This Schiit Is Bananas!

[Mrsal]

Hi all,

 

I'm not sure if I am the only one here who also frequents audio forums, but while on headfi.org today, I saw an add for Schiit Audio's new amp and dac, went to their website, and what do I see? And Esterbrook J! Made my day!

 

[OcalaFlGuy]

Clapping hands emoticon X 3!!

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Edited April 17, 2014 by OcalaFlGuy

[Lyander0012]

Used to be on Head-Fi on a daily basis until I decided to cut back on my headphone spending. Ironic that I ended up here on the FPN, but that's life I guess

 

Anyway, that's amazing! I've been meaning to get a Schiit amp for quite some time now, but I doubt my K550s need that much juice; could be a bit overkill. It's fun to see an FP with a decent amp (a vintage one, at that), since those are pretty much my two major hobbies.

 

Hmm, photoshoot idea in the works XD


Kevin

 

P.S.

Hmm, anyone know whether the guys from Schiit are here on the forum as well? Could be fun to talk fountain pens and headphones

Edited April 17, 2014 by Lyander0012

[Federalist Pens]

Nice! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Mrsal]

Used to be on Head-Fi on a daily basis until I decided to cut back on my headphone spending. Ironic that I ended up here on the FPN, but that's life I guess

 

Anyway, that's amazing! I've been meaning to get a Schiit amp for quite some time now, but I doubt my K550s need that much juice; could be a bit overkill. It's fun to see an FP with a decent amp (a vintage one, at that), since those are pretty much my two major hobbies.

 

Hmm, photoshoot idea in the works XD

 

 

Kevin

 

P.S.

Hmm, anyone know whether the guys from Schiit are here on the forum as well? Could be fun to talk fountain pens and headphones

 

Yeah, i'm on headfi at least once a week... Do you have an amp right now? I just ordered a nuforce icon dac/amp today, and would love to get my hands on a RSA XP-7 amp sometime soon...

[Lyander0012]

 

Yeah, i'm on headfi at least once a week... Do you have an amp right now? I just ordered a nuforce icon dac/amp today, and would love to get my hands on a RSA XP-7 amp sometime soon...

 

Haha, wish I had the cash for that right now, actually. Still considering several pretty nice Italian pens at the moment, but I suppose that can be postponed. All my cans to date have been easy to drive, with my current go-to being the extremely efficient AKG K550s. Heard that there's marginal improvement with a good amp, but I'm thinking ahead and looking into future headphone purchases as well; basically, I'm gonna get a pair of cans that'll pair well with the amp I'm getting as well as the K550s (which aren't too picky, from what I've read).

 

NuForce are great! Got to audition a random model a few months back, around the time I got to try a pair of Audeze LCD-2's (which was plugged into an amp that I didn't get to see), and while the general consensus is that Fiio amps are excellent for budget audiophiles, they can't hold a candle to NuForce tier equiment. No experience with the XP-7, but I've heard it was amazing. Current dream amp is a DarkStar or a LittleDot, both of which are quite beyond my budget, not to mention I'll have to invest in some fairly high-end cans to make the most of the amp, and let's not even talk about DAC pairing. Yikes.

 

Haha, this is nostalgic- I can't recall the last time I talked headphones. I do remember that I stopped because the upgrade bug was getting to be a bit of a pain, so I'm not sure I should keep this up

 

 

Good luck with the upgrade!

 

Kevin

[Mrsal]

 

Haha, wish I had the cash for that right now, actually. Still considering several pretty nice Italian pens at the moment, but I suppose that can be postponed. All my cans to date have been easy to drive, with my current go-to being the extremely efficient AKG K550s. Heard that there's marginal improvement with a good amp, but I'm thinking ahead and looking into future headphone purchases as well; basically, I'm gonna get a pair of cans that'll pair well with the amp I'm getting as well as the K550s (which aren't too picky, from what I've read).

 

NuForce are great! Got to audition a random model a few months back, around the time I got to try a pair of Audeze LCD-2's (which was plugged into an amp that I didn't get to see), and while the general consensus is that Fiio amps are excellent for budget audiophiles, they can't hold a candle to NuForce tier equiment. No experience with the XP-7, but I've heard it was amazing. Current dream amp is a DarkStar or a LittleDot, both of which are quite beyond my budget, not to mention I'll have to invest in some fairly high-end cans to make the most of the amp, and let's not even talk about DAC pairing. Yikes.

