Cheap DAC OFF: Topping D30, SDAC, Modi Multibit, JDS EL DAC, iFi Nano BL

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by purr1n, May 16, 2018.

  1. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    iFi nano BL, imho, isn't what I'd call warmpoo, warm yes, but I like it with Andro OG depending on the music. Pairing w/ Solaris is borderline too warm, though. Going on memory, Dragonfly Red is kinda etched sounding while still being a bit rolled off at the tippy-top thru either Andro or Solaris. Not quite "authoritative" sub-bass either, a bit limp dick.
     
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Many of your issues with the BA drivers could be related to the iPod Touch. The iPod sound is clean, but a bit brittle. Wish our Nano BL didn’t get lost in the mail otherwise I’d send it to you. At the most nickpicky, maybe Nano BL is polite or a little soft. It isn’t warmpoo or bloated.
     
  3. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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  4. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I use Tidal almost exclusively right now (hopefully temporary) so a DAP wouldn’t work.

    Actually I think my issues have been fit related. I completely got rid of the metallic crazy detailed sound of the Orion with different tips and deeper insertion.

    I’m loving the Andromeda 2020, og Solaris and Sony M7. And I’ve actually got them all sounding pretty similar FR and tonality wise.
     
  5. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    I agree with DAPs and Tidal. They are mostly a mess if they do it right. ZX2 Tidal app barely works, and I swear any Android DAP is going to be a ticking timebomb on how long an app will last on it.

    Phones are so much better, but downside is you need to get another device.
     
  6. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

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    I used a Dragonfly cobalt with my iphone, it's a noticeable upgrade over the apple lightning dongle but the cck adapter is dog shit and dies. So i'm back on the lightning dongle, not that big of a deal most of my listening is podcasts on the go. Maybe the USB 3.0 one is more reliable...
     
  7. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Aren’t there any other amp/dac combo portable units out there? Back in the day there were tons of portable amps and then people started making portable dac/amps combined- still small. Now all I see is iFi. Voldemort (is that what you call the former admin on changstar?) was really into a unit back in the day. Can’t remember what it was though.

    I’m using og Solaris and Andromeda 2020 for now so warm doesn’t sound like a good idea. Too bad about the nano BL getting lost in the mail. I probably should have jumped on the ZX2. I think I could have plugged my iPod touch into it. But I remember reading it’s also a warm sounding unit.

    but hell I don’t want f'ing Kevin Gilmore sound so maybe it’s ok. I have yet to hear a portable amp with good tonality. They all had upper midrange or lower treble “glare” Even the TTVJ portable tube amp.

    or I just stick with the iPod. But @Bill-P has been telling me how higher output impedance fixes a lot of the FR problems I’m trying and mostly failing to fix with my now huge collection of tips.

    I really like the ease of just grabbing the iPod. Too bad.
     
  8. Eric_C

    Eric_C Friend

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    @rhythmdevils want my ZX2? It was Brencho's, with Bill-P's mods (IIRC). I stopped using it because I don't commute as much any more.
     
  9. FlySweep

    FlySweep Friend

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    Leckerton UHA-6S MKII w/ AD4627 op amps..still the best (purely) portable amp i've heard. Also, among my fav amps, regardless of form factor. As far as portable amps, I don't think anything's come out since (which doesn't cost stupid amounts of $$) that beats it.
     
  10. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Their website says the leckerton is a dac/amp. Do you say amp only because the dac sucks?

    how’s the sound signature and output impedance for high sensitivity iems?

    thank you!
     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The DAC sucks in the Leckerton UHA-6S MKII. The only portable amp that sounded as good as the Leckerton (at least for IEM use case) is this: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...ble-dac-headamp-review-and-measurements.9655/ This coming from an ex-UHA-6S owner. Both are clean, lively (not boring), yet without treble f'kery. XD-05 plus is ahead with bass slam and less stringy in the highs.

    The huge advantage with the xDuo XD-05 plus is its built-in DAC. It is a high spec chip AKM4493 that is implemented well. iPhone and Android phones can plug straight into the xDuoo's USB input. The downside is that the xDuo larger than the Leckerton, but smartphones are bigger now anyway. Sound signature is rollable on either, but overall less objectionable compared to others with BA type IEMs. The xDuoo XD-05 plus has another advantage in that we can roll both dual and single opamps.
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2020
  12. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Can you explain what dual and single opamps means and what it improves for this amp ignoramus?

    Thanks for the recommendation. I actually already read your thread about this unit but wasnt thinking amp/dac at the time.

    also do you know the output impedance?
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Some opamps have both L and R channels on a chip. Others only have a single channel thus require x2. XDuo has three sockets to support both types.

    Zout is close to zero on both Leck and xDuodenum
     
  14. loadexfa

    loadexfa MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    @rhythmdevils Assuming your location is current, you are welcome to try my ifi iDSD BL. It's not the nano but I imagine the sound signatures are very similar. I'm on the Peninsula.
     
  15. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Thanks! 2 is always better than 1 I shouldn’t have even asked.

    So this means it wouldn’t help tune the FR of the CA iem’s as @Bill-P has told me about higher output impedance?
     
  16. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Thanks! I’ll send you a pm! Love this community. It’s gone back to how I remember things in the early head-if days when it was all about sharing this experience together. And so much astounding generosity to strangers. At least real life strangers. ;)
     
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Opamp rolling can do quite a bit. I can make Solaris lean and bright with obvious BA timbre. Or I can get them slightly dark. Or somewhere in between, but with megabass, etc.

    I forgot, there is also a "boost" switch that increases Zout a bit on the xDuo. This will brighten up the Andro 2020. This should not be confused with bass boost switch.

    Let me measure and show the effect. I totally forgot about it!
     
  18. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    It’s hard balancing the FR of the og Solaris. It’s either got too much bass, or the vocals get recessed or the upper midrange gets bright/north of neutral. @Bill-P has talked about higher output impedance raising the treble without raising the upper midrange and balancing out the rest of the spectrum.

    luckily I found ONE tip out of my now huge collection that balances them out nicely with the iPod touch even. But these tips came with another iem and are unobtanium at the moment though I’m begging them to sell them. I’d like others to be able to buy them not to mention getting a few more pairs myself.
     
  19. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    Yeah, in my experience, Solaris and Andromeda at least will sound brighter out of sources with higher OI, and they sound darker with sources that are close to 0-ohm.

    With Solaris, I think I mentioned it elsewhere as well, but I prefer an AK120 with a darker pair of tips. Bass is still "ZOMG" but it's not as bad as... say, straight out of iPhone lightning headphone adapter thing. Also, I'm secretly a closet basshead (or let's just say, I do like to have my bass a bit more impactful), so the crazy amount of bass of the Solaris doesn't detract too much.

    Just for reference, Ara was a bit too little bass for me.
     

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