[Grumpy Old Git]

Been having a little play with the O2 + ODAC and my 540 Gold's. A very nice little combo, as Mr Parker says...'loverly synergy' and I can't disagree with him.
I'm not able to do an A/B comparison with the ALO Pan Am as i've sold it, going off memory i'd say the O2 has a slightly wider sound-stage, a more prominent treble (but not harsh or sibilant) and a nice firm bass. The Pan Am by contrast has a smoother treble (it is a hybrid design) and probably a little more bass extension.

The really noticeable difference being the extra power of the Pan Am, the Pan Am seems to be able to drive any set of cans with ease, I used to run the 600 Ohm versions of the HD 540 around the 10 - 11 o clock position with the Pan Am on 'low gain' setting, I have to turn up the O2 rig to the 2 - 3 o clock position on low gain to get a similar level of volume.

I'm very impressed with the O2/HD 540 combo, if you're pondering on the purchase of an O2 for your HD 540's I think you will be very happy with your choice.
The O2 punches well above it weight, and can give the likes of the more expensive Pan Am and Chord Mojo a run for their money.

 

[jon parker]

Nice, glad to hear you like it. Interesting how you feel it can give the Chord Mojo a run for its money. Quite something!
What's your feelings on the 'reference / neutral' side of the O2. Its admired for being an un-coloured amp. An amp that just gets itself out of the way and gives the headphones all the space to show what they they can offer - something that is quite rare by all accounts

I do love the O2 for that. I also love the colored nature of hybrid tubes. They both offer something unique

 

[Grumpy Old Git]

Nice, glad to hear you like it. Interesting how you feel it can give the Chord Mojo a run for its money. Quite something!
What's your feelings on the 'reference / neutral' side of the O2. Its admired for being an un-coloured amp. An amp that just gets itself out of the way and gives the headphones all the space to show what they they can offer - something that is quite rare by all accounts

I do love the O2 for that. I also love the colored nature of hybrid tubes. They both offer something unique

Just been listening to some rock tracks, Deep Purple - Made in Japan 96 Khz 24 Bit Wav files.
Two in particular, 'Smoke on the water' and 'Strange kind of Woman' these are live tracks, the O2 with Golds really opens up the soundstage compared to the Pan Am.
Bass, mid's, and treble, all seem equally presented, none overpower the others, and i noticed some faint tape hiss on the left channel (I did not hear this with the Pan Am/540 Ref combo) Now is that down to the synergy of the O2/Golds combo or just one of the components?......Who cares? Collectively It sounds excellent.

I also played some flac tracks by 'Sad Cafe' (an underrated Manchester band from the 70's for those who have not heard of them). Again just a couple of tracks, stringed instruments sounded more focused with the O2/Golds compared to Pan Am/540 Ref combo.

Whilst the O2/Golds combo turned in a great performance with the above tracks, it could not compete with the Pan Am/ 540 Ref's for bass, and the Pan Am has a smoother treble.
Rock tracks really highlight the difference between the two combo's as far as bass is concerned. But lets keep a sense of proportion here, the O2 is not bass light by any means, it is just more neutral in it's presentation.

.

 

[hernandoco]

Just been listening to some rock tracks, Deep Purple - Made in Japan 96 Khz 24 Bit Wav files.
Two in particular, 'Smoke on the water' and 'Strange kind of Woman' these are live tracks, the O2 with Golds really opens up the soundstage compared to the Pan Am.
Bass, mid's, and treble, all seem equally presented, none overpower the others, and i noticed some faint tape hiss on the left channel (I did not hear this with the Pan Am/540 Ref combo) Now is that down to the synergy of the O2/Golds combo or just one of the components?......Who cares? Collectively It sounds excellent.

I also played some flac tracks by 'Sad Cafe' (an underrated Manchester band from the 70's for those who have not heard of them). Again just a couple of tracks, stringed instruments sounded more focused with the O2/Golds compared to Pan Am/540 Ref combo.

Whilst the O2/Golds combo turned in a great performance with the above tracks, it could not compete with the Pan Am/ 540 Ref's for bass, and the Pan Am has a smoother treble.
Rock tracks really highlight the difference between the two combo's as far as bass is concerned. But lets keep a sense of proportion here, the O2 is not bass light by any means, it is just more neutral in it's presentation.

.

Speaking of Deep Purple, I was just listening to them too but on vinyl. Pure analog all the way to the 540s. Pure happiness here.

 

[sennsay]

Been having a little play with the O2 + ODAC and my 540 Gold's. A very nice little combo, as Mr Parker says...'loverly synergy' and I can't disagree with him.
I'm not able to do an A/B comparison with the ALO Pan Am as i've sold it, going off memory i'd say the O2 has a slightly wider sound-stage, a more prominent treble (but not harsh or sibilant) and a nice firm bass. The Pan Am by contrast has a smoother treble (it is a hybrid design) and probably a little more bass extension.

