Thanks a lot for the suggestions cel4145! Indeed... looks very interesting. According to this guy, the Leckerton beats almost any of the other portable he owns, including the Fiios, particularily for pairing with big cans like the HD 650... Plus it got so many connectivity options! I will...

Good point.   I'd rather pay less than 200$, but I'd be willing to go up to around 300$ for the right device ;)

bump

Hi,   I already have my bases covered for my main setup (audio-gd Compass 2) and at work (Fiio E7) and I got a Fiio E9 that I sometimes use in my bedroom, but I'm now looking for a secondary setup to listen to music on my laptop at night.   I want recommendations for a portable (either...

Hey Mad Lust, I bought the Wolfson chip and it is definitely noticeable. It is warmer, but at the cost of loosing some detail at quite high frequencies. Personnaly, for the kind of music that I listen to (electronic music), I prefer it like that, because I found the Sabre a little too bright...

Quote: Hi Steve,   The two DACs are separate purchases. The ES9018 comes by default with the unit, and I purchased the WM8741 afterwards and had to physically swap out the ES9018 module and insert the WM8741 instead. The whole process (what to remove, where to insert the new module and...

Quote: I upgraded to the firmware no.3 and it also solved my dropping issues completely... BUT I now have trouble having the Compass detected via the USB connection only in Mac OS X. Using the same configuration in Windows 7 plugging in the Compass in the same USB port, it gets detected...

FYI, I just ordered the Dual WM8741 module for the fun of comparing with the ES9018 and learning by myself what the differences sound like

Quote: Hi WizardKnight,   I really couldn't say, as I don't have the dual WM8741 myself, but I read the same section of the website and it only talks about issues with coax and optical inputs, not USB. In my case, optical input is perfect, and I didn't have a chance to try coax, due to...

Quote: My optical is not the one acting up, it's the USB... I tried the other jumper setting just in case, but did not see any difference. The USB is still dropping a sample or two once in a while, but really not that often since I switched USB port on my laptop. It's hardly noticeable...

Quote: I'm not sure I understand correctly, I'm not using the SPDIF (which unless I'm wrong is the coax input), so why would it matter? Are you telling me that the USB input uses the same signal path of the SPDIF?

Quote: Hi Kaptiva,   Since yesterday, I'm testing the USB input of the Compass, but from the back USB port of the Macbook Pro (The one right beside the Thunderbolt port on the MBP early 2011). I read on different websites that for some reason (which were detailed but I did not pay too...

Quote: A USB cable has 2 ends. The end that goes into your computer Type A and the end attached to the device is of Type B. There are also mini and micro variations of both types. What you have on the Compass 2 is a standard USB Type A to Type B, which by the way is the same cable as the...

Quote: Hi Kaptiva,   It seems indeed to be the same issue. I will try this week-end to see if the issue is still present. If it is, I will proceed with some more testing to try and diagnose what is the source of this problem. It could be the USB port, the OS, the cable, the Compass...

Quote: Hi WizardKnight,   I did not do further tests with the USB input, but I will soon. I'll update you once I get have results.

Indeed, I was myself unsure when I got the unit, since the website is less than obvious about it, but the filter adjustments are only available with the Dual WM8741 upgrade.    I'll let someone else answer your other questions though, as for #2, I only tried the stock OPA and the Moon one. I...

Quote: You're probably right up to a certain point, because I know the brain definitely has the power to modify your perceptions, hell it can even cure diseases! But, I doubt it is the only factor. To be certain (more certain), one should buy two units of the same model, burn one in for 250...

It is now 5 days that I have the Compass 2 and I must say it really starts to shine! I do not feel the bass lacking at all anymore (@Kaptiva you can relax, I'm sure you'll enjoy your purchase as much as I do now) and the details are so sharp, the voices so clear, its stunning. I am nearly always...

Must say right now that Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar" synths never sounded so good in my ears... Starting to like it 

Quote: Thanks HeatFan12,   Your helpful information and threads on the 11.32 and 15.1 gave me a lot of insight regarding Audio-gd and amps/DACs in general. I guess I will have to upgrade my recordings quality though in order to get the best out of this beauty! I keep discovering nice...

Quote: Hi Currawong,   I had to look into the site's glossary to learn what a HDAM was, but now I know  (I learn stuff every time I visit this forum). Now, am I right in concluding that in the Compass 2, the HDAM is what is referred to as the Earth/Sun/Moon OPA on Audio-gd, and that as...

Quote: Don't worry, I won't rush into anything . I'll give it a good couple of weeks before making up my mind on what I like and dislike with the Compass. Then, I might decide to order the WM8741, even if it's just to try it out and measure myself the difference between the two (it is not...

Quote:   I know the laptop does not have a "better" DAC than the Compass one, that is not the question. Right now, I experience issues of popping with the USB and I find musically smoother the headphone output at the moment (before significant burn-in) because of the sound characteristics...

Quote:   From audio-gd website: "The OPA only effect the sound flavor of line in . The built in DAC have not OPA in the signal channels . If users want to change the sound flavors , can exchange the DA modules."  But in any case, I've read more and more posts mentioning this kind of...

Quote: Thanks for the info about your DAC! I figured that would be the case... I'm already starting to see a difference, but I was wondering if it was not my mind/ears playing tricks on me (to alleviate the pain of a potentially wasted investment )... I'll keep going for at least a couple...