I’m not 100% sure I’ll make this meet, but if I do I would be interested in the T5p Gen 2. I’d like to compare them to my modified Gen 1. Also, if I’m there I can bring an Oppo PM-1.

@Zark and Andrew thanks for setting up the meet and getting snacks. Glad to meet you @Fuzziekiwi. It turned out to be a small meet, but nonetheless it was a good event. Hopefully for the next one we can have more participants. It was nice to compare AEON open to AEON closed.

How goes @schneller? I cannot confirm this, since I have not done a comparison. I have just had conversations with @sheldaze as he was working through what he was hearing. But it sounds like you’re about to have a sweet opportunity to check it though. I’d love to hear your opinion.

I can attest that @sheldaze was struggling to understand what he was hearing. It must have been hard to see an audiophile icon like the Yggy struggle against a newcomer. Kudos to @sheldaze for persevering.

I’m afraid it is not looking good for the Liquid Spark. All information regarding it has gone silent. In fact, the dealers that took pre-orders for it have refunded the deposits. You can read more about it on this thread. I think most of the information are around pages 7 and 8...

As a fan and owner of two Cavalli amps, I'll be placing an order. I'm very much interested in what Alex can do at this price point.

You have certainly set the bar high with your intention. Since you're looking for the best you can find, let me state the best that I have found: The Focal Utopia is the unquestionable best that I have found. For my use case, I am using Cavalli's Liquid Gold with the Holo Audio Spring Kitsune...

Great effort digging into so many units to get to an answer. However, it wasn't clear to me what your end goal is. I understand you're looking for tonally correct and neutral headphones, but does the use case require them to be closed-back? You seem to imply that at times, but you also reviewed...

There has been some discussion recently regarding sound leak and the inside volume of the AEON case. I tested the AEON versus the Audeze EL-8 Titanium to see which did a better job of not leaking sound. I calibrated both headphones with pink noise to 73 dB(A), then I played music while wearing...

My amp puts out 9W into 50 Ohms. I have never needed all of that power, but I also had no problem driving the AKG K1000. I like having the power just in case something like a K1000 or HE-6 should need to be driven. My recommendation is the opposite. I think going from the bottom to TOTL, there...

For anyone considering the ÆON for travel usage, let me put my experience here since that's my primary usage for these. First, the case that comes with them is fantastic. Its size is nearly perfect. It's smaller than I thought it would be and that's a good thing. Plus, besides carrying the...

I have never tried to connect a speaker. As for the X1, assuming you're using Gen 2 of the X1, the specs I checked show it has analog line out through its 3.5 mm jack. I did not see that it's capable of digital output. Another assumption, you're connecting the Fiio to the Oppo using a 3.5 mm to...

In terms of improvement, this is not a slight upgrade from the Bifrost. It really is a large improvement. To give you an idea with Schiit products, you'll need to get up to the Yggdrasil to match the quality of the Ares. I know it sounds like lofty claims given the price, but I've done extensive...

The Bifrost Multibit is definitely a better DAC than the HA-2 or HA-2 SE. But if you're considering a desktop DAC at the $600 range, then I would suggest that you opt for the Denafrips Ares. I have done direct comparisons of the two DACs and the Ares is better.

Getting back to the AEON, I just got mine. Shout out to Alex and Austin for their great customer service. On initial listen, I thought they lacked bass extension and there was some loss of control in the upper mids stretching into the highs. Then I tried the inserts Dan mentioned earlier in...

Note that I said the closer a device is to neutral, the better. I don't disagree that perfectly neutral devices really don't exist. However, tubes exasperate the already difficult proposition of achieving neutrality.

You're right in a sense. However, the same kind of (likely more expensive than you want to spend) amp/DAC will help you get the most out of both the Z1R and the Utopia. The difference is that the Utopia is a much better headphone than the Z1R and it scales better with better upstream gear...

I have dabbled in tubes and own a couple of tube amps. I have found that what I'm looking for in amps and everything else, above all, is neutrality. The closer the equipment is to producing a neutral sound, the better. This means I'm not constantly looking for a "good pairing." If you break down...

I'm using Windows 10 and Foobar2000. I don't have much content in DSD, but no problem playing it. You will need to get the requisite output components for foobar2000, but that's it.

I was able to go back and forth between my stock SU-1 and @thyname's modified one. At first I tested for detail retrieval using acoustic music. I didn't notice any change or improvement. Then I switched to electronic music. The most obvious thing I noticed was that the bass was tighter, more...

Yeah, its"s been a long road on mobile gear and I'm still not done. I was hoping to have a Liquid Spark right about now, but it looks like it'll be a long wait on that and more pondering for mobile gear.

Yep, earlier I was on mobile and got the reply permission error. Works on desktop. The third one is the original HA-2. I can bring those three and can add the Sony PHA-3, the Sound Blaster E5, Beyer A200, and the CEntrace Skyn for good measure, if you're interested in any of those.

@thyname I'm getting the same errors trying to post. I have all three models, so you can try them out for yourself and see which one you like with the Utopia.

I was a bit confused on your original question it seems. I thought you were inquiring about your amp's balanced output and assumed 4-pin XLR. You want to know about the dual 3-pin XLR output of the Holo. I haven't had to make any adjustments for Holo and I am using standard 3-pin XLR cables...

Looking at the specs of the Explorer, it has Toslink and headphone out. You can use the headphone out to feed the Spark, but you'll be double amplifying. I am not seeing a line-out for the Explorer.