The really noticeable difference being the extra power of the Pan Am, the Pan Am seems to be able to drive any set of cans with ease, I used to run the 600 Ohm versions of the HD 540 around the 10 - 11 o clock position with the Pan Am on 'low gain' setting, I have to turn up the O2 rig to the 2 - 3 o clock position on low gain to get a similar level of volume.

I'm very impressed with the O2/HD 540 combo, if you're pondering on the purchase of an O2 for your HD 540's I think you will be very happy with your choice.
The O2 punches well above it weight, and can give the likes of the more expensive Pan Am and Chord Mojo a run for their money.

I have to run my HD540 Ref1s on high gain between 12 and 3 o'clock with the Magni 3, despite it's on-paper extra power. Yet I mind not a Jot, the quality of what comes out of the pairing is so much better than my Valhalla 2 (even with NOS valves drive valves) that I sold it and posted it off to a new HD800 owner yesterday. At less than half the price the M3 simply outperforms it in every way except sheer power. Others may prefer the softer, more spacious, less detailed and surprisingly tad harsher sound.
Ah, I too am a fan of the Deep Purple-Live In Japan album! Only got it on vinyl though, but what a cracking concert! Mimby arrives within a few hours, looking forward to see what it brings to the party.

 

[Grumpy Old Git]

I have to run my HD540 Ref1s on high gain between 12 and 3 o'clock with the Magni 3, despite it's on-paper extra power. Yet I mind not a Jot, the quality of what comes out of the pairing is so much better than my Valhalla 2 (even with NOS valves drive valves) that I sold it................

Very good point, this brings us to the 'diminishing returns' debate that crops up on all the Hi-Fi forums.
No doubt you have read many glowing reviews about certain amps and DAC's presenting a so-called 'night and day' improvement over rival designs, only for the more conservative element to debunk the comments by stating that a good budget design can hold it's own with the best. After comparing the built in sound chip on my desktop PC, Asus Maximus IV Extreme Z with Realtek ALC889 Audio motherboard, to the Beresford Bushmaster MK2/Caiman MK2/ALO Pan Am/Chord Mojo/O2 rigs I have to say I fall into the latter camp.

I have yet to find this magical 'night and day' improvement as far as amplification is concerned, the main differences in sound signature have always come from the headphones i've used. As I have said previously, I have found my 'end game' headphones with the HD 540 range, I wonder if I have found my 'end game' amplification with the O2 + ODAC?

I am curious as to how the likes of the Audiolab M-DAC, Marantz HD-DAC1, SMSL T1 , and the Fostex HP-A3 would stack up against the O2 + ODAC?
Would they be 'side grades' or 'upgrades'? Would any of them provide the 'day and night' improvement claimed by some reviewers?

 

[sennsay]

Very good point, this brings us to the 'diminishing returns' debate that crops up on all the Hi-Fi forums.
No doubt you have read many glowing reviews about certain amps and DAC's presenting a so-called 'night and day' improvement over rival designs, only for the more conservative element to debunk the comments by stating that a good budget design can hold it's own with the best. After comparing the build in sound chip on my desktop PC motherboard to the Beresford Bushmaster MK2/Caiman MK2/ALO Pan Am/Chord Mojo/O2 rigs I have to say I fall into the latter camp.

I have yet to find this magical 'night and day' improvement as far as amplification is concerned, the main differences in sound signature have always come from the headphones i've used. As I have said previously, I have found my 'end game' headphones with the HD 540 range, I wonder if I have found my 'end game' amplification with the O2 + ODAC?

