[hellstens]

  Hi, I've gotten the mx2 for a while now, realized its been shutting off every so often.
Question is, must I connect the power as well? It can't run off usb power?

I have mine for two weeks now and just LOVE the sound it give my Sennheiser HD598
I only use USB power, I try but don't hear any difference in the sound quality on my HD598.
I use it together with a S.M.S.L SA-S3 T-Amp, and ProAc_Response 1SC Speakers
Talk about Micro Stereo with a BIG sound
But you need a clean USB with full 5v power, (Not a USB HUB) to drive it
 
Fantastic sound from all of it

 

[ShenaRingo326]

does the optical input and output work as a pass through to another DAC? if yes, does the unit need to be powered on for the passthrough to work? thanks!

 

[hellstens]

Yes you need to have power on if you use Toslink

 

[TomKure]

Trying to decide if I should replace my Modi+Magni with this one. Magni has way too much THD when the volume knob is turned past 2 'o clock (needed for my 600-Ohm DT-770/880), Modi has inverted signal and is very sensitive to USB noise.
Anyone who heard the HUD-mx2 and ODAC+O2 and possibly the Schiits to give any comparisons? I am deciding if I should replace the Schiit stack with the HUD-mx2 or ODAC+O2 combo.
 
So.... can anyone provide a comparison of the HUD-mx2 and ODAC+O2?

 

[jellowiggler]

Compared to the O2 combo:
 
More input/output options.
Cheaper.
 
 
I listen to Sennheiser Momentum over ear and Klipsh S4i in ear on my MX2 which are sensitive cheap noisy amps.
 
The background is quite inky blackness as loud as I can listen to it, which is only about 1/2 I've never had to go higher.
 
I hope that helps a bit.

 

[Meez]

Should be able to run off of USB power. Maybe the connection cuts out? Problems with the USB cable or maybe either/both ports?


I ran off of USB power for months with no problem other than the lack of volume for my cans. Power from socket made a world of difference, perhaps on sound quality as well. I use the optical ports of my computer and the DAC and I get power from the wall socket. It's quite reliable.  I use a pair of Mad Dogs, for what it's worth.  

Hi, I'm new to head fi and I'm in the market for a pair of Mad Dogs and an amp/dac to go with it. How do they sound on the MX2 (does it make it harsh/bright)? Do they need a more powerful amp or with it plugged into the wall enough?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[TomKure]

I have decided: will buy both. O2+ODAC is already here at home and gosh it's great, HUD-mx2 on its way... I like to waste money on nice devices which are different but quite the same
Just sold my Modi and Magni stack. Modi was quite worse than my E-MU 0404 USB and Magni had quite high THD with volume past 2 o'clock (needed for 600-Ohm Beyers).
Also selling my Graham Slee Novo right now. Bought in 2009, every year I had it I was realizing more and more what a waste of money it was...
I also realized recently that I could not tell the Magni and Novo (except that the Novo had audibly rolled-off bass with low-impedance phones) from the headphone output of my E-MU 0404 USB. I wonder if in some time spent listening to it I will be able to tell the O2+ODAC and HUD-mx2 (once it arrives) from the EMU 0404 USB headphone out. Right now I feel like the O2, when driven from the EMU 0404 USB, has more dynamic and clearer sound than the EMU 0404 USB headphone out, but I'm not sure I could tell them apart in a blind test.
I wonder how the HUD-mx2 will compare. Considering it has no analog input just for the amp and it is always being driven from the integrated DAC, I wonder how will I be able to evaluate the sound of its amp. Maybe just by using its analog line out feeding the O2 and then switching to the Audinst's headphone out...
Anyway, if I do not forget, I will share my experiences.

 

[rock-solid]

  ...
I wonder how the HUD-mx2 will compare. Considering it has no analog input just for the amp and it is always being driven from the integrated DAC, I wonder how will I be able to evaluate the sound of its amp. Maybe just by using its analog line out feeding the O2 and then switching to the Audinst's headphone out...
Anyway, if I do not forget, I will share my experiences.

 
I recently experienced that the line-out sounds worse than the amp-out. Never needed it before but got a dedicated headphone amp and therefore used the line-out for the first time. Thats why I had to get a new DAC. But I´ll keep the Audinst for travelling.
Having that said I would rather suggest to use a 3.5mm headphone jack to rca cable to feed the O2. The Audinst can drive both headphone outputs at the same time.

 

[SelmO]

Hi everybody,
 
I have slight problem with my MX2. A couple of days ago it stopped working. When I plug it into my MacBook Pro via usb, it is recognised as an external usb audio-device, but not as hud mx2 anymore as it did before. The indicator is on red no matter in which of the two usb-slots I plug it in. First I thought it might be the cable, so I changed the cable: but still, the indicator stays on red and no sound (I plugged the ac in in a second step to rule power-limitations via usb out: still red light). I plugged it into a windows-machine at work to figure out if it was a problem with my Mac, but the indicator stays on red. Anybody an idea what the problem might be (and probably even a solution)? Thanks for your help in advance already!

 

[rock-solid]

Just to be sure: the input switch is in "USB"-Position and not "Off" or "Optical"? 

