[stuck limo]

I don't know where you get that from but it's pretty hissy from balanced output...like enough that i don't want to listen with ifi iematch with andromedas.

 
Did you have music playing when you heard this hiss?

 

[Dithyrambes]

Well given I listen to jazz and classical yes....You need an iematch if you are gonna use it with andromedas.....

 

[stuck limo]

  Well given I listen to jazz and classical yes....You need an iematch if you are gonna use it with andromedas.....

I can't comment on the hiss on IEMs from the balanced connection. If that is what was being asked about, I apologize.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Which is brighter sounding and crispier? The V2 or the V2+? I am one of those detail freaks who actually likes resolving amps with bright neutral headphones (Beyerdynamic DT 880 Premium 600-ohm). A quick reply would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[stuck limo]

Which is brighter sounding and crispier? The V2 or the V2+? I am one of those detail freaks who actually likes resolving amps with bright neutral headphones (Beyerdynamic DT 880 Premium 600-ohm). A quick reply would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 
I haven't heard the V2+ but they should be pretty much identical, tonally speaking. The V2+ is the latest version with the latest upgraded internals. The V2+ (same as the 2A) should have better sound (slightly better details, more spaciousness, blacker background). Not a night and day difference but between the two, the V2+ would be my choice.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

I haven't heard the V2+ but they should be pretty much identical, tonally speaking. The V2+ is the latest version with the latest upgraded internals. The V2+ (same as the 2A) should have better sound (slightly better details, more spaciousness, blacker background). Not a night and day difference but between the two, the V2+ would be my choice.

Thank you! How about a 2A versus the V2+? Is waiting between charges really that annoying?

 

[Wobulater]

Which is brighter sounding and crispier? The V2 or the V2+? I am one of those detail freaks who actually likes resolving amps with bright neutral headphones (Beyerdynamic DT 880 Premium 600-ohm). A quick reply would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I have both and they essentially sound the same. I doubt that a blind test could revel any differences. The V+ is useful for cellphones, in particular iPhones, which cannot drive a DAC/amp like the GO2A directly. Both have plenty of power but this is not an issue for my FAD Pandora/Sonorous VI which is very efficient. I would describe the FAD VI as an extremely revealing headphone which is not bright.

Most of the brightness we hear is due to poorly recorded material, or music which has been down-rezzed to MP3 for convenience to stream or sell. Try listening to a CD which has been ripped to a computer and compare that to a low quality MP3 version of the same material. The differences are even more evident on a good hifi/speaker system.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

I have both and they essentially sound the same. I doubt that a blind test could revel any differences. The V+ is useful for cellphones, in particular iPhones, which cannot drive a DAC/amp like the GO2A directly. Both have plenty of power but this is not an issue for my FAD Pandora/Sonorous VI which is very efficient. I would describe the FAD VI as an extremely revealing headphone which is not bright.

Most of the brightness we hear is due to poorly recorded material, or music which has been down-rezzed to MP3 for convenience to stream or sell. Try listening to a CD which has been ripped to a computer and compare that to a low quality MP3 version of the same material. The differences are even more evident on a good hifi/speaker system.

Thank you. I listen to 320 Kbps mp3s and straight rips of my Blu-rays. When I speak of brighter and crispier, I do not refer to the wobbly glare in low rez files and poor masters. I speak of the uppermost treble (10-16 KHz) which gets attenuated or confused with lesser source files, DACs, and amplifiers. I am the type of person who loves the Objective2/ODAC's straight-wire-with-gain clean and clear approach to Hi-Fi. I am also the type of person who absolutely detests tube amps, the Sennheiser HD 650, the Audeze series or anything else that romanticizes the sound with the colored glasses of nostalgic audiophile warmth. The Groove I have is quite acceptable if coming from a laptop or desktop with low quality onboard audio, but it reminds me of this romanticization I detest and lacks the energy and attack of a more pure system.

 

[Wobulater]

Thank you. I listen to 320 Kbps mp3s and straight rips of my Blu-rays. When I speak of brighter and crispier, I do not refer to the wobbly glare in low rez files and poor masters. I speak of the uppermost treble (10-16 KHz) which gets attenuated or confused with lesser source files, DACs, and amplifiers. I am the type of person who loves the Objective2/ODAC's straight-wire-with-gain clean and clear approach to Hi-Fi. I am also the type of person who absolutely detests tube amps, the Sennheiser HD 650, the Audeze series or anything else that romanticizes the sound with the colored glasses of nostalgic audiophile warmth. The Groove I have is quite acceptable if coming from a laptop or desktop with low quality onboard audio, but it reminds me of this romanticization I detest and lacks the energy and attack of a more pure system.

Great, we have similar tastes. Recently, I have been experimenting with CDs ripped to a PC. There are now outboard DACs which can play DSD up to 22.4 MHz (DSD512) via USB or I2S. It is not clear why a 16bit/44Khz CD sounds amazingly better when played back at the high sample rate DSD format through JRiver or Foobar. The LH labs DACs are also capable of DSD64 or DSD128. If you have a DAC capable of DSD playback, try using JRiver to upscale CDs to DSD. Upscaled MP3s are better too, but lack the information to get the absolute best sound. I think you will hear the difference in resolution and clarity. It is more obvious on a hifi system where the bass is so much clearer and deeper than any headphone can reproduce. I use JRiver Media Center 22 (free trial) only because I find it more flexible and easier to set to DSD than Foobar.