Well gee, if the Mimby hasn't taken my music appreciation to a whole new level again! It's been running non stop for almost 9 1/2 hours already since new out of the box. The first 1/2 hr was pretty meh, as expected from a new multibit DAC, flat, top-end edgy and not that much rhythm either, bass a little soft and flat for an 1 1/2 hrs, though what's amazed me as how much it's come on after a good couple of hours. Several hours in and I'm loving it! Great choice, trading the Valhalla 2 for the Mimby! It's actually even better than my expectations would consider, even my HifiMAN HE400S have taken on a new lease of life now ... though it's still the HD540 Ref1s that took up the listening time this afternoon The incredible level of fine detail that's being revealed is a huge delight. A good example; The Who-Live In Leeds, an absolutely cracking good concert, with my favourite drummer and bass player in very fine form. Never have I heard John Entwhistle's fabulous bass playing so revealed in all it's glory! Nor the level of extremely fine detail showing two vocalists singing into the same mike with quite different harmonies so obvious to hear. No strain, no harshness, no dynamics pushing forward over other instruments. And as for the top end ....! well, thirty something years ago my favourite Genesis albums were played with vinyl on one of my Linn Sondek turntables and the Firth Of Fifth had and has the most gorgeous variety of cymbals and percussion that shows off Phil Collins' skills with the sticks beautifully. I've never been able to reproduce that glorious range of shimmering brass since then until today. I was ecstatic! At last I'm hearing these cymbals like themselves, caressed, tapped, brushed and stroked from the very tops down to the edges. Clean and pure ... and in fact, listening right at this moment to the brilliant WHAT ABOUT ME? from 1 Giant Leap, that describes the massive range of voices and instruments perfectly, yet full of life and expression, superb diction from the various languages and accents .... the music makes more sense, never blurred, or the timing slugged by too much bass. Balance. This last session is using the QP1R DAP as a source, optical out to the Mimby, the superb pure silver Slinkylinks ICs to the Magni 3. Sure, the Slinkylinks cost a little more than the Mimby, yet they just show how good the latter really is ... even in it's early hours. I used the MacBook Pro and Kimber USB cable earlier to just as good results. I've had the Slinkylinks as my best cables for eight or nine years now and nothing in my collection comes close to them for sheer purity and balance, same goes for the speaker cable versions I use. And no, they are not bright in the upper mids though they don't have quite the image density of the very best cables, copper or silver.
Ah, just found that the sound balance is a little different between using the USB input from the MacBook Pro and the optical input from the QP1R, the USB signal being just slightly 'warmer' and fuller in the bass, while the optical signal is a touch more explicit, the tiniest details unsullied from top to bottom. Small yet quite noticeable differences. Wow, interesting, swapping between them with some alt-J Live At Red Rocks shows that the USB set up (could even partly be the cable) ever so slightly smears focus, yet if not compared to the crystal clarity of the optical signal from the DAP, sounds great anyway. 'Cept ... the xylophone, bells and tambourine have such tonal purity that I'm drawn more to the optical input and that last little bit of fine gauze is lifted from the scene. The 29 year old HD540 Ref1s are easily able to separate such subtle differences. How good ARE these things! Ricki Lee Jones and a guitar, live audience, "Naked Songs", utterly hypnotic ......... and now we are heading well after the midnight hour ...... every twitch and twang, fingers sliding off strings, superb playing full of dynamic shadings, same goes for her voice, alternatively soaring and whispering, swaying and seducing, expectant tension in the silence between phrases, audience enraptured. So am I. Man, if this DAC continues to improve ........
Just checked the volume level and am very surprised to see it's been only at 11 o'clock! Yet I can look right into the soundstage and am missing nothing of any quiet ambient details, such is the clarity, not a whisper in the audience is missed.
Sorry if this is getting a bit long I've just realised that I'm just listening and writing as I go .. stunned, hearing things I never knew existed on music heard many times. Just. One. More. Track ......
Mimby now exactly 11 hours old in my world.

 

[Grumpy Old Git]

Well gee, if the Mimby hasn't taken my music appreciation to a whole new level again! It's been running non stop for almost 9 1/2 hours already since new out of the box. The first 1/2 hr was pretty meh, as expected from a new multibit DAC, flat, top-end edgy and not that much rhythm either, bass a little soft and flat for an 1 1/2 hrs, though what's amazed me as how much it's come on after a good couple of hours. Several hours in and I'm loving it! Great choice, trading the Valhalla 2 for the Mimby! It's actually even better than my expectations would consider, even my HifiMAN HE400S have taken on a new lease of life now ... though it's still the HD540 Ref1s that took up the listening time this afternoon The incredible level of fine detail that's being revealed is a huge delight. A good example; The Who-Live In Leeds, an absolutely cracking good concert, with my favourite drummer and bass player in very fine form. Never have I heard John Entwhistle's fabulous bass playing so revealed in all it's glory! Nor the level of extremely fine detail showing two vocalists singing into the same mike with quite different harmonies so obvious to hear. No strain, no harshness, no dynamics pushing forward over other instruments. And as for the top end ....! well, thirty something years ago my favourite Genesis albums were played with vinyl on one of my Linn Sondek turntables and the Firth Of Fifth had and has the most gorgeous variety of cymbals and percussion that shows off Phil Collins' skills with the sticks beautifully. I've never been able to reproduce that glorious range of shimmering brass since then until today. I was ecstatic! At last I'm hearing these cymbals like themselves, caressed, tapped, brushed and stroked from the very tops down to the edges. Clean and pure ... and in fact, listening right at this moment to the brilliant WHAT ABOUT ME? from 1 Giant Leap, that describes the massive range of voices and instruments perfectly, yet full of life and expression, superb diction from the various languages and accents .... the music makes more sense, never blurred, or the timing slugged by too much bass. Balance. This last session is using the QP1R DAP as a source, optical out to the Mimby, the superb pure silver Slinkylinks ICs to the Magni 3. Sure, the Slinkylinks cost a little more than the Mimby, yet they just show how good the latter really is ... even in it's early hours. I used the MacBook Pro and Kimber USB cable earlier to just as good results. I've had the Slinkylinks as my best cables for eight or nine years now and nothing in my collection comes close to them for sheer purity and balance, same goes for the speaker cable versions I use. And no, they are not bright in the upper mids though they don't have quite the image density of the very best cables, copper or silver.
Ah, just found that the sound balance is a little different between using the USB input from the MacBook Pro and the optical input from the QP1R, the USB signal being just slightly 'warmer' and fuller in the bass, while the optical signal is a touch more explicit, the tiniest details unsullied from top to bottom. Small yet quite noticeable differences. Wow, interesting, swapping between them with some alt-J Live At Red Rocks shows that the USB set up (could even partly be the cable) ever so slightly smears focus, yet if not compared to the crystal clarity of the optical signal from the DAP, sounds great anyway. 'Cept ... the xylophone, bells and tambourine have such tonal purity that I'm drawn more to the optical input and that last little bit of fine gauze is lifted from the scene. The 29 year old HD540 Ref1s are easily able to separate such subtle differences. How good ARE these things! Ricki Lee Jones and a guitar, live audience, "Naked Songs", utterly hypnotic ......... and now we are heading well after the midnight hour ...... every twitch and twang, fingers sliding off strings, superb playing full of dynamic shadings, same goes for her voice, alternatively soaring and whispering, swaying and seducing, expectant tension in the silence between phrases, audience enraptured. So am I. Man, if this DAC continues to improve ........
Just checked the volume level and am very surprised to see it's been only at 11 o'clock! Yet I can look right into the soundstage and am missing nothing of any quiet ambient details, such is the clarity, not a whisper in the audience is missed.
Sorry if this is getting a bit long I've just realised that I'm just listening and writing as I go .. stunned, hearing things I never knew existed on music heard many times. Just. One. More. Track ......
Mimby now exactly 11 hours old in my world.

