Is the Schiit Magni Heresy better than the JDS labs Atom?

[odyo]

You mean clipping, shortage of max output voltage.

Hey kinda offtopic but i'm very curious since i'm about to buy Sundara. I see most people saying they are bass light and have big rolloff but your review says ''Subbass response is excellent and goes down well below 10Hz. ''. Is it because of amp ?

I currently have DT 1990 and SBX AE5. DT 1990 is easy to drive but i noticed this headphone sounds unbalanced at lower volume and starts to make sense at higher volumes. My DT 770 is harder to drive(loudness wise) but doesn't have this problem. Any other headphone doesn't have this problem. DT 1990 is just becomes more balanced, clear and rich at higher volume. At lower volume some part of the song always overpower the rest or at least i feel like that.

Sorry if this is stupid question: Here: https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/ i can hear 1hz at higher volumes. Between 8-15hz left driver starts to rattle loudly. With DT 770 right driver rattles instead of left. What this mean ? (No rattle issue with normal usage btw both headphone works perfect)

As a curious newbie i have more questions but this is already too much

 

[solderdude]

Hey kinda offtopic but i'm very curious since i'm about to buy Sundara. I see most people saying they are bass light and have big rolloff but your review says ''Subbass response is excellent and goes down well below 10Hz. ''. Is it because of amp ?

It is a bit on bass light, certainly for those that like big bass. It has good bass extension though. Has nothing to do with amping.
Well it does a bit ofcourse. From a phone you cannot reach impressive levels which are needed to get 'good bass' out of it.
With a decent amp you can do this, not with a phone/laptop/tablet.

I currently have DT 1990 and SBX AE5. DT 1990 is easy to drive but i noticed this headphone sounds unbalanced at lower volume and starts to make sense at higher volumes. My DT 770 is harder to drive(loudness wise) but doesn't have this problem. Any other headphone doesn't have this problem. DT 1990 is just becomes more balanced, clear and rich at higher volume. At lower volume some part of the song always overpower the rest or at least i feel like that.

The reason is the way our hearing works.

Sorry if this is stupid question: Here: https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/ i can hear 1hz at higher volumes. Between 8-15hz left driver starts to rattle loudly. With DT 770 right driver rattles instead of left. What this mean ? (No rattle issue with normal usage btw both headphone works perfect)

You cannot hear 1 Hz. what you are hearing may be your amp clipping as you probably turn up the volume high to hear something.
The rattle is the same thing. You cannot hear 15Hz. What you can hear might be wiring inside the cups rattling, sound pushed through ports, clipping or reaching excursion limits of the driver which produces higher harmonics which you can hear.
Also there usually isn't any frequencies below 30Hz in music anyway.

Try this: set the volume so 400Hz sounds loud to you. Then sweep the lower frequencies without increasing the volume.

 

[odyo]

Try this: set the volume so 400Hz sounds loud to you. Then sweep the lower frequencies without increasing the volume.

Wow 400hz really annoying Thanks for the tip. DT 1990 with balanced pad goes down to 20hz at windows volume 6 and high gain. 6 is loud enough for 400hz My listening volume is between 10-30.

The reason is the way our hearing works.

Interesting part is this effect more noticeable on DT 1990. I guess some headphones more prone to that because of their sound signature and design.

It is a bit on bass light, certainly for those that like big bass. It has good bass extension though. Has nothing to do with amping.
Well it does a bit ofcourse. From a phone you cannot reach impressive levels which are needed to get 'good bass' out of it.
With a decent amp you can do this, not with a phone/laptop/tablet.

I heard planars love more power. I'm planning to buy heresy because it has lots of power at low ohm. I also heard planars response better to equalizer. Is this true for Sundara ? Especially for bass ?

I'm curious about this: what is difference between low and high gain at the same loudness ? Can i use 600 ohm Beyer at low gain if it's loud enough ? I don't understand this releationship between ohm/gain/loudness/sound quality. I know sensitivity is responsible for the loudness. Should i use low gain for low ohm headphone and high gain for high ohm headphones or doesnt matter ? For example my soundcard has 3 stages. Low 16-32ohm, Normal 32-150ohm, High 150-600ohm. I can use Beyer with low gain or my easy to drive 30 ohm Aurvana with high gain. Loudness wise they all be okay. External amps have low/high gain and volume knob as well. While setting the gain should i start with low gain and adjust according to loudness or should i just set high gain for better driver control ?

 

[Tks]

It is from a measurements perspective.

