[shuto77]

Can onyone recommend a really good portable amp to pair with my LG V10?  It sounds good, but I need MOAR power with my Alpha Primes coming in. When I owned the Mojo, it did a nice job (when I previously owned the Primes), but I was wondering if I could find something a little less costly. 
 
What do people recommend that's better than the Oppo HA-2 (I don't think that will have the juice) but not as pricy as the Mojo? I've heard good things about the IFI amps, but I don't want to be let down when comparing it to the Mojo. 
 
My other option is to grab a Fiio X7 and grab the high-power AM5 amp module, which I've heard can hang with the Mojo, but is less messy than stacking the Mojo to your phone. 
 
I do most of my listening through Tidal via USB Audio Player.
 
Thanks!

 

[SeeSax]

  Can onyone recommend a really good portable amp to pair with my LG V10?  It sounds good, but I need MOAR power with my Alpha Primes coming in. When I owned the Mojo, it did a nice job (when I previously owned the Primes), but I was wondering if I could find something a little less costly. 
 
What do people recommend that's better than the Oppo HA-2 (I don't think that will have the juice) but not as pricy as the Mojo? I've heard good things about the IFI amps, but I don't want to be let down when comparing it to the Mojo. 
 
My other option is to grab a Fiio X7 and grab the high-power AM5 amp module, which I've heard can hang with the Mojo, but is less messy than stacking the Mojo to your phone. 
 
I do most of my listening through Tidal via USB Audio Player.
 
Thanks!

 
Have you tried an impedance adapter with the V10 to get it into "high gain" setting? Or are the Alpha Primes already over the 60ohm or so threshold? 
 
The first thing that came to mind was the IFI iDSD, which seems to be compared to the Mojo frequently. It's kind of tough to find something that will perform as well as the Mojo without just buying the Mojo. Other than that, I just ordered a Dacportable from Centrance, but I don't know when those will ship as they are part of the Indiegogo campaign. I ended up getting the Mojo from Amazon UK here in the States for much less than retail price do to conversion rates and whatnot, so that is always an option if you don't want to spend the $600 depending on where you are. 
 
-Collin-

 

[shuto77]

Have you tried an impedance adapter with the V10 to get it into "high gain" setting? Or are the Alpha Primes already over the 60ohm or so threshold? 

The first thing that came to mind was the IFI iDSD, which seems to be compared to the Mojo frequently. It's kind of tough to find something that will perform as well as the Mojo without just buying the Mojo. Other than that, I just ordered a Dacportable from Centrance, but I don't know when those will ship as they are part of the Indiegogo campaign. I ended up getting the Mojo from Amazon UK here in the States for much less than retail price do to conversion rates and whatnot, so that is always an option if you don't want to spend the $600 depending on where you are. 

-Collin-

Yeah, Amazon UK stopped shipping certain items to the US a few data back.

I should have grabbed the Mojo for ~425 when I had the chance, lol.

Also, the UK pound is recovering, so it's harder to justify the added cost of shipping.

 

[shuto77]

   
Have you tried an impedance adapter with the V10 to get it into "high gain" setting? Or are the Alpha Primes already over the 60ohm or so threshold? 
 
The first thing that came to mind was the IFI iDSD, which seems to be compared to the Mojo frequently. It's kind of tough to find something that will perform as well as the Mojo without just buying the Mojo. Other than that, I just ordered a Dacportable from Centrance, but I don't know when those will ship as they are part of the Indiegogo campaign. I ended up getting the Mojo from Amazon UK here in the States for much less than retail price do to conversion rates and whatnot, so that is always an option if you don't want to spend the $600 depending on where you are. 
 
-Collin-

 
My other headphones are all very sensitive, so I haven't had a chance to use it in high gain mode. Do you have a recommendation for an impedance adapter I can use? 
 
I've read everything sounds better in high gain mode, except maybe highly sensitive iems, so I definitely want to check out this feature.

 

[newtoaudio]

Hi guys. I don't know much about HiFi audio quality and I just made this account after years of lurking. 
 
