There is a trend now, between you, @orrman, and myself, we all have relatively similar takes on the Empy II, and just so happen to have demoed the Tungsten at the same time or close enough (granted the model I tried were the single sided) and preferred it overall.
Not sure if anyone else had a chance to hear them yet, if they have I missed it.
Orrman and I demoed the same empyrean ii fwiw. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this pair of headphones but it just didn’t sound very nice. Tungsten SS is good, glad people are getting a chance to hear it at shows since the wait time to get a pair is quite long
Woo Tube Mini
Really like this little DAC/amp, very rich and fun sound, especially for a ESS chip. Works great with both the Diana MR and Utopia OG so far and can be a legit desktop setup for many people. Will share more impressions as I listen to it over the next few days.
That is quite the footprint, your XLR and adapter look bigger than the Mini!
Well that’s because they are! Lol
I would obviously recommend a real 4.4 cable if you’re going for something like this
please, for my sanity. can you check on the dog make sure he/she is okay?
so this wasn’t really the plan but somehow next week I’ll will have in house the following:
HPs - Susvara, Utopia OG, Diana MR
Amps - AIC10, HM1, 465
DACs - WD Sig, SW1X DAC IV Special , Berk Reference Series 2 and Meitner MA3
Sources - K50 and Holo Red
if there are any specific combos or questions someone is interested in, let me know! The MR, DAC IV and MA3 are not here for much longer although I do think I’m going to buy a MR (and perhaps replacing Utopia with it)
I am sure a lot of people want to know about Susvara pairing with the three amps.
Will be curious what you think of the MA3 vs the WD Sig and Ref2.
Did you get the 465 already?
MR possibly replacing Utopia OG 
. Comparison appreciated between both. Not that I am going to buy an MR and I know they are probably different sound-wise.
I’m curious about the DAC comparison as well.
Looking forward to your impressions Orr.
Can you arrange (best to worst) the dacs according to the following points?
I got this one. Its call just get a totaldac /s (but only kinda if those are the things you prioritize)
That’s a lot of heat under the Zahl!
Is the PSU supposed o be on top of the MassKobo, it is it for the family pic only?
How would these compare to the Mojo X DAC we tried out?
The dragon, the beast, and the hare…
Only the 465 is plugged and on in that photo.
I think two connected is going to be easy but still thinking if I can move things around and have the third connected in parallel.
Which of these combos highlighted the Utopia being pushed out for the Diana MR?
All of them and none of them.
I think Utopia with a maximum synergy chain is still the better headphone. None of my gear is that though.
Utopia needs a good tube amp, it sounded better on my LTA MZ3 and the Preamp than it sounded on AIC10 to my ears. It still sounds very good on all my amps but when thinking on what I need out of my secondary headphone (with Susvara being the primary) - MR seems to fit better.
MR is more comfortable, sounds good on everything I tried them on, can be driven from something like a Woo Tube Mini around the house and still be very enjoyable, while having good technicalities and great tonal balance. It simply allows me more options on how to use them, even potentially moving my main system far from my desk to a dedicated listening spot and still be satisfied with MR when working or taking it downstairs with a dongle and iPad. All those things I wouldn’t consider with Utopia, it needs the full chain and then it sounds amazing.
The first impression I’ll share of 465 is that it’s more transparent to the system behind it than AIC and different headphones sound more like themselves over AIC where everything sounds very good but has a Riviera house sound injected to it. I didn’t think of that at first but some conversations with other audio friends helped me realize that. I’m still getting to learn the amp and how it each of my HPs sound with it, Utopia does get some of the addicting holographic presentation back with 465 but I’m really digging on MR as well. I’ve always preferred planars so perhaps that’s not surprising.
tl;dr - it’s not a specific combo or being the better headphone that’s driving this potential switch, it’s the practicality of what I want from my secondary headphone and how it fits to my chain over investing in dedicated gear for it.
Ah, I see now and understand it’s shifted into secondary role with addition of Susvara (thought that was a loan as I could have sworn you sold your last two?) and of course driving it from a full blown tube amp.
I enjoyed what the AIC did with the Utopia, definitely interjected its signature which is a nice touch. Thanks for the explanation, didn’t realize the MR was a game changer like that. Very cool!
