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Hi all I am considering upgrading my audio solution for my PC. I am currently using an O2-ODAC Rev B from Mayflower, and am really enjoying it. But i am aware that it's an older product, and there are some new devices that I am considering. I've been seeing a lot of praise for the Monoprice THX AAA desktop amp and DAC combo, and am very curious about it. However, are there any other options really worth considering in this price bracket? Or would an upgrade from the ODAC even be worth it? Ideally I am looking for a single unit for connecting headphones and powered speakers, and being able to switch between them. Thanks a heap all
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I'm about to rip my hair out and pour hydrogen peroxide over the bald spot. Something must've gotten screwed in my ODAC (purchased from Mayflower Electronics a few years back, Version 1) after I moved, I might've not packed it well enough. After a couple of minutes of use, the audio starts making popping noises, almost like someone is slapping the speakers closed for a short second. Unplugging and plugging the ODAC fixes the issue for awhile, but it comes back after a few minutes. I restarted the computer, to no avail. I disconnected my amp to see if that was the cause but the popping noises persisted. I changed the USB cable, as well, but that didn't fix it, either. I also uninstalled the ODAC drivers and installed them again, which didn't fix the problem. I tried listening with headphones and speakers and the problem appeared on both devices, so that's not the cause, either. It seems to just be the ODAC. My specs are as follows: Windows 10, 64-bit Z77X GIGABYTE UD3H Motherboard, rev 1.1 MSI GTX 780 i5-3570K 8GB of RAM EDIT: I think I figured it out. If you have this issue, go to your volume setting in the taskbar. Right click and press "recording devices," then select the ODAC and disable it. This doesn't disable audio, it only disables recordings using the ODAC which a Digital to Analog converter doesn't do anyway. All the popping noises were gone after I did this. I'll update the post if I find anything else. I hope this helped to whomever is looking at this in the future. EDIT 2: I haven't figured it out, still comes back after awhile :\ EDIT 3: Maybe figured it out? Disable all playback and recording devices besides the ODAC and it should be fine, then. EDIT 4: Problem persists, but I did find this thread: https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/serious-popping-clicking-with-usb-dac.638448/ For now I've switched out my USB connection to a different port and there's no popping, so far so good. EDIT 5: This might be useful for people running into the issue: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/1n8y1x/usbdactroubleshootingguide/ I messed around with my USB configuration in the back of the computer. Basically, my USB ports come in pairs. I put the DAC on a pair that had an empty port next to it. It works now, but the issue might come back. I'll, as always, update the thread.
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Hi all. I'm considering upgrading my rev b O2 odac to a JDS Labs Element 2. Just curious if there is likely to be any improvement in overall sound quality. If not, I probably won't bother. My typical headphones are Sennheiser 58x Jubilees and Beyerdynamic dt770 80 ohms
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Hi, Does anyone have any experience with using the O2+Odac as a preamp for the JBL LSR30X or LSR305? I own the first revision of the Mayflower O2+ODAC combo without the RCA ports at the back, so I'm wondering if I could hook up the JBL LSR30X with the line out at the front. I asked this question to JDS Labs and this was their response: I honestly don't know if he's exaggerating so I thought I'd come here for some second opinions. I'm thinking of adding RCA ports to my O2+ODAC unit so I don't have to go through the hassle of unplugging my headphones every time I use the speakers. But if there isn't going to be an audible improvement in sound quality, I might not add the RCA ports, since I'm gonna have to ship it back to Mayflower to add the RCA ports and it'll take a while to get back to me. Thanks in advance
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Is it normal for there to be some audio lag in a virtual machine? Been playing around with Linux Mint "Sarah" in VirtualBox to see if it's something I would be interested in using. My ODAC is my primary audio device. It has taken me a while to get things somewhat working. Same issue with the Windows 10 preview.
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Im looking between the o2+odac or the Schiit UBER stack for my hd650 because of price. The uber stack is basically the same price so its just a matter or preference. I hear a lot about both sides but I cant decide. I also hear people say the difference is indistinguishable. Which do you think is better?
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HEY! Well I've come in the situation where I got an 5-6 year old gaming laptop ( asus g74sx ) and I'm guessing the on-board sound card is quite bad. When I was looking for a new headset (the Sennheiser g4me one) i came over people like Jayztwocents who recommended to get an Mayflower Object2 + odac Rev. B Combo and as I have no knowledge for sound, I wonder what the flying *whoooops* does an Odac do? and if I buy the said amplifier with and oDac, do I still need a new/better soundcard to get decent sound.
