tenedosian
100+ Head-Fier
Just want to add some comparisons between SuperMini and some of its possible rivals. I was hoping to get an Astell & Kern Jr. for comparison, but couldn't do so.
SuperMini vs Sony A17 :
(The things I’ll write here can be applied to Sony A20 series, since A10 and A20 series have more or less the same sound quality)
The two players firstly differ in sound signature. Sony A17 is clearly warmer and more coloured with a slight thinness in its sound. On the other hand, SuperMini is quite neutral, being neither dark nor bright with just a hint of warmth. As I expressed in the review, SuperMini does not exhibit a coloured sound signature.
In technical terms, compared to the 2.5 years old A17, SuperMini is the clear winner in overall sound quality.
A17 sounds muddy (especially in mids), congested and less defined whereas SuperMini has apparent clarity and crosstalk advantage helping greatly to instrument separation.
With A17 the higher noise floor is apparent. This noise floor coupled with some grain in its sound results in a somewhat veiled presentation, especially in mids. A17 as you may expect, is not the clearest sounding dap among its rivals.
In SuperMini, instruments and sounds rise from a blacker background. They have more body and its presentation highlights the considerable clarity advantage of the player.
Accuracy is better on SuperMini with more realistic timbre. In fact, SuperMini produces one of the most accurate piano sound I’ve seen in a dijital audio player. Sony A17 on the other hand, sounds slightly “simulated” compared to the former.
The bass in Sony A17 (coupled with its Clear Bass equalizer) is enjoyable having some depth. However, the texture of bass is simply average, whereas it is more refined (but flatter) with SuperMini.
In comparison of sound dynamism, SuperMini is again the better one here. Despite the fact that Sony A17 has more extended treble section, SuperMini sounds simply more dynamic with a nice sparkle on its treble.
In sound, the only point where I believe A17 performs superior to SuperMini is soundstaging. I always admired Sony Walkman’s for their soundstaging capabilities, and despite its old age A17 can still be considered as performing well on that matter.
Between SuperMini and Sony A17, the latter has the wider stereo image from left to right. However, positioning of instruments is more accurate with SuperMini.
With its current street price level of ~$200, Sony A17 is still an interesting option with its battery life, but the newcomers like SuperMini obviously trumps it in overall sound quality and power.
SuperMini vs Sony A35 :
The new A series player of Sony comes with improved sound (unlike the A20 series), and it competes a little bit better with the powers of SuperMini.
Sony A35 is still coloured in its sound, but it is more balanced than A17 with clearer, less veiled mids. SuperMini is the more neutral and less warm / coloured of the two again.
Accuracy is improved in A35 compared to its predecessor, but the timbre of SuperMini is again the better of the two giving more true-to-life depiction of instruments.
Sony Walkman’s usually tend to produce more “fun bass” compared to the flatter, more neutral bass of SuperMini.
In the mids, A35 performs with more clarity and better separation than A17, but the transparency and crosstalk performance of SuperMini again exceeds the one of A35.
The treble extension of A35 still retains its advantage over SuperMini’s slightly rolled-off treble section, yet the latter is still the more dynamic sounding of the two. I really liked SuperMini’s punchy dynamics.
The placing of the stage is more similar between A35 and SuperMini. They sound both closer than A17, which sounds a bit laid-back. Again here, Sony A35 presents a very wide soundstage ; wider than the one of SuperMini.
In terms of output, A35 has the newer S-Master HX amp which has greater power (2 x 35mW @16ohm) compared to the older A series Walkman’s (2 x 10mW @16ohm). However, being a tiny powerhouse, SuperMini easily pumps more power than A35 even in single-ended output. SuperMini’s balanced option on the other side, creates a dramatic difference of power as you may expect.
And one can easily think that the superiority of SuperMini in overall refinement and sound quality over Sony A35 would be more obvious in balanced connection.
Overall, Sony A35 is a nice competitor to SuperMini especially in its price level of $200 level. But again, SuperMini performs better than A35 in sound quality department ; though the gap between Sony A series players and SuperMini is closed a bit.
SuperMini vs HM901U (with balanced card) :
I believe Dr. Fang Bian is correct in saying that the sound signature of SuperMini would be similar to their flagship HM901.
I tested these two devices over Sennheiser HD600, HD650, HD700, Hifiman HE560 and Hifiman Edition S.
What surprised me is that almost-flagship-like clarity of SuperMini is very close to the one provided by 901U.
In terms of sound signature, 901U sounds more high-end, reference-like and almost “sterile” with a razor flat performance. You get a more comprehensive sound in terms of both low and high end extension. The bass has more body, and there is slightly better treble extension that brings a bit more air to the records with 901U. As you may expect, the analytic properties of 901U is stronger, though SuperMini is no slouch either in that department.
Among the two, 901U has a wider soundstage ad more precise imaging.
