[Neogeo333]

if it output 1.6w at 50ohm its about the same as my Little Dot MK6, but somehow my Paradox sounds better with the DP-1.  Better in every way.  I even have Mullard ECC33 and Mullard 6080 on the MK6.  Havent tried my GEC 6AS7 or 5998 though.  This little dac is still impressing me after all this time. 

 

[zenpunk]

Are your Fostex used balanced with the LD MK6 and Eximus?

 

[Neogeo333]

I have a 4pin balanced to female1/4"trs adapter that i use for the Paradox and MK6.  normal 1/4" to eximus.  Thinking of modding it directly to 4 pin bal.  But I guess to do that i need to send them back to LFF. 

 

[Duckman]

Wondering if anyone has had the chance to critically a/b the DP1 against an Audio GD Ref 7.1.
 
I love that the Ref 7 is so smooth without any hint of harshness, while at the same time sounding so natural.
 
However, I need an inbuilt volume control... so the DP1 is on the radar.

 

[m2man]

Wondering if anyone has had the chance to critically a/b the DP1 against an Audio GD Ref 7.1.

I love that the Ref 7 is so smooth without any hint of harshness, while at the same time sounding so natural.

However, I need an inbuilt volume control... so the DP1 is on the radar.

Go read up on the two chips these DACs use, the PCM1704 and PCM1794. The 1704 is going to be smooth and the 1794 is going to be detailed (certainly true with the Eximus). I don't think anyone would call this DAC harsh. I'd think you'd want to use the Eximus with a tube amp to get a similar sound.

If it's not broken don't fix it. I think you'd be much happier not switching. I'm an Eximus fan but that's my guess.

 

[zenpunk]

Quote:

I have a 4pin balanced to female1/4"trs adapter that i use for the Paradox and MK6.  normal 1/4" to eximus.  Thinking of modding it directly to 4 pin bal.  But I guess to do that i need to send them back to LFF. 

The MK6 is a pure balanced design and I found that used SE the MK6 is nothing to write about. I would recommend reterminating to 4 pin XLR if the Paradox has a 4 conductors cable.

 

[BrainFood]

Quote:

Go read up on the two chips these DACs use, the PCM1704 and PCM1794. The 1704 is going to be smooth and the 1794 is going to be detailed (certainly true with the Eximus). I don't think anyone would call this DAC harsh. I'd think you'd want to use the Eximus with a tube amp to get a similar sound.
If it's not broken don't fix it. I think you'd be much happier not switching. I'm an Eximus fan but that's my guess.

 
Really enjoying the DP-1 + Berning Micro (Z)OTL 6SN7 tube amp.  It's pretty neutral amp though, so won't really change the DP1's nature .  The amp mates especially well with hi sensitivity, low impedance cans, in particular Grado's.  Live music on the Eximus/Berning combo, such as Keith Jarrett- Somewhere before.  OMG! 

 

 

[arnaud]

Originally posted here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/609804/tokyo-fujiya-avic-headphone-festival-spring-2012-meet-impressions#post_8380571



First and foremost, thanks to Fujiya Avic and Sasaki-san for getting us a room to rather up, it was really convenient to chat and meet up. Next to Currawong and Anakchan for helping for the tours, bringing your gear and all.

As usual, it was really nice to see friends again and meet new cool people, it does feel like head-fi keeps growing and gathering steam.

On my end, I have very little to give about the show itself, I really mostly went to meet people but I think others like Mike have taken many pics and will do a fantastic job as usual . There were at least 3 pro-level DSLR shooters in the group so I expect I lot of pics to come!

Highlights for me:

- DAC shootout in our steaming room:

• Some pics will show up later on I think, we had 4 very different dacs fed by mac laptop(s) driving a Stax 727 / 009 combo generously brought by Anakchan and I spent a good part of the saturday afternoon comparing the various DACs through this amp and phones I am most familiar with.
• In terms of DACs we had my Yamamoto YDA-01, the Eximus DP-1 brought by gkanai's friend (I hope you will post here - it was nice to chat with you and Ken about HD recordings, tubes amps and all !), Currawong's Metrum Octave (unfortunately, it did not play with with my mac / Pure Music so I have no comment for how it sounds), and AnakChan's Benchmark DAC-1.
• All the DACs were plugged to the same computer through USB port (I use a MBP with iTunes / Pure Music) and I brought a 3 to 1 RCA source switch to be able to switch between DACs almost instantly.
• It's always hard to figure out how much you're making stuff up from preconceptions but essentially, I found the DAC-1 to be a bit lean and rather muted / restrained, which was very obvious when switching to my YDA-01 (maybe some to do with the lack of volume matching and rather hot line out of the YDA-01). The Benchmark also sounded more 2D than the other 2 DACs.
• The YDA-01 had better prat and more copious low end and it paired better with the amp / phones I felt.
• The nice surprise came from the DP-1 because it clearly improved on the YDA-01 both in terms of detail but also shear realism. It's really difficult to describe it but coming from the YDA-01, it was much more immersive. It felt more detailed but in totally natural way. The even more shocking thing for me was that the DP-1 it sounded smoother than the YDA-01, which I expected to sound overly smooth compared to the others.
• One thing to note is that the DP-1 has a very clean USB (XMOS) interface while I was feeding the YDA-01 coaxial input through an Audio-GD DI (waiting for DI-DSP) and this may be playing an important role.
• Moreover, I want to stress that the differences were rather subtle and that I'd need much more time with each source to really get down to relevant impressions. Also, it was recording dependent as some recordings did not make much difference between the sources to my ears. I used mostly high-res stuff I purchased from HD tracks to make this evaluation. I came out wanting to buy a DP-1, the striking look does not help to turn a cold eye

