Audiophile and gears

Black_Hawk said:
Yes absolutely. I definitely need something better than the FiiO E10K on my desk. Options under 15k are:

IFI ZEN DAC V2
FiiO K5 Pro
xDuoo - MT-602

I really like the xDuoo - MT-602 but it says Delivery Expected within 3-4 weeks on HPZ website. Is it safe to place a Pre-order with HPZ?
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As you've considered xduoo MT 602, I think you're looking for an amp only.
Just ignore ifi zen dac v2 its amplification power is too low, though it's a feature rich package with a beautiful DAC but best usage is only for earphones and easy to drive headphones.
Xduoo MT-602 is slightly less powerful than fiio k5pro but it's tube based as we can see.

Now if you're looking for a DAC amp combo , you can 't go wrong with Fiio k5 pro , I've used it and it's amazing value for money with excellent features.
If only AMP is required look for ifi Zen CAN, it has multiple input support and amp with better amplification.
 
The last piece of equipment I will allow myself to buy this year...a portable amp/ dac+amp.
Beside Fiio Q3, Xduoo XD05, Topping NX4S, hip-Dac, is there any other option available?
Don't actually need the DAC, just a portable amp should do.
Would try to avoid the warm pleasant sound. Just a clean, sharp and reasonably powerful amp ( unbalanced power of 500mW at 32 ohm or higher output)
 
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quaratineinthesejeans said:
The last piece of equipment I will allow myself to buy this year...a portable amp/ dac+amp.
Beside Fiio Q3, Xduoo XD05, Topping NX4S, hip-Dac, is there any other option available?
Don't actually need the DAC, just a portable amp should do.
Would try to avoid the warm pleasant sound. Just a clean, sharp and reasonably powerful amp ( unbalanced power of 500mW or higher output)
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How do you guys even call these things portable? Just because it has a battery.
BTW, if you want something really portable, try the E1DA. They now have a 9038D with unbalanced output, but of course not as powerful as you want. It is only 200mW at 40 ohm, but it is truly portable.
 
Sorry, I meant transportable. So that I can carry one with a laptop and use in hotel room/ in the office.
Yes, heard good things about E1DA. But I tend to loose such small dongles very frequently. Wow!! 200mW at 40 ohm for such a small device is tremendous!!
Just found a relatively inexpensive basic version of Xduoo XD05 and XP2 Pro for 155 USD.
Anybody using them? The basic doesn't have Bluetooth ( 500mW at 32) the XP2 has Bluetooth but slightly underpowered (300mW)
Will be using with HD600/ DT880 ( the inefficient one)/ Ananda.
Don't know why, but developed a weird itching inside the left ear canal with any IEM ( tried all kind of tips, nothing helped) And with closed back headphones can't relax after a day's work.
 
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Just look how HPZ's xDuoo product pricing 1K less forces TAS's product listing - 1k Price reduced xDuoo BAL and Basic as well as MT602.

Please Note who like to buy xDuoo Basic now comes with ESS9018 instead of AKM 4490 - Now both sites clearly mentioned this.

Now on a different note, All new and future ESS DAC 9219, 9068 come with built-in MQA support which the manufacturer needs to pay nothing extra, Just need to write a firmware that enables access to the user via the respective ports. ESS is doing this to stay afloat in the market when AKM returns to the mass market next year i,e 2022-23.

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quaratineinthesejeans said:
The last piece of equipment I will allow myself to buy this year...a portable amp/ dac+amp.
Beside Fiio Q3, Xduoo XD05, Topping NX4S, hip-Dac, is there any other option available?
Don't actually need the DAC, just a portable amp should do.
Would try to avoid the warm pleasant sound. Just a clean, sharp and reasonably powerful amp ( unbalanced power of 500mW at 32 ohm or higher output)
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Drop the idea of buying any iFi product if you don't want a warm pleasant sound....

ohh Basic reduced to 500mW - Shame on you xDuoo.
 
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dissel said:
Just look how HPZ's xDuoo product pricing 1K less forces TAS's product listing - 1k Price reduced xDuoo BAL and Basic as well as MT602.

Please Note who like to buy xDuoo Basic now comes with ESS9018 instead of AKM 4490 - Now both sites clearly mentioned this.

Now on a different note, All new and future ESS DAC 9219, 9068 come with built-in MQA support which the manufacturer needs to pay nothing extra, Just need to write a firmware that enables access to the user via the respective ports. ESS is doing this to stay afloat in the market when AKM returns to the mass market next year i,e 2022-23.

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Drop the idea of buying any iFi product if you don't want a warm pleasant sound....

ohh Basic reduced to 500mW - Shame on you xDuoo.
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How well will the XDuoo MT-602 pair with the Sennheiser HD599 SE? Please share your input on how the MT-602 sounds if you use/ have used it my friend.
 
Black_Hawk said:
How well will the XDuoo MT-602 pair with the Sennheiser HD599 SE? Please share your input on how the MT-602 sounds if you use/ have used it my friend.
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Sorry I didn't own any Tube Amp as of now, because they have a life span, once that is over you need spare - As Aliexpress GONE I will never buy a tube amp.

I do own HD598 SE, But due to the lack of ear pads it is not usable - Aliexpress is the option with a Reasonable Price which is no more.

If I may ask - How you plan to feed MT-602, as per my knowledge most Tube Amp need a very clean, detail, and an analytical signal from a source to render its magic, Do you have such a source?

