The newest addition to my collection, Mangird Tea playing off an Ifi Hip DAC 2 with 7hz timeless, HD 6XX, HE 4XX, and HD 599 in the background

Vansant93

May 9, 2022

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Vansant93

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Bedlam-Inside

May 9, 2022

I've heard great things about the Mangird Tea's. Also, 2 hipdac2 photos in a row on this feed. Is it a good piece? Worth the money?

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Vansant93

Jun 1, 2022

I love riding but driver stupidity and general unawareness is by far the most dangerous thing about it, the second most dangerous is probably just people trying to ride above their ability level, or who buy bikes that are above their ability level. This was my second accident, the first was my fault pretty much entirely, but I was younger and an adrenaline junkie, and I got unlucky. I shouldn't have been riding that way on a regular road, and I rounded a corner at speed to find someone stopped dead in the road with their hazards on, and at the same time the only other car I had seen in a while was coming the other way so I couldn't go around. I basically had a split second to decide what I wanted to hit, a moving car head on, the back of a stationary car, or some trees, so I hit the back of the car and was thrown off. I learned my lesson but have since tired of sport bikes, so a few years ago I bought a Triumph (my fourth, including the one I crashed and the two after) Bonneville Bobber Black. Up until then it was all sport bikes or cafe racers, so I decided to get a bobber and it pretty much came down to the Indian bobber or the Triumph bobber black. I decided on the Triumph and the week I was going to go to the dealership, I found a 2 year old (2018) with less than 100 miles on it about 20 minutes from me, so I bought that instead and it needed a little work because it was dropped on it's side in a parking lot (lightly) and had sat pretty much since new, plus I put a few custom touches on it and became pretty attached to it, my biggest reason for going with it over the Indian, there were a few, but the biggest was the styling, which I really fell in love with, especially the floating seat that made it look like a hardtail. It really isn't good as a cruiser, the gas tank is too small (which they fixed on the newer ones) and the riding position isn't comfortable for long rides, but it's great around town and for shorter rides (under 45 min) and the detuned high torque version of Triumph's 1200 is a great engine and a ton of fun, I love riding and would never try to steer someone away from it, just be careful of other drivers and ride within your limits, that and don't buy a liter sport bike for your first bike. The Teas sounded kinda off and tinny to me at first as well, or maybe metallic is a better adjective than tinny, because it was a weird sort of metallic-y sound, but I also wasn't used to balanced armature drivers because I didn't have a lot of experience with IEMs at the time, I used to be more bothered by having things deep in my ears like that, but once I got used to regular earbuds I was able to move up to IEMs. Over ears are still way more comfortable and still my preference, despite the dollar/performance aspect of IEMs. I could definitely see a DAC/amp really opening an IEM up and making a big difference. I tried running the Teas and my Timeless off my phone with no external amp once and they sounded very 2 dimensional and the overall sound quality was noticeably bad. With respect to in person stores and the current state of affairs, I still wear a mask any time I am around other people and carry a small thing of hand sanitizer with me. I am always careful about touching my face after touching things in a store, so doing something like putting demo headphones on is pretty much out of the question at this point, at least for now. COVID is calming down and becoming less severe, but it's still at the point where it's bad enough and the meds I am on would make it more severe in addition to making it easier to catch, so I still do what I can to avoid it. I have actually been yelled at for still wearing a mask, more than once, certain types seem to get very offended that I am still doing this thing that we were forced to do but no longer technically have to. I just love turning it around on them and accusing them of being fascists, trying to tell me what I can and can't do. As far as places to go, I am in the same boat, pretty much just best buy and they don't really have anything I am interested in. I did get my Sennheiser Momentum 3 (over-ears) from them but that's about it. I hear you on people not being able to think outside the box, in general, but specifically related to audio gear set-ups. I do enjoy finding new uses for things or repurposing them. I'd be interested to see how you integrated your gryphon into your car audio system. And the DT 880s are great, but I am also a little sensitive to treble so I tend to prefer a warmer headphone when listening for pleasure, however depending on what I am doing or what type of music I am listening to, the 880s have great detail, clarity, and overall FR. I really like them for acoustic guitar. I have always admired/envied people who can spread their focus across multiple areas/instruments, I had enough on my hands with just bass, and a little acoustic guitar but even that I sort of kept the same playing style, a sort of bass inspired finger picking style (and a little slap/pop which is fun but quite difficult on guitar.) Jazz, especially with Latin influence, sounds like a very fast/busy/fun playing style. I was/am mainly a rock/blues rock player but always loved playing jazz bass. I am very interested in the gryphon and will probably upgrade to it at some point, unless they come out with something else that fills that role, or update the gryphon. For now I am content with the Hip DAC 2, it doe what I need it too and can power most of my headphones. I do wish it could power everything because it's the only DAC/amp I have with xbass or any kind of bass boost, the Zen Can Signature doesn't have xbass which is slightly disappointing, but it does have xspace and the custom EQ for the 6XX which is why I bought it so it does what it's supposed to, and does it well. Currently using my Hip DAC to listen to Roy Buchanan on my Sundaras because they are the only things I kept out when I packed all my stuff into a storage unit... that and a few IEMs, but I am currently temporarily cut off from all my audio gear while I am sort of stuck in limbo. Was supposed to be moving into a new place, but for a few reasons it isn't ready yet and I had to leave my old place, so everything is in a storage unit and I'm in a hotel with only my Hip DAC, Sundaras, and 2 IEMs and I miss all my gear already. The Sundaras and Hip DAC are great, but I loved having options.