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

I came out wanting to buy a DP-1, the striking look does not help

 
You've been poisoned like most of us in this thread, how unfortunate for you 

 
Yay, Japan is really the place to be for audio equipment...It'll most likely take me a while to digest how good those vintage Yamaha orthos sound 

 
I wonder how that Metrum Octave NOS thing sounds like, too bad it's using DIR9001 and has no USB input.

 

[BrainFood]

     Quote:

1. The nice surprise came from the DP-1 because it clearly improved on the YDA-01 both in terms of detail but also shear realism. It's really difficult to describe it but coming from the YDA-01, it was much more immersive. It felt more detailed but in totally natural way. The even more shocking thing for me was that the DP-1 it sounded smoother than the YDA-01, which I expected to sound overly smooth compared to the others.
2. One thing to note is that the DP-1 has a very clean USB (XMOS) interface while I was feeding the YDA-01 coaxial input through an Audio-GD DI (waiting for DI-DSP) and this may be playing an important role.

 

Quote:

I wonder how that Metrum Octave NOS thing sounds like, too bad it's using DIR9001 and has no USB input.
 

 
 
All user reports on the net that I have seen have be extremely positive about the Octave.  It's meant to have a very life-like presentation 
 
6 moons compared the Octave (with Stello U3) to DP-1 and said that they sounded very similar but with the DP-1 sounding a bit meatier.  He described the Octave as a 'DP1 Lite' but I wonder if using an Audiophilleo would have altered that verdict at all.  Over on an Aussie forum, the Octave was said to sound even better with the Audiophilleo than U3.  But it would take the price of the combo a bit higher.
 
There was a long thread on Audiogon where somebody decided to return or sell their Octave and keep their existing YDA-01.  IIRC, it was because the Yamamoto sounded just a tad more natural or free-flowing- but they really loved the Octave as well.
 
I did quite a bit of research and pondering but decided in the end that the DP-1 met my needs better.  I have enough wires and boxes already, so appreciate the 3 in 1 design and great USB.
 
 
 

I came out wanting to buy a DP-1, the striking look does not help to turn a cold eye

 
I think the real litmus test with a piece of equipment is whether or not it actually makes you want to listen to music.  Well, the Eximus passes that test.  Only problem is cost of music and new headphones 

 

[Neogeo333]

Not all products play well with others.  I remember my ATI 2505 shines with SS source but sounded so so with tube sources.  Im lucky with the DP-1 that it has played well with most of my phones and amp. 

 

[BrainFood]

Quote:

Not all products play well with others.  I remember my ATI 2505 shines with SS source but sounded so so with tube sources.  Im lucky with the DP-1 that it has played well with most of my phones and amp. 

 
but best with LFF Paradox and not so good with LCD-2, I think you said?

 

[Duckman]

Quote:

All user reports on the net that I have seen have be extremely positive about the Octave.  It's meant to have a very life-like presentation 
 

I found the Octave/AP2 combo quite a forward, in-your-face experience with headphones.
 
Did not hear via speakers.

 

[Duckman]

I've jumped on the DP1 bandwagon too. Looking forward to delivery today.
 
I have a small misgiving, because I found the U3 quite a poor-sounding unit in comparison to the AP2 and even the SPDIF output of the Squeezebox Touch. But by all reports, the DP1 has good USB in, despite it being a U3 unit stuffed into the box.
 
Anyhow, we'll see soon enough.
 
Thanks Arnaud, for tipping me over the edge

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

I've jumped on the DP1 bandwagon too. Looking forward to delivery today.

 
It sounds boxy and veiled OOTB, so let it burn-in for a while before going head over heels ^^
 
I think that it still takes a good hour to sound good even when fully burned in(due to its Class A design?). I've fixed the problem: I never turn it off 

 
Quote:

Gonna try it on the DP-1? 

 
Most likely yes, I've asked Kingwa for a price quote. He provides an I2S kit for an extra $3 and TE8802L is fully compatible w/ ADuM4160 up to 24/96(including 88.2) so I'll finally have my isolated I2S transport. Besides I like how ADuM4160 sounds on headphones, especially when feeding a clean PSU.