 

Haha, this is nostalgic- I can't recall the last time I talked headphones. I do remember that I stopped because the upgrade bug was getting to be a bit of a pain, so I'm not sure I should keep this up

 

 

Good luck with the upgrade!

 

Kevin

 

Nice, I started out with a pair of K240's!

 

My plan is to use the DAC of the NuForce into the RSA XP-7. Just today i ordered a pair of Shure SRH1440's. And then the company was giving away a free pair of $150 in ears too...

 

I understand about the upgrade bug. Its hitting me pretty hard right now, especially because I have a fair amount of cash on hand right now... But then i see a pen, and think, Hmm, maybe that? And then back and forth and back and forth it goes!

[lahlahlaw]

The placement in the ad is odd, but totally cool to see one of our cherished Esties in there!

[Pens by J. I. Schmidt]

Interesting play on words...

[inkspot]

Oh wow! I somehow didn't see that. I'm not a Schiit fan, but this ad makes me kind of want to give them another shot...

[Mrsal]

Oh wow! I somehow didn't see that. I'm not a Schiit fan, but this ad makes me kind of want to give them another shot...

 

Ok, I see the tubes in your avatar... Is it a headphone amp?

[Lyander0012]

 

Nice, I started out with a pair of K240's!

 

My plan is to use the DAC of the NuForce into the RSA XP-7. Just today i ordered a pair of Shure SRH1440's. And then the company was giving away a free pair of $150 in ears too...

 

I understand about the upgrade bug. Its hitting me pretty hard right now, especially because I have a fair amount of cash on hand right now... But then i see a pen, and think, Hmm, maybe that? And then back and forth and back and forth it goes!

 

Well, my first pair of "good" cans were K242s, so I can relate to that )

 

Nice! I haven't yet had the chance to try out Shure's new flagships, but I've heard they were great. Something like Sennheiser in the sound signature from what I can recall, if a bit brighter? And yeah, they make excellent IEMs! Considering my porta-buds' wires frayed out a while back, I'm thinking maybe going for SE215s, or just bearing with basic buds while saving up for a pair of customs, maybe JH16s, if I wait long enough!

 

And yeah, now I'm looking at Nakayas (I went from Italian bling to Japanese understatement; wow)... bah, both these hobbies are painful!

 

 

 

Kevin

[inkspot]

 

Ok, I see the tubes in your avatar... Is it a headphone amp?

 

Nope - It's a Dared DV6C hybrid amplifier - it's what I have set up in my office at work with a Sabre DAC, a Paradigm sub, and a pair of Audioengine P4s.

[Lou Erickson]

I used to be on Head-Fi a lot. I still follow a bit. I try not to; if I don't look, I don't want to upgrade. I heard three things I loved at a meet, went and bought them, and am done.

 

I'm wearing the HD555's I bought because of Head-Fi right now, in fact. They make fine work headphones.

 

I was looking at expensive headphone amps - I bought the Headroom Millet, actually - and then wound up with vintage tuners with K1000's plugged in.

 

Happy now. Getting there with pens, too, really.

[Lyander0012]

I used to be on Head-Fi a lot. I still follow a bit. I try not to; if I don't look, I don't want to upgrade. I heard three things I loved at a meet, went and bought them, and am done.

 

I'm wearing the HD555's I bought because of Head-Fi right now, in fact. They make fine work headphones.

 

I was looking at expensive headphone amps - I bought the Headroom Millet, actually - and then wound up with vintage tuners with K1000's plugged in.

 

Happy now. Getting there with pens, too, really.

 

You have the K1000s? As an AKG fanboy, that's pretty dang awesome! Haha, my main cans at the moment are middle-cass K550s, which is enough to get my by for the meantime. I'm focusing more on cans that have a sound signature I can love before going for expensive amps and DACs. Anyway, congrats on the awesome rig, and may it bring you many years of happy listening.

 

By the by, how do the K1000s fare with classical and rock? Just curious

 

 

Cheers!

 

Kevin

[Lou Erickson]

By the by, how do the K1000s fare with classical and rock? Just curious

 

Remember, this is all my opinion:

 

The K1000's are really good for rock, pretty much any variant you want to throw at them. The openness is unbeatable and the extra space between the speakers and your head seems to let the music have more oomph. I've listened to a lot of classic rock through mine.

 

They're less good at classical, although they aren't bad at it. It sounds fine, but lacks a little of the clarity you may want in some classical recordings, especially if you've got a good source.

 

No, when I want to really hear classical, I fire up the Stax SR-X Mk III's and listen to those. They're so pure a sound it's amazing. You'll hate them if all your music is MP3, though.

 

I also think the vintage Stax are the steal of the century. My SR-X's were the best headphones money could buy in 1970. eBay got them to me for $200. For electrostatics, with a working adapter box. Hunt around and low-ball some bids and you'll get a set, especially if you don't worry that they're not all shiny or in the box. Mine are beat up and ugly - but sound glorious. For 1/10th (or less) the cost of new Stax, I'll take it.

 

Another note: You'll hear a lot of headfiers going to extreme lengths to power a K1000. Don't fall for all their hype. I picked up the SAC K1000 purpose-built K1000 amp. Totally not worth it. Connect the leads to the speaker out of a vintage tuner/integrated system - get one for $50 at a pawn shop, or a restored one. PLENTY of oomph to drive a K1000, less expensive, and more flexible. I've got both the Stax and the K1000 on the aux speakers of an old Marantz 2226B and couldn't be happier.

 

There's a post floating around Head-Fi where Peter Millet does the math to tell you how many watts you need to drive a K1000. It's way lower than you think - my 26 watt Marantz is plenty. I trust both Peter Millet's math, and the way it sounds; the forum there is full of people who want to put a HUGE amp behind a k1000, and it really isn't critical.

[Lyander0012]

Hmm, those all pretty much tally with what I've heard of them so far, meaning that, save for when I'm in a classical mood, the K1000s would be perfect for me! Not sure if I've a rig beefy enough to power those cans, though, but if what you say about the math is true (haven't been on Head-Fi in ages...), then maybe a Burson 160 ought to turn the trick? Ah well, it's been quite a while since I updated my audio equipment (fountain pens are pretty much a full-time obsession, don'cha know? ), so now may be a great excuse to save up for a nice amp or pair of vintage cans.

Also: Holy crud, Stax? *shudder*, my wallet would very much like to remain intact, thanks very much! You're quite fortunate in finding a pair of vintage ones for such a reasonable price really, but knowing my luck, I wouldn't count on my achieving the same, haha.

Still, all things considered, I suppose they're a great investment if you really *have* to have the best. As for me, I'd probably be contented with a pair of LCD-2s, maybe 3s if I'm patient enough, plus a great amplifier/DAC combo.

Thanks for all the info!

Kevin

[Lou Erickson]

I got a good deal, but sniped auctions for months to do it. There's a set for $450 right now, rolled into a bigger auction the seller says they'll split up. That's a little shady sounding, though.

 

Stax prices are insanity. An extension cable for $160. A headphone stand for $110. Slightly newer phones for $500. Here's a pair like mine - headphones only, no energizer! - for $330. (They're in MUCH nicer shape, though.) The energizers go for $700. CRAZY.

 

I have a DIY Stax amp plan I need to get around to building, too... =)

 

K1K's aren't much cheaper, though. And lots of people say the new high-end sounds better. I've avoided trying them... I'm happy with what I have and want to stay that way. Ignorance is bliss.

[CaptainBA]

That's really fun. I have that amp too! I agree with Lyander0012, I'm not sure it would be good for my wallet to talk audiophile gear and fountain pens. Fun, but perhaps painful!

[Lyander0012]

Agreed, with headphones and peripherals, ignorance is truly bliss XD

 

Anyway, yeah, might go down the Sennheiser route instead. I'm not entirely sure I want to play with electrostatics, DIY-friendly as they are; I sometimes enjoy just plugging in to my phone without amps and such )

 

Yep, captainbadass, my wallet's crying just thinking about it. Just a few more things fountain pen side (that's what I always say, haha), then I may upgrade my audio rig. Best of luck to us all XD

 

 

Kevin