[VoyagerDude]

@netdog. Yeah I'm sure P9 would improve the quality of compressed source. But it raises the question as to why bother

 

[netdog]

+1000%

Completely agree. No point even ducussing differences in DACs or headphones without a quality source.
Which imho starts at 16bit 44KHz.
I mean I love Spotify for its selection and I do listen to it in the car. But for home use via quality gear it doesn't cut it.

Here's a vote for Qobuz.

 

[netdog]

@voyagerdude, I didn't just say "better." I said "musical" and that's quite a compliment.

 

[buzzlulu]

Netdog
Cannot argue with you on that one. I have the Klimax DS (each time upgraded to current spec) and it is true - EVERYTHING sounds better through a Linn. Even streamed Spotify.

But as good as the Klimax DS sounds NOTHING beats the black wax spinning around on the LP12.

Qobuz - many on the Linn forum feel it sounds better than Tidal - even though both stream uncompressed. I tried it however it seemed to me that Tidal has a better assortment of current tunes.

You toured the factory- do you have any Linn or Naim?

 

[VoyagerDude]

What would you guys recommend for a desktop dac amp to drive a P9 or potentially a Beyer T1?
I was reading about Fostex ha4 and Schiit Yotenheim and Marantz HD DAC1. Or other options?

 

[Kukua]

I just impulse bought the P9 Signature, they were too beautiful.

I will let them warm up and post more detailed impressions later, but oh my god do these cans sound incredible. Plugged on a Burson Conductor these are an absolute joy. The bass goes so low on a slow electronica track it literally made me cry.

 

[Kukua]

my exact setup actually

 

[jmills8]

my exact setup actually

Great sound, power, and can take out side. I also have a Hugo/phone, Mojo/phone. This set up sounds better.

 

[loplop]

 
Thanks very much for your offer! 
Right now I only have a DragonFLy Red that I use with the P7 wireless in wired mode as a DAC.
Also have a Marantz NA6005 with a headphone output, but it's used in my speaker setup with a Grant Fidelity W-30GT all tube amp and Morel Grant Fidelity RBS-1 reference monitors.
So for a mode demanding headphone I may need a better headphone DAC/amp.
 
As for type of music, my favourite albums include: 
 
Al De Meola:
World Sinfonia
Elegant Gypsy [DSD]
Di Meola Plays Piazzolla
Flesh on Flesh
The Grande Passion: World Sinfonia
This is Jazz
and many more
 
Chick Corea:
Rendezvous in New York
The Vigil
 
Astor Piazzolla:
Nuevo Tango: Hora Zero
 
Paco de Lucia:
Antologia
Concierto de Aranjuez
Cancion Andaluza
 
And more including 
 
Led Zeppelin
Beatles
Joe Pass
S-Tone Inc.
Santana
Pink Floyd
De-Phazz

Happy to help--and there's a few in there i have not heard, so it will be an enjoyable journey.  Give me until Friday, and I'll have some thoughts.  I'll listen mostly via my Audeze Deckard, which pairs well with both and may represent what you might buy as a desktop amp to go along with them, as well as straight out of my MBP which more closely represents your AQ DF Red, and because I suspect that won't go well for the T1v2, my ifi iDSD BL.

How is the Dragonfly Red with the P7 wireless? Not sure if it's worth it with a macbook pro as it supposedly has a half decent dac already. What do you think?

I'd like to know thoughts on this, as well.  I usually cart around my iDSD BL, but if an AQ DF Red gives enough of a boost over the (agreeably half-decent) MBP output, I'll probably grab one.
 

  Hello everyone, a newbie here and audiophile want-to-be, I have really appreciated all the feedback and input found here on these boards!
 
So I originally targeted the B&W P7 Wireless as my next upgraded headphones to use primarily with my iPhone 7+, however I backed away since learning that Apple doesn't support APTX......started looking at the P9s as a possible option since I primarily listen when I'm at home and don't mind being wired to my Iphone - it didn't take long after testing and comparing the two that the P9s were the ones for me.....I love sound, the look and comfort  - and I find my iPhone alone does more than enough to push the P9s (or at least I thought).....and the more I listen to them the better they seem to get. I primarily get my music from iTunes and I enjoy listening to Sirius/XM via my iPhone app, though I do find my downloaded Itune songs sound better via my P9s than what streams via Sirius. 
 
