[Biscuitz]

Quote:

I mentioned the SA-31 in the context of your question "...are other amps / DACs out there generally warmer than neutral?" and as an option for someone preferring warmer gear. Looking more carefully to your question now, I think you are right.
On the 300$ vs 700$ setups, the price difference is big enough at this level to be virtually certain that the more expensive one will be a step above. Whether it will be modestly or significantly better is I am afraid very personal in this hobby. For what is worth, I had found the Audio gd NFB-10 much better than the Audio gd NFB-15 (NFB-12 at the time) - so I would thought that the NFB-10 should be a better alternative than your (1) or (2).

Hmm, I didn't think about the NFB-10. So it is a fully balanced amp & DAC with single-ended input as well, for $549? I didn't know a fully balanced setup could be had at that price point. That is intriguing.

 

[GaryPham]

Kinda a noob question here, but I was wondering if upsampling degrades sound quality.  I use Foobar for my music without wasapi and asio.  My question is since most of my music is 16 bit 44khz flac files, am I better off matching my sample rate to that or is it better to just leave it on 32 bit 192khz?  I noticed that when set to 32 bit 192 khz, I often hear "ticks" when changing songs and these ticks go away when setting to 16 bit.  Sound quality wise I'm not too sure, but I want to say that 16bit 44khz sounds a bit warmer to my ears?  Am I going crazy? or does upsampling then sampling down again degrade sound quality more than just matching the bitrates?  Maybe someone can enlighten me?

 

[h4mm3r 0f th0r]

Quote:

 
Good question! 

650 always pairs well with treble oriented gear so it is awesome and seriously sings with 11.32.... but i don't know about he500 as i haven't used them with anything other than 11.32 and a lowly fiio e9... it does good with the he500 and 11.32 has enough power to drive them properly but 11.32 is treble oriented and lacks bass impact so i feel a warmer setup might be better for some who want more bass and less treble

 

[StratocasterMan]

Quote:

650 always pairs well with treble oriented gear so it is awesome and seriously sings with 11.32.... but i don't know about he500 as i haven't used them with anything other than 11.32 and a lowly fiio e9... it does good with the he500 and 11.32 has enough power to drive them properly but 11.32 is treble oriented and lacks bass impact so i feel a warmer setup might be better for some who want more bass and less treble

 
Thank you very kindly for your answer. You provided exactly the type of information I was hoping to obtain. My current headphone rig is Audio-Technica ATH-M50 paired with a FiiO E17 DAC / headphone amplifier, and I enjoy it very much. I am looking to take a step up into a more "Mid-Fi" rig. I've pretty much settled on either the Sennheiser HD650 or the HiFiMAN HE-500 as the cans I want to use. Given the price of those two headphones, I'm looking for an appropriate way to drive them without busting the budget. I'm aware that I could add the FiiO E09K to my FiiO E17 for a bit more power, but I'm not sure it would be enough for either the HD650 or the HE-500, and there are lots of other headphone amplifier options out there.
 
I'm thinking the 11.32 might be the answer. I've narrowed it down to the HD650 or HE500 as headphones, but I'm looking for the right way to drive them. I do need my headphones to be as versatile as possible, because I like punk rock, classical, jazz, dub reggae, electronica, female vocals, etc. I dig it all!!!! I don't know if I'm a "basshead" but my general thought is I don't like "bass light" headphones. I listen to some genres that require bass and if the bass feels weak, that's a deal-breaker. I'm coming from Audio-Technica ATH-M50's, which I think are generally considered to be fairly bass heavy.  
 
I'm worried about the HD650's being too classical, too bass light. Too much Diana Krall and not enough Funkadelic. If I want to listen to Funkdadelic, I want the power! But then,  I'm worried about the HE500's being to too expensive, too uncomfortable, and requiring more power than the 11.32 can handle.
 
Decisions.............................

 

[NinjaVampire]

Hi guys, just wondering, if I have an "older" model 11.32 (bought at the end of February) and i want to do a fresh install on my computer, which firmware should I use? I recently have switch computers and have been unsure which version to use when installing it clean. 

 

[Saraguie]

Quote:

Hi guys, just wondering, if I have an "older" model 11.32 (bought at the end of February) and i want to do a fresh install on my computer, which firmware should I use? I recently have switch computers and have been unsure which version to use when installing it clean. 

