Schiit Magni Heresy channel imbalance

[shaney777]

In Amir's review of the Schiit Magni Heresy, he mentions that channel imbalance is known and you might have to go through a few units before you find one that is balanced. Is this something that is noticeable at normal listening volumes? I can't really be sending another amp or multiple amps back, as I already lost $75 doing this with the JDS Labs Atom stack.

 

[solderdude]

It's a matter of being lucky.
Imbalance is only present at the lowest volume control settings.
You also have a gain switch which helps with this.

 

[raindance]

Generally, your ears may not be perfectly balanced either, so what I do if I hear imbalance, is swap left and right connections at the amp input AND at the headphones (assuming you have detachable cables) and stick with whichever scheme matches my ears closer and gets centered content into the middle of my head. If both ways sound exactly the same to you, you're in luck!

 

[shaney777]

It's a matter of being lucky.
Imbalance is only present at the lowest volume control settings.
You also have a gain switch which helps with this.

Oh my gosh! I am excited that you responded. I really like your reviews and website. Let me ask this: if you had to choose a $200 - $300 amp/DAC for Hifiman HE400i (2016), what would you go with?

 

[raindance]

Generally, your ears may not be perfectly balanced either, so what I do if I hear imbalance, is swap left and right connections at the amp input AND at the headphones (assuming you have detachable cables) and stick with whichever scheme matches my ears closer and gets centered content into the middle of my head. If both ways sound exactly the same to you, you're in luck!

I should add that you would do this at your "normal listening level" because pots don't track perfectly at all settings.

 

[shaney777]

Generally, your ears may not be perfectly balanced either, so what I do if I hear imbalance, is swap left and right connections at the amp input AND at the headphones (assuming you have detachable cables) and stick with whichever scheme matches my ears closer and gets centered content into the middle of my head. If both ways sound exactly the same to you, you're in luck!

Thank you! Swap RCA LR positions on both amp and DAC?

 

[solderdude]

Oh my gosh! I am excited that you responded. I really like your reviews and website. Let me ask this: if you had to choose a $200 - $300 amp/DAC for Hifiman HE400i (2016), what would you go with?

May depend on where you live, what DAC functionality you need, what size and looks.
About $150 on amp and $ 150-. on DAC can get you anything between crap and excellent.
Schiit, JDS Labs makes sense for the US.. when you like the look maybe Geshelli ?

IEMagni, Magnius, JDS labs Atom
Topping E30, Modi 3+, Atom DAC.

 

[raindance]

Thank you! Swap RCA LR positions on both amp and DAC?

Swap in as many locations as you like so long as instruments that should be in the left channel are still in the left channel, etc.

 

[DVDdoug]

Is this something that is noticeable at normal listening volumes?

It can be... I've built some "audio stuff" over the years and I've had non-matched dual potentiometers. In at least one case there was "play" between the front & back pot so one channel would "lag" and you could sort-of get a better balance if you wiggled it back-and-forth. At zero or 100% there usually isn't a problem. The non-linearities are somewhere in the middle.

A manufacturer buying in quantity can probably buy better-matched pots than a hobbyist if they pay for it.

I'm pretty sure all modern AVRs use electronic/digital volume control from a pot or rotary encoder. You can get much better matching/accuracy that way. (Rotary controllers have more than 360 degree rotation. Even my factory car stereo has that.)

 

[shaney777]

Swap in as many locations as you like so long as instruments that should be in the left channel are still in the left channel, etc.

Thank you!

 

[shaney777]

May depend on where you live, what DAC functionality you need, what size and looks.
About $150 on amp and $ 150-. on DAC can get you anything between crap and excellent.
Schiit, JDS Labs makes sense for the US.. when you like the look maybe Geshelli ?

IEMagni, Magnius, JDS labs Atom
Topping E30, Modi 3+, Atom DAC.

