What did you buy today? (Part 2)

Nice! I like 'em!

The A70 Pro on high gain can make 600ohm DT880/990 work to full potential. It is a very clear & neutral sound signature, so what goes in is what comes out. However thus far I’ve only been listening to Amazon Music via my Galaxy S23 streaming Bluetooth in LDAC to my iFi Zen Blue V2 balanced into the A70 Pro. I have zero complaints with the sound. I’m not locked in on any 1 particular sound signature as long as there isn’t any audible distortion.

1 Like

Absolutely. I am a somewhat moody character, so I enjoy a multitude of sound signatures. That is why I have a class A/hybrid, Straight Class A, a Class D fed by the Class A for speakers, a Class A/B and a THX setup available. This way, whatever mood I find myself in for a given session, I have it covered! Thanks for sharing about the A70, appreciate ya.

BTW, LDAC is pretty cool, aint it? I love it. That is how I stream when using the system in the bedroom. Turns out my old LG V40 makes a great BT streamer! Happy listening. :+1:t2:

I got it with the D70 Octo and the noise floor with the 5.2v DAC is the blackest I’ve ever (not) heard. Everything jumps out at you and the littlest whisper can be heard and even clothes rustling of someone playing the piano on some tracks. It’s a critical listener dream come true hearing singers inhale a breath or a chair move of a musician in the studio before playing guitar on a track.
The filters change things slightly, but only certain tracks reveal a difference. Mainly ones with a treble rolloff that starts early, but wouldn’t worry too much about picking the wrong one. On the balanced side the power feels infinite. I just have a Hifiman HE-560 but I’ve had the HE6SE enough times to know this could put the hammer down on it even with a steep preamp reduction. There’s just nowhere to go for an upgrade on this combo. You can spend 10 times more, but it’s not going to be an X-Ray machine of transparency like this setup.
These have the easy disk drive based firmware flashing, so no making the mistake of bricking something. Shame they didn’t come up with this method sooner. I’ve never done it, but heard of people flashing the wrong firmware and then needing to send it back if they didn’t have a serial programmer. There’s two different remotes, the rc-15 and rc-16 models so keeping them separate is pretty simple. Just don’t lose the RC-16 as not even Aliexpress has one currently.
The only people who wouldn’t want it are the tube amp fans who want some personality or analog sound to their gear. If anyone does production work and you really have to hear every single thing, this is epic.

4 Likes

Another thing I love about the A70 Pro is no need to move it to change the gain from low to high. Just push the gain button on the remote. Note there is a YUGE difference in volume & the preamp output is live. So if you’re preamping to active speakers or a speaker amp powering speakers & you were listening to 600ohm headphones that you didn’t think to turn the volume down for to switch to speakers then your speakers will be very loud. On another note when on high gain listening via headphones or speakers, switching the A70 Pro from high gain to low gain is enough to be able to converse with someone nearby without having to stop the music or yell over it.

2 Likes

While I purchased these a few days ago (sorry, late post) I just wanted to comment that they helped elevate my Koss KPH40’s to my on-ear budget endgame headphone. To my ears, I noticed the one thing that was lacking with the stock, thinner pads which was a more expansive soundstage, which my KPH30i’s had. These pads opened things up just enough and did not touch anything else, just the right amount I was seeking. :notes:

I’ve since set my (unmodified) KPH30i’s aside… :grin:

5 Likes

Sony CD900ST showed up today. They sound fantastic on my Singxer SA-1 but they aren’t very comfy, with some slightly tight clamp & thin pads. They’re more like an on ear headphone on my head. They are super light weight though.

2 Likes

New toy:


5 Likes

I ordered a 2nd pair of Sony CD900ST & Brainwaves pads for both pairs. I auditioned my pair of CD900s Friday night on my movie sound rig & noticed they aren’t one that is needing hours of burn in to sound fantastic.

On another note, UPS is going down hill unfortunately. Several items were supposed to be delivered already & have not been. Items that were at the local UPS hub on Thursday. A couple of months ago a UPS driver told me that UPS the company, will not deliver on Friday anymore. Friday. Not Saturday; Friday. Then recently I read UPS cutting 12,000 jobs. It’s not a coincidence.

1 Like

All arrived yesterday. Triangle Borea BR02, adjustable metal stands, Amazon Basic speaker wire, Amazon Basics optical cable, ethernet cable, Furman filtered power distribution, heavy duty extension cable, Sennheiser HD660S, Hart Audio KPH40i balanced cables.

