Official Audio-gd Sparrow thread - Page 41

Quote:

Originally Posted by KneelJung 

Actually Philimon I got the 1852. I had originally ordered the A version with the 8741 but then I sort of came to the conclusion that the sound signatures of both versions were too similar based on comments in other posts and threads to justify the difference in cost. Something that AVU seems to confirm in his post just above. I will be forming my own impressions soon enough, My biggest concern after reading some of the more recent comments is that the Sparrow is likely to make my MS2's even brighter than they already are and that's not the direction I want to go in. Although it sounds like the Sparrow may have great synergy with the HF2 and that's a headphone option that I'm contemplating.

 

As far as any imbalance issues with the uDAC I dont think so, it seems to be working properly. What is it your hearing with your uDAC?

I think the 1852 is the wrong match for an already bright headphone. By the way I have tried the MS2i and I liked it, because I had read it was excessively bright compared to other Grado but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't the case. Unless the regular MS2 is that much different from the MS2i... Or perhaps I had tried the MS2i, but was recalling what I had read about the 325i. Hmm, never mind.

I am too interested in keeping the 1852 in order to try pairing with headphones with some rolled off upper frequency, and to see if I can find good synergy. I've tried the HF2 at a meet and it was definitely the warmest sounding Grado, and so perhaps it would be complimented by the 1852. The HD600 was on sale new last week for $225, and I would have picked one up if I hadn't already ordered something supposedly very similar in sound (FA003). 

I believe it is the left channel that is slightly louder on my uDac. Several other people have complained about the same thing in the uDac thread. One owner sent his back to the company for a replacement due to channel imbalance, and I believe he ended up replacing uDacs a total of 4 times. I don't know if the 4th worked out for him or not... 

I forgot to mention that the original 8740 is supposed to have a bit of treble roll off, and perhaps that would work to benefit a Grado type phone that you might think is too bright? On the AudioGD website it says that the 8740 has been re-voiced to sound more neutral, so you may no longer be able to pick up the original 8740. You could try asking if you could get the old WM8740, or try picking up somebody's old 8740 DAC module and solder that into your Sparrow.

My phones are actually the MS2i's Philimon, and I dont find them bright per se I just dont necessarily find them as warm as I would like.I think it's the 325's that have the reputation for being a little to bright and the MS2i's are supposed to have that tweaked out of them. Which is the reason I bought them; and for the most part that seems to be the case.

Although they dont do well with some of the stuff in my library, they do tremendously well with a lot of it. My biggest complaint is the bass so maybe the Sparrow will fix that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philimon 

I am too interested in keeping the 1852 in order to try pairing with headphones with some rolled off upper frequency, and to see if I can find good synergy. I've tried the HF2 at a meet and it was definitely the warmest sounding Grado, and so perhaps it would be complimented by the 1852. The HD600 was on sale new last week for $225, and I would have picked one up if I hadn't already ordered something supposedly very similar in sound (FA003).

Where are the HD600 on sale?

Quote:

Originally Posted by HectorNavarro 

 

Where are the HD600 on sale?

I believe it was at ecost.com, though it was supposed to be only for a limited time and so it may have expired already. There was a thread specifically on the ecost deal, just try searching "HD600" and "sale" in the headphone subforum.  

My Sparrow just got here and my first impression is that the sound signature is way different than the uDAC. And so far I think I may prefer the sound of the uDAC. Of course that just may be the way my brain is interpreting the new signature. I've been listening to the uDAC since February and I've only been listening to the Sparrow now for about an hour but so far my impression is, meh.

I am sort of inclined to put it right back in the box and send it back, but I'll give it a couple of days let my head wrap itself around the new sound and let the thing burn in a little.

Another thing I find odd is at the 1 oclock position on the volume, the thing doesnt even to seem to have as much volume as the uDAC. Although it will drive my phones to volumes I would never listen at anyway and will get louder than the uDAC, the amp doesnt seem that much more powerful than the one in the uDAC which has taken quite a bit of criticism.

I'm at a loss though as to why some people raved about this thing.

I have found that Audio-gd gear does not sound that good when first plugged in. It takes at least a few days to settle.  I thought my Reference 1 DAC was horrible for the first 3 days. Now  love it. Leave it with music going through it for a few days then have a critical listen.

Regards

Macrog

My experience with a lot of audio gear, is that you may not appreciate the difference at first.

I didn't like the REF1 the first 7 days.

Now I wouldn't have anything else. I don't know if it was breakin or some familiarity with what it does well after a week, but then I started loving it.

If there is a coloration difference or a neutrality difference, you may have grown to like that.  And now the coloration is gone.  Kinda like the Girlfriend with the crooked nose, then you upgrade to the GF with the straight nose.

Then comes the eternal question:

"Do I like Crooked or Straight Noses?!"

Give it an honest week or two, then go back to the uDAC and see what's what.

He warns folks usually about "How Neutral" some of his gear is.  Also, the inky blackness of his gear is not appreciated necessarily at first.  You may perceive it as dark.  The other thing about good clean power is that you may not notice it is still getting louder, but it may be.  It is easy to go way too loud with his gear.  I've never had clipping or distortion stop the vol knob on his gear like it does on a lot of other Good Gear.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KneelJung 

My Sparrow just got here and my first impression is that the sound signature is way different than the uDAC. And so far I think I may prefer the sound of the uDAC. Of course that just may be the way my brain is interpreting the new signature. I've been listening to the uDAC since February and I've only been listening to the Sparrow now for about an hour but so far my impression is, meh.

 

I am sort of inclined to put it right back in the box and send it back, but I'll give it a couple of days let my head wrap itself around the new sound and let the thing burn in a little.

