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Promi
6
Sep 17, 2017
Guys right now I have a AKG 712 pro at home and since my old reciever is starting to fade away I am thinking of getting a new DAC+Amp. Would you guys rather go with the Liquid Carbon+ SDAC or the CTH? I know the Amp isnt out yet but maybe anybody of you guys knows if the 712 is better with a Carbon Tube or Liquid Carbon.
Jedi
881
Sep 17, 2017
PromiYou can go either way with the AKG 712 Pro headphones. 62ohms, open back, if you never tried a tube amp before, the CTH would be a great option plus the DAC is included which is a good bonus to have depending on your music input source. The CLC is another great choice for headphones under 300-ohms, more than enough to drive the AKG 712 and you could easily pick up the affordable DAC option available on MD from the collab with Grace . Your choice!
Promi
6
Sep 17, 2017
JediThat was the plan if i would pick the CLC.. But man hard decisions... I would play the music from the PC or record player so both should work fine. Personally i think the CTH is really interesting but 1) i kind of wonder that the CLC is way more popular if you look at the orders and 2) I dont know if I like the fact that you cant adjust anything at the CTH (except volume).
Zenifyx
31
Sep 17, 2017
PromiOne additional thing to note is that the AKG 712 cannot be wired balanced unless modded, so you are missing out on the benefits of using balanced with the LCX. Remember the "four amplifier sections—two per channel"? Well the amp likely only uses one per channel for SE.
Promi
6
Sep 17, 2017
ZenifyxTell me if I am wrong but even if I use other headphones the SDAC isnt balanced or? And thats probalby the DAC i would use for this AMP.
EinTheVariance
342
Sep 17, 2017
Promithe SDAC isn't balanced but the CLC will output balanced anyway thanks to the phase splitter. It's not true balanced but you get almost all the benefits of being balanced I suppose.
Zenifyx
31
Sep 17, 2017
PromiThe SDAC isn't balanced, but the Liquid Carbon employs a phase splitter for the SE signal, which means you would still enjoy the benefits of the balanced amp. I would think the LCX has the same (think CEE_TEE confirmed it in one of the earlier threads?)
Promi
6
Sep 17, 2017
Zenifyx@EinTheVariance & @Zenifyx thx mates :) guess i have to roll a dice for what to get \(o.o)/
EinTheVariance
342
Sep 17, 2017
Promiit basically comes down to whether you are interested in the power output of balanced or not. As someone has said, the K712 can't do balanced stock, so unless you have other headphones or are planning to get other headphones that can do balanced, the amp would be half wasted so to speak.
Promi
6
Sep 17, 2017
EinTheVarianceActually I am gonna buy some new Headphones this or next year, I really love my K712 for Gaming but even with the Bass Mod the accoustic pattern is just to sterile but even then I dont know if my next Headphones gonna have 2 seperate inputs so I can use the XLR...
Just out of curiosity the only real + for balanced cables is the fewer noise on longer cables or is there something else i dont know?
EinTheVariance
342
Sep 17, 2017
Promibalanced out has 4x the power of single ended output. Some people say it makes a difference in sound, others say otherwise.
Most higher end headphones just need a balanced cable to operate in balanced mode. It's mostly just AKGs that need to be modded.
Zenifyx
31
Sep 17, 2017
PromiMostly lower noise floor and better stereo separation. The effect is more apparent in long runs of balanced cables than in conventional home usage.
Promi
6
Sep 17, 2017
ZenifyxI guess I will go with SDAC + CLC because I would use the DAC also for my Cambridge Audio (don't like the DAC in the Amplifier)... The CTH is just so unappealing with the missing RCA out -.-
Jackula
1743
Sep 17, 2017
PromiThought I'd just chime in here and say that balanced makes bugger all difference. It doesn't reduce your noise floor, the only thing it does is reduce crosstalk. But a balanced amp doesn't automatically have better crosstalk figures than a single ended amp and you have the problem that more things can go wrong over time. I would endorse getting the LC for your AKG. Personally I use an Aune T1 for them and IMO they have the best synergy together, with the right tube it would cost more than SDAC+LC though.
Promi
6
Sep 17, 2017
Jackulasorry english isn't my primary language I meant crosstalk with noise. Now I learned something new again thx! Guess I have another product to read something about now... ^^
iCeOL8TRAmnesia
132
Sep 29, 2017
Jackula Balanced push pull is supposed to increase slew rate and make the overall waveform more accurate and more power, more control this usually shows up the most in the bass. Noise floor is not the argument, neither is crosstalk.
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