++ for the Holo Audio stuff for the pairing. The RNHP just does so much right with so many headphones.
Thanks for the ideas @M0N and @DagoRed the Holo looks lovely, and I’m thinking the new Spring 3 for my main setup at some point, but for headphone rig I was hoping to ‘upgrade’ from the little Topping E30 to maybe a third of the way to the Holo… - say £400 ish for now. The Schiit gear is not so easy to come by now and would be over £700 imported, like the Ares II and similar. I just wondered if any of the popular headphone desktop size DAC’s might be an improvement… SMSL, Topping and the like?
PS. And after listening again last night, this RNHP is soooo dynamic, from whisper quiet to explosive force in a nano second! I don’t think these 600’s have ever been powered so well!
Maybe the e50 have heard good things about it but it’s to new to give a blind recommendation
Otherwise in the 3-600 $ price range it’s hard to say that many DACs are an worthwhile upgrade.
I myself am saving for a DAC upgrade in the direction of bf2 or ares II
Yes I saw the e50s I think it was recently reviewed? They just seem to be adding more features and getting the specs even more amazing (SMSL and Topping) and not making any major improvements to the actual sound of the DACs (DAC’s sounding different, don’t tell ASR!). The Geshilli J2 looks promising, actually it sounds promising, it looks bl***y awful! I’ll keep looking, I don’t really want to go end game, I rather like the journey these days…
Honesty for that money, I’d really look into a allo revolution dac with the shanti lps, really good sound for the money with the upgraded psu, also reasonable amount of features for tweaking the sound a bit too. Personally think it’s a good place to be where it’s solidly above some of the more entry level gear. IMO there’s somewhat of a market gap between some of the good 200 buck offerings like a schiit modius, geshilli jnog, etc and the really true step up stuff from like denafrips, soekris, schiits higher end, holo etc. The stuff that sits in the middle 300-600 range tends to be either very small upgrades or more buying for features from the 200 range, the allo to me somewhat fills that gap pretty well
@Timiambeing Thanks, will give it a listen. I have explored a few of his choral works, but not this. PS love the username! Me too.
Just to update folks here, I know this isn’t such a busy topic as it was, but just for anyone passing by…
I am finding the E30/RNHP/HD600 pairing really hard going, I find I am always turning the volume down, and then the dynamics go a bit and the benefits of the RNHP sort of get lost. The reason I have to keep the volume under control is the sheer dynamic volume this amp shoves through the HD600s (at around 9 o’clock mark). It very quickly becomes so strident and hard, violent even, and after a while induces quite a headache… I was persevering a little too much at 9.2 volume I suppose!
Obviously the little E30 DAC is the weak link here (sorry Audio Science Review boys but the best measuring doesn’t equate to the best sound, test tones aren’t music!), also I’m feeding it via a RP4 USB out direct (Ropieee from Roon) so I realise we are not talking state of the art! I might try the RNHP in the main system (Lumin U1 Mini feeding Denafrips Pontus II) but that frightens me as it could cost me dearly if it performs as well as I hope it would!!!
Ok now it’s fun time! RNHP is on it’s way back, it really didn’t fit my DAC (or my headphones maybe?) and an SPL Phonitor One plus a Lake People G111 are on their way from various parts of Europe - which I hope will go smoothly - damn Brexit life was so easy before!!! The SPL I got cheap as open box so just couldn’t refuse the opportunity to play with both side by side…
Thanks all for the advice, especially @M0N who obviously only sits at the computer all day helping out everyone on here!
Nice, will be curious to see what you think about those (and I personally think it was your dac moreso than anything, also did you end up trying the neve on the pontus?)
Haven’t had the time to lately lol
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.
Vali 2+ and get a brighter tube for it.
hell yeah, thanks. I guess sometimes it really is just that easy
Be interested how you get on with these.
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.