Schiit amp+Hi-fiman headphones=audio heaven
Discussion
A couple of pics of my recently purchased Schiit Audio(yes, really) Lyr 2 headphone amp and Hi-Fi man HE 560 planar magnetic headphones. Silly money, but I used the proceeds from the sale of my active Naim system so I could listen at 'healthy' levels without annoying the neighbours. True, you don't get the visceral impact a pair of big floor standers can offer, but I'm hearing things I never noticed before.
Here they are in daylight
And here's a pic of them glowing gently in the dark: they really are hypnotic to look at, don't know why.
The valves as standard don't normally stick out that far, their tops sit pretty much flush with the top of the case,
but I wanted to be able to see them in all their glory, so a pair of these had to be ordered from Texas. Novib socket savers, primarily they're used to save wear and tear on your amps valve sockets but they also raise the height of the valves, so that's good
My only problem now is 'tube rolling', trying out various different valves(or tubes) for no doubt minimal gains in sonic quality for ever greater amounts of money. I've currently got my eye on a pair of '60s vintage NOS Siemens E188c valves
It could be a slippery slope!
Here they are in daylight
And here's a pic of them glowing gently in the dark: they really are hypnotic to look at, don't know why.
The valves as standard don't normally stick out that far, their tops sit pretty much flush with the top of the case,
but I wanted to be able to see them in all their glory, so a pair of these had to be ordered from Texas. Novib socket savers, primarily they're used to save wear and tear on your amps valve sockets but they also raise the height of the valves, so that's good
My only problem now is 'tube rolling', trying out various different valves(or tubes) for no doubt minimal gains in sonic quality for ever greater amounts of money. I've currently got my eye on a pair of '60s vintage NOS Siemens E188c valves
It could be a slippery slope!Edited by wolfracesonic on Wednesday 6th July 22:41
So once again the credit card takes one for the team in the pursuit of marginal gains in sonic transparency.
Seimens & Halske e88cc valves NOS in original boxes, made in 1967! (same age as me, probably better condition) I wouldn't say there is a night and day difference between these and the stock tubes but they are better. Glad I got them? yes; worth the money for the improvement gained? probably not, but I like the idea of them being stored away in a warehouse somewhere then being brought into service nearly 50 years later: romantic somehow
Not the place I got mine from but here's a link to a place that has loads of these things for sale, if your interested Audio valves for sale
Seimens & Halske e88cc valves NOS in original boxes, made in 1967! (same age as me, probably better condition) I wouldn't say there is a night and day difference between these and the stock tubes but they are better. Glad I got them? yes; worth the money for the improvement gained? probably not, but I like the idea of them being stored away in a warehouse somewhere then being brought into service nearly 50 years later: romantic somehow
Not the place I got mine from but here's a link to a place that has loads of these things for sale, if your interested Audio valves for saleGassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff