[RiflemanFirst]

Anyone here go from a dedicated sound card (not just onboard audio) to the Fulla 2?
 
I ordered a Fulla 2 last night to get rid of my 7+ year old X-Fi Titanium PCIe sound card with craptastic software & drivers. I am currently using HD598 SE headphones and Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers and do plenty of FPS gaming and Tidal HiFi music listening. I am hoping that the Fulla 2 sounds at least as good (if not better) than the X-Fi while also getting rid of the extra drivers & software.
 
Was the Fulla 2 a wise choice?

 

[Jimster480]

My CEntrance DACport Slim never had any sort of issue like that. So it really depends on the product.

Yes, exactly.

My K1 never has this problem either.
 
But its fine as I don't typically put my phone RIGHT next to it

 

[stalepie]

  Anyone here go from a dedicated sound card (not just onboard audio) to the Fulla 2?
 
I ordered a Fulla 2 last night to get rid of my 7+ year old X-Fi Titanium PCIe sound card with craptastic software & drivers. I am currently using HD598 SE headphones and Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers and do plenty of FPS gaming and Tidal HiFi music listening. I am hoping that the Fulla 2 sounds at least as good (if not better) than the X-Fi while also getting rid of the extra drivers & software.
 
Was the Fulla 2 a wise choice?

 
Maybe. It probably won't make much difference. In my experience, dac-amps don't really sound much different from each other. 
 
Also my Fulla 2 has already started to develop a static-y sound again (about 1 day after getting it fixed)! So I'm back to using a different one (Teac HA-P50), which never had this problem, and has less noise with IEMs anyway (unless you turn the volume up really loud, then there's a noisy whine that creeps in, which the Fulla 2 doesn't have). 

 

[D Rob]

I ordered one today too.
The multiple reviews of the e18k interference problems turned me off of it.
Do you use it only from your phone? Or do you use it on your computer?

I use it with my PC and my Surface as well. I don't have issues there because the problem originates from RFI (proximity)  not from the USB. Only on occasion with my phone when its banded together. Never been enough to keep me from using it though unlike a desktop DAC/Amp I sent back because it was noisy with the USB.

 

[Jimster480]

  I use it with my PC and my Surface as well. I don't have issues there because the problem originates from RFI (proximity)  not from the USB. Only on occasion with my phone when its banded together. Never been enough to keep me from using it though unlike a desktop DAC/Amp I sent back because it was noisy with the USB.

Do you use it in charging mode (PC Mode) or do you use it in mobile mode? I read reviews on amazon that said the different modes make a difference with the buzzing.
 
Also are your headphones sensitive? Because some wrote that the buzzing is very bad with sensitive IEM's/Cans

 

[EDVurd]

  Anyone here go from a dedicated sound card (not just onboard audio) to the Fulla 2?
 
I ordered a Fulla 2 last night to get rid of my 7+ year old X-Fi Titanium PCIe sound card with craptastic software & drivers. I am currently using HD598 SE headphones and Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers and do plenty of FPS gaming and Tidal HiFi music listening. I am hoping that the Fulla 2 sounds at least as good (if not better) than the X-Fi while also getting rid of the extra drivers & software.
 
Was the Fulla 2 a wise choice?

 
I was in a very similar situation as you with my 10 year old X-Fi Xtrememusic PCI (not even PCIe) card as well as the ProMedia 2.1 speakers and the HD598cs. I knew I was going to have to upgrade that PCI card at some point and like you mentioned the X-Fi drivers are definitely craptastic. I have been very pleased with the Fulla 2 in this setup and mainly use it for the speakers and just plug in the headphones when needed. While I have an unaligned and scratchy pot, both of which have been brought up by others in this thread, there is no distinguishable channel imbalance and I'm pleased with the sound overall. The misalignment is not generally noticed and the scratchy pot is just in the right channel only when actually changing the volume, so as something is usually playing when changing volume I tend to not notice the scratchiness. Neither of those issues were worth the inconvenience of returning, in my opinion. Anyways, I'm satisfied with the purchase and would likely do it again.

 

[RiflemanFirst]

   
I was in a very similar situation as you with my 10 year old X-Fi Xtrememusic PCI (not even PCIe) card as well as the ProMedia 2.1 speakers and the HD598cs. I knew I was going to have to upgrade that PCI card at some point and like you mentioned the X-Fi drivers are definitely craptastic. I have been very pleased with the Fulla 2 in this setup and mainly use it for the speakers and just plug in the headphones when needed. While I have an unaligned and scratchy pot, both of which have been brought up by others in this thread, there is no distinguishable channel imbalance and I'm pleased with the sound overall. The misalignment is not generally noticed and the scratchy pot is just in the right channel only when actually changing the volume, so as something is usually playing when changing volume I tend to not notice the scratchiness. Neither of those issues were worth the inconvenience of returning, in my opinion. Anyways, I'm satisfied with the purchase and would likely do it again.

 
Thanks for sharing your experience. A very similar audio setup to mine for sure. I actually just recently had the HD598 Cs headphones and swapped it for the SE version for my preferences. Just out of curiosity, did you have to shave down your speaker's 3.5mm connector to fit the backside ports on the Fulla 2? Also, did switching to the Fulla 2 change your sound tonality/quality much from the X-Fi, and if yes, how so?

 

[EDVurd]

I did not have to do anything to the plug, but any larger and there might be an issue. The sound quality seems good to me, but I really don't have much experience beyond what I've just described. I did use the X-Fi Crystalizer at something like 70% and then EQ in whatever software I was using for playback, but it seems very similar in this setup.

 

[RiflemanFirst]

  I did not have to do anything to the plug, but any larger and there might be an issue. The sound quality seems good to me, but I really don't have much experience beyond what I've just described. I did use the X-Fi Crystalizer at something like 70% and then EQ in whatever software I was using for playback, but it seems very similar in this setup.

 
Good, I really didn't feel like having to shave/dremel the 3.5mm plug or the Fulla 2 itself so I'm glad it fits. I recently haven't been using any EQ, Crystalizer, or any other software enabled enhancements with my X-Fi. Apparently my tastes have gone towards hearing my Tidal HiFi music and sounds in games as close to original as possible. Or at least as original as my X-Fi will allow with my speakers & headphones. Thanks again for taking your time to reply!
 
On a side note, the USPS tracker says my Fulla 2 should get here this Friday. I am definitely excited to give it a try. This will be my first venture into the external DAC & amp world.

 

[Jimster480]

   
Good, I really didn't feel like having to shave/dremel the 3.5mm plug or the Fulla 2 itself so I'm glad it fits. I recently haven't been using any EQ, Crystalizer, or any other software enabled enhancements with my X-Fi. Apparently my tastes have gone towards hearing my Tidal HiFi music and sounds in games as close to original as possible. Or at least as original as my X-Fi will allow with my speakers & headphones. Thanks again for taking your time to reply!

Welcome to Head-Fi. It seems alot of people eventually come to the point that they want to hear things as "they should sound".
 
I have some good experiences with this and will let you know how I like it when it comes in.

I will compare the Fulla 2 with the FiiO K1 and the HTC 10 aswell as the iPod Touch 6G.
I could compare it against a Xonar DG also but I have little time to mess around with that setup right now.

 

[D Rob]

 
Do you use it in charging mode (PC Mode) or do you use it in mobile mode? I read reviews on amazon that said the different modes make a difference with the buzzing.
 
Also are your headphones sensitive? Because some wrote that the buzzing is very bad with sensitive IEM's/Cans

 
Yes I do use it in PC mode. The beauty of it however is that you can run it off the battery as well if you have a noisy USB. I've used it with Vsonic GR07's, HE-400i's, HD558's, HF5's, T50RP Mk3's and the Image S4's. More often than not when you're not using USB for power and data the likelihood of noise decreases.
 
What I would say to you is, if I'm understanding you correctly, a lot of what you have read may also be USB noise as SomeTechNoob and bigro were saying. Plenty of DAC/amps are susceptible to RFI and USB noise is hit-or-miss. I've never tried the Schiit Wyrd so I don't know how well it works but I understand it exists in part to combat this problem.
 
