Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
I have the NR1200 but no Wharfdales. Mine is powering a pair of Kef R500s. The specs on the Diamonds look like it should be enough.
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Audiophile GAF
- Thread starter Maiden Voyage
- Start date
Thanks! Hoping it works out. How do you like your nr1200?
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
Love it to death. HeOS is a bit dumb but everything else is top notch, especially at that price point. Not many 2.1 AV receivers aimed at audiophiles that I could find.
Very cool! Exactly why I chose it as well. Hoping I like it and the new speakers.
ForAcademicPurposes
Gold Member
Some Christmas holiday goodness, treating myself to Sennheiser HD820s, with a HDV820 amp, and a NAD C 658 streamer, with a WyWires cable and a dram of Hibiki
GermanZepp
Member
I just bought a Sony wh1000xm4 headphones and a subscription to Tidal Hi Fi plus. So it begins...
Ribi
Member
Could have done better than that unless you really want wireless with anc
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
Buggy Loop
Member
So, I’m making a huge jump.
Was on old schiit stack, with Sennheiser HD599 (was a deal).
Now I have a pair of Focal Clear (originals) coming in a few days.
Clearly I want to step up the dac/amp.
Apparently these headphones don’t like too much purely technical dac/amps Ala THX 789, can lead to grating trebles and fatigue. From what I read, seems like a good combo is to run these balanced on a Bifrost 2 + Jotunheim 2. Of course there’s infinite combos of possibilities, but at these prices, it seems to make sense. Even a magnius/modius would drive these easily, but it seems like the Jot/bifrost make these headphones shine better.
Any opposition/feedback before I pull the trigger? Or if anyone had Focal clears with another stack?
Was on old schiit stack, with Sennheiser HD599 (was a deal).
Now I have a pair of Focal Clear (originals) coming in a few days.
Clearly I want to step up the dac/amp.
Apparently these headphones don’t like too much purely technical dac/amps Ala THX 789, can lead to grating trebles and fatigue. From what I read, seems like a good combo is to run these balanced on a Bifrost 2 + Jotunheim 2. Of course there’s infinite combos of possibilities, but at these prices, it seems to make sense. Even a magnius/modius would drive these easily, but it seems like the Jot/bifrost make these headphones shine better.
Any opposition/feedback before I pull the trigger? Or if anyone had Focal clears with another stack?
I’d try to Bifrost/Jot combo, see how you like it. Also try them with your 599. And please regale us with your experience.
Cyberpunkd
Gold Member
Will be building a vinyl setup from scratch in the next few weeks, and I fucking dread the multitude of components. Would have gone with Klipsch The Fives, but I find bookshelf speakers not very manly (plus the cost of them is same as towers + amp). I know I do not want a pre-amp in the turntable, so amp with phono it is.
How to I hook up reliably the sound to my TV that is linked to Apple TV? HDMI ARC from Apple to the TV, then optical to the amp, and then analog to the speakers?
How to I hook up reliably the sound to my TV that is linked to Apple TV? HDMI ARC from Apple to the TV, then optical to the amp, and then analog to the speakers?
I am still very happy with my Samsung , n950 hw, when I first switched from a true surround setup, I was hesitant, but the soundscape with the extra rear speakers and woofer is very impressive, atmos sounds great and it takes up less space . It wasn’t cheap , but still cheaper than the Yamaha bar 
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Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
My audio chain is this:
Record player -> Receiver -> Speakers & sub (all analog)
Gaming consoles, Apple TV, etc. (via HDMI) -> TV -> Receiver (via optical / toslink) -> Speakers & sub (analog)
I would go straight into the receiver and have that route video to the TV but I often prefer to listen to my own music while gaming. And if I am going to have one video source route via the TV, I'd rather just have all of them to reduce the need for multiple remote to change out the video feed.
Buggy Loop
Member
Received my Focal Clear today. Ok wow, first the packaging is insane on that. Nice transport case, XLR & SE cables in a near folding box with included manual, foam support in the box even for the carry case.
That is roughly double the weight of my old Sennheiser. To think this is considered light at 450g? It's very comfortable, but the initial impression is that its build quality is far superior. Aluminum frames too, felt cold to the touch because of winter.