Sounds like a busy weekend ahead!

 

[Grumpy Old Git]

At last i've got around to taking a few photos......



As you can see, the Gold's are in excellent condition and complete with box and all original contents. Unusually the original ear pads still have their 'pleather' intact.

Note in picture three the flat pins on the connectors.
Picture five shows the different driver mesh compared to the 300 Ohm Gold's and the standard 540's.

Now my dilemma. Because the Gold's are in such great condition, especially the ear pads, I use my 540 Ref 1's most of the time.
I'm increasingly wary of using the Golds incase I damage them, it's difficult to find a set of Gold's these days, and to find a pair in the condition mine are in is obviously even harder. So I will have to make a choice soon of either storing them away or selling them on.
I have another pair of Gold's arriving over the next few days but they are not in as good cosmetic condition, or complete with all the paperwork as this pair.

What do they sound like?...........PERFECTION!

 

[walls]

Read the whole thread, now I want a pair. Lol

 

[Hofy]

Ah, I too am a fan of the Deep Purple-Live In Japan album! Only got it on vinyl though, but what a cracking concert! Mimby arrives within a few hours, looking forward to see what it brings to the party.

Sounds like you need a Mani next.

 

[justmwa]

Sounds like you need a Mani next.

Or a Topping NX4 DSD (125€ shipped from Aliexpress). Just got mine after 3 weeks delay in shipping from China. I am in shock at the result. I have no comparison point as I never listened to a proper DAC before, but I fail to see how it could sound any better. I think my ears are still decent (not that I am old at 43!) and I am in awe listening to almost anything I throw at it + HD 540refII. Sound level barely at 2/3rd on low gain my wife complains that she hears the music a bit too much... Lows, mids and high, OMG! And to think it is with the DT990 velour pad replacements, I almost regret ordering the other pads, thinking it absolutely cannot get better.

 

[Hofy]

Or a Topping NX4 DSD (125€ shipped from Aliexpress). Just got mine after 3 weeks delay in shipping from China. I am in shock at the result. I have no comparison point as I never listened to a proper DAC before, but I fail to see how it could sound any better. I think my ears are still decent (not that I am old at 43!) and I am in awe listening to almost anything I throw at it + HD 540refII. Sound level barely at 2/3rd on low gain my wife complains that she hears the music a bit too much... Lows, mids and high, OMG! And to think it is with the DT990 velour pad replacements, I almost regret ordering the other pads, thinking it absolutely cannot get better.

The Mani is a phono preamp.

http://www.schiit.com/products/mani

 

[justmwa]

The Mani is a phono preamp.

http://www.schiit.com/products/mani

Thanks for the correction, I got a bit carried away by all this. Is there still a debate vinyl vs CD ?

 

[hernandoco]

Thanks for the correction, I got a bit carried away by all this. Is there still a debate vinyl vs CD ?

No because the 540s sound fantastic either way. It's a win-win situation.