Alright cool appreciate it.
Right so, I wanted to reopen this post of mine. Rather convenient having my own little forum areas for my own questions hahaha. So I did direct message m0n but I figured maybe it would be better just to leave that here. So real quick I am looking to see what would be the best setup for sayā¦ an x2 fidelio, mainly due to the fact x3 and shp are coming out soon and I plan to check them out. If the X3 is anything better than the x2 it could very well replace my aeons on my shelf due to how much I enjoy the x2 as I have yet to find a proper planar in a good price range that fits that spot as well as the x2 unless theres a planar I missed. I already know RNHP would be great for bright headphonesā¦ but what about warm headphones? Amp and Dac can be changed.
I suppose my other question would be this I am curious on tube amps they seem more customizable and in some cases will provide better soundā¦ considering my setup I was curious if this would be a viable optionā¦ Aeon open x, nighthawk carbon, dt 1990, x2 fidelio, soon to be x3 or shp new versions. If thats the case what would be a really solid budget friendly tube amp? Even if it means trying it in a audio store if they carry them.
Lastly, if I wanted to balance both the x3 and aeons would the geshelli still be the better choice here? I suppose this really depends on price point and whether it will truly be worth it sound wise. Edit: since i was unaware of thisā¦ if i decide to go with the T1 instead of dt 1990 I will throw that into the pile of balance as well
So imo the rnhp is like only a tiny bit leaning warm, otherwise rather neutral here, it pairs well with both warmer and brighter headphones. It doesnāt pair well with stuff thatās really power hungry though imo
So I personally donāt think a tube amp would jive best with your setup, but if you were set on getting one, a cayin ha-1a would be my pick as it would tolerate low impedance and planar decently well. Most of the budget tube amps are OTL and donāt work well with planar nor lower impedance, so that wouldnāt be something I would suggest. I would personally say that as long as you could go balanced, a liquid plat would be my choice here (so no 1990 but if you liked the t1.2 that would change) as it would give you the warmth and width you want while maintaining good detail, speed, and slam imo
Meh, sorry tired didnāt read that correctly
Indeed, just restating it here for clarity
Itās actually a hybrid amp, so only a tube on the input stage but solid state amp on the output stage which means you get some tube sound but the less picky amp of solid state
So, would liquid platinum work for an all rounder instead of the asgard or do you think its still worth buying the asgard 3? Seems like its been narrowed down hereā¦ RNHP for my headphones if I go dt 1990, asgard 3 for the cheaper all rounder, and Liquid platinum if I go T1 and Balanced. Idk how liquid plat performs outside of its balanced plug. IIRC you said before it doesnāt do well other than balance
I mean both are great all rounders but the liquid plat is clearly a higher tier of amp in sound, so I would say you are just moving up the ladder here and they donāt compete too much imo
I would say rnhp for if you end up with more dynamic headphones, the asgard 3 might give more juice if you have more planars
Passable but large downgrade vs the balanced output, I wouldnāt buy this if you have a single ended headphone you end up using really often
thats a bit of a toss up. As long as the amp can deal with the treble of the 1990 or T1, especialy the T1 as it has a higher peak, than I can work with it. I like warmth and wide soundstage in my headphones so bringing that to the table I find more comfortableā¦ Will have to wait for certain till I can get my hands on T1 and X3.
Unsure at the moment which I should really go for in this caseā¦
Also, should I change the Dac? I know that alters the sound a bit but not as much as the amp. Donāt I need a balanced dac for a balanced amp like the plat?
So personally I would go for the plat and grab balanced cables for your aeon, hawks, and the ananda. The single ended out of the liquid plat will be on a similar tier as the spark so it would be fine as a holdover for the time being imo. The only potential issue would be if you greatly preferred the 1990 over the t1.2 (I personally donāt think this would be the case but idk) than the liquid plat obviously wouldnāt be ideal
I think if you went with the plat, you would actually be just fine with the e30 until later on when you would want to consider something like a bifrost 2 or ares ii dac. For the liquid plat, the balanced output affects the sound more than the balanced input, so you are actually fine running an unbalanced signal in, but do make sure to use the balanced out
hmm, those are definitely a much higher tier dac. Would depend on if I can score one for $400 as that is my maximum I am willing to spend on each union like I have said beforeā¦ Looks like I can get a platinum for that range no problem already see one on amazon for like $450ā¦ ares II looks like it has an equalizer on the front tooā¦ is this better than the bifrost? I have heard tremendously good things considering the bifrost 2ā¦ would you say these two would be the best option in the price range? I am open to suggestions on it cause once I buy these it would be my endgame for a very long timeā¦ I want the best I can get for the budget I set.
