Headphone, amp and DAC tour

[tjcaustin]

I've been talking it over with a few people and I think it's time to start talking about and getting a headphone tour going. 

Currently, all gear is owned by your's truly and will be provided in such a way where you plug in source and power and start listening.

Gear list:

Headphones -

Sennheiser HD600 (maybe cable modded)


Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 (demik's)


VSonic GR07 (thegunner)


HiFiMan HE500


Audeze LCD-2 (maybe)


Mr. Speakers Mad Dog (maybe)


Amp -

Schiit Magni

DAC (on bottom)-

Schiit Modi

Cables -

1 gold ended USB A-B cable sleeved in kevlar ~1.5 feet long
Gold plated DIY RCA cables sleeved in stainless steel and aramid armor using canare wire

Current list of participants:
CptBadAss


esoomenona


demik
picture not found

mistakemistake


Sherryton


hashbaz


halverson


codyeathello
no pix

thegunner100

dorkvader


comradesniper
akimbo
badcop

badwrench


hoff, man of myster
dubsgalore


How I'm thinking it will work is person that's holding it currently pays for shipping to next person until it gets back to me.  I'll keep the sign up open for a couple weeks, then get the ball rolling to first person.

[tjcaustin]

Mine

[demik]

buuuuuuump

i can probably throw in my ad700s for anybody that is thinking about buying "gaming" headphones to try out.

[hashbaz]

The hash is in

[dorkvader]

Really want to try those grados

[JPG]

Nice tour! Woulda been fun, but shipping to Canada is probably not an option and WAY too costly anyway (and x2)!

Enjoy this tour everyone!

[tjcaustin]

Really want to try those grados

* tjcaustin eyesquint

[CPTBadAss]

I will try and write a review for all this swag. Shoutouts to Tj for setting this up

[codyeatworld]

please sign me up!

that gear looks amazing!

[esoomenona]

I will write a review, as well. I will say either it was cool or alright or something.

[demik]

i will NOT write a review, because i will look stupid.

[tjcaustin]

I'll review the stuff I don't mail out

[CPTBadAss]

i will NOT write a review, because i will look stupid.

"Wu tang killa beez sound best in deeze Hifimans"
-demik

[tjcaustin]

i will NOT write a review, because i will look stupid.

"Wu tang killa beez sound best in deeze Hifimans"
-demik

Not enough racist

[demik]

i will NOT write a review, because i will look stupid.

"Wu tang killa beez sound best in deeze Hifimans"
-demik

sounds about right

[mkawa]

quite a long time ago, jan meier had oehlbach make a limited run of cables for the hd580, hd600 (and hd650, since it uses the same connector). i still have one... somewhere. quite a nice little cable. nothing particularly special about it other than it was properly terminated under vacuum and the wire was high quality o2 free uhpc. for a reasonable length cable (say 6-10 feet), that's about as good as it's going to get unless you need a faraday cage because you live next to an rf tower or something.

oh, i remember why i posted this now. the hd650 cable is basically the same thing as jan's oehlbach cable except that sennheiser put their name on it and uses a different terminator at the amp end.

at 35$ at retail the cost is the same as well. it's a little pricey for a headphone that should be 250, frankly, but there you go.

[thegunner100]

HE-500 and/or LCD2 please, unless I get to try them out at the NYC meet before you get your hands on them.

I can perhaps throw in my gr07s into the tour? I don't really use them anymore, but I'll think about it. Otherwise my UERMs are custom and my hd600s are always being used.

[SpAmRaY]

quite a long time ago, jan meier had oehlbach make a limited run of cables for the hd580, hd600 (and hd650, since it uses the same connector). i still have one... somewhere. quite a nice little cable. nothing particularly special about it other than it was properly terminated under vacuum and the wire was high quality o2 free uhpc. for a reasonable length cable (say 6-10 feet), that's about as good as it's going to get unless you need a faraday cage because you live next to an rf tower or something.

oh, i remember why i posted this now. the hd650 cable is basically the same thing as jan's oehlbach cable except that sennheiser put their name on it and uses a different terminator at the amp end.

at 35$ at retail the cost is the same as well. it's a little pricey for a headphone that should be 250, frankly, but there you go.

I had one of those cables for my hd600 and one of Jan's amps many moons ago.

[tjcaustin]

HE-500 and/or LCD2 please, unless I get to try them out at the NYC meet before you get your hands on them.

I can perhaps throw in my gr07s into the tour? I don't really use them anymore, but I'll think about it. Otherwise my UERMs are custom and my hd600s are always being used.

I'll have the LCD-2 tomorrow, no clue yet on he500, they're still going through the mass drop stuff.

