[WilliamLeonhart]

  It shouldn't be personal per say, it should be tested. The reason I say that is that typically any high resolution release will cost more than the 16bit version, sometimes quite a bit more. It also has people re-purchasing parts of their catalogue again so given that the stakes financially can be quite high I can't imagine why people wouldn't do some really valid testing. It is also important to level match because one favorite trick of remasters or high-rez issues are to make the album louder which has the potential to make us feel the music sounds better when it is simply a rise in amplitude of the signal, not any change in the signal quality at work.
 
The few people I know who have actually tested all seem to come to the conclusion that they couldn't tell the difference, but that is a small sample and in no way am I suggesting it is fact. Frankly, that is why I wish more people would do level matched, blind listening testing, just so we had more information about this. Hell, I would gladly pay more money if the technology made an audible difference believe me, and I hope it does.

IMHO testing doesn't mean as much in audio as in other businesses. There're tons of measurements and yet it all comes down to the fact that each person's hearing ability would differ. Next comes their preferences. And then there's the fact that some people would try to make themselves like something for no practical reason at all. 
So it's very hard to come to a consensus for anything except proclamation such as "this is good" and "that is not as good as [something else]". Sure people would appreciate the fact that testing provide fine guidelines, but let's say if testing proves that A is better than B but to one person's impression B is better than A, then testing is meaningless to that person. 
We're really opening a can of worms. Is hi-res that much better? Does "USB purifiers" improve quality? Should I buy an optical interface? Sure there can be testing and results to provide a concrete "yes" or "no", but whether that matters to your ears (and your mind) is another matter entirely.
 
There's these anecdotes that I've told more than once on head-fi and elsewhere:
- Took my friends to a big audio shop in Sg and let them listen to a pair of PS500e run on a iFi stack. 2 (inc. me) say the left side has louder volume, 2 others say it's the right side.
- A friend in the Grado thread suffers from some sort of medical conditions and can't stand bright headphones for long. He had to sell his Grados for that reason. His next Grado for a few years till now? The SR325e, which is supposed to be one of the brightest Grado line. 
- Based on measurements alone, the O2 is supposed to be the pinnacle of mid-range and low-range equipment. I liked it a lot, but I don't share that opinion. Any argument would not have a decisive ending.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Edit: removing my comments as they may cause an unwanted debate here so in an effort to not do so I'm proactively removing my comments.

 

[HotIce]

  IMHO testing doesn't mean as much in audio as in other businesses. There're tons of measurements and yet it all comes down to the fact that each person's hearing ability would differ. Next comes their preferences. And then there's the fact that some people would try to make themselves like something for no practical reason at all. 
So it's very hard to come to a consensus for anything except proclamation such as "this is good" and "that is not as good as [something else]". Sure people would appreciate the fact that testing provide fine guidelines, but let's say if testing proves that A is better than B but to one person's impression B is better than A, then testing is meaningless to that person. 
We're really opening a can of worms. Is hi-res that much better? Does "USB purifiers" improve quality? Should I buy an optical interface? Sure there can be testing and results to provide a concrete "yes" or "no", but whether that matters to your ears (and your mind) is another matter entirely.
 
There's these anecdotes that I've told more than once on head-fi and elsewhere:
- Took my friends to a big audio shop in Sg and let them listen to a pair of PS500e run on a iFi stack. 2 (inc. me) say the left side has louder volume, 2 others say it's the right side.
- A friend in the Grado thread suffers from some sort of medical conditions and can't stand bright headphones for long. He had to sell his Grados for that reason. His next Grado for a few years till now? The SR325e, which is supposed to be one of the brightest Grado line. 
- Based on measurements alone, the O2 is supposed to be the pinnacle of mid-range and low-range equipment. I liked it a lot, but I don't share that opinion. Any argument would not have a decisive ending.

I think you are confusing what "testing" meant in the author context.
I like fish, you like steak. That is normal, as the subjects are different.
IOW, the is not single "best", but there are many "individual,best" pairs.
I can distinguish salmon which lived above the 50th parallel, from the one which lived below it.
In that case, the is one "subject" (me), and if I claim that, I should be able to detect the difference whether or not I can see the label on the salmon wrapping.

 

[Maxpain]

I am considering upgrading my 598's with 650's or the hifi man he400i. I could use some advice on wich is better with the dsd micro.
 
Thanks in advance.
 
 
Cheers! 

