ADD
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2007
- Posts
- 922
- Likes
- 26
Hi,
I love my IE800 and Musical Fidelity M1 HPAP amplifier and have no desire whatsoever to change either of these components. Of course without any attenuation on the M1 headphone output, hiss is an issue when using the IE800.
Tonight I tried using an impedance adapter I purchased on eBay a few years back for my gaming rig - it is a "300 ohm" adapter sold by seller AWWAN on eBay. It's worked a treat in my gaming rig with my Shure SE215 since I bought it and sure enough, upon testing it with the M1 / IE800, the hiss completely and utterly disappeared and the sound improved as well (arguably because the music content was no longer competing with the hiss but then again, maybe the adapter influences the actual sound as well - I don't honestly know).
I could of course just go to eBay again and buy another "300 ohm" one from AWWAN for the M1 / IE800 combo but since things always seem to relentlessly move on in the head-fi world and my pursuit of wanting the very best that is available, I am wondering whether there is an even better attenuator product out there as of late 2016?
I remember emailing the seller AWWAN after buying the attenuator a few years back and asking about the quality / brand of the internal components (which I assume are just resistors) but was disappointed not to receive any reply. I also see, for example, that Garage1217 have just started to produce a very short adapter cable with what are clearly good quality parts.
Anyway, I can't really find any up-to-date listing of available attenuators. let alone any reviews. The searches I did on head-fi prior to posting this were not particularly helpful either - mainly because the threads are old in head-fi terms and manufacturers / products have moved on, become obsolete, improved(?) etc. So if anyone can suggest possible candidates apart from the two I have mentioned above, it would be greatly appreciated. I guess I am after the ultimate in an adapter and price is not really a concern - I just want as transparent sound as possible whilst getting rid of the hiss.
Also, I don't really understand the technical blurb relating to the Garage1217 cable. It says it presents a 35 ohm load to the amplifier but reduces volume by 20 dB. As I say, I honestly do not understand the maths behind it all but have to wonder how something that presents a 35 ohm load can reduce the volume by 20 dB when the 300 ohm adapter I currently tested doesn't even manage that. Yes, I know it obviously must do what it says in the tin so I guess I need some educating.
Thanks
I love my IE800 and Musical Fidelity M1 HPAP amplifier and have no desire whatsoever to change either of these components. Of course without any attenuation on the M1 headphone output, hiss is an issue when using the IE800.
Tonight I tried using an impedance adapter I purchased on eBay a few years back for my gaming rig - it is a "300 ohm" adapter sold by seller AWWAN on eBay. It's worked a treat in my gaming rig with my Shure SE215 since I bought it and sure enough, upon testing it with the M1 / IE800, the hiss completely and utterly disappeared and the sound improved as well (arguably because the music content was no longer competing with the hiss but then again, maybe the adapter influences the actual sound as well - I don't honestly know).
I could of course just go to eBay again and buy another "300 ohm" one from AWWAN for the M1 / IE800 combo but since things always seem to relentlessly move on in the head-fi world and my pursuit of wanting the very best that is available, I am wondering whether there is an even better attenuator product out there as of late 2016?
I remember emailing the seller AWWAN after buying the attenuator a few years back and asking about the quality / brand of the internal components (which I assume are just resistors) but was disappointed not to receive any reply. I also see, for example, that Garage1217 have just started to produce a very short adapter cable with what are clearly good quality parts.
Anyway, I can't really find any up-to-date listing of available attenuators. let alone any reviews. The searches I did on head-fi prior to posting this were not particularly helpful either - mainly because the threads are old in head-fi terms and manufacturers / products have moved on, become obsolete, improved(?) etc. So if anyone can suggest possible candidates apart from the two I have mentioned above, it would be greatly appreciated. I guess I am after the ultimate in an adapter and price is not really a concern - I just want as transparent sound as possible whilst getting rid of the hiss.
Also, I don't really understand the technical blurb relating to the Garage1217 cable. It says it presents a 35 ohm load to the amplifier but reduces volume by 20 dB. As I say, I honestly do not understand the maths behind it all but have to wonder how something that presents a 35 ohm load can reduce the volume by 20 dB when the 300 ohm adapter I currently tested doesn't even manage that. Yes, I know it obviously must do what it says in the tin so I guess I need some educating.
Thanks
