^ That was a bit of sarcasm.
OK, after 12 days of listening to the following chain, exclusively....
44.1/16 and 96/24 FLAC on microSD cards > Sony Walkman NWZ-A17 > aftermarket USB emulation cable (digital out) > USB input of the Audiophonics PCM5102, with a TeraDak USB-Y cable to supply 5VDC power from an Anker Astro Pro LiPo battery pack and an external 8.4V six-cell AA NiMH battery pack to keep the DAC's internal, two-cell Li-Ion battery charged during use > Line Out > iBasso PB2 portable amp, equipped with 2x Burson V5 Dual discrete op-amps and "dummy" buffers (for maximum transparency), powered by an Energizer XP8000 LiPo pack via an XPAL Willy Cable WI16 inline 16V regulator, balanced out > Toxic Cables Silver Poison > Sennheiser HD800
I reverted to using this chain, this morning...
44.1/16 and 96/24 FLAC on microSD cards > Sony Walkman NWZ-A17 > aftermarket USB emulation cable (digital out) > USB input of the Oppo HA-2, with an Anker Astro Pro LiPo battery pack to supply 5V to the HA-2 during use > Line Out > iBasso PB2 portable amp, equipped with 2x Burson V5 Dual discrete op-amps and "dummy" buffers (for maximum transparency), powered by an Energizer XP8000 LiPo pack via an XPAL Willy Cable WI16 inline 16V regulator, balanced out > Toxic Cables Silver Poison > Sennheiser HD800
I always find switching back to previous component after a lot of listening to be very revealing - sometimes even surprising. In this case, it has only helped me to cement my conclusions without altering them.
The ES9018K2M implementation in the Oppo HA-2 is a superb match, for my tastes, when used with my favorite, "transportable" amp for the HD800 - the iBasso PB2 with Burson V5 Dual discrete op-amps. The Oppo HA-2's DAC is extremely neutral and transparent and less grainy by far than my Oppo HA-1's ESS9018 DAC on USB input (which I suspect is due to the HA-1's USB receiver being sensitive to power noise).
My Metrum Acoustics Octave MkII NOS DAC has that analog quality that works wonders at taming the brittle edginess heard with the HD800 when it is used with amps that employ a lot of negative feedback (i.e. the Oppo HA-1's amp - which is excellent for just about any headphone other than the HD800), but when using zero-feedback amps (i.e. Metrum Acoustics Aurix) or, at least, low-feedback amps (i.e. NuForce HA200 and iBasso PB2), the absence of oversampling offered by a NOS DAC isn't as justifiable if the mission is to have very low distortion at higher energy levels as well as at low energy levels.
Ironically, the zero-feedback design of the Metrum Aurix, does not generate any of the low-energy distortions that are commonly artifacts of high-feedback amps (HA-1), but this lack of low-energy distortion (Aurix) - which is so precious for digging out the micro-details that can greatly enhance sound stage, imaging, and naturalness of timbre in both voices and instruments - can't be appreciated in combination with the higher-energy distortion of an NOS DAC (Octave MkII). In other words, my most expensive DAC and amp make a s somewhat self-defeating combination - at least when used to drive the excruciatingly resolving HD800, not so for "duller" headphones - as the NOS design of the Octave MkII DAC generates enough high energy distortion to obscure the wonderful lack of low-energy distortion delivered by the zero-feedback Aurix. Together, they are really good for the HD800, but not ideal, in that the NOS DAC is robbing some detail from the higher energy signals that could otherwise pass unharmed through the 0 dB gain, zero-feedback Aurix - which, in 0 dB mode, acts as nothing more than a passive pre-amp, matching impedance and providing an attenuation control, to drive the headphones with only the voltage output of the DAC (more than enough).
Fear not - I'm about to describe the sound of the Audiophonics PCM5102.
I just wanted to orient readers to my preferences.
As stated in my first post, I ordered this PCM5102 implementaton in hopes of "bumping up the bass energy, with warmish mids and an overall "analog" character, but without the (somewhat) compressed dynamics, laid back staging, rolled-off highs and reduced resolution of Wolfson DACs.
