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micro vs pico, lisa, d10, portable

post #1 of 15
12/2/09 at 4:32am
Thread Starter 
this thread is to compare the best portables on the market, preferably dacs, but gems like the lisa shouldn't be overlooked, i am the current owner of a predator and ive been interested in comparing one of the the above.
Currently leaning toward the micro,, but boo it does not have toslink input eergh, theree is always something nothing is perfect,,, i do have a question about that, would it degrade the digital sound quality if i were to run an optical out of say my hdtv and into one of those optical to coaxial bi directional converters(which look pretty sweet by the way), and thus plugging in the coaxial into the micro?
--this is the converter:
Amazon.com: Coaxial to Toslink Bi-Directional Digital Audio Converter: Electronics

Thanks
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post #2 of 15
12/2/09 at 5:22am
I have a more basic version of the converter you linked to, and I'm not a fan. Its just too much hassle for mine. Another walwart, cables all over the place - as I said, not a fan.

I have Toslink-in on my Topaz, and will use that as my DAC with the amp I plan to buy next year. Yep, another walwart, but at least this time it will doing something other than powering a converter.

3 power cables - MBP, Topaz, Amp
2 audio cables - mini-Toslink from MBP to Topaz, RCA analog to amp

For strictly portable use, I'm happy with a DAP hooked up to the T3, but I some of the portable possibilities are very attractive.
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post #3 of 15
12/2/09 at 6:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by estreeter View Post
I have a more basic version of the converter you linked to, and I'm not a fan. Its just too much hassle for mine. Another walwart, cables all over the place - as I said, not a fan.

I have Toslink-in on my Topaz, and will use that as my DAC with the amp I plan to buy next year. Yep, another walwart, but at least this time it will doing something other than powering a converter.

3 power cables - MBP, Topaz, Amp
2 audio cables - mini-Toslink from MBP to Topaz, RCA analog to amp

For strictly portable use, I'm happy with a DAP hooked up to the T3, but I some of the portable possibilities are very attractive.
im also interested in that topaz its the only other small dac i could find, i hear it is much more powerful than alot of portables.
-my current audio technica ha25d (non portable) is more powerful than my rsa predator, and thats not sayin a whole lot.

-so u usse the topaz as a dac then to the mbp how is the topaz as a stand alone, i wish it had like one more input , and how do you connect the mac to the topaz , via usb? is it quiet, i am unimpressed with the usb on my predator

-so what are some real good cables to interconnect dacs and preamps through via analog? all my cables are noisy, i also got a handmade lod which im pretty dissapointed about, so any suggestions

i wonder if i should just use the ha25 dac and get a standalone amp(bass knob would be highly appreciated)----or whether i should just get an all in one, would that sound quieter?

I know u said you didnt like the toslink/coaxial converter because of the wries and wallwart etc, but how was the sound did it degrade the sound at all, did you compare it?

thanks for the feedback

tally ho!
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post #4 of 15
12/2/09 at 7:00am
MBP is the Macbook Pro in my sig : it has optical out from the headphone port, allowing me to hook it up to the Topaz via Toslink.

I prefer Toslink over USB, but I dont spend a lot on cables - others will have to answer this for you.

I didnt think much of the result with the converter - definitely not as good as my normal configuration. The Topaz is a good DAC, but a so-so headphone amp - plenty of power but not enough refinement. Hooking it up to my integrated amp and using the headphone out from the integrated gives me a much better overall result.
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post #5 of 15
12/2/09 at 7:28am
i heard the D10 and Pico side by side, buyed myself a Pico after
DAC wise it is just better in almost every aspect, Predator is also know to be less transparent and detailed compared to Pico, don't know about Micro.
I Also had Topaz, niece kit of gear, but still to my years Pico was better and sold the Topaz
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post #6 of 15
12/3/09 at 8:27am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by estreeter View Post
MBP is the Macbook Pro in my sig : it has optical out from the headphone port, allowing me to hook it up to the Topaz via Toslink.

I prefer Toslink over USB, but I dont spend a lot on cables - others will have to answer this for you.

I didnt think much of the result with the converter - definitely not as good as my normal configuration. The Topaz is a good DAC, but a so-so headphone amp - plenty of power but not enough refinement. Hooking it up to my integrated amp and using the headphone out from the integrated gives me a much better overall result.
yea im a toslink fan too, i just ordered one of those square converters to seee for myself as ive been wanting to try one for a while..

im am so jealous that your mbp has toslink out, i have a viao and it does not, but it has some really sweet touch sensitive stop and play menu buttons that dont work typical sony

anyway i was really thinkin headroom but their amps donot have bass knobs, they do however have many gain and crossfeed controls, i wonder if this would compete with a good bass knob, dont know,,,,, i am in love with lisa and her fancy bass knob
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post #7 of 15
12/3/09 at 8:35am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DarKu View Post
i heard the D10 and Pico side by side, buyed myself a Pico after
DAC wise it is just better in almost every aspect, Predator is also know to be less transparent and detailed compared to Pico, don't know about Micro.
I Also had Topaz, niece kit of gear, but still to my years Pico was better and sold the Topaz
cool i had been wanting to hear form someone who had compared both,

i di hear that the d4 mamba was better than the d10, i wonder if it could compete with the pico, and ia msuper curious how the usb dac on the pico would compare to my rsa predator usb dac?

thanks for the help


tally Ho!
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post #8 of 15
12/3/09 at 8:38am
I have an iMod - V-Cap - LisaIII setup and a H120 toslinked to a D10 topkit BG. I have tosay on Full sized headphone the Lisa wins, but on JH13's, its the D10 all the time. Too much hiss on the Lisa. Once you have heard Black, you can't go back! (Background that is!)

