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My Xduoo XA-02 is such an amp, although i am tempted to sell it and get a K13!
General Headphone Audio
- Thread starter garyfl
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My Xduoo XA-02 is such an amp, although i am tempted to sell it and get a K13!
I had a bunch more earpads turn up from AliExpress last week. After some experimenting, I think I am a few steps further towards the perfect tonality with my 3d printed headphone design.
The red is my design currently, and green is the HD650.
The red is my design currently, and green is the HD650.
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My issue is that I doubt I can tell the difference! There is a bigger difference when switching headphones.
There's that too. It may just be me trying to justify going for the cheaper option when the K13 could have been my end-game. After going from a JDS Atom v1 to this, I'm just hoping it hasn't just been a sideways move and that overall this is better. The Z3 does balanced and powers my XS with no problems, just may like the R2R sound more. Hopefully I'll get to try one at some point.
When Zeos reviewed it, he said good things about it but then finished by saying its something you'd give to your nephew who's just starting out and I was like erm...well... really?
Personally, after owning the k11, I think the R2R sound is overstated online. The difference is fairly minimal, and if anything, just worse. The only reason to change to the k13 really would be for any extra features like Bluetooth or pure fomo. The fosi measures well and has more than enough power for anything you may buy.
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Which is why I just won't be going for it. If there is anything, I would get a new tube amp.
I remember you posting about the ZH3, DX5 II, K13 and when you got a very good deal on the ZH3. I suppose one question is do you notice a difference between the old D10 + Atom combo, vs. the ZH3?
There's always going to be something newer, or better around the corner, although I do appreciate sometimes you need to try something else having been through this myself. I definitely agree with @Raymond Lin that headphones matter more. And there's clearly something around synergy between headphones and amplifiers. i.e. the higher impedance stuff is definitely affected in ways more modern lower impedance headphones aren't. Or also scaling of certain headphones.
However I also have read about blind testing before and even in this past week bumped in a thread on r/headphones with someone claiming they couldn't hear any real difference after blind testing different equipment. That would be something I'd like to try sometime, albeit extremely hard to setup.
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It would be very hard to set up because ..
1 - Our hearing memory in the brain is VERY short. Of all the senses, it is much shorter than taste for example
2 - An increase in volume will appear to be better
3 - You will need a 3rd party to swap over but this seemingly is the easy part if you can just put up a big town as dividers with a 2m cable in between. or just wear eye covers or turn around.
Matching volume would be my concern, especially if you put in something really basic like a dongle DAC such as an Apple dongle.
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Yep. Third-party would need to be extremely well briefed. And you'd need a benchmark AMP etc. Loads of things to go wrong.
How many DAC/AMPs is too many?...
Finally got around to listing the Fiio K7 BT for sale, along with the iFi Zen Signature Set. I did have slight pangs of 'oh should I keep this', although my recent upgrade was meant to simplify the set-up and not add to it. Anyway did a proper listening session on the iFi Zen Signature stack vs. the TA-66/K13 combo and K15. Was very close as I mentioned a few days ago, however I realised that in some ways I actually prefer the dark iFi sound. It's nuanced, but the iFi Zen stack has this mix of detail and warmth that's different enough from the other two. And one thing I hadn't appreciated enough was the XBass (6XX) button and what that does to the HD 600. Part of it might be my already modded HD 6XX not being a good fit, but the XBass button on iFi's Zen CAN is pretty magical.
What lets the iFi Zen stuff down is the lack of inputs. Not having optical kind of makes it limited in my setup. Shame becuase for the HD 6x0 is a fantastic DAC/AMP combo. If it doesn't sell for an acceptable price I'm going to find a way to stick it back on the desk.
Also on another note, a question. Are tube-savers universal?
I bought a pair of them for the APOS Gremlin last year (9-pin from Tube-Shop UK). The listing had them as 'TS-9 socket saver for B9A valve base ECC83 12AU7 EL84'. The Gremlin could take either ECC83, or 12AU7 but the latter was supplied as stock. The Xduoo TA-66 uses a 6N2 which also seems to be 9-pin. Can one of the same tube savers be used on the TA-66, or would that be a big no-no?
Picture with the TA-66 6N2 tube (left) and Ray Core 12AU7 tube alongside the tube-savers in question.
Finally got around to listing the Fiio K7 BT for sale, along with the iFi Zen Signature Set. I did have slight pangs of 'oh should I keep this', although my recent upgrade was meant to simplify the set-up and not add to it. Anyway did a proper listening session on the iFi Zen Signature stack vs. the TA-66/K13 combo and K15. Was very close as I mentioned a few days ago, however I realised that in some ways I actually prefer the dark iFi sound. It's nuanced, but the iFi Zen stack has this mix of detail and warmth that's different enough from the other two. And one thing I hadn't appreciated enough was the XBass (6XX) button and what that does to the HD 600. Part of it might be my already modded HD 6XX not being a good fit, but the XBass button on iFi's Zen CAN is pretty magical.
What lets the iFi Zen stuff down is the lack of inputs. Not having optical kind of makes it limited in my setup. Shame becuase for the HD 6x0 is a fantastic DAC/AMP combo. If it doesn't sell for an acceptable price I'm going to find a way to stick it back on the desk.
Also on another note, a question. Are tube-savers universal?
