CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS

  • December 31, 2015, 11:20:52 AM
  • Welcome, Guest
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 ... 14

Author Topic: COMPARISON: Objective 2, CHA47, and Leckerton UHS-6)  (Read 25845 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Marvey

  • The Man For His Time And Place
  • Master
  • Pirate
  • *****
  • Brownie Points: +555/-33
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6698
  • Captain Plankton and MOT: Eddie Current
COMPARISON: Objective 2, CHA47, and Leckerton UHS-6)
« on: January 14, 2012, 04:25:24 AM »
Source: PerfectWave DAC w/ Bridge
Headphone: HD800 Anax Modded

Up and down the volume range, the O2 had a consistent sound and was very very clean sounding. It's weaknesses are a scratchy and grainy treble[1] (not compared to my BA but rather to a Leckerton UHS-6 or Apheared47/CHA47, which is just a paralleled CMOY.) The O2 also had a "bad solid-state glare" effect[2] that started to hit me after about 20 minutes (with the HD800.) In other words, I would stay away from the O2 if I were using bright or treble-peaky cans. I'm sure the HD650 would have just fine - perhaps even perfect with the O2. The Leckerton (with a OPA209) would have been fine with the HD700 or modded HD800. The CHA47 would have been fine with even an unmodded HD800.
 
HD800 "drive-ability" concerns are a non-issue for all three of these little amps. The tin-can CHA47 (I stuck in OPA2111 op-amps for some added warmth) had absolutely no problems driving the HD800. The O2, did seem to lack a little bit of bass extension compared to the Leckerton and CHA.
 
None of these amps were capable enough to reproduce the PWD's resolution. Out of the three as configured, the Leckerton was the most resolving and gave a hint of what the PWD could do. It also had the best ability to "dig" into the music and reproduce the subtle instantaneous micro-dynamic shifts which give life to music. The CHA47 was next. And the O2 the least resolving and also the most flat. The O2's greatest asset was clarity though.

Finally, we swapped the stock input opamp of the O2 with the OPA2111 (of the CHA47) to see if we could get better results. The O2 did get the additional warmth as imparted by the opamp. However, I was disappointed that the solid-state sounding treble issues did not go away.

It's been a while since I've listened "first DIY project" amps, so I was rather surprised how well these drove the supposedly "hard-to-drive" HD800s.
  • Taylor Swift - Back to December / Speak Now 2010: The Leckerton and CHA47 flew through some of the difficult sections of this song with no problem - there were no cringing on my part. This could not be said of the O2.
  • Talking Heads - This Must Be the Place / Speaking in Tongues 2006 Re-master: This was used as one of our glare detector tracks.
Anax was also part of the comparo. Summon him if you want his 2 cents.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2012, 04:35:41 AM by purrin »
Logged

Questhate

  • Stops to get gas, buys some stax.
  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +83/-1
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 916
  • Banned for putting ice cubes in fine Scotch
Re: COMPARISON: Objective 2, CHA47, and Leckerton UHS-6)
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2012, 05:18:54 AM »
Good read, Marv. Glad to know that I'm not crazy afterall, as your thoughts pretty much mirror mine.

The first headphones I tried with it was the K701 and SR225i and the treble glare was very noticeable -- especially compared to the Fiio E9 amp I was using at the time. I ran an LCD-2 through it but it did sound very two-dimensional and didn't have much punch. But then again, I mainly ran it out of an iPod LOD, so I wasn't sure if it was just the iPod or the amp (perhaps both). Weird thing is that while I couldn't stand the SR225i with the O2, the Magnums sound just fine -- a tad glare-y but nothing too major.

I wouldn't dare criticize the O2 on HF, though. I'd get mobbed by legions of people who'll say it's just a problem with my ears since it measures perfectly! I really do overall like the amp, though, especially for the cost. It is leagues better than my Fiio E11 -- much cleaner and defined -- for about the same cost.
Logged

RexAeterna

  • Gigolo of Gigolos
  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +355/-1
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1373
  • Friendship is magic
Re: COMPARISON: Objective 2, CHA47, and Leckerton UHS-6)
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2012, 06:09:53 AM »
yea the o2 is not bad price in my opinion. with most headamps i see marketed i wanted to go yell at someone lol. cause some i saw was like ''what the... this must make me breakfast in bed,clean my house, and get me a more hot,less whiny g/f for this price and better be in a maid outfit.''

but, yea, i was thinking of getting an O2 sometime near the future to just compare it to my speaker amps for the heck of it.....wait...i meant... for science! there we go. now i got a proper excuse now   ;D

Also i like to say,even if off topic, is , i like Taylor Swift too. i don't know much people that do.
Logged
''I'm a music lover. Not an audiophile.''

''The World is Study.''

''I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.''

''Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.''

Marvey

  • The Man For His Time And Place
  • Master
  • Pirate
  • *****
  • Brownie Points: +555/-33
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6698
  • Captain Plankton and MOT: Eddie Current
Re: COMPARISON: Objective 2, CHA47, and Leckerton UHS-6)
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2012, 06:24:18 AM »
Quote from: Questhate on January 14, 2012, 05:18:54 AM
Good read, Marv. Glad to know that I'm not crazy afterall, as your thoughts pretty much mirror mine.

The first headphones I tried with it was the K701 and SR225i and the treble glare was very noticeable -- especially compared to the Fiio E9 amp I was using at the time. I ran an LCD-2 through it but it did sound very two-dimensional and didn't have much punch. But then again, I mainly ran it out of an iPod LOD, so I wasn't sure if it was just the iPod or the amp (perhaps both). Weird thing is that while I couldn't stand the SR225i with the O2, the Magnums sound just fine -- a tad glare-y but nothing too major.

