Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
akapur
47
Jan 5, 2018
Got the headphones a few days ago. They seemed quite disappointing to me. I'm wondering if the headphones I received are defective. They seem FAR too bright to the extent that on certain songs they actually seem to vibrate and hum unmusically. For example during the last 20% of the song Demons by Fatboy Slim (featuring Macy Gray), the right ear cup actually vibrates like a machine is humming. This happened while playing from Apple Music on a MacBook pro via the MacBook Pro's headphone jack and also via an Audio-GD R2R 11 DAC/Headphone amp combo connected to the MacBook via 1.5 ft monoprice USB cable. Tried adjusting sample rates etc. Doesn't make a difference. I don't get the same hum with other headphones, even relatively bright ones, nor on any of my speakers.
Would it be possible for someone to try listening to the same song and see if they hear the same problem?
Youngpocket
0
Jan 5, 2018
akapurthese headphones are really bright. ive read/seen alot of reviews of people saying that and i agree. your right ear driver could be defective ive heard of the solder brealking, but that can be fixed of thats the case, or akg offers i believe a two year warranty for these. from my experience with these any kind of hard rock or metal is muddy. in general these are not "listening headphones" i find only classic low distorted styles of rock, and some pop sound good, any thing else just sounds...... eh
Youngpocket
0
Jan 5, 2018
akapuri think the awful buzzing in that song is because the bass is out of range for these headphones. my subs pick it up fine
alcoloz
15
Jan 25, 2018
akapurHow do you find the Audio-GD R2R 11?
akapur
47
Jan 25, 2018
alcolozAbsolutely excellent in all respects. I don't know of a better value for money. Amazing with my HD600s. Amazing as a pre-amp for the JBL 305s available on Massdrop. I use it for listening while at the office and in my home office. I also recommend the Out of Your Head software if you are listening to headphones
Slightly more distortion and less flat than the Audio-GD NFB-11, which is also excellent but with somewhat less jitter and slightly warmer, more tubey, less fatiguing sound. That having been said both of those have really flat frequency response, low distortion and are really quick and jitter free relative to anything else. I prefer the R2R11 to the NFB-11. Even if you have speakers that cost 6 figures a pair, the speakers will add more to the non-flatness of the frequency response and distortion than either of those will and humans are remarkably sensitive to timing/jitter even though we subconsciously associate both with a general subconscious sense of quality rather than anything we can put our finger on.
Both outperform most stuff I know of at anywhere near their price including the O2/ODAC and Schitt Stack or Schitt Modi Multibit -> Jotunheim -> Headphones for that matter.
alcoloz
15
Jan 25, 2018
akapurWow thanks! I was about to get schiit stack when someone suggested me this, its 369dollars for nfb11, 235dollars schiit stack with magni3, you think its higher price is worth it? Am on the drop for hd6xx, need an amp.. Will listen casually afternoon.
akapur
47
Jan 25, 2018
alcolozMore than worth it. But if I had only USD 350 dollars ish to spend and was only listening on headphones and didn't have good speakers, I would buy the Schitt stack and Out of Your Head software, not the R2R11. I'm always amazed at the nonsensical reviews of people listening on headphones talking about soundstage and imaging. You can't get soundstage or imaging in headphones, unless the recording is biaural (very few are), and so it's obvious people writing or talking about these don't actually know what they are talking about. Out of Your Head shows you what a properly setup speaker setup actually sounds like. What you are supposed to get from proper hifi is that if you close your eyes you can't tell the sound is coming from speakers but rather that it's being performed live on a stage in front of you. This won't happen with headphones because the sound from one speaker doesn't reach the opposite ear with a slight lag so your brain is always wondering what's going on you hear the sound inside your head. With older stereo recordings (which weren't optimized to minimize headphone fatigue) and which actually image better on speakers than more modern recordings you will get a lot of headphone fatigue. There are other cross feed implementations and while they reduce headphone hearing fatigue they don't give you soundstage unless you go up to a Smyth Realizer but that's a multiple of your budget. OOYH is basically as good as a Smyth but doesn't have head tracking so the soundstage is always directly in front of your eyes and doesn't move if you move your head. Of course you could buy the R2R11/NFB-11 and OOYH or buy the R2R-11/NFB now and OOYH later.
