I think it was similar in terms of frequency response, I just thought it sounded a bit more effortless overall on Tidal, but I'm always cautious when trying to spot such minor differences, it might as well be placebo effect...
The live version of “Good Mystery - Amber Rubarth”, compared with the album version. Also the Spotify mp3-compressed version is lacking a bit of the pressence compared to the Tidal version, probably. I began to wonder if Spotify has a high-pass filter around 20Hz. [you only clearly hear the rumbles with the Planars bass boosted]
That looks great!
Here’s the final result.
Tje Stanley Clarke album East River Dr. I know it's not sub bass but has a lot of slam.
I can't think of anything specific since anything I throw at the Avantone simply just sounds right
It's one of these headphones where I can stop analyzing every flaw and focus on music. I love rediscovering old tunes with it because they sound just as I remembered them, except that I never heard them sounding this good!
Agnes Obel - Riverside
I wouldn't say bloated, but slightly veiled? Yes
The DX7 is a great dac/amp. I have tried it, but not with the Avantone. It's great. I can't fault it. But I'd honestly rec something else. For very similar money, you could maybe grab yourself the SMSL SH-9 and SU-9 stack. Very similar features as the DX7 but you are getting more power and I do feel the SH9 has better detail retrieval. For textures and imaging. THX my friend. The only other proper amps I have tried the Avantone with is the SMSL M500 V2 which sounds great, it's less expansive and detailed than the SH9 and a bit more brighter sounding but I also do find it has a bit more bass impact while the SH9 has a more accurate and nuanced low end with much more detail. There is the Woo audio Fireflys that I used to own but have sold it. Great amp, but I think its to warm sounding for the Avantone Planar. It does have that very tube sound though but also is pricey. I was looking at the IFI Neo IDSD but don't know much of it, but it has great reviews and there also is the Schiit Magnius. It has a bit more power than the SH-9 but it's best to use it balanced as the single ended is not the best and the SH-9 has better performance when used single ended. But the Magnius has slightly better performance if used balanced. I use mostly single ended, yes I've used the Magnius and I did hear slightly more dynamics, slightly wider soundstage and a bit more bass slam. But I felt the SH-9 to have a bit better depth, smoother treble while still having the same amount of detail and imaging to be on par. I honestly prefered the smoother presentation of the SH-9. Another amp/dac you could check out is the RME-ADI. It's great, but the price might stop you, I'd only get it if I were to use much higher end headphones, and even then. I still feel the performance of my M500 + SH9 is high up there with the big players. It's great
. There's heaps of options, I'd say best thing is to follow your budget. But also think, is this an amp/dac I will further upgrade or will I have this for a good amount of years. For me, the M500 V2 was great. The price to performance was great. The DAC is as good as the SU-9. But it was the amp I wanted to upgrade. So I did and got myself the SH-9. I can't be more happier. I actually compared the SH-9 and M500 for a few hours. At first, going back to back. It was tricky telling the difference. Took me like 30 to 40 minutes to start picking out differences. After an 1 hour to 1 hour and 40 minutes. I started to hear much more differences. The low end was a little harder hitting on the M500, but the SH-9 was much more detailed and nuanced, the sub and mid bass were so much more seperated, I could really hear both of them doing their own thing. Textures also came out better in the SH-9. After 2 hours, I noticed treble being much more airy and smoother on the SH-9. The M500 felt a bit thin at times and detail was lacking compared to the SH-9. But then it was Led Zeppelin - Stairways to heaven that showed me the big difference. The M500 sounded great, really great. But the voice, atmosphere and realism while good, felt just a bit compressed. This is where the SH-9 took my breath away. It was the depth and space but also the clarity. The M500 could not compete at all. Just everything was so clear, the details jumped out so clearly that going back to the M500, it all felt compressed and lacking that extra magic. 
. So I'm 3db which is what I always use, then 6db, Oooo this getting fun, 8db, damn that's some hefty low end. 10db? 
WOW. The Planar handled 10db like a champ. I am seriously loving this combo.
Thank you for all the detailsThe DX7 is a great dac/amp. I have tried it, but not with the Avantone. It's great. I can't fault it. But I'd honestly rec something else. For very similar money, you could maybe grab yourself the SMSL SH-9 and SU-9 stack. Very similar features as the DX7 but you are getting more power and I do feel the SH9 has better detail retrieval. For textures and imaging. THX my friend. The only other proper amps I have tried the Avantone with is the SMSL M500 V2 which sounds great, it's less expansive and detailed than the SH9 and a bit more brighter sounding but I also do find it has a bit more bass impact while the SH9 has a more accurate and nuanced low end with much more detail. There is the Woo audio Fireflys that I used to own but have sold it. Great amp, but I think its to warm sounding for the Avantone Planar. It does have that very tube sound though but also is pricey. I was looking at the IFI Neo IDSD but don't know much of it, but it has great reviews and there also is the Schiit Magnius. It has a bit more power than the SH-9 but it's best to use it balanced as the single ended is not the best and the SH-9 has better performance when used single ended. But the Magnius has slightly better performance if used balanced. I use mostly single ended, yes I've used the Magnius and I did hear slightly more dynamics, slightly wider soundstage and a bit more bass slam. But I felt the SH-9 to have a bit better depth, smoother treble while still having the same amount of detail and imaging to be on par. I honestly prefered the smoother presentation of the SH-9. Another amp/dac you could check out is the RME-ADI. It's great, but the price might stop you, I'd only get it if I were to use much higher end headphones, and even then. I still feel the performance of my M500 + SH9 is high up there with the big players. It's great
If I were to rec you something, I'd say SMSL SU-9 + SH-9 stack. I don't say the M500 V2 + SH-9 because you'd be spending the same amount for the SU-9 + SH-9 but losing bluetooth. But if you really value detail and textures, a THX amp does it. Tube amps would be my number 1 as they can really be fun to listen to, but you will loose some clarity and detail. So THX is my pick
