It’s almost like a tube hybrid, they just carry such a good balance of tube and solid state characteristics and it pairs pretty well with the verite
It’s pretty chill and forgiving, enjoyable listen, admittedly I threw it in there for the sake of meeting the requirement but after I thought about it I would prob grab the Holo and a soekris instead
So the reason I picked the holo is because imo its technically a step up from the ares ii while being a bit more relaxed. The Holo vs 1421 or 1541 is pretty different because of the sound they go for, the Holo sounds more full bodied and warmer, the soekris is more going for neutral/analytical and is also more forward and technicality focused. The Holo is more spacious but the soekris is more focused and accurate in that stage, both are fast but I think to soekris is faster. I think both are somewhat impactful, the Holo has better timbre to me, I think it comes down to preference and synergy
@m0n here I come … would you say the holo (since its a step up from ares) pairs well with v280 like ares2 and soekris just a different sound signature? (for 800s)
Yeah I do, I think if you can fit it in your budget it’s definitely worth while imo. Also if you get the headphone amp module you can have another amp to play with lol (although it’s not going to be on the same level as the 280)
So, I have been playing around with headphones I have and sort of decided that my main headphones will be Th900 and Focal Clear. I will keep Eikons, HEX and HD600 for now. As for the future upgrades I might be considering getting a higher end planar (HEK?) but that is not the matter of upcoming months.
The thing is that those two main headphones will be used also by my wife, and I am thinking of refreshing her setup a bit so it can drive them nicely.
My thought is to move Bifrost to her setup with MLP and Asgard for single ended purpose (e.g. IEMs).
Would that be good enough combo for those two headphones?
With Bifrost in her set up I would need to get a new DAC. I am looking for something that has nice synergy with Burson and my main headphones, as that would be my main amp and works nicely with Feliks. It would be also great if it would be future proof i.e., if there is an amp that would be better match for my main headphones, I will probably upgrade it in the future but do not want to upgrade DAC twice.
What would be your pick for the amp based on above in 1,5-2K range?
What would be your pick for the DAC based on above in 1-2K range?
I think a plat or asgard would be ok for a th900 and eh for a clear, actually decent for the hek. Generally not level I would want to be, but those cans won’t sound terrible or anything on that setup (but use the plat if you can imo)
Gotcha gotcha, well I guess amp wise, I would again ask on how you feel about the burson now that you have decided what headphones you are keeping? Like how do you feel it plays with your current headphones, and how would you potentially want to shift that?
So I liked Burson with all of my headphones except for AWKT. That was too much in my face For me good sign is with amp that I keep nudging the volume a bit up while I am listening without fatigue.
In general, TH900 sounded great, nice punch and very engaging listening, nothing sharp or too intense like AWKT. I have not tried it balanced since I don’t have the cable yet and that is why I haven’t tried TH900 on MLP.
With Eikons I have a feeling that it helps with that “blanket” I hear over certain parts for mids/treble. Nice bass and control overall very engaging. Rather different to Eikons on Feliks.
Clear sounds fine. I haven’t heard them on anything that is considered great for them, but I didn’t have any issues listening to them on Burson.
Overall, I would say with headphones I plan to keep I like it’s a bit forward presentation, good punch and detail. As I said couple of time listening on Burson feels engaging and those are the things I like about it.
I would probably like to stay in that direction as far as it is not too much in my face. Maybe relax it just a tad bit and step up in technical performance. Not sure if that make any sense.
Would you say RNHP is minimum that would do justice for clears? Her setup is now Klipsch to Asgard so I guess Bifrost+MLP would be upgrate and Asgard mainly due to poor SE in MLP. We sit next to each other so she can use main chain anytime she wants.
I mean you could look for a used schiit yggy a2 if you like the way it sounds now but want a step up in technicalities imo (but good but not great with the echo due to gimped single ended outs of the yggy). Pretty obscure pick, but if you can get your hands on a veridian utopia sirius dac, I’d wager that would be pretty great paring wise imo (more meat on the bone, a bit more relaxed, technical improvement). A holo spring (wait for the spring 3) would likely also be a good pick but that might get a bit dryer in tonal density but not enough to worry.
I’d say that’s really where you would want to start off yes. IMO lackluster on the asgard 3, and while enjoyable enough on the plat the synergy isn’t exactly there. I’d also say the clears are real nice off the little labs monotor or lake people g111 if she has to have something that doesn’t burn her eyes lol (although not sure how much better those would really be looks wise tbh)
It is possible he is no longer making those DACs? I wrote him an email right after we discussed but he never come back to me. That would be such a shame. Would need to consider other options.
But let’s see maybe he will respond.
… would you say the holo (since its a step up from ares) pairs well with v280 like ares2 and soekris just a different sound signature? (for 800s)
if it sounds warmer and more full bodied than the soekris to tame the treble in 800s