alcoloz
15
Jan 25, 2018
akapurWowww thanks again for detailed explanation. I don't have speakers, only sennheiser momentum n 598cs. Hd6xx in some months hopefully. Will definitely try that out of your head software! N will go after the schiit as u suggested. Thanks again.
akapur
47
Jan 25, 2018
alcolozActually the O2/ODAC combo from JDS Labs is in my opinion better than the Schitt stack so if you are budget limited and are getting the software go for that instead. The other problem with Schitt is really awful customer service/warranty support.
alcoloz
15
Jan 25, 2018
akapurI read the o2 is neutral sound whereas the schitt adds some color to it. Oki will check out the jds labs combo to buy. Thanks!
alcoloz
15
Jan 25, 2018
akapurWould u advise get odac 99 and amp 129 separate ? Or obje ctive2 +odac rev b 279?
akapur
47
Jan 25, 2018
alcolozThe whole point of hi-fi (stands for high fidelity) is neutral, ie you get what's on the recording. There certainly are producers who make the sound deliberately different so people who don't know what neutral sounds like think "Oh Awesome!" but that kind of thing only sounds good in the store, not over extended listening. There are hi-fi manufacturers like Audio Gd where the sound is very, very neutral and R2R is very slightly warmer than an NFB-11 but both are extremely neutral and there are manufacturers like Schitt where the stated specs don't seem to be what you actually get if you buy one as opposed to if you are a reviewer sent one and they sell the failings of their gear, the fact that it outputs something different from what's on the recording, as "color". O2/ODac is really good for it's price. Audio Gd is just better.
akapur
47
Jan 25, 2018
alcolozIf you get the same setup at the same price separate vs combined, the conventional wisdom is to prefer separate because you can upgrade one at a time and get exactly what you want in each component.
Is the odac and amp rev b or original? Rev B versions do have better stated specifications thought I haven't ever done an A/B. If you haven't ever done any serious audio listening and are mainly listening to Spotify/iTunes or maybe Tidal HiFi or something similar, get the cheaper separates. They are more than good enough to get you started and figuring out what you really like. You won't hear any material sonic differences between them now. You are probably going to be upgrading over time and upgrading one component at a time is easier.
akapur
47
Jan 25, 2018
alcolozhttps://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-o2-amplifier plus A decent DAC isn't a bad start.
Also if you have a Macbook Pro, the audio out from a Macbook is really quite good relative to most computer analog audio outs so you could get started even without a DAC. The amp will help a lot to help you get the most out of the Sennheisers. Then wait for a good deal on a DAC.
alcoloz
15
Jan 28, 2018
akapurThanks for explanations! I thought it was advisable to get dac and amp from same manufacturers? It's better if I get an o2 dac and a magni3 amp? Unfortunately I don't have MacBook pro. I listen to mostly 320kbps files. The jds labs separate are not rev b, i guess that's y cheaper..
akapur
47
Jan 28, 2018
alcolozDoesn’t really make a difference if they are same vendor or not. Most high end setups mix and match because different manufacturers do different things well. The difference bet rev b and not is really not large. The original would make a great starting point. The oDAC is great. Can’t really recommend the MagnI given schitt quality control issues particularly given their horrendous customer service. If you don’t really know what things are supposed to sound like they will try to convince you all is well despite something glaringly wrong or you could get lucky. If you are already spending that much think carefully about just getting an R2R11 or NFB11. Upgrading hardware later means selling at a loss and rebuying.
