[upside]

Does anyone know the difference between the different labels on the Muses 01 chips? I have seen Muses 01 201 and Muses 01 204 as well as the Muses 01 901 chips and was wondering what the difference may be?
 
I did go back through the thread and saw some speculation about serial numbers but was wondering if anyone knows for sure?

 

[Gandah]

  Does anyone know the difference between the different labels on the Muses 01 chips? I have seen Muses 01 201 and Muses 01 204 as well as the Muses 01 901 chips and was wondering what the difference may be?
 
I did go back through the thread and saw some speculation about serial numbers but was wondering if anyone knows for sure?

Batch #
 
If you are buying muses, try to buy them with a uniform batch #

 

[upside]

  Batch #
 
If you are buying muses, try to buy them with a uniform batch #

Thanks Gandah.
 
The reason I asked was that I have 2 E1 Muses DACs and there is a noticeable difference in the sound quality between them. The 201 series Muses version sounds better. It is more open and engaging. The 204 series E1 Muses sounds a bit lifeless and dull. I actually prefer my Plus version E1 to the Muses 204 version.
 
One DAC does have the gain jumper update as well as the A10K volume pot but other than the different series Muses chips are identical so should sound the same.

 

[palmfish]

 
Thanks Gandah.
 
The reason I asked was that I have 2 E1 Muses DACs and there is a noticeable difference in the sound quality between them. The 201 series Muses version sounds better. It is more open and engaging. The 204 series E1 Muses sounds a bit lifeless and dull. I actually prefer my Plus version E1 to the Muses 204 version.
 
One DAC does have the gain jumper update as well as the A10K volume pot but other than the different series Muses chips are identical so should sound the same.

 
They probably do sound the same. Without precise (instrumented) volume matching, there is no way to compensate for the different gain settings.

 

[upside]

   
They probably do sound the same. Without precise (instrumented) volume matching, there is no way to compensate for the different gain settings.

Thanks palmfish.
 
I don't think it is a gain differential that I am hearing. I have a good idea about gain matching when comparing components. I've heard relative loudness make a difference but nothing to the degree I hear between these two Muses samples.
 
If I didn't know better I'd almost say the E1 Muses with the 204 chips is broken. It is not in the same league as either of my other E1s. I have heard others complain about the poor sound quality of counterfeit Muses chips which led me to wonder how much difference each legitimate Muses series number might make.

 

[Gandah]

  Thanks palmfish.
 
I don't think it is a gain differential that I am hearing. I have a good idea about gain matching when comparing components. I've heard relative loudness make a difference but nothing to the degree I hear between these two Muses samples.
 
If I didn't know better I'd almost say the E1 Muses with the 204 chips is broken. It is not in the same league as either of my other E1s. I have heard others complain about the poor sound quality of counterfeit Muses chips which led me to wonder how much difference each legitimate Muses series number might make.

I had the 204 and they sounded amazing, have you swapped them out to your second unit? it could be the unit itself that sounds lifeless and dull and not the 204s
 
Also is the E1 with the A10k pot an official "Muses Edition" or is it the standard or Plus edition?

 

[upside]

  I had the 204 and they sounded amazing, have you swapped them out to your second unit? it could be the unit itself that sounds lifeless and dull and not the 204s
 
Also is the E1 with the A10k pot an official "Muses Edition" or is it the standard or Plus edition?

Both the 201 and 204 editions I have are official Muses editions. The second unit with the 204 series chips was the "corrected" version that includes the gain jumper and the A10K headphone volume pot. I was assured that the gain jumper should not affect the sound difference I am hearing. The first E1 I have was the regular version that I upgraded with the Plus kit. The Plus version by far outshines the newest E1 Muses with the 204 chips which should not be the case.

 

[Pippin76]

I think I just bricked the headphone amp of the E1....I wondered if anyone here more tech-savvy than me can confirm that.
 
I bought two LME49710s (metal top) to put in the headphone amp section. After I put them in, there was a loud POP when I plugged my headphone in and there was only sound in the left channel. I opened the E1 again and remembered how I'd read that you need risers for one of the opamps and sure enough, one of them wasn't plugged all the way in. Stupid I know. So I replaced the stock 49720s but still the same result: loud pop and no sound in the left channel.
 
I may even have put the 49710s in with the wrong orientation (that little half-circle on the opamp indication direction or how you say it). Sigh.
 
Anyway, can anyone advise me whether I have killed the headphone amp here? I'm getting a couple of risers in the mail in a couple of days but I'm not so hopeful. At least the dac part of it still works.

 

[Poleepkwa]

These are still being manufactured right? No replacement rumours yet?
 
I just order one so I am hoping that the replacement will is not just around the corner. Bought this to replace an ODAC/O2 stack....

 

[upside]

  I had the 204 and they sounded amazing, have you swapped them out to your second unit? it could be the unit itself that sounds lifeless and dull and not the 204s
 
Also is the E1 with the A10k pot an official "Muses Edition" or is it the standard or Plus edition?

 
As suggested by Gandah, I swapped the Muses 204s for the 201s from the good sounding E1 Muses. No difference in the sound quality. Still closed in and lifeless sounding. All mid-range and no frequency extremes. No punch.
 
Where in the circuit would I start looking to find the issue?

 

[gdourado]

In regard to udio Quality with headphones, is this better than the STU?

 

[Gandah]

  In regard to udio Quality with headphones, is this better than the STU?

Going by specs alone, the E1 is better, however this also comes down to the individual and how they use the dac, but I'm confident in saying most people would prefer the E1 over STU for SQ

 

[gdourado]

Thank you for the reply.
Is the e1 miles ahead of something like a fiio e17?
How about a MacBook Pro with e1 playing Alac files against an iPod 5th gen playing Alac through a fiio e12?

Cheers!

 

[palmfish]

Thank you for the reply.
Is the e1 miles ahead of something like a fiio e17?
How about a MacBook Pro with e1 playing Alac files against an iPod 5th gen playing Alac through a fiio e12?

Cheers!

It really depends on the headphones you are using and your definition of "miles ahead."

With a sensitive, easy to drive headphone, I would say that no amp is "miles ahead" of the iPod unamped. If you need a more powerful amp and/or optical/coax digital inputs and/or preamp capabilities, then yes, the Essence One will be superior to the e17 and e12.

 

[patcentjin]

yes,That would seriously be a winning combo if it supported that. I doubt it though but one can always hope.thank you