[Twinster]

Regarding "Gapless" on the DX50. I believed it won't ever be perfect due to the small click noise between each track. (the Colorfly C3 got the same problem) as per an earlier post from iBasso so maybe we should just enjoy the remaining 99% of the music.

On another note I've received my new Vsonic GR07 this week and they sound vey good with the DX50. Amazing price/SQ ratio at $135.

 

[jj69]

I've been tempted to fork over for a high capacity S3 battery. Batteries Plus (there's one near where I live so no shipping) has a Ray-O-Vac 4800mAh S3 battery for about $45. Anyone around have experience with these or similar?

 
The high capacity S3 batteries are usually oversized and include a new case back for the phone to acommodate the added thickness.  I doubt it will fit in the DX50. 
 
Watch out with Batteries+ in general, as they tend to be wildly overpriced.  I've had good luck with the Anker brand of replacement batteries, readily available on Amazon for a fraction of Batteries+ prices. 
 
I just got a brand new Samsung S3 battery (bought mom an S3 for Christmas), but it says "Made in China" on it.  So it's not one of those magic "Made in Japan" batteries. 

 

[Varoudis]

Guys, is it better to drive it around 220 to 230 volume or up the gain to mid?
Based on the comments about the digital volume and the lost bits i believe that the closer to max might be better.
What do yiu think?

 

[musicheaven]

Guys, is it better to drive it around 220 to 230 volume or up the gain to mid?
Based on the comments about the digital volume and the lost bits i believe that the closer to max might be better.
What do yiu think?

I was told once from an amp/dap manufacturer which I won't release the name not because the information is wrong but he does not want to be bothered answering those questions any longer; put the gain as low as possible and crank the volume to max for digital pot that is the only way to go else your battery will drain more quickly and you won't like it.

By the way digital volume control is just sending digital signal to the dac to up or down the volume so the dac will attenuate the output accordingly however as you go lower on the amplitude scale the noise to signal ratio will get worse because the noise isn't attenuated with the volume control it is a component dependent on the discrete digital components of the dap, kind of a floor if you will. So that is why higher is better because the signal to noise ratio is higher.

Here you go

 

[BeBop Lives]

Wow 1.2.2 and you have no issues?

That sounds like a lab rat experiment to me

"You can put a tuxedo on a goat but its still a goat".  What works for you just may not work for others.  Try and remember that before you pontificate.

 

[ratinox]

The high capacity S3 batteries are usually oversized and include a new case back for the phone to acommodate the added thickness.  I doubt it will fit in the DX50.

Bah. That's what I was afraid of. That explains the colored case listed in the specs.

Watch out with Batteries+ in general, as they tend to be wildly overpriced.  I've had good luck with the Anker brand of replacement batteries, readily available on Amazon for a fraction of Batteries+ prices.

A bit, yes. A S3 battery pack direct from Samsung is $25 plus $4 shipping plus MA sales tax. The comparable one from Batteries+ is $36 plus MA sales tax. The only benefit to Batteries+ for me is that they're local. I mean not more than about 2 miles from where I live.

Anker standard capacity battery for S3, two-pack for $28 plus shipping plus tax. Yeah, making a note of that to add to something else to get the free shipping.

 

[musicheaven]

"You can put a tuxedo on a goat but its still a goat".  What works for you just may not work for others.  Try and remember that before you pontificate.

A Wolfe in sheep's clothing is still a Wolfe

 

[ratinox]

Guys, is it better to drive it around 220 to 230 volume or up the gain to mid?
Based on the comments about the digital volume and the lost bits i believe that the closer to max might be better.
What do yiu think?

From a purely electrical view point, less gain is better. Less gain = less distortion = cleaner signal out = better-sounding music assuming your headphones or speakers are sensitive enough to make a difference. Less gain also means less power draw which can be important for portable kit.

 

[musicheaven]

From a purely electrical view point, less gain is better. Less gain = less distortion = cleaner signal out = better-sounding music assuming your headphones or speakers are sensitive enough to make a difference. Less gain also means less power draw which can be important for portable kit.

No it ain't plus those dacs are built to be driven as I mentioned their SNR is better as you drive the dac too higher output, lower will just allow signal to barely float above noise, there are great reads about the subject.

If they have done their work right you are more likely to have issues with output impedance than low/high electrical signals.

 

[Varoudis]

Thanks. This is what the electrical eng knowledge told me too.

 

[ratinox]

No it ain't plus those dacs are built to be driven as I mentioned their SNR is better as you drive the dac too higher output, lower will just allow signal to barely float above noise, there are great reads about the subject. .

Wait. What? I just wrote that you want the lowest gain setting on the switch. Which you do unless you have high impedance headphones that need the extra power.

 

[Wapiti]

Guys, is it better to drive it around 220 to 230 volume or up the gain to mid?
Based on the comments about the digital volume and the lost bits i believe that the closer to max might be better.
What do yiu think?

As with most things, it is compromise.
 
A digital volume control its at its most transparent at its highest setting.
 
An analog volume control works by shunting some of the gain to ground.  Often the control sounds best at around its mid-point where roughly half of the gain is shunted, and half is sent to the output.
 
I thus would suggest low analog gain (the switch on low) and make up for the volume using the digital volume control.
 
Try various options and see what you like best.

 

[Stonephace]

Wait. What? I just wrote that you want the lowest gain setting on the switch. Which you do unless you have high impedance headphones that need the extra power.

So, and I'm probably not understanding anyone's arguments properly, my default starting point should be to have the gain setting at 'lo' and then increase the volume to a level I like. If I can't reach that volume level on 'lo', I should switch to 'mid', then rinse and repeat?

 

[Sorensiim]

Or, you know, you could just use whatever setting sounds best to you. 
 
When I'm using the DX50 sans amp (as I did today), I have it on high gain, 170-180 volume. That's with my ~40ohm ciems.

 

[Cotnijoe]

Haha always trust them ears