[Clemmaster]

Thanks.
Any special tweak for the SBT?
The NFB-27 is never aggressive when setup properly.
It's sheer musicality and dynamics.
It sounds bigger and more holographic.

I won't say more because it's probable I don't have enough experience with the DP1.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

I'd recommend listening ONLY to the Eximus for a week or two, get accustomed to its signature

 
Yes, especially when brand new as it'll take quite a while for all the discrete parts to burn-in IME and I feel like the DP1 has been voiced to sound good no matter what.....so yes it's colored(being based on OPA627) and it will take some time to get used to its presentation as well. I think the DP-1 is/can be an acquired taste and I can easily understand why some ppl would decide to sell it after hearing it for a few hours/days thinking they're not getting their money worth of enjoyment. But as you said, down the road they might very well miss its immersive 3D SS, even if its built-in headamp isn't exactly a bass monster.
 
It's been my primary DAC for +1.5 years now and I don't see this changing anytime soon 

 
Quote:

Yep-I love how the 3D imaging makes this the perfect dac for movies and games as well-in fact I sold a couple of different Dolby Headphone devices because the DP1 was more accurate and natural sounding to me.

 
A gamer/audiophile friend of mine told me a while ago that all those supposedly 3D sounding DSP's on gamers soundcards are meant to counterbalance the shortcomings of their output stages....I think he was spot-on 

 

[BournePerfect]

Quote:

 
Yes, especially when brand new as it'll take quite a while for all the discrete parts to burn-in IME and I feel like the DP1 has been voiced to sound good no matter what.....so yes it's colored(being based on OPA627) and it will take some time to get used to its presentation as well. I think the DP-1 is/can be an acquired taste and I can easily understand why some ppl would decide to sell it after hearing it for a few hours/days thinking they're not getting their money worth of enjoyment. But as you said, down the road they might very well miss its immersive 3D SS, even if its built-in headamp isn't exactly a bass monster.
 
It's been my primary DAC for +1.5 years now and I don't see this changing anytime soon 

 
 
A gamer/audiophile friend of mine told me a while ago that all those supposedly 3D sounding DSP's on gamers soundcards are meant to counterbalance the shortcomings of their output stages....I think he was spot-on 

Yes even though I've been a fan of DH, it always sounds incredibly fake, too much reverb, and gave the impression of playing inside an airplane hangar, even though the accuracy was pretty spot on. I still prefer the DP1 in simple stereo for games and movies though by a far, far margin.
 
Quote:

Thanks.
Any special tweak for the SBT?
The NFB-27 is never aggressive when setup properly.
It's sheer musicality and dynamics.
It sounds bigger and more holographic.

I won't say more because it's probable I don't have enough experience with the DP1.

 
My SBT is stock, but required the EDO plugin to output over USB. I didn't mean the NFB was known to be aggressive in the usual sense (harsh, etc), I was actually referring to the incredible dynamics it's capable of-though Kingwa will tell you it's not his most neutral dac exactly. The DP1 puts you on the stage, like in a small recording venue if you will which helps it's 3D imaging. The Master 7 (similar to NFB??) puts you a number of rows back-like watching the band on a wide soundstage, but for me seemed bland and boring comparatively (from a presentation standpoint) compared to the DP1. It would seem strange that the NFB would be considered more holographic if it shares the same presentation...keep up with the impressions after some more burn in.
 
-Daniel

 

[Clemmaster]

I suspect the NFB-27 is livelier than the M7 which makes the overall presentation halfway between the M7 and DP1.
From my experience with the Ref5.32, Kingwa's neutral is my dark (in my system and for my preference) and even though the M7 is said to have more treble sans the Ref 5&7 I suspect it is still quite laid back.

Those who heard both are much welcomed to chime in!

 

[froger]

After a few days experimenting with my Hifi-gear I can describe my impressions a little more detailed. The first day I was completely confused. I had a feeling that I not in any way could point out a difference in a blindtest.
When you are only focusing on details and try to point out a difference after two minutes hearing each alternative you are going more and more unsure. The only clear difference you hear this way is between Windows 7 and Windows 8. More bass, clearer sound, more correct in every way. I was really surprised!

If I should rank all my tryings to better the sound with my Eximus (the best peace of Hifi-gear I ever owned) the upgrade to Windows 8 is the clear number one.

And the iUSB? The first day I was a little disappointed. Was there really a difference? Has this thing to burn in? Should I wait and get the new doubleheaded USB-cable to the iUSB before I write my impressions? I would describe it this way: After a hole day listening with the iUSB I probably would miss it when going back. I think it adds a tad clearness and does the music sounding a little more involving (you may hear a clearer effect with other DACs). Is it worth the money? I will keep it and hope that the doubleheaded USB-cable is coming to work out the advantages of the iUSB.

By the way I first used JRiver 17 and updated to 18. The sound of 18 appeared to be "fresher" (can you imagine what I mean?), a improvement in the same range as the iUSB (but I must admit that I like to play arround with the surround field in DSP-mode - and it is maybe here you get the biggest improvement)

And the Quietlines? Any more unsure about their effect. Maybe even here a tad of a more involving sound and greater depth. There is a lot psychology in that. If you are expecting a greater sound from a new gear you often get what you expect - maybe in your own head.

If I should do a summary: I am really sure about the big improvement overall with Windows 8, iUSB, Quietlines, JRiver 18 (did I forget something?) which I never thought was possible for the money I invested. I am just not really sure if I described the contribution of each gear quiet correctly. But as a package it works!

Just bought the ifi USB and Gemini cable for my 3 days old Eximus dp1. Dac although not fully burnt in yet, but is already running for around 70 hours and is driving hd800 through the headphone output.