 

[cav1sa]

I don't have any experience with he400i, but I love hd650 and I don't think I will ever sell them. They're light, super comfortable and scale really well as you get better sources.
EDIT: I should add that HD650 benefit from the 3D holo sound, which alleviates some of their inherently reserved treble extension.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  I am considering upgrading my 598's with 650's or the hifi man he400i. I could use some advice on wich is better with the dsd micro.
 
Thanks in advance.
 
 
Cheers! 

The 400i is a very nice headphone. I used it a little with my Micro and thought it was a nice pairing, but I didn't do this extensively as I remember things. The 400i will be a more exciting and engaging sound, but the 650 will have the ability to make everything sound more relaxed so it depends on your listening preferences. You may also want to consider the HD600 as that is no slouch either.

 

[chillaxing]

  I am considering upgrading my 598's with 650's or the hifi man he400i. I could use some advice on wich is better with the dsd micro.
 
Thanks in advance.
 
 
Cheers! 

 
 
The 650 is a better pairing with the micro, i'm running the same combo.  With the 400i it can get a little sharp at times, but it paired really well with the mojo.

 

[Maxpain]

   
 
The 650 is a better pairing with the micro, i'm running the same combo.  With the 400i it can get a little sharp at times, but it paired really well with the mojo.

What do you mean by sharp? I am upgrading from hd 598's wich are really nice headphones but a little too ''calm'' for my tastes. In that case...is shart meaning more aggresive and forward?
 
Thanks you all for your help by the way! 

 

[Sonic Defender]

  What do you mean by sharp? I am upgrading from hd 598's wich are really nice headphones but a little too ''calm'' for my tastes. In that case...is shart meaning more aggresive and forward?
 
Thanks you all for your help by the way! 

I didn't find the 400i that aggressive and forward, perhaps in comparison to a more relaxed headphone, but that is all subjective. The 400i actually in my mind has decently extended treble, not buttery smooth, but not brittle or strident, just present and of a solid caliber befitting the price point. It is a revealing enough headphone that it won't hide much, so in that respect at times I'm sure it can be sharp. I listened to it with a fair amount of electronica, EDM, some pop, and plenty of well mastered material and I thought it was close to the HE 560 in terms of ability, but didn't have quite the quality of separation and layering, but not far off.
 
We all have different takes on things, but for me the Micro worked well with the 400i and if you already are used to and ready to move on from a Sennheiser dynamic, now is a good time to try a planar and a new house sound. Not to many people have had anything bad to say about the 400i, not that I have read anyway. 

 

[hag6]

Can anyone recommend any tracks that highlight the effects derived from using the XBass and 3DSound features.

 

[cav1sa]

  Can anyone recommend any tracks that highlight the effects derived from using the XBass and 3DSound features.

xbass is pretty straightforward. If your headphones lack a little bit of oomph down low, that's what it's for. I don't think xbass is designed to add bass to bass-deprived recordings, but rather to help tune your hardware's sound sig.
3dsound is different. It works really well with some records, but negatively affects others. On the other hand, its effectiveness is also dependant on what type of headphones you're using. It generally works well for me with darker sounding gear, but doesn't help much with natural sounding equipment.
This is of course, all subjective. Some folks don't care for any EQ or anything close to crossfeed. YMMV.

 

[hag6]

Can anyone comment on the iDSD Micro paired with AKG 702 headphones - how do you set up the Micro in order to get the best out of this headphone.
 
Another question - what sonic benefits might I experience from using the nano iusb3.0 with the Micro?
 Thanks

 

[technobear]

Another question - what sonic benefits might I experience from using the nano iusb3.0 with the Micro?
 Thanks

http://www.head-fi.org/t/781064/micro-iusb3-0-impressions-thread

 

[Topspin70]

@ifi audio any chance there's a idsd micro 2 lurking around the corner waiting to surprise us? Or is the idsd pro the successor for now? (A heavy hitting successor at that)

 

[SergeyK]

Hi everyone!
 
I got mine iFi micro a week ago and heating it up through nights and days, but still can`t say that this thing plays better than the Samsung Note 5..... Of course, the volume level is out of any questions, but setting the same level on both devices I can`t here where iFi is better on my HD 650. Tested on the same flac tracks (Foobar2000 on laptop, Onko HF Player on Note 5).
 
Am I doing something wrong? Does anybody has both Note 5 and iFi micro to compare?