ZMF Aegis Official Thread

[Louisiana]

One of the reasons I love my Spring 3 KTE for NOS, and the 1bit ladder Dac on the unit is something special. You get 2 OP dacs in one unit.

Me too
So sometimes i feed the one, and sometimes the other, for the moment, DSD is my favorit.

 

[theveterans]

I've used HQ Player free trial.

I liked it, but I know I wouldn't use it enough to make it worth it.

I'm a NOS guy at heart. One of the reasons I love my Spring 3 KTE for NOS, and the 1bit ladder Dac on the unit is something special. You get 2 OP dacs in one unit.

Aegis doesn't really care how you arrive at the analog signal going through it since it'll make the best out of that incoming analog signal regardless if it's process through 1 bit sigma delta or PCM NOS or 4fs/8fs/16fs/256fs OS

 

[betula]

Aegis doesn't really care how you arrive at the analog signal going through it since it'll make the best out of that incoming analog signal regardless if it's process through 1 bit sigma delta or PCM NOS or 4fs/8fs/16fs/256fs OS

It is true, that the Aegis cannot sound bad, yet it can sound better and better, depending on the DAC. My vote definitely goes to R2R direction.

 

[theveterans]

It is true, that the Aegis cannot sound bad, yet it can sound better and better, depending on the DAC. My vote definitely goes to R2R direction.

I subscribe to Schiit DAC house sound for life as well so I go for “not intended for audio application” R2R DAC chips

 

[g4ndr1k]

It is true, that the Aegis cannot sound bad, yet it can sound better and better, depending on the DAC. My vote definitely goes to R2R direction.

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A few days ago, I made an interesting discovery. I realised that I don’t like the EverSolo DMP-A6 + Aune S17 Pro combination (the Sony NW-WM1ZM2 + S17 Pro sounds much better). So, while waiting for the Harmony and assuming it might yield the same result, I’ve been using the Sony NW-WM1ZM2 to drive the Aegis. However, out of curiosity, I recently connected the DMP-A6 directly to the Aegis, and to my surprise, it sounded great! Although the Sony maybe still sounds better, the convenience of the DMP-A6—no battery charging, a larger screen, and no hassle with a 4.4mm to RCA cable—makes it easier to overlook the difference in sound quality. Now I’m starting to wonder if I even need the Harmony, lol.

 

[theveterans]

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A few days ago, I made an interesting discovery. I realised that I don’t like the EverSolo DMP-A6 + Aune S17 Pro combination (the Sony NW-WM1ZM2 + S17 Pro sounds much better). So, while waiting for the Harmony and assuming it might yield the same result, I’ve been using the Sony NW-WM1ZM2 to drive the Aegis. However, out of curiosity, I recently connected the DMP-A6 directly to the Aegis, and to my surprise, it sounded great! Although the Sony maybe still sounds better, the convenience of the DMP-A6—no battery charging, a larger screen, and no hassle with a 4.4mm to RCA cable—makes it easier to overlook the difference in sound quality. Now I’m starting to wonder if I even need the Harmony, lol.

With something like the Susvara OG or Immanis, you might find that Harmony can add some magic to the sound, but on other headphones, it's really subtle (DACs above entry level at least). DAC differences are a lot more apparent with speaker setups though than a lot of headphone setups in general. Aegis like I wrote, brings the best out of DACs so even if I put a mid-fi DAC like the JDS Element III, it'll still sound holographic and amazing. The DAC swapping would be slightly more nuanced than tube rolling when it comes to Aegis overall

 

[betula]

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A few days ago, I made an interesting discovery. I realised that I don’t like the EverSolo DMP-A6 + Aune S17 Pro combination (the Sony NW-WM1ZM2 + S17 Pro sounds much better). So, while waiting for the Harmony and assuming it might yield the same result, I’ve been using the Sony NW-WM1ZM2 to drive the Aegis. However, out of curiosity, I recently connected the DMP-A6 directly to the Aegis, and to my surprise, it sounded great! Although the Sony maybe still sounds better, the convenience of the DMP-A6—no battery charging, a larger screen, and no hassle with a 4.4mm to RCA cable—makes it easier to overlook the difference in sound quality. Now I’m starting to wonder if I even need the Harmony, lol.

