[Caruryn]

Sure if you don't mind colouring the sound.As someone who has the dreaded se846 i prefer using it straight from ho of my sony f805 than pico slim(still great though) or cayin c5 depending on mood and genre.

 

[Mmet]

  Sure if you don't mind colouring the sound.As someone who has the dreaded se846 i prefer using it straight from ho of my sony f805 than pico slim(still great though) or cayin c5 depending on mood and genre.

but i think that the F800 is colored too

!! ... they are little bright and i find them harsh and metallic treble  ... may be with your bass great se846 it pairs well with it ?! 

 

[ClieOS]

Your right there should have been a low power and higher power setting, I regret that it doesn't.
However do give one a listen and a good look, it sounds mystical to me. The power seems like 60mw, or more, (maybe due to the super cap). So it is nothing like this baby Walkman. And the SQ is musical magic.

It also has a great build, it feels great to hold, Sony has made a killer DAP with the ZX2.

 
I hear you.
 

  ifi amps look ugly and huge bricks.. i'm not concerned with hiss I have experience it yeah but doesn't bother me, butyes I want an amp to givemore bite to my headphones

 
I have the 'slim and beautiful' department covered as well. But what could I say? I am more about function than form (not to say these ain't great in their own way)
 

 

 

[Caruryn]

  but i think that the F800 is colored too

!! ... they are little bright and i find them harsh and metallic treble  ... may be with your bass great se846 it pairs well with it ?! 

It has all those things you said.It also has the musicality of a sony player and yes impedance plays a factor especially with se846.With that player though and the paltry 5mW amp forget about precision.Vol 28 too low,vol 29 a bit loud.A10 won't have such problems,though don't know about hissing.

 

[Mmet]

  It has all those things you said.It also has the musicality of a sony player and yes impedance plays a factor especially with se846.With that player though and the paltry 5mW amp forget about precision.Vol 28 too low,vol 29 a bit loud.A10 won't have such problems,though don't know about hissing.

yes it has the musicality of sony player ... very true ....and yes A10 don't have that problem .. but i don't recall that there is vol. numeration in the F800 it was just 2 sliders .. the master vol. and app vol. which was very confusing to the OCD guy inside me ... which to be raised to full and playing with the other to achieve max sound quality  ??!!

  and about the hissing A-10 hiss a LOT less than the F800 with se535 ... don't know about your shures !

 

[Caruryn]

  yes it has the musicality of sony player ... very true ....and yes A10 don't have that problem .. but i don't recall that there is vol. numeration in the F800 it was just 2 sliders .. the master vol. and app vol. which was very confusing to the OCD guy inside me ... which to be raised to full and playing with the other to achieve max sound quality  ??!!

  and about the hissing A-10 hiss a LOT less than the F800 with se535 ... don't know about your shures !

It has 30 steps.You haven't counted them yet

? 

 

[Mmet]

actually i gave it to a friend ! 

 

 

[Mmet]

   
I hear you.
 
 
I have the 'slim and beautiful' department covered as well. But what could I say? I am more about function than form (not to say these ain't great in their own way)
 

 

the Dignis case looks awesome  ... cool rig .. i think i may get one of these cases too  ... but confused a litle  about the color ... black or red would suite the silver one ... i want to know the exact degree of red of these cases ... as photos don't show the exact one !  
and other question ... what is the improvements expected from that rig vs. a stand alone walkman ? 

 

[gerelmx1986]

 
I have the 'slim and beautiful' department covered as well. But what could I say? I am more about function than form (not to say these ain't great in their own way)
 

 

That's the amp I want, the oppo HA-2, so please tell me what improvemnts are vs stand alone Walkman, how does it sound uding the digital out Walkman cable and how it sounds using the analogue out fiio L5?

 

[The Walrus]

   
I hear you.
 
 
I have the 'slim and beautiful' department covered as well. But what could I say? I am more about function than form (not to say these ain't great in their own way)
 

 

That looks great. This low output of the DAC section of A10 really makes me want to buy a DAC/AMP and retire my E12... But with a limited budget, at the moment I can afford either a high-end headphone or a DAC/AMP. What do you suggest?  Which will make the greater impact on SQ? (My intuition tells me to audition some headphones first...)    

 

[The Walrus]

By the way, is there a cable directly from WM Port to mUSB of the DAC? Or only WMC-NWH10 ?