This would be down the line, you really most likely wonāt find these for that price. But this is what I would say you would want to upgrade to from the e30 as the stuff below this are marginal upgrades imo.
There is no eq on the ares ii, there are only input selectors and also a mute and phase shift button. The ares ii vs b2 is mainly preference, the ares ii is a bit more energetic and forward whereas the bifrost 2 is a bit more laid back, but both are more colored dacs. Technicalities are on the same tier imo. If you wanted something neutral the soekris dac1421 would be solid as well.
TIL the meaning of PA and CO
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And there lies the issue with these abbreviations. Iāve had to Google these kinds of things so many times, itās easier for everyone to just say ālooking for comparisons between these two itemsā imo.
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To be fair, Had to learn those when I had started using Reddit hahahahah
Gotcha, well just for future posts and stuff, you donāt really need to worry about that here
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hmm so I would probably go with the bifrost thenā¦ I prefer a laid back cleaner sound.
I mean I guess? more of a forced habit anyway.
marginal upgrades yet $300+ more? Did I read this right? I mean if the E30 will be just fine in my case I will definitely stick with that to save money. Buy another headphone with that much leftover lmao.
Nah I have already seen these go around that priceā¦ even if its like $450 thats quite alright just as long as its not over like $475 I can manage it just fine and plan to just wait till sales periods to pick them up. There was a $399 liquid platinum on head fi a couple weeks ago even.
You think the T1.2 is better than the DT 1990? If so thatās definitely interesting. I like the neutral approach the dt 1990 brings to the table and its definitely not sibilant to me at the same time it has a good V signature making it ideal for what I want to use it for. I donāt know much on the T1 right now.
Sorry that was confusing wording, I mean stuff under the bifrost 2, ares ii, etc are more marginal, like a topping d50s or d70 would be marginal imo
Just curious can I get a link, I havenāt been watching too closely but the ares II and b2 are newer and tend to go real quick and I havenāt seen too many in that range. The bifrost 2 tends to be at 600 ish, and the ares ii is at a similar range although those are starting to tip in the 500 range at times
Personally yes but itās also more amp dependent than the 1990. Not saying I think you will personally prefer the t1, but I donāt think you will strongly dislike it
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fs-eu-schiit-bifrost-multibit-230v-gen-2.932329/ this is one I just seen a week or so ago for the bifrosts v2.
Ares II I donāt see any recent for over a yearā¦ cheapest seems to be in the $500 range.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fsļ¼wts-monolith-liquid-platinum.931249/
thats the liquid platinum i seen
Hmm, well if they are marginally underneath them would it be a better method to go with a d50 or d70 since they are cheaper? I mean I would still go with bifrost if its worthwhile just looking to save money as well at this point.
Hmm, that is interesting. Personally I loved the Amiron Home it brought a lot more warmth to a dt 1990 sound the only issue was that really dumb sibilance it had which made me take it off my list as it was enough to really make me take off the headphone.
So this isnāt a bifrost 2, itās an older bifrost multibit with gen 2 usb
The liquid plat is commonly at 450 as you say, was mainly talking about the dacs here
I think if you want to actually feel like you got what you paid for or more, you would want to go bifrost 2 imo
huh, alright then my bad on that. Said V2 so I thought it was the other version. Yeah Dacs didnt show up anywhere near as much as the platinum.
Alright then, that makes sense. I will just put some money to the side for later this year and pick those up.
I should ask though should I consider keeping the liquid spark if I pick up the platinum? I mean I could probably trade the spark in for a different sounding amp if these two are very similar. I would rather have different sounding amps instead of similar so I can switch off from time to time especially if I am auditioning a headphone.