DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a review. Zach owns ZMF Headphones and is a headphone manufacturer. The unit is on loan from dCS and ZMF is not a dealer for dCS products. Check out ZMFheadphones shown in the video: shop.zmfheadph...
Noticed on the right of the screen a closed headphone that’s not the VC, Atticus or Eikon with a ZMF headphone gimbal and strap. Maybe the first public showing of the Atrium Closed?
Zach hinted at a budget model headphone that was under development. Its never been officially revealed, but he talked about it a bit on the Passion For Sound channel recently (video interview). Link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hAMWSlm-b0Y.html
Had to comment after seeing the old classic enlightened audio designs dsp-9000 pro dac being used and loved. I'm a huge fan of ead gear from the 90s and have a black dsp-9000 series 3 that I have sent back to be tricked out and upgraded at Nobel electronics (same designers and engineers of the dac and other gear) with over $1000 in black gate caps and some of their proprietary mods and upgrades. These old stereophile recommended class a units might not to high resolution, but give them a good source via a CD or digital transport and it still competes with what is out there today. Also have a collection of other ead gear: pm2000 amplifer , 5.1 theatermaster classic (with the buttons and no display) , signatuture pre/pro and a dsp-7000 series 3 dac. Don't see many 9000 series dacs out there as they only made around 400. A classic ! What sources have you found good luck feeding your 9000? Thank you for sharing !
Hey great collection! And I agree the Ead gear is of the best I've heard regardless of Era made. The mid range is unlike anything I've heard from other dacs. I also have worked with Greg and Noble in Iowa, great service. Just put the 9000 through it early this year! Totally worth it. My favorite amps are a custom tube Amp a friend from head fi made me and the Ecp Ravenswood 3f solid state amp to use with the Ead. .
The Lina stack is intriguing to me. I'm just not sure it's worth me selling my current setup (Woo WA33 Elite JPS, Holo May Kitsune/Chord Hugo TT2, Lumin U1 mini or Aurender M600) for an unknown entity.
I have the WA 33 and tried out the LINA amp over the weekend. The two are similar in the sense they are quite neutral and have insane transient response. The Lina amp has the "fastest" amp I've ever heard with the Abyss headphones; i.e. had even more insane transients. It also had extremely focused stereo image. Unfortunately, I couldn't haul the WA 33 to do a side-by-side, for obvious reasons. The Lina amp is really great, but I'm personally going to save my pennies for the Vivaldi DAC first. The Vivaldi APEX is insanely low noise floor and high realism, compared even to the Bartok. It's nice not to have the finnicky nature of the tubes, so I may end up running the Lina amp for gaming sessions etc.. Right now I'm running dCS Bartok into the WA 33.
ok was that the atrium closed I saw hiding in plane sight or the sub $1000 headphone we are expecting soon? it didn't have the crescent headband tho but that closed cup didn't look familiar.
Nice overview mate, I hope we get an opportunity to have a listen to this. Atrium on the chord Dave is God, so addictive, but investing in this would mean ripping out the entire desk and starting again, and I don’t think I’m ready to do that yet LOL even without the clock et cetera 😎
Do you have a dealer near Raleigh NC? What pads do you recommend for the Hifiman Sundara? Ideally I would love to have more and lower bass and if possible tame harshness in the highs.
Awesome video. I’m sure it sounds amazing. My only gripe is the aesthetic. For 30K I want headphone pornography. The Lina is not headphone pornography but the tube amplifiers on the table most definitely are.
Excuse my ignorance but how are you using the cayin in this demo ? I'm using the mk1 as a headphone amp through dcs bartok and Rossini Clock but considering the dcs Lina headphone amp for a upgrade. Headphones are Audeze lcd5. Many thanks
Yeah I used the Cayin as a unit prominently to test the DAC out, most testing was done VS my vintage SFD II MK II - overall the Lina is a big step up, very impressive. Great DAC for tube amps.
So in my position currently owning the Cayin ha 300b mk1 , the dcs Lina headphone amp would be a upgrade or just a side ways step with a 'different ' sound ? Thanks