What did you buy today? (Part 1)

Holy… I feel so attacked for my OTL :grimacing:

New comfort strap from https://instagram.com/understatedmontreal?igshid=172c7tvs4ikjv

Just great all around to deal with, and amazing work…also new ZMF Ovals/protein

Waiting on periapt balanced, and maybe send for argon, but I kinda dig these.

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Based on my first impressions of my Clears, I’d say yeah, probably.

I’ve got pretty much the whole Focal menagerie, and although my Elex probably get the least head-time (apart from the Elears, which are still in the box), they’re what lit the fuse to my Focal obsession. The most head-time goes to Stellias and Elegias simply because I need closed-back cans in the office, and that’s where I get to do most of my listening.

I just recently got Clear Pros, and although I haven’t done an A-B with Elex, my first impression was that they sounded a little dry, maybe more detailed, but nothing immediately jumped out as “wow, totally worth the price differential.” Take that with a pile of salt, though, since it was a quick first impression only, and I’m comparing an inadequate amount of data with distant, distorted memory of a headphone I haven’t listened to much recently.

In any case, the higher-grade Focals (i.e., the “Beryllium twins”) are stupendously detailed, but I find them wasted on my cheaper gear. I don’t ever use them on my Aune X1S, for example. Tried it once, but as good as that unit is with my cheaper gear, it’s not doing any favors to hyper-revealing cans.

I don’t know the Geshelli gear at all, but if others are advising you to upgrade your DAC/Amp chain first (and just guessing from the price point), that does seem like a smart path before buying Clears. You may be able to squeeze a little more performance out of your Elex with a better DAC/Amp chain, too.

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Hang in there!

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The clear out of something like a g stack or thx will sound fairly similar, to actually get the benefits of the clear you would really want to upgrade your amp

I’m really curious about the t60rp’s i bet they sound great. and i bet the mod from modhouse makes them sound even better. Whats their sound signature like?

Is that really orange? Love it!

Orange calf skin and black buffalo, took about a week, but in love…I have orange in everything almost, cables to keys

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I bought this for delivery tomorrow.

https://www.ftd.com/product/florist-designed-mixed-bouquet-prd-EO-6022?0=florist-designed-mixed-bouquet&1=-prd-&gbb=EO-6022E&id=EO-6022

This was the end result of the random bouquet (yes, a day early intentionally):
ae6379c63477b29141cb41e3db65f1360d934569_2_375x500

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Niiiiiiice. I like!

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Bifrost 2 and THX AAA789 arrived today. Balanced interconnects don’t come until tomorrow, but so far, SE sounds just great.

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I bought a 4.4 balanced cable and 4.4 to XLR adapter

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I’d like to see 4.4 become the standard for balanced. I really like them

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Durable connector from my experience, good size, hard to confuse, can be integrated fairly easily, what’s not to love lol

I had to order from amazon so I hope its decent. I tried James @ Heart cables to see what he could do for me but he was backed up. I reached out to Perriapt 2nd to see what they could do, but I need them ASAP for review. I think I’m going to place an order with James though.

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I just placed an order with Hart last night for a cable w/ a 4.4 interconnect for my Focals to run them off the m15. I had an older bluetooth DAP with a 2.5 balanced input and it felt really delicate, so I’m really liking the 4.4 now that I have a practical use for it

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What’s an upgrade over THX? Gobs of power, insane clarity. Honestly, 789 and 887 are some of the most transparent amps I’ve heard, bar none. I’ve heard more expensive amps (gobs of them at CANJAM and RMAF), but nothing in particular that stood out as more clear than the THX standards. D90 → 887 → Stellias is pretty much my gold standard.

Perhaps try out a rupert neve rnhp? Pairs very well with the focals, will really treat the headphones you have in imo :+1:

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Given their pedigree RNHP does sound worth investigating. I ought to be able to drive both RNHP and 887 from the D90 (one on balanced, one RCA). Could use the remote to swap or could drive both simultaneously to A-B.

Because of my engineering background I lean toward objectivism, but my specific job is verification so I also never assume I know the answers beforehand. I know the 887 has SINAD of 120 (per ASR), but haven’t seen measurements yet for RNHP. Might be good to see what I think first, then see what the numbers say whenever they do show up.

I did notice the RNHP is rated for shockingly low output impedence. Should be fun to try w/ low-Z Campfires, if nothing else. And sounds like a fun experiment regardless. Potential learning opportunity, where the test is simply “how awesome does this sound?” It’s rough, I tell ya!

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Personally the rnhp is above the thx imo in terms of naturalness/neutral sound. Also imo more actually detailed. I am not a fan of thx though so do take that into account lol. I do know that I haven’t found a replacement for it for mastering work yet even though I have higher end amps (that do outperform the rnhp in some ways). Also I would try to use the balanced in on the rnhp if possible, but rca works too (they do have different gain)

Regarding measurements, I just check to make sure nothing is glaringly wrong, and then just go off of experience for the rest (not a huge numbers guy lol)

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