I don’t know that’s the sound I’m after.
Estats were something I wanted to explore with the X9000 since hearing it last year and being very impressed (I preferred it to the Shang Sr on that same chain).
I’ll copy and paste from a private discussion something I wrote yesterday:
…way I think of it is Z10e + X9K is about $10-11K used, how can I use it differently if I go a different route… just to give you one example - Stratus/MZ3/Feliks Euforia (3000), Utopia OG (1800), Atrium (1800), HD800S (900) and pick another planar just for fun (Elite or LCD-5 maybe) - that’s the same total cost…
Anything not TOTL estat probably won’t make me listen to it compared to my current headphones…
Out of curiosity what was the chain for the shang? if it’s a bhse I will cry since that sucked with the shang, but is great with the 009 so that would makes sense that the x9k had good synergy there
I mean if you’ve tried the X9000 and like it, then I’d go for it (esp considering you have an estat amp already), or perhaps a 009S although I don’t know how close it would be to the x9k because I’ve not heard the new one (canceled my order after I decided to pull out of estats entirely lol)
Gotcha, I personally really liked the shang out of the 3es, but I had a much much more relaxed and warmer/rich dac/frontend as something like the dave+mscaler to me would be way in the wrong direction for what I want out of that headphone for me personally lol
Makes sense, then go with that is the simple solution lol
Nah for @sa11297 given what he’s tried and liked, it would likely not suit him well to move to something with that different sound lol, I’d assume if he did upgrade that upgrading in the vein of something like the dave would be in his best interest
Don’t really think anything holo makes is within the tier of a dave + mscaler, personally when I think of an upgrade to the dave in a semi similar direction I think of the newer higher end DCS stack, CH precision setup, perhaps a wavelight sig + wavenet, ac kassandra ref ii, potentially a berk ref (but iffy there personally), actually lampi pacific, potentially some of the newer esoteric stuff, potentially emm dv2/da2, potentially a merging stack
While all of these are very different, some shared commonalities is that they’re on the more fun side of things, not overly warmer leaning, most forward, most very energetic, and most in your face with pretty solid wow factor. Overgeneralization, but I think they’d be an upgrade that keeps some of the aspects of what I assume he wants from the chain and goes in a different yet not entirely different direction. I don’t know if there’s really an immediate direct upgrade from the dave what it does, perhaps DCS but that’s also potentially just because I view the companies similar and don’t really like either all that much myself lol.
What I might avoid would be something like msb, totaldac, older lampi, audio note, nagra, trinity, and some others. Reason being is that a lot of those 1. aren’t pushing everything forward and are more generally relaxed, 2. don’t focus on sparkle and emphasis of everything, 3. are warmer and richer leaning, and 4 are more subtle over performers, although other aspects of them might be worthwhile looking into.
Really though I don’t want to be speaking on what SA likes or doesn’t like because I’m not him and he’ll know what he likes and wants a whole lot better than I will lol
I can see that. Can’t tell if it’s the 3ES or the Dave as I have little experience with both but it clearly wasn’t my jam.
You’re usually spot on with observations and descriptions but personally I wouldn’t put the Rockna’s in the same category as the Dave. Not saying it’s better or worse, just different. And it’s a Wavedream Sig lol
That was the plan all along. I’m still considering going for it but am a little more cautious. The wait time for a X9K plus non transferable warranty plus channel imbalance being a real issue with extra wait time plus upfront cost of the chain for it are all off putting. It’s not a price I can just try it out and see so owe it to myself to weigh alternative options in my mind
I wouldn’t either, but that being said I think it’s still a reasonable upgrade and I’ve seen a few people move from daves to wd sigs and end up sticking with the wd. I think it has some of the nice characteristics of the dave without sounding like the dave. I personally think given a great source I actually would put it in a category abit above a dave but I would agree that it’s not a significant jump or anything, the other aforementioned options are equally in the category of “doesn’t sound like a dave” but “are things that I think I could see a dave owner liking more” but yes the wd sig is likely the weakest technical performer out of that list and would be closer to a sidegrade than full upgrade (but still upgrade with a wd net or equally good source). Figured I’d throw it in there but really the other options are more appropriate to call a proper “upgrade”
Can confirm. BHSE does work great for x9k tonaly but technically its clear its holding it back a lot.
genuinely similar to the step from d8k to d8kp. Its a pretty stout step up in both technicalities and tonality.
Just FWIW, im not super suprised by this. X9k is a bit less dry and has less of a tendency to get grating and that chain is dry as hell…
Even ignoring tier difference (about to paint in broad strokes here), I kinda feel holo and dave are more similar than they are different in the grand scheme of things. Both focus on raw technicalities and trade off some texture. They are different stage presentations and amounts of body, but I kinda view them as having similar goals just with different topologies tbh.
More than likely it was the combo of the two tbh. Dave can shine with certain richer amps (tend to find it best with tubes) and wa33 (so im assuming 3es too) is helped a lot by a more exciting/less dry dac.
That seems kinda expensive for what it offers tbh. You may want to look into vintage options that are still under 1k like lambda sigs if you are thinking about lambda style cans. That said, l700 is pretty great. Going to be a bit more open and less damped sounding than 500 with slightly more balanced fr as well. I think it’s the easy pick of the two ignoring price tbh
Do people seem to prefer L500 over L700? If L700 is only slightly brighter than L500, it should be fine for me.
There’s some great used prices out there right now! I could get L500+L700 for less than a L700’s MSRP. Mjolnir has a L700 Mk1 with Mk2 yokes for $1050 I’m eyeing… The right move? (I will get 500+700 eventually)
Honestly, immediate impressions are kinda “I don’t realy get the hype”. They are plenty good but detail feels lacking for the estat hastle and while they extend a bit better than Shang it’s not by a ton. I guess I could get them as a flavor option if your main can is Shang but that’s kinda it so far. Will have to see if opinions change as I use them more I guess
Will be curious what you think, it’s been so long since I heard one, I remember being impressed but not enough to really want one myself or seek out another demo of one, but hopefully they get better with acclimation or something since I bet they weren’t the easiest thing to get ahold of lol
If you could make a comparison to the shang sr would be pretty helpful lol
While you have the omega, you should grab an es1a to test against it, I don’t think it will be on the same level or sound all that similar, but would be a fun test nonetheless to see how close they got it (and the es1a is quite good on it’s own merits)
Also, while I’m making unreasonable requests, omega article plz thx