 

[gerelmx1986]

That looks great. This low output of the DAC section of A10 really makes me want to buy a DAC/AMP and retire my E12... But with a limited budget, at the moment I can afford either a high-end headphone or a DAC/AMP. What do you suggest?  Which will make the greater impact on SQ? (My intuition tells me to audition some headphones first...)    

The DAC doesn't contribute to the Low Output sir... is the AMP. the dac of this machine is so lovely that i will get the oppo-HA-2 and use via the abalogue OUT

, don't want that SABRE GLARE of the oppo DAC
 
and yes only the WMC-NWH10 is possible there is no other option too Bad

 

[ClieOS]

 
That's the amp I want, the oppo HA-2, so please tell me what improvemnts are vs stand alone Walkman, how does it sound uding the digital out Walkman cable and how it sounds using the analogue out fiio L5?

 
HA-2 arguably has a better (*though not vastly better) amp section than iDSD micro, despite being much less powerful. It is however much more neutral and transparent. But the DAC section isn't as good. Like all ESS's DAC, the ES9018K2M in HA-2 sounds a bit drier and brighter than it should, where the DAC in iDSD micro is fluid and musical without being colored in any way. As standalone amp, I prefer HA-2 over iDSD micro. But as DAC+amp as a whole, I prefer iDSD micro over HA-2. That being said, they are both excellent DAC+amp of their own right. You can easy pay double the price for another DAC+amp without seeing any real improvement - and that's after I auditioned gears like Sony PHA-3 and Chord Hugo.
 

 

That looks great. This low output of the DAC section of A10 really makes me want to buy a DAC/AMP and retire my E12... But with a limited budget, at the moment I can afford either a high-end headphone or a DAC/AMP. What do you suggest?  Which will make the greater impact on SQ? (My intuition tells me to audition some headphones first...)    

 
In most cases, I'll suggest a headphone first as it will be a much more obvious and noticeable upgrade. Only when you have a headphone that you are happy with, then I'll suggest DAC/amp. Of course, it also depends on how well that headphone can be driven by your current gear. For example, I won't recommend you to get a Sennheiser HD800 if you are gonna drive it straight out of A10.
 

  By the way, is there a cable directly from WM Port to mUSB of the DAC? Or only WMC-NWH10 ?

 
WMC-NWH10 must be used for A10 to have USB DAC host function (so you must use another OYG cable from WMC-NWH10 to the USB DAC). There is a single report that one particular Chinese cable can work with HA-2 without WMC-NWH10, but I have my doubt on it and still waiting to see if OPPO can confirm it.
 

  The DAC doesn't contribute to the Low Output sir... is the AMP. the dac of this machine is so lovely that i will get the oppo-HA-2 and use via the abalogue OUT

, don't want that SABRE GLARE of the oppo DAC
 
and yes only the WMC-NWH10 is possible there is no other option too Bad

 
Pretty sure @The Walrus is talking about DAC's line-out voltage being low. Given it is a line-out, it would have been the signal coming directly out of the DAC, before it reaches the amp, assuming Sony has implemented it the right way.

 

[gerelmx1986]

@ClieOS thanks for the info about the HA-2, have you auctioned the JDS Labs C5... fi so, how it compares to the HA-2? it looks tempting at 189 USD unfortunately amazon des not sell it to Mexico (C5) that's why i am leaning more towards the HA-2 (oppo has its store online that ships to mexico)
 
forgot to tell you, my cup of tea is classical music except 20th "neo classical"so i dislike coloured amps or dac/amps,infact i some how hate my XBA-H3 due to the boomy bass

 

[ClieOS]

  @ClieOS thanks for the info about the HA-2, have you auctioned the JDS Labs C5... fi so, how it compares to the HA-2? it looks tempting at 189 USD unfortunately amazon des not sell it to Mexico (C5) that's why i am leaning more towards the HA-2 (oppo has its store online that ships to mexico)

 
I do own a JDS Labs C5,  As far as being a pure amp, I'll say HA-2 and C5 are pretty close. I'll say technically C5 seems just a bit more capable, though the difference to my ear is pretty small. I'll have to put HA-2 to measurement as well as carefully A/B'ing to really tell them apart, which I haven't done yet. But at least to my ears they are about equally good so far.