[zolom]

OOTB, my PA10 sounds "soft" and the bass is not tight enough.
How should it sound after real burn in (~100 hours)?

Currently its been running some 20 hours.

Thanks

 

[uzairahmed101]

OOTB, my PA10 sounds "soft" and the bass is not tight enough.
How should it sound after real burn in (~100 hours)?

Currently its been running some 20 hours.

Thanks

Which DAC are you using? Do you have other amps to compare the PA10?

 

[zolom]

With the RU7 (balanced LO dsd256) sound is softer and the bass lacks authority.
With the Hugo 2 (SE) it is clearer and the bass still lacks authority. Played with the CURRENT switch, to no avail.

Kind of dissapointing!

Listening with both Stellia HP and Xe6 iems. Compaing against direct connectivity to the RU7 balanced out and against the Hugo 2 conectivity via the iFi iCAN Pro.

Which DAC are you using? Do you have other amps to compare the PA10?

 

[Visceral]

With the RU7 (balanced LO dsd256) sound is softer and the bass lacks authority.
With the Hugo 2 (SE) it is clearer and the bass still lacks authority. Played with the CURRENT switch, to no avail.

Very dissapointing!

Listening with both Stellia HP and Xe6 iems. Compaing against direct connectivity to the RU7 balanced out and against the Hugo 2 conectivity via the iFi iCAN Pro.

That’s the exact opposite from what I’ve experienced but I’ve never tried the RU7. This PA10 has improved the low end on all my source gear (RS6/ SR35/ Gryphon) haven’t tried it with my BTR7. Sorry to hear you aren’t enjoying it. I’d try another source and see if the issue continues.

 

[rocketron]

Quick up date on my PA10.

It pairs very well with various dongles and BT dacs.
Pairs less well with Chord Mojo 2 and Chord TT2.
With the Chord pairing it loses some of the Chordness .
Mojo 2 I find the sharpness and air lacking.
Sense of depth is diminished.
TT2 connected balanced is just a no.

I don’t think it was designed for a desktop replacement more for taking the heavy lifting from dongles and weaker powered daps.
It does this perfectly.

I find it definitely better fed a balanced signal than S/E.
One unexpected match up was the Schiit Mani phono stage.
A great pairing of a cheap phono stage and a transportable amp.

Headphone pairing I found a preference for the Astell & Kern T5p 2nd generation.
A bass heavy light weight phone that’s very easy to drive.
Again balanced was my personal choice.

It’s still very early days as I don’t have many hours on the unit so take the above with a pinch of salt.

Still in love with the volume control .

I wonder if this is the start of an amp or dac/ amp line from AK ?
Imagine a dac/amp with swappable dacs and Nu tubes ?
Don’t think this will happen as it would dent there dap sales.

still enjoying it

 

[muths66]

I use a copper coxial bal lineout very nice sounding compare to my mix 3.5 lineout.

 

[zolom]

With the RU7 (balanced LO dsd256) sound is softer and the bass lacks authority.
With the Hugo 2 (SE) it is clearer and the bass still lacks authority. Played with the CURRENT switch, to no avail.

Kind of dissapointing!

Listening with both Stellia HP and Xe6 iems. Compaing against direct connectivity to the RU7 balanced out and against the Hugo 2 conectivity via the iFi iCAN Pro.

I wrote the above, based on impression after just 20 hours of use. Then I put the PA10 on continous burn in loop.
After additional burn in (more than 30 hours, and accumulated usage more than 50 hours).
PA10 sound is significantly better. Music more pronounced and slightly forward, bigger stage, tighter bass, better separation, fed by the Hugo2 (SE) and the RU7 (LO Balanced).

For me, the contribution of the burn-in process is NOTICABLE !

Thanks.

 

[rocketron]

Can you use the amp powered from the mains ?

 

[MrNailhead]

Okay, question for the experts out there - I am going to be upgrading my dap soon - i've had my Fiio M11 Pro for a couple years now, but I would like something that has a dedicated balanced 4.4mm line out function, for use with the PA10 - budget is ideally in the $500-600 range but I could probably push it to $700 - so far my top two candidates based on much research are the Fiio M11 Plus (don't fix what ain't broken, lol) or the Hiby R6 Pro II. I can get a lightly used M11 Plus for around $500 - the Hiby looks like it just came out, so new only.
I don't like the angled screens on those Astell & Kern daps, so those are out.
I only have two real pairs of headphones I use - my Sony MDR-1AM2 and the ZMF Eikon, so really i'm not sure I even need a dap with a particularly powerful on board amp, since the ZMF will run through the PA10, but I would still like as high quality device as I can afford.
Any other worthy options you guys and gals (and others) can think of?
Appreciate it.

 

[Saigon13]

Is this useful if I only listen to In-Ear Monitors? My dap is Fiio M11 Plus Ltd. Does the sound quality improve?

 

[Visceral]

Is this useful if I only listen to In-Ear Monitors? My dap is Fiio M11 Plus Ltd. Does the sound quality improve?

Two things I’d consider. While I do believe the audio undeniably improves with the PA10 when used as a dedicated amp for your DAP, you need to factor use case and IEM sensitivity. For use, if you plan on being out and about while utilizing DAP with PA10, you will struggle. Between heat, size and weight, it is not a feasible grab and go set up FOR ME. As far as sensitivity, no issues with Astell & kern SR35 using line out toggle from BAL PO. I am unable to utilize a handful of my IEM’s when pairing PA10 with RS6 dedicated BAL LO. Even on low gain, I am blowing out my eardrums at 5% volume on the PA10. Does the M11 have a dedicated line out?

 

[Saigon13]

Thank you for your attention. I only use dap inside. The device has 4.4mm BAL lineout, although it is shared with PO. You just change it in the dap settings.

 

[Visceral]

Thank you for your attention. I only use dap inside. The device has 4.4mm BAL lineout, although it is shared with PO. You just change it in the dap settings.

Similar to my SR35. Can you adjust volume in line out mode?

 

[123peter]

Is this useful if I only listen to In-Ear Monitors? My dap is Fiio M11 Plus Ltd. Does the sound quality improve?

Read my previous posts in this thread.
Just such a sandwich FIIO M11 Plus Ltd and A&K PA10 I have is a great set - it is worth buying.
Necessary and recommended balanced connection.

 

[Saigon13]

I can't test it, but this warning comes when I switch LO on