I bought a pair of them for the APOS Gremlin last year (9-pin from Tube-Shop UK). The listing had them as 'TS-9 socket saver for B9A valve base ECC83 12AU7 EL84'. The Gremlin could take either ECC83, or 12AU7 but the latter was supplied as stock. The Xduoo TA-66 uses a 6N2 which also seems to be 9-pin. Can one of the same tube savers be used on the TA-66, or would that be a big no-no?
Picture with the TA-66 6N2 tube (left) and Ray Core 12AU7 tube alongside the tube-savers in question.
Thanks. Yeah even with sales I've not seen it at the price I got the Z3 for so for what I paid for it, it does seem a good deal for the amount of power it has and also solved the issue of previously having a seperate DAC.
Audio is an expensive hobby and you're right about there always being something new due so you'll always be playing catch-up but there's FOMO with the hottest trend I guess. I'll probably keep this till the K13 is the price of what the K11 is now and enjoy the Z3 for what it is. Fosi do seem to be well regarded for their products.
Is there a significant difference between something like the Beyerdynamic dt 990 pros and the MMX 330 pros or do they just charge ~£80 for the convenience of an included microphone?
Just an idle curiosity of mine, I’m still very pleased with my hd560s.
Just an idle curiosity of mine, I’m still very pleased with my hd560s.
There's is a bit of difference at the moment.
TLDR; The DT 990 Pro is based on the older classic driver, where as the MMX 300/330 Pro is based on the newer, more capable Stella.45 driver. So you're paying £80 extra for a good mic, inline controls and better drivers. The DT 990 Pro X are really the MMX330 without the mic etc.
- The DT 990 Pro are based on the classic driver which is 250ohm impedance in this model. This is the same driver in all the various different DT 880 Studio/Pro, DT 770 Pro and DT 990 non-pro's.
- The DT 990 Pro X are based on newer Stella.45 driver (same as the DT 900 Pro X, DT 770 Pro X or DT 700 Pro X). There was also a DT 770 Pro X Limited Edition released in 2024 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary but didn't have the felt disc the Amiron and TYGR use regarded as being more harsh on treble.
- The new MM300/330 Pro are based on the newer Stella.45 driver.
- There is an older MMX 300 Mk.1/II that is based on the classic driver (32 ohm) but isn't sold any more (these have been going for years).
- Then there are the TYGR 300R which are again based on the classic driver (32 ohm). With the foam disc to smooth out the frequency response and warmer than other Beyers (love these for gaming).
- There are then the DT 1770/1990 range that are based on the more expensive Tesla driver.
The Stellar.45 is a more technical capable and resolving driver, but still adhering to the 'house Beyer sound' (insert mount treble joke here) that some people enjoy. I have been reading about the DT 880 line being discontinued in February. I don't know if this extends to the other classic DT lines. Beyerdynamic were recently bought out by a new Chinese owner. Although they have so many different models in the £100-200 range I imagine simplifying this range makes some sense. Albeit the DT's have been around since the 1980's so beloved by some.
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Yeah they really need to simplify their lineup a little. It gets a little confusing.
So from what I can see the 990 pro Xs go for 175 whereas the MMX 330 pros go for 220. So £45 extra for a mic, inline controls, and I’m guessing a more “gaming” focussed tuning. Not too bad to be fair.
From what I've read and seen online the DT 990 Pro X and the MMX 330 Pro are essentially the same headphone. For example on Gadgetrytech's squiglink measurements I'd assume there's a error tolerance that these are likely within and measured very closely (excluding Beyer's well known unit deviation). They also both use the aforementioned foam disc so soften up the treble when compared to the older DT 990 Pro (250 ohm).
I think if you need a microphone built-in the MMX 330 Pro is a great choice. There also aren't that many open-back gaming headsets, albeit you can also get the closed back version.
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Ah maybe when I get bored of my hd560s but I can’t see myself doing so. The precision on the audio is ridiculous, then again it’s my first open backs so maybe there’s even more potential out there. I do get a lot of complaints about my microphone, probably my fault for using a cheap all in one cable one. I have got a modmic inspired “Saharagaming” stick on microphone on its way, which I hope is an improvement.
HD 560S is a ridiculous bargain for what you get. Very neutral and detail for days. They are one of the better options for gaming.
I couldn't quite get on with them from a comfort pov (the hinge bulge on the inside touched my ear). But they have a fantastic balance of imaging, soundstage and detail.
I know one of the risks with mics on open-backs is people can potentially hear themselves through the grilles etc. I don't know if that's what is going on here. If the Sahara mic doesn't work, the official Sennheiser BAM mic might be worth some research.
Oh no it’s just a bad mic. It’s a V moda boom pro, one of those combined audio and mic that plug into the headset. I get complaints of static, game audio leaking and recently I’ve been told that it sounds like pac man. I’ve heard the Sennheiser Bam mic has similar issues of game audio leaking on mute. I think the nature of the mic might contribute.
Ah OK. I know the other factor with mics is that when they share a TRS connection you can get cross-talk (other audio gets picked up, or electrical noises etc.) because they share the same ground loop. Any mic that uses it's own 3.5mm connection should be immune to. Now you mentioned this any V-Moda, Seenheiser BAM or similar mics are going to have this issue as it's one cable. An Antlion Modmic that uses its own 3.5mm (or USB) won't.