I doubt I'll let the lcd-2 out to demo, though.  We'll see.

[thegunner100]

Wow, that was quick haha. That's understandable, they're really expensive headphones :x. But if you do decide to let them out for demo, I hope I can make the cut/requirements.

[tjcaustin]

Wow, that was quick haha. That's understandable, they're really expensive headphones :x. But if you do decide to let them out for demo, I hope I can make the cut/requirements.

You'll make the cut, I'm not blocking anyone.

[thegunner100]

Just dug up an old image of my gr07s. They're a bit oxidized now, so there's a bit of green near driver entry . They were recabled by BTG-audio.

[thegunner100]

So I will be sending my gr07s to cptbadass this weekend. Sign up here if you are interested in joining the tour.

Rules:
1. Current holder pays for shipping to the next person. You can just use a usps small priority box, and fill up the box with newspaper to make sure the contents don't move around.
2. Once you get them, you can try them out for about a week before sending them off to the next person. Please do post impressions.
3. The gr07s come with a case and will come with various stock tips. Please clean any tips that you use with alcohol before sending them off to the next person.
4. Enjoy.

Requirement: at least 100 posts on GH

[CPTBadAss]

Sexy time!!

I'm really excited for this. Thanks for joining thegunner100

[ComradeSniper]

Sounds like a great opportunity to try out a bunch of nice gear. I'm in!

[AKIMbO]

Can I join?

[thegunner100]

I think it would be better if you stated what you wanted

[AKIMbO]

I think it would be better if you stated what you wanted

Oh lol....my bad.  The schiit stack and the hd600.

[badcop]

as someone who has recently had their headphone interest piqued, i'd be in on this too.

[ComradeSniper]

I think it would be better if you stated what you wanted

Whoops, I thought we got the whole package in a large flat rate box or something similar. In that case I'd like to try the Grados and the Schiit amp & DAC, and if possible the ATH-AD700s.

[thegunner100]

Whoops, I thought we got the whole package in a large flat rate box or something similar. In that case I'd like to try the Grados and the Schiit amp & DAC.

That would be a pretty rediculous package xD. But you could be right! Well, I am only running my part of the tour anyways.

[CPTBadAss]

I also thought we got all the cans haha.

[demik]

I, too, also thought it was a package type tour.

[tjcaustin]

Everything but thegunner's stuff *is* coming in one large box.

People added.

[thegunner100]

Oh damn... haha that IS pretty ridiculous then. But still, I am only interested in the he-500 and lcd2s xD

[tjcaustin]

Oh damn... haha that IS pretty ridiculous then. But still, I am only interested in the he-500 and lcd2s xD

That's fairly understandable.  I may do something separate for the high end stuff so it's not out of my hands for an extended period.  I shall contemplate this today while I'm out.

I think we've got near enough people to start talking how long people would want and need with gear.  My original thought was everyone would get a minimum of 3 days and up to 1 week, to demo everything before passing it to the next person in line.  I'm also up for opinions as well.  Obviously, if you didn't need that much time, you could send it off earlier, it's just a guideline I try to take with all of my demoing as well as my ears change throughout the day and from day to day in small ways.

[missalaire]

CPTBadAss says on missalaire's account says (Totally forgot I was browsing on her account lol):

I'd really like a week with everything. I'm new to audiophile stuff (as well as keyboards ) and I find that I need more time to figure out and hear all the nuances of each headphone. Plus if I have all these cans, I want to do a comparison of everything which means lots of switches and listening.

[demik]

If I may suggest new box every time somebody ships? When it's my turn to ship out I'm going to get it repackaged with new shipping materials and a new box since usps isn't exactly nice with their packages. Also, insured.

[ComradeSniper]

I agree with both of the above posts.

[Badwrench]

Can I join?  I am really interested in the Shiit stack and the AD700s.  Would love a comparison to my current stuff.

Pic attached for op 

[thegunner100]

That's fairly understandable.  I may do something separate for the high end stuff so it's not out of my hands for an extended period.  I shall contemplate this today while I'm out.

I think we've got near enough people to start talking how long people would want and need with gear.  My original thought was everyone would get a minimum of 3 days and up to 1 week, to demo everything before passing it to the next person in line.  I'm also up for opinions as well.  Obviously, if you didn't need that much time, you could send it off earlier, it's just a guideline I try to take with all of my demoing as well as my ears change throughout the day and from day to day in small ways.

That sounds pretty fair for the others. Tbh for me, I only need like 1 day to evaluate headphones xD. Very easy for me to tell if I either like it or I don't.

[dorkvader]

Here's my arm picture if you want it for the OP. I'd recognize that arm anywhere.


joking aside, I'm keen to try the sennheisers, and compare the AD700's to my AD900's

I would absolutely like to try the high-end orthos, but I realize that probably won't happen.

