Recent content by MadMan

  1. M

    Topping LA90 Review (Integrated Amplifier)

    These are 'proper' XLR connectors, they are just combo jacks that also accept TRS. You can fund such connectors on a lot of professional and audiophile products. It's the best connector for them to include to ensure simple compatability with all their other balanced products using any type of...
  2. M

    Topping LA90 Review (Integrated Amplifier)

    Yeah...not so sure on this one. I gave it a Fine just for the technical capabilities, but like many others this is a product that doesn't make sense in the market to me - too many compromises for the goal of best measurements, and I'm usually one who errs on the side of 'measurements matter' (I...
  3. M

    Sennheiser 800 HD still the best neutral openback for $1000 used?

    I am a happy used HD800 owner as well. EQ the 6k peak at the very least, then bass to taste. One this to note when looking at FR graphs is everything is relative. The 'peaky' treble is partly due to the dip from ~1k to 3k (note that this dip may enhance perceived soundstage too) which...
  4. M

    JDS Labs Element III Review (DAC & Amp)

    Had to give it a "not terrible" because the screen doesn't really add anything all that useful, just cost, and performance is merely acceptable. I'd rather have an Atom stack and a few hundred dollars to spare than this.
  5. M

    Schiit IEMagni Review (Headphone Amplifier)

    They discontinued it afaik...it was a pointless product honestly when they already had the Magni Heresy.
  6. M

    Douk HiFi 6N3 Vacuum Tube Preamp Review

    Of course it's important to use a standardized 2V level for tests, but I wonder whether at a lower input level the output is better matched? So there are many DACs that have volume (output level) control. It would be interesting to see what input value gives a good channel volume match.
  7. M

    Best $300 headphones for music production

    M50X FR is awful...why it still remains a recommendation to this day by many people makes no sense.
  8. M

    Aune X1s GT Review (DAC & Amp)

    Had to give this a "Not Terrible" because it simply doesn't measure up (pun intended) in today's market, especially not for > $300, and the only because I didn't want to completely shit on it. The only decent thing is SINAD which is only a high-level view: massive IMD hump, mediocre power (less...
  9. M

    SMSL HO200 Review (Headphone Amplifier)

    I appreciate what you do and hate to ask you to do extra things, but spot checks on preamp outputs for these amplifiers seems like a good idea, especially when a device exhibits odd behavior in other ways like this one does. The 'desktop preamp' is certainly a marketed use case for these kind of...
  10. M

    Topping DX3 Pro+ Review (DAC & Headphone Amp)

    Very nice update...but why continue with the 3.5mm headphone jack instead of 6,5mm? It seems minor, but as a true all-in-one it is what always bothered me about the DX3.
  11. M

    Topping PA3s Review (Desktop Amplifier)

    Why is the dashboard SINAD notably worse than what @WolfX-700 got for 4R5W, about 92dB. https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/topping-pa3s-prototype/ Looking at the test details, he uses "Input1 ... AC (<10Hz) - 20kHz" versus "AC (<10Hz) - 22.4kHz". Does the extra bandwidth for your dashboard change it...
  12. M

    New topping PA3, PA3s

    With an order of magnitude better distortion...
  13. M

    Schiit IEMagni Review (Headphone Amplifier)

    I've owned Schiit products in the past, but really just can't consider them any more with controls in the back.
  14. M

    SMSL SP400 Review (headphone amp)

    What I wrote has nothing to do with the topology of a specific amp. Balanced signal transmission is +/-/neutral (reference) or more accurately: signal +/inverted signal -/neutral (reference). Headphones are +/- only....'balanced' is a misuse of the term for headphones, and it's clear audio...
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