[thecrow]

@thecrow


Little confused about the sentence, "Having said that....I have found, for me, the odac is a fair/ok dac for its price but the O2 is a great neutral/transparent dac well priced too. I'd recommend it to my own mother easily."


You said the O2 is a great neutral/transparent DAC, but I thought the O2 was an amp?  Are you saying the O2 is an awesome amp, but the ODAC is only decent?  

 

I wrote "having said that" as I just wrote before that to essentially take opinions with a grain of salt.

As others have said nothing here is as good as people make it out to be and never as bad as they say either. Views all have some preferences or are tainted with personal biases. norhing beats having a listen yourself.

My opinion is the O2 is very good. If I was in the same position gain I would buy the O2 (on its own merits) and then buy the Odac (Almost by default) to make the pigeon pair. I'd still be happy with that combo. If I just wanted a dac I'd probably look around and compare others to the Odac and spend another 2 weeks of constant reading here to make a decision.

I found the Odac to be quite similar to the dac in my fiio x5. So quite reasonable and fair.

Odac 7/10
O2 9/10

As a combo 8/10.

A great combo at a good price.

 

[Meremoth]

I wrote "having said that" as I just wrote before that to essentially take opinions with a grain of salt.

As others have said nothing here is as good as people make it out to be and never as bad as they say either. Views all have some preferences or are tainted with personal biases. norhing beats having a listen yourself.

My opinion is the O2 is very good. If I was in the same position gain I would buy the O2 (on its own merits) and then buy the Odac (Almost by default) to make the pigeon pair. I'd still be happy with that combo. If I just wanted a dac I'd probably look around and compare others to the Odac and spend another 2 weeks of constant reading here to make a decision.

I found the Odac to be quite similar to the dac in my fiio x5. So quite reasonable and fair.

Odac 7/10
O2 9/10

As a combo 8/10.

A great combo at a good price.

 
Whatever I get, I pretty much want it to be neutral and transparent for the most part.  Not that I don't like some color, but I want the color to come from my headphones and not my amp or DAC.
 
With that being said, is there another DAC, in the price range of the ODAC, that would suit my needs/wants and would go great with the O2 and TH-900?  

As of now I'm pretty set on the O2, ODAC, and TH-900's, but I'm always open to suggestions.
 
Thanks again.  

 

[thecrow]

There's also the Schiit magni and modi. I read they are very similar. Some say the odac is a little more natural on the upper end.

I would go the O2 and pair it with the odac. But have a read of the others and see what you think.

If you go the schiit modi dac then I believe you need to go to the next highest gain settings option as the powerbout of the modi is a little less than the odac. You can confirm those option with jdslabs at the end.

My choice at that price point would simply be the 02 and odac.

I upgraded to a $600 dac and $1000 and got a meatier sound with broader soundstage. But the odac and O2 were a great comparison to those (like a younger brother) at their prices of about 1/4 of those. Great value for $400

Good luck and have fun.

 

[Meremoth]

There's also the Schiit magni and modi. I read they are very similar. Some say the odac is a little more natural on the upper end.

I would go the O2 and pair it with the odac. But have a read of the others and see what you think.

If you go the schiit modi dac then I believe you need to go to the next highest gain settings option as the powerbout of the modi is a little less than the odac. You can confirm those option with jdslabs at the end.

My choice at that price point would simply be the 02 and odac.

I upgraded to a $600 dac and $1000 and got a meatier sound with broader soundstage. But the odac and O2 were a great comparison to those (like a younger brother) at their prices of about 1/4 of those. Great value for $400

Good luck and have fun.

 
What gave you the broader soundstage?  Your new DAC?  What's specifically different about your new DAC, compared to the ODAC, that increased your soundstage?  Does your upgraded amp have anything to do with the wider soundstage?  If so, same question, specifically what's the different between the O2 and your new amp that would 'cause this?
 
Meatier sound?  Does the meatier sound come from coloration that your new amp and DAC add, or are there specific technical details that are different resulting in a broader soundstage (and by broader, do you also mean broader and better, or just broader and subjectively different)?  
 
