CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS

  • December 31, 2015, 10:00:10 AM
  • Welcome, Guest
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Author Topic: The All Purpose Advice Thread  (Read 139949 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

mickeyvortex

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Powder Monkey
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +3/-7
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 29
Re: The All Purpose Advice Thread
« Reply #1370 on: September 23, 2015, 04:24:44 PM »
Hello pyrates. Was not sure where to post my question in "Speaker" without starting a new thread. Its regarding my 2 channel set up.
I have a pair of Emotiva's Stealth 6 powered monitors that seem to leave me with a "ringing" sensation in my LEFT pinna every time I listen to it. Sometimes it even lasts for a day. For instance, I was listening to them last night and this morning, my left pinna is warm to the touch with some red coloration suggesting inflammation. Now I should add that the only time I felt something similar was when I owned a pair of Beyer's DT880s (32 Ohm), although the Beyer's almost killed me by comparison. Initially I thought it was my room but the problem has persisted in our new place as well. 
   I listen to good and bad recordings with a redbook subscription to TiDAL and an Emotiva DC-1 DAC as source. Audio is sent to the DC-1 from my PC (via JRiver 21 and USB), or my smartphone (LG G3 via "headphone out"), or an iPad Air (Lightning CCK to USB). Analog audio from DC-1 to Stealth monitors is carried via 6-ft Mogami wires and Neutrik jacks made by Redco cables. The "ringing" sensation is felt  across all these signal chains.       
   FWIW, when I listen to my headphones (HE-400i) or earphones (Sony XBA-H1/Ety HF5) via the DC-1, I cant recall feeling any ringing.   
   Is there something wrong with the (left) speaker or in my signal chain, or the DAC? I was reading on a couple of other forums that mentioned ribbon tweeters can be prone to ringing. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.   
Logged

Thad E Ginathom

  • Politically Incorrect Ex-Hippie
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +25/-5
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 648
  • In the end... cats.
Re: The All Purpose Advice Thread
« Reply #1371 on: September 23, 2015, 04:34:13 PM »
Quote from: mickeyvortex on September 23, 2015, 04:24:44 PM
Is there something wrong with the (left) speaker or in my signal chain

You may say, yeah, that's obvious, but it seems to have been forgotten by a  lot of people: the answer to your question can be found by changing L/R, stage by stage, and seeing if the problem moves from one side to the other. Start by physically swapping the speakers, if you suspect them. When the problem moves, you found it. If it doesn't move then you probably have some room problem, reflection, resonance etc.
Logged
Cats are nice

mickeyvortex

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Powder Monkey
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +3/-7
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 29
Re: The All Purpose Advice Thread
« Reply #1372 on: September 23, 2015, 04:55:49 PM »
Quote from: Thad E Ginathom on September 23, 2015, 04:34:13 PM
....the answer to your question can be found by changing L/R, stage by stage, and seeing if the problem moves from one side to the other. Start by physically swapping the speakers, if you suspect them. 

Much appreciated. thanks. Yes I should have mentioned that I did swapping the speakers L to R. Sorry. Speaker swapping did not do anything to reduce the ringing. Its still the left speaker (and my left ear).   

Quote from: Thad E Ginathom on September 23, 2015, 04:34:13 PM
When the problem moves, you found it. If it doesn't move then you probably have some room problem, reflection, resonance etc.

The problem seems to be independent of my room because I have tried them out in 3 different rooms so far and the ringing persists.....but always the left!
    To answer my own question maybe but could it be something to do with the left channel on the DAC? If that is possible, maybe I could try sending audio over the DC-1's headphone out or the unbalanced RCA output. Any thoughts regarding if this is possible and which output would be better at nailing the cause? Can I measure this without destroying my ears? 
Logged

Thad E Ginathom

  • Politically Incorrect Ex-Hippie
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +25/-5
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 648
  • In the end... cats.
Re: The All Purpose Advice Thread
« Reply #1373 on: September 23, 2015, 06:52:55 PM »
Quote from: mickeyvortex on September 23, 2015, 04:55:49 PM
To answer my own question maybe but could it be something to do with the left channel on the DAC?

Swap Left/right from DAC to amp. If the problem goes away, you just have to listen to music upside down from now on...

...or find some way in the software to swap L/R channels* ;).  On my system that would be trivial, because I use JACK, which is like having a patch panel on the screen. I have no idea about JRiver**.



* You probably want to do this anyway, unless you get a clear instant result.
** Linux, here.
Logged
Cats are nice

lm4der

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +24/-9
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 222
Re: The All Purpose Advice Thread
« Reply #1374 on: September 23, 2015, 06:59:45 PM »
Quote from: Thad E Ginathom on September 23, 2015, 06:52:55 PM

... JRiver**.

** Linux, here.

Just in case anyone cares, I think JRiver has a linux version. Just sayin'.
Logged

Thad E Ginathom

  • Politically Incorrect Ex-Hippie
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +25/-5
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 648
  • In the end... cats.
Re: The All Purpose Advice Thread
« Reply #1375 on: September 23, 2015, 07:02:06 PM »
Cheers. But I'm happy with DeadBeef.

I like my audio players simple  :)p4
Logged
Cats are nice

lm4der

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +24/-9
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 222
Re: The All Purpose Advice Thread
« Reply #1376 on: September 23, 2015, 07:58:41 PM »
Quote from: Thad E Ginathom on September 23, 2015, 07:02:06 PM
I like my audio players simple

Yeah, I hear that.  I like mine free, so I use MusicBee (*GASP*), and Foobar2000
Logged

bixby

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +10/-1
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 136
  • BAN animated avatars
Re: The All Purpose Advice Thread
« Reply #1377 on: September 23, 2015, 08:01:27 PM »
Quote from: Thad E Ginathom on September 23, 2015, 07:02:06 PM
Cheers. But I'm happy with DeadBeef.

I like my audio players simple  :)p4

Like Deadbeef, but couldn't handle my Linux implementation, use Decibel in my main Mac system, kicked JR, PM, Audirvana, etc.

Foobar on Win now replaces Deadbeef.  I wish I were better with Linux :(
Logged

mickeyvortex

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Powder Monkey
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +3/-7
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 29
Re: The All Purpose Advice Thread
« Reply #1378 on: September 23, 2015, 08:46:20 PM »
Quote from: Thad E Ginathom on September 23, 2015, 06:52:55 PM
Swap Left/right from DAC to amp. If the problem goes away, you just have to listen to music upside down from now on...

...or find some way in the software to swap L/R channels* ;).  On my system that would be trivial, because I use JACK, which is like having a patch panel on the screen. I have no idea about JRiver**.
* You probably want to do this anyway, unless you get a clear instant result.
** Linux, here.

Makes sense. Duh! Cheers for this matey. I'll have a go at it tonight.
Logged

Thad E Ginathom

  • Politically Incorrect Ex-Hippie
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +25/-5
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 648
  • In the end... cats.
Re: The All Purpose Advice Thread
« Reply #1379 on: September 24, 2015, 09:08:56 AM »
Actually, permutations of L/R swap at different stages will put the violins back on the left. Have to admit that these simple exercises in logic do make my brain hurt. Which is why I started doing crosswords every day: time to stop the rot!

Quote from: lm4der on September 23, 2015, 07:58:41 PM
Yeah, I hear that.  I like mine free, so I use MusicBee (*GASP*), and Foobar2000
Right. I like my audio players to be simple and free.

After a few years of Linux, I was taking free for granted. Although I'm not a complete cheapskate: I send the price of a beer, every month, to the guy who develops KXStudio.

For a long time, foobar2k remained the only thing I still missed from the MS environment.
Logged
Cats are nice