Hi and thank you very much for your thoughful comments and sharing of your own experiences.  I can see we share some similar views (i.e. some of your impressions of the other amps, etc.) as well as differing ones.  However, I am grateful for your sharing your insight, as that also helps me...

Hi there!  I can definitely agree with your thought of sound being changed by the pairing.  I have had that experience first hand, although it was not during the trial of the IDSD Micro.   Headphone A + Amp C --> sounds great          Headphone B + Amp C --> not that great Headhonne A + Amp D...

  Oh, I wrote DSP referring to the usual/generalized case.  I do remember there were explanations of the analog processing (as opposed to digital) by either iFI or other knowledgeable people in the past.  In my tests with Xbass and the 3D sound, it made some songs sound better, but not all...

Hi there.  It is not the treble that is making the ears tired.  From what I can tell, it is because of something like the over-clarity (to the point of artifically clearer than a real live person singing/playing would be heard at) which carries along with it the fine spaciousness/harshness/..sss...

  Thank you much for taking my feedback in a constructive way and hopefully utilizing that as material for your next possible products.  As i have (hopefully) made clear in all my writing about this topic, I was truly originally excited to be getting my hands on a new one and checking this out...

  I did make it clear in one of my posts that I am strictly focusing on portable gear for the headphones.  Therefore, when purchasing, reviewing, and so on, it will either be DAC+AMP or AMP, never DAC only.  The DAC only part is just a novelty/experience part (i.e. someone mentioned the DAC was...

  Thank you.  I will keep this mind.  I might try out the RCA outputs and see if the channel imbalance is still there or not.

  Yes, this one I am well experienced in because it happened to me early on too.  It appears that every time you turn on the power, the volume is reset to max level.  So, I have consciously made it a habit to always turn down the volume before switching modes or starting the audio stream.

  Hi, thank you taking the time to comment!  I had used the DAC+amp early in the trial with all 3 filter options (I liked bit-perfect the best), but after experimenting some, I switched to 3.5 mm input because I didn't like the fact that i had to turn up the volume to remove the channel...

  Yeah, my own personal opinion is that electronics usually will only wear out with burn-in (coils/wires/etc) if any changes occur (of course there are exceptions and so on), but I don't want to get into the debate of burn-in vs. non-burn-in.  Everyone has their own beliefs and "supposed...

  You know, I typically do not like to focus on what I own and don't own or what others own and don't own.  Impressions are impressions, and I appreciate them as such.  I take them with a grain of salt and a lot of gratitude.  However, if you insist, I own all the amps I mentioned in the post...

Thanks for taking the time to comment!  I just learned something new again.  I will have to go do some research on that.

  Well, I did actually listen to one song which was of disco / older recording after making the post, and I would say the iDSD Micro definitely gave it more life.  I cannot say if this will be true for all songs of the genre or not as it's only one song, but there is a possibility and hope.

  Hi, and thank you very much for your feedback.  Your comments have given me some education too.  Yes, I am mostly focused on portable gear for the headphones, so I wanted to be able to use the DAC+amp or amp only (depending on the source I have connected at the time) usage model.  My trial...

  I think many amps have a slight click when turning on and off (I remember I was surprised when I tried out my very first amp a while back because your standard run of the mill iphone, portable player, etc. from the big companies don't make that kind of noise), so I don't think your unit would...

  Actually, I would have to respectfully disagree with the statement that the Hugo and iDSD Micro share the same sound signature.  Not understanding the difference in sound when reading another poster's comments of Hugo sounds smooth and laid back whereas iDSD Micro puts you in the front seat...

    How did it sound with the other modes?

Well, I had a chance to listen to the iDSD Micro for several hour for several days along with other amps (multiple Fiio ones, ADL X1, Chord Hugo, ALO Audio, Burutta), and since I always appreciate everyone's impressions, I thought I would post my own to share.  Disclaimer: This is in no way an...

  Thanks a lot for your report!  Too bad Ultrasone reps there were putting up that "wall" and not trying to give us more insight into the MMCX connectors.   By the way, are you saying the unlimited are good or the limited is good?  I think you must have made a typo somewhere because I'm...

Hmmm, isn't there anyone close to Ultrasone that can get their voice/comments on why they picked such a fragile (and in this case making headphone not very practically usable) connection interface?  I'd like to hear what they were hoping to achieve or their thoughts on the merits of using such a...

  Very nice comparison & review.  Thanks for sharing your impressions with us.  I suppose there is no clear one is better than the other, but more of a which type of sound you prefer kind of thing, then?   Is there one preference over the other for long-term several hours listening without...

  Alright, I think you guys have convinced me to at least take a look at this FooBar2K.

  Thanks Triodemode.  By the way, MPC Classic and MPC Home Theater is also completely free and open-source (registered on SourceForge).

  Nice.  Are you able to give impressions of this TT versus the original Hugo?

  Thanks Triodemode for the more accurate and better answer.  I have become educated again.  Also, thanks much for the link to a great and easy-to-understand site.   Now, opinion question, but how much audible difference do you hear between DirectSound mode and kernel streaming mode for PCM...