Here's my impression on the ifi set-up: Initial set-up was mac mini > ifi usb cable> ifi isb power > eximus usb cable > dac. I was disappointed to hear that the difference seemed pretty minimal. After I swapped the eximus USB cable with the Gemini cable, that was when the difference came in. The sound became clearer and the weight of the sound increased. After a few rounds of A-B ing, the results were consistent. I also tried to just use the Gemini cable directly from comp to dac, I thought it also gave the sound more weight and a slight clarity, but the soundstage seemed to become smaller, compared to just using the original eximus cable.

The results was pretty surprising to me compared to what I had been reading that a clean power source for the USB input should yield the largest improvement. Anyway, I can say I am happy with the ifi combi and to my ears, music definitely sounds better. I am not too sure if I will recommend the entire combi to everyone as the improvements are maybe only to my ears. However, if you already have a PSU or ifi usb supplying clean usb power, perhaps you can give the Gemini cable a try for half the price of the combi.

 

[yellowblue]

Thank you froger! I bought the Gemini cable 4 weeks ago. And I got exactly the same impressions as you. If buying a Ifi USB don´t forget to buy the Gemini-cable! The soundstage got definitly more depth and voices got more body and presence.

 

[froger]

Glad that I am not the only one hearing the improvement. I thought that the changes were not subtle, but worried that it could be to my ears only

 

[sensui123]

Very interested in this DAC from some recommendations on the thread I started trying to get advice on choosing between the m51, perfect wave mk2, and the metreum octave.  I'm curious how come it seems most are using USB with this dac with the spdif options of coaxial/optical.....is that how this particular dac sound best?  Thinking of using the iusb device with it as well.  Loving the feedback on this thread, seems to be exactly what I'm looking for.....a more musical source without sacrifice on the details for my HD800 (that sounds good with my LCD-3 and HE-6 as well).  Planning to pair it with the GS-X amp.....any comments/suggestions to further sway me in this direction is welcome. 

 

[azynneo]

Quote:

Very interested in this DAC from some recommendations on the thread I started trying to get advice on choosing between the m51, perfect wave mk2, and the metreum octave.  I'm curious how come it seems most are using USB with this dac with the spdif options of coaxial/optical.....is that how this particular dac sound best?  Thinking of using the iusb device with it as well.  Loving the feedback on this thread, seems to be exactly what I'm looking for.....a more musical source without sacrifice on the details for my HD800 (that sounds good with my LCD-3 and HE-6 as well).  Planning to pair it with the GS-X amp.....any comments/suggestions to further sway me in this direction is welcome. 

Bourne is selling one for 2250 I believe, it's a great dac I just never really got a chance to let mine shine with a GS-X >=O

 

[sensui123]

Yeah looks like he sold it already, too bad I caught wind of this a bit too slow heh. Nothing wrong with buying new though.  Seems like quite a beast.

 

[Clemmaster]

I'm selling mine too, but it's a 230V model (Europe only).
I got to try it on my sister's Focal Solo6 monitors this weekend: the result was very very nice! Not too bright like I feared and very musical/involving.
 
I need to try it properly with the HE-6 while it's still at home..

 

[BournePerfect]

Yeah it's sold (again).Probably making the same mistake twice , and I'll have another wanted ad out in 6 months lol. The main reason I'm selling though-is I've always been keen on getting an Overdrive SE, and would be my end game dac if it suits me. I am addicted to the 3D presentation of the DP-1 though-and it stands apart from every other dac I've owned. Works ridiculous for movies and games too. If I could keep it I would for that reason alone-but I need the funds to help with the Oversrive down the line. I also need to email Steve and find out if there's another Overdrive SE v.2 around the corner since his OR6 is slated for later this year.
 
Also, rumor has it that Eximus is coming out with another flagship dac in the 5K range that would definitely peak my interest. I'm waiting to hear back from them for some sort of confirmation about that.
 
-Daniel

 

[sensui123]

Quote:

I'm selling mine too, but it's a 230V model (Europe only).
I got to try it on my sister's Focal Solo6 monitors this weekend: the result was very very nice! Not too bright like I feared and very musical/involving.
 
I need to try it properly with the HE-6 while it's still at home..

 
Sorry, wish I was in Europe.  I'm in the US (California to be exact).  Good luck with the sale though....doesn't sound like something you guys should sell so easily if it's that nice.....you guys got upgraditis bad hah....this is why I try not to hang out around here too much on head fi.  =)

 

[froger]

Quote:

Very interested in this DAC from some recommendations on the thread I started trying to get advice on choosing between the m51, perfect wave mk2, and the metreum octave.  I'm curious how come it seems most are using USB with this dac with the spdif options of coaxial/optical.....is that how this particular dac sound best?  Thinking of using the iusb device with it as well.  Loving the feedback on this thread, seems to be exactly what I'm looking for.....a more musical source without sacrifice on the details for my HD800 (that sounds good with my LCD-3 and HE-6 as well).  Planning to pair it with the GS-X amp.....any comments/suggestions to further sway me in this direction is welcome. 

I believe Metrum Octave does not come with balanced output, so that could be an issue if you intend to run balanced to GS-X and HD800. You probably have to get Metrum Hex in that case if you still want the Metrum sound, but that's at a higher price range. Another thing, though maybe trivial to you, is that both DP-1 and GS-X does not come with remote, so if you are a couch potato like me, then the inconvenience is that your couch set up needs to be near to the amp for you to adjust the volume easily. Another dac I was considering before I bought the DP-1 is Ayre QB-9 DSD, but I just could not find enough reviews/ views to justify buying it at a higher price than DP-1.

 

[BournePerfect]

I was also interested in the Ayre at one point-but USB only at that price? Thanks but no thanks. I consider my dac the hub of my audio/entertainment rigs-need more inputs than they usually have, in fact.
 
-Daniel