 

[solderdude]

I heard planars love more power. I'm planning to buy heresy because it has lots of power at low ohm.

Most planars require more current than dynamic headphones. In voltage sensitivity they are comparable.

I also heard planars response better to equalizer. Is this true for Sundara ? Especially for bass ?

most planar headphones don't need much EQ in the lows.

I'm curious about this: what is difference between low and high gain at the same loudness ?

In low gain (at the same loudness) you get slightly better measurements because there is slightly more feedback, more feedback = lower distortion and in some cases wider bandwidth. It is inconsequential for the sound. The only reason when one should use high gain is when you cannot play loud enough on low gain. That's what the switch is there for.

Can i use 600 ohm Beyer at low gain if it's loud enough ?

sure.

I don't understand this relationship between ohm/gain/loudness/sound quality.

loudness is determined by the output voltage from the amp and voltage (not power) sensitivity of the amplifier.
High imp. headphones require more voltage and less current.
Low imp. headphones require less voltage but more current.
So and amplifier needs to be able to provide a high output voltage and good current capabilities.

I know sensitivity is responsible for the loudness. Should i use low gain for low ohm headphone and high gain for high ohm headphones or doesnt matter ? For example my soundcard has 3 stages. Low 16-32ohm, Normal 32-150ohm, High 150-600ohm. I can use Beyer with low gain or my easy to drive 30 ohm Aurvana with high gain. Loudness wise they all be okay. External amps have low/high gain and volume knob as well. While setting the gain should i start with low gain and adjust according to loudness or should i just set high gain for better driver control ?

Best to use the lowest gain. If you cannot go loud enough switch to a higher gain. There is nothing more to it.

 

[odyo]

Most planars require more current than dynamic headphones. In voltage sensitivity they are comparable.

most planar headphones don't need much EQ in the lows.


In high gain (at the same loudness) you get slightly less good measurements. It is inconsequential for the sound. Th only reason when one should use high gain is when you cannot play loud enough on low gain. That's what the switch is there for.



sure.




loudness is determined by the output voltage from the amp and voltage (not power) sensitivity of the amplifier.
High imp. headphones require more voltage and less current. Low imp. headphones require less voltage but more current.
So and amplifier needs to be able to provide a high output voltage and good current capabilities.



Best to use the lowest gain. If you cannot go loud enough switch to a higher gain. There is nothing more to it.

Wow thanks. That's cleared my mind.

 

[madugo]

Does it make any sense to swap out the JDS atoms to the heresy?

Sometimes I think the atoms is not driving my hd6xx and some planers loud enough for my liking on the low gain on some things I listen to, I had to switch to high gain sometimes.

The current dac is the Modi by the way.

Thanks.

 

[Veri]

Sometimes I think the atoms is not driving my hd6xx and some planers loud enough for my liking on the low gain on some things I listen to, I had to switch to high gain sometimes.

That's what high gain is there for, though. Low gain is 0.0x unity gain, so no additional gain over input.
On the magni low gain is +3dB so it might make a really small/marginal difference.

 

[madugo]

That's what high gain is there for, though. Low gain is 0.0x unity gain, so no additional gain over input.
On the magni low gain is +3dB so it might make a really small/marginal difference.

Thank you so much for the help.

Was also thinking to maybe swap the whole set up to Topping dx7 pro, will that make any sense instead?

 

[Veri]

Thank you so much for the help.

Was also thinking to maybe swap the whole set up to Topping dx7 pro, will that make any sense instead?

DX7 pro and Sabaj D5 are great combo units with balanced headphone amplifiers both: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-topping-dx7-pro-measurement-comparison.9457/
But honestly not sure about improvement over Atom or Heresy unless you need more power over balanced..

 

[madugo]

DX7 pro and Sabaj D5 are great combo units with balanced headphone amplifiers both: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-topping-dx7-pro-measurement-comparison.9457/
But honestly not sure about improvement over Atom or Heresy unless you need more power over balanced..

Thanks, I was reading the Dx7 pro tread and saw a few people with QC/built issues so not sure if I should risk it...

The Modi 3 and JDS atoms at least seems sturdy to me and less failing parts

 

[odyo]

Does it make any sense to swap out the JDS atoms to the heresy?

Sometimes I think the atoms is not driving my hd6xx and some planers loud enough for my liking on the low gain on some things I listen to, I had to switch to high gain sometimes.

The current dac is the Modi by the way.

Thanks.

Your setup is pretty good. No need to upgrade(upgrade?). Atom meant to be used in high gain mode with headphones. Low gain is for sensitive iems.