[doctorjuggles]

Having seen a similar thread in Head-Fi and seeing DorKnight's pic, I thought it would be cool to get a similar thread up and running here in AVForums.

I'll start out.

Equipment from top to bottom:
Headamp GS-1 Headphone amplifier surround by various 12AU7/ECC82/5687 valves.
Resolution Audio Opus 21 CD player
(L) Ray Samuels Emmeline II "The Raptor" headphone amplifier; (R) Benchmark DAC1.
Sennheiser HD-650; audio-technica ATH-A900LTD; AKG K701

Over to the rest of you.....

[caramelsoul]

Wheres your speakers?

[DorKnight]

Looking very nice (and tidy) doctorjuggles - Briefly, if you don't mind, how do you like the Benchmark DAC1 as the new USB version has taken my fancy and may go down that route rather than upgrading my Zhaolu with a ZapFilter?

Anyway, here's mine;

Source: iPod 4G 20Gb | Audigy 2 ZS | NAD C 525BEE | Pro-Ject Debut III/Phono SB
Cans: Grado SR80 | Grado SR125 | AKG K 701 | Sennheiser HD 650 with Zu Mobius | Future Sonics EM3
Amps: PA2v2 | NAIM Headline 2 | Zhaolu D2.5 with CS-4398 DA-Chip | CORDA PREHEAD-1 MkII SE

[alexs2]

And an addition...the listening area is too untidy but here's the amp and bits...behind the pile of bits there's a few lengths of Nordost and Kimber,to annoy the non-believers!

Tubes for the amp are NOS RCA/Brimar 6SN7s and TJ Meshplate 300Bs...amp is a Cary 300B SEi
Above the MF X-DAC and PSU is a Perpetual Technologies upsampler running at 24/96khZ
Transport is a Teac T-1

BTW...I think I see a few NOS tubes in DrJuggles collection as well.

[GBDG1]

Originally Posted by alexs2

And an addition...the listening area is too untidy but here's the amp and bits...behind the pile of bits there's a few lengths of Nordost and Kimber,to annoy the non-believers!

Tubes for the amp are NOS RCA/Brimar 6SN7s and TJ Meshplate 300Bs...amp is a Cary 300B SEi
Above the MF X-DAC and PSU is a Perpetual Technologies upsampler running at 24/96khZ
Transport is a Teac T-1

BTW...I think I see a few NOS tubes in DrJuggles collection as well.

That is a really lovely set up it just seems to be missing something... wait a minute! Headphones!

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by Lawrenzini

That is a really lovely set up it just seems to be missing something... wait a minute! Headphones!

LOL....tucked neatly out of the way to avoid kids trampling on them...

I will post some photo's soon as I get my Benchmark DAC1 back from a friend.

Off topic slightly, but out of interest how does the Benchmark compare to the Audio Opus? I was actually planning on buying the Audio Opus until I found out about the Benchmark (I already had a Denon A11 for a transport). I now also have a Townshend 565 which is a similar price to the Audio Opus (maybe slightly more), but is a universal player as I have a substantial SACD and DVD-A collection. It's CD performance is better than the Benchmark do you find the same with the Audio Opus?

[doctorjuggles]

Originally Posted by DorKnight

Briefly, if you don't mind, how do you like the Benchmark DAC1 as the new USB version has taken my fancy and may go down that route rather than upgrading my Zhaolu with a ZapFilter?

The DAC1 is a lovely DAC, there's no doubt about that. Fantastic sound that compares favourably with most DACs I've heard in that price-range. I've listened to a Zhalou as well, which is obviously considerably cheaper than the Benchmark. I was impressed with it too. I wouldn't trade my Benchmark for one, but I'd certainly not be upset if I owned the Zhalou, especially at the price, great little DAC.
In terms of the USB version of the DAC1, I'll reserve comment on it until I've heard it, but for the moment I'm ignoring USB completely until I2S becomes common-place (and more affordable) as every single USB implementation I've heard has fallen well short of the other digital options available on the DACs. At the moment, it just sounds a bit muddy and inaccurate to my ears. Granted, my experiences have been limited to just a few DACs in this regard, but the reasons behind this performance (and the workaround that I2S is purported to provide) has convinced me that I'm best off leaving the technology to develop for the moment. I haven't been able to test the I2S technology yet though, due to costs, so my theory could be wrong there anyway!

Originally Posted by Just Listen

Off topic slightly, but out of interest how does the Benchmark compare to the Audio Opus? I was actually planning on buying the Audio Opus until I found out about the Benchmark (I already had a Denon A11 for a transport). I now also have a Townshend 565 which is a similar price to the Audio Opus (maybe slightly more), but is a universal player as I have a substantial SACD and DVD-A collection. It's CD performance is better than the Benchmark do you find the same with the Audio Opus?

In terms of CD performance there's no real contest, the Opus 21 outguns the DAC1 by quite some way. It's not specifically one thing that I can point to, but rather every area. The bass is a bit better, the treble is a bit sweeter, timing and resolution has an edge etc etc, all of which adds up to make one big difference that, to my ears, puts the Opus 21 in a totally different league to the DAC1.

