X-Can "The Original" In The House

[mrarroyo]

Today I received the 5532 and to special Russian valves from Mike, will try them next weekend. Next will be reducing the gain, I listen at very low volumes and I have very little travel on the volume pot.

[Deleted]

Miguel, do you feel then need to eq the sound at such low volume? I have to listen at high volume to critically listen to something but for music/speech, I tend to listen at the volume where the bass starts to kick in.

Is it because you're worried about ear damage?

You've got me wondering - how low do you go? ;D

[PinkFloyd]

Jul 6, 2010 20:25:33 GMT @iancraig10 said:

Jul 6, 2010 14:06:21 GMT PinkFloyd said:

Mediastar Pro-Grade CDR (Made in Japan), copied using Clone CD

Mike, does Clone CD need to be updated much? They give an awful lot of options on the site - up to lifetime updates!!!

I've never updated it Ian. You want a copy?

[Deleted]

Thanks Mike, that would be fantastic. It seems to do a very good job.

The site offers updates for different periods at different prices and it just makes you wonder how many times would you be updating it and if you were, what's wrong with it?

[PinkFloyd]

On its way now Ian.

[Deleted]

Jul 7, 2010 5:33:56 GMT @iancraig10 said:

Miguel, do you feel then need to eq the sound at such low volume? I have to listen at high volume to critically listen to something but for music/speech, I tend to listen at the volume where the bass starts to kick in.

Is it because you're worried about ear damage?

You've got me wondering - how low do you go? ;D

Ian
Miguel listens at very low levels, because he is frightened that he may miss something that "she who must be obeyed" says to him ! ;D
Alex

[krisno]

A question.... the volume knob on the V2, when i turn it I hear "scratching noise" or whatever you would call it. I didnt get it before, but now I do, both with Xonar and Audiotrak soundcard.

This means DC is getting into the amp? (since the input caps are swapped for ferrite beads?)??

Its a bright combo..... v2 + siemens + AKG ..... I will try to swap the audiotrak opamps. But best I guess would be transformers.. and skip the opamps.

[Deleted]

Presumeably you've gone backwards and forwards rapidly with the volume knob to see if that clears it?

Sometimes it can be a dirty pot and a quick woosh backwards and forwards gets rid of it.

[krisno]

Isnt the pot sealed? I never heard that that noise is about dirty pot but some current coming from the source?

Btw Mike - the little pinkie v3i becomes almost "burning hot" on the underside. Its not burning warm on the top. Is that normal?

[Deleted]

Well, give it a go. It cured mine (V1 had a rustle at first) and it costs nothing.

[elysion]

Jul 7, 2010 5:33:56 GMT @iancraig10 said:

Miguel, do you feel then need to eq the sound at such low volume? I have to listen at high volume to critically listen to something but for music/speech, I tend to listen at the volume where the bass starts to kick in.

Is it because you're worried about ear damage?

You've got me wondering - how low do you go? ;D

I can't answer for Miguel, but I think I'm at least comparable regarding loudness. I'm listening also a low volume levels. With open-back 'phones I'm still hearing the environment around me (I still hear when I tap slightly with my fingers on the desk or if I hit a key on the keyboard).

The reasons for this:
a) I'm usually listening for very long times. It prevents ear-fatigue (at least the loundness related ear-fatigue).
b) I like to keep my ears in good condition. Listening at moderate volume levels is IMO a must for long listening.
c) I know a guy that has produced music. He told me once that "everything sounds good at high volume levels, but if it also sounds good at low volume levels then it sounds really good". I agree with this.
d) Although I'm also loving my HD25-1/II, I'm a fan of open-back 'phones. They give me the feeling to be still within my current environment. Too much loudness renders this effect useless.

I had a bad experience with the Native Instruments A4DJ DAC (please see the thread about it for more information). The insane output gain of this DAC was the reason why I listened too loud for a couple of days. I'm rather sure it didn't damage my ears, but I had really the feeling that it was too much. It was very similar to the feeling I had after some 3-day Goa-Parties years ago...

It's always the same: The dosage makes the poison. This is also true for loudness. Listening "loud" isn't a problem for a short time, but long listening is something else.

Very interesting: I don't feel the need to go "loud" with both the Neco Mosfet V2 and the Neco Portable V2. Bass is still good a low to moderate volume levels. My current setting on the Mosfet V2 with linear pot and gain 3 is around 10:00 to 10:30.

[Deleted]

No, I generally don't listen too loud. I basically use the 'presence' as my guide.

