[ToneDeafMonk]

I am pleased to hear that actually. I love analog sounding stuff as it works quite well with headphones and IEMs I like to use.

I firmly believe that one cannot generalize DAC chips and I ended up learning this lesson time and time again. For example, My Topping D10s to me sounds rather dry and analytical while my lavaudio D600 that uses the same ES9038Q2M chips sounds more analog and relaxed. Infact that D600 is a hidden gem.

Basically I just end up having to either listen to things for myself or get word of mouth on what to expect.

I got my impressions by listening to 6 other pieces of gear I own that I know and a bunch of IEM I know thier sound signature. I am very confident of my Impressions, I just had a round of the M8iii .

When people share thier thoughts of gear you have to give context and comparisons I feel.

That being said I will listen a bunch more before I do my review as it's important to me to get it right.

 

[baskingshark]

Thanks for your answer! So, the vocals and treble also benefit?

The ears take the entire frequency spectrum as a whole and not just the sub bass.

So since the orange penon liqueur tips boost sub bass, even though the treble is not touched, the ears do perceive the signature to be slightly darker/warmer.

 

[Singaravelan]

My unit is anything but relaxed and analogue. It pushes the midrange forward to form a flat but wide and tall stage just like how my Topping G5 sounds. The midrange has that edgy crisp sound just like G5. We have to agree to disagree here. This is not the neutral detailed sound signature of CS DACs inside the likes of W4 and Aful Snowy Night, and certainly far cry from the truly sweet and analogue sound of, say, L&P P6 Pro. To my ears and my library, this is “ESS proper” sound, which some people would enjoy and the intended market would not complain.

Yes, ESS can sound anyway manufacturers want, as I usually mentioned how Shanling makes warm DAC with dual ESS in UP4.

Ah cool. Thanks.

And so I shall happily stick with my dap HiBY M300.

Btw 634ears Miroak-II arrived and love is in the air. Will let you hear @Leonarfd 's thoughts of em in his proper YouTube review.

 

[Rambone]

I got my impressions by listening to 6 other pieces of gear I own that I know and a bunch of IEM I know thier sound signature. I am very confident of my Impressions, I just had a round of the M8iii .

When people share thier thoughts of gear you have to give context and comparisons I feel.

That being said I will listen a bunch more before I do my review as it's important to me to get it right.

I think the R4 is going to be a pretty significant release due to the entry level price and specs, much like how I thought the Tempotec V6 was when it came out at the early bird price. The only thing that I think kind of killed the V6 for me is the old version of Android and it really could use an extra gig of RAM as it really got sluggish over time. I'm glad you are putting the R4 up against a bunch of other DAPs for comparison. I will be looking forward to your eventual review whether that is written or on your youtube channel (or both ).

 

[Mr.HiAudio]

My R4 sounds like a relaxed analog set not ESS like at all quite laid back in comparison.

Post in thread 'Cayin N3Ultra: an Entry-level Portable DAP that Delivers a Complete Vacuum Tube Audio Experience' https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cay...um-tube-audio-experience.971920/post-18081729

One thing is for certian you can not generalize DAC Chips it more about the rest of the chain inside the unit and how it's implemented that makes electronics sound the way they do.

A ESS can sound warm and and A AKM bright or possible transparent.

what about Hiby Project Ace ?

 

[Leonarfd]

Ah cool. Thanks.

And so I shall happily stick with my dap HiBY M300.

Btw 634ears Miroak-II arrived and love is in the air. Will let you hear @Leonarfd 's thoughts of em in his proper YouTube review.

Proper and proper will be a entry video for me to try it out. Been to busy to edit it ready, I'll see if I have some spare energy this week

I'm glad you like the sound of Miroak-II

 

[kalibri]

Enjoy.

Thanks... I guess

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

what about Hiby Project Ace ?

It's burning in after the honeymoon stage but first up is the DITA Project M

 

[Okcerg]

One thing is for certian you can not generalize DAC Chips it more about the rest of the chain inside the unit and how it's implemented that makes electronics sound the way they do.

Yeah, the whole chain tune the sound. I've done some opamp swapping and soldering better capacitors, and it surprised me how big the improvements were.

 

[Singaravelan]

Proper and proper will be a entry video for me to try it out. Been to busy to edit it ready, I'll see if I have some spare energy this week

I'm glad you like the sound of Miroak-II

hope you find the time and the energy. Go for it I say! Propah!

And yes loving the tonal soundscape! It has a way of showering rather than harshly throwing out certain sounds/tones that I like. And yet slams when needed. Came yesterday. Great weekend already!

