[miceblue]

The C5 and C5D were built with earphones in mind, so I'm pretty sure the noise floor is sufficiently low enough for most earphones. XD

 

[Vemon]

Whats the difference between C5 and C5D in the amp section? They are the same or C5D is better than C5 as an amplifier. Since C5 is made for earphones, that means it cant drive my sennheiser hd 25 (70 Ω impedance)? How the sound signature is different from pico slim?
 
Thank you if any 1 can answer my questions. 

 

[Phredd]

  Whats the difference between C5 and C5D in the amp section? They are the same or C5D is better than C5 as an amplifier. Since C5 is made for earphones, that means it cant drive my sennheiser hd 25 (70 Ω impedance)? How the sound signature is different from pico slim?

 
The C5D is the C5 with a DAC. I believe the amps are the same. I also believe that the C5/C5D will work with high impedance headphones, depending on the sensitivity. The HD25 at 70 ohms doesn't even qualify as high impedance. I've used my C5D with both the HD700 at 150 ohms and the Westone W40 at 31 ohms. I have the volume low, but not all the way, with the W40. It does well with both at low gain.
 
Don't know anything about the pico, sorry.

 

[luisdent]

 

  Whats the difference between C5 and C5D in the amp section? They are the same or C5D is better than C5 as an amplifier. Since C5 is made for earphones, that means it cant drive my sennheiser hd 25 (70 Ω impedance)? How the sound signature is different from pico slim?

 
The C5D is the C5 with a DAC. I believe the amps are the same. I also believe that the C5/C5D will work with high impedance headphones, depending on the sensitivity. The HD25 at 70 ohms doesn't even qualify as high impedance. I've used my C5D with both the HD700 at 150 ohms and the Westone W40 at 31 ohms. I have the volume low, but not all the way, with the W40. It does well with both at low gain.
 
Don't know anything about the pico, sorry.

 
The HD600 is 300 ohms!  The c5/c5d power them with no issues.  The er4s is 100 ohms and quieter than most phones.  Still no problem powering them though.  The c5/c5d just says "give me MOAR!!!!"

 

[campj]

So C5 is birghter than the O2? I am considering buying one, but I read something along those lines somewhere in this thread and it makes me a bit apprehensive. Any clarification would be appreciated.

 

[ostewart]

It's not brighter to my ears, I think the O2 may have slightly more refined treble, but not exactly brighter.

 

[campj]

Cool, thanks. I really do love the O2, but I want something with bass boost and a smaller housing. C5 it is!

 

[Phredd]

Cool, thanks. I really do love the O2, but I want something with bass boost and a smaller housing. C5 it is!

 
The C5D works directly with the iPhone and the Apple USB CCK ($29) if you want to bypass the iPhone amp.

 

[campj]

Thanks for the tip. If only I owned an iPhone. haha

ipod Classic is my go-to, so I won't be buying a C5D. The DAC in the ipod works well enough for my needs anyway, I'm not listening to audiophile-mastered music.

 

[ostewart]

I mainly use the C5D as an amp, but it is great with my laptop when I dont want to take a huge rig around. It is a very flexible device, love it so much.

 

[zeppu08]

Any one tried to pair this to an iPod classic 5.5g (not rockbox) and m100 cans? Any feedback?

 

[miceblue]

Any one tried to pair this to an iPod classic 5.5g (not rockbox) and m100 cans? Any feedback?

Yup, well with the 5th gen, not 5.5. The line-out is kind of weird with the iPod 5th gen since you still adjust the iPod's volume, but it doesn't do anything.

Sorry for the low-quality photo; low-lighting destroys the image quality with the iPhone. >.>


Oh right, how does it sound? It has a pretty warm sound overall. I always found the iPod 5th gen to sound pretty warm and detailed with the M-100, and it's great for pop (Justin Timberlake), jazz (Fourplay) and electronic (Daft Punk). It's also relatively spacious-sounding for the M-100 and the C5/C5D and iPod 5th gen combo provides a more three-dimensional sound to the M-100, which I always thought lacked in width.

The C5/C5D and iPod 5th gen combo are my go-to rig for portable listening sessions.

 

[zeppu08]

Yup, well with the 5th gen, not 5.5. The line-out is kind of weird with the iPod 5th gen since you still adjust the iPod's volume, but it doesn't do anything.

Sorry for the low-quality photo. Low-lighting destroys the image quality with the iPhone. >.>

Nice! Thanks! Hmmm I don't get the volume adjusting part.. What do you mean by it and don't do anything? Does it bypass the iPod DAC too?

 

[miceblue]

Yup, well with the 5th gen, not 5.5. The line-out is kind of weird with the iPod 5th gen since you still adjust the iPod's volume, but it doesn't do anything.

Sorry for the low-quality photo. Low-lighting destroys the image quality with the iPhone. >.>

Nice! Thanks! Hmmm I don't get the volume adjusting part.. What do you mean by it and don't do anything? Does it bypass the iPod DAC too?

Yeah sorry, I wasn't clear on that. The iPod 5/5.5th gen both support line out, but for some reason you can still see the digital volume bar on the device (normally you can't adjust/see the digital volume). In Rockbox, the digital volume actually does change the volume level, but in the iPod operating system the volume changing doesn't do anything.

I don't believe there is any way to bypass the internal DAC of the iPod [Classic] series unless you buy an expensive (typically $500+ USD) "Apple certified" DAC unfortunately.

 

[zeppu08]

Yeah sorry, I wasn't clear on that. The iPod 5/5.5th gen both support line out, but for some reason you can still see the digital volume bar on the device (normally you can't adjust/see the digital volume). In Rockbox, the digital volume actually does change the volume level, but in the iPod operating system the volume changing doesn't do anything.

I don't believe there is any way to bypass the internal DAC of the iPod [Classic] series unless you buy an expensive (typically $500+ USD) "Apple certified" DAC unfortunately.

Ahhh.. Now I get it.. Based on your photo you are using the iPod OS right? Have you tried comparing it using rockbox OS+ the C5/C5D amp? Which one do you prefer most? SQ and EQ?