ilikebananafudge

I follow the Utopia thread on the other site and the number of posts about driver failure are concerning me. I got a great deal on a new pair and was quite pleased, but now I'm worried that if the driver fails I'll have warranty troubles. Has anyone had their Utopias fail recently?

I hear those require serious amplification.

Spritzer, these posts make me feel like I should only ever buy amps from you or Justin. Edit: forgot to include ecp audio!

I hope they make all of Tyll's measurements available somewhere...

I agree with almost all of your impressions on the Utopia v Clear, except for the tonal balance (as I mentioned above). Also, while I agree that the Clear has a bit more bass overall, I think the Utopia do a better job with sub-bass. It's interesting, I don't really get fatigue from listening to headphones anymore. I used to back in college, but as I've gotten nicer and nicer headphones and gear I've consistently lowered my listening volume. I think I used to turn it up when I wanted to hear all of the details, but now they're all there even at low volumes—especially with the Utopias and my estats. Have you tried the Koss ESP/950 or ESP/95X? I feel like they have a pretty similar sonic signature to the HD650s, but they're quite a bit more resolving. Also, because of their plastic construction they're light as a feather so they're pretty comfy (to me, at least).

Oh, gotcha. I definitely understand the value argument—they're both great headphones that aren't too dissimilar.

The general consensus on this site seems to be that the Clears have better tonal balance and fewer flaws than the Utopia, but I recently got the Utopias and I definitely prefer them over the Clears. I find them to have better dynamics, clarity, and speed with a similar tonal balance (a little brighter, but still relatively warm, at least compared to my Lambda NBs). What exactly do people dislike about the Utopias in comparison to the Clears?

I have flat (15mm thick all the way around), all-leather Vesper pads with fast-fill foam that I'm really enjoying. I find them much more comfortable than the stock pads and I think they emphasize the bass a bit. As for the amp, I have a re-capped SRM-1 Mk2 that I like, especially when fed with the pre-amp output of my Gilmore Lite Mk2. I also like the ESPs a lot better since I removed the foam on the baffle under the earpads. I think it makes them sound less muffled and more alive, especially in the treble.

I recently removed the damping inside the earpads based on this thread and conversations with PolloLoco, and I'm surprised at how much of a difference it makes. They definitely sound more lively and it's a welcome change. When I first bought these I didn't understand the hype, but now I get it.

If a siren sings and no one else is around does it even make a sound?

As a group of veteran audiophiles who have repeatedly espoused the sentiment that "end-game is the point of the game", I'm curious what that actually looks like. What air vibrators consistently end up strapped to your noggin? Or have you all abandoned headphones in favor of speakers and whiskey?

Thanks for the info, I'll look into that!

I recently bought a pair of SR-Lambda NB headphones on ebay and they're missing the wool dampening behind the driver. I've tried searching here and on HF, but I can't seem to find a good source for this stuff. Does anyone know where I can get some replacement wool? Or something that replicates the effect of the original foam?

Seems like efficient time management to me!

I got curious and I dug around on HF for a while and found these posts that imply that the Base Station can be used interchangeably with the Desktop Power Supply, so it looks like your guess was correct!

That's a good point. I haven't been able to find detailed technical specifications on the Base Station, so I'm not sure about this. I suppose I could buy the Base Station, determine the pin-out with my multimeter, and then see if anyone would be willing to build a cable? I'm such a cheapskate that I'm afraid of wasting the money if it doesn't work and I don't want to create extra work for anyone. Plus, the Gilmore sounds quite excellent as it is ! I'll probably just enjoy it for now and wait for Justin to come out with a dedicated power supply and then snap that up.

Thanks Pars. Using the Wayback Machine, I visited the 2005 version of HeadRoom's website (throwback!) and found the user manual for the Supreme amp, which states that the Base Station outputs +/-15V DC, so that's good. The problem now is the cable. Justin sent me a picture for the required input into the GL2, but I can't find info for the Base Station. It looks like both connections are 5pin DIN (240 degree version), but I can't verify the pin out on both ends. Since I don't know how to make DIY cables, I'll probably pass on this. If anyone else is interested here is the listing for the Base Station: https://www.ebay.com/itm/HeadRoom-Base-Station-Four-Linear-Power-Supply-AS-IS-Power-Function-Only/323940874293?hash=item4b6c617835:g:00gAAOSw7t9dm4Sl

So, I just got a Gilmore Lite Mk2 and it is fantastic (especially with my Clears). Many people around here have recommended finding a HeadRoom DPS to make the Lite sound even better, but I just found a HeadRoom Base Station for sale and I was wondering if that would work, as well? Apologies if this is obvious—I ended up spending all of my time doing chemistry research (would not recommend) and not headphone-related DIY.

Also, they smell slightly like carrots.

Yeah, they are a clear improvement over my 650s. Much more air, treble, and detail.

Anyone heard a new pair of these recently? I just got mine (from the Black Friday sale) and it seems like they've upped the treble response I haven't heard another pair so I can't compare mine to anything, just wondering if this is the new norm or if my pair is an anomaly. (Compare with InnerFidelity)

Okay, thanks for all the helpful info. I'll start by grabbing all the requisite tools and then the parts for a CMOY. What everyone is saying makes a lot of sense in terms of getting my feet wet with a small initial investment. After a CMOY or two I'll probably build a Torpedo since most of the projects I've been eyeing are PCB based. Apparently I'll stick with the gilmore projects and not the B22. But maybe a balanced M3. Maybe I should've gone to Northwestern for grad school...

Hey y'all, I've lurked around here for a few years but now I'm planning on getting started building amps, and I could use a bit of assistance. I've never soldered anything and I've probably stripped a wire once, so I'm gonna need to ease into this. From what I've read here and on Innerfidelity the Bottlehead Crack or Torpedo would be good places to start, as they're simple builds and pair well with my HD650s. Any other suggestions? I read this plan on getting the Hakko FX-888 as my solder 'gun' and 63-37 eutectic solder. According to tangentsoft I need small screwdrivers, small cutters and pliers, and a wire stripper. Are any other supplies needed? After this build I'll probably want to build a dynalo/dynahi/dynamite or beta22, which requires casework apparently, are there other supplies I need to do that (I don't need to engrave anything, just drill holes I guess)? Finally, I'm interested in learning the theory behind all the capacitors and various FETS that get jammed into headphone amps. I took introductory physics in undergrad, but I'm a chemist so circuits are pretty foreign to me. Is there a good place to learn the basics of headphone circuitry? Apologies for the barrage of noob questions, but any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Snarky comments, banter, and insults are expected, as per usual.

Hey Everyone, I just wanted to thank this community. Head-case has been an incredible wealth of knowledge for me, having guided my foray into high fidelity audio. I joined Head-case in 2008, soon after discovering that head-fi was overwhelming and nearly impossible to garner useful information from. I then spent the next couple of years lurking and reading, eventually leading to several (blind, but somewhat informed) purchases. I've been enjoying music through the same set-up for the past 4 years or so. I haven't been here in a while, but I decided that it was about time to offer my gratitude to the community that built my headphone system - quite literally, as my headphone amp is an old M3 built by n_maher. Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well, and I'll probably be back someday when I'm out of school and making enough money to afford fancier equipment. Thanks again! Adam (aka ilikebananafudge)

Aw sweet! I just took the grill off (didn't know you could just pry it open) and the driver was practically falling out of its little socket. I just pushed it back in so it was nice and snug and everything is perfect! Thanks for the advice everyone.