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REVIEW (more to come) - CEntrance DACport 24/96 USB DAC Amp - Page 22

post #316 of 445
10/5/12 at 6:54am

By the way, anyone reading this page should take a detour to read Larry's most excellent post, over here.

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post #317 of 445
10/5/12 at 7:16pm

Great read. Glad I opted for the LX over the DACport. At least from what I've read from other members the LX is more transparent and the overall better value... Plus combining it with a dedicated amp it will sound even better across the board. Listening right now from and L3 Triad and it sounds amazing.
 

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post #318 of 445
10/6/12 at 1:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lee730 View Post

Great read. Glad I opted for the LX over the DACport. At least from what I've read from other members the LX is more transparent and the overall better value... Plus combining it with a dedicated amp it will sound even better across the board. Listening right now from and L3 Triad and it sounds amazing.
 

 

The LX it's a great DAC for it's price, this baby can drive my DT880/600 ohm effortless, and it will drive my HE500 soon as the HE500 arrived

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post #319 of 445
10/6/12 at 1:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zeinharis View Post

 

The LX it's a great DAC for it's price, this baby can drive my DT880/600 ohm effortless, and it will drive my HE500 soon as the HE500 arrived


You don't use an amp with it? I use an amp. Too worried about possibly damaging my IEM or my ears lol. I hear its not good to do direct connecting to it for some reason.

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post #320 of 445
10/6/12 at 1:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lee730 View Post


You don't use an amp with it? I use an amp. Too worried about possibly damaging my IEM or my ears lol. I hear its not good to do direct connecting to it for some reason.

 

No i don't use an amp because of my daily job in terms of flexibilty (Transportable Setup Laptop > DacportLX > DT880/600 ohm), well i can control the volume trough the foobar, i know that the DT880/600 ohm needs to be feed by a desktop amp atleast like SS slee novo or a tube amp like la figaro will definitly give a better sinergy with it, but due to the technicality of the LX i'm preety satisfied with my Transportable Setup biggrin.gif


Edited by zeinharis - 10/6/12 at 2:05am
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post #321 of 445
10/6/12 at 2:01am

Well maybe due to it being so power hungry it's not so bad. I think the highest impedance IEM I have is 26 Ohms :P. Pairs marvelously though with the UHA6 MKII and Triad L3.
 

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post #322 of 445
10/6/12 at 2:13am

At first i don't believe the LX could have a good synergy with the DT880/600 ohm since the LX only powered by an USB port, but when i tried it ohhh boy the LX can make the DT880 sing beautifuly wink_face.gif

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post #323 of 445
10/6/12 at 2:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zeinharis View Post

At first i don't believe the LX could have a good synergy with the DT880/600 ohm since the LX only powered by an USB port, but when i tried it ohhh boy the LX can make the DT880 sing beautifuly wink_face.gif


It's pretty much paired quite nicely with everything I've thrown at it. It's extremely neutral and transparent. I love the mid range the most on it ;).

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post #324 of 445
10/6/12 at 2:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lee730 View Post


It's pretty much paired quite nicely with everything I've thrown at it. It's extremely neutral and transparent. I love the mid range the most on it ;).

 

X2 on the midrange biggrin.gif, the DT880 have a recessed midrange compared to my alessandro, but the LX brings out the mids without ruining everything else dt880smile.png

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post #325 of 445
10/6/12 at 4:37am

Technically, in the absence of an amp with an analog volume control, use of either the player software volume control or the OS volume control to reduce the volume heard when directly connected to a DAC, will cause a loss of dynamics because you are literally reducing the bit depth when you adjust the software volume controls.  A recording that starts out with a 16-bit range can provide up to 96dB of dynamics.  Using software to turn down the volume compresses the recording's inherent dynamics.  But...  Most recordings come no where near using the full 96dB range, so most of the time, you can get away with it, or at least, not notice it.

 

Then there's the issue of the DAC's output impedance vs. the headphone or IEM impedance...  Let's hope the former is less than the latter.

 

 

Quoting Headfonia's review of the DACport LX:

 

RUNNING AMPLESS

So you no longer get the convenience of being able to plug headphones and IEMs straight into the DACport LX the way you do with the original DACport. But testing the unit reveals that things still sound good, even as I try plugging anything from a Hifiman RE-272 IEM to an Audez’e LCD-2 headphone (Yes! the big Orthodynamic!) to the LX’s output socket. Volume control is done on the digital domain via iTunes. No breaking up of sound, no distortions, no frequency rolls off, only a noticeably weaker bass punch compared to the DACport’s output jack since we’re running the headphone straight from the DAC’s analog stage. This is what Michael Goodman says about it:

“The output stage is buffered, but you may be maxing out the buffer that way. We recommend that LX is followed by amp with a higher input impedance. But it won’t get damaged the way you are using it, so it’s ok.”

I’m not suggesting that you run on that configuration, but you can get away with it as long as you can bear that bass punch is not as punchy as it’s supposed to be (though bass levels are not an issue with the LCD-2).

 

In other words, if it sounds OK to your ears, go for it, but it would bug me just knowing that I'm reducing the dynamics that way.  biggrin.gif  Don't think about what I've just written, and you'll be fine. biggrin.gif

 

Actually, anyone who can appreciate the very neutral, detailed, analytical quality that comes directly from an LX, would very much appreciate a spectacularly transparent amp - a "powered wire."  

 

The DACport LX -> Meier Stepdance is a wonderful combination (practically a benchmark) for just about any IEM or headphone except those that are very power-hungry (HE-6).

 

Let there be dynamics.

 

Mike

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post #326 of 445
10/16/12 at 1:59pm

Hey Everyone,

 

Please note price changes for DACport ($300) and DACport LX ($250).

 

beyersmile.png

 

-Kenny

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post #327 of 445
10/16/12 at 4:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ksef10 View Post

Hey Everyone,

 

Please note price changes for DACport ($300) and DACport LX ($250).

 

beyersmile.png

 

-Kenny


Would be sweet if you could get 24/192 support on the DACport and DACport LX ;).

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post #328 of 445
10/16/12 at 11:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lee730 View Post


Would be sweet if you could get 24/192 support on the DACport and DACport LX ;).

 

And add an exchange program for the new CEntrance newest DAC/AMP (HiFi 8) with specified terms of course tongue.gif

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post #329 of 445
10/17/12 at 1:22am
Thread Starter 

You guys are never happy eek.gif

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post #330 of 445
10/17/12 at 1:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict View Post

You guys are never happy eek.gif


Nothing wrong with asking for 24/192 on the CEntrance DACport and LX. To be honest this device sounds better than a lot of it's competitors which also support 24/192. So it would make sense for it to support such a resolution. Especially considering there are DACs that are noticeably cheaper and have the native support. That's pretty much what I see as it's flaw as of now.

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