General Source Gear Help/Discussion Thread

[NickMimi]

@luizgarcia

I would be better off running the amplifier at almost full volume pot rather than having a pre-amp and running the amp at 12 o’clock in the volume pot? In that case, what about headroom?

There are various ways to run a pre-amp in conjunction with an amplifier that has a built in volume control and some of the quality of output will depend on variables some of which are technical and others which are user specific.
In my own experiences I have found running integrated amplifiers “wide open“ produces the least desirable sound quality in MY SYSTEMS based on MY listening styles. Play around with your individual pieces and see what if anything works best. I’m not sure if there is an exact rule to running an integrated in conjunction with a pre-amp but I know that it’s not an immediate plug and play when I’m looking to maximize performance and in all honesty some pieces just don’t always sound great together.

I know this doesn’t necessarily fix your quandary but it is a simple perspective on the situation at hand

[luizgarcia]

Hey guys, i have now introduced a speaker amp into my setup so i can better power my Tungsten / HE6 / 1266 and i have a question about that.

I have two adapters here, one which is made of just speaker wires and a female XLR plug, and another one with resistors matching the ones used in the Hifiman adapter.

I absolutely love the sound of the Tungstens on speaker taps, but i am wondering if i should use the adapter with resistors or just plug them directly, i asked around and seems like most people are just connecting directly while just a minority uses resistors or an actual Hifiman adapter.

So i would like to understand, will i end up frying my drivers if i dont use resistors even if i only power on / off the receiver with the headphones disconnected? I would like to hear from someone who really understands how this works.

[Polygonhell]

@luizgarcia

I absolutely love the sound of the Tungstens on speaker taps, but i am wondering if i should use the adapter with resistors or just plug them directly, i asked around and seems like most people are just connecting directly while just a minority uses resistors or an actual Hifiman adapter.

For anything SS you should be fine just connecting to the taps, without the resistors.
With the caveat that if you hear a significant pop at power on/off find a different amp, or plug the headphones in after you power on and unplug them before you power off.

The only other real issues with speaker amps are noise floor, and potentially DC offset, but unless the amps is out of spec, the latter shouldn’t be an issue.

For any sort of high powered tube amp, you’ll want the resistor box, and probably want to make sure the headphones are connected BEFORE powering on, or you could end up with a dead amp, and if it’s not just a fuse, dead in the most expensive way you probably could kill it.

All the resistors are doing is making the headphones impedance look like a speakers (8 Ohms), and possibly attenuating the volume a bit. SS amps really don’t care. Transformer output Tube amps do since the load is a part of the circuit, and depending on the design (with higher powerred amps having more of an issue) if it’s way out of spec it can damage the transformer.

[luizgarcia]

Nice, so for a regular SS receiver i should not worry about ditching resistors at all? That sounds almost too good to be true

[Alfredo3001]

Hey guys, I’ve hit a roadblock in my audio journey. I’ve always known that I’m mid-sensitive and prefer neutral-tuned headphones. My issue started when I had the BF2 + Solosits 3xp + HD800s or HD560s. I couldn’t tolerate those headphones in my setup. Eventually, I got the 2541 + v550 + Utopia, which was the best chain I’ve ever had. However, if I didn’t sleep well, the chain became too intense (with and without the Utopia).

I then tried the Wandla, which didn’t cause the fatigue that the 2541 did, but it lacked bass and engagement. Frustrated, I got the Yggy + GS2. The Yggy + Vios setup was good, and I could live with it. When I added the HD800s again, that combination plus the HD800s was not fatiguing and was quite enjoyable.

Then a Berkeley DAC2 appeared on the used market, so I bought it immediately. I used the Berkeley with the Vios for a month to ensure I wouldn’t experience fatigue. Eventually, I decided to sell the Yggy. However, two weeks ago, fatigue returned with the Berkeley + Vios + HD800s. So, I decided to try the new Focal Hadenis for its “safe tuning,” but I’m still experiencing fatigue and not enjoying my music as much.

In the past, I only used Beyers, where the recessed mids weren’t a problem. Any advice on this matter? Honestly, I’m just curious about your experiences. I don’t think I’m going to make a move at the moment, but I’m considering selling my gear and starting from scratch with a warmer DAC.

[M.J]

Maybe give the D8000 Pro a try, not the limited edition.

[Polygonhell]

@Alfredo3001

Honestly, I’m just curious about your experiences.

I have days and sometimes weeks where nothing sounds good FWIW.
I often find the best solution for me is to not listen for a few days, and to set aside dedicated time when I do.

But I suspect it’s a very personal thing, probably related to mood and physical readiness. I haven’t been sleeping well for a few weeks (time of year, stress whatever), and it’s put a damper on my listening, so I’ve done less of it.

