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This article from a few years ago shook up the headphone world. For years, writers like me had argued and argued that amp makers should pay attention to output impedance, but for the most part, our entreaties fell on deaf ears. In forums, impedance preachers were derided as not listening to amps, but listening to spec. Until this dude came along and set things straight.
The headphone world is vastly different now.
God bless you, NwAvGuy.
This is a new AT-HA30USB USB DAC interface from Audio Technica, the maker of my long-time go-to earphone, the CK10. This time, I've got it in the house with the ATH-IM70, about which Headfier, blazer78, wrote gobs and gobs.
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Last weekend I enjoyed the thrills and soul-numbing cacophony of my first Japanese funeral. I’ve started to think different. It wasn’t just watching a man in white taxi driver gloves and train conductor garb bashing my aunt’s skull and pelvis bones with cooking chopsticks that did it; it was just as much the trip back, when my iPhone’s battery went out. You never know when your time is up.
Read moreI totally dig the AlogoRythm DUET and the Theorem 720, but if Cypher Labs could kick up the little something something they hint about on their Facebook page:
“What do you say guys.. Would you like to see a mini portable amp from us at #CypherLabs? A smaller version of the #duet maybe?”
well, shizzle my nizzle, I say.
First thing's first. And first things always are photographs. The DSD256-capable Zodiac Platinum has been in Ω's office and plugged into Ω's phones and mono amps for about a week. And it rocks. Dear God, it rocks. For now, pictures will have to suffice.
Even the remote is machined from aluminium and makes nice metallic clicky sounds when clicked. I digs it. But I didn't have time to go all-out with the photos, so these will have to suffice.
Looks like Portaphile's 627 Micro is coming along well. Portaphile maker, Cesar Aguilera, has some good news for fans of the brand, and some comparison photos showing off the small-is-beautiful character of 627 Micro.
“The little guy is progressing along just great. I just finished the first panel and will building out the first circuit boards this weekend. As long as it all goes, I hope to be finished sooner than the dead line of March 25th, 2014. Here are a few pics of the first panel in bare aluminum. Once the boards are done I will be able to make sure all holes are aligned and can move forward with building out a few more and then sending out the finished panels to get annodized in black. I also need to find some nice hex head screws to give it a nicer look.”
Stay up to date on all things Portaphile at... Portaphile!
Headfonia's Lieven has some good stuff to say about the Beyerdynamic A20, including news that will make headphone and earphone lovers rejoice.
“The A20 is not really supposed to be used with custom IEMs but while I’m at it I’ll just add them to the list. The Cosmic Ears BA4 is dead silent when connected and there is no hiss and no channel imbalance. Be careful with the volume dial however cause it will get loud fast.”
It seems that more and more home headphone amp makers are designing circuits that accommodate earphone listeners. Antelope Audio's Zodiac is another that, at least from a volume balance/noise perspective, very well with sensitive earphones.
Lieven concludes:
“what’s not to like? Mid-Fi doesn’t get any better than this.”
The one gotcha is that the A20's output impedance is high, which may render the output of certain low Ω headphones (even some Beyerdynamic) subject to aberrations in frequency response, stereo performance, among others. At least the noise floor is low.
Portaphile fans, the new 627 MICRO headphone amp is up for pre-order at 399$ USD.
Content like this is what makes Headfi 2,0 the best freaking headphone resource/community on the internet. The best part is that if you're not really hog-ho for a 30 page history of Schiit Audio, you can head to Amazon and pick up any of Jason Stoddard's takes on the future. (I recommend starting with Winning Mars, the story of a survival reality show on the red planet.)
Full story at Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up
Headfier and admitted basshead, RiKToR, got all up into that custom IEM thing, having his church foot the bill for the Westone AC20. His impressions are frank and well-organised from a musician's, not an audiophile's perspective.
Thank you again, headfi.
Tsukuba, Japan