If the answer is no, as suggested by fellow member Fiio K5 Pro is the best option for your requirements. Complete solution for all inputs needs.
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If you like to add Tidal Subs (46/- per month if subs in groups) in the future as well want to know what is 'Balanced' rabbit hole is, then your best bet will be iFi Zen DAC.....but please note this got only USB input, rest are just output, also keep in mind the iFi power supply (330mw @ 4.4+ 230mw @ 3.5) is not in the box which itself cost a lot - Not a mandatory though if it used only in PC.
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Only Amp if needed then Zen CAN also be a nice investment....Comes with iFi Power Supply.
 
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rockstah said:
I have a question, since DACs are supposed to be transparent does it matter which one you get, Ess akm etc shouldn't they all sound same?
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No. All Dacs will sound different.
Each Dac has its own sound signature depending on the chip.
Even the same chip in different Dacs will sound different, depending on the manufacturer implementation of the chip.
 
Rahyro said:
No. All Dacs will sound different.
Each Dac has its own sound signature depending on the chip.
Even the same chip in different Dacs will sound different, depending on the manufacturer implementation of the chip.
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I was reading up on the discussion on Audiosceincereciew and their conclusion is DACs don't have sound signature. I swear I heard a difference between my LG with sabre and earstudio with akm but after reading about it I think it's just placebo.
 
rockstah said:
I was reading up on the discussion on Audiosceincereciew and their conclusion is DACs don't have sound signature. I swear I heard a difference between my LG with sabre and earstudio with akm but after reading about it I think it's just placebo.
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What they are trying to say is that a dac is not supposed to have a sound signature. Which makes sense. Also it is counterproductive to have a sound signature esp when it’s a blind buy.

But they tend to carry it a bit far since they are addressing the issues with audiophile community. It is odd that there is such a big and active resourceful community which is relatively inactive to blind tests. That should have been the mainstay if the idea is to find better equipment objectively. Since that Isn’t happening dacs being produced with sound signature is not surprising. There is money to be made.

atleast that’s how I understand the debate
 
May not be placebo.

1. The DAC consists of a logic circuit connected to resistors, each of which corresponds to a particular bit (for instance, an 8-bit DAC would have eight resistors, corresponding to 20 to 27). The resistors are of values weighted in a binary format (each resistor is a power of two stronger than the one before it).

2. The DAC’s logic circuit receives all the digital input bits simultaneously, receiving either a zero or a one for each switch/resistor from the binary input.

3. When the logic circuit receives a zero, the switch connects to ground.

4. When receiving a one, the logic circuit connects the switch to the resistor.

5. At the output, a summing amplifier combines the voltages to form the output signal, converting the digital voltages to a summed analog output.

It is the small summing amplifier that gives the DAC its character. This is not to be confused with the main amplifier ( which receives the summed up analog output and power the headphones/ speakers)
But I'm not a techie and my understanding may be completely wrong. Please free to correct it.
 
rockstah said:
I was reading up on the discussion on Audiosceincereciew and their conclusion is DACs don't have sound signature. I swear I heard a difference between my LG with sabre and earstudio with akm but after reading about it I think it's just placebo.
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Nope, every audio component will have impact & thats where we call signature. Also thats why we map DAC with relevant amplifiers & speakers/ headphones, its quite complex subject!
 
TechFrost said:
Nope, every audio component will have impact & thats where we call signature. Also thats why we map DAC with relevant amplifiers & speakers/ headphones, its quite complex subject!
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So it's possible for two different good measuring DACs to have their own sound signature?
After reading few pages from there they convinced me otherwise. At first I thought I liked my LG out better over the es100 because of the ess dac in it but then I thought it's just placebo and now I'm more confused.
 
Read the article twice and didn't understand the concept of tap.
I'm very familiar with auditory signal processing in brain and transients has absolutely nothing to do with timbre recognition or instrumental positioning without visual cue in the cerebral cortex. Auditory cortex is located in the temporal lobe and has multiple connections with the limbic system.
Animals without large cortex can distinguish timbres, even a dog can easily distinguish between a bass guitar and kick drum and their locations without even opening their eyes ( if one has few pet dogs and practice in garage will discover it within seconds)
It's also completely false that audio engineering doesn't teach auditory pathway or central processing of sound. In fact in most audio engineering course has a complete paper dedicated to the physiology and anatomy of hearing and structure of inner ear and certain parts of brain.
 
Pinna compensation and transients are still something that goes above my head.

But I have a rule of not reading too much science and reviews when it comes to Audio. Tube adds distortion to signal but it’s the same distortion that sounds wonderful. Guys who are mostly into solid state amps can’t digest this fact as the cleanest possible signal sounds cold and sterile to human ears almost too digital. Hence vinyls are still a thing because they sound analogue.
 
Tubes are completely different thing. Most good guitar amp heads are basically tube amps. They definitely distort sound but in a nice and pleasant way.
But that's production. We already have a mixed and mastered song with lots of distortion, saturation etc.already baked in.
In studio we have the responsibility not to change the intended sound ( so everything is flat and sterile)
But as a consumer...sure, use whatever makes you feel happy...the whole point of all the efforts.
 
rockstah said:
I was reading up on the discussion on Audiosceincereciew and their conclusion is DACs don't have sound signature. I swear I heard a difference between my LG with sabre and earstudio with akm but after reading about it I think it's just placebo.
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A competently well designed DAC can be shown to objectively measure as "audibly" transparent. You may "perceive" differences but its also equally possible that the components / design introduce a "signature". I use the Earmen Donald Dac feeding into the Atom Amp. It was measured to be "audibly" transparent.
 
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