My Schiit Jotunheim 2 + Bifrost 2 are bought, but with a 6-8 weeks delay. So for now i'm running them on the schiit stack. I mean, they aren't hard headphones to drive anyway, but they already sound amazing. I noticed things in radiohead songs that i never did before.
Uhm, i had not opened a music player in a long time. I opened Itunes because most of my ecosystem is on apple, but holy shit it's bad on windows 10.
Quick, recommended music player ASAP
Thanks.
That is roughly double the weight of my old Sennheiser. To think this is considered light at 450g? It's very comfortable, but the initial impression is that its build quality is far superior. Aluminum frames too, felt cold to the touch because of winter.
My Schiit Jotunheim 2 + Bifrost 2 are bought, but with a 6-8 weeks delay. So for now i'm running them on the schiit stack. I mean, they aren't hard headphones to drive anyway, but they already sound amazing. I noticed things in radiohead songs that i never did before.
Uhm, i had not opened a music player in a long time. I opened Itunes because most of my ecosystem is on apple, but holy shit it's bad on windows 10.
Quick, recommended music player ASAP
Thanks.
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
Foobar2000Received my Focal Clear today. Ok wow, first the packaging is insane on that. Nice transport case, XLR & SE cables in a near folding box with included manual, foam support in the box even for the carry case.
That is roughly double the weight of my old Sennheiser. To think this is considered light at 450g? It's very comfortable, but the initial impression is that its build quality is far superior. Aluminum frames too, felt cold to the touch because of winter.
My Schiit Jotunheim 2 + Bifrost 2 are bought, but with a 6-8 weeks delay. So for now i'm running them on the schiit stack. I mean, they aren't hard headphones to drive anyway, but they already sound amazing. I noticed things in radiohead songs that i never did before.
Uhm, i had not opened a music player in a long time. I opened Itunes because most of my ecosystem is on apple, but holy shit it's bad on windows 10.
Quick, recommended music player ASAP
Thanks.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
Damn, lots of you are running good setups but given I hardly get to talk audio I'll share my low end setup.
2 SBS SB2000's
5 channel Infiniti speakers
Demon x2700h
2 SBS SB2000's
5 channel Infiniti speakers
Demon x2700h
Buggy Loop
Member
I think that's too hardcore for me haha, the aesthetics hasn't changed at all since i was a teenager, that's insane!
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
It’s so feature rich with components and easy to make look/work the way you want. Worth the few minutes it takes to learn quite honestly. I also love how resource minimal it is.
Plex is another option but I don’t use it much for music these days.
I think Winamp is still viable?
Perhaps you should look into Audirvana, to get the most out of your system.
Audirvāna - Music Player⎢HD Digital Audio Player
With Audirvāna, enjoy all your streaming and local music with the best playback sound quality from a computer.
audirvana.com
You can also get bit perfect audio from Foobar but you may like Audirvana’s UI more.
Buggy Loop
Member
Hmm. Might look into foobar a bit and look how to make a nice UI if possible. Apparently it’s got a good audio engine.
Perhaps you should look into Audirvana, to get the most out of your system.
Audirvāna - Music Player⎢HD Digital Audio Player
With Audirvāna, enjoy all your streaming and local music with the best playback sound quality from a computer.
You can also get bit perfect audio from Foobar but you may like Audirvana’s UI more.
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll look into it.
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
If you are okay paid, Roon is also popular (especially if you use Tidal or Qoubuz). I did the trial and it wasn't for me but your mileage may vary.
Roon
roonlabs.com
TGO
Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Got a Sony STR-DH790
That is hooked up to Q Acoustics 3020i cinema package
It's nice, with warm sound stage with a good mid range and nice highs with no signs of bail out regardless of how loud you turn it up, the sound just engulfs you.
Bass is warm and deep with good response, but not over powering.
Definitely hear stuff I hadn't before
Still gotta get some Atmos Speakers
But currently I've no complaints
That is hooked up to Q Acoustics 3020i cinema package
It's nice, with warm sound stage with a good mid range and nice highs with no signs of bail out regardless of how loud you turn it up, the sound just engulfs you.
