Which DAC measurements do you like to see next?

[Krunok]

Oh, come on, not this argument again... I will only make one post on this.

Audio is a very subjective domain because not only it rests on sensory perception which differs person-by-person but on one's ability to convert sensations into words (reviews, testimonies etc.). So what's true for one may not be true for the other, or that person might be fooling himself and the other (intentional or not), or his wording is too hyped, or the other person misinterpreted his words because they have different mindset for words etc etc.. To cut things short, subjective listening testimonies are only helpful if you comprehend very well the Point of View (or frame of reference) of the other person. This is obtainable only if you've listened to something exactly the same under the same conditions as that person. Then you may compare his subjective impressions and yours and get a frame of reference which you then can interpolate on his other testimonies to get approximate understanding of what your impressions would be. Then you begin collecting other people's impressions to collect a statistical data which will either confirm or deny facts stated in those impressions. It is a pretty universally accepted opinion (if you read the Internet) that DX200 + AMP4's soundstage is phenomenal.

In my original post I specifically stated that I've heard the iBasso DX200 with the stock amp and was able to devise a frame of reference (for myself) to confirm that what is being said about it and AMP4 is (most probably) true. You can take this argument as just my opinion without any hard evidence, I frankly couldn't care less if you buy this player or not. I don't understand why everyone's so edgy about that thing I said.
Gross exxageration. Not really a relevant example in this case as reports on audio equipment can be tested on a person-by-person basis.

Really, it was never my intention to be "edgy" - I simply vote against using argumentum ad populum as an argument in general, not to the equipment you've being mentioning. The truth is that educated people are always minority so if you introduce numbers as an argument logic and science will always loose.

 

[Wombat]

Oh, come on, not this argument again... I will only make one post on this.

Audio is a very subjective domain because not only it rests on sensory perception which differs person-by-person but on one's ability to convert sensations into words (reviews, testimonies etc.). So what's true for one may not be true for the other, or that person might be fooling himself and the other (intentional or not), or his wording is too hyped, or the other person misinterpreted his words because they have different mindset for words etc etc.. To cut things short, subjective listening testimonies are only helpful if you comprehend very well the Point of View (or frame of reference) of the other person. This is obtainable only if you've listened to something exactly the same under the same conditions as that person. Then you may compare his subjective impressions and yours and get a frame of reference which you then can interpolate on his other testimonies to get approximate understanding of what your impressions would be. Then you begin collecting other people's impressions to collect a statistical data which will either confirm or deny facts stated in those impressions. It is a pretty universally accepted opinion (if you read the Internet) that DX200 + AMP4's soundstage is phenomenal. Again, this is not really an argument for everybody, but for me it is because I collected all this data based on my PoV. You can go and get yours if you really want. Or just go and take a listen to that player yourself.

In my original post I specifically stated that I've heard the iBasso DX200 with the stock amp and was able to devise a frame of reference (for myself) to confirm that what is being said about it and AMP4 is (most probably) true. You can take this argument as just my opinion without any hard evidence, I frankly couldn't care less if you buy this player or not. I don't understand why everyone's so edgy about that thing I said.
Gross exxageration. Not really a relevant example in this case as reports on audio equipment can be tested on a person-by-person basis.

Really? Learn to present using rational argument. Google will assist.

 

[SIY]

Gross exxageration. Not really a relevant example in this case as reports on audio equipment can be tested on a person-by-person basis.

I look forward to your test data showing soundstage perception differences between two DACs having normal levels of separation and with no significant measurable differences in frequency response and level between channels.

 

[amirm]

Let's not have debates in this thread please. Create a new thread if you feel the urge.

 

[bunkbail]

May I suggest another cheap DAC/amp combo under $100? It is a Stoner Acoustics UD125, which uses AK4490 for the DAC and a TPA6120 headphone amp. It costs $85 plus $6 shipping. I own this DAC/amp for a year now and it sounds awesome with my Sennheiser HD660S, even my bigger DAC and amps doesn't sound this good with the headphone. I used to own a Fiio E10K and Schiit Fulla 2, and still owns a SMSL iDEA, and I thought that UD125 is a better sounding DAC/amp than those.

 

[rvsixer]

@bunkbail - send your Stoner in to get tested .

 

[Dro]

Interesting device. This review here indicates it has 0.1 Ohm output impedance instead of the recommended 10 Ohm fro the TPA6120.
https://web.archive.org/web/2017072...my/2017/06/Stoner-Acoustics-UD125-Review.html

 

[bunkbail]

@bunkbail - send your Stoner in to get tested .

I would love to but the UD125 is my daily driver now alongside HD660S, I just love their synergy. My Audio-gd R2R-11, Chord Mojo and M1060 are just collecting dust in the closet right now.

 

[amirm]

My Audio-gd R2R-11, Chord Mojo and M1060 are just collecting dust in the closet right now.

I will make a deal with you. Loan me your Audio-gd R2R11 for review and I will purchase and review the Stoner Acoustics DAC. What do you say?

 

[bunkbail]

I will make a deal with you. Loan me your Audio-gd R2R11 for review and I will purchase and review the Stoner Acoustics DAC. What do you say?

Oh god. How much the expected shipping fee from Asia (Malaysia)? If its not much, I can swallow it.

 

[amirm]

Oh god. How much the expected shipping fee from Asia (Malaysia)? If its not much, I can swallow it.

Oh, I didn't realize you were not in US. So don't worry about it. Remind me in a week or two and I will purchase this DAC to test.

 

[bunkbail]

Oh, I didn't realize you were not in US. So don't worry about it. Remind me in a week or two and I will purchase this DAC to test.