While mine were in transit the HD660S dropped in price from $599 to $499 on Amazon. Two attempts to return have failed thus far. I feel like I’ve been scammed.

1 Like

Well, a strange yet eye-opening thing happened today. I bought another set of the Dekoni Porta-Pro pads to grace my Koss KPH30i’s since I mentioned this past weekend that I liked them on my KPH40’s so much. Installed and tested with some of my benchmark tracks earlier today just to be greeted with…more bass?! :thinking:

I did an A/B comparison on the spot after hearing this and sure enough…more sub and mid bass was present in the 30i’s. I can only deduce that it’s how the pads are sitting on the grille and how it now seems to “cup” the ear with an ever-so-slight dip starting around the edge of the earpads going inward that is creating a small chamber as it seals when put on. It might seem like I am talking nonsense on that last part but I can certainly tell that something positive, to my ears, is happening. :magic_wand:

Sorry, this post probably belongs in another thread but just wanted to comment on how my purchase created good results for me (and could perhaps do the same for others). Here is to the interesting things we stumble upon in our hobby! :headphones:

6 Likes

Picked up these today from recommendations in the Telegram chat. They’re on my burn-in rig now.

I bought these for use in the office, to reduce distractions and help me focus better, hopefully.

4 Likes

I’ve been using the Borea BR02 for 2 or 3 days now for movies & TV shows, kind of as a burn in. They really sucked the first few hours, hollow & dead, but it did not take that long for them to get warmed up & sound natural in tonality. Now 2 days 3 nights playing & they have opened up completely I think. Everything just sounds right. I’m using the Hafler 9505 on them, from the Topping A70 Pro, & now the Geshelli J2/AKM. I was listening with the Singxer SA-1 & Topping E50 last night & had an issue with popping every time I switched the digital input, optical or usb, on the E50. No such pops now with the Geshelli.

Earlier today I ordered a JBL LSR 310S sub to pair with them, the Borea BR02 I mean. I expect they will sound really phenomenal high passed at 80hz with the JBL taking over under 80hz.

4 Likes

One of the local audio stores had a bankruptcy and are selling gear in online auction.
Managed to take this baby near -50% retail price. It’s going to office and work use.
Denon Home 150, but in white.
image

Seems to work as i planned. Online radio works, BT from laptop or phone and online streaming so everything looks good. Hopefully mics dont cause issues but reams to be seen.

Headphones just sometimes… eh.

3 Likes

Hiby R6 Gen III arrived today
Got it on Valentines sale for 360€

Looks and sounds like a winner so far :star_struck:

One of the main reasons to buy it was the snappy OS and it does not disappoint in that regard.
(Snappy the Snapdragon 665 :dragon_face: :grin:)

Another major selling point was the system wide EQ with all the plugins to fiddle with the sound and overall presentation :ok_hand:t2:
Soundfield plugin makes the stage noticeably wider, really nice :sunglasses:

Not super happy about the orange brown leather case… It’s a different one as advertised on their website so i mailed them and might get this one for free :crossed_fingers:t2:

Also need to get used to the volume knob… Prefer the placement on Shanling DAPs

12 Likes

The player seems quite nice but I was more smitten with the granite color of your earphone cable’s y-split and terminations. What particular cable is that?

hehe yeah it´s a beautiful and lightweight cable and comes highly recommended!

It´s the silver palladium cable from XINHS

https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005005357155557.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.11.2d8f7901dvrjKA&algo_pvid=7629f51e-0ca6-47dc-bff4-da0ffe1c29ce&algo_exp_id=7629f51e-0ca6-47dc-bff4-da0ffe1c29ce-5&pdp_npi=4%40dis!EUR!462.58!69.39!!!486.41!72.96!%40211b612817081957770513768e44e6!12000032731088162!sea!DE!703592571!&curPageLogUid=KFeHV6Hq0bMW&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch|query_from%3A

1 Like

Thanks! Yeah, XINHS makes some good stuff. I became a fan of their cables ever since Akros/Tony recommended them in his videos. @Rikudou_Goku has some good measurements for some of them as well, which helps tons when making decisions. :+1:

1 Like

I´m also a big fan, have not been dissapointed so far
I was using the 4 core silver plated single crystal copper before which is really fantastic but i was sick of the weight and bulkyness.
The silver palladium is just as good, adds clarity and details while not thinning out the bass

1 Like

Did you get the light or the dark brown Robins?