Two years ago I bought myself a pair of skull candy slyrs, due to the MadLustEnvys gaming headphone recommendation guide. I was really impressed with the audio quality compared to the typical 10-20$ headphones and earphones, that I was used to. But the headband broke, after travelling with them. So last week, I bought myself a pair of V-moda M100s, due to the amazing build quality that everyone was raving about. I also found out about DACs, during that time, and have been looking for a good one to use with my headphones. After spending many hours looking through Head-Fi and many other sites, I got myself the FiiO Q1. It arrived today and I subsequently returned them as I could not tell the difference between my laptops on board sound card and the Q1. On high gain, my headphones were louder, but the quality remained the same to me (maybe my ears aren't as perceptive). Now I am looking into the FiiO X1 and X3 2nd gen DAPs. Can anyone tell me if I will be able to hear a difference compared to the FiiO Q1, if I got one of these instead? Also, how much of a difference in sound quality is there between the X1 and the X3 2nd gen?
 
The laptop that I use is a Lenovo Y410p, it has realtek hd sound (not sure about the exact sound card model). I use a galaxy s3 as my phone ( couldn't get the Q1 to work on these). I listen to essentially all kinds of music. 
 
My apologies if this is the wrong thread for this post.

 

[SpiderNhan]

Can onyone recommend a really good portable amp to pair with my LG V10?  It sounds good, but I need MOAR power with my Alpha Primes coming in. When I owned the Mojo, it did a nice job (when I previously owned the Primes), but I was wondering if I could find something a little less costly. 

What do people recommend that's better than the Oppo HA-2 (I don't think that will have the juice) but not as pricy as the Mojo? I've heard good things about the IFI amps, but I don't want to be let down when comparing it to the Mojo. 

My other option is to grab a Fiio X7 and grab the high-power AM5 amp module, which I've heard can hang with the Mojo, but is less messy than stacking the Mojo to your phone. 

I do most of my listening through Tidal via USB Audio Player.

Thanks!

Hi guys. I don't know much about HiFi audio quality and I just made this account after years of lurking. 

Two years ago I bought myself a pair of skull candy slyrs, due to the MadLustEnvys gaming headphone recommendation guide. I was really impressed with the audio quality compared to the typical 10-20$ headphones and earphones, that I was used to. But the headband broke, after travelling with them. So last week, I bought myself a pair of V-moda M100s, due to the amazing build quality that everyone was raving about. I also found out about DACs, during that time, and have been looking for a good one to use with my headphones. After spending many hours looking through Head-Fi and many other sites, I got myself the FiiO Q1. It arrived today and I subsequently returned them as I could not tell the difference between my laptops on board sound card and the Q1. On high gain, my headphones were louder, but the quality remained the same to me (maybe my ears aren't as perceptive). Now I am looking into the FiiO X1 and X3 2nd gen DAPs. Can anyone tell me if I will be able to hear a difference compared to the FiiO Q1, if I got one of these instead? Also, how much of a difference in sound quality is there between the X1 and the X3 2nd gen?

The laptop that I use is a Lenovo Y410p, it has realtek hd sound (not sure about the exact sound card model). I use a galaxy s3 as my phone ( couldn't get the Q1 to work on these). I listen to essentially all kinds of music. 

My apologies if this is the wrong thread for this post.

I recommend the Audioquest Dragonfly Red for both of you.

 

[shuto77]

I recommend the Audioquest Dragonfly Red for both of you.

Thanks for the recommendation!

I used to own the Mojo, and liked it a great deal. Will the Dragonfly Red be a letdown in comparison?

Thanks!

 

[SpiderNhan]

Thanks for the recommendation!

I used to own the Mojo, and liked it a great deal. Will the Dragonfly Red be a letdown in comparison?

Thanks!

From everything I've read the Mojo sounds better than DFR. There was one person who said he didn't hear that much of a difference and preferred the Red over Mojo, but he was the only one.

 

[SeeSax]

   
My other headphones are all very sensitive, so I haven't had a chance to use it in high gain mode. Do you have a recommendation for an impedance adapter I can use? 
 
I've read everything sounds better in high gain mode, except maybe highly sensitive iems, so I definitely want to check out this feature.

 
@Duncan
 
I can't find the thread now, but did you mention that you used an impedance adapter with your G5 + DAC? If so, which one? I think it would be a better solution than the Aux cable that I've been using. 
 
-Collin-

 

[good sound]

 

I recommend the Audioquest Dragonfly Red for both of you.

Thanks for the recommendation!

