Very nice system - I enjoyed my NDX2 very much before moving to the NC 300 series.
The Niimbus seems to be an excellent amp but too expensive for me seeing as I had a substantial spend on my main system a couple of years ago.
I too will use two headphones (a planar closed back and dynamic open back) though not at the same level as yours. Enjoy!
That makes total sense. Good product isnāt it. If you ever fancy adding active speakers or a decent s/h amp you can make a very good second system.
Bruce
It is for a second system because as you rightly point out, the 333/332 is a lot better.
For a second system it is ideal.
I had considered the Chords when thinking about the main system but quickly determined that DAVE would be required for an appreciable difference to the 333/332.
I still have my Mojo for portable use and do like the Chord sound but that is where I will stay.
Yes indeed - a nice bit of future proofing.
A Chord Dave could be nice, but for headphone use I wouldnāt rule out a TT2 as a serious contender to rival your 333/332.
Ha ha, no chance! I have invested in my 333/332 and donāt care if it can be bettered - I am not on an endless journey of disastisfaction!
To me, the Chord sound sits between Mojo and Dave. The sonic improv werenāt over the Mojo is incremental - Hugo 2/TT2 is marginally better, DAVE significantly so.
I am happy with Mojo.
In this āgameā it is important to put a stake in the ground and stop searching. If not, you are faced with an eternal search for the ābetterā which is actually only ever going to be ādifferentā.
I have committed to a full 6 box 300 series for my main system plus Palma DHS-1 for headphone duties on that system. The Atom HE plus DCA Noire X will satisfy my 2nd system needs with the advantage of adding active speakers if ever required.
After weeks of intensive headphone investigations I have come to a few conclusions:-
Picking the headphones that closest match your requirements is important and they can be fine tuned if required.
I am now happy with my 300 series plus Palma DHS-1s with no EQ and Atom HE and DCA Noire X with no EQ for my second system.
Job done!
Very decisive and sensible thinking!
enjoy
Gary
Yes, headphones have their own voice and characteristics. Headphones in the ā¬500 range are very good, but in the ā¬1500-2000 range you get excellence. I think my Heddphone 2GT is my final point of arrival, as I cannot imagine anything better.
The Sennheiser HD800S seemed to lack bass on my big system. But using my Lehmann Audio headphone amp connected directly to a cheap Bluesound Nano None, makes these cans sound divine, especially for Jazz. ; maybe removing the intermediate passage via the Tape Out on my amp, was the answer. I have a Phonitor with onboard DAC. I am going to connect the big Cocktail Audio streamer directly ( bypassing the internal DAC) to the DAC in my Phonitor, to see if thing are better.
The tiny Lehmann Audio amp is very good. I bought the much more expensive Phonitor SE for Cross Feed, which can improve a lot of recordings.
I quite enjoy having headphones with different voicings, that match certain types of music. I believe with headphones, you can get to a very good system at less cost than is needed for speaker based systems.
Hifiman is selling the HE1000 Stealth for less than 1000 euros at the momentā¦ many prefer it to the HE1000 SE which is 2000 euros, the Stealth has excellent sound with my Phonitor, I would be curious to compare it with the Hedd, did you not do it?
I got the 800s, I didnāt keep it for long, it is too unbalanced due to its lack of bass, and the Hifiman is better everywhere.
Tend to agree, everyone talks about the 800ās but I was distinctly underwhelmedā¦.
I use Hifiman Arya organic and find them perfect for my occasional headphone use, long term listening my ears get a tad warm but they are comfortable and sound superb, especially through the Atom HE (which I found better than use a Lehmann headphone amp with my main system)
Gary
I only listened to the Stealth at Hifiman, whether for comfort or for burnishing, it takes several tens of hours, beyond 50 hours for sureā¦ now the Stealth is comfortable, the foams have softened and the sound is really very balanced with a very nice separation of soundsā¦ the best headphones Iāve had by far!
I did consider HiFiman, but some user posts Head Fi, were not always positive about certain aspects of this companyās products, even though they very sound good. I do not like the way they charge high prices for new models and massively discount last years model. That is just me.
The HD800S, is excellent for some types of music with the right HP amp. I like the detailed bass on Jazz recordings. I abandoned them for a while, but I have come back to them.
I was fascinated by the driver technology of the Heddphone. I passed on the the first model, as reviews and forum comments were divisive but the consensus on the Heddphone 2GT was positive. I got a B stock par for ā¬1600. I really like these headphones. They are very neutral.
Cross feed is potentially interesting to me too. I may take a look at the Roon offering once my two new headphones are well bedded in and I am totally familiar with their sound. It is one of the reasons I may consider updating my Mojo to the Mojo 2 at some point.
Cross Feed bring alive recordings like Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, by Mingus; that have hard one channel stereo effects, that sound awful on any headphone. Mostly I do not need it, but when I do it is very good.
Not all hifi man headphones are created equally!
Defo worth doing your research and some demos - I was surprisedthe different sounds from the different brands could be so vastā¦..
If you visit a site like Head Fi, there are people out there that collect headphones, just for the different sound experience every headphone gives.
I have accumulated 4 over time, and I play with each from time to time.
I love the James Bond theme by Pure Desmond but the drums are hard right. Excellent sound quality track but I think cross feed may be an improvement.
Black Saint comes to life on one particularly badly mastered track with cross feed.
Currently I am using my Palma DHS-1 headphones with my main system and leave them on all night to run them in. They have well over 200 hours on them and find them to be very good.
My DCA Noire X headphones are permanently playing through my Atom HE to burn both devices in. I havenāt listened to them much yet apart from a few minutes at a time for curiosity. They sound great.
The Atom HE is plugged into the upstairs ring main with the supplied power line lite and therefore not protected by the Puritan 156 on my main system. I have to put my ear to it to detect any mains hum at all but when I added an SSD with my FLAC files, I could easily hear loud hum and it varied in frequency.
Just shows how noisy the USB connection is although I am using a generic (cheap!) cable.