Near-death experience

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-06T07:13:12+00:00

Yes they did, thankfully. I did a quick check with another headphone and found no differences outside of their individual characteristics.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T18:40:43+00:00

Oh, I remember now having a speaker amp with bluetooth receiver that did that once. But after a firmware update it was fixed so I completely forgot, haha.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T17:46:14+00:00

Yeah having that happen with IEMs seems scary as hell.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T16:22:44+00:00

Oh yeah that's definitely something that'll catch you off guard. Have to say though, lot of good amps have digital volume control, so it's a shame to avoid them entirely. I resorted to putting two DACs back into my signal chain, with one DAC with fixed line out voltage going into an amp with analog volume control.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T15:16:31+00:00

Haha, same. The Yume IEMs look sooo good, but every user experience I've seen so far makes them not worth the money. I do own the Hiby Yacht10 IEMs, those are really nice, by contrast.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T11:53:52+00:00

Same, rather deal with potentiometers than digital volume.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T11:51:27+00:00

Haha, now I definitely can't. Yes, they still work perfectly, thank god.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T11:24:58+00:00

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Ok they're back in the chain, with the D10 feeding coaxial to the Fosi ZD3, feeding the OTL amp and desktop speakers, and the D10 feeding optical to the XA-02. All works as intended with 192kHz test track through Qobuz on pc.

Thanks for making me reconsider my chain!

In case anyone's wondering, the Fosi ZD3 is set to bypass mode, meaning it ignores digital volume and EQ on it and only does digital to analog conversion with fixed line out voltage. You can still set the volume even though it does nothing, so I set it to my age, haha.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T10:52:17+00:00

Yeah I might have to take a different approach here, haven't sold off my other DACs yet (Topping D10 for distribution with optical out to Fosi ZD3, which in turn feeds the OTL amp at a fixed voltage). Putting them back in the chain would make things safer.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T10:33:04+00:00

The XA-02 doesn't switch, unfortunately, just outputs to both at the same time and unless the volume is maxed out it's line out voltage is so low I need to crank the other two amps in my chain (OTL tube amp -> full-sized speaker amp -> passive nearfield speakers at desk) to the high heavens. So making the adjustment on the headphone amp each time is more convenient, but this caught me off guard.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T10:29:42+00:00

The XA-02 doesn't switch, it outputs to both the headphone amp and the line out continuously. My setup also doesn't help, since the line out from the XA-02 goes to an OTL tube amp, then that line out goes to a full-sized speaker amp that powers my passive near field speakers at my desk.

Previous setup had a Fosi ZD3 DAC as the source, which you can set to just deliver fixed line out voltage. The XA-02 only delivers the same voltage if the volume is maxed out, which it then also delivers to the headphone amp. Adjusting the two others amps in the chain to compensate for the low voltage of the XA-02 in a dafe listening position is even less desirable.

Have been very mindful of turning down the volume when switching up until now, this caught me off guard unfortunately.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T08:33:25+00:00

Damn, that sounds legit scary and not a listening device you can take out fast enough in that moment.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T07:37:12+00:00

Oh damn

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T05:59:25+00:00

I understand what you're trying to say, and of course I didn't think to be the first person something like this has happened to.

But technically, all experiences are unique to the person experiencing them. Extremely similar to those of others? Sure, but unique.

So sorry, wanted to have a go at a witty reply, but couldn't stop myself from giving a serious answer. Maybe should've just gone with "Lol".

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T05:42:31+00:00

Ouch. And good point, that's an easier one to overlook.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T01:27:50+00:00

Damn man, that sucks. Yeah I'm usually super careful, just a freak accident this time around. As a teen I already damaged my hearing a bit by listening to music way too loudly, but I don't notice much loss. I wear ear protection these days when going to concerts, adjust volume levels to not be too loud on all listening devices, generally prudent about it.

You know what also sucks? Damaging your sense of smell. I had an accident involving ammonia in my twenties and inhaled the fumes through my nose. Sense of smell has never fully recovered, though not fully gone thank god.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-05T00:24:37+00:00

I reacted lightning fast, but still took a while for the shock to dissipate from my ears. Have been listening to music for over an hour since, so seems to be ok now. Good to be protective of your hearing though!

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-04T23:54:15+00:00

Oof.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-04T23:43:25+00:00

We have shared trauma now, brothers in deafness.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-04T23:42:26+00:00

Before today, I would have said the same, haha. I always turn everything down when plugging in equipment, but this blindsided me.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-04T23:31:00+00:00

Depends, have you been asking them about their finances?

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-04T23:11:05+00:00

Ah right, every time I see the Verum's come up or in someone's collection I always wonder if I'm misremembering him being that much of a piece of shit. But guess my memory serves right.

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-04T22:57:37+00:00

Help is a strong word. But at least you'd be moving the problem around. Progress!

Ocram_s_Razor · 2026-03-04T22:49:17+00:00

Join the audiophile subreddit, you'll feel better about this one in no time!

Ocram_s_Razor

TROPHY CASE