[thecrow]

The reviews on the Ifi Micro look pretty good to be fair, the differences between the futura and the Cube from the reviews I’ve seen have said that the amp section and the use of two 9038 pro chips in the cube give it a more muscular sound signature, I love it compared to all the different kit I have owned over the years, hopefully someone will pop up who has tried both to give an idea on the differences.

I’ve demoed the cube for an hour or so (with focal spirit pro and se846) briefly played with the sp1000 and have used the ifi black a couple of times.

I can talk about bottom end specifics but i found the ifi black to be a little too dry (maybe steely) at times for me so it’s never sung to me. I did not hear a big difference between the cube and sp1000 with my headphones mentioned. Needless to say that the cube felt like it head a lot more headroom particularly with the focal pro and i thought it had a bit more meat or weight

But you haven’t enjoyed the sp1000 then i would definitely demo the cube before buying it.

I thought the cube had really good detail and nuances in sound came through and am strongly considering it for portable (though big) and as an alternative for full sized hps at home. And to hook it up to my jbl monitors

Could the cayin n6ii be better suited to you?
I have not been able to demo that one

 

[wazzupi]

I’ve demoed the cube for an hour or so (with focal spirit pro and se846) briefly played with the sp1000 and have used the ifi black a couple of times.

I can talk about bottom end specifics but i found the ifi black to be a little too dry (maybe steely) at times for me so it’s never sung to me. I did not hear a big difference between the cube and sp1000 with my headphones mentioned. Needless to say that the cube felt like it head a lot more headroom particularly with the focal pro and i thought it had a bit more meat or weight

But you haven’t enjoyed the sp1000 then i would definitely demo the cube before buying it.

I thought the cube had really good detail and nuances in sound came through and am strongly considering it for portable (though big) and as an alternative for full sized hps at home. And to hook it up to my jbl monitors

Could the cayin n6ii be better suited to you?
I have not been able to demo that one

I currently have both I might be leaning towards the cube thought...

 

[thecrow]

I currently have both I might be leaning towards the cube thought...

How do the cube and n6ii compare?
I keep reading and hearing that the n6ii is “musical”. But i haven’t seen much elaboration on that particularly on minor or macro details and balance of sound/frequencty

 

[wazzupi]

How do the cube and n6ii compare?
I keep reading and hearing that the n6ii is “musical”. But i haven’t seen much elaboration on that particularly on minor or macro details and balance of sound/frequencty

I'm going to a/b songs and ill get back to you i believe soundstage blacker background and cleaner sound goes to cube it has weight and authority behind it.. The n6ii is warm has pretty good imaging more than i expected from a warmer tune i haven't listened to the cayin enough to get a real good picture of overall sound so im going to be listening to it for a bit.

 

[thecrow]

I'm going to a/b songs and ill get back to you i believe soundstage blacker background and cleaner sound goes to cube it has weight and authority behind it.. The n6ii is warm has pretty good imaging more than i expected from a warmer tune i haven't listened to the cayin enough to get a real good picture of overall sound so im going to be listening to it for a bit.

Thanks - some views would be great

 

[qsk78]

the amp section and the use of two 9038 pro chips in the cube give it a more muscular sound signature, I love it compared to all the different kit I have owned over the years, hopefully someone will pop up who has tried both to give an idea on the differences.

Ok. Thanks.
Anyway, I need to listen to the Cube first. Will try to visit one of the audio stores in Moscow within next 2 weeks.

 

[mcook1970]

Can anyone tell me how the Cube compares with the original Kann in terms of the sound.

I am very happy with the sound of the Kann but i am always interested to see if there are any other daps out there that can better it in my ongoing quest to find my audio nirvana! My preference is a wide, airy and slightly warm sounding soundstage and the Kann ticks these boxes for me but i am sure there is something out there that can better it.

I've also heard the iBasso DX220 might also be a contender in the sub $1500 bracket which is basically my limit if i am to get a new dap.

 

[qsk78]

Any MrSpeakers Ether 2 owners here? How do they perfrom with the Cube? Thanks.