I used to own the Mojo, and liked it a great deal. Will the Dragonfly Red be a letdown in comparison?

Thanks!

 
I haven't compared them both, but like the previous poster said most who have prefer the Mojo. Also the DFR tops out at 24/96, if you need, or desire something that handles higher PCM bit-rates and perhaps DSD then possibly a LH Labs Geekout V2 or V2+ could be the answer. Positives; It will give you the ability to decode virtually every format available except for maybe 5.6mhz DSD, it has tons of power for high impedance cans, 1 full watt into 32 ohms, will probably sound even better than a DFR and it is significantly cheaper currently than the Mojo. Negatives; LH Labs has a bit of a reputation for being a little Flaky at times and their does appear to be some build quality issues with the Geekout series.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

There's a LH Labs Geekout V2 Infinity in the FS section
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/813783/fs-lh-labs-geek-out-v2-infinity-dac-amp
 
It gives Mojo run for his money. Others are still waiting for it.
 
They have QC issues though.

 

[Yethal]

I don't know if this has been posted here before (probably did), but there is a fix for USB dacs not working systemwide on Android. This solution does require some technical knowledge on user's part but does actually work. The issue is caused by the fact that USB Host is not enabled on some Android devices by default. In order to check whether this is the case and fix it:
 

• Go to Google Play Store
• Install the USB Host Check app (other similar apps may work too, however, I haven't tested them)
• Run the app
• If the app reports that USB Host is not enabled use the "Fix" button (requires root)
• Reboot the device

 
USB Audio should now work systemwide (tested with the built in music player of my phone, Youtube app and Tidal client).
Yes, I realize that if one of the reproduction steps requires a rooted device then it no longer counts as an "easy fix" but:

1. This method allows all system audio to be played via USB including phone calls
2. This method allows Tidal offline content to be played via USB DAC
3. You should root your phone anyway

 
Anyway, hope this post helped someone. And no, I am not affiliated with the developers of the app, I found it on Play Store.

 

[shuto77]

There's a LH Labs Geekout V2 Infinity in the FS section

http://www.head-fi.org/t/813783/fs-lh-labs-geek-out-v2-infinity-dac-amp

It gives Mojo run for his money. Others are still waiting for it.

They have QC issues though.

Thanks for the recommendation. I've been chatting with that headfier, and he's been really helpful.

I'm going to see how my Alpha Dogs sound tomorrow out of my LG V10, and then decide if I need a good amp again.

Based on my experience and research, it seems like the hierarchy of good portable Android amp/dacs is something like this: Chord Mojo -> Geek Out V2 -> OPPO Ha-2/Dragonfly Red -> Everything else.

I'm trying to keep my budget under $300 (used).

Am I missing any other good amp/dacs in my price range?

 

[kinetic758]

I don't know if this has been posted here before (probably did), but there is a fix for USB dacs not working systemwide on Android. This solution does require some technical knowledge on user's part but does actually work. The issue is caused by the fact that USB Host is not enabled on some Android devices by default. In order to check whether this is the case and fix it:

1. Go to Google Play Store
2. Install the USB Host Check app (other similar apps may work too, however, I haven't tested them)
3. Run the app
4. If the app reports that USB Host is not enabled use the "Fix" button (requires root)
5. Reboot the device

USB Audio should now work systemwide (tested with the built in music player of my phone, Youtube app and Tidal client).
Yes, I realize that if one of the reproduction steps requires a rooted device then it no longer counts as an "easy fix" but:

• This method allows all system audio to be played via USB including phone calls
• This method allows Tidal offline content to be played via USB DAC
• You should root your phone anyway

Anyway, hope this post helped someone. And no, I am not affiliated with the developers of the app, I found it on Play Store.

Thanks for this. I may give this a try on my old HTC M7. The main obstacle preventing me from getting an external dac is the fact that all of my listening is done via Spotify offline music and there seems to be issues with that service and Android (at least from what I've read).

 

[shuto77]

Thanks for this. I may give this a try on my old HTC M7. The main obstacle preventing me from getting an external dac is the fact that all of my listening is done via Spotify offline music and there seems to be issues with that service and Android (at least from what I've read).

I was able to use my HTC ONE M8 with few issues when I played Spotify offline files.

You may be confusing this with playing offline files through the USB Audio App.