There & Back Again: A Hobbi...Headphone Lover's Tale

[NSNO2021]

Cheers Fret, I will do exactly that

[George Hincapie]

Another addition to my headphone collection has arrived; again from ZMF in the US. This time the Atrium Open Ltd in Hawaiian Koa. Just...

A quick Google indicates they're £2000. Is that what you paid for them?

[George Hincapie]

Another addition to my headphone collection has arrived; again from ZMF in the US. This time the Atrium Open Ltd in Hawaiian Koa. Just...

A quick Google indicates they're £2000. Is that what you paid for them?

£2699.

They can be bought used for around £2000. ZMF hold their value extraordinarily well. Have a look here.

If you'd like to listen to them, then I encourage you to visit CanJam London between 19-20 August. ZMF will be present. It'll be a superb opportunity to buy some very special Ltd variants in rare woods or beautiful stabilised resins.

I would start by listening to the Auteur Classic, which is the most neutral ZMF headphone. Then Vérité Open & Closed. Then Atrium Open and Closed. Finish with Caldera, their first planar magnetic.

I shall be going, so please let me know if you'd like to meet up.

https://canjamglobal.com/shows/london2023/

[George Hincapie]

While I wait for my next DAC to arrive, I am rolling some tubes in my MZ3. Out go the Russian Melz 1578, in go the Sylvania 12SN7 'Green Print'. Some lovely (and stupidly expensive) GEC 12AT7 are being shipped from Holland as well. These tubes are older than I am, and I'm no longer a Spring chicken!

[antonio66]

@George Have you got a converter for the GE 12AT7's?

[George Hincapie]

Hello folks,

It's been a while without updates, but system developments have been on hold pending delivery of my latest DAC in the seemingly endless search for headphone audio nirvana. This item was a real gamble, for a variety of reasons.

The DAC is the Audial S5. It's a reference DAC built around the TD1541A chip, constructed in Serbia by Pedja Rogic. You can read all the details and specs here. I wasn't able to audition it beforehand and there are no returns. Additionally, the import duty was both unwelcome and painful.

I shall keep this super short, as I have had this for 5 minutes and haven't yet been able to find a proper high quality source to use with it. The S5 has no AES and no SPDIF Coax connections. It does have USB, but I have no high quality USB source to try with it. I have tried the Pi4 and Ropieee, but it's just underwhelming as a source in isolation (really needs to route through a DDC first). I'm currently using the SPDIF Coax output of the Metrum Acoustics Ambre into the S5 using a BNC adapter. Not ideal and completely defeats the purpose of the 75 Ohm BNC connection, but needs must.

I am hoping to identify a high SQ USB source, Any suggestions? I'd really like to listen to it using an Optical Rendu, so if any of you own one and fancy a trip to Buckinghamshire for an afternoon of critical listening then I shall make it worth your while - drop me a message.

Build wise, it's beautifully made. Built like a tank in fact. No subjective assessments for a few weeks; so I'll update then.

Thanks for reading.

[George Hincapie]

Fascinating , GH, and totally unknown to me.

USB source: you can temporarily convert an old/unused Windows PC / laptop by running Volumio from a USB stick.
The 2 converted desktop PCs here (with USB regen) are the best streaming sources I have.

[George Hincapie]

@George Have you got a converter for the GE 12AT7's?

Hello mate,

No, they work natively with the MZ3.

[George Hincapie]

A new source has just arrived from the US; a Pi2AES 2.0, which mounts onto a standard Pi. The board can be powered either through the Pi, or with a jumper removal, separately via a 5v barrel connector. This will be powered by my trusty Tomanek LPSU.

The outputs are SPDIF (BNC), SPDIF (Coax), AES and I2S. The supported I2S implementations are Gustard and PS Audio, selectable via jumper assignment.

A clear, acrylic case is included.

I've always wanted to try one of these in my system, especially after the incredible review from GoldenSound, highlighting the insanely low jitter. Listening impressions to follow.

Thanks for reading.

[George Hincapie]

I wonder how that compares to the Allo DigiOne SIG?