WHY? Is the sound lacking somehow? I'm not listening that much these days to my 11.32 however, I did from the day I purchased back in Dec. I've not upgraded the firmware as I did not see any reason to. If you read back in the thread more folks have had problems updating than not.  IMHO from what Kingwa has said and what people report after update, its a update and not a upgrade to the sound.

 

[h4mm3r 0f th0r]

Quote:

 
Thank you very kindly for your answer. You provided exactly the type of information I was hoping to obtain. My current headphone rig is Audio-Technica ATH-M50 paired with a FiiO E17 DAC / headphone amplifier, and I enjoy it very much. I am looking to take a step up into a more "Mid-Fi" rig. I've pretty much settled on either the Sennheiser HD650 or the HiFiMAN HE-500 as the cans I want to use. Given the price of those two headphones, I'm looking for an appropriate way to drive them without busting the budget. I'm aware that I could add the FiiO E09K to my FiiO E17 for a bit more power, but I'm not sure it would be enough for either the HD650 or the HE-500, and there are lots of other headphone amplifier options out there.
 
I'm thinking the 11.32 might be the answer. I've narrowed it down to the HD650 or HE500 as headphones, but I'm looking for the right way to drive them. I do need my headphones to be as versatile as possible, because I like punk rock, classical, jazz, dub reggae, electronica, female vocals, etc. I dig it all!!!! I don't know if I'm a "basshead" but my general thought is I don't like "bass light" headphones. I listen to some genres that require bass and if the bass feels weak, that's a deal-breaker. I'm coming from Audio-Technica ATH-M50's, which I think are generally considered to be fairly bass heavy.  
 
I'm worried about the HD650's being too classical, too bass light. Too much Diana Krall and not enough Funkadelic. If I want to listen to Funkdadelic, I want the power! But then,  I'm worried about the HE500's being to too expensive, too uncomfortable, and requiring more power than the 11.32 can handle.
 
Decisions.............................

fiio e9 drives hd650 very well and is a good match but ofcourse 11.32 would be better... he500 is a step above hd650 in terms of detail and quality... hd650 is almost mid-fi without a 1000$ amp but he500 is surely hi-fi and is definitely good if you can give it 1 watt per channel which 11.32 does... but i think you could save more money and go for something like 15.32 which is warmer in signature with almost the same power... hd650s are not bass light, they just roll off in the sub bass region which he500 does not... the 11.32 has definitely enough power to handle the he500 but it is an ortho and can take speaker amp level of power so it all depends(there is schiit lyr too)... hd650 is mid centric and just a delight for vocals... he500 is amazing for everything and neutral... you should ask this in he500 thread...
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/551345/hifiman-he-500-he-as-in-high-end-please-post-your-impressions-proving-to-be-a-great-headphone-and-standing-the-test-of-time/5415#post_9509348

 

[i019791]

Quote:

fiio e9 drives hd650 very well and is a good match but ofcourse 11.32 would be better... he500 is a step above hd650 in terms of detail and quality... hd650 is almost mid-fi without a 1000$ amp but he500 is surely hi-fi and is definitely good if you can give it 1 watt per channel which 11.32 does... but i think you could save more money and go for something like 15.32 which is warmer in signature with almost the same power... hd650s are not bass light, they just roll off in the sub bass region which he500 does not... the 11.32 has definitely enough power to handle the he500 but it is an ortho and can take speaker amp level of power so it all depends(there is schiit lyr too)... hd650 is mid centric and just a delight for vocals... he500 is amazing for everything and neutral... you should ask this in he500 thread...
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/551345/hifiman-he-500-he-as-in-high-end-please-post-your-impressions-proving-to-be-a-great-headphone-and-standing-the-test-of-time/5415#post_9509348

Here is my view, in the full understanding that you might be lost with different opinions - i.e. have difficulty in identifying which PERSONAL preferences are closer to yours:
I didn't like fiio e9
needing a 1000 $ amp to make hd650 good is not true
11.32 or 15.32 do not lack any power for hd650 and he500
hd650 has rolled off treble, he500 has a lot of treble
hd650 is "better" with bad recordings of any genre
he500 is closer to hd600, not to hd650
he500 is technically better for me, but not in everything - there are times I prefer hd650
the differences between them are smaller than most head-fi pages indicate