Thank you! I have asked the following question to a lot of people, but I keep getting contradictory answers. How much power does the HE400i need to really shine? Is there such a thing as too much power, or is there a point where more power does not translate to better sound quality? I had JDS Labs Atom and was astounded by the power/impact/bass/body, but Schiit Magni Heresy has more than twice the power, so...what is that going to do to the sound? One concerning aspect is that with so much power, I won't be able to move the volume much at all, which will worsen the channel imbalance.
Regarding gain, is it true that low gain sounds better, even with power hungry planar headphones? To my ears, high gain sounded much better than low at similar volumes (DBs).

 

[shaney777]

It can be... I've built some "audio stuff" over the years and I've had non-matched dual potentiometers. In at least one case there was "play" between the front & back pot so one channel would "lag" and you could sort-of get a better balance if you wiggled it back-and-forth. At zero or 100% there usually isn't a problem. The non-linearities are somewhere in the middle.

A manufacturer buying in quantity can probably buy better-matched pots than a hobbyist if they pay for it.

I'm pretty sure all modern AVRs use electronic/digital volume control from a pot or rotary encoder. You can get much better matching/accuracy that way. (Rotary controllers have more than 360 degree rotation. Even my factory car stereo has that.)

Thank you. You mean zero or 100% volume level?

 

[solderdude]

0.6W in 40ohm is more than sufficient.
More is not needed but won't burn out the driver. Won't sound better either.
0.1W is sufficient for normal listening including bass boost.

You are confusing gain with output power.
One can have an amp with a lot of gain but very little power to amps with almost no gain but high power output.
The gain, combined with the type of volume control says something about how loud something is at a certain volpot position.

Low gain, measurement wise, is technically superior. Audibly it makes no difference. Louder is always perceived as better sounding.

 

[raindance]

Thank you! I have asked the following question to a lot of people, but I keep getting contradictory answers. How much power does the HE400i need to really shine? Is there such a thing as too much power, or is there a point where more power does not translate to better sound quality? I had JDS Labs Atom and was astounded by the power/impact/bass/body, but Schiit Magni Heresy has more than twice the power, so...what is that going to do to the sound? One concerning aspect is that with so much power, I won't be able to move the volume much at all, which will worsen the channel imbalance.
Regarding gain, is it true that low gain sounds better, even with power hungry planar headphones? To my ears, high gain sounded much better than low at similar volumes (DBs).

The HE4XX I have work great with an amp or direct from my Samsung S8 phone.

 

[shaney777]

0.6W in 40ohm is more than sufficient.
More is not needed but won't burn out the driver. Won't sound better either.
0.1W is sufficient for normal listening including bass boost.

You are confusing gain with output power.

Low gain, measurement wise, is technically superior. Audibly it makes no difference. Louder is always perceived as better sounding.

Thank you! So there is nothing in an inefficient planar headphone that makes high gain necessary? I really love the looks of Geshelli and will research them. Is there a reason you mentioned IEMagni and not Magni Heresy?

 

[shaney777]

The HE4XX I have work great with an amp or direct from my Samsung S8 phone.

I tried HE400i with a cheap LG phone, and even at near full volume, they sounded anemic and lifeless. Desktop headphone jack seems a lot better than Chromebook jack, but it's still horrendous in the bass/body department vs. JDS Labs Atom amp.

 

[raindance]

I tried HE400i with a cheap LG phone, and even at near full volume, they sounded anemic and lifeless. Desktop headphone jack seems a lot better than Chromebook jack, but it's still horrendous in the bass/body department vs. JDS Labs Atom amp.

I used Wavelet to EQ them. I don't listen at deafening volumes and I thought they were great and very full sounding even without EQ. I don't feel they're inefficient either. Note that mine are HE4XX, but they shouldn't be THAT different.

 

[solderdude]

Is there a reason you mentioned IEMagni and not Magni Heresy?

IEMagni is similar to Heresy but has DC output protection. An improved Heresy of sorts.

107dB/V is not exactly inefficient from a voltage standpoint.

 

[shaney777]

Thank y'all! Is there anything wrong with making a stack from two different companies? I am interested in IEMagni but not interested in Modi 3+.

 

[solderdude]

No problem,

Most DACs put out 2V and have no isses driving any headphone amp.
When selecting a DAC that puts out max 1V (dongles and such) it will be fine with the IEMagni as well.