[thegunner100]

I don't think the magni+modi would quite cut it for mid-high end orthos tbh :x

[HoffmanMyster]

I just saw this post and I'm very interested in getting in on it!  It's not too late, is it?  Sign me up!

[Dubsgalore]

I just saw this post and I'm very interested in getting in on it!  It's not too late, is it?  Sign me up!

same, just seeing it now

permission to come aboard?..

also can post an arm pic if necessary

[tjcaustin]

People added, of course it's not too late.  Too late will be when I sell everything.

Here's a thought.  Let's call it "up to a week", that way people that will want the week won't feel weird and the people that need/want less time can still pass it along in their own time.

I don't think the magni+modi would quite cut it for mid-high end orthos tbh :x

The only thing I'm worried about the magni performing well on is the hd600, tbh.  It's still 1.0w at 50ohm and the only reason I'm not using it as my desktop amp solution is I kinda fell into a great deal with the bifrost/asgard that I now use.  And even that isn't perfect for the hd600 either. 


As to the high-end stuff I have (LCD-2/he500), I will lend those as well, but on a one-on-one basis so that I'm not without them for a quarter to half a year. 

[thegunner100]

It's not really a problem of output power when it comes to amps. Even though the magni is 260mw into 300ohm, I can almost say that the leckerton UHA-6s mkii (ADA4627) can drive the hd600 just as well, if not better with its measly 55 mW into 300 ohms. The magni/modi and the leckerton will do a fine job at driving the hd600, but having heard (and owning) better gear, it really shows that budget products really are just budget products. The hd600/hd650 scales so well that you can easily tell the difference between upgrade jumps like the magni/modi or odac/o2 -> bifrost/asgard2 or dac*it/little dot, etc -> balanced hd600 w/ nfb-10es2.

That being said, I'm sure the people on the tour for the hd600 and magni/modi will be more than satisfied with what they hear

[esoomenona]

I recently received my M50s and E17, and they sound great. Now I see what I've been missing, and why I've been afraid of getting into audiophile stuff, even though I've wanted to for a long time. Maybe I shouldn't go through with this tour. I'm sure it'll just show me more... Ignorance can be bliss, right?

[JPG]

I got my soundmagic hp100 last week and I discovered so many new sound and I have yet to get a dac/amp. And today I forgot to bring them to job and I am stuck with my old cheepos headset and damn it's like typing on a rubberdome. You CANT go back once you tried better!

[demik]

The bug already bit. No turning back now.

[esoomenona]

The bug already bit. No turning back now.

Well, I have always thought a car audiophile setup would be nice...

[CPTBadAss]

The bug already bit. No turning back now.

I'm scared demik. My wallet is already hiding. HOLD ME.

Well, I have always thought a car audiophile setup would be nice...

My friend has a car audiophile setup....its amazing. Fortunately I find myself more attracted to headphones....wait fortunately?

[demik]

The bug already bit. No turning back now.

I'm scared demik. My wallet is already hiding. HOLD ME.

Well, I have always thought a car audiophile setup would be nice...

My friend has a car audiophile setup....its amazing. Fortunately I find myself more attracted to headphones....wait fortunately?

Browse headfi for a real scare

[tjcaustin]

The bug already bit. No turning back now.

Well, I have always thought a car audiophile setup would be nice...

They can be.  But it's not the easiest thing to get sounding right while driving and adds a lot of weight and strain to the car.  Not to say never do it, in fact, that's what got me into music listening in general and is one of the myriad things I used to do for a living, just don't be shocked at the work needed or the price tag.

[dorkvader]

I don't think the magni+modi would quite cut it for mid-high end orthos tbh :x

I have a ckk-iii that I can finally finish up (going to change to mosfet-output so I wont have to bias the jfets with temperature) and add to the distribution if high-end ortho passaround ever happens.

[MTManiac]

It would be awesome to get in on the tail end of this.
I have 15 year old Sony MRD-V600's, while picking up some AT M-50's, only being driven by an E5 amp
So, all my cans have been closed, and a chance to try out some quality open cans would be sick!

[CPTBadAss]

I just had the GR07s for a week and I thought I'd share some of my thoughts. I tested them with a Zune, my work computer, a Fiio X3, and a Fiio e11. And my comparison is to sr80s.

