[WilliamLeonhart]

Yep one of the best thing about the C421 to me is the bass boost. It gave Modern Talking a new Life. Unfortunately the DAC in C5D seems to be inferior to ODAC, I suppose? The first thing that I liked about O2+ODAC is that they made my 325is much clearer and enjoyable. I was hoping to find a more portable (and more affordable) in the C5D but it seems I'd have to keep bringing my clumsy ugly diy O2+ODAC with me to the office

 

[jseaber]

  Yep one of the best thing about the C421 to me is the bass boost. It gave Modern Talking a new Life. Unfortunately the DAC in C5D seems to be inferior to ODAC, I suppose? The first thing that I liked about O2+ODAC is that they made my 325is much clearer and enjoyable. I was hoping to find a more portable (and more affordable) in the C5D but it seems I'd have to keep bringing my clumsy ugly diy O2+ODAC with me to the office

 
George Boudreau and I were pleasantly surprised by C5D's SA9027 + PCM5102A benchmarks last year. I've refrained from posting side-by-side measurements because performance is so close, but anyone could have grabbed this data from published benchmarks.
 

	C5D's DAC	ODAC
Frequency Response	+/- 0.14 dB	+/-0.1dB
THD+N 100 Hz	0.0014%	0.0029%
THD+N 20 Hz	0.0015%	0.003%
THD+N 10 kHz	0.0025%	0.003%
IMD CCIF 19/20 Khz	0.0015%	0.0011%
Noise A-Weighted	0.0007%	0.0004%
Dynamic Range	> 109 dB	> 110 dB
Linearity Error -90 dBFS 24/96	0.2 dB	0.0 dB
Crosstalk -10dBFS	-80 dB	-93.5 dB
Sum of Jitter Components @ 11025 Hz	-112 dB	-105 dB
Maximum Output Line Out 100K	2.0VRMS	2.0 VRMS

 
Discussion:
 

1. Frequency Response: Tie. NwAvGuy rounded to nearest significant digit. We could have done the same. Actual ODAC frequency response is about +/-0.14dB!
2. Noise and THD+N: Both excellent. Noise this low is inaudible with all but the most sensitive equipment. The PCM5102A technically achieves superior THD+N performance, even considering its slightly higher baseline Noise.
3. Dynamic Range: Near tie.
4. Linearity Error: Slight advantage to ODAC. Minimal, if not inaudible listening impact.
5. Jitter: NwAvGuy put considerable time and effort into improving jitter of ODAC's ES9023. The PCM5102A measurably outperforms the ES9023 here. Audible? Unlikely.
6. Crosstalk is limited by the cable under test. See analyzer screenshot below, in which we compare ODAC via RCA cable (yellow) to ODAC via 3.5mm cable (red) to PCM5102A (blue). Notice that ODAC's crosstalk is actually outperformed by our SA9027+PCM5102A prototype (blue). C5D uses the same chips and slightly outperforms the blue and red devices under test. Lower is better:

 

 

[qsk78]

Hi. Has anyone tried the C5 with Fiio X5? Will it be a better combo than E12 +X5? Thanks!

 

[miceblue]

Hi. Has anyone tried the C5 with Fiio X5? Will it be a better combo than E12 +X5? Thanks!

This was with a touring X5 unit I had a few months ago. X5 -> FiiO L2 cable -> C5D/C5 -> V-MODA Crossfade M-100

Thanks!
How did you like this setup?
Did they pair well with each other?

I actually liked the pairing much more than the X5 by itself. The C5/C5D provides a much cleaner-sounding output in comparison. I always found the X5's amp to sound coloured similar to the E12 amp, and the C5/C5D provides a much more transparent sound overall: better-defined bass, more forward midrange, extended, detailed highs, and a pretty wide soundstage in comparison.

 

[qsk78]

Ok. Thanks!

 

[miceblue]

So, received and have been burning in my third pair of HE-500s.  Since I'd measured the resistance of my other HFM cans, I did the same for these.  32.4 & 33.9 are what I get.  Compare that to the ~50 ohms for my HE-560s.  At that low rating, I decided to see if my li'l JDS Labs C5 portable amp could drive the HE-500s.  I tried it with a previous pair (the first, I think, which I never measured), and it was partial success.  Some things didn't clip - hot masters, I reckon - while others couldn't get loud enough to enjoy without clipping.  While I've only tested one song thus far, the C5 drove them very well, not just from a volume perspective, but quality, which that little amp definitely has.  Sadly, the HE-500s still aren't really portable 

Then I plugged in the 50-ohm HE-560s.... annnnnd quickly took them off.  It just wasn't on, which was predictable.  With the volume max'd on high gain, I could barely hear it.  OK, not that bad, but nowhere near enough power.  I know HFM products vary widely, and even within a particular model, but didn't they say the HE-560s would be easier to drive?  Maybe I'm not remembering that correctly.  Thankfully, my Lyr packs more than enough quality power to make those babies sing.

So, while I'm not recommending the C5 for the HE-500s, esp. considering my earlier tests, it'll certainly do in a pinch, if your HE-500s have a relative lower resistance.

Mmk, so I received the HE-560 touring unit today and I measured its impedance at 57 Ω, which is in line with the HiFiMAN official specifications of 50 ± 8 Ω.
Let's assume the HE-560 is almost inefficient as the HE-500 as measured by Tyll at Innerfidelity with 2.04 mW to reach 90 dB SPL at 47 Ω, I'll round that to 2.0 mW at the measured 57 Ω.

2.0 mW * 2^5 = 64 mW to reach 105 dB SPL
From this post, the C5 theoretically doesn't have enough power to reach that. I'll assume the HE-560 has a linear impedance value amongst all frequencies since it is a planar magnetic headphone.