 

[Deferenz]

Can anyone tell me how the Cube compares with the original Kann in terms of the sound.

I am very happy with the sound of the Kann but i am always interested to see if there are any other daps out there that can better it in my ongoing quest to find my audio nirvana! My preference is a wide, airy and slightly warm sounding soundstage and the Kann ticks these boxes for me but i am sure there is something out there that can better it.

I've also heard the iBasso DX220 might also be a contender in the sub $1500 bracket which is basically my limit if i am to get a new dap.

I spent yesterday trying out the Kann Cube, the Kann and the A&Norma SR15. In my opinion the sound quality of the Cube is better than the Kann. To me it felt similar sounding, i.e. the house A&K sound, but just the next step on. I would say the Cube was a bit more airy and the soundstage a little bigger and everything seemed just a bit overall crisper than the Kann. However, the Cube was less warm. In fact to me it had a rather more neutral sound. This was a disappointment to me as I was really set on getting the Cube. I too like a warm sound but I didn’t feel the Cube had it. This is not to say that the Cube isn’t a great DAP though. I loved its size and it was easy to use and navigate and it’s UI was fast. The sound from it was really good, but for me personally it just lacked the warmth I’m after. I would say ensure you test it out if you can and judge for yourself. You may love it or you may not, but at least you’ll know before you spend $1,500.

 

[Newsee]

Can anyone tell me how the Cube compares with the original Kann in terms of the sound.

I am very happy with the sound of the Kann but i am always interested to see if there are any other daps out there that can better it in my ongoing quest to find my audio nirvana! My preference is a wide, airy and slightly warm sounding soundstage and the Kann ticks these boxes for me but i am sure there is something out there that can better it.

I've also heard the iBasso DX220 might also be a contender in the sub $1500 bracket which is basically my limit if i am to get a new dap.

See my comparision of Cube to Kann here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ast...storage-battery.843376/page-137#post-15061802
Which headphone are you using? There are many listed in your signature, however I do not know how up to date it is, because the Kann is not mentioned.

 

[Nails]

I’ve been looking for balanced headphone cables from the Cube to my Elegias and Cube to Andromedas. Its been suggested that using the 5 pin xlr would be better than using the 2.5 balanced jack, but it seems no one makes a cable like this so my question is...would there be any additional benefit using the xlr to headphones or is the 2.5 exactly the same output and will give the same result?
Thanks

 

[qsk78]

How it can be possible?
To my understanding, the 5 pin XLR is a line-out, it should by-pass the internal amplification of the DAP and send the signal to an external amplifier, so the DAC section is in use only. Normally you cannot control the volume on the line-out.
Is it anyhow different for the Cube?

 

[nicodem]

I’ve been looking for balanced headphone cables from the Cube to my Elegias and Cube to Andromedas. Its been suggested that using the 5 pin xlr would be better than using the 2.5 balanced jack, but it seems no one makes a cable like this so my question is...would there be any additional benefit using the xlr to headphones or is the 2.5 exactly the same output and will give the same result?
Thanks

You are misleading this. Xlr is line-out. Don't use this for headphones as no volume and also in some case would destroy headphones.
Use 2.5 for balanced only

 

[Nails]

You are misleading this. Xlr is line-out. Don't use this for headphones as no volume and also in some case would destroy headphones.
Use 2.5 for balanced only

Thanks nicodem, the advice was from someone who really should have known that, but I’m glad I don’t need to keep looking. There are a few 2.5 balanced cables I’ve seen. Maybe the Moon one specifically for the elegias would be a good choice, about $375 US I think.

 

[nicodem]

Thanks nicodem, the advice was from someone who really should have known that, but I’m glad I don’t need to keep looking. There are a few 2.5 balanced cables I’ve seen. Maybe the Moon one specifically for the elegias would be a good choice, about $375 US I think.

Honestly for me balanced is little overrated. You got Andromeda, try balanced cable with them if you can somewhere and then judge. I got Andromeda, used to have Elegia and I think that d7200 were better then Elegia.
Balanced cable not always makes the magic.