Sennheiser PC37X randomly goes bad after disconnecting the cable ?
Greetings, Yesterday I was using my headset like normal with my macbook, just listening to music and on a call with people like usual, and the headset was perfectly fine. The stock wire that came with the headset is extremely long and yesterday it annoyed me very much that it kept getting tangled with itself, so I decided to see if the cable is replaceable. I pulled out the cable from the headset and saw the adapter, and looked online for a replacement. Upon plugging it back in, the audio sounded extremely muffled and washed out. Im not sure what I did wrong to make it mess up like that as I've always taken good care of it, ive had it for about 2 years and its always just been chilling on my desk, but anywho I thought the cable just went bad and ordered a replacement. The replacement came, and the issue is still persistant, so I am not sure what the issue is I've tried multiple different headsets and the issue is not with the port, and I also tried it with my windows laptop and...
Apr 23, 2024
As for pairing the Modi 2 Uber with the Vali 2, I've heard sounds really great even with the stock tube and with the advantage of being able to roll your own tubes to better match what you want.
For streaming or compressed downloads your onboard DAC will be fine. If you're listening to high sample rate lossless files, you'll want an upgraded DAC. However, if you are listening to those you already have an upgraded DAC or they're not playing (or are most likely being downsampled if they are).
Your sound blaster no longer matters if you use optical to connect it. You could pull out the sound blaster and just use on board optical (or USB for that matter). The sound quality will be the same. The only difference will be that the Sound Blaster may provide positional audio in games better (but many titles don't even support this well)
The Vali 2 is a tube amp. Have you ever had a tube amp before? Tube amps generally produce a technically less accurate sound by coloring it, and making it warmer. They also run hot and need time to warm up before use, and tubes DO burn out just like lightbulbs. Some people like this, some people hate it. It's worth experimenting with if you are into that sort of thing,. You can go crazy online shopping for different tubes and checking how it changes the sound.
On the other hand, if you just want something that works and you don't have to mess with, a Magni 2 Uber or Asgard 2 (or even Jotunheim if you can stretch the budget) amp may be more up your alley.
The jotunheim is a fair bit higher in budget (At $399) than the Vali 2, but it is widely considered one of the best deals in headphone amplifiers right now, tying or beating many amps at many times its price. Some even think it sounds better than Schiit's top end $1700 Ragnarok. As a bonus, you can also add a USB DAC card for only an additional $100, and not worry about having a separate DAC. It is also the only amp mentioned here (except the Ragnarok) that provides a balanced out, which the HD6xx's can support (if you buy or make a balanced cable for them)
Another option worth considering is the Modi Multibit DAC, which is quite a step up from the Modi 2 Uber. A true multibit DAC at $250 is unheard of (or at least was, before Schiit did it)
My personal setup right now is as follows:
Creative X-Fi Titanium HD ---Toslink---> Schiit Modi Multibit DAC ---> Schiit Lyr 2 Amp.
I only use the soundblaster because I have it. I could just as easily without any quality losses use the on board optical port.
Note: The Lyr 2 was a recent purchase for me, and I've decided to return it under Schiit's 15 day return program. turns out tubes just weren't for me. I'm going with the Jotunheim to replace it instead.
Anyway, I hope I gave you some things to think about and didn't muddy the waters too much.