garyc
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Post by garyc on Dec 6, 2016 12:24:19 GMT
The Benjie K9 arrived this morning. As expected, the screen and UI are a bit pants. I have already been able to make it hang trying to play some m4a files I downloaded from iPlayer (has a kind of 'real' power switch, so turning it off and on again recovers from that). I only have regular 16/44.1 Flac files here at the moment but hope to try it with some 24/48 (don't think it plays anything above that). (edit: can confirm 24/96 do not play, but after conversion with TAudioConverter to 24/48, they do. Quite remarkable playback capability for the price really - full list of supported formats). Not bad for £16 delivered.
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garyc
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Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Nov 30, 2016 14:56:35 GMT
Err, no, not an Aune T1 but one of these, which has a Texas Instruments headphone amp chip onboard. I got it for about £22 as a 'second' (the volume control pads were solder filled). With an RPI and a wifi dongle, it makes a neat little playback station running Moode which I control from my iPad. Handles 24/192, SACD etc. very well. Drives a pair of T40RP MkIII fine. So good in fact, I made two more (with £5 RPI Zeros and £12 pHAT Dacs) for the family cars. Only thing is they don't integrate with any in-car control/display system (AUX in essentially) but can be controlled from any smartphone. I just set up a big playlist and let it run continuously (with auto resume on starting the car).
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garyc
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Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Nov 29, 2016 22:35:18 GMT
The dt770 needs more power though Gary, so an amp is needed. Would the headphone output (driven by a TI TPA6133A) of an IQAudio PiDac+ suffice? I have an O2 but that lives at work and an NX1a for portable use with a Fiio X3 ii.
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garyc
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Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Nov 29, 2016 21:29:38 GMT
I've been listening to HD598cs for two days now, and have no complaints. It's a bit bright, but for use on conference calls, I think that's a benefit. The bass is a little lacking, but not non-existent. It certainly is not to the level of a modded T50rp (Paradox) or the HD662-EVO, and is closer to my HD580s. Since I do now enjoy the bass on my EVOs then perhaps the HD598Cs are not for me. Maybe the DT770s at a not too dissimilar price (see below) are, especially with velour pads which seem to be my 'thing' at the moment. The comfort aspect was the big reason I was drawn to them, as if they were anything like my HD555s they should be extremely comfortable, the velour pads are so nice and give no sweating or burning ears. When I read they were not velour I was immediately put off, but they don't sound as though they are too bad. However, Ian's mention of the DT770s in this thread made me look again at them (they have been on my list of 'must tries' for a while)- I saw them for £96 for the 250 ohm versions. But now I'm totally bemused by the pricing on Amazon - they are now sitting at £106 (same price as Thomann), with no record of the lower price on camelcamelcamel. (And the 598Cs are £145 - clearly the previous 199 is just a fictitious price to give the impression of a big reduction...).
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garyc
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Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Nov 28, 2016 10:32:50 GMT
The HD598 Cs are now sitting at £199.99 on Amazon now, same price as the regular HD598, which makes the HD650 look cheap at £232...
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garyc
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Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Nov 26, 2016 0:38:48 GMT
I had a chance to compare my EVOs with the K52s this afternoon for a couple of hours and while I quite liked the lightweight feeling of the K52s initially, they did start to get a little sweaty after a while. I can wear the EVOs with the velour pads for long periods and not feel any discomfort. Sound-wise I felt there was no contest - the K52s sounded very over-pronounced and wooly in the mids/bass, the EVOs much cleaner and detailed in that region altogether. Treble much brighter/sparkly in the EVOs too (they are unmodded though, perhaps to be expected).
Later I listened to the K52s alone (no swapping between for reference) with Bob Dylan and did not find them too bad at all. It was just when comparing directly that the differences became apparent. But I do have to say they were lovely and light to wear.
I know that velour pads are supposed to be a no-no for a proper seal and good bass, but if they work for the Beyer DT770s then why not others? Is it just cost shaving that pleather is the cheapest option perhaps? I use velour HM5 pads on my Takstar Pro80 and the standard velour for the 662EVO and whatever loss of seal or deep bass there may be (I'm not particularly aware of the latter, my colleagues at work may disagree on the former), the trade for being able to wear the headphones for extended periods is worth it IMO.
My vote is for the EVOs over the K52s.
I used a Fiio X3 II with a Topping NX1a. Listened to Lake Street Drive's Side Pony CD (bass on the intro to Call Off Your Dogs was particularly revealing in the differences) and Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home.
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garyc
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Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Nov 25, 2016 18:43:11 GMT
Yes I'd be interested to hear your thoughts Tim.
From Ian's comments I think I will hang fire - it's not like I *need* any more headphones right now. Was also put off when I read that the pads are pleather rather than velour, which is one thing i really like about the HD555s and 662EVOs (don't get sweaty).
I re-discovered some KAM HP1s on my desk today - those I really like apart from the pleather pads. Need a source of round velour pads to fit those - 9.5cm diameter. Does anyone know of any that would suit?
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garyc
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Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Nov 25, 2016 12:07:19 GMT
I don't have the 555s here at work to compare against, but I am using the HD662EVOs (unmodded) which I think would be what you call 'sharp'. Prior to those I was using Takstar Pro80s (with HM5 velour pads) and I they seem to have more extended bass and are brighter, which I possibly prefer.
Never had any AKGs. A colleague has just loaned me some K52s. No contest with the Evos - bass is horrible and bloated/wooly. BUT, they are very comfortable and lightweight. I don't see any 553 (Pro) for sale any more - Amazon do have 550 MkII, £109. I could just buy another pair of EVOs for home use, or take a punt on the 598 Cs. Hmmm.
