seanwee
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2015
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I absolutely agree, the same thing happened with the N8 which has a superior SE output vs its balanced output. Which is undertandable given the fact that the entire distinguishing factor of the N8 and N3PRO is the tube outputs.What IEMs/headphones are you using in comparison?
Yes, I agree as well. There is definitely a difference in tonality, with DX160 having a leaner mids/vocals while N3Pro having a fuller sound with more body. Also, typical of many Cayin DAPs, bass has a little more impact with a stronger and more articulate punch. In terms of technical performance (soundstage, dynamics, layering), when you compare DX160 bal output vs N3Pro bal SS - DX has a wider soundstage and better dynamics. BUT once you switch N3Pro to single ended Tube output (UL mode) and compare it to DX160 bal output (which is SS), to my ears (using EE Odin) the soundstage expansion of N3Pro is even a bit wider and dynamics/layering is on par.
I know I sound like a broken record cause quite a few people pinged me asking if I'm sure that "single ended" output of N3Pro that good? We embedded into our mind that BAL has to be superior to SE, while N3Pro tube output (as well as N6ii w/E01) is a good reminder that it is all about implementation, not the label of BAL vs SE.
As i have said before in the N8 thread, I feel Cayin would have released a SE only dap if they could. The balanced output is just there to tick a box so that people dont whine about it.