Can be if you’re not careful. People mostly use them for very-hard-to-drive headphones.
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Thats not something I’ll be doing. Its designed for driving speakers and thats what I’ll be using it for.
You dont need speaker amps to do that either though…
Sennheiser HE-6, one of the hardest to drive hps out there and even then you only need half a Watt to go to 90db (+20db headroom)
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I mean, I’m not really interested in getting into an argument about scaling, but you can find plenty of people online who can tell you how their speaker amp sounds different/better than their headphone amp. Edit: I’m also not interested in getting into an argument about subjective vs objective evaluation, blind testing, etc.
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Well in my case I don’t use the Gjallarhorn for most of my listening sessions since I have a Mjolnir 3. Most of my headphones sound better on the Mjolnir 3 or even the Vali 3. The big difference is the bass for only two of my headphones (and the Mjolnir 3 drives them well too).
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Couple things to be careful of with these calculators.
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Impedance is not always equal across the Frequency band. Could be 50 ohms at 1k and 300 ohms at 100hz.
Example:
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Bass levels on some tracks can reach significantly higher than the average db level of 90db. Our ears are also far more tolerant of high db at lower frequency as well. When you combine that with the uneven impedance response of many headphones, then you might be able to see how these calculations are not always so straight-forward, and you might need more power to get proper performance out of some headphones.
Basically, for a headphone like the Clear in this example, you’ll probably want enough headroom to push the headphone up to 110+db (I’d say even maybe 120db) at the 342ohm figure, as opposed to the 55ohm figure that’s advertised on the spec sheet.
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So before the power conditioner arrived (last night) I did some testing and adjusting with the two Vidar’s. The buzzing sound is faint but I could hear it while standing near it, or in my sitting position if the environment was quiet enough.
I took the the amps out and tried the stock power cable, the thick chonky Pangea cable I use with them, different power strips, different outlets, different circuits, plugged directly in or through power strips and still heard the same buzzing. Also, I disconnected the speakers and the preamp.
I moved the amps back and forth and side to side in the rack and I noticed a change in the sound of the buzzing. In some positions it got quieter, and others no louder than I have been experiencing.
What I’ve determined is that the buzzing is just a part of the normal operation of these amps, and like I mentioned, it’s very low and quiet. So I what I figured out was that the last time I rearranged the rack, the shelves and whatnot, I moved the amps from the bottom shelf to the one above it, and used the shorter legs thus decreasing the space between the shelves. (The move from the bottom shelf is because I rearranged the room and there is a heat/AC vent right behind it and I didn’t want it blowing directly onto the amps) This rack has legs that are all the same length, except for one set which are a few inches longer.
I figure the buzzing was reflecting off of the shelves in such a way that it amplified it to where it became noticeable - just barely. When I slide the amps back a few inches the noise almost disappeared from hearing. I slide them back forward to where they were before and I could hear it again.
What I did to remedy it was to place a couple of acoustic panels beneath the amps, reconfigure the rack putting the longer legs on the shelf they reside on, thus increasing the ceiling height above them and reducing the reflection of the buzzing sound, and sliding them back an inch or two from the front. Now, I have to strain in a very quiet setting (i.e. the refrigerator in the other room isn’t running, and the road noise outside is low) and then I can just barely make it out.
So I probably didn’t need the the power conditioner to fix this problem after all. Though it is a nice piece of equipment and I’ll keep in place because who doesn’t want clean power?
The red lines I added are the longer shelf legs.
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Most DDs tend to have a flat curve (and also why OI wont do anything to change the FR on them).
But yeah, some odd DDs are uneven like that, I believe the Koss Hps are like that as well.
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My cable for the Origin came in.
It’s a chonker allright, especially the Y split. It’s a massive chunk of resin.
But the cable itself is so much nicer to handle than the Ares II cable I also have. And as an added bonus, the warranty card is hilarious.
Hakugei has never failed me.
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Almoooost got everything I need to start the fun, just gotta wait for a screw kit and i should be able to fasten the fan in place…hopefully…
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Swiper NO Swiping!
Klipsch R-120SW Subwoofer, Black
This will be the second one I’ll have. It should arrive tomorrow and I’ll turn my 2.1 system into a 2.2 system.
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Some friends of mine use these for jogging and even moutainbiking. They don’t really have any complaints about these (you don’t have time to worry about soundquality when speeding through a forest on your mountainbike)
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Ordered three sets of these KGORGE 4-in-1 Soundproof Anti Dust 100% Blackout Curtains with Melt-Blown Layer Thermal Insulating Window Treatment Drapes.
The primary reason was the “soundproof” part of them. So far two sets have arrived this week and I put them up in the living room, behind my listening position. It is for my large picture window which faces the busy road out front.
Another set I split in two (two panels are a set) and put one panel over the doorway leading into the living room from the front door/vestibule area where road noise also flows into the listening area. The other panel will go up between the listening area and the kitchen.
The last set will go up behind the hifi setup. There is an active railroad not far from my backyard.
I have to say, these drapes are heavy, and they’re doing a remarkable job of blocking most of the road noise from getting inside. I’m impressed.
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I’m beginning to think this is some sort of disease. Im sick…right. I added a Denafrips Ares II to my headphone tower of power. I have this all sitting atop a single ultimate support 45" tall speaker stand. I m going to need more room. I have all GR-Research power cables wrapped around the base tube fed by a PS audio Juice bar. I think im going to need to add a second stand with maybe an aluminum top plate for a “table top”. Maybe I should lower it as well. Maybe 36" height so its less top wobbly/heavy. I just cant get enough. I cant stop. How about an intervention? Well at least ill have a nice system to listen to when I’m in the poor house. AKA debters prison.
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