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garyc
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Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Nov 25, 2016 10:35:15 GMT
I've just seen these on Amazon UK for £89 Sennheiser HD 598 Cs Around-Ear Closed Back Headphones - BlackAccording to a head-fi thread sennheiser-hd-598-cs-closed-back they are Amazon channel versions of the HD569 (drivers the same but the headband looks like the HD599) I currently have a pair of HD555 (modded to HD595) which I use at home and I really like the comfort of these - particularly the velvet pads (a great selling point of the Superlux HD662EVO for me was the extra pair of velvet pads). I've used Sennheiser since I got hooked with a pair of HD414s in the early 80s and have a strong brand loyalty (not strong enough perhaps to buy a pair of HD600/650...). Opportunities to use the HD555s at home are still restricted as they do leak sound alot - these closed back Senns could see alot more use. I'm very tempted - 89 quid seems like a bargain (the 569s are £159 on Amazon). Thoughts?
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garyc
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Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Nov 21, 2016 23:33:56 GMT
Regarding the price, I assume if the eBay price would definitely have to have import duty and vat added to it - would this also apply if bought by Amazon or is it somehow included in the price? (edit 2) OK I just checked, this being a 'sound reproducing apparatus' (not incorporating a 'sound recording device') then it attacts a third country duty of 3.4% plus vat of 20% ( link). So the price of 114 has to be increased by 23.4% to £140.68, then probably another 8 quid or so Post Office handling charge and it will end up costing neasrly £150. On that basis, the £137 from Amazon (assuming no extra duty/VAT payable) would be the better buy with less hassle (no need to visit the PO to pay the tax). Interestingly, by following the gov.uk trade tarrif page if it does incorporate sound recoding, it falls into a different class ( link) with a third country duty of 1.4%. So players like the Benjie K9 (below - which does have sound recording) attract less duty. Looking at all that classification nonsense, you begin to understand why trade tariff negotiations post-Brexit are going to be long and protracted.... In any event, I'm still enjoying my Fiio x3 ii to be wanting another player. That said, I couldn't resist buying a Benjii K9 for £15.99 from the same eBay seller offering the low price on the Shanling. (edit) which is perhaps more easily purchased from Amazon U.K. as the AGPtek M07 for 19.99 I later discovered.
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garyc
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Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Nov 21, 2016 15:43:59 GMT
Some unboxing pictures, not alot of new info: shanling-m1-unboxing-and-first-thoughts(Mimouille contributes to the headfi thread on the M1). Haven't read the whole head-fi thread, but one has (apparently persistently) complained about the tiny corner scroll wheel. The subject of noise floor is also raised "I do notice the noise floor is a bit high on M1 when paired with very high efficiency multi-BA IEMs." But in the same comment "In the end there's not much point in complaining about M1 considering how affordable and feature-rich it is. The sound quality is also very good for the price." Ian, when you say "They sell at a good price in the UK. ", I haven't searched extensively, but on ebay I have seen they are £114.99 from China. Is that your 'good price'?
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garyc
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Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Oct 8, 2016 10:04:22 GMT
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garyc
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Post by garyc on Oct 8, 2016 10:01:28 GMT
Just to note that the Info and Impressions links are not working for me (on an iPad or PC Firefox)).
Copying the link location and stripping the redirect bit at the front finds the second link but not the first. I had to go to the main Shenzenaudio.com and do a search to find it.. Now listed at $150.
I haven't read the whole head-if thread, the original JD finance price was $85, looks like the early birds got a good deal!
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garyc
contributing
Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Oct 5, 2016 23:29:55 GMT
Although the quite old now, this post does provide some insight into the innards of an SD card www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=3554Now the latest Samsung and Sandisk cards will likely feature their own controllers to handle the latest generation of their TLC Flash. But you have to bear in mind that the expected workload of an SD card is very different from an SSD, and the levels of performance differs greatly (mainly due to an SSD running many flash channels in parallel and having a large DRAM cache). The controller in an SD card will be a much simpler affair and probably not have all the bells and whistles like soft decision LDPC decoding for instance, nor have that DRAM cache for doing things like read ahead caching. For that reason their performance is not going to be any where near as consistent as a full blown SSD controller.
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garyc
contributing
Posts: 45
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Post by garyc on Oct 5, 2016 23:03:35 GMT
I remember reading somewhere (possibly on Fiio's forum) that their players can have problems with certain Samsung branded cards. I would think that is possibly because of incompatibilities with the memory card's controller, much in the same way that OTG was so problematic (again this is just speculation on my part). Those mSD adapters are horrible. All the ones I've had have been sooo inconsistent in their speed. Start a transfer - extremely slow. Cancel, reinsert the card, start transfer again - much faster. I've given up using them and just stick with the good old USB adapter (the card reader in my new laptop isn't very good either). Speaking about USB adapters, does anybody know if it's worthwhile getting an USB 3 model? I have a 2.0 right now, but not sure if the cards can write fast enough to justify getting a 3.0 replacement (my external HD is wonderfully faster on a proper USB3) I've also found that the built in SD card readers in PCs are inconsistent, the one in my old Dell laptop has got to the point where it may or may not even recognise the card at all. The Dell doesn't have USB 3 but have a more recent Toshiba laptop that does, so have taken to using a cheap uSD plus SD USB 3 adapter that I keep in my camera bag for transferring photos for both the Dell and Toshiba. Just to add also the the uSD to SD adapters are just pin to pin form factor adapters, so any inconsistencies are likely just down to bad contacts, but coming to think of it, that may actually be my problem with the Dell when I use an adapter to read a uSD in its SD card slot. This is is the kind of USB 3 adapter I have www.amazon.co.uk/Memwah-USB-Multi-Card-Reader/dp/B00FCCBPIW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1475708952&sr=8-6&keywords=Micro+SD+USB+3
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