 

[h4mm3r 0f th0r]

Quote:

Here is my view, in the full understanding that you might be lost with different opinions - i.e. have difficulty in identifying which PERSONAL preferences are closer to yours:
I didn't like fiio e9
needing a 1000 $ amp to make hd650 good is not true
11.32 or 15.32 do not lack any power for hd650 and he500
hd650 has rolled off treble, he500 has a lot of treble
hd650 is "better" with bad recordings of any genre
he500 is closer to hd600, not to hd650
he500 is technically better for me, but not in everything - there are times I prefer hd650
the differences between them are smaller than most head-fi pages indicate

fiio e9 is a low quality amp but it is not bad with hd650 and a very good cheap option for those who cannot afford higher setups... there are so many better options ofcourse...
 
hd650 scales up a lot with more expensive amps... it literally changes into a really incredible headphone with higher end gear... ofcourse it is still good with low end gear like a o2/odac combo
yes 11.32 and 15.32 do not lack power at all but their sound signature differ...
he500 has a lot of treble and for some a warmer amp might be better but detail perception might suffer
about bad recordings... i think he500 is a lot more forgiving than hd650...
i like the airy sound of the hd650 to the liquidy planar sound
and i disagree about the differences... they are big... both have great mids but the bass and treble differ widely... also the difference of the liquidy planar sound makes it a major difference...

 

[MoneIntuitive]

very nice coverage, thanks!

 

[GaryPham]

probably don't need to tell you guys this, but I recently just learned how to use kernal streaming with foobar and am blown away.  I'm currnetly using my 11.32 with HD650 and to be honest was slightly disappointed with it, i felt it was harsher than what I would like and didn't feel like a 700 dollar setup.  That all changed when I finally installed Kernal Streaming (which is bit-perfect, same thing as Asio I believe) at 32 bit 384 khz.  It's seriously like a night and day difference, I guess windows processing was really crapping down my sound quality even when I had the 11.32 at 32 bit 192 khz.  With kernal streaming I immediately noticed VASTLY increased soundstage, more impactful bass, and most important, NO MORE HARSHNESS!  I know I may be late to the party, but for any of you guys who aren't already using Asio/KS/Wasapi, I definitely recommend it, it's seriously a world of difference.

 

[Biscuitz]

Quote:

probably don't need to tell you guys this, but I recently just learned how to use kernal streaming with foobar and am blown away.  I'm currnetly using my 11.32 with HD650 and to be honest was slightly disappointed with it, i felt it was harsher than what I would like and didn't feel like a 700 dollar setup.  That all changed when I finally installed Kernal Streaming (which is bit-perfect, same thing as Asio I believe) at 32 bit 384 khz.  It's seriously like a night and day difference, I guess windows processing was really crapping down my sound quality even when I had the 11.32 at 32 bit 192 khz.  With kernal streaming I immediately noticed VASTLY increased soundstage, more impactful bass, and most important, NO MORE HARSHNESS!  I know I may be late to the party, but for any of you guys who aren't already using Asio/KS/Wasapi, I definitely recommend it, it's seriously a world of difference.

This does interest me. I just ordered the NFB-15.32, which I believe supports the same thing. I am unfamiliar with all of what you just said though; is there a way to do this while using iTunes?

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

This does interest me. I just ordered the NFB-15.32, which I believe supports the same thing. I am unfamiliar with all of what you just said though; is there a way to do this while using iTunes?

 
 
Kernel Streaming (KS) is a bit-perfect output renderer (like WASAPI, ASIO etc.).  Once installed, you can select it from the output device drop down menu from Foobar.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
For iTunes (Ver. 11) you can try WASAPI and play with it a bit.
 
 

 
 
 
 
Cheers!!!

 

[BenF]

I have received my NFB-11.32 yesterday.
It's an amazing device, great example of what ES9018 is capable of.
Just wish it had an input to use it as a standalone amplifier.
 
 
Is it my imagination, or does the SPDIF input sound better than USB?

 

[HeatFan12]

Welcome to the club Ben!


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