Switched to divinus eartips for better grip than stock. Which tips did you eventually settle on? Quite like the elegantly sheathed stock cable; so won't be changing now.

 

[Leonarfd]

hope you find the time and the energy. Go for it I say! Propah!

And yes loving the tonal soundscape! It has a way of showering rather than harshly throwing out certain sounds/tones that I like. And yet slams when needed. Came yesterday. Great weekend already!

Switched to divinus eartips for better grip than stock. Which tips did you eventually settle on? Quite like the elegantly sheathed stock cable; so won't be changing now.

Oh yeah, it has a tuning that is excellent with Ahab or just doom metal in general. Full and fun sound, keeps it also clear and separated under busy parts.

I bet people who like Simgot models like EA1000 and want a more organic and better tuning (subjective ofc) would love the wood back version of Miroak-II.

• More organic and fun
• More sub bass extension
• Better bass texture due to decay, but not slow either
• Mids more natural and bever shouty/metallic
• Not as sharp sounding while similarly airy

Downside is that its not available to order off the shelf, longer wait time for delivery as he is making it on demand.
Also slightly more expensive also, around 350usd with delivery.

But it's made by a excellent Japanese maker who really cares.

 

[Jmop]

Speaking of M, anything here on the Calyx K dac other than that one review? Is it even readily available? I owned the Calyx M years ago briefly, quite detailed from what I remember, with some influence in the upper bass.

 

[r31ya]

Seems fairly similar to the Lings, which I love. If the top end has a tad more controlled extension with less grain, I might bite?

i was posting it through my phone so couldn't add much

need to note that it have 3 bass eq switch and treble cut/down switch.
yes, treble cut. it lower the treble by 1db when its ON.

This is every switch off vs every switch on

also vs EA500LM

 

[activatorfly]

Friday Morning thoughts as I sip on my coffee:

HiBy R4: I will buy this the second it goes for sale. My Tempotec V6 is on life support. I basically live on HiBy's R4 product page, waiting.

i\o audio Volare: Tempting but going to wait for (more) reviews before diving into this one unless the consensus is that this is a panty dropper and rush to buy buy buy. There are so many exciting offerings coming in the near future.

Trio: Still loving this set and still can't decide on if I like UDUD or DUDU better.

iFi Zen DAC 3: I see that this just recently came out! There isn't any reason for me to upgrade from my Zen Air DAC but there are a lot of nice upgrades here for the price, if we compare the previous models. It's a shame I just replaced my Zen Air DAC a few months ago due to failure, I would have picked up the new one.

Moondrop Dusk: Mine should be here in a few days, how exciting.

Moondrop Cosmo: So tempting, waiting on reviews for this bad boy. I absolutely LOVE the PARA and next to the XS is one of the best planar headphones in my collection. The only bad remark I have for the PARA is that the sub and mid bass is a little underwhelming, even after double iFi Xbass boosts but it's serviceable. I'm looking to see what the Cosmo can do to satisfy my bass needs.

iFi Go Bar Kensei: Would absolutely buy this as we all know I love iFi but the form factor, cost and power doesn't interest me, especially when something like the iFi iDSD Signature exists which blends portable and desktop for much cheaper, often times can be had for $299 which is insane. I would love to see K2HD make it to the Zen, NEO and iDSD series. I have had my eye on the NEO 2 for awhile but perhaps it is time to wait and see what happens with K2HD.

ISN-Audio-T-OCC: Nice looking cable. I'm torn wishing it had a modular option.

Schiit Audio: Been playing with Magni Heretic and Magni Unity. Fantastic little amps. I can't believe the Heretic and 3+ is on sale/closeout for $60. These amps are a no brainer over stuff like the Liquid Spark and I am not sure if there is anything else in the budget that comes close. I have not directly compared the two Magni's on the same DAC yet. I do have the DAC module outfitted in my Unity. I kind of want to try JDS labs stuff but I am all budget tier amped out at the moment with these new additions and what I already have.

D'accord the aesthetically cool R4 looks way more efficient than my R6 Pro (- fortunately mine never had any battery issues.) Alas the poor snapdragon chip & minimal ram makes it annoyingly unresponsive, whereas the R4 interface looks snappy af - a definite instabuy methinks !!

 

[Singaravelan]

i was posting it through my phone so couldn't add much

need to note that it have 3 bass eq switch and treble cut/down switch.
yes, treble cut. it lower the treble by 1db when its ON.

This is every switch off vs every switch on



also vs EA500LM

So how is it supposed to play out? What's the sound signature expected based on these graphs? I have them on pre-order in my country
Not sure when stocks arrive