[LFC_SL]

Fantastic! Thanks for double checking
 
Inching closer to the iPad purchase now

 

[John0405]

Hello
I'm using the glacier paired with miracles and just ordered the solo r.
Does anybody know what should I expect sound wise ? Also, what the volume of the dac through the glacier is going to be — loud or not?
Thnks in advance.
Jon

 

[Mooses9]

i just picked up a Cypher Labs Algorhythm Solo Original and ALO SXC 30 pin to usb and alo mini to mini sxc Cable Set. i hope this setup doesnt dissapoint. i am using this in conjuction with my alo audio rx mk3,ipod touch 3g, westone w4r/BTGAUDIO Cable.
 
 
i havent really read anything that compares the original wolfson clas to the new akm CLAS. you would think now that the new clas uses the akm it would tend to sound a little more like the hpp1?

 

[AnakChan]

Quote:

i just picked up a Cypher Labs Algorhythm Solo Original and ALO SXC 30 pin to usb and alo mini to mini sxc Cable Set. i hope this setup doesnt dissapoint. i am using this in conjuction with my alo audio rx mk3,ipod touch 3g, westone w4r/BTGAUDIO Cable.
 
 
i havent really read anything that compares the original wolfson clas to the new akm CLAS. you would think now that the new clas uses the akm it would tend to sound a little more like the hpp1?

 
I can do that for you right now. What kind of comparison do you want? Fair or unfair? (where Fair is using single ended IC for both old and new CLAS to the Rx Mk3 amp, and unfair is where the new CLAS uses balanced IC, but old CLAS uses single ended).
 
Edit: Brief impressions
CLAS -dB 2.0Vrms balanced vs Original CLAS Single Ended to Rx Mk3
Both with Single ended Fitear MH335DW
- dB seems to have a greater depth perception.
- dB sounds smoother in the highs.
- Original seems to have a deeper bass impact
- Original feels more anxious or agressive, whereas the dB seems to be more "chill"
 
CLAS -dB 2.0Vrms Single Ended vs Original CLAS Single Ended to Rx Mk3
Both with Single ended Fitear MH335DW
- dB's soundstage not as wide/deep as was in balanced. Comparable to the original
- Original maintains it's bass impact
- Original still feels to be more agressive than the dB
 
2nd Edit:
The original CLAS has more slam than the -dB. I can't decide if it's a good thing or not. For some of the jazzy stuff I listen to, I feel it's kinda too agressive and coarse. However I can imagine it's advantage for faster genre.
 
i.e. the original CLAS is far from its death bed yet.

 

[dallan]

The new clas sounds nothing like the hpp1 to me. Hpp1 is more agressive and has better instrument separation/depth but doesn't have as balanced of a sound.

 

[John0405]

The new clas sounds nothing like the hpp1 to me. Hpp1 is more agressive and has better instrument separation/depth but doesn't have as balanced of a sound.

Aouch... Now I'm wondering if I did right to swap hpp1 for the clas...

 

[dallan]

I enjoy them both. I was going to sell the Fostex when this arrived but changed my mind and stupidly keeping them both, at least for now.

 

[Mooses9]

Quote:

 
I can do that for you right now. What kind of comparison do you want? Fair or unfair? (where Fair is using single ended IC for both old and new CLAS to the Rx Mk3 amp, and unfair is where the new CLAS uses balanced IC, but old CLAS uses single ended).
 
Edit: Brief impressions
CLAS -dB 2.0Vrms balanced vs Original CLAS Single Ended to Rx Mk3
Both with Single ended Fitear MH335DW
- dB seems to have a greater depth perception.
- dB sounds smoother in the highs.
- Original seems to have a deeper bass impact
- Original feels more anxious or agressive, whereas the dB seems to be more "chill"
 
CLAS -dB 2.0Vrms Single Ended vs Original CLAS Single Ended to Rx Mk3
Both with Single ended Fitear MH335DW
- dB's soundstage not as wide/deep as was in balanced. Comparable to the original
- Original maintains it's bass impact
- Original still feels to be more agressive than the dB
 
2nd Edit:
The original CLAS has more slam than the -dB. I can't decide if it's a good thing or not. For some of the jazzy stuff I listen to, I feel it's kinda too agressive and coarse. However I can imagine it's advantage for faster genre.
 
i.e. the original CLAS is far from its death bed yet.

 
 
Well i am glad to hear this about the original CLAS. what you say seems to mimic what i thought that the new clas sounds more or less like the hpp1, with lack of slam and impact in bass....also lack of aggressiveness in sound. 
 
i want that impact, i want that bass, i want that aggressiveness. so im glad i decided to go with the original clas.

 

[rudi0504]

I can do that for you right now. What kind of comparison do you want? Fair or unfair? (where Fair is using single ended IC for both old and new CLAS to the Rx Mk3 amp, and unfair is where the new CLAS uses balanced IC, but old CLAS uses single ended).

Edit: Brief impressions
CLAS -dB 2.0Vrms balanced vs Original CLAS Single Ended to Rx Mk3

Both with Single ended Fitear MH335DW
- dB seems to have a greater depth perception.
- dB sounds smoother in the highs.
- Original seems to have a deeper bass impact
- Original feels more anxious or agressive, whereas the dB seems to be more "chill"

CLAS -dB 2.0Vrms Single Ended vs Original CLAS Single Ended to Rx Mk3

Both with Single ended Fitear MH335DW
- dB's soundstage not as wide/deep as was in balanced. Comparable to the original
- Original maintains it's bass impact
- Original still feels to be more agressive than the dB
 
2nd Edit:
The original CLAS has more slam than the -dB. I can't decide if it's a good thing or not. For some of the jazzy stuff I listen to, I feel it's kinda too agressive and coarse. However I can imagine it's advantage for faster genre.
 
i.e. the original CLAS is far from its death bed yet.

