Bargain DAC Suggestions?

[Blumlein 88]

How about planktons?

Oh, you have revealed yourself as among the top level of audio cognescenti knowing about planktons. Unfortunately planktons to my knowledge cannot currently be measured. Only experienced among best friends.

 

[SpeedyRodent]

Unfortunately planktons to my knowledge cannot currently be measured.

According to some best friends, you can with spider charts. lol!

 

[tili]

Oh, you have revealed yourself as among the top level of audio cognescenti knowing about planktons. Unfortunately planktons to my knowledge cannot currently be measured. Only experienced among best friends.

the science has not caught up yet!!!!!! can you measure love
how about timbre of an amplifier? i was used to hearing people talk about the soundstage of amplifiers but i have recently seen timbre being described as a property of an amp.

still, nothing comes close to planktons i think

 

[Dismayed]

the science has not caught up yet!!!!!! can you measure love
how about timbre of an amplifier? i was used to hearing people talk about the soundstage of amplifiers but i have recently seen timbre being described as a property of an amp.

First prove that timbre can actually be identified without looking at the label on the amp. Best to start with double blind tests with volume matched to 0.1 dB.

 

[tili]

if only you could hear my sarcasm through the screen

 

[Dismayed]

if only you could hear my sarcasm through the screen

Yes, it can be difficult without visual and audio cues. And I'm still getting used to the fact that most people who visit this forum are rational. It's nothing like other audio forums!

 

[tili]

that's on me though. i'm always too dry with it. suck at delivering the joke

 

[Wombat]

My Luxman R 1050 has timber. The case is wood with rosewood veneer.

 

[Sal1950]

My Luxman R 1050 has timber. The case is wood with rosewood veneer.

I miss the days when HiFi had real timber. My Marantz, Crown, and Phase Linear gear all had walnut.

 

[Old Listener]

the science has not caught up yet!!!!!! can you measure love
how about timbre of an amplifier? i was used to hearing people talk about the soundstage of amplifiers but i have recently seen timbre being described as a property of an amp.

I'm amused to think of measuring love in the context of audio components. However, I think that infatuation and lust are more relevant to audiophile choices.

 

[Wombat]

the science has not caught up yet!!!!!! can you measure love
how about timbre of an amplifier? i was used to hearing people talk about the soundstage of amplifiers but i have recently seen timbre being described as a property of an amp.

still, nothing comes close to planktons i think

"Can you measure love"? Oxytocin levels: https://www.livescience.com/42198-what-is-oxytocin.html

Timbre is a vibrational characteristic. If your amplifier has it shoot the designer.

Plankton is the plural of plankter(the individual organism). Drop the 's'. This one I didn't get.

Soundstage reproduction? Well I don't wish to start another long inconclusive thread - or do I?

Overuse of Emojis? Guilty.

 

[stunta]

Topping's new DX7s is on massdrop for $379 which is a sweet deal. Retail is expected to be $500. Amir is getting a review unit, so this is FYi for everyone else. I paid $400 for mine but that was due to a reseller error.

Sorry, link below is from my email newsletter. I am on my phone so hard to edit.

EDIT: direct link. https://www.massdrop.com/buy/topping-dx7s

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/topping-dx7s?1=1&utm_placement=0&referer=P5VYPG&mode=guest_open&utm_campaign=Automated Daily Promotional 2018-02-05&utm_source=SparkPost&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Daily Promotional&utm_content=1517832148614.160649654735168283124839

 

[tili]

"well-behaved, refined, cohesive, and neutral, but with a hint of warmth, thickness, and sweeter sounding treble"
"really nailed the tone and timbre"
"dynamic, powerful, fast, clean, wholesome, and detailed"
"Some amps might have an airier soundstage with greater depth and layering. Some amps might have harder hitting and cleaner sounding bass. Some amps might sound a bit clearer and more detailed overall, more resolving, without adding sibilance, brightness, or other fatiguing traits. And some amps are just generally going to sound more "real" and "tangible." "

these are taken from a recent article on a well-regarded website pertaining to mostly headphones. the article is about a solid-state headphone amplifier. i found those descriptions hard to believe, however it might be that i'm just inexperienced.
sorry for keeping the derail going but i couldn't resist participating in that topic

 

[Dismayed]

these are taken from a recent article on a well-regarded website pertaining to mostly headphones. the article is about a solid-state headphone amplifier. i found those descriptions hard to believe, however it might be that i'm just inexperienced.
sorry for keeping the derail going but i couldn't resist participating in that topic

Those descriptions are more than hard to believe. They are total bullshit, written by people who are afraid to submit to well designed double blind testing.

