Volume is not the same thing as power. In other words, don't mistake "45% of the available volume" for 45% of the available power. At any given volume setting, you could be below, at, or above the max power output of your sound card. And that value changes depending on the load (your...

Huh. Yeah, like @Davidzak64 says, I'm surprised to hear this from someone outside the States! Super interesting. Though maybe my perspective is skewed because I'm from San Diego--where STP are also from--and I was in high school when this album dropped. These tunes were inescapable at the time...

On the road, so I’m down to just a few IEMs and my trusty little Qudelix dongle for the summer. Today, it’s the Symphonium Meteor. While these are usually thought of as bass monsters, the selling point for me is their upper mid and treble range. Truly exceptional. Symphonium Meteor < Qudelix 5K...

Totally disagree. There are plenty of smaller desktop DACs (by Schiit, Topping, and many others) that will do a "wheelie" when interconnects are connected to them. Doesn't mean they were "not designed" as desktop DACs. While I've experienced this with those other DACs, I've never had this...

Rob Watts has nuanced this description a bit. I don't remember (and frankly didn't totally understand) the exact nuance, but the long and short was that it does have an amp (as do most/all standalone DACs?), but it's a bare-bones circuit. It means that the Mojo 2 is essentially just a variable...

Yup. For me, interconnects are the most bang-for-buck audio component (yes, I think of them as a "component"). They're not as sexy as a new pair of headphones or a new amp, but they can really make an audible difference to your overall chain. And you really don't need to spend all that much. You...

I wouldn't worry about it at all. Even though this amp is marketed as a "Class A" amplifier, it's actually Class AB and very likely works exactly the same cold as it does after it's been warmed up. Mine certainly never gets so much as warm to the touch--let alone hot--even after it's been on all...

What's funny is that through my various dongle upgrades, I held onto the Qudelix 5K (mostly for its PEQ). I got the Mojo 2 as its ultimate replacement. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), the Mojo 2 is so good that I ended up using it as my primary desktop DAC. Now I'm back to the 5K as my primary...

No problem at all. Once sound quality becomes a concern more than features, then you have a lot more options. I personally prefer a more "analog" sound and gravitate toward R2R, tubes, or non-ESS chipsets. I've worked my way up the dongle ladder and arrived currently at the Mojo 2. But that's...

I'm not a "cables matter" person, so I was just giving a best-case scenario for why cables might affect FR. I buy cables purely for aesthetics and build-quality. But I don't judge others for their audio kinks. Whatever sounds good to someone else is awesome by me. As for IEM impedance specs...

If bluetooth, price, and size matter, I'd suck it up and just go with the Qudelix 5K. With bluetooth, you're already making a major compromise to sound quality, so you may as well just go with the 5K and get the amazing DSP feature set. I have yet to try anything over bluetooth that is worth...

Depends on what you need and how much you’re willing to spend. The 5K is great for its price, size, DSP tools, and Bluetooth, but it’s not great by today’s standards in terms of sound quality. Just depends on what your priorities/needs are. I use mine daily, but not because it’s the best...

Tip fitting is very personal. Nothing for it but to order some in different sizes and see what fits your ears best.

I couldn't possibly guess what each individual manufacturer/designer does, but the reason for any changes to FR with cables is due to impedance matching (or mismatching). IEM impedances can get very low, which means that even subtle shifts in impedances of cables, connectors, and amps all...

Kiwi Ears Quintet?