Hi Sean
I am agree with your impression

That's why I keep my class solo original / old , it is one of the best my Dac for I device .

I have now 2 class -dB
1,69 Vrms for iems and sensitive headphone like TH 900
2,00 Vrms for hard to drive headphone like Beyerdunamic T1 , LCD 3

I have now 3 cyberlabs Dac
I love cyberlabs product because of SQ and build quality like a Tank

Note : I don't understand why David use mini USB , not use normal USB like class solo original ?
With mini USB I have limitation cable
With normal USB I can use many after market Lod to USB to improve the SQ

 

[Hi Rez]

Quote:

For those of you who moved from the 1.69Vrms to 2.0Vrms, aside from a volume increase (and the clean up of noise), do you feel the an improvement in mid-bass filling in and overall soundstage/imaging (giving a fuller sound)?

I have all 3x -dBs (1.2Vrms, 1.69Vrms, 2.0Vrms) side-by-side and it seems the latest seems to improve in sound quality too. I talked to David @ Cypherlabs and he mentioned that he did improve the sonics too (as opposed of 1.2Vrms -> 1.69Vrms, it was more just volume increase).

Received my replacement -dB (2.0Vrms) from David today - I had one of the first -db's - s/n #75.  Excellent customer service from David.
 
Pot scratchiness is completely gone with my Pico Power, inconsequential with my Pico.  Definitely an increase in dynamics - the bass benefits here.  Difficult to say without having my original to compare, but I would agree that it has a fuller sound, and possibly is a bit brighter too, as cymbals seem more prominent than I recall.
 
The brightness is good with my ES5s, and the gain increase isn't much of an issue as both Picos have good channel matching at extremely low volumes.  The 2.0Vrms -dB and  amps with poor low level channel matching could be a problem with iems.  
 
I felt my original -dB was somewhat lacking in dynamics, but it was quite pleasant and non-fatiguing with my LCD-3s.  The LCD-3s have increased punch with the 2.0Vrms -dB, and treble is not recessed on some music like I sometimes felt with the original.  
 
With my LCD-3s, the highs of the new -dB seemed a little harsh when I first started listening, so I switched to classical.   With the ES5s it wasn't an issue.  They highs seem less so now after about 8 hours of listening.
 
I am now listening to:  Eagles - Those Shoes (24/192) from the new HDTracks release mastered by Bernie Grundman.  Hard to imagine "portable" listening getting much better than this.

 

[Mooses9]

Quote:

 

 
Do you feel the Newer Clas MIMIC the fostex hpp1 more or less now that they are using the same brand dac chips? vs now that the new clas have the akm, your impressions of the new -db seem to mimic that of alot of peoples impressions of the hp-p1, the more chill or laid back style in sound. and the lack of aggressiveness. definitly seems like they are more simular now then before.

 

[AnakChan]

Quote:

 
Do you feel the Newer Clas MIMIC the fostex hpp1 more or less now that they are using the same brand dac chips? vs now that the new clas have the akm, your impressions of the new -db seem to mimic that of alot of peoples impressions of the hp-p1, the more chill or laid back style in sound. and the lack of aggressiveness. definitly seems like they are more simular now then before.

 
Unfortunately I can't really say anything about the HP-P1 'cos I traded it off more than 18 months ago and I was still learning about audio then. I know I wasn't too happy with the headphone amp out of it but never knew why then (now I know it's due to the 10 ohm headphone output impedance and the OPA2134 OpAmp which really didn't suit me).
 
Aside from my desktop DAC/Amp (Fostex HP-A8 which uses the AKM4399), the only other AKMs I've had are in the CLAS -dB's AKM AK4396 and the VentureCraft DD AKM AK4353. Unfortunately the -dB and the DD can't be compared directly DAC-2-DAC-wise 'cos the DD has OpAmp output in the pre-amp which influences the output of the DAC. Therefore I can't compare the AK4396 directly to the AK4353.
 
In general though I do agree that AKM DAC implementations I've experienced are somewhat more mellow compared to the likes of ES9018 or Wolfson implementations. Personally I like the ES9018 implementation the most. I've also have the Cirrus Logic implementation but in my SACD player (CS4398). I'm somehow not so keen on it that at least in my SACD (Marantz DV9500) implementation, the DAC sounds somewhat boring too.
 
Note that I'm using the term implementation quite a bit 'cos quite often it's not really the DAC itself but its implementation on the PCB that influences the overall sound of the DAC.

 

[John0405]

Well ... Having just sold the hpp1 and just purchased the solo r, I will let you know how these two differs or not... I owned the fostex for more than a year so I think I'm gonna be able to remember quite well its sound signature
But I'm disappointed. I was too expecting more slam and impact than the solo when buying the new clas

 

[AnakChan]

You never know, you may end up liking it . Over the past year I found my taste changing from raw grunt power to something with a touch more finesse & class (no pun intended).

The raw power does grab my initial attention more at the start but after extended listening I appreciate the finer DACs more as they express subtleties with a finer resolution. Don't discredit the sissy DACs yet .

 

[John0405]

You never know, you may end up liking it . Over the past year I found my taste changing from raw grunt power to something with a touch more finesse & class (no pun intended).

The raw power does grab my initial attention more at the start but after extended listening I appreciate the finer DACs more as they express subtleties with a finer resolution. Don't discredit the sissy DACs yet .

all right. I'm gonna give it a try... Don't have much choice since the clas is already on its way. I always felt that something was missing from the fostex dac. This raw power you were mentioning, I think...