Reviews by whitedragem

whitedragem

500+ Head-Fier
SE300 is a rare part that exists due to a range of market conditions aligning, briefly. Bargain!
Pros: +Not aiming for D/S spec sheet warfare, rather- realising actual music
+Carefully selected CPU with the intention of 'music first' (again, not 'spec sheet warfare')
+Might not be compatible with future formats that no music catalogue exists in
+by size can outpunch stuff 20x larger
+one box to rule them all- as a digital transport will equal and better most consumer-fi on the planet
+as a bluetooth receiver, has such low latency as to be percieved as nil. perfect for gaming
+amplifier circuit is better than many other DAPs (and dedicated amps)
+'the total package'
Cons: -might not be repeatable in the audio market. (is a unique 'top of the tree' product built because of a stable time in human history that excellence could be achieved.
-most of this isn't quantifiable to the science zealots who 'know better' (and apparently cannot hear subtle differences, or, arguably 'musicality' of parts)
-previewer is a zealot, so likely this is all 'with a handful of salt' /(my unit isn't "broken in" yet)




definitions
bricks and mortar= physical 'you can touch it' retail space


qualifiers:
Diablo as an amp vs SP2000T, could go louder, but when driving my Ultrasone Edition 5 (easy to drive) did not drive as nice as good desktop kit, nor a Sony PHA3 (actually the PHA3 is a superior amp for most headphones I trialled)
True desktop kit extended to things like a Sennheiser HDVD800, and a Burson Conductor V2+, Grace m903, but also nice class A stuff by AudioGd and 'others', many of which should not be compared to small portable players.
The Diablo, as an amp, trumped the Chord Hugos' amp circuit.
When attempting to get Diablo level sound from the SP2000T, the volume had to be driven above 85/150, and around 87+/150, the quality just didn't hold up.
When auditioning the SE300 with the same headphones, the volume wheel was confident well ABOVE 85, and yet, I could now drive those headphones capably 10 notches 'lower' on the dial. (it is a stronger amp, intrinsic audio qualities aside).. (yes it sounds fantastic, and I have zero reason to keep a few of those products, including the AudioGd R28, now with the SE300 in tow.

apolgies for abrubt video ending
this was meant to be a preview whilst the unit continues to stew. when the meat is falling from the bone, I will come back and update.

cheers and 'thankyou for watching'



edit/update:
400+ hours now..

height started to reveal itself around 280 hours..
at 350 hours stage was still widening.. Depth was really getting 'good', and height was now as good as what most would consider 'gold standard'..

400 hours plus?
I will update in time.

I haven't used it on the home stereo since (well) prior to the 300 hour mark

Going back to the car, and rerunning some tracks... (today)
was exceptional.
The cabin disappeared and the 'throw' made the factory default head unit sound as good/better than most peoples' home hifi.

Listening now to some (AKG) k612pro; and, whilst I gather many champion "headphones most important"; it is hard to not see the importance of the total chain. (I believe in transports as an example) - 'sum of the parts' is crucial.

my reference headwear, mostly gather dust due to not having 'good enough ancillary kit to do them justice', and having heard them sound better,.. I often don't run them in 'scaled down quality mode' .. (other headwear doesn't suffer so much when downgrading kit)

Those Ultrasone Edition 5 are back to being an endgame setup, when running off the A&K SE300 (with 1200 hours bun in on the Ed5 and ideally also on discrete R2Rs , otherwise, Your Mileage May seriously Vary (YMMsV)

add to CONs- the lack of protection around the volume rocker led to Santana running through some A&K Zero1 at full volume into my ear drums. (ability to be apart of this hobby might be robbed of someone.. 'look out'.. I now have diabled 'double tap to wake screen', but wasn't the problem,.. on walk home it did it again, incrementally.. (caught this time before hurting).. setting a volume lock doesn't necessarily curtain.. 'in pocket use' seems to be able to circumvent protections. Maybe the official case can stop that volume wheel 'rolling' with rocking on..
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whitedragem
whitedragem
400+ hour and so 'gave another listen via the home stereo' ( a static familiar baseline)..
height info now in the soundfield (and much better depth) really allows this player to recreate some of the most natural and realistic music a modern product can make.
Glad to hear as, ever since iPhones led the direction of DAC chip design (sip power and be compatible with DSD and PCM and 'future sampling bitrates and formats'), DAC chips by many manufacturers (eg Sabre) started to flood market with a 'spec sheet first' design ethic. - being that is what sells...

Returning to a 'music first' product.. ah the joy of listening to an entire music catalogue again. (not just EDM and 'fake sounds' etc)

whitedragem

500+ Head-Fier
Audio-gd NFB-3.1
Pros: probably didn’t cost you much (vs what you actually bought- exceptional value!!)
still worth using (2022)
remember that being a ‘Non-Feedback’ design means it WILL NOT [b]benchmark[/b] as well as ‘Feedback topologies’ (the majority of the market now)
this has extensive ‘class A’ design as a backbone.. vs a Topping D90 ‘might’ be the reason I’d lean on this equipment as the ‘goto’ DAC..
Cons: You have ‘no idea’ what you might have, sound wise, as some DAC makers move quickly and release a ‘few’ models; having a lot of threads filled with praise regarding any specific unit becomes a rarer thing…
-that being said- this is a ‘you beaut’ magic DAC.. (and doesn’t have the ‘tinnyness’ of something like the DAC Magic (Wolfson DAC also))

This isn’t a ‘review’- more so a chance to see ‘whats inside the box’..
I have this unit installed (presently resting on my regular ‘goto’ Burson DAC) and it sounds great - not a ‘con’ in the slightest, just want to keep the ‘body’ of this post, below, sharing ‘happy snaps’
Greets; I often find a ‘lack of’ internal shots for products I am researching.,

This DAC was first bought by myself. second hand, for a mates two channel rig.
The day I was picking it up and dropping it off (a five minute drive) I didn’t get a chance to rip open the case and inspect inside…
here we are, years later- my friend having purchased an upgrade (rather than a ‘sidegrade’ or downgrade, both very possible as this is a very nice sounding DAC), presently using a Denefrips R2R design…
This lil beauty having sat around for a half year or so, I figured it is time to find her a new home..
(oh, and, snap her insides whilst she lies naked in my lap).. (“snap” is a photography term for “to shoot” or “take ones picture”; in all honesty the build and weight of this DAC prevent me from causing harm.. but it is fair if the Zombie Apocalypse hits, this ‘brick’ will hold them at bay long enough to eat that last twinkie)

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