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JDS Labs has recently released their new Amp/DAC called "The Element" at the price of $349. This thing comes with rear mounted inputs (as well as 16v ac power and rca jacks, and power and gain toggle buttons), a single 6.35mm output jack in the front, a large volume knob on the top, and most importantly an output impedance of only 0.1 ohms (the O2 amp has an output impedance of 0.54 ohms).The element looks and functions significantly better than the O2 + ODAC at slightly higher price (~$40 more than the O2 + ODAC combo with rear mounted ac power and rca jacks, upgraded knob, and 6.35mm output jack on https://www.mayflowerelectronics.com/shop/mayflower-custom-products/desktop-objective2odac-with-rca/ at $309.95). We could get The Element for less if we could manage to get it to drop on https://www.massdrop.com/vote/jds-labs-dacamps Please show some support and vote on that massdrop poll link and let me know what you guys think of this new Amp/DAC.
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Hi, The USB port at the back of the O2/ODAC combo is moving when I give the USB cable a wiggle. My guess is that the nut and screw holding the ODAC is loose, based on the pictures I've looked up. I've actually been experiencing this issue for a while now but never posted about this since I haven't had any issues with sound (still don't as far as I know). I sent Mayflower Electronics a question about this when I first realized this and they told me it was normal. I never had this issue when I first got the unit. Does anyone else have this issue and is it something I should be concerned about? Thanks in advance.
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Hey guys, I've had my eyes set on the Hifiman HE-500 for a while now and I've found a place where I can get a brand new Hifiman HE-500 for about 500 USD. However, it's the last one in stock, so I have to make my decision quickly. I'm currently using the Desktop Objective2 + ODAC combo from Mayflower Electronics and the Sennheiser HD 598 which I just recently picked up. I've been reading a lot of mixed opinions on the HE-500 and Objective2 combo. I've read in a few threads from Head-Fi that it takes a better amp than the Objective2 to get the best out of these pair of headphones and that it sounds better with a tube amp such as a Hifiman EF-5 or a speaker amp. I also read that the HE-500 benefits a lot from current from an amplifier and the Objective2 doesn't meet those requirements. There were many others who said the O2 has enough power and was "sufficient" for the HE-500 but didn't really elaborate on that. A brand new HE-500 for 500 USD seems like a good deal but it's still a lot of money to spend on headphones, so I wanna make sure that I'm making a good decision. If I do end up getting the HE-500, I'm hoping to be done with audio upgrades. What do you guys think? Is there anybody who've had experience with the HE-500 and the Objective2 amp? Is the Objective2 a good enough amp to pair the HE-500 with? Should I get the HE-500 or should I stick with what I have? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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Hey Guys, Long time reader, but finally decided to make a thread since I am in a pickle. Im buying an Odac along with an amp and have decided ont he SMSL sAp II: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/110889315357?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 but I came accross this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/111278925841?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 Does anyone have experience with any of the two amps? Whats the difference between the sAp II and III, the internals look different but which one will perform better? I cant really find anything at all on the sAp III so I am unsure as wether it is better or not. Any help is appreciated, thanks.
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I just ordered the HD 598 and I have an ok sound card but I was wondering if the o2+odac from would sound better than my current solution.
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- hd 598
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Just wondering if anything can beat the O2+ODAC combo that has a flat, realistic sound signature.
