[Jalo]

Well do it if it is on your phone.

 

[johntodd]

Quote:

Just compared
 
iPhone 4 -> SR71A -> ES5 and
iPhone 4 -> CLAS -> SR71A -> ES5
 

 
I used Track 4 in Kay Tse's new album (你們的幸福) to test. Listened to the CLAS first, then switched to straight line out from iPhone 4. Took a bit to volume match. The LOD from the iPhone (just a DIY silver cable) and the CLAS  to amp cable (ALO) are different, so there might a bias if you are a cable believer.
 
I listened to the song one time on the iPhone 4 -> SR71A combo and then the intro again. I then switched from the iPhone out to the CLAS and listened to the intro again until Kay starts to sing. Within five seconds of that I put down my ES5 and pressed stop. The result is clear.
 
Tonality-wise the sound is cleaner with CLAS, but frankly I cannot hear any big "bright-dark" difference or major change to the frequency response. The real difference which made the result clear was the sound stage. The orchestral music in the beginning immedaitely sounded wider and in comparison the iPhone 4 out sounded congested. Kay Tse's voice is also more focused with the CLAS. Given that the ES5 does not have a very precise center image (compared with my UE18 Pro), the improvement of imaging with the CLAS is very significant. The iPhone out to SR71A combo sounded fuzzy in comparison. The sound is still good, but really not much positioning with the ES5.     
 
I will test LCD2 during lunch hour. I suspect the difference will be less significant as the LCD2 does not have very much of a sound stage to begin with.

Thank you for all of your comparisons and reviews they are extremely helpful.

 
 

 

[zilch0md]

 
Googleli,
 
I've been offline for three days, but have just caught up on this thread.   Thanks for all your efforts!  Very interesting!
 
Mike

 

[tnmike1]

Quote:

I so love the block member link.  Now I can filter out the angry chatter and get what I come here for.

gee thanks for the tip.  Hadn't really thought of doing that, but agree.  Now I don't have to read all the BS some people put on the threads

 

[deniall83]

Sorry to ask such a dumb question but i'm confused about the point of the Solo. It seems to me that it's nothing more than a portable DAC that works with the iPod but is still limited to the iPods 16/44.1 or 16/48KHz output. So you pay over $500 for a better DAC and then you have to buy an amp and cables as well. So at the end you've spent over $1000 and you're still not even getting 24/96 quality. This might be worth it if it was ultra portable but it's not, it's huge! There's no way I would take that lump of metal on a train or bus with me. It's definitely a desktop rig (to me anyway).
 
So is it really worth all this money?

 

[googleli]

The thing is the other stuff out (of similar size) don't compare to the CLAS apparently. The higher end DAPs today are HM801 and Sony D-50. I have heard them both and I own the HM801. The only other higher end portable digital transport/DAC I haven't heard of is the iMod, but I read that it doesn't compare to the CLAS well.  Purely speaking of the DAC, I would say the iPhone 4's DAC itself is better than the HM801. So it's either that, or another DAP plus the same stack of stuff except the CLAS.

 

[deniall83]

What's this Sony D-50 you speak of? A google search and look on Sony's website didn't give any results.

 
Quote:

The thing is the other stuff out (of similar size) don't compare to the CLAS apparently. The higher end DAPs today are HM801 and Sony D-50. I have heard them both and I own the HM801. Purely speaking of the DAC, I would say the iPhone 4's DAC itself is better than the HM801. So it's either that, or another DAP plus the same stack of stuff except the CLAS.

 

 

[SpudHarris]

Deleted..

 

[googleli]

The full model name is PCM-D50

 
Quote:

What's this Sony D-50 you speak of? A google search and look on Sony's website didn't give any results. 
 

 

 

[zilch0md]

Here's an excerpt from a post at this link, where a guy who is apparently experienced at using field recorders compares the playback SQ of the Sony PCM-M10 to its older brother, the D50:

"The big advantage the M10 has over the D50 though is very long battery life (40 hours versus about 20) as well as far better sound out of it's line and headphone jacks, particularly at 48 khz and beyond. The D50 sounds terrible out of the line and headphone jacks - the sound becomes very fatiguing and coarse and anything beyond 24/44.1. Perhaps the DACs are very old technology or something. The M10 sounds fine in these respects though."

 

[zilch0md]

 
Anyone considering the Sony PCM-M10 vs. the CLAS or HM-801, might also have a look at this post, where I summarized the impressions of dj nellie and Misterrogers:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/456327/sony-pcm-m10-as-portable-player/75#post_7661074
 
Mike

 

[Anthony1]

Quote:

The thing is the other stuff out (of similar size) don't compare to the CLAS apparently. The higher end DAPs today are HM801 and Sony D-50. I have heard them both and I own the HM801. The only other higher end portable digital transport/DAC I haven't heard of is the iMod, but I read that it doesn't compare to the CLAS well.  Purely speaking of the DAC, I would say the iPhone 4's DAC itself is better than the HM801. So it's either that, or another DAP plus the same stack of stuff except the CLAS.

Hi googleli
 
Would love to hear your opinion on:
 
- iPOD>CLAS>SR71a
 
v
 
- iPOD Rockboxed playing hi res FLACS>SR71a
- iPOD Rockboxed playing hi res FLACS>DAC>SR71a  
 
Cheers.. 
 

 

[Kremer930]

I must say that I am a firm fan of the CLAS.  I didnt really expect much of an improvement from it but couldnt hold back and not find out what I was missing.  It is money so well spent and even the size of the brick is worth it.  I was very undecided on which amp to go for but elected to go for the Rx2 as it matched the size of the CLAS.  Jerry Harvey had also said that the Rx2 was the best that he had heard the JH16 so who was I to argue....
 
But my bliss and aural portable nirvana has been potentially shattered with the announcement of the ALO Rx Mk3.  A Balanced 8 opamp amp.  I can only imagine how sweet this is going to sound.  Hope that it is cheaper than a 71b and that I dont have to buy a new balanced CLAS to provide a signal....  Exciting times ahead.
 
 
 
 
 

 

[Anthony1]

Quote:

But my bliss and aural portable nirvana has been potentially shattered with the announcement of the ALO Rx Mk3.  A Balanced 8 opamp amp.  I can only imagine how sweet this is going to sound.  Hope that it is cheaper than a 71b and that I dont have to buy a new balanced CLAS to provide a signal....  Exciting times ahead.
 
 
 
 
 

Brett,
 
I think you should sell your CLAS now while you can and prepare for the arrival of the balanced CLAS... 
 
I will take it off your hands 
 

 
 
 

 

[googleli]

Sorry dude I only have an iPhone 4 and upcoming iPhone 4s as well as an iPad 2, but I don't have an iPod any more.

 
Quote:

Hi googleli
 
Would love to hear your opinion on:
 
- iPOD>CLAS>SR71a
 
v
 
- iPOD Rockboxed playing hi res FLACS>SR71a
- iPOD Rockboxed playing hi res FLACS>DAC>SR71a  
 
Cheers..