So yesterday I came across Tidal Music and was intrigued that they stream "lossless" 1411kbps sound.....so I decided to do a trial one month premium subscription and dig deeper into the music they offer, and while lacking in the volume of songs and music I like, what a huge difference the music I streamed was that came across on my P9s....a huge jump in the quality and is was very very evident when comparing my downloaded iTunes songs. Again, the only thing I don's like about Tidal is their lack of music genres and groups that I prefer, and because of that I will probably cancel my subscription which runs $26 per month for high res quality.
 
So I'd like to lean on the good folks here to help me as I now feel like I'm not getting everything I can get out of my P9s via my iPhone and iTune music.....is there anything I can do to take my downloaded iTunes music and convert it to "lossless" 1411kbps equivalent quality? 
 
Thank you in advance for your input!

In hoping you haven't yet caught the disagreeable disease that is audiophilia (I'm pointing at myself while speaking), let me save you quite a few decades of heartache and chasing the dragon: music you love is far more important than music that sounds good.  Buy equipment that makes the music you love sound good, and forget the rest.  
 
You aren't getting the best out of the P9 using your iPhone and iTunes/Apple Music, but as otherwise pointed out, the P9 *does* do that music justice and makes it quite enjoyable.  Keeping in mind my comment above, I'd recommend settling on a "source" -- if it's Apple Music because that's where the music you love is, and it's convenience sways you, that's fine; alternately, you can seek out CD's to rip and import into your iPhone losslessly to get quality equal to what you heard from Tidal (understanding that's more of a PITA).  But focus on your music.
 
Once you settle there, you can optimize the chain.  
 
I do listen to Apple Music, mostly to "mine" the catalog and find things I'd be interested in tracking down, either to purchase or stream from Tidal.  I find Apple Music to be enjoyable straight out of my iPad Pro (haven't tried my iPhone 7, hate that dongle headphone thing), but rarely listen that way, usually preferring to listen via my iPhone 7 or MBP paired with an ifi Micro iDSD Black Label.  the Micro iDSD digs out a lot of information from those Apple Music files, and the power/control it brings to the P9's bass is welcome.  The ifi is an example of how you might improve your playback chain without throwing the baby out with the bathwater (aka chasing "audiophile music" such as Jazz at the Pawnshop over something much more inspired).
 
FWIW, I also listen to Sirius XM, usually via my Sony ZX2 paired with something less critical of its source, such as the P9.  The ZX2/P9 is great for that purpose.  I particularly enjoy a few of the Jazz shows and the Grateful Dead channel programming.  Sounds great, musical, and enjoyable.  

 

[Freight Guy]

  I'd like to know thoughts on this, as well.  I usually cart around my iDSD BL, but if an AQ DF Red gives enough of a boost over the (agreeably half-decent) MBP output, I'll probably grab one.
 
In hoping you haven't yet caught the disagreeable disease that is audiophilia (I'm pointing at myself while speaking), let me save you quite a few decades of heartache and chasing the dragon: music you love is far more important than music that sounds good.  Buy equipment that makes the music you love sound good, and forget the rest.  
 
You aren't getting the best out of the P9 using your iPhone and iTunes/Apple Music, but as otherwise pointed out, the P9 *does* do that music justice and makes it quite enjoyable.  Keeping in mind my comment above, I'd recommend settling on a "source" -- if it's Apple Music because that's where the music you love is, and it's convenience sways you, that's fine; alternately, you can seek out CD's to rip and import into your iPhone losslessly to get quality equal to what you heard from Tidal (understanding that's more of a PITA).  But focus on your music.
 
Once you settle there, you can optimize the chain.  
 
I do listen to Apple Music, mostly to "mine" the catalog and find things I'd be interested in tracking down, either to purchase or stream from Tidal.  I find Apple Music to be enjoyable straight out of my iPad Pro (haven't tried my iPhone 7, hate that dongle headphone thing), but rarely listen that way, usually preferring to listen via my iPhone 7 or MBP paired with an ifi Micro iDSD Black Label.  the Micro iDSD digs out a lot of information from those Apple Music files, and the power/control it brings to the P9's bass is welcome.  The ifi is an example of how you might improve your playback chain without throwing the baby out with the bathwater (aka chasing "audiophile music" such as Jazz at the Pawnshop over something much more inspired).
 
