HIDIZS S8 Vs Fiio BTR5/ Tempotec Sonata HD Pro

[Sprint]

Dear all,

Which one is better HIDIZS S8 or Fiio BTR5? Has anyone has both? What do you prefer and why? I want to use it for my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 Ohm headphones and Tin T4 or TRN BA5 IEMs. Amir has measure HIDIZS (DAC CS 43131) and gave an excellent review. But BTR5 (DAC ES9218) has balanced out. Which of the DACs are better in Sound Quality.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Asylum Seeker]

Subjectively speaking, I find the BTR5 excellent with the TRN BA5, Tin T3 and Tin T2+. But none of these IEMs need an amp for they are all quite sensitive and can be driven out of a smartphone headphone jack.

 

[Χ Ξ Σ]

Tempotec Sonata HD Pro measurements: https://0hz.tech/?p=575

 

[WondrousHippo]

I'd only buy the BTR5 over the Tempotec if you need one of its features, otherwise the Sonata HD's measured quality beats the BTR5's listed specs. BTR5 is fine, though.

 

[abm0]

I'd only buy the BTR5 over the Tempotec if you need one of its features

Like Bluetooth and having its own battery.

otherwise the Sonata HD's measured quality beats the BTR5's listed specs

Hard to say on power, since no one is quoting the output numbers with any clarity. I see talk of how they made special efforts to ensure 2 Vrms is achieved at 300 ohms and below, so that at least tells us it can do 13.3 mW (RMS) into 300 ohms. Then there's something about 1.4 Vrms into 33 ohms, so that would be 59.39 mW, which puts it kind of on par with the single-ended output of the BTR5 for low-impedance loads. The Tempotec might be better only for high-ohm loads, it's not clear from the available data.

 

[Sprint]

Hi all,

Thanks everyone for chiming in ! I received both today to compare my self. I used Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 Ohms as headphones. The Tempotec has no colouring and the sound is natural. Whereas, BTR5 is also excellent but has a colouring in the sound. The instruments does not sound like it should be and is more pronounced. Will compare more closely during the next days.

 

[Asylum Seeker]

Hi all,

Thanks everyone for chiming in ! I received both today to compare my self. I used Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 Ohms as headphones. The Tempotec has no colouring and the sound is natural. Whereas, BTR5 is also excellent but has a colouring in the sound. The instruments does not sound like it should be and is more pronounced. Will compare more closely during the next days.

Your subjective determination is probably due to bias, that is, you already know which one has measured well. In a proper blind comparison, you wouldn't be able to tell a difference. Just trying to keep you real, bro... This is ASR, after all, not a circus subjectivist site.

 

[Sprint]

Your subjective determination is probably due to bias, that is, you already know which one has measured well. In a proper blind comparison, you wouldn't be able to tell a difference. Just trying to keep you real, bro... This is ASR, after all, not a circus subjectivist site.

I do not agree my friend... There is a sonic difference atleast to my ears...I tested it almost for 1 hour switching back and forth. I really wanted BTR5 to win because I loved the features even though there are no measurements in ASR. However the HIDIZS S8 (same make as Temptec) had much natural instrumentation sound. Other than that, I am a big fan of ASR as I learned a lot during the past days and have lots of respect/admiration of how everyone helps here in sharing their knowledge / experience.

 

[BDWoody]

I do not agree my friend... There is a sonic difference atleast to my ears...I tested it almost for 1 hour switching back and forth.

Did you know which one was which while playing? No one is saying you didn't hear a difference... We are suggesting that the brain is notoriously wonderful and complex, and that without controlling for bias your results may not be as meaningful as you want them to be.

Try it again with the output volumes matched very closely (by multimeter ideally, but to within about .1 dB), and switch inputs without knowing which is which, and I'd bet (a considerable amount) that the differences disappear.

Actually going through this process myself, despite my doubts at the time, has saved me mountains of cash and headaches as the differences I know I heard disappeared like magic.

Either way, I hope you enjoy whatever you end up with!

 

[Asylum Seeker]

I do not agree my friend... There is a sonic difference atleast to my ears...I tested it almost for 1 hour switching back and forth. I really wanted BTR5 to win because I loved the features even though there are no measurements in ASR. However the HIDIZS S8 (same make as Temptec) had much natural instrumentation sound. Other than that, I am a big fan of ASR as I learned a lot during the past days and have lots of respect/admiration of how everyone helps here in sharing their knowledge / experience.

You are obviously ignorant to the myriad biases that could color your judgment. I don't doubt what you heard is what you heard. I also don't discount that your brain may be playing tricks on you. And you are blissfully oblivious to it. Placebo is real, a scientific verifiable fact.

 

[Sprint]

Did you know which one was which while playing? No one is saying you didn't hear a difference... We are suggesting that the brain is notoriously wonderful and complex, and that without controlling for bias your results may not be as meaningful as you want them to be.

Try it again with the output volumes matched very closely (by multimeter ideally, but to within about .1 dB), and switch inputs without knowing which is which, and I'd bet (a considerable amount) that the differences disappear.

Actually going through this process myself, despite my doubts at the time, has saved me mountains of cash and headaches as the differences I know I heard disappeared like magic.

Either way, I hope you enjoy whatever you end up with!

Valid point . Is there an option for using a multimeter with headphones? I learnt that there is no way to measure db with headphones when running via iPad, iPhone, Laptop

 

[Sprint]

You are obviously ignorant to the myriad biases that could color your judgment. I don't doubt what you heard is what you heard. I also don't discount that your brain may be playing tricks on you. And you are blissfully oblivious to it. Placebo is real, a scientific verifiable fact.

Agreed. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

 

[charleski]

Is there an option for using a multimeter with headphones?

The devices appear to have a similar output impedance, so you can just check the levels obtained when playing back a 1kHz sine wave on auto-repeat. You need to solder a load resistor to one channel of an old headphone lead and measure the voltage across it. When the voltages are the same for both amps you'll have matched volume.