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j.hill
8
Apr 10, 2018
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Good value units- could benefit from some improvements to the sockets in the cups, have a lighter, more open mesh on the outside and an optional longer lead - As I have a small head, I purchased a knotted cover for the headband and positioned a 10mm foam rubber strip underneath to give better fit
An excellent product to be added to the Massdrop line
j.hill
8
Apr 23, 2018
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j.hillSurprisingly, I didn't try out a different power supply to the CTH until recently ( optimizing my Passlab diy HP1) and couldn't believe the improvement in the sound even with the computerized 'HYelec lab power supply' - initially, added a 470uF Nichicon )FineGold) to the supply output, changed this to a Silmic 220uF, and now running-in a Rifa 330uF - quite a surprise at the variations of the sound - it seems the CTH is indeed quite sensitive to the power supply - organizing a AMB Sigma 11 linear supply rather than a reg chip version as used in the Passlab diy HP-1 design
I have the usual headphones (Senn 650, AKG k702, Beyer 880s, Koss, etc) but prefer the HE 4XXs to all of them.
All the best ... James
Apr 23, 2018
tnjcy
0
Oct 28, 2018
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j.hillhow do they compare to your dt880s?
Oct 28, 2018
j.hill
8
Oct 28, 2018
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tnjcyYes, there's a huge difference in sound with the various different caps - the Rifa's are still regarded as the 'fastest' electro caps ever made - they don't seem to like being bi-passed with any other caps tho - not an easy cap to use - might be good to 'fire-up' the beyer 880s. For the Sigma 11 supply, if you get the China kit, replace the big Nova cap with a decent Nichicon or 'Elna for Audio' and use the Nichicon KZ 1000uF plus the Nichicon 470uF BP (the green ones) in parallel on the output (solder the BP to the KZ pins before inserting into pcb) - it's not that the Nichicon caps are the best sounding but they do seem to match up well with the Sigma11 power supply. You can get by with a 27v ac secondary (just) for the transformer but a bigger 50 - 80 va 30 volt one will do a better job I did the change to a more open wire mesh on the back of the 4XX headphones and it opened the sound up more - I tried open mesh fabric but too much. I have a replacement cable that's 8 strands of 25# enamelled copper and far better than any of the the other upgrades available, but haven't tried all of them The sound difference to the Beyer 880 (250R) is very different between - more open, more transparent, cleaner bass - a very different sound indeed. I generally prefer the k701/702 to the 880s so that gives you an idea of my preferences. I found a Siemens PCC88 valve for the CTX amp (direct replacement) and I find this better than the stock tube - I got a 6C8G and the changer sockets but haven't tried this yet. On the Passlab HP-1, I had a mono pcb made and this allowed some playing with components and, naturally, the first thing was to upgrade the power supply - tried a couple of Super Teddy Regs (pre-assembled) but a rather 'dry' sound' but on another 'thru hole' pcb with different caps, turned out excellent result - the Sigma 22 is a more relaxed sound, possibly described as a 'more analogue' sound and used same output cap combination still playing with this one All the best
Oct 28, 2018
tnjcy
0
Oct 28, 2018
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j.hillwas more so asking for your thoughts on he4xx compared to your dt880s? thanks
Oct 28, 2018
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