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Hey Guys and Girls, I've been looking at a jds labs o2 + odac combo unit (http://www.jdslabs.com/products/48/o2-odac-combo/). My biggest question however is quite simply. Is it worth it?? I love great sounding audio but I'm not sure if the $300 price tag will be worth the difference it makes to my overall listening experience. I myself have never used a dac or amp so anybody with experience would you please help me decide if I will notice a big difference to my audio or not. Thanks heaps in advance, Hodge22
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Hey LTT forum! I am one of those people who's brain just can't stop it's body from shouting like all hell, as soon as I wear sound isolating headphones. I currently have and use a pair of Sennheiser PC 350s which I wear with one cup on (for Skype calls). This is insanely fatiguing, and I can't hear half of what's going on in the games, so it's really not optimal. I've therefore been looking for some open, circumaural headphones with good, refrence-ish sound (if anything, then preferrably a bit on the warm and soft side). My budget is around 250 dollars (190 euros). The pairs I've been looking at so far, have been: Beyerdynamic 880-pro, Sennheiser HD 598 and AKG K-701. I am definetly open to suggestions. I do value good construction and nice design quite highly. Other than headphones, I've been wanting to improve more of the chain so I figured that an Objective 2 and ODAC combo would be a good choice. I use a set of active pc speakers most of the time, so It'd be cool if they can be plugged into the Obj. 2 permanently, while I can override it with the headphones ("DAC-Line output" or " option on the JDS labs custom one?). And so my options are: https://www.mayflowerelectronics.com/shop/mayflower-custom-products/desktop-objective2-with-odac/ and http://www.jdslabs.com/products/48/o2-odac-combo/ Thanks in advance! - Frederik Ingemann Hansen
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While Mayflower Electronics' naming scheme is precisely as graceful as a flying brick, their Objective2 + ODAC combo unit is certainly more useful than said adage - unless your motive is in fact to kill someone and/or be disqualified from a paper aeroplane contest with the social label “monumentally stupid”. Certainly, my unit spent the first month of its life as a flying brick on it's trepidatious journey from Murica to Straya, however, and thankfully, far from the optimal dimensions and strength characteristics of a common house brick, it arrived in good condition, as packaging was excellent. As fascinating as the science of house bricks is, I'm not silly enough to spent about $330 on a brick, especially seeing as I wanted to spend the $330 on a box that makes sounds, and, spoiler: it does, and much more effectively than a brick. In tandem with my Objective2 + ODAC combo unit I also stole one of Mayflower's Fostex T50RP headsets, with the “Version 1” modification configuration, and that was about $150. Included in the box with the O2 combo unit is a gold plated USB to Mini USB cable from Monoprice, and an American power supply by Triad. Alternative power supplies are available directly from Mayflower, however it isn't an option on the purchase page, and being used to proper power supplies being included with my purchases, I was caught out. This is one area in which Mayflower Electronics must look into including the right power supply in the box before sending it off, especially for obvious international orders, or at least add the option on the purchase page on their website, rather than an obscure accessory page buried behind menus. If you are from Australia/ New Zealand (or in another country that uses the AS/NZS 3112 socket) this power supply will work with your combo unit: http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=MP3059 The Fostex headphones ship with their stock 3.5mm to 6.5mm cable (with lock in connector design), and Mayflower again offer a replacement 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable, however alike the power supply it isn't an option on the purchase page, and for a 3.5 male to male cable it's bloody expensive. It's a strange thing that these cables are included at all, seeing as Mayflower knows that these stock cables aren't compatible with their own amplifier products, and indeed the O2 combo unit, and in the end it just makes the whole experience jarring and not user centric at all. I opted for cable from Voso instead, and used a sharp blade to carefully strip away the housing on the right angle end until it fit into the headphones. Interestingly the straight connector end is already fine enough to fit straight into the headset, so you'll have this option with this cable as well. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VOSO-3-5mm-Male-to-Male-90-Deg-Right-Angle-Audio-Jack-AUX-Connect-Cable-2M-AU-/200852989734?pt=AU_Electronics_Portable_Audio_Accessories&hash=item2ec3c56726&_uhb=1 HARDWARE Starting with the combo unit, it's precisely 1 Australian house brick's width across, about half a Swedish house brick high (or half a Germanic house brick with the rubber feet included), and a little longer than two average Danish house bricks are tall. A brushed aluminium enclosure wraps around the two circuit boards inside, with essential connectors jutting out somewhat evenly through the front panel. Three of the four screws holding the front panel on were silver, with one being black, which is either the worst aesthetic design choice in the universe or a sign that my unit met the bottom of the screw draw in the Mayflower workshop. Either way, I knew going in to this that it wasn't going to be the best looking thing in the world – if I wanted that I would have purchased a 12th Century Iranian glazed mud brick to admire – Besides, it compliments my mirror. Centre of the front panel is a red LED which is awesomely uninstrusive, and doesn't distract you from the screen when the unit is in front of you, unlike some peripheral electronics in my vicinity (it starts with A and ends with udio Technica and is a microphone, grrrr). The Fostex headphones looks roguishly nice, sort of noughties television with a splash of copper hot water plumbing. I'll make the point of not rambling on too much about the headphone's aesthetics as they spend most of their life out of sight. Also there's a big picture of them at the top. In terms of the modification, it