[shotgunshane]

Already got the red one.

Absolutely love it.

My new portable rig is iphone 4s + Go-Dap X + FitEar To Go! 334

Such a tease. I have 2 of the 3. Bring on the impressions and a few pics.

 

[mtthefirst]

Quote:

Such a tease. I have 2 of the 3. Bring on the impressions and a few pics.

Here is my impression. I owned FiiO E11, TF10, and W4R too.
iphone 4s+Go-Dap X:
The improvement from without amp or with E11 to the Go-Dap X is incredible. The details that I never heard before with the previous setting come alive. With more details in low, mid, and high. However, the quantity of bass is somehow lagging while mid and high are superb. This might be the characteristic of OpAmp MUSES8920. I didn't try the other OpAmp OPA2134. Bass boost function will bring back the bass with slightly loss in clarity but that is acceptable. From what I feel, MUSES8920 improve mid and high not to the next level but getting closer. TF10 might get some push back in low but mid is improving a lot while high is extended further. W4R's bass is completely gone T_T but high become alive. TG334 might be the winner here in term of improvement. High become clear and more forward comparable to mid. Bass is a bit gone but tighter and more details. Sound stage is not that wider but definitely deeper compare to E11.

 

[shotgunshane]

Thanks for the quick impressions. I think I read another set of go-dap impressions that were similar to yours about losing a little bass but greatly improved mids and highs. Good to know its a clear step or two over the Fiio stuff.

I wonder how much the V-moda version will deviate from this sound?

 

[tzjin]

Is Vmoda licensing another version again?

 

[mtthefirst]

Quote:

Thanks for the quick impressions. I think I read another set of go-dap impressions that were similar to yours about losing a little bass but greatly improved mids and highs. Good to know its a clear step or two over the Fiio stuff.
I wonder how much the V-moda version will deviate from this sound?

 
Somehow I can't manage to post a picture in this forum. Here is some pictures that I put on other forum. Yes, it in Thai language.
 
http://forum.munkonggadget.com/detail.php?id=85707

 

[mtthefirst]

I just notice that bass boost function won't work in USB DAC mode.

 

[yellowssm]

what are the pros and cons of getting this vs the fiio e17

 

[AnakChan]

what are the pros and cons of getting this vs the fiio e17

AFAIK,this is the first portable DAC/Amp that officially supports iDevices & USB audio. E17 is USB audio only.

You may wanna jump to the very start of the thread to see what the X has to offer.

 

[tzjin]

Sony is making another DAC/Amp for both PC and iDevice. I wish companies caught onto this idea earlier. If you already are building a nice DAC, you may as well increase its versatility.

 

[AnakChan]

VentureCraft has shared me this video clip of a Samsung Galaxy S3 (Android JB?? Let me confirm!!) with the Go-DAP X :-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKtXfbiWeFg&feature=youtu.be

So, if this works, then the Go-DAP X is not just Apple iDevice, PC USB, but also Android JB USB Audio compatible.

 

[cyberalpha11]

Thought I'd bring your post to this thread instead of the Denon since it really doesn't have much to do with the Denon's (unless we're talking about DAC/Amp headphone synergy).

Yep, it seem anything with iAP support seems to be pricey - Go-DAP, HP-P1, or CLAS - thx to Apple. USB DACs on the other hand are much cheaper. Nothing much can be done about that unless someone manages to convince Apple to support USB DACs on their iDevices.

Within the iAP supported DAC/Amps though, the Go-DAP 4.0/X is probably the cheapest starting from the base model. By the time you upgrade the OpAmps, etc. then it's slightly cheaper than the HP-P1. The CLAS on the other hand needs a budget for an external amp still so ends up being the most expensive option (but it's a good DAC and combined with the Rx Mk3 Amp makes a really good sounding package).

There are ways to get some USB DACs working with iPad/iPhone. With the iPad, some DACs need to find ways to fit in under the 20mW limitation set by iOS 4.2. Alternatively is to carry around a power pack for a USB hub (i.e. powered USB hub). That gets bulky - not to mention a workaround and who knows what Apple will do next to kill this option. Similarly, for the iPhone, you'd have to jailbreak the iPhone to use the CCK (designed for the iPad), to use a USB DAC. Although from a geek techout perspective these options are cool, they're subject to change whenever Apple finds ways to close this loophole.

That's why the Go-DAP X has so far been the only DAC/Amp that officially supports both USB and iAP in a single package - for ~$420 (based on today's exchange rates), that's not too bad considering the other alternatives, HP-P1 or CLAS are more expensive and are limited to the iDevices only.

	Go-DAP X	Go-DAP 4.0/VAmp	HP-P1	CLAS	USB DAC/Amp
Official iPad Support	Yes	No but works via cable	Yes	Yes	No but luck of draw if it works with CCK
Official iPhone Support	Yes	Yes iPhone 4/4S only	Yes	Yes	No but may work with Jailbreak, Cydia CameraConnector with CCK
Official iPod Classic Support	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Official PC Support	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Additional costs				External Amp Required
Comments	OpAmp Upgradeable	OpAmp Upgradeable Most integrated package	Can be used DAC-Only with external Amp
Product Cost	~$420	~$382.50	~$637	$579	From ~$70

Portable DAC/Amp Comparison (SQ not factored in) [tr] [/tr]y

By just looking at DAC performance, which is a better portable DAC to further improve the sound quality , fostex hpp1, CLAS, or GO DAP X?

 

[AnakChan]

Quote:

By just looking at DAC performance, which is a better portable DAC to further improve the sound quality , fostex hpp1, CLAS, or GO DAP X?

 
With the VentureCraft Go-DAP range, the DAC/Amp are in an "all-in-one" package. Can't use one without the other unlike the Fostex HP-P1 and of course the CLAS. So I could never compare directly DAC-2-DAC only. Wish I could answer your question there.

 

[cyberalpha11]

With the VentureCraft Go-DAP range, the DAC/Amp are in an "all-in-one" package. Can't use one without the other unlike the Fostex HP-P1 and of course the CLAS. So I could never compare directly DAC-2-DAC only. Wish I could answer your question there.

OK. Lets compare apple to apple.(DAC + Amp)
How is the sound quality between Go-DAP X vs Fostex HP-P1?

 

[AnakChan]

Quote:

OK. Lets compare apple to apple.(DAC + Amp)
How is the sound quality between Go-DAP X vs Fostex HP-P1?

 
My personal opinion, I did sell my HP-P1 last year after buying the Go-DAP 4.0. (and the X doesn't sound any different if you don't press the ASR or surround sound buttons). Personally for me, the HP-P1 was just too mellow for my tastes. I also preferred the upgraded Go-DAP 4.0 over the CLAS+Pico Slim & CLAS+SR-71B.

 

[cyberalpha11]

ak4480  is the chip the Fostex uses, I wonder how the ak4353 measures against it.

googled them both and they have the specs on the Asahi Kasei website, but I`m not really sure what to look for

(i would post links to the spec pages but I`m not sure about the forums rules).

From AKM website, I could not find AK4353 but AK4480 the one used in HP-P1 is not the best DAC chip.
The best is AK4399 because it has the highest S/(D+N) and lowest THD.