Official Audio-gd Sparrow thread - Page 49

Folks:

What DC offset do you measure on the headphone jacks? I measured yesterday on the G, R, and L labeled contacts on the headphone jack board using Fluke 87 V DMM. The unit was idle for ~10 min before measuring. The values are

  G & R: 2.1mVDC

  G & L: 6.8mVDC

The offset on the left channel is higher then 5mVDC I would be comforable with. The values shouldbe as close to zero as possible, as the voltage causes the headphone coil to be shifted in 'neural' position affecting reproduction.

The unit I have has slighly higher volume in right channel. The difference is annoying. I tested the same source with AMB M3, and M3 plays both R and L channels with the same volume even after swapping RCA cables. Reached out to Kingwa for resolution. Let's see what happens.

^ The volume imbalance will depend on gain setting and sensitivity of earphones/headphones being used. Does your M3 have the same gain value as your Sparrow?

My stock Sparrow version B produces equal volume in both channels once I pass 7-7:30 o'clock with the volume pot, using Yuin PK1s or full size headphones. I do not use it with ultra-sensitive BA IEMs, because the gain is too high for IEMs in stock version. You can lower the gain if you know how to DIY and Kingwa will do it for you as well if you ship it back (some Headfiers have done so to use with IEMs with good result).

I had an AMB M3 with a gain of 11X and it had channel imbalance under 8 o'clock and produced hiss with sensitive earphones. When we lowered the gain to 2X, hiss and channel imbalance were all gone. So it depends on setting of your equipments.

As for the DC offset measurements, did those value remain the same after you played music for a few minutes? And what is the accuracy/noise floor of your DMM/measurement?

Sorry I currently do not have the equipment to measure it for you but my unit sounds just right with my full size headphones.