I was gonna PM you about this lol, coz I have some other audio gears that are collecting dust too.

1) Audio-GD R2R-11 DAC/amp combo
2) Gustard H10 head amp (Burson V6 Classic Single and Dual op-amp upgraded)
3) Schiit Eitr
4) iFi iTube2 Tube Buffer and Preamp

I haven't touched them since I bought the HD660S a few months ago. If its viable, I can send it to you but I'm afraid the shipping fee plus the insurance fee gonna be massive.

 

[duo8]

I was gonna PM you about this lol, coz I have some other audio gears that are collecting dust too.

1) Audio-GD R2R-11 DAC/amp combo
2) Gustard H10 head amp (Burson V6 Classic Single and Dual op-amp upgraded)
3) Schiit Eitr
4) iFi iTube2 Tube Buffer and Preamp

I haven't touched them since I bought the HD660S a few months ago. If its viable, I can send it to you but I'm afraid the shipping fee plus the insurance fee gonna be massive.

You might be able to find a reputable cargo shipping service in your country, they can ship your items quickly with reasonable fees.
When Amir is done testing you can arrange for him to ship back through the same service.

 

[Transpareo]

It would be amazing if you measured Realtek ALC 1220 on some respectable mobo brand and compared it with super-duper-audiophiliac stuff.

 

[amirm]

It would be amazing if you measured Realtek ALC 1220 on some respectable mobo brand and compared it with super-duper-audiophiliac stuff.

Yes, I have been planning to do that too. Stay on my case until I do.

 

[dheepak10]

Been following this forum for a few days. Absolutely love the content on this. I'm on the lookout for a DAC to use with headphones/earphones and my upcoming stereo monitors (Presonus Eris 8). Almost finalized on the Topping D50 and then came to know about the Topping NX4 DSD which uses the same ESS DAC chip but costs 100 bucks lesser. Would love to see a comparo between the two.
Also, will the output impedance of D50 affect earphones with 32 ohm load - Dynamic driver or Hybrid DD+BA?

PS: Read that NX4 DSD uses OPA2140 instead of OPA2211 which is similar to the OPA1612 used in D50 and that it is a bit warmer sounding compared to the latter.

 

[dc655321]

Also, will the output impedance of D50 affect earphones with 32 ohm load - Dynamic driver or Hybrid DD+BA?

The D50 is not designed to be connected directly to headphones, but rather to an external amplifier, as it's only output is RCA.

 

[bona998]

QUESTYLE CMA400i - (DAC AK4490), especially built-in CURRENT MODE headphone amplifier (in this price range, this technology ->patent<- is marvelous, sounds really amazing, how will it measure ? :>) This machine is built like a tank, PCB looks stunning, clear design with a lot of details taken care here

"Essentially, current mode acts as it sounds like it acts: the signal is amplified by modulating the current rather than the voltage. Current and voltage are not exactly strange bedfellows, their relationship is forged in Ohm’s law, and the resultant current mode amplifier creates an inherently low distortion and wide bandwidth design. Current mode is a very common amp design in high-speed communications and video processing. The CMA800R features an additional voltage-controlled current source and a current amplifier in front of a more traditional Class A output stage, but creating those two amplifier stages requires a low-impedance negative feedback circuit that reacts a couple of orders of magnitude faster than conventional voltage mode amp designs. In addition, the amplifier’s slew rate achieves a linear increase as input signal amplitude increases, in direct proportion to the input signal amplitude. When receiving a high amplitude signal, a current mode’s amplifier’s slew rate is much faster than traditional voltage mode devices, eliminating intermodulation distortion and ensuring a high amplitude signal, with an extremely wide linear bandwidth and an almost distortion free realistic playback. "

Nuforce HA-200, single ended, class A headphone amp with very low feedback and very high transistors bias current (deep class A), sounds really amazing, like good oldschool stuff, how will it measure ? :>

Pioneer U-05, DUAL ESS 9016, extremely well implemented just by looking at the PCB and insides, SE output uses TPA6120, balanced - especially designed discrete section

AUNE S16 / S6, especially S16 because S6 is after some cuts off to save money, no FIFO reclocking, weak headphone amp etc, to my ears S6 is also much worse DAC than previous S16 (though hard to get these days, but comparison of these 2 units would be great !)

 

[maxxevv]

Been following this forum for a few days. Absolutely love the content on this. I'm on the lookout for a DAC to use with headphones/earphones and my upcoming stereo monitors (Presonus Eris 8). Almost finalized on the Topping D50 and then came to know about the Topping NX4 DSD which uses the same ESS DAC chip but costs 100 bucks lesser. Would love to see a comparo between the two.
Also, will the output impedance of D50 affect earphones with 32 ohm load - Dynamic driver or Hybrid DD+BA?

PS: Read that NX4 DSD uses OPA2140 instead of OPA2211 which is similar to the OPA1612 used in D50 and that it is a bit warmer sounding compared to the latter.

The NX4 DSD is a single chip ES9038Q2M, the D50 is a dual chip implementation. Not the same.

http://en.tpdz.net/products_detail/productId=25.html

http://en.tpdz.net/products_detail/productId=37.html

 

[amirm]

Almost finalized on the Topping D50 and then came to know about the Topping NX4 DSD which uses the same ESS DAC chip but costs 100 bucks lesser. Would love to see a comparo between the two.

I have been waiting for a sale to buy the NX4. Just saw this ebay listing which is $40 cheaper than other sources. Anyone know if this is trustworthy? https://www.ebay.com/i/173121695267?chn=ps