I’m still really interested to know if anyone has paired the RNHP up with an Orchard Audio Pecanpi Streamer, and if so, what the results were. I know the RNHP is very DAC/Source picky and was hoping they had good synergy.
I’d like to use a Pecanpi as a secondary source to my turntable for more casual listening sessions for both headphones and loudspeakers. My thought process is that the Orchard streamer with its built in DAC would be a step up in sound quality from my current streaming setup of:
Television running Spotify > Schiit Modi 2 > Neve.
I’m hoping it would also handle my FLAC file collection a bit better than:
USB External Hard Drive > Tablet > Schiit Modi 2 > Neve
I’ve been enjoying my Neve for the last six months using a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-A990Z cans with ZMF pads but have a pair of OG Clears arriving any day now due to the many glowing recommendations of their pairing on this thread from @M0N and the rest of the Neve/Clear crew. I see myself using the Clears exclusively until I add a slightly relaxed/warm of neutral closed back set to my collection for my more relaxed listening. I’m a huge fan of ZMFs but don’t know if they will play nice with the Neve so I’m leaning towards the LCD-XC 2021 which I hear pairs well and is a good compliment to the Clears rather than an overlap in sound.
If anyone has any experience with the Pecanpi and the Neve or Clears in general I’d appreciate your input. Otherwise, I know the safe bet based on past recommendations on this thread would be to replace my Modi 2 with a Bifrost 2. I’m not against this set up, but with the streamer I can remove the tablet from the chain and my rack, cleaning things up a bit.
Yes I did try it out fed from the Pontus… serious underwhelmed… I think that was just too much over egging the pudding! My speaker system has always been bright, so the Pontus II (and before that the Ares II) nicely helped with that, whilst also delivering a more believable rendition of actual musical instruments (compared to the delta sigma DAC’s I had before). Not only that, but my Line Magnetic tube amp has loads of input gain, so I needed attenuators in the line feed to get any use out of the volume knob at all! All in all that stripped the Neve of anything approaching realism - poor thing thought it was being fed from a wet piece of string I think!!
My ZMF Eikons do not love the RNHP amp as much as I would have hoped. They’re not bad but I think you will enjoy the LCD X headphones with the RNHP. I swear Neve created that amp for those headphones and it’s so good, I had to spend HUGE money and get Abyss headphones to match the enjoyment I had with them.
RNHP + LCD-X could have been end game… until I asked more questions and then RIP wallet, you all know how that goes.
Any recs for what would pair with Eikons? I have Auteurs and LCD XCs, and the more i look into it the more it sounds like im not gonna get an amp that will pair well with both. I’ve been considering the Holo Cyan and just count on the R2R to bring some spice (if they ever restock) or maybe a MLP and tube roll until im happy.
The Neve was on my list but then the Phonitor One came along. Pennies being saved but not sure where to go just yet. Very interested as I have a Topping dac and HD600 (amongst other bits)
I’ll be sure to update - I’m maybe swapping the Lake People G111 with a Singxer SA-1 as would you believe even though I am just over the channel in the UK I can’t find a EU supplier to deliver to good ole’ Blighty! Damn that Brexit it has really messed up our long standing trade relationship with Europe and made moving suff around a bloody nightmare - utter damn waste of time and money!
It pains me that it’s easier for me to get the Singxer SA-1 from China than it is to get a G111 from either Lake People direct in Germany (UK is not on their delivery list) or their distributor in Italy - they even state on their website NO DELIVERY TO UK! in capital letters…
No need to tell me about it, same as you in the UK.
Even if they deliver from the EU the cost of the delivery has gone sky high so puts you off.
Scan.co.uk have some stock of Lake People but , sadly, not the G111
The singxer is another amp I looked at but got put off by reading that the balanced output is the best way to hear it, not too bad to go balanced with the HD600, I already have a 2.5 balanced cable for it for my Sabaj dac/amp but not so easy doing it with the DT1990 nor the M1570. I really want just one good amp now.
I don’t know why, I am all about balanced. Having said that, When I was looking for an alternative to the Jot 2, I forgot about the Neve. I would have seriously considered it. Because of my balance bias, I ended up getting the SA-1 and I am enjoying it very much. The 660s sound really good on it, which I was able to connect using the provided 4.4mm cable.
Well at least Thomann (excellent pro company in Germany) have already despatched my SPL Phonitor One, free delivery and 30 days no questions return - although at the price I got it I doubt it will go back unless it is absolutely awful! I’m wondering about the Singxer now as it will take a couple of weeks to arrive and sending it all the way back to China is unlikely. Like you I just want a great little headphone amp for now, up to £500, that will drive my HD600’s and is not picky about DACs either!
Then I will upgrade DAC in a month or two, actually might make it a Xmas gift to moi if I can get something for the £429 the Neve cost me - as that refund will be sat in my account for a week and might get used, WILL get used!
