It's my understanding that, on original W2 at least, Tune 1 and Tune 2 have the same frequency response, no difference at this level. My ears, which are musician's tired ones more than metrology instruments, tends to confirm that. Tune 1 have slightly better transients and Tune 2 have far more...

Common man... First duckduckgo result for "cosmos adc". https://e1dashz.wixsite.com/index/cosmos-adc

Cheers !

Nice ! Could you share shopping list ? (especially for short connectors) And maybe some making tips...

Dac mode in Tweak9038 app doesn't short the amp stage, it's just made to avoid clipping at 100% volume when used connected to an external amp (problem pointed out on ASR if I remember correctly). You'll achieve the same setting -0.5 dB in max volume of the app, less a PITA than switching modes...

I'm wondering, considering the dac chip used in S2 : AKM is back in business ?!

You're mixing things. What you're saying is true for E1DA Powerdac which use FDA (full digital amplifier) chip (Ti TAS5558). 9038D and 9038S use DAC (ES9038Q2M) + Amp architecture. [EDIT] Unless I missed something, E1DA Powerdac is the first headphones dedicated FDA - the first I hear about...

Try 50mhz MCLK on E1DA 9038s (you can change it in tweak9038 app). Lower noise (and better dynamic range). I prefer W2 though ;)

Xp Try new foobar2000 integrated exclusive mode (v1.6.7) and play 16 or 24 or 32 bit tracks, W2 will show same respective bitrate :wink: It's not that W2 isn't showing correct bitrate, but Windows WASAPI shared mode (the one most likely used by iTunes) will resample and use bitrate you've set...

You're mixing things. Lossless isn't the same thing as bitperfect, which isn't the same thing as original samplerate, which isn't the same thing as original bitrate. The most probable thing is that what's now called Windows Audio Session in iTunes is in fact shared WASAPI, meaning it's not...

Indeed, the evasive answer was probably on purpose. I saw you asked on ASR, wait and see...

Give it time ;)

Nothing to do with filters I think. Here's the answer from the person (WolfX-700 on ASR - L7Audiolab) who shared the thing with L&P : https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/measurement-review-of-luxury-precision-w1-w2-portable-usb-dac-amp.18148/post-746949

Yup, that's the reason why Hidizs came with ESS S9 PRO so shortly after AKM S9. Someone shared an aliexpress link some pages before about a something like 400$ AKM dongle. Good choice of chip and price bracket dudes... arf. Plus the thing didn't seemed to be state of the art design and build...

It's a shame AKM S9 is no longer an option brand new, because among the dongles I tried recently it could be the best pick to my understanding of what you're looking for. I got a second hand one in classified here in France just a week ago for a friend of mine (70€). Maybe if you search a bit...

From what I read, W2 would be a lot more than enough for EM5 (take it with a pinch of salt, I never had hand on them). For IEMs/earphones I'd pick W2, but tastes and all... [EDIT] If you manage to find a second hand S9 (AKM), it would be good candidate too. I prefer it over ESS S9 PRO. The...

I second OspreyAndy, but I would add that S9 PRO is no match for W2 in matter of soundstage depth, imaging and layering/separation. S9 (AKM) has good layering/separation. S9 PRO bass decay may be a bit too much. Highs are very nice on S9 PRO.

Yep. Sounds fine with HE-400i, HE-4XX, Sundara, on balanced output. For Fostex etc. , hard pass. Hidizs S9 and S9 PRO perform a bit better with planars.

2400mah battery. Hem... W2 will dry it out in two sec. What's the point of AES to feed W2 ? You'll only need USB. In my experience, don't sweat about SD card size limitations (I can use 500GB cards in pretty much all my old devices - example my old g800f is announced 64GB max, no problem using...

That won't exactly reply to your answer, but why don't you go for a smartphone ? You have a lot of option around 200 with a 5000+ mah battery. Form factor will be better than a DAP (with similar battery capacity). I don't see the point to get a DAP instead, which will more likely be bigger and...

Mine never heats very much... (compared to Hidizs S9 or E1DAs for example)

Strange thing you can't switch back to older firmwares, I used the very same files successfully. Seems it may be the way to go to solve your problem. A faulty unit is possible but very unlikely, cause you'd probably experience the same issue with other devices.

Where did you got your FW files and ISP tool ? From @bluestorm1992 's page1 post ? @Chesty @brif : Which version of iPad OS are you running ?

That's exacltly why I asked, thanks for the reply, cause @KKNAYANA reported he runs the last firmware and have issues, you run older one, no issue. Since @Chesty seems not having updated his (no issue), maybe he is too (but could be last firmware out of the box too). @KKNAYANA : Maybe switch...

No matter which OS you run, you can check firmware version holding menu button of W2 when you plug it. Appears on the display. The point is to check if you run the same firmware than @KKNAYANA . You can do a firmware update running a windows virtual machine from your Mac (through virtualbox for...