 

[runningwitit]

Great, we have similar tastes. Recently, I have been experimenting with CDs ripped to a PC. There are now outboard DACs which can play DSD up to 22.4 MHz (DSD512) via USB or I2S. It is not clear why a 16bit/44Khz CD sounds amazingly better when played back at the high sample rate DSD format through JRiver or Foobar. The LH labs DACs are also capable of DSD64 or DSD128. If you have a DAC capable of DSD playback, try using JRiver to upscale CDs to DSD. Upscaled MP3s are better too, but lack the information to get the absolute best sound. I think you will hear the difference in resolution and clarity. It is more obvious on a hifi system where the bass is so much clearer and deeper than any headphone can reproduce. I use JRiver Media Center 22 (free trial) only because I find it more flexible and easier to set to DSD than Foobar.

I use JRiver 22 also and when I played my Pulse after it was upgraded ( hand matched components ect), it sounds amazing when I upscaled my music to 352k ! I can't wait to hear how everyone likes their V2+'s when they return from being upgraded !!

 

[Wobulater]

I use JRiver 22 also and when I played my Pulse after it was upgraded ( hand matched components ect), it sounds amazing when I upscaled my music to 352k ! I can't wait to hear how everyone likes their V2+'s when they return from being upgraded !!

I believe the Pulse DAC can upscale to DSD128 (5.6Mhz). I find a big improvement in sound quality going from PCM at 352 to DSD128. You can try that very easily with JRiver MC 22.

 

[runningwitit]

I believe the Pulse DAC can upscale to DSD128 (5.6Mhz). I find a big improvement in sound quality going from PCM at 352 to DSD128. You can try that very easily with JRiver MC 22.

Yes, you're correct. Only, I was playing regular mp3 sample rate and didn't even realize what I had until upscaling to 352! Awhh! The space, the details ohhh I so fell in love with this machine!! DSD sounds awesomely glamorous with this dac and the GO2PRO will also (V2 thread) unbelievably shine, I can't wait to hear from them !

 

[Wobulater]

Yes, you're correct. Only, I was playing regular mp3 sample rate and didn't even realize what I had until upscaling to 352! Awhh! The space, the details ohhh I so fell in love with this machine!! DSD sounds awesomely glamorous with this dac and the GO2PRO will also (V2 thread) unbelievably shine, I can't wait to hear from them !

You can upsample MP3s at any PCM sample rate to DSD128 with MC22. Going from PCM to DSD should be a revelation.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

I suppose I have been in the dark when it comes to the sheer performance of the LH Geek Out V2. Until I stumbled onto this set of measurements, I did not realize the V2 and its successors were objectively superior to the Objective 2 and the ODAC. I had been doing some digging for scraps of information on the Geek Out V2 and what I unearthed from Archimago's blog is eye opening. From what I discovered, the Geek Out V2 has benchmark-grade measured performance across the entire battery of acoustic tests, including frequency response, noise level, dynamic range, total harmonic distortion, intermodulation distortion, and stereo crosstalk. Talk about a product hitting way above its price range! It would be nice if Archimago one day performed tests on the AudioQuest's revised Dragonfly line with the Red and Black models.


 
(Also from his site, I have corroborated why I thought my Surface sounds so much better than the Dragonfly 1.2 I heard years ago. The Surface Pro 3 is a whole magnitude lower in total harmonic distortion and intermodulation distortion! Currently, I have a Surface Pro 4 and it sounds subjectively cleaner so I would naturally expect its numbers to be even better.)

 

[Wobulater]

I suppose I have been in the dark when it comes to the sheer performance of the LH Geek Out V2. Until I stumbled onto this set of measurements, I did not realize the V2 and its successors were objectively superior to the Objective 2 and the ODAC. I had been doing some digging for scraps of information on the Geek Out V2 and what I unearthed from Archimago's blog is eye opening. From what I discovered, the Geek Out V2 has benchmark-grade measured performance across the entire battery of acoustic tests, including frequency response, noise level, dynamic range, total harmonic distortion, intermodulation distortion, and stereo crosstalk. Talk about a product hitting way above its price range! It would be nice if Archimago one day performed tests on the AudioQuest's revised Dragonfly line with the Red and Black models.




(Also from his site, I have corroborated why I thought my Surface sounds so much better than the Dragonfly 1.2 I heard years ago. The Surface Pro 3 is a whole magnitude lower in total harmonic distortion and intermodulation distortion! Currently, I have a Surface Pro 4 and it sounds subjectively cleaner so I would naturally expect its numbers to be even better.)

I suppose I have been in the dark when it comes to the sheer performance of the LH Geek Out V2. Until I stumbled onto this set of measurements, I did not realize the V2 and its successors were objectively superior to the Objective 2 and the ODAC. I had been doing some digging for scraps of information on the Geek Out V2 and what I unearthed from Archimago's blog is eye opening. From what I discovered, the Geek Out V2 has benchmark-grade measured performance across the entire battery of acoustic tests, including frequency response, noise level, dynamic range, total harmonic distortion, intermodulation distortion, and stereo crosstalk. Talk about a product hitting way above its price range! It would be nice if Archimago one day performed tests on the AudioQuest's revised Dragonfly line with the Red and Black models.




(Also from his site, I have corroborated why I thought my Surface sounds so much better than the Dragonfly 1.2 I heard years ago. The Surface Pro 3 is a whole magnitude lower in total harmonic distortion and intermodulation distortion! Currently, I have a Surface Pro 4 and it sounds subjectively cleaner so I would naturally expect its numbers to be even better.)

I have compared the Dragonfly Black and Red to the GOV2. The Dragonflys were not in the same league as a GOV2. Their clarity and resolution were inferior, and their bass was muddy. Also, I have a Surface Pro 3 and 4 and the sound through the headphone jacks is vastly inferior to any of these USB DACs. Measurements can't quantify many of the sound qualities we look for. For example: soundstage, resolution and clarity, do not always relate to any measurements. So, the GOV2 or the newer GO2A would be good reference DACs to compare to any other DACs or headphone-out computer or tablet sources.