 

[SelmO]

Correct, it's in USB position. I turned it a couple of times into off-position and usb-position again, but it didn't change to orange.

 

[jellowiggler]

That doesn't sound good.  Especially if the condition exists on two seperate computers.
 
Are you using external power, or USB bus power?
 
Try here as well:
http://audinst.com/en/forums

 

[SelmO]

Thanks for the link (I will post my problem there when I got my confirmation email).

Regarding your question: I have used the mx2 practically exclusively via USB. But when the problem occurred, I plugged the external power in, just to rule out a lack of power-supply...unfortunately it didn't solve the problem.

 

[errorosus]

Audinst HUD-mx2- is great allrounder- I found it to be better value than O2+Odac (two headphone outputs, 88,2 and 192kHz support, optical input and output, input and output switch...) and its even cheaper But O2 is great amp (probably would change Odac for something more up-to-date). One thing I found not so great on HUD-mx2 is that is quite noisy with sensitive IEMs...O2 is very, very quiet.

 

[TomKure]

I measured both the O2+ODAC combo and the Audinst HUD-mx2 using RMAA, with headphones connected in parallel to realistically load the amps. I used EMU0404USB to record the testing signal. I also had measured Schiit Modi+Magni stack a few months ago, then I sold the Schiit stack. My measurements also include the excellent integrated audio of my Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming GT motherboard and the headphone output of the EMU0404USB. I'm not sure if I am allowed to post results of measurements here on Head-Fi, also, I could not stress enough that my measurements are not absolute and precise, as RMAA is not perfect and the EMU0404USB adds some THD, IMD and noise to the results on its input (as well as having the dynamic range limited to ~114 dB). But I can tell you a few things I noticed. Yeah and I also need to list the headphones I used for the measurements: HD650, AH-D2000, DT-770 600 Ohm.
The results indicate the following:
 
AMPs:
 
1) The Magni had the best results of all amps with the Denons (low impedance). However, once you turn the volume knob past 12'o clock, the THD raises extremely high and around 2'o clock volume, the Magni was the worst measured amp of all I measured.
2) With the Senns and Beyers (300 and 600 Ohms), O2 was the best, with Audinst close behind and Magni right after that (until I pushed the volume on the Magni, see just above)
3) When doing blind testing with my friends, we could not tell the O2 from the Audinst (when comparing the two amps, we always had to use the Audinst as the source, as the Audinst's amp does not have any external inputs). Nor could we tell them apart during sighted listening comparison
4) To comment on the integrated audio of my motherboard and the headphone output of the EMU:
Both are good, measured great, in some areas better than the rest (dynamic range with high impedance headphones), in some worse (THD, IMD), nothing notable. Both are plagued by high output impedance and do quite bad with the Denons. The integrated audio has more power (volume), but no analog volume control.
 
DACs:
1) Worst results are Audinst's when using USB input and Modi's. More on that below.
2) ODAC is very good, considering the DAC is powered purely by USB.
3) Of all my DACs, the best results were: the Audinst, when using optical input and right behind him was my EMU0404USB.
 
To comment: the Modi is not a very good DAC in my opinion, because it uses USB power and does not handle PC noise well. It could be a great DAC if it used external power or if computers did not generate noise. BUT it does significantly better out of a laptop; I however use my desktop PC for listening so that is not an option for me. Also, I can imagine the Schiit Wyrd will help significantly. Also, it inverts the signal on the output.
ODAC does very well, especially considering that it's powered by USB (even when you like me, have the O2+ODAC combo, the ODAC is NOT powered by the wall-wart, but purely from USB). NwAvGuy managed to filter out the USB noise very well. Still, the EMU0404USB, which uses an external power supply for its DAC, measures better, so does the Audinst when using optical input.
Audinst as a DAC....well...very interesting. To be honest, I'm not sure if I heard anything wrong with the Audinst when using USB connection. I think I did, but I'm just not sure. One thing is clear:
The Audinst measures VERY MUCH better when using optical input. In fact, it measures unbelievably well on optical. On USB, the opposite is true - quite bad. THD, noise and IMD near the level of audibility (-80dB). From the graphs that RMAA generates, I would say it's jitter. Not sure. But I'm not connecting my Audinst via USB again, that's for sure.
FYI: I used my motherboard's integrated audio's optical out. When using USB, I had the Audinst powered by the external adaptor. For all USB connections, I used my motherboard's USB ports designated for DAC connections (they should have as little noise as possible).
 
All in all, I would recommend the Audinst HUD-mx2 over the O2+ODAC combo to anyone, who can use it via optical. It is just great. If you have to use it via USB, chances are that you will not hear its shortcomings, as they are just around what is considered the border of audibility, but I strongly recommend using the optical input.
The O2+ODAC has a very slightly better amp (with lower impedance, too) and has no problem with USB.
 
Off topic: The Schiit stack is also an option, but with quite some limitations: If you are using a desktop computer, get the Wyrd as well. Modi needs it. With a laptop, you should be good. Also, Magni does not handle volumes past 2'o clock well. Use it with low impedance, sensitive headphones.
 
I hope this has been informative for you and I'd like to thank you for reading.