Regards

Sceptre
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post #9 of 15
12/15/09 at 10:42am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sceptre View Post
I have an iMod - V-Cap - LisaIII setup and a H120 toslinked to a D10 topkit BG. I have tosay on Full sized headphone the Lisa wins, but on JH13's, its the D10 all the time. Too much hiss on the Lisa. Once you have heard Black, you can't go back! (Background that is!)

Regards

Sceptre
that is indeed a sweet setup, cant u stop the hiss if u send feed through the d10 via toslink and into the lisa?

i didnt here an hiss on lisa with triplfi, but jh13 is in a different league

also does ue11 have more basss punch than the jh13?
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post #10 of 15
12/15/09 at 11:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sceptre View Post
I have an iMod - V-Cap - LisaIII setup and a H120 toslinked to a D10 topkit BG. I have tosay on Full sized headphone the Lisa wins, but on JH13's, its the D10 all the time. Too much hiss on the Lisa. Once you have heard Black, you can't go back! (Background that is!)

Regards

Sceptre
D10 with topkit hisses a fair bit with UM3X so no black background there, otherwise a great amp/dac.
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post #11 of 15
12/15/09 at 1:00pm
I have used three of these, the micro, pico and D10,and it seems to me by purchasing another one, all you are doing is side steping. I would go big or go home at this point in your audio cycle.
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post #12 of 15
12/15/09 at 1:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RockinCannoisseur View Post
that is indeed a sweet setup, cant u stop the hiss if u send feed through the d10 via toslink and into the lisa?

i didnt here an hiss on lisa with triplfi, but jh13 is in a different league

also does ue11 have more basss punch than the jh13?
UE11 is bassier IEM overall than JH13 (though I dont own UE11) but from all reports from people who own both, JH13 has better bass impact and higher bass quality than UE11, but its also more balanced; so perhaps not quite what you are looking for if you wish bass to be louder than the other frequencies.

i've answered the other questions via PM, so i'll leve others to give their opinion here now.
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post #13 of 15
12/19/09 at 6:00am
Not sure if my post belong here because I can't fully understand the meaning of "portable" in the title--a portable amp, a portable DAC or just a portable device. English is not my first tongue and if my post is in a wrong forum, may it be deleted.

After having the Hifiman 801 for a month, burning in for more than 300 hours, listening to it literally daily and for more than 3 hours per day on average, I think this is the best portable DAC or DAP.

I tried the Amp3 Pro V2 before and it hissed too much with the ES3X. I tried the Korg MR-1 and it still hissed too much with the ES3X. The amp of the 801 is surely not the best in the world but still pretty good--good enough that I used it solely in my portable rig. Occasionally I use the 801 with the Lisa III and the sound, oh the sound, is unbelievable for a portable rig.

It seems to me that OP concerns SQ very much. In this regards, I just felt that the Hifiman 801 as a portable source is exactly in the position of the Lisa III as a portable amp and both of them should not be disregarded.
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post #14 of 15
12/19/09 at 12:56pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sceptre View Post
I have an iMod - V-Cap - LisaIII setup and a H120 toslinked to a D10 topkit BG. I have tosay on Full sized headphone the Lisa wins, but on JH13's, its the D10 all the time. Too much hiss on the Lisa. Once you have heard Black, you can't go back! (Background that is!)

Regards

Sceptre
hi, well i got the lisa, and after sorting out the wall charger dillema, i am very pleased with her,,, i dont hear alot of hiss like u say, bu i have much more tests today,, but i also dont have any tier one customs like the jh13 likke u do, so who knows what background noises those things pick up.

all i can say at this point is that lisa sounds way better than the predator with my triplefi 10vi.

she sounds pretty good with jvc dx1000

i just got the wall charger power chord so i am just now doing some thorough testing and burning

i think i may go down the custom route,, and im thinkin ue11,

has anyone compared its bass to the ue5 eb?

just interested in the bass and punch comparison
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post #15 of 15
12/19/09 at 1:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenLeo View Post
Not sure if my post belong here because I can't fully understand the meaning of "portable" in the title--a portable amp, a portable DAC or just a portable device. English is not my first tongue and if my post is in a wrong forum, may it be deleted.

After having the Hifiman 801 for a month, burning in for more than 300 hours, listening to it literally daily and for more than 3 hours per day on average, I think this is the best portable DAC or DAP.

I tried the Amp3 Pro V2 before and it hissed too much with the ES3X. I tried the Korg MR-1 and it still hissed too much with the ES3X. The amp of the 801 is surely not the best in the world but still pretty good--good enough that I used it solely in my portable rig. Occasionally I use the 801 with the Lisa III and the sound, oh the sound, is unbelievable for a portable rig.

It seems to me that OP concerns SQ very much. In this regards, I just felt that the Hifiman 801 as a portable source is exactly in the position of the Lisa III as a portable amp and both of them should not be disregarded.
good to know thanks

i was thinkin i river but ill definitley have to check out hifimen
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