Thanks, bro.

 

[thecrow]

What gave you the broader soundstage?  Your new DAC?  What's specifically different about your new DAC, compared to the ODAC, that increased your soundstage?  Does your upgraded amp have anything to do with the wider soundstage?  If so, same question, specifically what's the different between the O2 and your new amp that would 'cause this?

Meatier sound?  Does the meatier sound come from coloration that your new amp and DAC add, or are there specific technical details that are different resulting in a broader soundstage (and by broader, do you also mean broader and better, or just broader and subjectively different)?  

Thanks, bro.

The new dac has more clarity and precision. Look up the review on whathifi on the irdac.

The amp has more power so that resulted in more vibrancy and definition. Bottom end is more solid. Everything is richer. Still transparent.

Maybe think of it as high def tv picture. Richer. Deeper. More defined. All that kind of stuff.

Read any review on the Burson audio soloist.

Good luck with everything

 

[Meremoth]

The new dac has more clarity and precision. Look up the review on whathifi on the irdac.

The amp has more power so that resulted in more vibrancy and definition. Bottom end is more solid. Everything is richer. Still transparent.

Maybe think of it as high def tv picture. Richer. Deeper. More defined. All that kind of stuff.

Read any review on the Burson audio soloist.

Good luck with everything

 
Awesome, thanks for the response, crow.  
 
I've heard tons of good things about the Soloist.  Not sure I'm ready to spend $1k on an amp, despite dropping that much on headphones, lol.  I'll still read what you suggested, though; might be something I'll pick up a couple years from now.  But going from onboard sound to O2+ODAC should keep me fairly content for awhile to come, or at least I hope so.  
 

 

[thecrow]

I'm not suggesting you should buy it. Im just loving it.
You'll have your own preferences as you go.

 

[Takeanidea]

I have an Odac 02 combo that i won at a headfi meet. I tend to use it without mains as a Dac going into my Fidelity AudioHPA 200 SE.
It's pretty good in it's own right but I'm afraid i don't have the TH900. I use the Alpha Dogs and HD800S on it. I'll have another listen to the 02 Odac and tell you.

 

[Meremoth]

I'm not suggesting you should buy it. Im just loving it.
You'll have your own preferences as you go.

 
Well, I still appreciate your opinion.  Actually was looking at the Conductor for awhile, but once I read more about the O2+ODAC, I decided that was probably the best bet for my very first headphone amp and DAC.  
 
For easy to drive headphones (like the AD900X and TH900), how much of an upgrade would the Conductor be vs O2+ODAC in your opinion?
 
I've already forgotten, did you say you had a pair of TH-900's?  
 

I have an Odac 02 combo that i won at a headfi meet. I tend to use it without mains as a Dac going into my Fidelity AudioHPA 200 SE.
It's pretty good in it's own right but I'm afraid i don't have the TH900. I use the Alpha Dogs and HD800S on it. I'll have another listen to the 02 Odac and tell you.

 
Awesome, thanks.  I'll be here.  

 

[thecrow]

Correct. Great bet for your first.

Hd800s are mine.

After you get to know your headphones, and what you like and what you're after then go the next step when ready.

Enjoy what you have. Enjoy. Don't get caught up in always looking for equipment. I know did that for a while.

I have not heard the conductor (the dac). Just the amp part (more or less in the soloist). Sort out your headphones and what you like and then look for dacs and Amps to best suit. Read the appropriate threads, PM a few people that have what you are thinking of and listen to gear when you can.

No rush.

For me when I'm thinking of spending $2000 on amp and dac, let alone $1000 in better be what I'm looking for and bang for buck.

You may even change headphone preferences.

Who knows? But yes a great first bet.

It was like my first decent headphones - the athm50x s - what I call "gateway headphones". Beware and have fun!!!!

 

[Takeanidea]

The O2 ODac has had an hour or so of headtime this morning through my HD800s listening to a variety of acoustic pop and rock tracks mainly from the 80s recorded from vinyl.
 
It runs these 300 OHM phones on normal gain between halfway and 60% on the volume in a quiet room. I switched between the 02 and my HPA 200 SE halfway through each song and all testing was done without any science.
 