[keithc]

What about adding either a tubed DAC or amp?

[Alfredo3001]

@Polygonhell

I have days and sometimes weeks where nothing sounds good FWIW.
I often find the best solution for me is to not listen for a few days, and to set aside dedicated time when I do.

But I suspect it’s a very personal thing, probably related to mood and physical readiness. I haven’t been sleeping well for a few weeks (time of year, stress whatever), and it’s put a damper on my listening, so I’ve done less of it.

That definitely happens to me as well.

@keithc

What about adding either a tubed DAC or amp?

Considered that. But I’m not ready to commit to tubes yet.

I just made a small change in my chain. I’ve been using a Furman power strip for almost 2 years, and I had it when I had the Soekris DAC. I pulled the DAC out of the power strip and connected it directly to the wall. It might be placebo or just the DAC warming up, but it sounds differentI don’t notice the shrill sound—perhaps with more resolution or dynamics?

[hifiDJ]

I think it’s been said here that the Berkeley stuff tend to be unforgiving, so maybe your source is emphasizing that fatigue. Not sure what you’re using since you didn’t mention it.

[Alfredo3001]

Holo red or USB2 > Berkeley DAC2 > V222.

@hifiDJ

I think it’s been said here that the Berkeley stuff tend to be unforgiving, so maybe your source is emphasizing that fatigue. Not sure what you’re using since you didn’t mention it.

That’s what I thought. The 2541 and DAC2 sound mid-forward to me. No issues with the Wandla or BF2 or Yggy+GS2

[Robson]

@Polygonhell

I have days and sometimes weeks where nothing sounds good FWIW.
I often find the best solution for me is to not listen for a few days, and to set aside dedicated time when I do.

But I suspect it’s a very personal thing, probably related to mood and physical readiness. I haven’t been sleeping well for a few weeks (time of year, stress whatever), and it’s put a damper on my listening, so I’ve done less of it.

I’ve had the same experience as @Polygonhell. Sometimes nothing much sounds good, especially if I’m tired or distracted. And there are times when I find the Utopia too much, where it seems overly demanding or too intense for my mood. Or something I decided wasn’t all that great is actually quite nice after an extended break and I revisit it. I had that experience with my Aeolus recently. It may not be technically great, but it is a fun listen.

Maybe wait a little bit before reshuffling your gear, see if you still feel the same in another month or so… Let us know!

[Camus]

During times like this, I will go back to something easy to listen to such as the HD650 with either an OTL or the Black Widow. My point being, you mentioned Beyers, maybe give those a shot for a respite with your current chain.

Or as others have pointed out, give your ears/head a break for a bit. I typically go through phases where I can’t get enough and stay up way too late, then other times where I just stop as it’s not enjoyable and pick it up after a month or so.

Good luck, hope you find a solution where you don’t have to start all over again. Yet if you do, there is nothing wrong with that either as everything is replaceable.

[MacDLaw]

I want a tube preamp as mine burned 3 days ago and repair seems too expensive so im planning for a good amp+pre as a replacement+upgrade, the amp part is important but I do plan to use it a ton as a preamp so thats very key

(I like what my bha100 did it could soften some roughness and change the presentation a bit to a bit more colorfull and sometimes even cleaner)

Id have to save a bit of money but its ok…
Ive reduced my options to

-Woo wa 22mk2
-LTA Velo (kinda new, looks awesome)
-Trafomatic head 2 (Ive seen people sell it used on both ends too expensive or extreme offer, I really wanted the 1800$ red one or was it 1650$?)

Many eddie current models have preamps and are affordable but theyre extremely hard to import to mexico so I focus on the 3 above
BUT if anyone thinks a model of eddie current is worth the hassle of importing it please do tell.

Lta mz3 out of budget tbh they never go below 2700 used, and I dont think id use the speaker taps.

[Alfredo3001]

I have no experience with those preamps, but I was looking at the Velo. The Velo with their LPS is about $2700, which is the same as a used MZ3.

[Alfredo3001]

Ok guys, I think I’ve found the issue and feel like an idiot because I sold my v281LE. I was checking the settings on the DAC2 and noticed that the filter was set to 1.24. The DAC2 has four filters with two sub-filters: X.16 and X.24. BADA recommends using filter 1.XX, as the others are intended for studio testing. Initially, I had the filter set to 1.16, but if the sample rate of the song was above 44.1 kHz, it would switch to filter 1.24, which drastically increased the volume (1.24 has a more fun sound). I left it on 1.24 because it prevented the filter from switching to 1.16. However, I learned today that filter 1.24 seems to output double the voltage, which introduces a shrill sound that makes me want to turn it off. I’ve been listening to filter 1.16 again and remember how fabulous it was with the v281LE. When I first heard that pairing, I truly understood what the term “liquidy” in audio meant. On another note, when I got the DAC2, I asked WaveTheory which filter he used. He said 1.24… No wonder he complains about shoutiness. That’s one of the reasons I follow his reviews, as our preferences align with that mid-forward shoutiness.