Bass is warm and deep with good response, but not over powering.
Definitely hear stuff I hadn't before
Still gotta get some Atmos Speakers
But currently I've no complaints
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fran.fernandez
Member
Idk if audiophile or not but I got all Sonos setup lol.
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
I use audiophile pretty loosely. I think as long as you enjoy quality audio, for me at least, you have a place in the community.
Headphones were my gateway but speakers and other gear are what I focus most on these days.
Buggy Loop
Member
Speaker and amp prices are bonkers compared to headphone gear I find. Almost like “this art piece is worth a fortune” and it’s white paint. I want to eventually have a nice speaker setup, but headphones probably give the biggest bang for the buck if the listening experience is solo.
Might do my own speaker amp I guess in the future. Did my own Hiwatt custom 100 DR1031969 replica for my guitar, costed 1/3 of the newer modern ones that are not as good.
There’s lots of DIY audio gear, even speakers, might even have a go at that. I’m an electrical engineer too so I’m super interested to go deeper and eventually do my own stuff.
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
Absolutely it is a great gateway drug. Since I bought my house and have disposable income, speakers became much more viable. I overall enjoy the experience much more as well. I still have a couple of pairs of nice headphones for when the situation calls for it. Dolby Atmos on the Air Pod Max are a game changer for me in terms of enjoyable listening, but it depends on the mix entirely.
Con-Z-epT
Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
I would consider the listening experience between headphones and speakers quite varied. Detail retrieval is overall better with headphones compared to speakers in the same price range and something i value very high. I find great joy in changing the way of sound reproduction between listening sessions.
Cyberpunkd
Gold Member
Went to Fnac (France's equivalent to BestBuy), some nice things there:
1. Turntables - all shit, Carbon EVO looks plastic, going to order Planar 1
2. Amps - no explanation of anything, plus useless without considering speakers
3. Speakers - KEFs are fucking massive, Klipsch The Fives less than what I imagined, they would kinda fit since HDMI+Bluetooth+RCA = all I need ; having unhealthy fixation with Devialet Phantom 2
What would be a great setup to have TV audio, vinyl AND streaming? Should I just look for connected amp or is there another way?
1. Turntables - all shit, Carbon EVO looks plastic, going to order Planar 1
2. Amps - no explanation of anything, plus useless without considering speakers
3. Speakers - KEFs are fucking massive, Klipsch The Fives less than what I imagined, they would kinda fit since HDMI+Bluetooth+RCA = all I need ; having unhealthy fixation with Devialet Phantom 2
What would be a great setup to have TV audio, vinyl AND streaming? Should I just look for connected amp or is there another way?
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Cyberpunkd
Gold Member
I don't think this is possible - AppleTV sending video to the receiver?
Your setup is kinda what I had in mind (AppleTV to TV for video via ARC, TV sounds into the receiver/amp, then speakers), and sending over ARC will mean I can cut down on the remotes.
ForAcademicPurposes
Gold Member
You're an audiophile when you stop multitasking and just listen to the music. Source: my ass
Korranator
Member
Curious how those Clears hold up during long plays. I've heard complaints between the heavy weight, or ear fatigue because they tend to be too warm.Received my Focal Clear today. Ok wow, first the packaging is insane on that. Nice transport case, XLR & SE cables in a near folding box with included manual, foam support in the box even for the carry case.
That is roughly double the weight of my old Sennheiser. To think this is considered light at 450g? It's very comfortable, but the initial impression is that its build quality is far superior. Aluminum frames too, felt cold to the touch because of winter.
My Schiit Jotunheim 2 + Bifrost 2 are bought, but with a 6-8 weeks delay. So for now i'm running them on the schiit stack. I mean, they aren't hard headphones to drive anyway, but they already sound amazing. I noticed things in radiohead songs that i never did before.
Uhm, i had not opened a music player in a long time. I opened Itunes because most of my ecosystem is on apple, but holy shit it's bad on windows 10.
Quick, recommended music player ASAP
Thanks.
Buggy Loop
Member
When I was looking between this, Hifiman Arya & Audeze LCD-X, I didn’t put much thought in weight as 400~500 seems the norm when I looked at headphone lists. But it’s still drastic from my Sennheiser pair.
