For someone who recently got a pendant + verite closed/open, what is the recommended upgrade from a Modi 3? A popular choice here seems to be the schiit bifrost. @M0N was very helpful in recommending it a couple months ago. Iām more or less about to pull the trigger on it but wanted to put the question out on this forum. Wish something followed the convenient size of the modi though. It fits so well on my desk.
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The bifrost 2 is a good choice for the price imo. I would also look into the denafrips ares ii in that range too, as thatās another solid dac. I do think you could spend a bit more for a higher tier dac, but most of the options I like tend to be fairly large in size so that might not work for you
The bifrost is going to be a more neutral slightly warmer smoother dac, pretty wide and spacious, good detail thatās not in your face, and good body and impact with organic timbre. The ares ii is going to be a bit more fun and energetic, not as much width but more depth to the stage, and a bit more forward with detail as well
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I was wondering MON how you found your pair of Verite Closed, what your thoughts were and how you liked them while you had them and if there was any reason you got rid of them?
Overall my favorite zmf, a somewhat forgiving and inoffensive flagship with a fun tuning, and a good example of a closed that doesnāt have to sound like a closed back. Honestly good headphones but the reason they got sold was because in my current collection they didnāt really do anything to justify their existence over some of the other cans I had at the time. It was a good headphone, but I simply didnāt reach for them as much as I should for me to want to keep them. I also have a feeling that I ended up selling them because closed became less valuable to me because I got lazy and started to only use iems at work and for travel
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Thank you for the impressions and the journey you had with them. Gun to your head if you had to keep the verite open or closed which one?
If we were making a short list of the best available closed back on the market it would be?
Verite Closed
Stellia
TH-900 mkii
Aeon Closed 2
LCD XC
ATH-AWKT
Anything else? Just trying to build a short list to start researching prices/threads/etcā¦
Eikon ought to make the list.
As should the Kennerton Gjallarhorn, though it has a fair amount of leakage
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I would hypothesize Lawton modded Fostex-biodyna-based headphones would make this list too.
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The LSA HP-2 Ultra, which is based on the gjallarhorn, has almost no sound leakage. It sounds almost like a closed back Arya.
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Ether C Flow are good.
Updated pics with new stand and Skable. Stabilized sets should be going on sale soonāhopefully this month!
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kind of a creepy image seeing the once living wood cups on a once living wood head. specially since the wood pattern looks like an eye at a side angle
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Sorry to derail, but out of your setups, which headphone or IEM chain is your favorite listening experience?
Current co-favorites are Susvara on a SS amp chain and VCs on Pendant.
Susvara delivers the ultimate in realismāinstrument timbre and soundstage are more present and believable than from any other chain I have, and not by a little. If the āholy grailā for television and movies is to have a screen that ceases being noticeable as a screen and instead becomes a portal opened unto another reality, then the same goal for audio is a sound-rendering device that creates music as though it is being performed in the room with you. Susvara is closer to accomplishing this than anything else Iāve heard that I can wear, aside from possibly HE-1. I currently enjoy Susvara through an ADI-2 -> Topping A90 chain, but have ordered a Holo May and a Goldpoint level control to try out Susvara on āZone Bā of my multichannel speaker amp.
VC, meanwhile, is pure romance. It does more right than ought to be possible from any closed headphone. Every type of music pairs well with it, tuning is wondrously musical and emotional, and staging is out-of-head big and holographic. Every time I sit down to listen to my VCs I lose track of time and get lost in the music. If thatās not what this hobby is all about, what is? Pendant, perhaps unsurprisingly, perfectly complements everything good about VC to the extent that I havenāt wanted to listen on other amps. Iāve been rediscovering new and old favorites all over again since I got them.
IEMs might be more important to me if I traveled or commuted more, but this year has seen me bottled up in my basement listening to full sized cans on desktop chains. When I do go out, my best-of-the-best portable chain would be 64 Audio U12Ts on my Astell & Kern SP1000M gold player. That combo is easy to carry anywhere and sounds sublime. The U12T delivers stunning bass and sub-bass that belies the BA low-endāthereās real slam there that sounds like a DD, but with all of the articulation and detail of BAs! All that and itās more detailed even than my Campfires and just an all-around lovely tuning. My only complaintāI wish they were custom. I have Noble K10 CIEMs, and nothing is more comfortable for in-ear. Iāll never fly anywhere without those again.
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surprisingly yes. thank you
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Just received mine in camphor burl. In the process of burning in, my first pair of high end headphones. Had a quick listen when they were fresh out of the box, I didnāt want to take em off. The level of detail and so open sounding. Letās see if they change after a couple more days of burning in
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Coolš would you please upload a picture @Lalawil ?
How long did it take from order to delivery?
I ordered mine in camphor Burl as well, a few days ago and keep wanting to check for updates 
A mint pair of Stabilized Maple Desert Purple VCās going on ebay if itās of interest to anyone?..
Took around 2.5 mths.
Admittedly my DAC amps are not in the same league as my VCs (Modi heresy stack, gustard a18 and thx887, DV 336se) my favourite is the schitt stack interestingly. I really want to like the 887 with VC, if any thx and VC users can comment. On single ended it sounded completely flat and no dynamics, and on balanced it sounded too bright and almost shouty Vs the Hersey. And on lvl 3 gain think the VC started to clip I find lvl 2 gain on balanced is the sweet spot but still I prefer the Herseyā¦ Which is a bit counter intuitive as the 887 cost a lot more than the Hersey
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