[soundblast75]

Toooooo big.

it is but purely on sound its the best so far.
I think as long as they sort out the sluggishness it is a winner.
Best made by far,the new 901 is still plasticky and inferior to the metal and luxury finish of the M.So is P1,but i love that one too.
Think of Calyx as the extra sound you get from carrying external amp/dac to a P1 or X5 etc.Then its a good weight/size compromise.
it does give you that little extra sound upgrade.
Bring on Calix N next

 

[soundblast75]

Btw Mim, i think you'll love the
Sony NWZ-A15 for its size,can't beat it for portability☺
And it sounds good too,I'm sure it'll pair with some iems like a charm.

 

[Mimouille]

I am not a fan of the Calyx M design either... Do not like the feeling in hand. Does the A15 sound like the ZX1? It was a bit bright for me.

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

I slightly preferred the Calyx to the P1, but the benefits of the P1 were overwhelming: much, much snappier UI, incredibly fast boot times, better battery life, much more pocketable form factor, and doesn't get noticeably warm during operation. Once Calyx releases their stand alone iOS amp/DAC module, any benefits of the M will pretty much be negated 

 

[Currawong]

 

Agreed too all that you wrote! The only thing I think is missing is an idea of roughly how loud you listen. I've always said that, other than for functionality, unless one wants to get the best out of high-quality recordings with high-end headphones or IEMs, the very expensive DAPs wont be worth it, unless you're doing something like buying an AK240 as a complete desktop/portable solution with all accessories. Also that the primary benefit of the better DAPs is that they drive full-sized headphones much better than, say, an X5 does -- vastly better in fact, and that's before we get into UI differences and storage.

I do not use full size headphones so that is one thing.
I listen at quite low volume, push it to average when outside. Since I listen to hundreds of new albums each year, only 5% of it exists in HD.

I would keep only the Cowon P1 if it wasn't for the fact that I like the look and feel of the AK240, it has huge storage.

 
I think with both those things, you have definitely eliminated many of the sonic benefits demonstrated by the more expensive DAPs over the X5 and iPhone at least. This is all good discussion I reckon.

 

[Mimouille]

I think with both those things, you have definitely eliminated many of the sonic benefits demonstrated by the more expensive DAPs over the X5 and iPhone at least. This is all good discussion I reckon.

Thanks, and a discussion I find we do not have often enough, as many headfiers could be concerned. Anyways I still like my RWAK240

 

[eke2k6]

   
I think with both those things, you have definitely eliminated many of the sonic benefits demonstrated by the more expensive DAPs over the X5 and iPhone at least. This is all good discussion I reckon.

 
 
Can't say i agree with this, Curra. I have had IEMs that require a bit more volume/power for their dynamic range to blossom, but I don't think there's a single IEM that the iPhone, and especially X5, can't power with plenty of headroom to spare. I seriously doubt it. And I think it'll remain that way until we get orthodynamic or electrostat in-ears.
 
Also, the hi-res files thing is invalid in my eyes, unless the point is that the iphone can't play the files without the help of third party apps.
 
 
There was a discussion on the Deals thread where members listening with the likes of the HE-560 couldn't pick out between mp3 and hi-res. There's just nothing our ears can pick up that necessitate those files, IMO.

 

[514077]

   
 
Can't say i agree with this, Curra. I have had IEMs that require a bit more volume/power for their dynamic range to blossom, but I don't think there's a single IEM that the iPhone, and especially X5, can't power with plenty of headroom to spare. I seriously doubt it. And I think it'll remain that way until we get orthodynamic or electrostat in-ears.
 
Also, the hi-res files thing is invalid in my eyes, unless the point is that the iphone can't play the files without the help of third party apps.
 
 
There was a discussion on the Deals thread where members listening with the likes of the HE-560 couldn't pick out between mp3 and hi-res. There's just nothing our ears can pick up that necessitate those files, IMO.

As an average joe compared to you, I can only say I can certainly tell the dif between an MP3/320 and a PCM 1411k file.  One thing that came to my notice while comparing one song, two versions, was that the kickdrum was tight with the PCM, but was slightly spread-out and flabby from the MP3.  I believe there are other differences with higher res files in terms of relaxation and longer listening sessions that are intangible, and therefore, I won't argue about.  I'm tired, as I suspect a lot of people are, with the argument over the value of bitrates and such.  
No offence intended: I respect and would love to read more of your opinions.
Thanks.

 

[eke2k6]

 
As an average joe compared to you, I can only say I can certainly tell the dif between an MP3/320 and a PCM 1411k file.  One thing that came to my notice while comparing one song, two versions, was that the kickdrum was tight with the PCM, but was slightly spread-out and flabby from the MP3.  I believe there are other differences with higher res files in terms of relaxation and longer listening sessions that are intangible, and therefore, I won't argue about.  I'm tired, as I suspect a lot of people are, with the argument over the value of bitrates and such.  
No offence intended: I respect and would love to read more of your opinions.
Thanks.

 
None taken

. The comparisons I'm talking about involve taking a FLAC file, even 24/192, and converting it to MP3/AAC via a good encoder like dbpoweramp.
 
I have done this several times, even this morning again, just to double check my stance.