Audeze at 612g though, that might have been a problem.
I didn’t have a long session last night, maybe 3 hours, but I have a hard time believing with the open back and perforated pads that warm ears will be a problem? Seems equivalent to my old pair, but I’ll see I guess. Of course, not something for sports or outside during summer, but that’s not my use case.
I’m a lot more worried about color changing/wearing since it’s light. There’s always Dekoni ear pads though which apparently are a nice mod to this headphone.
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Korranator
Member
thanks for the reply.
Let me me clarify what I meant by "warm". I wasn't the temperature on your ears. Rather the type off sound the Clears have been described of having. Some reviewers say it a warm sound bordering on slightly bright. After a 1-2 hr listening time, complain of getting ear fatigue due to that slight brightness.
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Buggy Loop
Member
Oh ok haha, i thought breathability. I'm not sure i'm audiophile enough to put it into words yet and i would probably wait to have the new dac/amp to judge.
What i find amazing actually is the depth of the bass on these. Listening to rock music such as say, The Mars Volta, Pink Lemonade, Tool. I find them a bit less bright than the HD599 i had. I also had heard that trebles could become irritating, but nope, nothing on that end i have heard so far. Guy who sold it to me had also a pair a few years before that found the trebles a bit harsh, but on a JDS lab atom amp, but after he tested these he did not find the same harshness. Different luck on headphone lottery, different amp, bad memory? Who knows. But so far i'm not encountering this infamous problem on Focal Clears that are found online many places. I also read these headphones do not like perfect measurement amps like a THX 789, so i went for Jotunheim 2 + Bifrost 2 as a not perfect measurement combo, but rather a good sounding one with a bit of flavor. (measurements aren't everything).
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ForAcademicPurposes
Gold Member
Fnac was such a fancy ass store even back in the day. Makes Best Buy look like shyte.
captainpat
Member
I don't really consider myself a huge audiophile but since the headphones were on sale I got myself some hifiman ananda with a schiit stack
Cyberpunkd
Gold Member
Yes, especially in classy locations in central Paris, really nice. Made it a point to give them my money for vinyl, doing a little bit since because of kids I spend 2000€ per month on Amazon.
Probably going with Sonos for my future setup - not the top of the line sound but the convenience, inter connectivity and integration is as close to Apple as you can get. Can’t be arsed struggling with KEFs or similar all the time.
ForAcademicPurposes
Gold Member
Good luck my man, I hope it strikes a balance between convenience and enjoyable sound.
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
I airplay music to every room in the house pretty frequently.
Cyberpunkd
Gold Member
Yes, and now I see I can add Sonos to HomeKit and have Siri give voice commands. Will start with one Five for the turntable (at least I get a speaker, Port costs 449€ and you still have to buy them), and build from there. Ordered a new TV so I cannot wait to also hook it up to AppleTV soon. As I mentioned I don't expect to get audiophile sound, but I can't be bothered with multitude of cables and 3-4 different remotes.
ForAcademicPurposes
Gold Member
Ironbunny
Member
Just invested in to the Sony HT A9 system and was positively surprised. Got the bundle with SW5 sub for around 2100€ (2400$). Easy setup with wireless speakers was fast and easy and the sound bubble the system creates sounds really nice. It has no center speaker but virtual center speaker does the job well enough. Would love the possibilty to use either a addon speaker or sony soundbar as an center channel though. Weird they dont allow that. Underwater movie with it atmos track sounds spooky good. Feels like its made to test these atmos systems.
My choise was either build a true atmos system with all the SVS bell and whistles or a cheap atmos soundbar. Luckily this Sony system came out of knowhere and fixes the itch just about right. Hope this sells well so they will continue developing this system in the future.
My choise was either build a true atmos system with all the SVS bell and whistles or a cheap atmos soundbar. Luckily this Sony system came out of knowhere and fixes the itch just about right. Hope this sells well so they will continue developing this system in the future.