mainly involves clay being packed into the T50's baffles (baffles are components used to prevent interference between sound waves generated internally from waves outside of the earpads) and a bit of foam/cotton thrown about inside to dampen the relatively open design of vanilla T50 headphones. The modification essentially (and I should mention effectively) snuffs out corrupting external noises and adds a bit of punch to the bass and treble ends of the spectrum, at the expense of clarity in the mid ranges (because the driver simply has less space to wobble about in). Keep in mind these headphones have an RRP of $110, so you need to decide if this modification alone is justification enough for the $70 price hike. SOUND REPRODUCTION and INTEGRATION In terms of how these products sound, their whole purpose for existing, well, the answer is quite simple. Bloody awesome. When used in tandem, details and clarity through the breadth of the sound scape is very good, and very impressive in the bass end. The O2 amplifier has an inaudible noise floor, and no noise or corruption occurs throughout the amplification range. The ODAC component spits out noticeably clearer sound than my on-board audio, however more modern motherboards may not leave as much of an impressive improvement. It is undoubtedly a massive improvement for me, however. The unit only ever reaches a slight warmth, and as it is a completely solid state design, it can be left turned on 24/7, so it really is a hassle free addition to any audio setup. As for the headphones they work exceptionally well for their price. They sound amazing, even when powered through my phone (albeit nearly on max volume due to the impedance) and are definitely worth the purchase price. I've found they really come into their own when crunching through complex music, especially the heavier lumbers of metal and core music, and work well at ironing out the individual notes due to the supreme clarity of the headphones. The headphones are quite comfortable also, surprising given the rather daunting looking headband. The pleather earcups induce a bit of sweating which I wasn't used to, coming from cloth pads, however it isn't severe at all. As the size adjustment on the headphones isn't staggered, they do move about and change size throughout a few hours of use, tending to rest only when the top of the earcup makes contact with the top of your ear, and this is probably due to the weight of the headphones, however again it is only a marginal issue, and certainly not a reason to deter purchase. FINAL WORDS Wrapping up, these are two truly excellent products, let down only by boring, utilitarian names and an insensitive purchase page on the Mayflower website. Mayflower Electronics, luckily has an incredibly helpful and personal public relation attitude, and it's for this reason that I think these issues will be handled appropriately, and hopefully wholly resolved in the future, preferably without the need for flying house bricks to be involved. Keep in mind that these are hand made products, and will appeal more to tinkerers and modifiers more than your mainstream Beats commuter who is solely concerned about the consistency of the finish on their aluminium headband. If you are a DIYer and music/audio enthusiast and appreciate unique punctures to the severely disillusioned audio marketplace then this product is for you. I am very happy with my purchase and each of these have well and truly earned a space on my desk. Right beside my 12th Century Iranian mud brick, of course. p.s. Some brief ideas which I'd like to see from Mayflower - 3.5" and 5.25" faceplates/ internal bay versions for the ODAC+O2 combo as well as tripod screw threads being drilled into the bottom of the chassis.
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Hello all, I have recently purchased a Objective2 + ODAC Combo from Mayflower. The item has not arrived yet, however, as LTT forum is sort of the place for Mayflower support and questions, I’d like to “review” Mayflower’s customer support. As all of you probably know, Mayflower’s rep in the forum is really helpful. You can see my own threads where he promptly helps me out the best way he can. I have actually seen him recommend people not to buy his products when it was his honest opinion that, for that use case, the person did not need an amp or a DAC. I think that’s very praise-worthy, and shows his sincere good faith in helping people out. However, this is all BEFORE people buy the products. Unfortunately, I am very disappointed at Mayflower’s customer support after having bought the O2+DAC. I bought the O2+DAC on the 27th of November, and the item was shipped on the 29th: so far so good. It has been over a month (almost 5 weeks) and I still have not received the item. I live in Portugal, so it’s a long trip, specially this time of the year, no biggie. However, in Mayflower’s site one reads: When the 4 weeks passed, I contacted the portuguese postal services to check if the item was being held in customs. Yesterday I got the answer: the item hasn’t entered the country. Obviously Mayflower’s knows better than I about the shipping service they use, thus, since they said 2-4 weeks, I sent a friendly e-mail asking if everything was OK, maybe they’d got some news or the item might’ve been returned, I don’t know. Unfortunately, the attitude I got in the answer was far from pleasing as a customer. I’m a big boy and I can take it, but to me it shows a profound lack of professionalism. Maybe I'm just largely overreacting (feel free to tell me that, I can also take it ), I’ll transcript the e-mails and add screenshots, that way you guys can judge and take your own conclusions. To me it seems that there two approaches in Mayflower’s customer support: one BEFORE you buy, and one AFTER you buy. A friend of mine was also buying an O2+DAC combo from Mayflower (under my recommendation), after I showed him the e-mail he is already looking into the alternatives. ----- e-mail transcripts ----- My first contact message: The answer I got: The answer I gave:
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I grabbed myself a O2 + ODAC Combo Unit by JDS Labs for my DT 990 600ohms edition. I was wondering if there was any noticeable or even any difference at all between the Mayflower O2 + ODAC Combo Unit and the JDS ones. To me it just seems like MSI and Gigabyte making Nvidia cards... If anyone out there is able to confirm this question that would be great!
