Need an advice on a new DAC

[Jimbob54]

Yep, direct to the IDSD got some nice results, very curious about the L30 now. Maybe a bit harsh sounding from what I am used to, but more "dinamic" and more "soundstage".

Should just be good clean power - I wouldnt expect night and day difference from the iDSD.

 

[Seriosha]

Should just be good clean power - I wouldnt expect night and day difference from the iDSD.

Well the IDSD is USB powered, anyway the difference is there...not sure i like it more than my tube A class "distortion rich" Little dot.
By the way has anyone got an opinion on the Audio GD A2 headphone amp?

 

[Jimbob54]

Well the IDSD is USB powered, anyway the difference is there...not sure i like it more than my tube A class "distortion rich" Little dot.
By the way has anyone got an opinion on the Audio GD A2 headphone amp?

Audio GD do not get well reviewed here . Overpriced distortion boxes

 

[Seriosha]

Audio GD do not get well reviewed here . Overpriced distortion boxes

Damn....no satisfaction here for my exotics ideas.
Let's try again: considering my 18 ohm planars headphone between the little boys : Topping L30m, Geshelli Labs Archell 2.5 pro or the JDS Atom (or even the Objective 2) is there any raccomendation here?

 

[Jimbob54]

Damn....no satisfaction here for my exotics ideas.
Let's try again: considering my 18 ohm planars headphone between the little boys : Topping L30m, Geshelli Labs Archell 2.5 pro or the JDS Atom (or even the Objective 2) is there any raccomendation here?

I dont know much about the 1060c closed other than they are low impedance / low sensitivity- which makes them potentially a bit harder to drive for some amps. But I should have thought any of the 4 should be more than adequate- the Archel 2.5 makes not much sense unless you have balanced inputs but the Archel 2 is cheaper and RCA only, with a bit less power. I dont see the point in the o2 in that company. Also see how available/ price is for Schiit Magni Heresy in your region.

All should be better suited to the cans than your tube. But again, I wouldnt expect much subjective benefit from the ifi

 

[Seriosha]

L30 and

I dont know much about the 1060c closed other than they are low impedance / low sensitivity- which makes them potentially a bit harder to drive for some amps. But I should have thought any of the 4 should be more than adequate- the Archel 2.5 makes not much sense unless you have balanced inputs but the Archel 2 is cheaper and RCA only, with a bit less power. I dont see the point in the o2 in that company. Also see how available/ price is for Schiit Magni Heresy in your region.

All should be better suited to the cans than your tube. But again, I wouldnt expect much subjective benefit from the ifi

L30 and the Schiit I can easily grab them here in Italy at the same price more or less, JD labs and Gheshelli not so much must have them shipped from the US, I can go through the effort for sound quality reasons if there is any.
Between L30 and the Schiit Heresy what is your raccomendation? Measurement speaks in favour of the L30.

 

[Jimbob54]

At the measurements of either (in terms of SINAD etc) I wouldnt worry between them- both audibly transparent. What I would be more interested in is power delivery and gain. Im not clever enough to figure out which is better for your cans but the Schiit has a 3dB and 18dB gain settings. The L30 has -9, 0 and +9dB . I doubt the -9 would be applicable but useful for v sensitive IEM types.

I would guess either would be fine.

 

[Seriosha]

At the measurements of either (in terms of SINAD etc) I wouldnt worry between them- both audibly transparent. What I would be more interested in is power delivery and gain. Im not clever enough to figure out which is better for your cans but the Schiit has a 3dB and 18dB gain settings. The L30 has -9, 0 and +9dB . I doubt the -9 would be applicable but useful for v sensitive IEM types.

I would guess either would be fine.

Thanks, I plan to change the Dac too in time...so maybe the L30 with a possibility to stack an E30 later made sense.

 

[anmpr1]

Audio GD do not get well reviewed here . Overpriced distortion boxes

Over at the Secrets of Hi Fi site, David Rich (with Carlo Lo Raso) takes apart a relatively inexpensive Audio GD DAC. I don't see David's work much, anymore, so it is nice to see his quite extensive analysis, again. I presume that Carlo is responsible for the 'subjective' part of the review.

https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/dac/audio-gd-as-1-dac-review/

 

[3125b]

Inexpensive? 1000$ for something that likely performs worse than a 9$ Apple dongle despite the manufacturers claims and may be riddled with potentially dangerous construction errors.
Audio-GD is one of the worst manufacturers out there.

 

[anmpr1]

Inexpensive? 1000$ for something that likely performs worse than a 9$ Apple dongle...

Did you read Dr. Rich's review? Or did you just react?