Just invested in to the Sony HT A9 system and was positively surprised. Got the bundle with SW5 sub for around 2100€ (2400$). Easy setup with wireless speakers was fast and easy and the sound bubble the system creates sounds really nice. It has no center speaker but virtual center speaker does the job well enough. Would love the possibilty to use either a addon speaker or sony soundbar as an center channel though. Weird they dont allow that. Underwater movie with it atmos track sounds spooky good. Feels like its made to test these atmos systems.
My choise was either build a true atmos system with all the SVS bell and whistles or a cheap atmos soundbar. Luckily this Sony system came out of knowhere and fixes the itch just about right. Hope this sells well so they will continue developing this system in the future.
Great tip! This has up firing? How is it different from a top end Samsung atmos sound bar with up firing speakers ? Same price basically.
Ironbunny
Member
Well its not a soundbar. Its four speakers with up and front firing woofer and two microphones (each speaker has its own two microphones). It uses Sonys own 360 spatial sound mapping for dolby atmos to evaluate each speakers placement with you can also manually tweak. Basicly meaning its not so fuzz about the placement of the speaker or the hight as its echos the room to tune each speaker for best sound. I dont think there is any other manufacturer who does the same thing at the moment. Sony uses this 360 system on their headphones too meaning Tidal and Spotify can take advantage of it. But for me this is just for the movies.
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So 2 in front and 2 back (behind the couch should do the trick ? No subwoofer ?
Ironbunny
Member
Yea I have them on the corners of my room basicly in a square formation. Back speaker should be either next to your seating position or behind you to get the best sound. Mine came with a sub but the combo isnt sold anymore at least not in Europe. You have to buy it separately here. Thats wireless too though. Below to manuals recommendation layout. My front speaker are layed out much further away from tv.
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Hmm interesting stuff , thanks !Yea I have them on the corners of my room basicly in a square formation. Back speaker should be either next to your seating position or behind you to get the best sound. Mine came with a sub but the combo isnt sold anymore at least not in Europe. You have to buy it separately here. Thats wireless too though. Below to manuals recommendation layout. My front speaker are layed out much further away from tv.
Buggy Loop
Member
Decided to try Apple music for trial, since well, i'm mostly on apple ecosystem outside of work and gaming (Apple TV, iphone, macbook) and since my echo also supports apple music.
So, fuck itunes on PC. Not even lossless audio.
Ok.. so let's see what can be done.. Android emulator on PC + Apple music app = lossless ?
Holy crap, it sounds so good. I had not really looked into it before, mostly CDs in the past decade or so or youtube streaming while studying. Some spotify, but this was all before the lossless upgrades. Holy fuck, the difference is insane i find. Might be because i'm also with a whole new level of headphones, but rediscovering songs i love right now, feels amazing, so many details were hidden. Can't fucking wait to step up my DAC/AMP.
So, fuck itunes on PC. Not even lossless audio.
Ok.. so let's see what can be done.. Android emulator on PC + Apple music app = lossless ?
Holy crap, it sounds so good. I had not really looked into it before, mostly CDs in the past decade or so or youtube streaming while studying. Some spotify, but this was all before the lossless upgrades. Holy fuck, the difference is insane i find. Might be because i'm also with a whole new level of headphones, but rediscovering songs i love right now, feels amazing, so many details were hidden. Can't fucking wait to step up my DAC/AMP.
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Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
For me, I really need to be actively listening to perceive the difference between the standard AAC and ALAC playback. I've really enjoyed the difference with Dolby Atmos / Spatial Audio the most. Shame it only works on headphones but it has me listening more on my AirPod Max than I normally would.Decided to try Apple music for trial, since well, i'm mostly on apple ecosystem outside of work and gaming (Apple TV, iphone, macbook) and since my echo also supports apple music.
So, fuck itunes on PC. Not even lossless audio.
Ok.. so let's see what can be done.. Android emulator on PC + Apple music app = lossless ?
Holy crap, it sounds so good. I had not really looked into it before, mostly CDs in the past decade or so or youtube streaming while studying. Some spotify, but this was all before the lossless upgrades. Holy fuck, the difference is insane i find. Might be because i'm also with a whole new level of headphones, but rediscovering songs i love right now, feels amazing, so many details were hidden. Can't fucking wait to step up my DAC/AMP.