Svstem OP t1_j1jrkhf wrote on December 24, 2022 at 10:39 PM

Reply to comment by KiyPhi in Planars on speaker amps (HE-6, LCD-4, HEKv1) by Svstem

My setup is fairly easy to A/B, I volume matched the BHA-1 output and the 4BSST2 output using my MiniDSP EARS (essentially find the level of software attenuation to speaker output that matches headphone out at 100% software volume). Granted it wasn't blinded, but it's pretty obvious and even easier than telling DACs apart ime (which I've successfully done blinded).

I also think the actual amp you use plays a role. What 100W speaker amp did you use, and what headphone amp did you compare it to? I did hear some pretty crappy speaker amps that did not compare favourably to headphone amps, for example cheaper class D stuff which distorts a ton.

KiyPhi t1_j1jwcmz wrote on December 24, 2022 at 11:17 PM

>Granted it wasn't blinded

This is a huge issue though. For a short anecdote on that, I recommend watching the ~1 minute story from this video. There are several parts before and after that explain why this happens and why non-blind testing can't be reliably used. I recommend people watch the whole video if possible, but that one anecdote from the video is a pretty good one. The speaker is basically the guy when it comes to how hearing works.

>What 100W speaker amp did you use, and what headphone amp did you compare it to?

I don't recall the exact model but it was a NAD one, I think a bit older than their current one. Rated for 100W into 4 ohms. Headphone amps were SMSL SH-9, also used a JDS Atom, which is the 1w amp I mentioned being sufficient. I also had a Topping A50 that I used which has likewise the same.

Svstem OP t1_j1k5d8r wrote on December 25, 2022 at 12:32 AM

Those are some of the midrange NAD integrated amps, should be okay. But I've owned the C375BEE which was their TOTL integrated for a bit and I saw significant improvements going to different stereo units like the MC225, KSA150 and the 4B. If ever you're in the Montreal area I would invite you to blind test this chain with what you consider a sufficient headphone amp.

KiyPhi t1_j1k6gb2 wrote on December 25, 2022 at 12:41 AM

I will keep that in mind. I don't get to travel much (at all actually), but if I ever am in the area, I'll send a PM.