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Bedlam-Inside

Jun 8, 2022

Vansant93Sorry for the late response as I've been traveling. Of course I would heed my abilities riding and really warm up to highway drives, but yes between driving and store coughing I haven't been as big of a people-lover as I used to be- I'm now a hybrid extrovert haha. Forum chats are my way around random chats with folks who I now find.....just odd hahaha. I saw a likely cheaper Honda motorcycle model of a cafe racer style and I'm thinking those lower tier brands may be a nice low commitment into riding. What do motorcycles call it? Riding? Cruising? Biking? Cycling? Motorcycling? I want to know the ~lingo~ before I embarrass myself right? The introduction to the HiFi sound signature in general felt cold and analytical to my ears, but they quite literally "warmed up to it" the more I heard different HiFi setups and understood the clarity doesn't have to be exclusive to warm sound signatures. It's a crazy world to dive into as well, because there's no real way to "get into it" other than learning what verbiage means, how to breakdown reviews video or print, and how to listen to the products itself. I compare it to first listening to Jazz music: If you hear it at first you'll likely only hear calm, soothing vibes that you get bored with after a "head and a solo", but after I learned how to play, listen, and compose Jazz, I felt like I was listening to a podcast in that every instrument had something to add to the musical conversation. Excuse my "La La Land"-esque simplification of a beautiful style of music, but the need for practiced and developed personal context in these two realms remains the same. That's why I think the DAC/Amp stage is essential with IEMs as I don't trust the audio source (unless it's a DAP with quality built in DAC stage) to provide the same kind of clarity and power in the conversion/amplification function. I'll send you a photo (or DM? is that a thing on here?) of my audio setup when I return home, but it's honestly simple: Phone/ Audio source > Blutooth connect TO xDSD Gryphon > 3.5mm/Aux connect to Car Stereo. The XBass is most noticeable in this setup for me between my familiarity with the Subaru stereo sound as well as the seal of the car cabin allowing minimal sound leak (like windows down). Have fun with it though. I've seen someone take an iFi Diablo DAC and slap a BT receiver upstream from it via USB to grab iPhone output and that was 1/4"-> AUX cable to stereo. Jazz bass is so fun I'm glad you dig it. I used to be great at the double bass by I don't think my chops could manage anymore. The Beyerdynamics have alway been good for that clarity they're a brand I do trust and have had consistently good experiences with which is the name of the game for me. Glad the DT 880s can bring the kind of musicality you're looking for. I'm sure those attenuators (as I mentioned Sonarworks) could certainly correct some of that for you. Options are great I hear you. I try to find routines and uses until a product graduates in my setup to being a mainstay then I consider looking at other investments, but remain quite frugal. Blessing and a curse as always. I've seen some things about the iFi Go Bar that looks like a little Dragonfly dongle dac. May be of interest/use in our casual setups. As you said, the industry is full of its own checks and balances, so I'm curious to see Go Bar vs Dragonfly videos that will probably come out soon. I'm sure there's more similar competitors for the USB like Dongle DAC build as well.

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