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IEM endgame trinity.
- Unique Melody MEST
- Mangird Tea
- Moondrop Variations
But I don’t need that many IEMs lol… The Variations will be going one day as I prefer the Tea tuning, and the MEST is just a complete upgrade of the tuning in that direction. That said, Variations is good for bringing the “variation” into the endgame combo, it’s definitely a heavy duty outlier. Punches your brains out upon first time listening.
EDIT:
Variations sold because of reasons (my brain doesn’t like the cold technical signature for long casual listening). But Variations as a piece in the Trinity still stands. Am getting the Shouer EJ07m soon, will see if that can replace Variations’ spot.
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Obvious comment:
That is a big pile of sh…
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nice collection! I’m surprised to see more closed back than open backs in the set… my observation has been that there is a tendency towards the opposite. Do you have a preference for closed backs? Or has it just worked out that way as your collection has grown?
Also, nice DAC / AMP setup! Really a cool overall collection!
First off, thank you.
A majority of closed backs was not my goal, but I have been searching for a few things this year:
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A Great closed back and I have found that with the LSA HP-2’s. IMO, they compete with open backs.
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A Great all round closed back that is easy to drive and has good isolation. Something to replace my beloved Meze 99 Classic’s which were the Perfect “one the go” headphones, IMO.
Hopefully that will be the Beyer T5’s or the Focal Elegia’s.
The WP900’s are very V-shaped and not my thing.
The T60 Argons are a freak of nature and fun.
Lastly, the Cascades are very bassy and very fun. Not sure what that means for the future. They are the complete opposite of the LSA HP-2’s.
I will be keeping at least three.
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Appreciate the commentary, very interesting perspective!
… patiently waiting for the “looser sale” 
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End-of-2021 Snapshot (so next year I can see how miserably I fail at my resolution to “buy less and just enjoy what I have”). And it’s kind of fun to do a full rundown of my current setup to think about gaps and next moves. I try to keep everything at a fairly even level - not getting one part of the signal chain too far ahead of the others.
Desktop:
I work from home full time, have done so for almost 2 years now. So this is where I spend most of my day. I don’t critically listen here, but it plays music all day except when I’m on a conference call. PC audio is fed through the Jot2 DAC card for when I want to hear PC audio in the main monitors. Music is streamed via Roon (server in different room) to PI2AES endpoint as well as through HQPlayer (on same server as Roon) to NAA Raspberry Pi 4 end point.
- Amplifier - Schiit Jotunheim 2 w/ ESS DAC card - all-in-wonder desktop device, center piece of the desktop setup, handling pre-amp duty, headphone amp duty, and PC audio duty.
- DAC - Geshelli J2 - place holder DAC until I decide on my next DAC purchase; does it’s job nicely, fed by coax input from PI2AES and USB from RP4.
- Streamer(s) - PI2AES (Ropieee); RP4 (HQPlayer NAA)
- Speakers - iLoud MTM - the room correction really helps with my non-ideal speaker positioning.
- Headphones - Audeze LCD-X (2021) are my current daily drivers, swapped out periodically with various cans from the headphone shelf.
- Adapters are sitting on hardwood soap dishes (HowellsProducts | Etsy)
Listening Chair:
Does double duty for music listening and movie watching. Music is streamed via RPi4 (Ropieee) and Intona isolator to BF2. Movie audio is transported via long-ass optical cable to iPurifier 3 to re-clock it (full disclosure, it is HDMI ARC → optical splitter → long-ass cable), and then input via coax to BF2. DAC Balanced output goes to G111; SE output goes to BHC. Allo Shanti linear power supply used for RPi4 and iPurifier 3. Many nights I fall asleep listening to music in this chair or watching a movie. It’s just amazing what a good chair does for good music!
- Shelves - Monoprice; this was a more significant upgrade than I expected, much better component placement and cable management.
- Solid-State Amp - Lake People G111 - the ultimate utility player, handling a mind boggling range of headphone sensitivities and impedances.
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Tube Amp - Bottle Head Crack w/ Speed Ball - fun w/ a side of more fun! This is actually a Christmas present (from me, to me, for having been such a good boy this year). So I’ve done very little listening on it since it’s a Christmas present, it has to wait a few more days (it’s actually wrapped up under the tree now
) - DAC - Schiit Bifrost 2 - if any one purchase broke me, and made me realize the difference between entry level and moving “up the ladder” it is this DAC.
- Headphones - Focal Clear spend most of their time at the chair for detailed music listening. These are my most resolving headphones, and sound fantastic on the G111+BF2. Extra headphone hook (hiding behind the Focal) for any “guest headphones” hanging out with me at the chair.
- Streamer - Raspberry Pi 4 + Intona Galvanic Isolation. Really nice audio source to the BF2.
- SPDIF Optical Re-Clocker - iFi iPurifier 3 (hiding behind the BF2) - does a good job of re-clocking with low latency, keeps video / audio reasonably synchronized. Makes a noticeable difference in movies having good depth and imaging.