FWIW, I also listen to Sirius XM, usually via my Sony ZX2 paired with something less critical of its source, such as the P9.  The ZX2/P9 is great for that purpose.  I particularly enjoy a few of the Jazz shows and the Grateful Dead channel programming.  Sounds great, musical, and enjoyable.  

 
The Sony ZX2 looks very nice, however since dropping $900 for the P9s I don't think I want to drop another $900 for the ZX2.......let me ask though, is it a simple process to transfer all your iTunes songs to the ZX2?

 

[Freight Guy]

   
The Sony ZX2 looks very nice, however since dropping $900 for the P9s I don't think I want to drop another $900 for the ZX2.......let me ask though, is it a simple process to transfer all your iTunes songs to the ZX2?

Also if I may ask everyone, is there a cheap and simple way to convert my iTunes songs to FLAC/Lossless.....any apps that help make this happen, or any other resources that will walk you through this- I'm looking but not having any luck making it happen? 

 

[loplop]

 
Also if I may ask everyone, is there a cheap and simple way to convert my iTunes songs to FLAC/Lossless.....any apps that help make this happen, or any other resources that will walk you through this- I'm looking but not having any luck making it happen? 

Sorry for the miscommunication, I wasn't recommending you purchase a ZX2.  If you're happy with iTunes, I'd stick with Apple products.  You can get better sound out of your current iTunes library with an external DAC, and a modest investment should yield a noticeable improvement without starting over in all regards.  I use the ifi I mentioned above, although there are plenty of other choices.  Your requirements would dictate which ones would work well for you.  I'd take that route, vs. a DAP.  I use the ZX2 for a very specific use case which doesn't fit a giant library of iTunes files.
 
In any case: you can certainly use dbpoweramp to convert from AAC or ALAC to FLAC.  But you have to remember that if you're starting with AAC purchased from iTunes, the best you'll get is 256k AAC quality inside a big FLAC container.  This seems counterproductive to me.  Unless, of course, you ripped your iTunes library to ALAC... in which case, yes, you could convert all to FLAC losslessly.

 

[netdog]

If he buys the P9s, he will soon be getting a bespoke Lightning-equiped B&W DAC.  I'd hear that before investing in something further.  I bet it's very good and extremely compact.

 

[Freight Guy]

  Sorry for the miscommunication, I wasn't recommending you purchase a ZX2.  If you're happy with iTunes, I'd stick with Apple products.  You can get better sound out of your current iTunes library with an external DAC, and a modest investment should yield a noticeable improvement without starting over in all regards.  I use the ifi I mentioned above, although there are plenty of other choices.  Your requirements would dictate which ones would work well for you.  I'd take that route, vs. a DAP.  I use the ZX2 for a very specific use case which doesn't fit a giant library of iTunes files.
 
In any case: you can certainly use dbpoweramp to convert from AAC or ALAC to FLAC.  But you have to remember that if you're starting with AAC purchased from iTunes, the best you'll get is 256k AAC quality inside a big FLAC container.  This seems counterproductive to me.  Unless, of course, you ripped your iTunes library to ALAC... in which case, yes, you could convert all to FLAC losslessly.

Thanks Loplop, appreciate your time and the great feedback! By the way, I knew you weren't recommending the ZX2, I am glad though you mentioned it as it's now on my radar as a new toy to look into to enhance my listening experience. Can you share with me where your songs used on the ZX2 came from.....do you transfer them from Itunes or downloaded direct via Sony?
 
Also, can you share a little more on how to rip my iTunes library to ALAC.....how is this done, and are there resources to facilitate doing so?

 

[VoyagerDude]

  If he buys the P9s, he will soon be getting a bespoke Lightning-equiped B&W DAC.  I'd hear that before investing in something further.  I bet it's very good and extremely compact.

I'm not holding my breath for this cable/DAC being something spectacular