- They're not as bright as my Grado SR80s so they sounded more subtle as I listened to them driven through the Fiio X3
- I liked the fit better if they were looped around my ears or worn normally and swapped so that the left monitor went in the right ear. Both pictures borrowed from Head Fi.
- I think I preferred them driven through the e11 versus the X3. The X3 was very warm but I felt like the sound was too subtle or muted. The e11 seemed brighter.
- I really appreciated the difference between the amps that I tried for the first time.
- I really wished the cable was longer.
- I thought like the Grados, the GR07s aren't as good for music styles like hip hop or electronic music. It sounded amazing with metal and classical music though.

I really enjoyed the Vsonic GR07s, to the point that I want to get VS1DS IEMs. I hope that I get more exposure to audio equipment. I'm a little out of my comfort zone trying to write a review on IEMs and cans but I really enjoy getting into this.

[tjcaustin]

Tour starts tomorrow with CptBadAss and dorkvader as they'll be rolling into dallas tomorrow evening.  From there, I think I've decided now that I have an acceptable alternative that I'll let the LCD-2 out to loan on a one-to-one basis (as opposed to just letting them go with the tour flow) and alternate them being out with my MrSpeakers MadDogs.

The three other pairs (hd600/he500/akg k550) and amp/dac are also for sale.  I would ask that if you do want to purchase the items, that you let them continue the tour to completion so that everyone can hear the magnificence.

[thegunner100]

Price on the he-500s? Sign me up for the LCD2-s! I almost purchased a pair on head-fi for $750 with vegan pads, but decided that I didn't want to spend that much money on a pair of headphones that I might not like.

[tjcaustin]

Price on the he-500s? Sign me up for the LCD2-s! I almost purchased a pair on head-fi for $750 with vegan pads, but decided that I didn't want to spend that much money on a pair of headphones that I might not like.

I saw those and I thought about buying a pair of vegan pads for mine because of it.  The 80 dollar price tag kinda got me less interested.

PM me your address and I'll get the lcd-2 out soon.  The HE-500 were from massdrop when they were 580 plus shipping.  I've used them about an hour, so I'd like to get the 580 for the phones themselves back from it.

[CommunistWitchDr]

I'd love to hear the HE-500 and/or LCD-2 after I get my Alpha Dog to compare the three. Don't sign mu up yet though, I'd like to have the dogs in for direct comparison when I get in on the tour.

[demik]

Wish I would have known it was starting so I could give anson my 700s

[tjcaustin]

I'd love to hear the HE-500 and/or LCD-2 after I get my Alpha Dog to compare the three. Don't sign mu up yet though, I'd like to have the dogs in for direct comparison when I get in on the tour.

PM me when you're ready.

[CPTBadAss]

Just to let people know what's going on with that. I picked up the Hifiman HE500, Sennheiser HD600, and the Schiit Magni/Modi in Dallas when I met up with TJ. I'm waiting for the Schiit power cable as TJ forgot to bring that with him. I will hold on to the cans for another week starting the day I receive the power cable since I'd like to try the headphones with amp/dac.

I've also had a chance to demo the GR07s which TheGunner100 provided. Check those out guys, they're great!

[thegunner100]

I think you should have kept the gr07s since you are first on the list, then you could have sent them along with everything else. When I get the package, ill put the gr07s in but then people before me won't get the chance to try them. Or maybe ill just send them to the person after you?

[CPTBadAss]

Whoops, your idea sounds fine .

Or maybe ill just send them to the person after you?

[demik]

Or just ship them back as he's not shipping anything for about a week. Anson I'll ship you my ad700s before Tuesday

[CPTBadAss]

Yes I'll probably have the tour until 11/1 or so. If you want to send everything my way, I can figure out the best way to send everything. Might just send out a big ole' box.

[esoomenona]

Hopefully I can receive them by the 9th, then I can actually use them and ship within a week. If not, I might have to move around, as my schedule is a bit narrow at times.

[thegunner100]

If anyone on the tour is interested in buying my pair of gr07s, please PM me. Also, my pair of k702s are now part of the tour for now because I haven't been able to find a buyer for them. Those are up for sale too.

[CPTBadAss]

I still have all the tour. I've held on to it for a bit longer since TJ forgot to give me the power adapter while I was in Dallas and I had to wait a few days to get it. I will be doing serious A/B listening this weekend to start my review and I'll have it sent out Monday (11/4) or Tuesday (11/5) next week.

[thegunner100]

I think I might pass on the tour since the NYC head-fi meet is just next saturday, and I've already tried everything on the tour except for the he-500s. I'm kind of scared to see the total shipping price for this whole package xD

[tjcaustin]

If anyone on the tour is interested in buying my pair of gr07s, please PM me. Also, my pair of k702s are now part of the tour for now because I haven't been able to find a buyer for them. Those are up for sale too.

Good headphones, the both.

[CPTBadAss]

I'm not as into the K702s as I was hoping but I love the GR07s.