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Hi forum, bought a pair of Grado as my first non-cheapo headphones(real headphones if you would) and here's my thought on them. Packaging: The packaging is very minimal. Just a hard paper box with foam inside. There are a 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter as the headphone default is 3.5mm. It also come's with the standard warranty paper. Le headphone: As other Grados are, the sr60i looks very retro and unsophisticated. The entire headphone is essentially black with white words saying "SR60"(without the "i" for some unknown reason) along with "THE PRESTIGE SERIES" and "GRADO LABS". It comes with a fairly thick cord and there are cords running to each side of the headphone. Non-detachable. The ear cups are made of a hard foam that conforms to the shape of your ear over time and are quite small. Although keep in mind that this is a on ear headphone instead of over ears. The housing is made of plastic which honestly does make it look cheap. On the sides there's venting holes that makes this an open headphone. Headbands on the SR60i are thin and not very comfortable. It is just a piece of metal wrapped by artificial leather(or it could be real i don't know, don't quota me on that). Technical data: I won't go deep into this as I am no professional in this area. The things you need to know is that it is an open-backed headphone which mean sound WILL leak through and you WILL hear the ambient noises. This is a sacrifice you will have to make for a clearer sounding BUT weaker bass headphone. The SR60i are of 32ohms, slightly higher than the average IEMs and cheapo headphones but is still relatively easy to drive. You will not need an amplifier to drive this headphone to higher volume. Seriously, listening at high volumes will damage your hearing.\ Sound: Test Equipment: -ODAC -O2 Amplifier (Built this myself based on the O2 so it is not really an O2. Might do a review on this soon.) Ah, the most important part. The SR60i just like most of the other Grados, sound clear and bright. Out of the box the highs sounds very harsh but after some burning in, it settles into a less irritating tone. It is still on the harsh side but is less of a problem. The mids are very clear and flat. Vocals would benefit from this as well as rock music. It does gets abit muddy when alot of instruments are playing. Details are good as you could hear pretty much everything in the music and doesn't get overly exaggerated. It's just nice. Bass on the other hand is alright. I wouldn't say it lacks bass unless you're a total bass head. What I've found is that the bass is slightly improved when amped. Overall the bass is quite solid and punchy enough for most genre. I didn't expect to get very deep rumbling sound but the SR60i delivers that quite well for an open-backed headphone. Comfort: On the comfort side, the Grado disappoints. The headphone grips on my head like vice grips and clamps on very hard. To make matters worse, I do wear glasses so it hurts me quite a bit after long periods of listening. Also, the metal bands have minimal padding to it so it will kinda dig into the top of my head after a while. The clamping issues could be solved by stretching the headphone as the manufacturer suggests but the metal band is REALLY irritating after some time. Maybe if you have thicker hair growth it wouldn't be such a problem. Also, the cables are non-detachable. Personally I don't mind that but what I do mind is that there are individual cable running off to each side of the headphone. This is very annoying as the piece of plastic at where the cord splits kept brushing against my collarbone. I might mod this into a single cord and detachable in the future. Btw, this is dubbed the most mod-able headphone out there. Google around and you can see plenty of mods for this headphone. Conclusion: So in the end, this is a very good and affordable headphone for those who are just starting to venture into the world of audiophile. At 80 bucks this is a very solid headphone that I would recommend to anyone. Although the headband and clamping issue might ward off somebody. Overall, this is a really good headphone.
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Hi everyone, I just finished building my O2+ODAC unit. All the tests turn out good, all voltages read as expected. My first test was to test out the O2 itself using the audio-in jack. This test was perfect, max volume is way too loud for my ears, sound is clear, no hiss or anything like that. My next test was to test the ODAC on my PC. Running Win 8.1 x64, the ODAC is seen as soon as I plug it in. When I played something, I couldn't hear anything. Until I realized that if I maxed out the volume, I could hear the music at whisper-quiet volume. Nothing is wrong with the sound besides volume. What could have gone wrong during my build that could cause this? Thanks
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