in 5 month and 2 weeks

 


I would be happy to include you now if we're only talking about the GSX and the phones have not been changed for 18 months for something either different or potentially better

 

[icebear]

 

OK got me there, I just received the GSX 2 weeks ago, but have the HD800 since 1.5 years. So I will reconfirm in 5 month and 2 weeks

 


I would be happy to include you now if we're only talking about the GSX and the phones have not been changed for 18 months for something either different or potentially better

The HD800 are the only headphones besides my old Lambda Pro which sits there but is basically retired.
Was tempted by the HE1000 but meh ... not so much after hearing it for myself in NYC.
But you don't have to include me into anything, I just like what I hear now

.

 

[karlgerman]

Quote:

 

That's enough brushed chrome to fill a NASA Mission Control Centre! We will see you back in a year hopefully; there's no more upgrading needed. Interestingly, many of us have German products as our endgame, AKG and Sennheiser have been mentioned on this page alone; yet you have gone for a Japanese manufacturer. Is this what many believe to be the next level up in the league table of sound quality?

There is a nice mixture of Netherland (METRUM OCATVE), Island/US (KGSS), (BHSE), Japan (Esoteric) and Denmark (Lyngdorf AMP).
For now i reassemble the whole stuff for new Testing the component´s on both, Loudspeaker´s and Headphones.
 
As a new entry i add a Totaldac D1 next week to find out wheres the difference between the DAC´s.
So the Game never end´s....

 

[Frosty3258]

There is a nice mixture of Netherland (METRUM OCATVE), Island/US (KGSS), (BHSE), Japan (Esoteric) and Denmark (Lyngdorf AMP).
For now i reassemble the whole stuff for new Testing the component´s on both, Loudspeaker´s and Headphones.

As a new entry i add a Totaldac D1 next week to find out wheres the difference between the DAC´s.
So the Game never end´s....

Love the speakers

 

[Pokemonn]

my current(lol) end game setup is
 
Marantz SA-11S3 -> Stax SRM-007tA -> SR-009
 
I really want BHSE and KGSS...