Don't get me wrong, the Mini-M8 is a great device! Insanely long battery life, stellar DAC, great balanced output, versatile inputs, iDevice support, and the list goes on. The Mini-M8 can drive pretty much any headphone to peak performance, (except maybe the HE-6) but because of that, even on low gain it has some slight noise issues. The hiss is not unbearable, and it quickly fades into the background depending on what volume levels you listen at, but this is mostly when dealing with the SE output. Once you switch over to the Balanced Output the game changes and the hiss almost goes away completely. But to answer your question, the hiss is related to the design of the Mini-M8, not the Savage-5's.
Side Note 1: I actually redid the install on my Note 5 tonight and upgraded to the Poweramp 3.0 Alpha and now all of my hiss problems on that device are solved, and I can even take full advantage of its built-in DAC (up to 24 bit / 192 kHz output). It is almost like a DAP now!
Side Note 2: I am actually considering selling my Mini-M8 at a pretty low price. I have all the original packaging and accessories, plus a few nice USB cables to go along with it. I just don't use it as much as I used to. Feel free to let me know if you're interested!
- Insan1tyOne
Yeah, that's very true, which is why I always have a DAP with me and won't go anywhere past an iPhone 5
Edit: BTW, to answer the question you asked Malevolent, the reason why I don't use my phone as a transport with a DAC/amp is my tendency to avoid stacks, memory space, and I can't be bothered to constantly go through iTunes's painful syncing routine or manually download songs I purchased on iTunes. I'd much rather drag and drop folders to my DAPs while I plug them to my PC for charging.
Well, yes, that would be possible if the market were to shift 100% into USB-Type-C (hence the words "exclusively only"), but I highly, highly doubt, that the standard 3.5mm TRS jack that has been commonplace since the 50's, would be completely eradicated in favour of USB-Type-C (which, again, AFAIK transmits and receives digital data only, which means the DAC/Amp would be on the cable and your phone/DAP would be a mere transport).
Hello Everyone,
I was just curious, but what do you all recommend for a desktop DAC / Amp combo (that is on the smaller side) that would pair well with my Savage 5 universals (or any sensitive IEMs)? My budget would be around $600 or less. I want it to have absolutely zero hiss like some of the higher-end DAPs, as my CEntrance Mini-M8 and my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 just don't cut it and hiss like crazy with my Savage 5's. I haven't been brave enough to plug them into my Mjolnir 2, but I think it probably has too much power to have no hiss with IEMs or I would just use it.
So far I am looking at the:
1.) Schiit Jotunheim w/ DAC module (Not small, no 3.5mm connection, but no battery which is a big plus.)
2.) Chord Mojo (Small, with an amazing DAC, but requires charging, and isn't balanced.)
Tl;dr - Recommend me the best semi-portable DAC / Amp that has zero hiss with even the most sensitive IEMs. No hiss is the most important factor.
Thanks!
- InsanityOne
Enjoy yourself to the max!