On my iPhone 4S, I have a DR15 (dynamic range of 15 dB) track from Ottmar Liebert's Up Close binaural album (track #8: Up Close) in 320 kbps AAC that was made from the 24/96 HD Tracks version (apparently the lossy AAC version is at a 48 kHz sampling rate). Using the line out dock with the C5, I'm only on volume 13/63 with low gain (2.3x). Surprisingly it sounds pretty good I think compared to my Geek Out 450 unit. The C5's airy sound signature definitely matches with the HE-560 more than the somewhat congested Geek Out in my opinion.


Maybe I'm just not used to hearing clipping due to a lack of power, or I'm listening at a volume level lower than 90 dB SPL (I'm pretty sure I am), but this combination sounds okay to me. XD

 

[ThurstonX]

Mmk, so I received the HE-560 touring unit today and I measured its impedance at 57 Ω, which is in line with the HiFiMAN official specifications of 50 ± 8 Ω.
Let's assume the HE-560 is almost inefficient as the HE-500 as measured by Tyll at Innerfidelity with 2.04 mW to reach 90 dB SPL at 47 Ω, I'll round that to 2.0 mW at the measured 57 Ω.

2.0 mW * 2^5 = 64 mW to reach 105 dB SPL
From this post, the C5 theoretically doesn't have enough power to reach that. I'll assume the HE-560 has a linear impedance value amongst all frequencies since it is a planar magnetic headphone.

On my iPhone 4S, I have a DR15 (dynamic range of 15 dB) track from Ottmar Liebert's Up Close binaural album (track #8: Up Close) in 320 kbps AAC that was made from the 24/96 HD Tracks version (apparently the lossy AAC version is at a 48 kHz sampling rate). Using the line out dock with the C5, I'm only on volume 13/63 with low gain (2.3x). Surprisingly it sounds pretty good I think compared to my Geek Out 450 unit. The C5's airy sound signature definitely matches with the HE-560 more than the somewhat congested Geek Out in my opinion.


Maybe I'm just not used to hearing clipping due to a lack of power, or I'm listening at a volume level lower than 90 dB SPL (I'm pretty sure I am), but this combination sounds okay to me. XD

 
Very interesting.  Thanks for posting your results.  I didn't hear clipping when driving the HE-560s with the C5, just incredibly low volume on high gain.  I was going line out from my Rockbox'd iPod Classic.  I definitely heard clipping with my previous HE-500s.  I'll have to try a wider variety of music, though in reality I'll never use the HE-560s with the C5.

 

[miceblue]

This is a bit random from the current discussion, but is it possible to order a C5D with a lower gain than the stock 2.3x "low gain"?

Right now I have a demo line of Noble Audio's earphones and they're quite sensitive, sensitive enough to be able to hear music even on volume 0, the supposed mute volume. On volume 1, the music is pretty loud for me with near-maximum digital volume. With high gain on, volume 0/mute, I can actually hear background hiss, and the music still, when using the Kaiser 10; interesting.

 

[ClieOS]

This is a bit random from the current discussion, but is it possible to order a C5D with a lower gain than the stock 2.3x "low gain"?

Right now I have a demo line of Noble Audio's earphones and they're quite sensitive, sensitive enough to be able to hear music even on volume 0, the supposed mute volume. On volume 1, the music is pretty loud for me with near-maximum digital volume. With high gain on, volume 0/mute, I can actually hear background hiss, and the music still, when using the Kaiser 10; interesting.

 
Just ask JDS about it and they should be about to customize one for you as the gain is software controlled by the Arduino processor IIRC. If the IEM is indeed super sensitive, you might want negative dB gain.

 

[palermo]

more happy if Jdslabs could provide option several opamp, muses edition, AD edition, etc.
*I must be dreaming 

 

[MistahBungle]

more happy if Jdslabs could provide option several opamp, muses edition, AD edition, etc.

*I must be dreaming :rolleyes:

Why ? That would ruin the device (not to mention be a pain in the arse for JDS to manufacture/assemble).

It is what it is because of the way it's been designed & the components that have been selected based on that design philosophy. If you turn it into another Fiio E12 DIY(which I also own & is also a good device, FWIW)/something where you can pick & choose everything that goes into it, it becomes something completely different. I for one very much appreciate the thought that's gone into the design of this device & the end result and how it sounds/performs as a result of that design.

 

[palermo]

Why ? That would ruin the device (not to mention be a pain in the arse for JDS to manufacture/assemble).

It is what it is because of the way it's been designed & the components that have been selected based on that design philosophy. If you turn it into another Fiio E12 DIY(which I also own & is also a good device, FWIW)/something where you can pick & choose everything that goes into it, it becomes something completely different. I for one very much appreciate the thought that's gone into the design of this device & the end result and how it sounds/performs as a result of that design.

No, I do not to mean it. hehehe.. 

just want to a little variation, JDSLabs already did to their product earlier, C421. 

 

[wigglepuff]

can you adjust the eq on bass and treble on this?

 

[Sinik]

  can you adjust the eq on bass and treble on this?

No you can't, you can only adjust bass on this. i'm only putting it in the middle because if i put it on the highest gain the bass is just way too much at high volume. i love it on low volume but i love to listen to my music louder

 

[wigglepuff]

you guys probably have the O2amp as well, which one do you guys think would make my philips x1 sound at its best paired with? the o2 amp or the c5d?
 
I have the e07k and tried the X1 on it and well it sounds good but I haven't been able to compare it with other amps, amps are rare here in my area and the only ones available with prices less then $500 are fiio and jds, the rest are those freak amps that cost more than $2k.