I wouldn't dare criticize the O2 on HF, though. I'd get mobbed by legions of people who'll say it's just a problem with my ears since it measures perfectly! I really do overall like the amp, though, especially for the cost. It is leagues better than my Fiio E11 -- much cleaner and defined -- for about the same cost.

The O2 won't out-resolve an iPod. It's not the utmost in transparency. It's simply not possible - not with two op-amps in the signal path - not in my experience. I know this runs counter to the thinking of Nwaguy and his minions. It does have outstanding clarity and very little audible distortion however.

I'll find a spot to post on HF.  :)

Also, I'm not sure about the "objective way" of designing amps. Good cooks usually taste their food first. I know Craig / Eddie Current spends a lot of time voicing his amps. Many of the projects don't even see the light of day.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2012, 06:27:36 AM by purrin »
Logged

rhythmdevils

  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +131/-65535
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: I am a geek!!
  • Team Cheap, Picky Basterds
    • www.my40dollarorhosarebetterthanyour1kflagship.com
Re: COMPARISON: Objective 2, CHA47, and Leckerton UHS-6)
« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2012, 09:13:59 AM »
Quote from: Questhate on January 14, 2012, 05:18:54 AM
I wouldn't dare criticize the O2 on HF, though.

I would.  Heck I have and will continue to criticize it simply because I think it's designer is a complete ass. 
Logged

timjthomas

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +7/-0
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 187
Re: COMPARISON: Objective 2, CHA47, and Leckerton UHS-6)
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2012, 12:22:07 PM »
Solid (and interesting) review!  I've been considering getting an O2, but think I may go the Cavalli CTH route after a brief discussion with Luis.
Logged

khaos

  • Powder Monkey
  • *
  • Brownie Points: +7/-0
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 64
Re: COMPARISON: Objective 2, CHA47, and Leckerton UHS-6)
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2012, 01:19:23 PM »
Hello, I would be interested to hear your point of view concerning transparency in electronics, whether it's a measurable parameter of not, if not the direction one should explore to create the appropriate metric.
Logged

RexAeterna

  • Gigolo of Gigolos
  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +355/-1
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1373
  • Friendship is magic
Re: COMPARISON: Objective 2, CHA47, and Leckerton UHS-6)
« Reply #7 on: January 14, 2012, 04:05:04 PM »
Quote from: rhythmdevils on January 14, 2012, 09:13:59 AM
Quote from: Questhate on January 14, 2012, 05:18:54 AM
I wouldn't dare criticize the O2 on HF, though.

I would.  Heck I have and will continue to criticize it simply because I think it's designer is a complete ass.

lol. i can't criticize the O2 since i never heard it so i be quiet on that, but i'm not afraid to say anything on head-fi either. i remember making Uncle Erik flip lol one time cause i pushed his buttons telling him no matter what you do to a headphone, they'll never be speakers. we cool homeboys now. i got in trouble many times since i tell people how it is. i just don't get it sometimes though. people ask for honest opinion and when i would give it ,they still get mad at you lol.it's confusing sometimes.
Logged
''I'm a music lover. Not an audiophile.''

''The World is Study.''

''I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.''

''Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.''

Questhate

  • Stops to get gas, buys some stax.
  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +83/-1
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 916
  • Banned for putting ice cubes in fine Scotch
Re: COMPARISON: Objective 2, CHA47, and Leckerton UHS-6)
« Reply #8 on: January 14, 2012, 07:31:10 PM »
Quote from: purrin on January 14, 2012, 06:24:18 AM

The O2 won't out-resolve an iPod. It's not the utmost in transparency. It's simply not possible - not with two op-amps in the signal path - not in my experience. I know this runs counter to the thinking of Nwaguy and his minions. It does have outstanding clarity and very little audible distortion however.

I'll find a spot to post on HF.  :)

Also, I'm not sure about the "objective way" of designing amps. Good cooks usually taste their food first. I know Craig / Eddie Current spends a lot of time voicing his amps. Many of the projects don't even see the light of day.

Ahh. While I do find his blog pretty helpful (and agree with Whitney that he is an ass), I'm also skeptical that the complexities of amp design's effect on the subjective experience can be parsed down to a handful of measurements. It's interesting to see Nwavguy get a huge pass on any subjective criticisms of his amp because of his engineering background.

So do you think it's the fact that we can't yet measure amps in a meaningful way that will predict subjective experience, or has Nwavguy only focused on  particular measurements and overlooked others? Maybe it's a little bit of both?

For example, the other thread about the HD800's response to amps with different output impedances is an interesting wrinkle in Nwavguy's claim that a close-to-zero output impedance is ideal. I realize some of his argument is that there needs to be a standard, but I see plenty of his minions going overboard and call certain amps garbage for the sole reason that the output impedance is >10. Looks like that in blogging about these concepts in simple-to-understand laymen's terms, most people mistake these sorts of interactions to be overly simplistic.

Logged

Questhate

  • Stops to get gas, buys some stax.
  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +83/-1
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 916
  • Banned for putting ice cubes in fine Scotch
Re: COMPARISON: Objective 2, CHA47, and Leckerton UHS-6)
« Reply #9 on: January 14, 2012, 07:36:10 PM »
Quote from: timjthomas on January 14, 2012, 12:22:07 PM
Solid (and interesting) review!  I've been considering getting an O2, but think I may go the Cavalli CTH route after a brief discussion with Luis.

Oh nice.

Anyone know how the CTH compares here? I've been sitting on one of these CTH PCBs for a while now but haven't gotten a chance to get this built.
Logged
Pages: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 ... 14
« previous next »