Once the mids feel right for me, then I let the treble and bass do what they're going to do. That way I get a feel for the balance of headphones in comparison to presence/mids.

It also depends on the recording - electronic seems fine at any level, but acoustic/orchestral needs careful volume control so that the sounds don't become forced and 'electronic' sounding and not too low so that soft sounds disappear into nothing.

That's why I'm curious about the volume that Miguel uses. It sounds as though he habitually plays music so that it's 'just' there

For me, it varies but I tend to keep it down if I can otherwise it becomes a background sound.

Interestingly, with volume Christian, I've been messing around with settings on the Sennheiser Lucas and that is also very heavily connected with the listening volume.

I find that I need to change the settings according to the volume or else it can sound very unnatural.

However, get the volume in balance with the supposed 'reflections' and it sounds excellent. The reflections are easily overdone for the volume. ie at high volume, you'd expect to hear lots of reflections, but not at low volume.

[elysion]

To clarify it somewhat:

The music is always "present" and clearly in the foreground, although I'm hearing the environment without problems. It's no background sound.

[mrarroyo]

Ian, according to a dB meter I listen at around 62-68 dB with peaks in the 72 dB range. Must be able to hear when "she who must be obeyed" calls me.

Pots get dirty so a bit of pot cleaner/lubricant does the job.

[elysion]

Miguel, what kind of dB meter do you use?

I'm very interested to measure my own loudness levels.

[Deleted]

Jul 7, 2010 17:25:22 GMT mrarroyo said:

Ian, according to a dB meter I listen at around 62-68 dB with peaks in the 72 dB range. Must be able to hear when "she who must be obeyed" calls me.

Pots get dirty so a bit of pot cleaner/lubricant does the job.

OK, I just measured mine and I'm slightly above your listening levels. Peaks are hitting 76db. So you are pretty low level listening.

The pot thing - yes, easily cleared but it seems that experience doesn't count when giving advice?

Mine wasn't bad enough to worry so I just wooshed it out with a bit of vigorous twisting!!

Krisno, before you ask, I don't know how dirt gets in there when it's sealed!!

You know Miguel, the more I listen to the AT ad700, the more I wonder about the lovely wooden one you have. The ad700 has a lovely tonal balance with a wide soundstage and the more I listen on them, the more curious I get about the W series. I think there's a new one out now.

What put me off the AT ad range was that as you go up the range, they seem to gain more in the treble and for me are just a bit too much. The ad1000 for me was a positively nasty listen. Didn't like it at all.

However, I think the W series may retain that clarity and warmth of the ad700 with more resolution. Certainly looks lovely. I may try and demo one from someone some time soon. I have a feeling it's probably extremely good.

It'll be interesting to see how you fare with the Russians. I really like them a lot and they'll probably be really nice with the w1000. I hope you like them anyway.

[mrarroyo]

I bought a dB meter at Radio Shack, item number 30-2055.

www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103667

[Deleted]

Similar to mine Miguel. BTW I realised that I gave you the reading C weighted which reads higher than the other setting.

It is surprising how loud that actually sounds in reality at quite a low reading.

I thought perhaps you were listening at 'whisper' volume, but when I checked how loud your measurement is, it's very comfortable for me too.

[PinkFloyd]

I don't know how accurate it is but there's also a decibel app for the iphone

[mrarroyo]

I use the C weighting when using the dB meter.

[Deleted]

Jul 8, 2010 23:40:14 GMT mrarroyo said:

I use the C weighting when using the dB meter.

It's surprising loud actually even using the C weighting. When you read reports of 90db and up being dangerous over certain times, it gets you a bit concerned, but now, having measured what I actually listen at, it's not too bad at all.

I know some people make a shielding device for the end of the meter to seal it into the cups but I feel that this sets up reflections and doesn't give a proper reading. I cup my hands around the spout and seal it with my hands so that its a little more similar to my head when I'm measuring.

It surprised me how low I actually listen.

[mrarroyo]

I actually built such a device to better measure the output of my headphones.

[Deleted]

Is it a cardboard 'doughnut' or ssome other material. My feeling is that a hard surface may reflect back whereas, your noggin doesn't relect as much.

Mind you, at least if it is reflecting, then the reading is actually higher than it is so it's not a bad thing.

[mrarroyo]

I agree, it errs in the side of caution.

[krisno]

After having had the V1 a long time mrarroyo.. what is your opinion now - v1 vs v2?

K