It’s all fun (I keep telling myself!) but as I think someone said the bottom end is full of great bargains with excellent specs, and £700 upwards has also plenty to chose from - but this middle section is a bit scarce of real. proper upgrades from that budget sector.
PS. One thing trying the Neve has shown me is that instantly available, on demand power for orchestral crescendos is absolutely crucial for classical listening, I don’t mean lots of watts for playing loud, I just mean not running our of puff when the combined chorus of fat lades belt out the final few chords! It has even shown me that this is lacking in my main system, I’ve often wondered why classical just doesn’t cut it on my speaker system and I can hear now, turning up the volume does not turn up the available power - it runs out of puff!
This is why I was looking at the Neve. Dynamic shifts need good fast power, not just a volume knob.
I have a Topping L30 as I wasn’t going to go up the chain but stick to the cheaper end but I have found the amp totally soulless and not enjoyable at all to listen to with any of my DACs or headphones. Was quite annoyed as I really enjoyed my DX3 PRO and I think the new version of that has the same amp technology which may measure well but nobody at Topping seems to want to listen anymore.
So that’s why I’m stepping up but the likes of THX and A90 are off now and I’m looking elsewhere. I really like the fact the Neve does have multiple inputs as well
It’s really difficult, not even sure to save a bit more and go for the RME.
You sound in a very similar situation as me, I bought the Topping E30/L30 stack as a stop gap as I moved the previous DAC/amp to the main system as a DAC only, then sold it and upgraded - so had no where to plug in my headphones at all that was the RME. I upgraded to the RME from the Mojo and after a few weeks I was seriously under impressed, the DAC maybe whizz bang but the headphone amp is meh… I found the DAC in the main system to be excellent at detail retrieval but flat and uninvolving… typical of very well measuring DAC’s these days as you say!
So my take on the RNHP was yes, very dynamic, huge reserves of power (well for my HD600’s anyway) but the hard edge glare quickly became very fatiguing - which I have never experienced before. Maybe the little E30 DAC, who knows… but again I have had that DAC in my main system just to try and it was quite amazing for £99 or whatever!
In the end although I wanted to believe the hype around the Neve I lost faith in the actual product as presented. Basic cheap headphone amp chip from Texas Instruments with a circuit design I hear mentioned as straight out of the TI implementation manual. Very nasty wall wart switching power supply, I mean literally £7 worth. That and having to remove the headphone cable whist the amp is on because the lack of protection during power up and off… (with accompanying hums and thuds!) well it all added up to something that just didn’t stack up for the price. And now they have released a new version at 3 times the price with little or no alterations (that I can see actually proven) well, that sort of says it all really.
The SPL is another pro gear amp so we shall see, but the bigger Phonitors have a great following so? We just have to buy and see really, I just want something that will be the best I can get for now, but that as I scale upwards with the DAC and headphones will come with me on the journey for a while - then I can upgrade to one of those super duper £1000 jobs and the journey begins again!
Thanks for the comments on the RME, looks like I might avoid that one. I really like the Topping D50S+P50 and the Mojo that I own so I can put the DAC on the backburner for now, the amp is of much more importance.
Look forward to hearing how you get on with that Phonitor
Has anyone tried a pair of Kennerton M12s, Kennerton Gjallarhorns or LSA HP-2 Ultras with the RNHP?
They all seem like efficient, easy to drive closed backs which might play nice with the Neve.
Possible alternatives to an LCD-XC for closed backs with good synergy with the Neve??
The Gjallarhorn (original) pairs really well with the RNHP from my experience! I haven’t tried the other two headphones, but I can at least vouch for that one specific pairing.
However, you should know that the Gjallarhorn does leak sound a bit more than you would expect for a closed back, thought I’d mention it just in case.
Thanks so much for the reply. On paper they look like a good match. From what I can tell the LSA HP-2 is a Kennerton Gjallarhorn with a different look made for direct to consumer sales. It’s too bad you have sound leak issues. Do you wear glasses by chance? If these leak a lot they may not be what I’m looking for. It seems the LCD-XC might be the best closed back option for the Neve.
Yep, I wear glasses. …also, my understanding is that while the LSA HP-2 is intended to sound the same as the Gjallarhorn, it actually does sound different. At least that’s what I’ve been told from people who’ve heard both, I’ve only heard the Gjallarhorn myself.
On sound leaking, xc and hp-2 were pretty similar to me. I wouldn’t use either in environments where others hearing your music is a problem. I use IEMs for that.
…also, my understanding is that while the LSA HP-2 is intended to sound the same as the Gjallarhorn, it actually does sound different. At least that’s what I’ve been told from people who’ve heard both, I’ve only heard the Gjallarhorn myself.