[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Daniel, can't tell if DACPort would be an upgrade from the HRT Streamer II.
What I can tell is the synergy DACPort with Ultrasone Pro750 is quite sweet.
 
I am surprised by Larry's remark above finding the DACPort warm. I find it quite neutral, forward positioning, with great presence of the mediums.
Given the dark profile of the Pro750 (I understand this is even more pronounced on the Pro900), this is a nice combination. It definitely works well with the Pro750, I'm expecting the same with the Pro900.

I don't find it warm either by me baseline.  Maybe compared to something quite bright.
 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Double post.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Daniel, can't tell if DACPort would be an upgrade from the HRT Streamer II.
What I can tell is the synergy DACPort with Ultrasone Pro750 is quite sweet.
 
I am surprised by Larry's remark above finding the DACPort warm. I find it quite neutral, forward positioning, with great presence of the mediums.
Given the dark profile of the Pro750 (I understand this is even more pronounced on the Pro900), this is a nice combination. It definitely works well with the Pro750, I'm expecting the same with the Pro900.

I do find the DACport sound to be warm, in a good way, but that doesn't mean I find it to sound dark as well. I don't think the two always go hand in hand, but many assume warm means dark too.

It sounds slightly warmer than a D4 DAC, Pico DAC, or HDP for example.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I do find the DACport sound to be warm, in a good way, but that doesn't mean I find it to sound dark as well. I don't think the two always go hand in hand, but many assume warm means dark too.

It sounds slightly warmer than a D4 DAC, Pico DAC, or HDP for example.

So does that make the DACPort warm or those other sources bright?  My DACPort is the brightest source I have though in absolute terms its more neutral w/ a hint of brightness unless I'm mistaking it's more analytical signature for brightness.  All my 8740s and NOS DAC are warmer.  Clip+ is closer but warmer still than DACPort I think.
 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

So does that make the DACPort warm or those other sources bright?  My DACPort is the brightest source I have though in absolute terms its more neutral w/ a hint of brightness unless I'm mistaking it's more analytical signature for brightness.  All my 8740s and NOS DAC are warmer.  Clip+ is closer but warmer still than DACPort I think.
 

I know you don't need "educating" but I write this to explain my point of view.  To me "warmth" covers a wide range of sound signatures, and the others are also warm sounding, just not as much.  I try not mix warm/neutral/cold or thin with dark/neutral/bright.  
 
I tend to think of warmth being in the lows and mids, and bright/dark being in the highs.  So, to me warm doesn't mean it's dark (DACport is not dark), and lack of warmth does not always mean bright.  In addition, bright doesn't mean it can't be warm at the same time (v-shape freq response).  "Cold" to me implies a lack of lower and mid register warmth or body, but it doesn't have to mean bright - I'd actually consider cold more as being "thin" in some cases.  Dark to me is the opposite of bright, but dark doesn't have to mean it's also warm.  (in a similar sense, recessed highs doesn't always mean rolled off highs.)
 
Now, in direct comparison I think the HDP is slightly brighter than DACport, and also slightly aggressive sounding just like a balanced RSA Protector -- So when the HDP is paired with a slightly aggressive headphone like HD800 the HDP doesn't synergize as well as it does with a more smooth and refined headphone like HE-6 or LCD-2.  But, I don't think the HDP is bright or overly aggressive either, although it can contribute to synergy or lack thereof with certain headphones - if it was too bright or aggressive then even using it with the HE-6 wouldn't sound as good as it does.  Meanwhile, the DACport is more refined, and balanced enough to work with a wider variety of headphone sound signatures.  
 
The iBasso D4 or Pico DAC is slightly brighter than DACport and less bright than HDP, but also less warm than DACport and similar in warmth to HDP.  Note - the nature of the HDP's sound changes noticeably for the better with a Sigma 11 PSU, and then I can't call it aggressive anymore either.  And none of these would I describe as bright, I'm talking about relative brightness in relation to each other.
 
 

 

[Anaxilus]

I agree for the most part save for a few semantic differences.  I was playing a bit loose w;/ my previous post but I've noticed people use warmth to ascribe smoothness to a sounds texture as opposed to being analytical.  For me warmth is more associated w/ sonic temperature as is coldness.  Darkness is something altogether that I associate more w/ veil and transparency in opposition to brightness.  Such is the nature of language.  Thx for the clarification of the signatures in a relative sense versus absolute terms.  Makes sense.  

 

[AVU]

I love the DacPort.  Much better Dac than the Audio-Gd Sparrow it replaced.  My only issue is with the amp.  
 
It sounds great direct to my JH13s.  But if I use it through my Pico Slim, the sound is out of this world. 
 
The problem is, I don't really need the portability of the PicoSlim (or the dacport), so I was wondering if I wouldn't just be better of spending the $800 or so on a single desktop Dac/Amp unit. There are a good many options around the 800-1000 range, from the EE minimax, with its rave reviews (though I'd need an amp - maybe a cheap M-stage would do?), to the Peachtree Decco2 with its Sabre 9006 chip, to the Centrance DacMini, to maybe an audio-gd NFB-10WF, even a Yulong D-100, which would actually be cheaper than these two.  Any thoughts from those of you who've tried some of this stuff?
 
Much appreciated!  

 

[Anaxilus]

So you are saying the Pico Slim drives the JH13 better than the DACPort?  I think my Arrow does too but its not as transparent as the DACPort.

 

[AVU]

Well, the Slim isn't a DAC, so they can't be compared 1 to 1, but yes, running from Macbook pro to Dacport to Pico Slim to JH13 is better in every way than running from the Macbook pro to DacPort to the Jh13 alone.  
 
But the slim is spendy.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Well, the Slim isn't a DAC, so they can't be compared 1 to 1, but yes, running from Macbook pro to Dacport to Pico Slim to JH13 is better in every way than running from the Macbook pro to DacPort to the Jh13 alone.  
 
But the slim is spendy.

Can you adjust gain on your macbook to the DACport?  I can on my Windows 7 platforms even though I thought I wasn't supposed to.  Seems to help out the DACPort w/ gain.  See if that brings things closer a bit if you can do it.
 

 

[AVU]

I can, depending on what program I use, but usually I'm running full gain out of Audirvana or Fidelity or Amarra 2.1
 
The DacPort sounds amazing.  It's just a bit thin.  The Slim brings out the richness in the music, softens the sharp highest edges without reducing detail, and generally performs as the best amp I've ever heard.  It's much better than the balanced Toucan, the RSA Shadow, the Sparrow A 8471 or my ibasso T3d with the JH13s - and yes, I've actually had all those amps at the same time on my desk and A/B'd them directly against one another repeatedly. But the difference of the dacport with and without the slim is not quite enough for me to justify $375, so I'm either going to stick with the DacPort alone and suck it up, or perhaps sell both and buy a bigger integrated toy.

 

[mrspeakers]

Ack.  My DACPort just bit the dust.  No light, can't be seen on USB probe, but the port is alive and other DACs work.  No we'll see how good the customer care is...
 

 

[Twinster]

That's no good. Sorry to ear that mrspeakers. How did it happen?  did it stop while using it? or just didn't came on when you connected it? Let us know the result please.

 

[mrspeakers]

It kicked the bucket while I was downstairs watching a movie.  Came up and no light.  
 

 

[rbf1138]

Some questions:
 
Would the DACport out of a MAcbook to Grado RS-2i and/or Beyer DT880 600s sound good? Right now I have a nuforce uDAC, out to either a headstage Arrow 3G or a LD 1+. Will the DACport make a substantial difference in any of the configurations with the above amps and headphones?