[22906]

I have a Pico and compared its DAC section to my Scott Nixon USB Chibi DAC. The two are different topology, the Pico built with 96 KHz ASRC and WM8470 chip, while SN DAC is non-oversampling and uses TDA1543 chip.

If I listen to the same track on one and then listen again on the other (both going through Pico's amp section), I can make out ABSOLUTELY no difference in resolution, tonality, frequency response, soundstage, or anything at all.

I think I'm going to sell my Pico and get a full-size amp to hook up to my USB Chibi. Hopefully a better amp will give me more sonic benefits than what I thought would be a significant DAC upgrade.

 

[glitch39]

sorry to hear that you did not hear any difference. On my Keces DA-151, I could tell right away, tried 5 different cans and they all benefited.

 

[22906]

What were you comparing your Keces to?

 

[PeterDLai]

Or perhaps your Alessandro MS1 just does not scale very well?

At least I notice with some of the IEMs I've auditioned, some of them don't change much with better sourcing, but some of them improve dramatically with a better source.

 

[tfarney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterDLai /img/forum/go_quote.gif Or perhaps your Alessandro MS1 just does not scale very well? At least I notice with some of the IEMs I've auditioned, some of them don't change much with better sourcing, but some of them improve dramatically with a better source.

I don't know the Alessandros in particular, but I know Etys and Shures at a couple of different price levels, and IEMs, as a category, almost by definition, tend toward the very sensitive and very revealing. They may not show subtle changes in sound stage well; they aren't the best platform for hearing true bass extension. But if they don't reveal improvements in detail, resolution, noise levels and high-frequency extension, they are odd IEMs indeed. And unless they have a downright weird impedance for their category, they should be scaled beautifully with a top-quality portable amp like the Pico.

I think the first and most reasonable assumption is that the OP is hearing what he reports hearing: Nothing. Does that mean there's nothing there? No, but it probably does mean that whatever is there is so subtle that he will have to try a lot harder to hear it.

Tim

 

[Nattydraddy]

The MS1 aren´t IEM. And the MS2 are much more revealing.

The MS1 sound realy nice, but they are the opposite of revealing.

 

[tfarney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nattydraddy /img/forum/go_quote.gif The MS1 aren´t IEM. And the MS2 are much more revealing. The MS1 sound realy nice, but they are the opposite of revealing.

Ah, right you are. I'm showing my ignorance of all things Grado.

I still wonder if it's not just the cans. I can hear the difference between internet radio streams and compressed files, between compressed files and lossless files, between good and excellent recordings, between different masters of the same recordings...and every one of these things is much more obvious than most component changes within a system that I've experienced so far.

I have a few sources around here, from portables to PC soundcards to DACs in 3 different players with very different internal DACs to an all digital receiver that is, essentially, one big high-powered DAC from input to speaker terminals, and if I play the same music through the same amp into the same phones, the differences are just not dramatic. They are there, but in most cases you really have to listen for them.

Of course I may just be trying to talk myself out of an expensive DAC for my computer as source set-up...

...because I'd really rather buy some new cans.

Tim

 

[spacemanspliff]

try some stax....

they are detail.

 

[glitch39]

@m3_arun - could it be your source that is your weakest link so neither DAC brings sonic differences?

 

[22906]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nattydraddy /img/forum/go_quote.gif The MS1 aren´t IEM. And the MS2 are much more revealing. The MS1 sound realy nice, but they are the opposite of revealing.

So you're saying the MS1 is relatively less revealing than other Grado/Alessandro, and IEM would allow me to tell the difference between the sources more easily?

Glitch39, the DAC is the source... , and also, what was your DAC before Keces DA-151?

 

[tfarney]

Is it too late to return the Scott Nixon DAC? If you're happy with your Pico/Alessandro combination and that money spent is buying you no advantage, that would be the logical path.

Tim

 

[22906]

I'm pretty sure its too late its been almost a year since I've had it. Also, I'm not sure if I'm completely satisfied with the sound of the Pico with the MS1, and I think keeping the SN DAC (selling the Pico) would give me the opportunity to get a much more robust amp than the one built in to the Pico. I have no use for its portability either. It is a convenient combo though, and I'm going to ponder your suggestion for a few weeks before making a decision.

 

[JadeEast]

What are you feeding the dacs?
Mp3,wave, lossless, aiff?
Is your computer doing any upsampling or...?
How long have they been burned in?

Both Dacs are well regarded. I think you'd have zero problem flipping the Pico here with little loss vs the SN dac. I'm surprised that you're not hearing more of a difference with the NOS and the upsampling dac.
I think it speaks well for the performance of both parties.

 

[22906]

Mainly FLAC files, no DSPs in foobar. I'm leaning towards the fact that MS1 do not have enough resolution for me to make out differences between the DACs. Would HD580 be able to resolve finer details from these DACs? Maybe I will post in headphones forum. I have HD580 but I'll need to get 1/4 - 1/8 adapter to use with my Pico.

 

[tfarney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by m3_arun /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm pretty sure its too late its been almost a year since I've had it. Also, I'm not sure if I'm completely satisfied with the sound of the Pico with the MS1, and I think keeping the SN DAC (selling the Pico) would give me the opportunity to get a much more robust amp than the one built in to the Pico. I have no use for its portability either. It is a convenient combo though, and I'm going to ponder your suggestion for a few weeks before making a decision.

Don't put a few weeks into contemplating my suggestion, because if you have to sell something anyway, and you have no real use for the portability of the Pico, I'd suggest what you're suggesting -- sell the Pico. Strike while the iron is hot; it seems to fading as the FOTM. And I, too, would put that money into a good AC-powered amp. That may get you more noticeable sonic benefits, even with your Alessandros, but it will definitely get you a more powerful system, ready for a pair of Senns or Beyers or AKGs to sit next to them.

Tim