Oddly enough, and it's something I've mentioned a few times in various threads, the use of the DAC1 vs Opus 21 as a DAC for my PC yields a slightly different result.
The Opus 21 only allows for a digital-coax in if you want to use the onboard DAC for an external source. The DAC1, though, allows for an optical signal, and when using my PC as the source, the DAC1 seems to outshine the Opus 21 by a small margin. When I started looking into reasons as to why this might be so when the Opus 21 so clearly beats out the DAC1 for CD replay, it was pointed out to me that digi-coax is susceptible to noise that could be introduced by the PC (PSU/RFI etc) while optical remains unaffected.
I don't know how true that is, but it makes sense. Using another transport less prone to this noise would seem the obvious way to test this theory, but for the moment it's not something I've looked into any further.

But in answer to your question, for CD-only performance, the Opus 21 is a very clear winner.

[Matt_C]

Dunno if I should post mine - it's incredibly "ghetto" in comparrison!

Ah well, here it is anyway (sorry for pic quality - shockingly bad camera!)

PC running WMP10

Which is connected via optical cable to an Aiwa CD/Minidisc/Tape/Tuner/amp all in one;

Which has the stock Aiwa speakers connected

Like I said, pretty unspecial. But, it DOES sound really really good! The hifi cost me £170 several years ago, and my brother was quite miffed to find it sounds better than his £700 Kenwood seperates!

It wasn't particualry spectacular when I had he PC connected to it via analogue 3.5mm jack to 2x phono, but since fitting a digital sound card and connecting via optical cable it actually sounds really really good Shame the onboard amp doesn't have capacity to add a sub tho

I play MP3/WMA/WAV etc fro mthe PC, and often CD via the PC aswell, as the CD part of the Aiwa isn't very good (laser is shot and barely reads discs these days)

[doctorjuggles]

Originally Posted by caramelsoul

Wheres your speakers?

In my speaker rig. This is the Headphones & Headphone Amps forum.


Matt_C : I appreciate the contribution mate, so I don't mean to cause offense, but I just want to mention for everyone who might be adding to this thread later on that this is a thread for headphone rigs.

[GBDG1]

My modest setup. It's crying out for a better headphone amp. Also looking for a DAC solution for the computer. In the past year I have been about 1/2 second away from buying an Aria and a Headfive.

Kit worth mentioning. Denon Cd player, Little Dot amp, Modified Grado SR60's, Goldring DR150's, Sony MZ-N10 doing line out.

Took abit of artistic license on the photos with a long exposure. Crimbo lights are tacky but they're my girlfriends work.

[Reano]

Heres the study, the studio/movie room, lounge, walking rig (lol yes my coat) and of course gotta start my kids young with the audiophile stuff. Grace m902/RS1/AKG701/EMU 1820 card/PC main source - Study. Mixing desk Beringher/HD650/source PC, Project perspective/Pioneer 989 SACD, etc, various, listening Xv3 series - Music room. Lounge - Linn LP12/RS1 (from upstairs), Marantz CD player, etc. Walking - Burton Audex jacket (ipod, bluetooth, shure e500/ senn 90's). Dining room/kids playstation and wii Marantz amp and Senn HD600. Portable rig (work etc to follow).

[Reano]

Originally Posted by alexs2

And an addition...the listening area is too untidy but here's the amp and bits...behind the pile of bits there's a few lengths of Nordost and Kimber,to annoy the non-believers!

Tubes for the amp are NOS RCA/Brimar 6SN7s and TJ Meshplate 300Bs...amp is a Cary 300B SEi
Above the MF X-DAC and PSU is a Perpetual Technologies upsampler running at 24/96khZ
Transport is a Teac T-1

BTW...I think I see a few NOS tubes in DrJuggles collection as well.

How do you find the X-DAC V3 as I've been on the look out and may get one.

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by Reano

How do you find the X-DAC V3 as I've been on the look out and may get one.

In it's base form it's a pretty decent DAC,sounds a bit forward although nice and detailed,with decent timing and imaging.
It sounds better again fed by an upsampler(mine upsamples and interpolates to 24bit@96kHz and does smooth out the sound from CD very well,but obviously it's not a solution for everyone...it's just another piece of gear I happened to have lying about when putting this lot together.

What really does improve it is the offboard PSU(X-PSU3)...the noise floor drops considerably,and the bass is much tighter and better defined.

There are a host of mods that can be done,including changing the op-amps and capacitors if you feel inclined and maybe one day I'll get round to trying some of those,but the PSU raises it's performance very noticeably.

With all that done,it goes very nicely with the Cary 300B and the detail and overall sound is really nice.

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by Lawrenzini

My modest setup. It's crying out for a better headphone amp. Also looking for a DAC solution for the computer. In the past year I have been about 1/2 second away from buying an Aria and a Headfive.

