General Headphone Audio

Raymond Lin said:
Which is why from this year I am trying to get more interesting stuff, rather than merely good.
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I read the most recent Darko audio article adding 3 new things on the WARMER he never covered in the main review and for me the WARMER covers both interesting and good sounding almost perfectly, especially for the cost. He also covered the notion that instead adding another cost on tube rolling and making the WARMER a £500-£600 DAC, why not just buy a £600 DAC, the answer to that was you can't, there is no other DAC with a balanced tubed buffer output and real VU meters. So even after rolling, it still remains unique.

I have a sneaking thought that the WARMER will end up with a sort of legendary following in years to come, FiiO already confirmed it is one of their no-profit projects to test the waters, they release things like this with no intention of turning big revenue but instead just because they can, so once it stops production, I suspect interest will grow from those looking for a no nonsense R2R DAC that carries that old school sound signature in a unique package.

Be well worth holding on to for a while I reckon, both sets of tubes have circa 1000 hours on them at this point, so let's see what's what in a few years time in the used market!
 
mrk said:
I read the most recent Darko audio article adding 3 new things on the WARMER he never covered in the main review and for me the WARMER covers both interesting and good sounding almost perfectly, especially for the cost. He also covered the notion that instead adding another cost on tube rolling and making the WARMER a £500-£600 DAC, why not just buy a £600 DAC, the answer to that was you can't, there is no other DAC with a balanced tubed buffer output and real VU meters. So even after rolling, it still remains unique.

I have a sneaking thought that the WARMER will end up with a sort of legendary following in years to come, FiiO already confirmed it is one of their no-profit projects to test the waters, they release things like this with no intention of turning big revenue but instead just because they can, so once it stops production, I suspect interest will grow from those looking for a no nonsense R2R DAC that carries that old school sound signature in a unique package.

Be well worth holding on to for a while I reckon, both sets of tubes have circa 1000 hours on them at this point, so let's see what's what in a few years time in the used market!
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I did read on another forum someone saying the Warmer was reminding them of a modern take on a once more popular style of audio gear, i.e. there is older equipment that did what the Warmer does. I also wonder if it might really come into it's own if Fiio release that new Power Amp, in that the only way to aesthetically have a nice Fiio stack is to pair it with a K15/17 and I'm not sure that's the best system for the money.

The Warmer does sound like a nice one to own, I came close but in the end went with the K13. I did see Fiio have that nice stand coming soon for the K15, Warmer, Power Amp units. It was mentioned over at Head-Fi, but no confirmed price just yet.
 
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Call me crazy but I think if the dollar keeps dropping....it might be the best time to grab a pair of Modhouse Tungsten this year.
 
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The i5 is quite pretty, HUGE but pretty.

btw, I wish I could show you guys how good the Bokeh is, if you ever see it at Can Jam, try it!!!! Being a close back, you will get most of the feel of it even in a public space. Play something like Massive Attack, Billie Ellish and feel that warmth and bass together with that vocal.

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Raymond Lin said:
Okay, think I'll pass on the Tungsten...I know graph isn't everything but £2000 is a lot of money!

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I think the mod house is double-sided magnets, right? And they use a thicker diaphragm like the older Hifiman designs aswell i think, so distortion is probably lower on them and they will take EQ a bit better, but yea for the price difference, the difference does look minimal between them doesnt it.
 
Angst said:
I think the mod house is double-sided magnets, right? And they use a thicker diaphragm like the older Hifiman designs aswell i think, so distortion is probably lower on them and they will take EQ a bit better, but yea for the price difference, the difference does look minimal between them doesnt it.
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You can get single or double sided, and I know there are more to it than a graph like a graph doesn’t tell you about soundstage or comfort…the problem is that the Tungsten is £2,000! It is way too much money to take on a pun. It also IMO…look and going to guess…feels cheap, some of the parts are 3D printed. It may sound like heaven but it looks like something that when I die, my family is going to sell it for £10 in a car boot sale.

For the same money I could get the Atrium Open, something that looks and feel expensive even to a normie.

The Tungsten is also of a sound signature that I said last week…not really unique, it’s just really good.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
...my family is going to sell it for £10 in a car boot sale.
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:cry: can imagine my family doing the same. Or giving things away....

Complete aside. Question for anyone, in terms of over-ear, closed-back headphones that can be folded up into a bag to be portable. I can think of the: Audio-Technica M40X, M50X/BT2, AKG K361/371 and maybe at a stretch the Sony MDR-7506. Am I missing any that aren't super expensive?
 
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Raymond Lin said:
You can get single or double sided, and I know there are more to it than a graph like a graph doesn’t tell you about soundstage or comfort…the problem is that the Tungsten is £2,000! It is way too much money to take on a pun. It also IMO…look and going to guess…feels cheap, some of the parts are 3D printed. It may sound like heaven but it looks like something that when I die, my family is going to sell it for £10 in a car boot sale.

For the same money I could get the Atrium Open, something that looks and feel expensive even to a normie.

The Tungsten is also of a sound signature that I said last week…not really unique, it’s just really good.
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I can understand where the costs come from. To be fair to them, they are manufacturing their own planar drivers, and I think the 3d printed parts are sls printed, so they will have to go out to a 3rd party manufacturer. And when you compare it to some other custom headphones, like the DMS Omega and Auroros Audio Borealis that sell or sold for around 1k usd and that use off-the-shelf dynamic drivers for less than a tenner a pop.
Like you say though, it's still a significant cost for something that doesn't outwardly look premium.
 
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Angst said:
I can understand where the costs come from. To be fair to them, they are manufacturing their own planar drivers, and I think the 3d printed parts are sls printed, so they will have to go out to a 3rd party manufacturer. And when you compare it to some other custom headphones, like the DMS Omega and Auroros Audio Borealis that sell or sold for around 1k usd and that use off-the-shelf dynamic drivers for less than a tenner a pop.
Like you say, though its still a significant cost for something that doesn't outwardly look premium.
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Yeah I know it’s boutique, small production and hence economy of scale kicks in. If it’s made in China it’s going to be like 1/10th the price and sounds the same….errrrr imagine if Fiio or Hifiman release a copy next year lol

For that money I would want something that have the build quality that goes along with its sound quality.
 
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