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Achieving High Fidelity Sound

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Ash View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Dec 2019 at 10:59pm
So I haven't updated my section here for quite some time but I still have been motivated to pursue high fidelity sound reproduction.

I have recently been faced with a little dilemma; I have the MySphere 3.1, which is a superb sounding headphone, but did not possess any Graham Slee electronics to connect it directly to, as I had sold my Bitzie and Solo ULDE quite a while back and only have the Proprius from the Majestic now.

The MySphere 3.1 have low impedance (15 Ohms) and high sensitivity (around 96dB/mW, same as HD800) so hardly anywhere near an ideal load for the Proprius. The dial position on the monoblocks would have to be so far anti-clockwise to avoid overdriving and hissy noise floor, then there is impedance matching. I bought a resistive cable when I purchased the headphone, which increases the impedance of the 3.1 from 15 Ohms up to 110 Ohms (close to that of the AKG K1000, which is 120 Ohms) for a slight drop in sensitivity. Although the sensitivity would still be close to that of the Sennheiser HD800. Still not an ideal load. So, I got wondering how I could make them a suitable load for the Proprius, seeing as if I couldn't, I would have to pay to re-buy a Solo ULDE in order to drive them from the Majestic.

I got talking with Heinz Renner again, the creator of the headphone. I described my intentions of using the Proprius with the MySphere 3.1 because his past creation, the old AKG K1000, was such a great pairing for the Proprius and I wanted to imitate that compatibility because both the Solo UL and Proprius were equally capable at driving the K1000; I could not tell the reproductions apart from one another. So Heinz kindly went away and did some calculations based on the specs of the equipment then soon after personally made a voltage divider cable for me with banana plugs that plug straight into the Proprius terminals and posted it off to me for testing.

Well I received it a few days ago and still need to test it, which I will do over the next few days. This cable allows me to use the MySphere 3.1 symmetrical/balanced with the Proprius and should grant the MySphere the same impedance and sensitivity characteristics as the AKG K1000. So I should be able to connect them both simultaneously as well and directly compare the reproductions, which will be very useful for analysis.

Now I have abandoned the sale of my Proprius and will not require the Solo ULDE after all. Excellent, as it saves me money and still grants me the option of connecting speaker drivers if I need that facility. Over the next few days, I will be able to verify all this. I may try connecting the Majestic OTG USB to my LG V30 and check if that works too. Shall update soon.




Edited by Ash - 25 Dec 2019 at 11:12pm
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Aussie Mick View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Aussie Mick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Dec 2019 at 11:33pm
That’s an interesting development, Ash. I look forward to hearing the results.
Mick.
Rega RP8 - Apheta 2 - Accession MC Enigma PS -Solo ULDE (Focal Utopia) - PS Audio M700 - Fical Kanta No2
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Apr 2020 at 8:55pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Apr 2020 at 9:39pm
Nice looking set up Ash, hopefully it sounds even better?
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote patientot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Apr 2020 at 9:50pm
Those are some very unusual and exotic looking headphones!
SL-1200 MK7 (modified) + Reflex M + PSU-1 used with AT150-40ML, AT VM95ML, Stanton 680mkII + Ogura, and Shure M35X cartridges.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Apr 2020 at 10:22pm
So it has been clash of the earspeaker titans tonight. Been comparing the K1000 against the MS3.1 for a few hours. Both are an equivalent load in my setup and are connected in parallel to the Proprius. The smaller driver size of the MS3.1 has not put it at any audible disadvantage as far as I can hear. Both have a virtually identical stereo image size. The K1000 has an obvious upper bass diaphragm resonance which the MS3.1 does not have. I think the MS3.1 goes a little deeper in frequency and has an overall purer reproduction. Both are very musical but there is a clear winner, as the successor product is simply more enjoyable to listen to. K1000 will be sold in due course now I am satisfied that it does not beat the MS3.1 in any area. Need to replace the standard PSU1 with an Enigma and buy more of my favourite music on CD so I can enjoy the best quality files. I was considering comparing MS3.1 against RAAL Requisite SR1a ribbon earspeakers but I can't really be bothered as the expense is too high and it won't sound like speakers so pointless. MS3.1 is probably a more natural listening experience than the SR1a anyway. Cheaper to put my Mark Audio Alpair 11MS in cardboard boxes and buy a second pair of Proprius. Will be using MS3.1 to judge digital parametric EQ adjustments needed on my speakers. Pretty much gone as far as I want to with headphones. If Heinz builds any prototypes for future projects, I will ask to be a tester.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2020 at 10:24pm
Stepping into the world of single board fanless computers seems to be a step in the right direction in terms of preserving signal fidelity for the very best audio reproduction.

Compared to my previous Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro gaming motherboard, whose i7-9700K 8 core 8 thread CPU had a huge heatsink with a fan, the PC tower had a fan and the power supply unit had a fan and some coil noise, my new Hystou mini-PC is wonderfully silent. Now, the "noisiest" part of my computer is the 32GB of RAM chips and even this is pretty quiet. SATA SSD too, no moving parts at all.


Edited by Ash - 26 Jul 2020 at 11:42pm
We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.
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