Headphone Shelf: Abraham Lincoln presiding over the collection
An evolving collection, but starting to stabilize. DT880, HD6XX, and ATH-R70x mostly do tube amp duty. Hemps and LCD2.1 are for fun - less analytical, more for the good times. Koss because it’s really fun to compare them to the rest. And the Cascades are for movie watching duty thanks to the bass extension / boost while maintaining vocal clarity and detail resolution.
- Beyerdynamic DT880 600ohm - modified for balanced connection, Periapt 1/4" cable connected for use with BHC amp.
- Sennheiser HD6xx - the legend. Using Periapt 1/4" cable (they were on sale
) - Grado Hemp - wired 4.4 pentacon - really handy with the Hiby R6 DAP.
- Audeze LCD-2 (2.1 PF) - Lohb strap (ebay) for listening comfort and keeping the vintage headband
- Audio Technica ATH-R70x - braided cable because, my god, 10 foot is a long cable!
- Koss KSC75 mounted on Utility headband w/ orange Yaxi pads
- Campfire Audio Cascades - w/ Dekoni nuggets for listening comfort (mostly used for movie watching), planning to get the XL pads for a little more ear space.
- Miter Box - for IEMs / DAP - see next section
Portable / Transportable:
Portable is my Sony WF-1000XM4 (sitting on the desk, not in this picture). They sound “fine”, and they are mostly about features and convenience. They ride with me in my coin-pocket most of the day for listening to podcasts, videos, and making calls.
Hiby R6 is my all-in-wonder transportable setup, covers both local files and streaming via Qobuz / Tidal. Listening outside of my office is almost universally on the R6. The FiR Audio VxV and Campfire Andromeda are my first steps into nicer IEMs. They are distinct enough that I enjoy going back and forth. But my next IEM purchase will be something a little more analytical / resolving. The BTR5 hangs around mostly for the kids to use, but pairs nicely with the Koss KSC75 when I want to go “Star Lord” mode.
I keep a little Anker charger in the box, because this whole box goes in my backpack when I travel. Extra adapters go from the desk into the little spare space on the left.
- DAP - Hiby R6 2020 - started with R5, realized that I do like having a good DAP, and upgraded to the R6. If I ever return to office work this will be my boi that comes with me.
- FiR Audio VxV - my first “big boy” IEM. This IEM taught me the difference between detail and treble boost. These are detailed without being bright and sparkly. Very easy to listen to all day.
- Campfire Audio Andromeda (Pacific Blue edition w/ Super Litz cable) - partly because Campfire is from my hometown of Portland Oregon, and partly because these were my aspirational IEM for me since I started into this hobby 2 years ago, I bought a pair. They aren’t my favorite listening device, but they are fun and different. And definitely come out on a regular basis to contrast with the VxV.
Predictions for 2022:
- DAC upgrade to replace Geshelli J2, not sure if I’ll upgrade the DAC at the listening chair and move BF2 over to desk, or what I’ll do. Still up in the air… I want to lean the desktop setup towards warm / fun listening more than analytical. A Soekris dac2541 is high on my list of things to try for more analytical listening.
- Desktop amp upgrade to replace Jot2. Singxer sa-1 is an easy one for not much cost, but I’m leaning towards saving my $$$ and going to a GS-X mini to make a meaningful leap.
- Listening Chair amp upgrade into the Violectric line, to get ready for better headphoens.
- Consider 1 or 2 good headphone/IEM moves, not sure what, I really like what I have right now. No complaints.
Looking forward to another year of music! If there’s any silver lining to the COVID bullshit of the last two years, it is the quality and quantity of music I listen to has grown exponentially!
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Technically the CRBN and energizer aren’t mine, but they are placeholders for when my CRBN arrives and I’ve bought an energizer.
CRBN is my favorite, followed by 009 and lastly JR. Have not heard the 009s yet, but it will arrive at some point.
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That IKEA receipt piece looks interesting, where did you get that?
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Not the most incredible, but for a broke uni student, I’m very happy
iPad w/ Airplay > Raspberry Pi Zero running Moode > Apple dongle > Iemagni > Aeon Flow RT
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That thing is awesome 
I’m pretty sure that’s from the “MARKERAD Collection” (Virgil Abloh x IKEA). Btw, it’s a rug 
yo das hella cute. cyooot
Make sure to throw infinity on wa33. they were excelent on P6P → WA8 and mind blowing on 13R
Thummim + DX300 Max is an absolute TOTL endgame setup.
Never heard anything alike Thummim.
I have the TinHiFi P2+, and the soundstage somewhat reminds me of Thummim, but the speed, the mid-range, the lows of Thummim — never listened to anything with everything it possesses.
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This isn’t everything I own, but it’s my absolute favorite pairings thus far. Seriously, the synergy in these setups are so damn good.
Sometimes I like solid state:
- Monolith M1060C w/ open-back mod
- JDS Labs Element II
Sometimes I like tubes:
- Sennheiser HD 6XX
- Xduoo TA 26
- JDS Labs Element II <— used as DAC only
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