Kit worth mentioning. Denon Cd player, Little Dot amp, Modified Grado SR60's, Goldring DR150's, Sony MZ-N10 doing line out.

Took abit of artistic license on the photos with a long exposure. Crimbo lights are tacky but they're my girlfriends work.

My son uses his laptop as a source,and runs that through a Parasound Z-amp which makes a pretty decent headphone amp as well as it's prime duty,and then into Sennheiser 590s.

It sounds better using a PCMCIA sound card but I dont think he can be bothered!

[GBDG1]

Originally Posted by alexs2

My son uses his laptop as a source,and runs that through a Parasound Z-amp which makes a pretty decent headphone amp as well as it's prime duty,and then into Sennheiser 590s.

It sounds better using a PCMCIA sound card but I dont think he can be bothered!

Interesting, I've seen the PCMCIA cards about but I always asumed they were abit of a gimmick. At the moment I mainly use CD player as source, I'd prefer to use the laptop for conveniance, the detail is quite good but zero soundstage and an annoying hiss during quite bits in the music.

I am considering USB>coax/optical convertor to Zhoalou DAC/headphone amp. Then Upgrading headphone amp to something better.

I've also considered the Dared MP5 with upgraded tubes, Corda Aria, Fubar DAC + AMP, stereo link and the Russ Andrews (shudder) USB amp.

I've just got into photography so that is eating away at most of my funds and I am pretty happy with the Denon + little dot + Goldring's combo. However, I don't own that many CD's and the Denon is quite picky about what it plays so it's not great for variety.

Originally Posted by Reano

How do you find the X-DAC V3 as I've been on the look out and may get one.

I wouldn't have thought it would be much of an improvement over the Grace would it?

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by Just Listen

I wouldn't have thought it would be much of an improvement over the Grace would it?

I think this is beginning to get rather off topic now,and it may be worth starting another thread for all of this...anyway...my feelings on this are that the Grace is an all-in-one solution,and at that it's very good,but may not exceed the accomplishments of a well chosen set of separates.
As above,in it's base form the X-DAC is good but not outstanding and needs a few mods.

[Reano]

Originally Posted by Just Listen

I wouldn't have thought it would be much of an improvement over the Grace would it?

I don't really rate the DAC on the Grace it's good but I find the emu card to the MF v3 10 tube buffer stage is better than straight to the Grace. Haven't tried some balanced inputs from a CD though. The Grace is a good preamp and good headphone amp but the DAC not as good as the other components.

Yes it's slightly off topic but we are discussing our rigs so I think we are within the bounds of the post.

[StevieDvd]

Here's my pc setup for the moment. Not much to see on my main rig as it's hidden away in a oak cabinet.

Attachment 50161

[GBDG1]

Nice setup Stevie

Just wondering where you got the stand for the headphones? I've been looking out for something like that for ages.

[StevieDvd]

It's basically a kitchen towel holder (£1.99 in a shop called QD - bit like a pound shop).

I bought 2, cut the end bezel off one and a short length of the other. Stuck the bezel on the end of the piece making the top of the 't' shape and basically stuck that on the end of the upright with a wooden dowel & some glue.

A bit better than the wire banana hangers.

[Reano]

Originally Posted by StevieDvd

It's basically a kitchen towel holder (£1.99 in a shop called QD - bit like a pound shop).

I bought 2, cut the end bezel off one and a short length of the other. Stuck the bezel on the end of the piece making the top of the 't' shape and basically stuck that on the end of the upright with a wooden dowel & some glue.

A bit better than the wire banana hangers.

loler excellent why aren't you selling these on ebay

Come on people more rigs ....

[DorKnight]

A little update;

[Guntis]

I have one question to you - maybe I'll send PM.

[TameRacingDriver]

Heres some pictures of my crappy rig

Whole system in its glory

Panasonic Viera TH42PX70 TV - not ideal for PC duties I grant you, but for what I use it for its fine, great PQ for pics and videos, decent for Blu-Ray except for a little judder.

Rega Ela loudspeaker - paid £120 for the pair, ludicrous performance for that kind of cash. For new speakers with that sound quality you'd pay about £750 - £1000 I reckon.

Ultrasone Proline 2500 - Replaced a pair of Sennheiser HD650 recently, much more exciting to listen to.

Squeezebox v3

Harman Kardon HK6550 amp - £150 on ebay, great amp for the money, superb bass and an exciting listen.

Playstation 3 - doesnt need any introduction.

Sky + box

Hewlett Packard Media PC - Intel dual core 2.4 GHz, 2 Gb RAM, 360 Gb HD, Vista Home Premium

The ugly bits tucked away...

Beresford TC-7510 Mk6 - Surprising performance for the money. Has actually just replaced a modded MF Digilog in my system on the basis of being just as good sounding but far more flexible and stable. Not a bad achievement considering the amount of mods done to the Digilog and how much more it cost (despite being second hand).

ANT Amber headphone amp - Not being made any more. Not bad for the cash, just very ugly. Seems quite happy driving the relatively easy to drive Proline 2500s.