For maximum signal to noise reference this chart. I find that -13dBr works best for my setup.

This may assist with the current discussion regarding noise vs volume when setting a reference level on the RME. I have my volume set to -13dBr using unbalanced out, which allows a 10 o'clock volume setting on my tube amp for most listening. This also correlates to a really high 116 SINAD out...

For $700 less than a Cutest and half the price of a Hugo2, The RME is an absolute bargain by comparison at this level of sound quality IMO.

Nice summation on how DSD gets adulterated in most DACs, including those which utilize ESS chips as I have read. AK and Texas instruments are two of only a few DAC chips that allow DSD without any bit modification.

Could not agree more scutey... Also for solid state, the Violectric V200 balances them out perfectly IMO. Once hearing all the dynamics and detail of the DT-1990 pro, it's a boring listen going back to my HD650s.

After reading that a few folks here found the T1.2 black edition to sound even darker than the DT1990, I decided to order a pair. Out of the box they did indeed sound dark and laid back however, after 50 hours of continuous burn in, the T1 only revealed it's strengths when fed by well recorded...

Hello Alvin... I am curious whether the Denafrips DACs are able to process DSD 256 via DoP? My understanding is that a PCM rate of 705.6KHz is required for DSD256 over DoP. I have read that people have trouble with it over the USB 2.0 interface via DoP.

I also feel the Violectric V200 and DT1990 is a great pairing. I'm Using an iFi iDSD micro black label as a DAC to complete the package.

Great setup UsoppNoKami...;) From your description, it appears your NFB1-AMP shares a similar sonic signature as my Violectric HPA V200, which pairs wonderfully with the Beyer DT-1990. I'm thinking the LP with proper NOS tubes will fill in a slight U shaped curve that these Beyers have, without...

An additional problem in constantly running the battery completely or almost dead and charging it up, is it will significantly reduce the Nano's battery life and possibly even it's capacity.

Welcome MelonHead... I agree with what Scutey described regarding comfort. I own both the DT-990 pro, DT-880 pro and the DT-1990 pro... From a sound quality standpoint, the 1990 is in all aspects superior to the 880 and 990. Bass is much faster, dynamic contrasts, transparency and inner...

I would expect the Mojo to sound better at three times the price of the iDSD nano BL. A more realistic comparison to the Mojo IMO is the iDSD micro BL.

Perfect summation in describing the sonic differences between the DT1990 and HD800 Slaphand. Of all my other headphones (Sennheiser HD650, Beyerdynamic DT880/DT990 and Audio Technica R70X) I find myself almost exclusively using the DT1990. It is an endgame headphone for the foreseeable future.

Always look forward to reading your reviews earfonia.  Your beautifully lucid, detailed and concise review mirrors exactly what I am hearing when comparing the original micro iDSD to the Black Label.  Huge bonus is the comparison to the Cord Mojo, which until now has never been clearly conveyed...

  I do not have any experience with either the Mojo or m9xx William.  Hopefully some other members who now have both can help.

Yes...  I have had the original for over a year now so the change was immediately noticeable.

Been listening to the iDSD micro Black Label for the last couple days now, and find it is much more refined and musical sounding than the original iDSD micro that it replaced. The music just seems to flow more effortlessly and smoother with more finesse.  Sound staging, inner detail, micro and...

Really curious how would you characterize the sound of the HP8 to the Svetlana 2 that you reviewed back in 2011? 

Aside from the changes already listed, have there been any other improvements specifically regarding the headphone section on the black label?  And is there any updates on when it will become available in the US?

Thank you technobear.  I guess I will just have decide whether this cutoff is worth the firmware when using YouTube and VLC.

After upgrading the micro iDSD firmware to 5.20, I noticed the first 2 seconds of music gets cut off on the first song using Foobar2000.  Is their any way to correct this without reverting back to an earlier firmware version?  It seems the sound quality is slightly improved on both PCM and DSD...

Much sexier look for the case style...  Wish ifi offered this color option when I bought mine last year.

Got a strange problem and before I open a trouble ticket with ifi, wanted to see if any gurus here could assist.  Just updated the firmware and driver of my micro iDSD to 5.2 and 2.26 respectively on my XP machine, now I can no longer open any ifi control panels to change modes and buffer size...

Thank you for this Thank you for this Technobear.  Have you read if anyone has 'bricked' their micro iDSD when upgrading firmware?  I'm still running 4.06, but play a lot of native DSD music and  the new 5.2 is supposed to have improved sonics for native DSD.