 

[SpeedyRodent]

Those quotes are from page 2 of the Innerfidelity review of the Schiit Magni 3.

https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/schiit-magni-3-affordable-headphone-amp-and-preamp-page-2

 

[stunta]

Those quotes are from page 2 of the Innerfidelity review of the Schiit Magni 3.

https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/schiit-magni-3-affordable-headphone-amp-and-preamp-page-2

Love the comments on the article - so much love and admiration for the author, it makes my heart melt. The scary thing is that this review could be written without the author never having laid eyes on the unit and no one would know.

Having said that, I do own the Magni 2 Uber amp and like how it makes my HD650 sound. This is my first experience with a dedicated headphone amp though. @amirm, I can send this one in for review if you are interested.

 

[Sal1950]

descriptions hard to believe, however it might be that i'm just inexperienced.

Those descriptions are more than hard to believe. They are total bullshit, written by people who are afraid to submit to well designed double blind testing.

Exactly. Headphone amps are little different than power amps. Any competently designed product should sound little different than the next when combined with a competently designed load (headphone). There is a lot of funny business going on in the market so it's hard to make blanket statements but flowery prose such as posted is just crazy talk.

 

[mindbomb]

I did see that magni 3 review in innerfidelity. I will be very interested to see how that glowing review compares to the upcoming review here. I was disappointed that innerfidelity, a site that is very meticulous with their headphone reviews, had an headphone amp review with no measurements.

They even did headphone amp measurements before - https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AllAmpsJuly2013.pdf . Seeing the jdslabs o2 headphone amp 's performance here makes me skeptical about the magni 3 reviewer's conclusion that the magni 3 made the o2 obsolete.

 

[Blumlein 88]

"Can you measure love"? Oxytocin levels: https://www.livescience.com/42198-what-is-oxytocin.html

Timbre is a vibrational characteristic. If your amplifier has it shoot the designer.

Plankton is the plural of plankter(the individual organism). Drop the 's'. This one I didn't get.

Soundstage reproduction? Well I don't wish to start another long inconclusive thread - or do I?

Overuse of Emojis? Guilty.

How is the planktons on your headphones dear sir? Invention of super best audio friends forum. Best I can tell it is like a gestalt feeling of fine details of live music. Fish swim in the ocean while super tiny, ephemeral, indefinable, unmeasurable plankton are around those swimming fish. So a headphone with good planktons, impossible to measure or even fully describe, is a quality you know when you hear it like the fish swimming among the microscopic planktons. A microscopic ultra detail quality of life in a headphone's sound.

Yes, it's BS. Yes they should be ashamed of themselves. But only the super special super best audio friends participants discuss the all important planktons.

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...ton-and-the-ability-to-resolve-properly.2801/

Amir could add it to his todo list. Define measurements for audio plankton.

 

[Thomas Savage]

How is the planktons on your headphones dear sir? Invention of super best audio friends forum. Best I can tell it is like a gestalt feeling of fine details of live music. Fish swim in the ocean while super tiny, ephemeral, indefinable, unmeasurable plankton are around those swimming fish. So a headphone with good planktons, impossible to measure or even fully describe, is a quality you know when you hear it like the fish swimming among the microscopic planktons. A microscopic ultra detail quality of life in a headphone's sound.

Yes, it's BS. Yes they should be ashamed of themselves. But only the super special super best audio friends participants discuss the all important planktons.

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...ton-and-the-ability-to-resolve-properly.2801/

Amir could add it to his todo list. Define measurements for audio plankton.

Schiit I thought you were taking the piss with the whole “ super best audio friends forum“ thing but it’s a actual thing...

You literally could not make this schiit up ..