alcoloz
15
Jan 28, 2018
akapurThanks again! Excluding shipping costs: R2r11 costs 350 NFB-11.28 costs 300 Mayflower o2 dac amp promo 220 instead 250 Jds lab o2 dac amp costs 250 Schiit modi2 magni3 200
Nfb11 really tempting but it has highest shipping costs n extra paypal charges taking it to 367 dollars! Others shipping costs in the 20 30 range kuz lighter ofcourse. Hence, Audio gd is wayy above my budget unfortunately. i getcha when you say a loss to sell n upgrade later, i won't be satisfied with a simple o2? Never upgrading.. I will only have 1 hd6xx.. No speakers etc.. If only the massdrop o2 u suggested earlier was available, i would have an amp dillemma solved. :) or i wait for it to come back maybe..
alcoloz
15
Jan 28, 2018
akapurU think its that big a risk to get the schiit stack? I can get a defective one?
akapur
47
Jan 29, 2018
alcolozI ordered some Schitt equipment once and had a horrendous experience. They shipped me different equipment from what I had ordered, equipment far cheaper than I had ordered. I complained showed them pics etc, showed them the box with the tracking number and pointed out that the weight of the package listed on the shipping label that they shipped me was far to low for them to have shipped what I ordered etc and this had to have been a mistake. I was basically called a thief and got increasingly rude responses back followed by no responses back. I sent what they sent me back and decided not to deal with them further. I had to do a credit card chargeback to get my money back.
A friend ordered some tube stuff which was supposed to have matching tubes. The tubes were from different brands. Their response was that they match by measurement, not brand. This sounds interesting if you don't have any knowledge about the issue and don't know how to measure things because given what the brands actually were and the range of measurements you actually get from them it's extremely unlikely they would have been even close. He measured, not close, demanded a refund or replacement of the tubes. They refused because the tubes were now used having been used while being measured......
Customer service(?) is email only. They have a phone number but you can only leave message. Nobody will call you back. You will have better luck calling someone in a foreign country who doesn't speak English.
I have heard Schitt equipment and have not been remotely impressed. Treble is way accentuated. This is an easy way of making newbies think they "hear stuff they don't with other equipment" and impress them. It actually leads to listening fatigue if you really want to listen. Then read about the incident with nwavguy. Their excuse is that they didn't carefully check amplifier measurements that even amateurs make which are necessary to ensure the amp doesn't damage headphones, followed by a description of a different problem in some high end systems which require a certain sequence of turning on and off to distract people who don't actually get audio, when in fact the defect in their amps was something totally different and far more serious. The problem is that in this case Schitt amps were doing things that could damage headphones even with no source connected and the volume way down. Supposedly they "remembered" testing and "remembered" different measurements which makes no sense. Then of course Schitt gear does weird stuff. For example, most high end pre-amps and amps will short the inputs that are currently not being used to ensure there is absolutely no signal bleed from them. Connect even the highest end Schitt DACs to genuine high end equipment that does this and the DACs basically go kaput. Etc, etc..
You may want to consider eBay. You can get some amazing deals on lightly used audio gear that is really very, very good. I just bought a DAC at a really good price this weekend myself.
alcoloz
15
Jan 29, 2018
akapurOkay thanks. That's really schitty of them, you convinced me not to buy from them. That's purely horrible service. Will hunt on ebay yea or wait n save some for the nfb11 much later.. Just scared with the nfb 11 i pay so much n doesn't work so well or long enough or quality not lasting many years.
alcoloz
15
Jan 29, 2018
akapurThe problem i get from ebay is the power voltage source, most are us based 110v, i use 220v.. Sniff. Sniff.
alcoloz
15
Jan 30, 2018
akapurJust noticed there is a massdrop o2 only amp on massdrop for around 100, you think its worth it? Thanks
akapur
47
Jan 30, 2018
alcolozHaven't heard the Massdrop O2 Amp. I have heard that the Massdrop O2 Amp does not come with the high quality power adapter that the one from JDS Labs does. As I'm sure you are aware, the power supply may well be the most important part of an amplifier. If this is in fact true, then to actually get the O2 to perform as per spec you are going to need to order a high quality power supply and at that point you are better off just ordering from JDS Labs.
PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE
Trending Posts in Audiophile