Greetings from Dundee

[Solrighal]

Hi folks,

I was pointed in this direction by a friendly head-fi'er. I'm primarily interested in DAC's right now but who knows where that might lead.

I'm 50 years old, male and love listening to music, mainly via headphones. I do have a regular two-channel system but it doesn't get much play-time these days.

My musical tastes are too varied to list but basically nothing is off the table except for commercial pop.

My current system is as follows..

Home

WD USB 3 external drives > Mac mini (2012 i5) > FLAC > JRMC 19 > ODAC > Project Ember Mk2 > Sennheiser HD 650

Portable

Rockboxed Sansa Clip+ > Sennheiser PX100II

I've had many, many headphones over the years but have gradually pared back the collection to the two models you see above.

I like a smooth sound in general but particularly can't tolerate bright sound. I had a pair of AKG Q701's for a while & they were torture, imho.

When I bought the ODAC I also bought an O2 and was generally happy with what they achieved, particularly when compared to on-board sound from the Mac. However, when I moved to the 650's the O2 was clearly lacking in power so I sold it and bought the very first Project Ember Mk2.

I really enjoy rolling valves & the Ember is particularly suited to this as it only requires one at a time. That hasn't stopped me buying quite a lot though. Current favourite is my 1951 Sylvania 'Chrome Dome' 6SN7GTA.

However, I still have problems with the sound, no matter what tube I roll in. There's a certain glare in the treble that's actually become more obvious now the the rest of the FR is pretty much as I like it.

I'm putting it down to the ODAC and that's why I'm here. The Head-fi'er who pointed me in this direction is a big fan of Beresford DAC's and from what I've seen around here he's not alone.

Anyway, that's my story so far. If I can be of any help to anyone I'll do my best.

Regards,
Gordon.

[struth]

Welcome to AoS Gordon. as you'll have seen we have a digital section which contains stan Beresfords own section for all Beresford alk, so it you have questions pertaining to Beresford stuff thats the lace to ask as there are lots of knowledgable users including the designer there.
cheers g

[Solrighal]

Thanks for the welcome Grant. Another Scot, who knew? I only found three on the whole of Head-fi in over 10 years as a member. :)

[struth]

Thanks for the welcome Grant. Another Scot, who knew? I only found three on the whole of Head-fi in over 10 years as a member. :)

A big Scottish contingent here Gordon.

[Solrighal]

A big Scottish contingent here Gordon.

I hope that's a good thing ;)

[struth]

Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people.:)

[Solrighal]

Count me in then!

[walpurgis]

Hi Gordon. Welcome to AOS.

We're a friendly bunch here and I'm sure you'll find plenty to interest you.


Enjoy the forum,
Geoff.

[Solrighal]

Thanks Geoff. :)

[archiesdad]

Howdy and welcome to AoS Gordon, am no far away in Fife although we do pop up to Bonnie Dundee every so often so we can visit a specialist tea/coffee shop, enjoy.

[Solrighal]

Hi Martin. I'm guessing you mean Braithwaite's? They actually have a blend specifically made for me of a Brazilian coffee. A lovely wee shop. Really old school & all the better for it. It's not often these days you can go into a shop & actually talk to an expert - in anything. A dying breed.

Nice to meet you,
Gordon.

[Solrighal]

Oh! I just noticed you drive an S2000. Is that right? I've always wanted a crack at one of those. That engine is to die for on the right road.

[archiesdad]

When the sun is out there is a good excuse to have a blast,run out of coffee, then home for a brew and some music, life can be good.

[Solrighal]

When the sun is out there is a good excuse to have a blast,run out of coffee, then home for a brew and some music, life can be good.

Yeah, I envy you. My car's the polar opposite of yours. All the hard work is done by 3500rpm, lol.

[Barry]

Welcome to AoS Gordon.

Yes you're right there is a large Scots mafia here on AoS, but the East Anglia 'massive' is pretty sizable as well. :D

Anyway as has been said, we're a pretty friendly bunch here, so enjoy the Forum.

Regards
Barry

[Solrighal]

Hi Barry, thanks for the welcome. :)

[Anthony K]

Hi Gordon and welcome from another Headfier , your right about those AKG's , I found them bright and quite shrill , Grado lover myself

[Brigadoon]

Hi Gordon

Welcome from the South East England branch of the Tartan Mafia.:)

Regards
Barry (openingabottleofscotchnotwine)

[archiesdad]

Yeah, I envy you. My car's the polar opposite of yours. All the hard work is done by 3500rpm, lol.
Yep we too have a diesel, a Leon for dog/family duties, but then a 9200rpm redline Honda when the devil has control, yippee.

[Solrighal]

Hi Gordon and welcome from another Headfier , your right about those AKG's , I found them bright and quite shrill , Grado lover myself

Hi Anthony. Yeah, I'll never go with AKG again. In fact, I doubt I'll ever move away from my HD 650's. Once they're properly driven (and mine are) they are breathtaking.


Hi Gordon

Welcome from the South East England branch of the Tartan Mafia.:)

Regards
Barry (openingabottleofscotchnotwine)

Hi Barry, aye we get around ;)


Yep we too have a diesel, a Leon for dog/family duties, but then a 9200rpm redline Honda when the devil has control, yippee.

I drive an old Mk4 Golf GT TDi. Not standard though. Lowered, widened & with a Stage 2 remap that's currently giving me 186bhp & 302lb/ft. Lousy handling of course but bags of grips and it really shifts. and 55mpg as well!

Gordon.

[Andrei]

Hi Anthony. Yeah, I'll never go with AKG again. In fact, I doubt I'll ever move away from my HD 650's. Once they're properly driven (and mine are) they are breathtaking.

That's my experience exactly. I have Senn 650s, then bought AKG701s but sold them on within two weeks. They were dreadful.

[Solrighal]

That's my experience exactly. I have Senn 650s, then bought AKG701s but sold them on within two weeks. They were dreadful.

Hi Andrei. Yeah, they were awful although I have to say that when I got my chance at the Project Ember when it was on it's European tour it was the AKG's which exhibited the biggest improvement. Still not enough though because that 2k spike is always going to be there. I couldn't even manage to satisfactorily EQ it out, even 'though I'm pretty handy with a parametric EQ.

And don't start me on the headband bumps which were instruments of the devil and huge velour covered ear cushions that actually also were painful. A terrible design from start to finish.

What's really odd is that that sonic signature is actually becoming more popular, along with artificially enhanced bass. I put it down to the YouTube/Spotify generation :)

Nice to meet you mate,
Gordon.