 

[Currawong]

 

   
I think with both those things, you have definitely eliminated many of the sonic benefits demonstrated by the more expensive DAPs over the X5 and iPhone at least. This is all good discussion I reckon.

 
 
Can't say i agree with this, Curra. I have had IEMs that require a bit more volume/power for their dynamic range to blossom, but I don't think there's a single IEM that the iPhone, and especially X5, can't power with plenty of headroom to spare. I seriously doubt it. And I think it'll remain that way until we get orthodynamic or electrostat in-ears.

 
I'm definitely curious. Which IEMs?
 
We do have electrostatic IEMs from Stax btw, but they have a dedicated amp. I did try them with the AK240 though and that was a wonderful combo.

 

[eke2k6]

   
I'm definitely curious. Which IEMs?
 
We do have electrostatic IEMs from Stax btw, but they have a dedicated amp. I did try them with the AK240 though and that was a wonderful combo.

 
My Aurisonics iems, the GR07, and the IE800 to some degree. There are a few others, but I can't think of them now.
 
Ah, yes. I forgot those.

 

[goodvibes]

I'm with Currawong here but also Mim overall. I settled on getting a barely used 100Mk2 because a have a lot of 'good' HiDef and still prefer it to others I could get for less than the high priced spread. It's close enough to the big boys and has a what I think a proper sig. Doesn't get quite as black or separated on 24/192 as the very best but not important as I only use it on the go. Other than a Hugo with good setup in front of it, I wouldn't use these for home playback anyway. Always thought the Ipod touch/Iphone were under rated on these boards but still prefer my AK at any def but not by a whole lot. Newer classics sound a bit washed out to me. I always test with wav since everything plays it and I don't have to deal with codecs unless that's what I want to evaluate. This on jh13s.
 
I also own Grado ps500 and some Stax besides a few cheaper IEMs but tend to only use the JH13s with DAPs. I can still hear differences on cheaper IEMs but find those differences become less important. Same for HiDef which can get cumbersome on the go anyway. I tend to use 24/48 or 24/96 wav on my DAP unless CD sourced(16/44) though I have some master dub tracks at 24/192 that are rather special and I keep on the internal memory. I'm not beyond using compressed material on limited space devices. I found AAC 400 CBR (nero encoder) surprisingly good. When I've used FLAC (redbook), I like the very slightly less etched character on my HiSound, I use the '0' setting. Still tags and reduces by 30% or so. I think some of the HiDef benefits are lost in FLAC vs wav even though it's bit correct.
 
All that said, I think the sweet spot for most consumers is a well chosen $50-$500 (c)iem and an Iphone/Ipod touch. Files, formats, usage, etc just doesn't warrant the high cost for differences many find to be unimportant or inaudible, especially with most of the manipulated source material available today.
 
My personal thoughts. I'm not debating them. What's right for me is just for me.

 

 

[Mimouille]

I'm with Currawong here but also Mim overall. I settled on getting a barely used 100Mk2 because a have a lot of 'good' HiDef and still prefer it to others I could get for less than the high priced spread. It's close enough to the big boys and has a what I think a proper sig. Doesn't get quite as black or separated on 24/192 as the very best but not important as I only use it on the go. Other than a Hugo with good setup in front of it, I wouldn't use these for home playback anyway. Always thought the Ipod touch/Iphone were under rated on these boards but still prefer my AK at any def but not by a whole lot. Newer classics sound a bit washed out to me. I always test with wav since everything plays it and I don't have to deal with codecs unless that's what I want to evaluate. This on jh13s.

I also own Grado ps500 and some Stax besides a few cheaper IEMs but tend to only use the JH13s with DAPs. I can still hear differences on cheaper IEMs but find those differences become less important. Same for HiDef which can get cumbersome on the go anyway. I tend to use 24/48 or 24/96 wav on my DAP unless CD sourced(16/44) though I have some master dub tracks at 24/192 that are rather special and I keep on the internal memory. I'm not beyond using compressed material on limited space devices. I found AAC 400 CBR (nero encoder) surprisingly good. When I've used FLAC (redbook), I like the very slightly less etched character on my HiSound, I use the '0' setting. Still tags and reduces by 30% or so. I think some of the HiDef benefits are lost in FLAC vs wav even though it's bit correct.

All that said, I think the sweet spot for most consumers is a well chosen $50-$500 (c)iem and an Iphone/Ipod touch. Files, formats, usage, etc just doesn't warrant the high cost for differences many find to be unimportant or inaudible, especially with most of the manipulated source material available today.

My personal thoughts. I'm not debating them. What's right for me is just for me.  

Infidel! Do you mean my 5k of DAPs and 10k of IEMs are not money well spent! Liiiaaaar.

 

[goodvibes]

Yes, I'll need to take those off your hands at their proper value sir.

 I'm not selling my jh13s or AK either unless I can find me something better suited. I thought the 901 best I've heard and am still a bit dubious of android based UIs even though I've owned and liked one. The differences are still important to me but there's a lot of tail chasing at that end of the market and for what most listen to, it's no biggie, IMO.

 

[goodvibes]

I just listened to a bunch of these while at CES for other things. Started a thread on it. Still clear differences for me with good material.