[TontonJoK]

Hi, I'd like to improve my setting on the vocal area and i feel a little sibiliance on tracks (flac, mp3) especially on female vocals


A DAC could be a solution ?

Pc with creative xfi fatality
Musical fidelity Xcan V3
Audio technica w1000x

My budget 400$
Thanks

 

[Mercuttio]

When mine isn't hooked up to Vinyl (no sibilance at all) I have a nice cheap little u-DAC2. 
 
It seems like a really excellent match, actually... the K272 and the Grados I've had don't pair nearly as well as the W1000X does with it. It's really quite textured and rich; possibly because both are slightly "romantic" (read: boosted lower midrange slightly and warm). 
 
It's a cheap solution in comparison to other things out there, sure. But it bears no hiss, and really comes out sounding absolutely incredible with excellent imaging. Works well for games too. Having heard your soundcard I can say without question that it IS the culprit. Creative stuff is for the lack of a better word... garbage when it comes to audio. I've heard that they've got some crazy new card out there that is "suitable for audiophiles" but I've heard that from them before. 
 
I've listened to the W1000X out of a few things now, and I don't think they're particularly sibilant. I think that they pick up on sibilance in other gear very easily, but only if it's already there. 

 

[TontonJoK]

Ok thanks i ll take a look at DAC
I also agree on xfi that carry more noise than music

 

[TontonJoK]

On the sale forum there is a Audio-gd Compass which have a DAC built in, is it worth it ???

 

[Mad Max]

Yeah but if you can snatch something better, your W1kX will thank you for it.

 

[TontonJoK]

Can you give me few references that could match well
thanks a lot

 

[Mercuttio]

Unfortunately, it's not a very mainstream headphone. So, well, we don't know exactly what makes it sound great yet! It's very different than previous ATH headphones but shares bits of various W series (and L3000) signatures. That means that you can hunt back through Head-Fi and see what else there is that has suited previous models.
 
There's a thread over in the amplification forum that I started on something like this, before I decided to blow all my cash on Vinyl and was thinking about getting something else... I think it was the Audio-GD FUN? Someone else here has it with his W1000X, and it apparently sounds great as a combo DAC / AMP but works very well as a DAC alone.
 
 

 

[TontonJoK]

I read good posts about musical fidelity Vdac
It seems to be a deaI, cheap but good

someone use it?
If it is smooth in the hights it could be great

 

[Mad Max]

Audio-GD NFB-2, probably.
 
The HRT Streamer II+ is around that price, no?

 

[afrobat]

You might want to try Purrin's mod. I'm not certain, but I think it would reduce the sibilance a bit.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/544507/ath-w1000x-mods

 

[TontonJoK]

Ok i bought the HRT Streamer II+
Thanks for advices

 

[Mad Max]

Don't A2kX and W1kX use the same drivers?  I tried Dynamat Xtreme on the back of A2000X's drivers and it made the sound very fatiguing (forgot what improvements there were).  I tried a couple of other mods and all it did was make the treble very peaky and sibilant.  Even removing the cups makes the treble very peaky and fatiguing, plus part of the bass becomes sucked out (well, that was really more out of curiosity than an expected improvement).  I don't think I tried Dynamat on that inner chamber itself like purrin, however.  Placing it right outside like that is a good idea.  The bad places for that would be on the cups themselves or the interior of the inner chamber.

 

[Mercuttio]

They definitely don't use the same drivers. AT considers those headphones as different families... W and A. I've read a lot of comparisons and they don't seem even remotely similar apart from a few Audio Technica house sound traits.
 
Quote:

Don't A2kX and W1kX use the same drivers?  I tried Dynamat Xtreme on the back of A2000X's drivers and it made the sound very fatiguing (forgot what improvements there were).  I tried a couple of other mods and all it did was make the treble very peaky and sibilant.  Even removing the cups makes the treble very peaky and fatiguing, plus part of the bass becomes sucked out (well, that was really more out of curiosity than an expected improvement).  I don't think I tried Dynamat on that inner chamber itself like purrin, however.  Placing it right outside like that is a good idea.  The bad places for that would be on the cups themselves or the interior of the inner chamber.

 

 

[Mad Max]

 
Quote:

They definitely don't use the same drivers. AT considers those headphones as different families... W and A. I've read a lot of comparisons and they don't seem even remotely similar apart from a few Audio Technica house sound traits.

 
From what a couple of W1kX  users told me, it seemed to that W1kX is a bassier, more "flavorful" A2kX.  Makes sense with those wooden cups, though I wouldn't know with absolute certainty, perhaps by switching the cups with each other.  =p