Practical Devices XM5 - Page 25

I'm no expert on the DAC use, but the 2702 in my XM-5 gives me better sound then the sound card in my Dell or laptop.

I might have a different opinion if I had one of the $100+ sound cards

I wonder if the newer 2704 DAC is an improvement, or just a replacement for a no longer available 2702??

Pity that the DAC isn't socketed as well

No, never experienced anything like that. You could trim the shell around the plug with a knife to make room for the screw.

great minds and all that

thats exactly what i ended up doing several hours ago

Yup, never let a bad screw get you down.

Thought I's bump this since this forum is turning into the Ibasso forum. More people need to take a look at this amp, after buffers are installed and better opamps put in it competes well with anything out there. Add to it all the features it has and this will be the last portable amp most people will ever need.

Had mine for almost a year now and still use it daily. Great sounding amp

Yes, upgraded with AD8065 and BUF634 the XM5 is noticeably better than stock with bypassed buffers or with AD8397, putting in the top tier of portable DAC/amps like Pico, Predator, 3MOVE, iBasso D4 and D10, etc.

I love the sleep timer and battery meter functions the most, and for a while the XM5 was the only amp that really sounded excellent with my Freq Show because of the 75 ohm switch. I pretty much don't use the bass/treble boost, but occasionally old 60's jazz albums benefit from the crossfeed (more like a channel blend).

BUMP, this amplifier is my favorite. I have the rechargeable battery option and 8610 chip. It has many options $500 amps don't offer. Also, like Headphone addict said, the sleep function is very useful. This amp behaves as a warm tone amplifier on occasions and as a very clear on others (depends on the Headphone you use). It has a nice bass, but only if your phones has. It was the first one that brought my attention on eBay when I first wanted one, and I love it. I have the XM5 with the buffers installed. Mine is married to an Ortofon e-Q7 all the time, and rests on others with the Yuins (all six)...

I've been using my XM5 with HP out from i7 in bed. The bass boost is very useful for this because I mostly listen at very low volume. Lately I've been using PFE. I still love this amp.

Just wanted to add that I've upgraded from the xm4 to the xm5 with the 8065 and buf chips. I've been LOVING it. I think the 75ohm option works particularly well with my hd595's. Initially I started using it because the volume was too touchy, but the other day I switched it off to check for sound quality variation. I was rather surprised to find my music sounding very lean and a little over bright (aka, sounding more like hd 595's typically sound with my old xm4 or unamped). I absolutely love the darker deeper sound with the 75ohm switch.

I was wondering if anyone else has run the same phones with this amp and what they think of the sound.

I've used the 75 Ohm switch for KSC75 and 325i, which are both bright cans and it does help tame them.

I just purchased some K 702s, plugged them into my xm5... and got a very bad HISSING at low volume levels with no buttons pressed. It went away with the +10db, but I'm still wondering why? Any ideas? Basically anything less than 11:30 on the knob brings the hiss. it also goes away with the 75ohm option pressed in.

Is this when using the DAC?

all inputs, either HP out of ipod, line out of ipod, and DAC as well.

I once had a noise problem with my XM5. It happened only once for a short time one day IIRC, then never again. Here's part of an email that I sent to James Forest at Practical Devices:

A problem which just suddenly began is a bad noise while in low gain. With no source into the analog input, it sounds like static but gets quite loud at around the 1:00 spot. With analog input playing music, there is an obvious noise no matter how loud. If I engage +10 dB, treble boost or + 75 Ohm, the problem goes away. Bass and xfeed switches do not eliminate the noise. The lithium battery seems to be fine and the problem remains with other batteries.

James did offer to pay for shipping to him and inspect it under warranty but it was never a problem again so I didn't bother.