Overall for $399, SuperMini offers a great deal of things that HM901 can do.
SuperMini vs Sony A17 :
(The things I’ll write here can be applied to Sony A20 series, since A10 and A20 series have more or less the same sound quality)
The two players firstly differ in sound signature. Sony A17 is clearly warmer and more coloured with a slight thinness in its sound. On the other hand, SuperMini is quite neutral, being neither dark nor bright with just a hint of warmth. As I expressed in the review, SuperMini does not exhibit a coloured sound signature.
In technical terms, compared to the 2.5 years old A17, SuperMini is the clear winner in overall sound quality.
A17 sounds muddy (especially in mids), congested and less defined whereas SuperMini has apparent clarity and crosstalk advantage helping greatly to instrument separation.
With A17 the higher noise floor is apparent. This noise floor coupled with some grain in its sound results in a somewhat veiled presentation, especially in mids. A17 as you may expect, is not the clearest sounding dap among its rivals.
In SuperMini, instruments and sounds rise from a blacker background. They have more body and its presentation highlights the considerable clarity advantage of the player.
Accuracy is better on SuperMini with more realistic timbre. In fact, SuperMini produces one of the most accurate piano sound I’ve seen in a dijital audio player. Sony A17 on the other hand, sounds slightly “simulated” compared to the former.
The bass in Sony A17 (coupled with its Clear Bass equalizer) is enjoyable having some depth. However, the texture of bass is simply average, whereas it is more refined (but flatter) with SuperMini.
In comparison of sound dynamism, SuperMini is again the better one here. Despite the fact that Sony A17 has more extended treble section, SuperMini sounds simply more dynamic with a nice sparkle on its treble.
In sound, the only point where I believe A17 performs superior to SuperMini is soundstaging. I always admired Sony Walkman’s for their soundstaging capabilities, and despite its old age A17 can still be considered as performing well on that matter.
Between SuperMini and Sony A17, the latter has the wider stereo image from left to right. However, positioning of instruments is more accurate with SuperMini.
With its current street price level of ~$200, Sony A17 is still an interesting option with its battery life, but the newcomers like SuperMini obviously trumps it in overall sound quality and power.
SuperMini vs Sony A35 :
The new A series player of Sony comes with improved sound (unlike the A20 series), and it competes a little bit better with the powers of SuperMini.
Sony A35 is still coloured in its sound, but it is more balanced than A17 with clearer, less veiled mids. SuperMini is the more neutral and less warm / coloured of the two again.
Accuracy is improved in A35 compared to its predecessor, but the timbre of SuperMini is again the better of the two giving more true-to-life depiction of instruments.
Sony Walkman’s usually tend to produce more “fun bass” compared to the flatter, more neutral bass of SuperMini.
In the mids, A35 performs with more clarity and better separation than A17, but the transparency and crosstalk performance of SuperMini again exceeds the one of A35.
The treble extension of A35 still retains its advantage over SuperMini’s slightly rolled-off treble section, yet the latter is still the more dynamic sounding of the two. I really liked SuperMini’s punchy dynamics.
The placing of the stage is more similar between A35 and SuperMini. They sound both closer than A17, which sounds a bit laid-back. Again here, Sony A35 presents a very wide soundstage ; wider than the one of SuperMini.
In terms of output, A35 has the newer S-Master HX amp which has greater power (2 x 35mW @16ohm) compared to the older A series Walkman’s (2 x 10mW @16ohm). However, being a tiny powerhouse, SuperMini easily pumps more power than A35 even in single-ended output. SuperMini’s balanced option on the other side, creates a dramatic difference of power as you may expect.
And one can easily think that the superiority of SuperMini in overall refinement and sound quality over Sony A35 would be more obvious in balanced connection.
Overall, Sony A35 is a nice competitor to SuperMini especially in its price level of $200 level. But again, SuperMini performs better than A35 in sound quality department ; though the gap between Sony A series players and SuperMini is closed a bit.
SuperMini vs HM901U (with balanced card) :
I believe Dr. Fang Bian is correct in saying that the sound signature of SuperMini would be similar to their flagship HM901.
I tested these two devices over Sennheiser HD600, HD650, HD700, Hifiman HE560 and Hifiman Edition S.
What surprised me is that almost-flagship-like clarity of SuperMini is very close to the one provided by 901U.
In terms of sound signature, 901U sounds more high-end, reference-like and almost “sterile” with a razor flat performance. You get a more comprehensive sound in terms of both low and high end extension. The bass has more body, and there is slightly better treble extension that brings a bit more air to the records with 901U. As you may expect, the analytic properties of 901U is stronger, though SuperMini is no slouch either in that department.
Among the two, 901U has a wider soundstage ad more precise imaging.
Overall for $399, SuperMini offers a great deal of things that HM901 can do.