There was sparkle and low end impact through the 02 ; through the HPA the instruments sounded more realistic , the sound had more air , the bass had more feel. The HPA 200 SE was almost impossible to volume match to the 02 because the sound was fuller.
 
The HPA 200 SE was a limited edition run done by Fidelity Audio (I was the first to have this done) and this represents £850 of headphone amp, so it's not surprising it outperforms the O2. So....it's worth listening to lots of units before you make the plunge.

 

[thecrow]

The O2 ODac has had an hour or so of headtime this morning through my HD800s listening to a variety of acoustic pop and rock tracks mainly from the 80s recorded from vinyl.

It runs these 300 OHM phones on normal gain between halfway and 60% on the volume in a quiet room. I switched between the 02 and my HPA 200 SE halfway through each song and all testing was done without any science.

There was sparkle and low end impact through the 02 ; through the HPA the instruments sounded more realistic , the sound had more air , the bass had more feel. The HPA 200 SE was almost impossible to volume match to the 02 because the sound was fuller.

The HPA 200 SE was a limited edition run done by Fidelity Audio (I was the first to have this done) and this represents £850 of headphone amp, so it's not surprising it outperforms the O2. So....it's worth listening to lots of units before you make the plunge.

I found that with my soloist.

O2 was good. A little bit of tweaking on the eq helped to Season it to ones preferences.

Then along came my Soloist (at 4 times the price). No need for an eq. And richer.

But hey..... That's with hd800s too.

I would still enjoy my hd800s with the O2. But now I enjoy them more.

$1000 v $250

Great on a budget.

 

[upstateguy]

 

What gave you the broader soundstage?  Your new DAC?  What's specifically different about your new DAC, compared to the ODAC, that increased your soundstage?  Does your upgraded amp have anything to do with the wider soundstage?  If so, same question, specifically what's the different between the O2 and your new amp that would 'cause this?

Meatier sound?  Does the meatier sound come from coloration that your new amp and DAC add, or are there specific technical details that are different resulting in a broader soundstage (and by broader, do you also mean broader and better, or just broader and subjectively different)?  

Thanks, bro.

The new dac has more clarity and precision. Look up the review on whathifi on the irdac.

The amp has more power so that resulted in more vibrancy and definition. Bottom end is more solid. Everything is richer. Still transparent.

Maybe think of it as high def tv picture. Richer. Deeper. More defined. All that kind of stuff.

Read any review on the Burson audio soloist.

Good luck with everything

 
For what it's worth, you can't get more transparent than transparent and the O2 combo measures really transparent. 
 
The deeper and richer sound you speak of is nothing more than coloration.
 

  The O2 ODac has had an hour or so of headtime this morning through my HD800s listening to a variety of acoustic pop and rock tracks mainly from the 80s recorded from vinyl.
 
It runs these 300 OHM phones on normal gain between halfway and 60% on the volume in a quiet room. I switched between the 02 and my HPA 200 SE halfway through each song and all testing was done without any science.
 
There was sparkle and low end impact through the 02 ; through the HPA the instruments sounded more realistic , the sound had more air , the bass had more feel. The HPA 200 SE was almost impossible to volume match to the 02 because the sound was fuller.
 
The HPA 200 SE was a limited edition run done by Fidelity Audio (I was the first to have this done) and this represents £850 of headphone amp, so it's not surprising it outperforms the O2. So....it's worth listening to lots of units before you make the plunge.

 
When compared with the O2 combo, a fuller sound with more bass is the hallmark of added coloration.
 
Edit: how did you try to volume match?

 

[Takeanidea]

I wish my ears would be content with paper measurements. My wallet would be a lot better off with an ipod and a set of er4ps

 

[upstateguy]

I wish my ears would be content with paper measurements. My wallet would be a lot better off with an ipod and a set of er4ps

 
I'd be willing to bet that your ears, with in their capacities, completely agree with paper measurements.
 
Btw, it is perfectly alright to prefer a bass boost over neutral.  Just don't confuse coloration with neutral.