You will absolutely hear a big upgrade with the Harmony versus the A6 as a DAC. Using a DAP as a DAC with the Aegis has some serious limitations, if nothing else, then convenience. A6 is fantastic as a streamer only (I use one), but it's built in d/s DAC is really mediocre. If you have high-end, TOTL headphones and a good amp like the Aegis, better DACs (usually $1K+) can bring almost as big of a difference as the amp itself. I am pretty sure, you will love your Harmony.

 

[Toonartist]

I used my first Aegis build when demoing DACs… I found the difference between Chord TT2, Linn Selekt Edition DSM Katalyst and the Auralic Vega G2.2 to be very different in nature. Timing, bass, energy and stage depth all varied quite a bit. It’s for this reason I tend to subscribe to the “Source First” approach.

I’ve found sorting out the power supply and the DAC first means it elevates everything else in the chain that comes after it. A power amp can only deliver what it receives. Certainly easier to hear each change you make further up the chain.

 

[betula]

I used my first Aegis build when demoing DACs… I found the difference between Chord TT2, Linn Selekt Edition DSM Katalyst and the Auralic Vega G2.2 to be very different in nature. Timing, bass, energy and stage depth all varied quite a bit. It’s for this reason I tend to subscribe to the “Source First” approach.

I’ve found sorting out the power supply and the DAC first means it elevates everything else in the chain that comes after it. A power amp can only deliver what it receives. Certainly easier to hear each change you make further up the chain.

Absolutely. The amp can only amplify the signal it gets. From poor quality signal the result won't be great. The same way, a good quality signal will get 'dirty' if amplification is poor. Plus, all this comes down to the quality of the headphones/(speakers) in the end. If your headphones are not transparent enough, they won't let an excellent setup shine through. All links are important in the audio chain, quality of them must be balanced, otherwise the weakest link will always hold back the rest.

 

[Toonartist]

Absolutely. The amp can only amplify the signal it gets. From poor quality signal the result won't be great. The same way, a good quality signal will get 'dirty' if amplification is poor. Plus, all this comes down to the quality of the headphones/(speakers) in the end. If your headphones are not transparent enough, they won't let an excellent setup shine through. All links are important in the audio chain, quality of them must be balanced, otherwise the weakest link will always hold back the rest.

Exactly… a balanced system!

 

[Wes S]

Got to love it, when the light hits it just right!

The Atticus is an absolute beast of a headphone with this amp, and can still hang with the best of them.

The bass is insane!

Happy Saturday and Listening!

 

[idairyou]

I got some more of the Atlantic 75 Series SACDs delivered today and was listening to Otis Redding - The Dock of the Bay.

On the Aegis and AC............So good.

 

[steve468]

Holy Schiit, the Atrium sounds amazing on the Aegis! I enjoy the Atriums, but actually sold them a year ago to fund some Calderas. I had a chance to re-acquire the exact same pair and jumped at the chance. SO GLAD I did. This headphone is transformed by the Aegis.

Tube roll is Mullard EL34s, Brimar 6SL7GTY (Footscray!), and NU 5U4G. I haven't tried another roll with the Atriums yet, but I'm not sure I need to. This really makes the Atrium sing like I've never heard. The growly, textured, detailed mids of the EL34s really show off that mid-forwardness of the Atriums. And the BASS. It's definitely a bassy sound, but still fairly tight and very, very, punchy.

I've just passed a month of Aegis ownership, and I'm still collecting my thoughts to put down a proper review. But I just wanted to share this unexpected bonus. It really is one of the best Oh Wow moments I've had in this hobby.

 

[theveterans]

It goes without saying that Aegis and ANY ZMF headphones are match made in heaven! Glad you found awesomeness back again with Atrium!

 

[Nick76]

What input tubes are people liking in the Aegis? How are the TungSol 6SL7GT Round Plates? The ones with black glass and black plate.