 

[Jimbob54]

Over at the Secrets of Hi Fi site, David Rich (with Carlo Lo Raso) takes apart a relatively inexpensive Audio GD DAC. I don't see David's work much, anymore, so it is nice to see his quite extensive analysis, again. I presume that Carlo is responsible for the 'subjective' part of the review.

https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/dac/audio-gd-as-1-dac-review/

It's a strange old world. So audio gd can (assuming the measurements here are legit and nothing to suggest they are not) make a transparent dac. Begs the question, if you design a dac to be less than transparent, what is it you are aiming for? /EDIT, second and third harmonics seemingly ) And how do you differentiate that from one that isn't transparent due to poor engineering. (EDIT, presumably sprays of higher order harmonics and nasties)

Interesting they priced it above the cream of the mass market brands (topping D90 sum that up?)

 

[3125b]

With every single one of their products tested here being a complete failure, both in terms of performance and build quality, I simply don't trust them. The review does not state how they aquired the testsample (at least not that I could see), if it was provided by the manufacturer it may very well have been different from the retail units.
Plus for that price (763$ as tested?), 113db SINAD is not bad, but not terribly impressive either considering the very limited feature set.

 

[anmpr1]

With every single one of their products tested here being a complete failure, both in terms of performance and build quality, I simply don't trust them. The review does not state how they aquired the testsample (at least not that I could see), if it was provided by the manufacturer it may very well have been different from the retail units.
Plus for that price (763$ as tested?), 113db SINAD is not bad, but not terribly impressive either considering the very limited feature set.

Let's start with Reading Comprehension 101. My post/comment was about David Rich and his reviewing. Not about the particular component per se. I've followed Dr. Rich's reviewing over the past twenty or so years, and have always found his insights first rate.

Your comments about 'how they got the gear' and whether it could be a bogus sample have nothing to do with what I wrote. The fact that you don't 'trust' the particular company is rather beside my point.

In fact, I've always found David Rich's reviews to be a template for how audio reviewing ought to be done. ASR ( @amirm ) comes closest to Rich's as any I've found. I rate David in a class with reviewers such as the late Dr. Richard Heyser, and a few others. The fact that Dr. Rich doesn't seem to be very productive anymore is really what I was speaking to. If you go back and read what I wrote you will understand. Probably.

 

[3125b]

If someone asks for advice on a new DAC (specifically one that "doesn't break the bank", wich 763$ arguably does when the same performance can be had for way less in a more reliable package), he might be looking more for that than for a new review site.
But if that was your point then I agree, the review is comprehensive.

 

[Seriosha]

Over at the Secrets of Hi Fi site, David Rich (with Carlo Lo Raso) takes apart a relatively inexpensive Audio GD DAC. I don't see David's work much, anymore, so it is nice to see his quite extensive analysis, again. I presume that Carlo is responsible for the 'subjective' part of the review.

https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/dac/audio-gd-as-1-dac-review/

Seems very nice...but for a 1000$ is it worth over a Smsl Su-9 that was here measured recently and praised?

 

[ScofieldKid]

Another amp candidate: monoprice thx 887 , should work with just about anything...

 

[anmpr1]

If someone asks for advice on a new DAC (specifically one that "doesn't break the bank", wich 763$ arguably does when the same performance can be had for way less in a more reliable package), he might be looking more for that than for a new review site.
But if that was your point then I agree, the review is comprehensive.

I had high hopes for David Rich. He really hit his stride with Peter Aczel, and then sort of dropped out. At the Home Hi Fi site he 'wasted' his talents on phono cartridges and open reel tape (although his phono reviews were better than anyone else was doing--it was just such a let down from his amp and DAC reviews).

I hope David has more time for it, and can offer more work on amps and DACs at that site.

As far as the Audio Gd goes, I wouldn't buy one, given what is available in the marketplace. I see no compelling reason for that kind of expenditure for that kind of product. I agree with you that at its price point there are better options.

 

[3125b]

I have no opinion on the topic David Rich since I'm simply not familiar with his work and/or the circumstances surrounding it.
Having glanced at the review it looks good - I welcome any review with proper measurements, I think we can all agree that the audio world absolutely needs more of those and I wish everyone contributing the very best.

On topic:
The SMSL SU-9 seems like a very good choice, the performance is great and it offers balanced outputs at a very fair price.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

Welcome!
I will suggest these:
Get the JDS Lab Atom amp. One of the best on the market, regardless of price. It will cost you $99. I know of it because I use it. It can power most Headphones on the planet... be they low or high impedance... It will power your Monoprice to unhealthy, I stressed that part, unhealthy both for your hearing and perhaps the headphones. With no noise and no distortion. The darn thing is silent even with IEM.
2) Download EQ APO HERE APO
3) Download PEACE which is a GUI for the above HERE
4) Visit the Oratory 1990 Reddit with the settings, the MonoPrice is probably there ...

You will be happy... no need to change the DAC, yours is decent and audibly transparent, It will take some time to master but it is worth it.

Peace.