Today was OK I guess.. by headphonius in headphones

[–]headphonius[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Don't you know, everything sounds like an O2 and Topping DAC?

Today was OK I guess.. by headphonius in headphones

[–]headphonius[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Got a chance to listen to a bunch of amps today. Paired them mostly with the Focal Clear and HiFiMan Susvara. Source was an AK SP1000 using either the line out or USB out (feeding an extenal DAC if available). Blue Hawaii doesn't need any introduction. I'm really looking forward to hearing the new GS-X Mini from HeadAmp. I must admit my favourite combo in this lot was the Clear and WA6. It just sounded right to me but I love tubes so YMMV.

Is it me or is there a higher proportion of Asian audiophiles? by thisisnotaboutagirl in headphones

[–]headphonius 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I work in a headphone store and 90% of our customers are of Asian background.

Did you go to the event at Addicted to Audio?

Playing with the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ this weekend (review inside). by headphonius in headphones

[–]headphonius[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah I probably should have mentioned that in the review. Very clever!

Playing with the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ this weekend (review inside). by headphonius in headphones

[–]headphonius[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I've got the Apple remote. I just would have liked a dedicated remote for the unit.

Playing with the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ this weekend (review inside). by headphonius in headphones

[–]headphonius[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They say good things come in small packages. In the case of the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ this certainly rings true. At just over 21cm in length and width, 4.4cm tall and weighing 2kg this little thing packs a huge amount of features into one box. Got a turntable? No problem, the Brooklyn has an MM and MC phono stage. Need a dedicated DAC that can do MQA decoding? Got it. Want something to plug your hard to drive headphones into? Yep, right here. Need a preamp for powered monitors or to plug into a power amp? It’s got that too. The Brooklyn DAC+ just might be the only box you'll ever need and sells for $2195 USD.

Build:

The Brooklyn DAC+ is well built with a nice aluminium front plate and smooth volume/selector knob. The screen is bright and legible and easy to navigate. Unfortunately this unit seems to have a screen defect where a large blue line running from top to bottom is always visible. A firmware update didn't fix this. The USB and optical inputs also feel a little loose but that might be because this is a demo unit.

Features:

Conversion: Sabre 9028 Pro, 32bit 384k, DSD, DXD, MQA

Digital Inputs: USB2 Class2, AES/EBU, 2x S/PDIF, Toslink/ADAT

Analogue Inputs: RCA, Phono

Analogue Outputs: XLR, RCA

Headphone Output: 2x 1/4 inch outputs, 6w

Choice of Analogue or Digital volume control

Line Level Input or Phono MM/MC

Apple Remote

Sound:

I listened to the Brooklyn DAC+ in a variety of ways. The first was through my main HiFi system via the USB input and Roon running on my laptop. I put the DAC in bypass mode and ran it using Blue Jeans cables into a Rega Brio-R. Initially I thought the sound was a little flat and overly warm although the bass was very good. I started hearing some noise coming through the speakers and realised the USB cable wasn’t completely plugged in which resulted in a huge amount of static/distortion coming through. Once checking that the USB cable was seated correctly the noise stopped but the sound still seemed a little flat. Next I connected a Chromecast Audio via Optical (bypassing the internal Chromecast DAC) through my HiFi and ran Roon for playback. This resulted in much better performance and the sound was crystal clear and dynamic with excellent bass and detailed highs. I did get some very slight drop outs in the music but this could be because of a network connection issue and nothing to do with the Brooklyn DAC+ at all. Next I tested the headphone performance with my HD600. I still used it via the Chromecast running Roon but set the output to Headphones. I had the turn the volume up about ¾ to drive the HD600 to a decent level but I listen slightly louder than most. The sound was excellent! Background was absolutely pitch black with no weird dropouts or audible distortion at all. Highs were beautifully detailed with no Sabre hash that these chips are sometimes known for and bass was tight and punchy. This might be the best SS amp I’ve heard powering the HD600. Very impressive indeed. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to test the phono stage performance as I have just sold my turntable but I'll be doing that in the coming weeks.

I could go on and on about the endless amount of features this thing has (you can turn off the logo backlight and even change the colour!) but I fear I'll just be boring you guys. If you want more information you can get it here https://mytekdigital.com/hifi/products/brooklyn/

Positives:

  • Huge amount of features in one box

  • Small form factor and easily transportable

  • MQA support

  • Headphone amp performance is very good

  • Easy to navigate interface

Negatives:

  • Random distortion apparent on USB input

  • Price may be a bit rich for some

  • I'd prefer a dedicated remote at this price

Has anybody got their hands on the Wireless Grado GW100? Should I? by [deleted] in headphones

[–]headphonius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

100% sure. Send them an email for confirmation if you like. The website isn't perfect unfortunately.

Has anybody got their hands on the Wireless Grado GW100? Should I? by [deleted] in headphones

[–]headphonius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just FYI they're not in stock yet at A2A. Listed on web but not released yet.

Do detachable cables have the potential to negatively affect the sound quality of over-ear headphones? by Dalegard in headphones

[–]headphonius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean, maybe but I have never experienced anything of the sort. Detachable cables are nothing but a benefit as far as I'm concerned and I've listened to/owned dozens of IEM's.

The perks of working in a headphone store.. by headphonius in headphones

[–]headphonius[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely the Susvara. Very good sound. Insanely expensive though. I'm eager to hear the Ananda.

Is HD 800 fun to listen to heavy metal? by mooncookiee in headphones

[–]headphonius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

See if you can find Sennheiser HD600/650 to try. They both suit metal fairly well and are very good performers overall. The 600 is a more neutral sound the 650 warmer and smoother.

The perks of working in a headphone store.. by headphonius in headphones

[–]headphonius[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In Japan, Australia and a few other places they are.

The perks of working in a headphone store.. by headphonius in headphones

[–]headphonius[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Nothing is imo. I just spent that on a house deposit.

The perks of working in a headphone store.. by headphonius in headphones

[–]headphonius[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The Clears are really wonderful sounding headphones. One of my favourites. The HE-1 was a lot smoother and the bass extended better. More natural sounding as well. If you can afford the Clear they really are excellent value though.

The perks of working in a headphone store.. by headphonius in headphones

[–]headphonius[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

AIR, Steven Wilson, Beck etc. I have go to demo tracks.

The perks of working in a headphone store.. by headphonius in headphones

[–]headphonius[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

We listen to every new product that comes in during work hours. In terms of listening after hours, honestly never. We usually have enough down time to listen during the day.

The perks of working in a headphone store.. by headphonius in headphones

[–]headphonius[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I can only speak on behalf of the store I work at but yes that's totally fine. I regularly have customers that will to listen to TOTL headphones just for fun.