Example: Using Tidal's desktop app on my PC in direct control/ forced volume mode my Audioengine D1 clicks every 6 seconds or so like clock work. It doesn't however do that in Jriver Media Center in direct mode, or when not in direct mode, OR with my wifes' super cheap 3 year old budget laptop under the same conditions. But my other DAC/amps work fine with it.
 
As far as the E18, if you are interested I would recommend it from somewhere with easy returns should it not work out, but yes, you will have RFI with it sandwiched to your phone b/c of the radios but so will a lot of other things. How much of a problem it is depends on the phones/monitors, listening volume, and how much data your phones using (constantly using radios to sync etc vs streaming, buffer size, etc). FWIW I had less RFI over WiFi which I was always on at the house.
 
edit:spelling

 

[SomeTechNoob]

Schiit added the second microUSB port to help remedy noisy USB issues from computers.  It's a lot easier to get a decent quality USB AC adapter - probably from your phone - and just plug it in to fix the issue.  I don't really think you should be buying a USB decrapifier system like the Wyrd when the Fulla 2 itself is the same price.  Doubling your costs - you might as well get a Modi 2 U and a Magni 2 at that point imo.
 
I personally didn't notice a difference when compared to just using the data port for data+power, and I run a rather lengthy 6ft microUSB cable which I got for my Logitech Performance MX.
 
And I know it's RFI because I ran my Fulla 2 in "mobile mode" (aux in from my phone & power in from the wall).  If I place my phone next to the Fulla 2 I could hear small ticks listening from the headphone out.  Turn on airplane mode and it goes away.
 
----------
 
On another note, my Fulla 2 is on its way back.  Guess I got it out a bit too late today for Schiit to send the replacement unit out today.  Oh well, no biggie.  Onboard -> Magni 2 still sounds pretty great.

 

[Jimster480]

   
Yes I do use it in PC mode. The beauty of it however is that you can run it off the battery as well if you have a noisy USB. I've used it with Vsonic GR07's, HE-400i's, HD558's, HF5's, T50RP Mk3's and the Image S4's. More often than not when you're not using USB for power and data the likelihood of noise decreases.
 
What I would say to you is, if I'm understanding you correctly, a lot of what you have read may also be USB noise as SomeTechNoob and bigro were saying. Plenty of DAC/amps are susceptible to RFI and USB noise is hit-or-miss. I've never tried the Schiit Wyrd so I don't know how well it works but I understand it exists in part to combat this problem.
 
Example: Using Tidal's desktop app on my PC in direct control/ forced volume mode my Audioengine D1 clicks every 6 seconds or so like clock work. It doesn't however do that in Jriver Media Center in direct mode, or when not in direct mode, OR with my wifes' super cheap 3 year old budget laptop under the same conditions. But my other DAC/amps work fine with it.
 
As far as the E18, if you are interested I would recommend it from somewhere with easy returns should it not work out, but yes, you will have RFI with it sandwiched to your phone b/c of the radios but so will a lot of other things. How much of a problem it is depends on the phones/monitors, listening volume, and how much data your phones using (constantly using radios to sync etc vs streaming, buffer size, etc). FWIW I had less RFI over WiFi which I was always on at the house.
 
edit:spelling

Thanks,
Well depending on what happens with the Fulla2 I might just go and order the E18k after all.
 
It is using some good hardware inside of it and many have said that BB 1798 sounds quite good.

 

[NemoReborn]

check better cause its  the 2 i got have bad pot noise and imbalance

 

[dr cornelius]

Hey Fulla 2 people - I’m just checking on this volume control noise issue.  It’s my understanding that some Fulla 2’s out there do not have the scratchy volume noise, correct?
 
I’m on my second Fulla 2 and although the low level imbalance is better than it was with my first one, the scratchy noise developed over a few days of use, just like the first one did.  So if there are Fulla 2’s out there without this issue (examples that have been in use for at least a few days) , then I’ll send back the second one for a third.  
 
The imbalance isn’t a problem, it happens with my Magni 2 (not with my Jotunheim) - but the scratchiness should not happen.  There’s a workaround for the imbalance, but the noise is always there...
 
Thanks for any info!