geoemm
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2014
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I pulled the trigger on this dac. It's available in massdrop for 55$ (International Shipping available)
I pulled the trigger on this dac. It's available in massdrop for 55$ (International Shipping available)
K1 works fine with all modern Androids and works on iPhones / iPod touch too with the right cable.Yeah, I 1st thought of getting k1, then I heard it's not that good with android. Then I thought of getting fiio q1. But now I feel zuperdac is pretty good especially because of the Dac used in it (same as oppo-know implementation matter more). But my doubts is whether zuperdac is 40$ and q1 30$ better than k1?
And I fear k1 is not that much of an upgrade to the normal dacs in laptop avd Android phones
Well i also got a sample from Zorloo. I intendet to get a European LG G6 with a "Standard" built in DAC which doesn't sound any special. But then my OCD got triggered and i bought the Asian version which has a Quad DAC (ESS 9018+). Its a upgraded version of the LG V20's Quad DAC but people say its rather a downgrade because the new dac lacks Bass, Stage and is way too bright. Especially Bass seems a problem that many people change back to the V20. They may have a similar chip but both sound completely different. Even audiophile shopkeepers say that the G6 has absolutely no bass and lacks dynamics compared to the V20. Many reviewers label the G6 with its Quad DAC as THE best sounding smartphone. Well this may be true for people who love analytic sound. But my ZuperDAC arrived and i tested them both. My conclusion is that the G6's DAC is pure marketing to trick people into thinking Quad = Better. If that would be the case Oppo and FiiO would be useless and would sell overprized Junk for over 400 Bucks if a smartphone alone can sound better. I think you get the point. The DAC in the G6 may cost 15 Bucks in production and we are comparing it to a 70$ Standalone DAC which only has the task to make music sound better.
Its a no contest, i see the ZuperDAC from the same way that you see it. Very Dynamic sound with awesome mids and deep non distorting bass. I dislike the G6 DAC sound and only use my ZuperDAC. No matter if i use 990 LE's. HD 650 or EC10s, the SuperDAC is way superior for people who want atmospheric dynamic sound with a deep sub bass. If you prefer sober, neutral or clear sound with focusing on the voice only, the G6 will do better. But the Instruments, Stage, Bass, Kicks, pretty much everything that does make a sound apart from the voice will sound thousand times better. And i rarely listen to acapella, so the G6 Quad DAC is not enjoyable for me.
My full review of the ZuperDAC is coming soon after testing it a little further.
Well i was exagerrating with -16 DB but thats basically how it sounds to me. Power is not a problem, i tried High Gain mode and Normal Audio mode. This is just how the Sound signature is, people prefer the V20 sound and every G6 review says the same. Its way beyond neutral. Which doesn't make it okay to sound that liveless with a minitaure stage.
Dynamics are often mistaken/mixed up with bass quantity. The Zuperdac, despite all its greatness, is not neutral but have exaggerated bass and warmth to my ears.
Also the dac chip is only a very small part of what creates the final sound. I've probably heard/owned close to 20 devices using the ESS9018 chip and only two of them has sounded close enough that I couldn't easily tell them apart: the Zuperdac and the Geek Out 720. That being said still shows how great value the Zuperdac is as the Geek Out 720 was twice its price even when Massdrop did the end of life sale for it.....