This reveals that I'm not entirely satisfied with a perfectly neutral source, DAC, amp, and headphone. I'm not a bass head, and I realize that in the real world, it's rare to find acoustic instruments that can generate the kind of bass we've all been conditioned to enjoy/tolerate with most recorded and reproduced music, but I would love to tilt the frequency response curve just a little bit clockwise, without using any kind of EQ. (I've never heard a parametric equalizer that doesn't degrade fine details, at least a little bit. I realize that studios use hardware and software equalizers liberally, but I can't afford nor do I want to carry with me an EQ of that quality, especially if it involves using a laptop.)
Here you go...
The Audiophonics PCM5102 is most definitely a bass-lover's DAC, but with finesse - not at all clumsy or uncontrolled - and unlike the iBasso DB2 Boomslang dual Wolfson DAC, there is only the slightest roll-off of treble energy relative to the Oppo HA-2's ES9018K2M (which is just a tiny bit too-bright for my tastes, with the HD800 - as is the HA-1's ESS9018 DAC implementation, even when fed coaxially to avoid the grain of its USB receiver.) The Wolfson DACs are known for adding warmth, but in my opinion, they not only suffer excessive roll-off in the highs, they have poor dynamics. Here again, the Audiophonics PCM5102 is not in the same camp as the Wolfson, despite adding a lot of warmth to mids, coloring them, frankly - this DAC is not neutral, but that's what I was seeking, right?
Instead of being somewhat "lifeless" or "compressed," as is the case with typical Wolfson DAC implementations, the Audiophonics PCM5102 has punch and slam galore. For some tracks, it's almost too much for the HD800, and would probably be too much, at least for my tastes, with something like the 600-Ohm Beyerdyanmics DT880. We're talking hard drum hits, here, with lots of impact - and it goes right down into the lower frequencies. The mids are not quite as forward as the bass and treble, but I'm not just talking about frequency response - I'm referring to dynamics as well. There's an overall "hotness" to recordings that sound more tame, and actually, more natural, with the HA-2's ES9018K2M implementation.
The Audiophonics PCM5102 is only slightly less resolving than the HA-2 in the same chain, but this is a DAC that sounds best to my ears when I turn down the volume to levels that are slightly lower than where I normally find myself listening. When I take the volume down to where the PCM5102 sounds utterly wonderful, in terms of frequency response and dynamics, the lowest energy micro-details of my best recordings are no longer discernible, even though they are still commuted by the DAC, as can be heard when I increase the SPL. I find myself actually riding the volume control with this DAC, as I go from one track to the next, especially when shuffling rather than playing whole albums sequentially. I find myself seeking a harmony between "oomph factor" and discernible micro details. Turn it up too high and the dynamics can be literally "unreal" with some recordings - as is typical with artists like Adele, Michael Buble, Phil Collins, Laurence Juber, Jesse Cook, Rhett Butler, or Dave Matthews, for example. In fact, if you are familiar with the forward, punchy sound of any of these artist's recordings, that's pretty much what the Audiophonics PCM5102 will do to "flatter" recordings. But if you're playing a recording that's much less full-bodied or punchy (i.e. Cowboy Junkies'
The Trinity Session), you can turn it up to appreciate all the amazing stuff that album holds at low energy levels, but also to enjoy this DAC's increased dynamics, bass energy and overall "fuller" sound.
In short, the Audiophonics PCM5102 is a great DAC for anyone who wants to be kind to their ears with low volume levels (somewhat like the "Loudness" switch seen on vintage integrated amps), or at higher volumes, it can be the solution for anyone who wants to make something like an HD600 sound more like an HD650 (and then some.) Again, it does so with a good deal of finesse. Don't imagine that this DAC will turn an HD600 (or an HD800) into a V-Moda M-100 or Ultrasone Pro 900. Lastly, it's surely a great DAC for someone who is after pure "fun factor" in their sound, rather than accuracy and neutrality.
Do I like the Audiophonics PCM5102 more than the HA-2's ES9018K2M (in the chain described above)? I don't know yet.
I really wish I could toggle between them in a single chassis, selecting the sound I want to match the track I'm hearing - on the fly. If I had to live with only one, however - again, for my tastes, and the rest of that chain - I'd probably have to go with the HA-2's ES9018K2M.
Mike