Edit:
Good news! I’m enjoying my music again, and I can use the money to upgrade my monitor setup, which I’ve neglected since I got into audio.

[MacDLaw]

First, congrats on the progress you made

But im here to comment on your previous comment about the Velo.

The Velo looks completely insane, looks easily like the most “winning” option out of the ones that I put, the mz2 and mz3 are known for extremely good preamps and they have a sounds signature according to this forum than I would absolutely love.

But I have “issues/doubts” with the mz2 and mz3 seems just a tad expensive and harder tl pair, with features I wont use like the taps.

I have none with the velo, seems like they took what I actually wanted from the mz3 and reduced to a package thats perfect for me.

Mz2 to me is a value problem, I dont think its signature/presentation as a headphone amp is competitive with other amps of my preference in its segment, nor is it is upgraded price and size, namely Id rather quicksilver and audio technica bha100 and thats tube amps only.

Velo has super hype tubes to roll and according to sources its like a slightly less technical mz3, a bit more chill but still great, much better priced and does its own thing as an LTA different from the others.

Also there are SO MANY GOOD single ended amps, why doed every dac ever nowadays has to be fully balanced, I wish there were more dac options.

Seems like a winner for what im looking for, LTA preamps are known to be great. Maybe only a very low priced used trafomatic head 2 could be a better pick, wa22 and random eddie current seem very unlikely.

Sidestory thas kinda off topic:

I really dont get why I got recommended the pass labs so many times intead of the mz3 for so long, for driving headphones that are supposed to match great on both, seriously, I got about 15 different users that told me to get the pass labs AND it had to be that, like there were no other options at the price range, I got the LTA mz3 recommended a total of 0 times.

Considering I always said I liked forward mids and neutral bright tonality, and I needed the amp to pair well with adx5000, grados in gral, lcd3pf, utopia and th900mk2/ltd/909…

I think I should have received at least one or two mz3 recs but im glad I went pass labs, you guys know how great it is.

[MacDLaw]

Hello, I wasnt going to post this here but sometimes you guys have awesome clues and Ideas.

An 8 pin integrated circuit burned on me on my Japanese made BHA100 amp/pre.

Part 1: the burnt integrated circuit

1. On the first attached image theres an integrated circuit that burned, it even smelled, in fact 2 of the numbers/letters in the chip visually melted so I cant look up the chips name.

2. The chip is very near to the power switch and and the output stage is close by as well.

Whats the result?

THE AMP IS WORKING, I checked than nothing else had burned or shorted other than this part, the result is:
-The power button switch does nothing at all, the power stays on if the amp is connected.
-Every single output except 1 including the preamp line out has hiss noise on the left channel, the hiss stays the same volume regardless of moving the amps volume pots.
If you ignore the hiss the amplifier sounds just like it should, and so does the line out.
-There is 1 single headphone out that is unnafected by the hiss and works exactly as intended, the uppermost/leftmost 6.35mm output works like nothing happened
-Tubes have already been replaced with spare matching tubes with tje exact same result.

If anyone could provide the name of the burnt integrated chip so I can maybe look for it that would be nice.

Im Also contacting Audio Technica to see if they can sell me the integrated I need, but im afraid they might ask for the whole amp to be sent instead which is problematic because im currently in MX and taking the amp there is quite extra effort and money

Im the first owner, I imported the amp from japan in 2022

I was trying psvane 12ax7 matched pairs, they sound great, I used them for at least a month.

It was mint condition until very recently I was trying to unscrew a rough torx and accidentally hit the power button very hard on the inside and It got misaligned, so It would not stay on snucked in (powered on) until i put it back together.

Part 2: Day of the failure

1. I listened to music for about 3 hours
2. Suddenly theres an annoying hiss on the left channel of every output, and I started checking the outputs, cables, hps. The hiss is really hard to hear on high impendence hps but still there.
3. 1 hour later while still checking my gear I smelled a slight burn coming from the amplifier but regardless it kept working just like before, with the same hiss.
4. After the burn, the power button stopped working, the amp stays turned on regardless of the power button’s position, the amp has to be unplugged to turn it off.

[dB_Cooper]

Don’t continue to run the amp, you’re just going to cause more damage.

[Polygonhell]

The easiest way to identify it is to ask someone with the same amp, I think there is a following on Head-fi for it.

If the chip blew generally it did so for a reason, and replacing it might just result in it blowing again. When something in a circuit fails, diodes and transistors often fail in a dead short, the most delicate component in the path will just blow. It isn’t always the problem itself.
So you’d want someone to check the components around it