 

Another thing I find odd is at the 1 oclock position on the volume, the thing doesnt even to seem to have as much volume as the uDAC. Although it will drive my phones to volumes I would never listen at anyway and will get louder than the uDAC, the amp doesnt seem that much more powerful than the one in the uDAC which has taken quite a bit of criticism.

 

I'm at a loss though as to why some people raved about this thing.

I had the same reaction regarding the uDac vs Sparrow too. The difference is that I can't go back to the uDac, because I don't want to deal with the imbalance. I also am going to have to drop the AD1852 for the WM8741, so I can get a preferable sound signature. AVU was this close to selling me his Sparrow with 8741 the other day, but he had to back off unfortunately. Apparently there was an awesomely priced higher end amp/DAC in the F/S section, and AVU needed funds, but it sold too quickly...

Edit:

I forgot to mention I also agree with les_garten. I haven't had much experience with amps/DACs, but I have the same opinion about how it takes time to appreciate the at-first subtle qualities of better equipment. Once you get used to the better equipment, switching back to less quality gear does not feel as subtle as upgrading. You've become used to the good stuff and going back is harder, because you are now aware of what you are missing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philimon 

I had the same reaction regarding the uDac vs Sparrow too. The difference is that I can't go back to the uDac, because I don't want to deal with the imbalance. I also am going to have to drop the AD1852 for the WM8741, so I can get a preferable sound signature. AVU was this close to selling me his Sparrow with 8741 the other day, but he had to back off unfortunately. Apparently there was an awesomely priced higher end amp/DAC in the F/S section, and AVU needed funds, but it sold too quickly...

So is that imbalance issue with the uDAC straight out of the headphone out?

Because I dont hear it or notice one, which might mean mine doesnt have it.

Anyway, It's funny but I had originally ordered the Sparrow with the 8741 and changed my mind and got the basic. My reasoning was based on some things I read in other threads, one being something Kingwa himself supposedly said; was that because of the way the Sparrow is tuned (neutral) it's hard to hear the differences. I dont recall where I read that but it seemed to make sense. mMybe the 8741 is a little warmer but still neutral however that may sound. I just think this thing sounds sort of flat and dull, so maybe I like crooked noses who knows but I'll give it a chance.

Yep, synergy and sound preference is very important. There is nothing wrong with preferring a different sound signature from "neutral", though I don't find the AD1852 neutral. I think most on Head-Fi don't prefer dead neutral, they would prefer something to them sounds more engaging/fun/musical, or whatever.

Most impressions on this thread, including my own, found the AD1852 bright sounding (my reference would be the uDac RCA out, which Skylab says sounds better than the headphone out on the uDac). I have read that the WM8741 not only fixes the bright/edgy sound, but can also sound warmer to some (more bass).  

Actually, I have only noticed the sound imbalance with analogue RCA out on the uDac. I have never listened closely with critical headphones on the headphone out section.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KneelJung 

Another thing I find odd is at the 1 oclock position on the volume, the thing doesnt even to seem to have as much volume as the uDAC. Although it will drive my phones to volumes I would never listen at anyway and will get louder than the uDAC, the amp doesnt seem that much more powerful than the one in the uDAC which has taken quite a bit of criticism.

1 o clock with the MS2 headphones? I am not sure, but are they 32 ohm 100dB/mW sensitivity? I don't think the volume should be turned on quite that high. Are you sure the headphone jack is inserted fully? Maybe something is defective inside, I would have someone who knows what he is doing open it up and take a look inside if you are using it at 1 o clock with the MS-2 headphones. Also, if you are using the computer, make sure to set the volume to zero on your sparrow, then make sure windows volume is set properly, just to be safe, set software volumes to 100% while sparrow is set to 0% volume, then use sparrow volume control as your master volume.

That does sound a bit strange.  I can't actually turn the volume that high on my JH13s without my head exploding.  And my Sparrow is an extra low gain model too.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by haloxt 

1 o clock with the MS2 headphones? I am not sure, but are they 32 ohm 100dB/mW sensitivity? I don't think the volume should be turned on quite that high. Are you sure the headphone jack is inserted fully? Maybe something is defective inside, I would have someone who knows what he is doing open it up and take a look inside if you are using it at 1 o clock with the MS-2 headphones. Also, if you are using the computer, make sure to set the volume to zero on your sparrow, then make sure windows volume is set properly, just to be safe, set software volumes to 100% while sparrow is set to 0% volume, then use sparrow volume control as your master volume.

I have one set of phones that the Jack doesn't seat properly.  I had the same problem.  Sounded thin and Flat and I was cranking the hell out of it.  I pushed the jack in a little harder and it came alive and about blew my ears out.  The jack ain't super impressive for sure.

good to see some more in-depth analysis on the sparrow coming out now.

i have tuned out for a bit while i wait to accumulate some cash for this purchase. now that Version A comes with 8741 i'm definitely gonna spring for that one.

it'll be a couple more months, but when i finally get to make this my x-mas present to myself, i'll be sure to post impressions after a few weeks of burn-in. i'll be good at writing a "lay-man's impressions" post since i'm fairly sensitive to sound (i think) but have very little experience with different gear. i can post about the sound and synergy with HD-650s and D2000s and FLAC source, including some 24/96 material for the fun of it! but ya it'll be a little while still... : )

Quote:

Originally Posted by haloxt 

1 o clock with the MS2 headphones? I am not sure, but are they 32 ohm 100dB/mW sensitivity? I don't think the volume should be turned on quite that high. Are you sure the headphone jack is inserted fully?

Good catch Haloxt, that was precisely the problem. Working much better now. Plenty of volume between 9 and 10 and it doesnt sound dull and flat either, go figure.

Edit: What a difference 24 hours and a fully inserted headphone jack make