I tried the Shanling M1 at Jaben in Melbourne. Wow, for the price, the M1 sounds very good. I've had the Sony Z1, IBasso DX50 and DX80 and to me the M1 was right up there sound wise to the DX50 and DX80. It was very tempting. Paired well with the 1More Triple Driver I tried it with and my Shure...

These are a no brainer for the price. I think it beats IEMs like my Shure 215. More detail, better soundstage and better balanced sound all round. I tried a pair at Jaben Melbourne, and was super tempted to get them. If only I didn't already have 3 IEMs and a CIEM. Might see if the missus wants...

I heard a pair of these at the store at Jaben in Melbourne, and was very surprised by how good they are especially for the price. It has a nice balance to the sound to my ears with a nice punchy bass and great detail for the price. I think its better then the Shure 215 in detail and soundstage. 

My passport battery is now only lasting 45 minutes :(. Any ideas on how to replace the battery pack within the passport case?

Thanks @hardbop. Sounds like the wall wart. Its quite with my HD650 but not with the Shure 846. Which is a bummer. Might need to look for a aftermarket battery or linear PSU.

I get a constant buzz on a 2nd hand Pan Am I bought. I use the tube covers, moves it about a foot from the PC. I don't have a gateway or passport :(. Anyone tried the iFi iPower? Or is it better to get a linear PSU like a Teradek 12v one?

Thanks chontler.   Worked it out. The ZX1 can play DSD64 but not DSD128 it seems.

I just received a ZX1. Nice player. Trying to compare with my DX80 to see which to keep.   Does anyone know what the latest version of the software for ZX1 is? The build number on my ZX1 is "1.14.0000", and the Sony Music Player version is 2.2.2.   I loaded some dsf (DSD) files, but the ZX1...

Has anyone tried the Vali 2 with the Shure 846 IEM? Is it a good match? I'm thinking of it in my work setup.

The analogue input is great to hook up a TT. I use my NFB28 in my main setup as my head amp and preamp. Does a really good job.

I'm interested in your impressions of the ulink with the Rega DAC. Been wanting to add a USB converter to the Rega DAC for a while now and the uLink is on the radar.

For a technical newbie, what does a high output Z mean in terms if listening experience?

+1. The REGA DAC is not bright at all. It is warm and smooth, with the ability to still bring out nice detail.

The Rega DAC uses the Wolfson 8805 SPDIF receiver chip which apparently has jitter rejection of 50ps, whatever that means, although I know that the lower the number the better.   I ran the Mac Mini via optical to the Rega DAC in my main system for a while. Then introduced and Audio-GD DI v.1...

Thanks Acapella11 and Audiofanboy for your suggestions. I might make that investment in a good power tube then. I initially got a 2nd pair of 6N6P gold grids as a backup power tubes to the MkIII stock ones. But when they arrived and I plugged them in, I noticed a real increase in power and...

Thanks Acapella11. What a bugger. I was enjoying those power tubes as they seem more dynamic.   How does 6H30 power tubes compare to 6H6N tubes? Are they worth the significant extra cost as more then double the price of a 6H6N?

Quote: I think I have to try to find sometime in the coming weeks to head to my local Schiit dealer to listen to the Lyr. And I can start to see how tube rolling can become an expensive exercise.   So, judging by your comments the Lyr is more energetic amp with the HD650s, and the LD...

The Little Dot MkIII is my first tube amp, so I am still a novice in this regard. I recently bought some 6N6P power tubes to replace the original ones, and I get intermittent cut outs on one of the power tubes with a pop and comes back on. I swapped it around and the cut out follows to the...

iTunes on its own is not great as an audio player. If you are using OSX, download the free version of Audirvana. This will also change the sample rates automatically (otherwise you can change it manually in Audio Midi on OSX).

The Cambridge Audio Stream Magic 6 will play from a USB connected device (thumb drive, USB HDD, etc.) up to 24/96, and a connected PC via a different USB port upto 24/192, as well as the obvious UPNP streaming up to 24/96. I have one in my main 2 channel setup and it's a great device. It also as...

I haven't tried the WA6. But I think it's pretty close to the Pan Am for bass. The lasting impression form the Pan Am is that it is a really full sounding amp (I tested the Pan Am with its internal DAC).   With the new Voshkod tubes, the LD MkIII has a really dynamic, open sound with more...

I was thinking about the MarkIVse as well, but on the Little Dot website, David Zhe of Little Dot himself indicated that the MkIV vs the MkIII is only if you really want to extract the very last bits for your headphones.   And some of the extra cost of the MkIVwe is to do with better tubes...

Software players also make a big difference. I use Audirvana Plas (OSX) at home and Foobar2000 with WASAPI at work (dang locked down work laptops).   I've heard Decibel is very good as well.   I would love to see a comparison of the DragonFly with the new Schiit Modi & Magni set in terms...

Quote: The DragonFly drives the HD650 pretty well. I just did a quick comparison over 4 songs on the HD650 via the DragonFly, then via my regular desktop rig (Rega DAC/Little Dot MkIII).   For money, the DragonFly is a good DAC/Amp. It gives an enjoyable listen with the HD650, with more...

Make that 3 head-fi type stores in Melbourne, with Jaben in town. It would be great to meet up with fellow local head-fiers, but having a new born makes doing things like auditioning gear a real luxury. I use a Little Dot MkIII in my set up. I think it's a fantastic amp for the price and...