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Showing 1 of 102 reviews about:
CamBE2010
82
Keyboard Club Member
Jun 5, 2018
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junkiCongrats, you killed me with the lions of Voltron comment. Bravo, well played sir.
FrostyP
502
Jun 5, 2018
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junkiDid you contact MD support about the imbalance? That's a severe issue
dabratto
22
Jun 6, 2018
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junkiThis being said do you think that’s its worth getting this dac/amp? I have the hifiman EF2A for my 650’s and they have awful channel imvalance and STUPID high gain. I’ve been looking for a combo tube Amp to upgrade to but refuse to deal with more gain and channel imbalance issues where I can’t turn the knob past 8 without it being painfully loud while have channel imbalance up to 7:30.
dabratto
22
Jun 12, 2018
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junkioh im not doubting the sound but the gain and imbalance issues you mentioned, do you find it difficult to get to a comfortable listening volume while also reaching a point where there is no channel imbalance? For example, due to the fixed issues on my EF2A, I can just barely increase the volume enough to a point where there is no channel imbalance without it destroying my eardrums. Because of this problem its hard to listen to things without imbalance at lower safer volumes
rastus
1391
May 4, 2019
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junkiDid you try rolling an nos tube?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/AMPEREX-GOLDPIN-JAN-7308-E88CC-NOS-NIB-TUBE-PREMIUM-6922-MATCHED-PAIRS-AVAILABLE/183782679150?epid=166830015&hash=item2aca4d226e:g:zqMAAOSwToZcgZee
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-VALVO-E88CC-6922-SINGLE-TUBE-Made-in-HOLLAND-1964/293061191596?hash=item443bcee7ac:g:ftsAAOSwoW1ckm~i
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-VALVO-E88CC-6922-SINGLE-TUBE-Made-in-HOLLAND-1964/293061191596?hash=item443bcee7ac:g:ftsAAOSwoW1ckm~i
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I got the SDAC+MCTH for my office to replace the Dragonfly Red, a particularly musical little thing I've been fond of for several years, which drove my HD6XX to satisfaction for all the work things I have to listen to. At home, I listen with the Sundara, and I have a hole in my chain that has been temporarily filled by the integrated DAC and headphone amplifier in my Audioengine HD3 powered speakers. I burned in the unit for about as long as Alex recommends. I left MCTH playing overnight and through the next day's work hours. This Amp is Picky
For my first night listening to the SDAC+MCTH, I used it at home with my Sundara. Long story short, I did not like the pairing of the Sundara with the SDAC+MCTH as much as (to my surprise) with the HD3. After quite a bit of A/B testing between the SDAC>MCTH and the SDAC>HD3, I've come to two conclusions. The Sundara is a can that is inherently slightly airy and soft but just enough to not hurt resolution and clarity. In fact it is the most resolving cans I've heard, and it's this balance of musical clarity that I really like. Paired with the MCTH, overall sound became too soft and too airy, such that it felt a little hazy and resolution, separation, and layering seemed to suffer. It's as if the overall picture became a bit blurry. Soundstage was slightly more expansive, but it did not make up for the worse imaging. More obvious to me, the bass, especially the lower end of it, just did not sound as extended, loud, or controlled through the MCTH as through the HD3, and bass is one of the main reasons I listen to planars.
The (Really) Good
I decided to take the SDAC+MCTH into my office and pair it with the HD6XX. In short, I like this pairing so much that I've decided this is the end-game for me for this headphone's signal chain. The MCTH's lack of deep bass resolve actually pairs well here because it asks the HD6XX to focus on bass its drivers actually do well with. The extra airiness that I heard through the Sundara adds to HD6XX's sound stage, and it sounds like the presence and treble is slightly more liquid and smooth. As a consequence of the bigger headstage, sounds aren't as congested and separation seems to have improved. To further qualify how much I like this combination: up to this point in time I've always viewed my HD6XX as the bottom performer in my collection in any snapshot of my collection history. I liked my E-MU Teak better, my HE4XX better, my Noble K10 better, my modded M1060 much better. Most cans I've owned at various points in time were able to give me an overall more enjoyable experience than the HD6XX. But I decided not to sell my HD6XX because it still, in the grand scheme of things, sounds very good, has very well known sound characteristics, and makes for a useful baseline to evaluate new purchases with.
With the MCTH, I'm sitting here thinking maybe the MCTH+HD6XX sounds maybe better than anything I've heard with my Sundara. And I think the Sundara sounds better than anything I mentioned above. The Bad
Relatively minor negative points about this amp are that it doesn't have the most quiet background, and it's quite picky with the headphones it pairs well with. My main issue with the amp though is that the volume potentiometer is horrendous and obviously where Alex/Massdrop decided to save money. It's so scratchy in the left channel when adjusting during an active signal, and it suffers from huge and widely reported channel imbalance before 7-8 o'clock. The MCTH also has a fixed gain of 8x (+18dB), which means, if I want to maximize my dynamic range and input into the amplifier a digital signal at 0 dBFS (100% windows volume), I'm at literally the 7-8 o'clock on the volume knob with the 300 ohm HD6XX. This often meant surprise drop-outs on the right channel, but even when things did manage to sound more or less correct, I'm still plagued by neurosis that the amp is not treating my left and right cups equally. So, I'm forced to lower Windows volume to 70%, incur the penalty to dynamic range, and thereby keep the MCTH's volume knob around the safer 9 o'clock position, because frankly the MCTH does not let me trust it. Conclusion
By itself, the MCTH is a decent option, but when paired with the HD6XX, they're like the lions of Voltron joining dicks and creating a sound that's as good as the very best, with only sub-bass and resolve coming in a little short, but you'll never notice because it sounds so good. The MCTH will literally wrap your HD6XX in magical blanket and send it into the stratosphere of sound quality. Five stars if used in this pairing.
By itself, though? Three stars. I'd recommend the Arcam rHead, a much higher quality amplifier you can find at a few UK online stores that once MSRP'd for $599 but now you can find for the same price after shipping to the US.
(3+5)/2 = 4 stars