[Jay Listens]

What's the impedance of the UE3X10?

 

[AustinHorn]

Wow! The combo of the DACmini & LCD-2 is really something. It has plenty of headroom on my stock mini & even more on the "tuned" model. But the extra volume is really only needed with the Beyers & HE5LEs. Now whether it will have the power for the HE6 as it sets I don't know. I haven't heard the HE6 & to my knowledge this is the only mini produced so far they've done this on - thought they'd have to confirm that. I know headphone addict had suggested they give it more volume when he heard it at their booth. He too loved it, but with his Orthos, but said it needed more power for them & phones like the T1. Anyway, to anyone considering a single ended amp for the LCD-2. This one is hard to beat. Best I've heard be it ss or tubed & I have a bunch of the more popular amps. It is very tube like & I admit to a tube bias! Anyway, 2 bigs thumbs up for the combo.

 

[AustinHorn]

The UE triplefi X10vi like mine has an impedance of 32 ohms!
 
So on both the old & "tuned" mini's I'm able to run 32 ohms with a totally black background, no hum & also play my 600 ohm Beyer 880s, but with a bit more of the needed headroom on your tuned model. Again, my LCD-2s sound great on either & have plenty of headroom.  The HE5LE does better on this "tunded" up model - again more headroom!  I'd like someone with the HE6 to check out the one with the additional gain.  Oh well....
 
So far I've tried all the following IEM's on the new mini with no problem:
 
UE triplefi X10vi
Moster Turbines & Monster Turbine Pro Coppers
Etymotic hf5s, er6, er6i & er4s
Klipsch Image X-10i
Shure se530
Westone 3
 
Regarding full-size headphones:
Ultrasone hfi-700
Shure srh840
Senn. HD650
AKG K702 & K701
Grado RS-2 & sr325is
Beyerdynamic DT 880
Hifiman HE5LE
Audez'e LCD-2
 
On the original unit, both the HE5LE & 880 were a bit underpowered.  On the increased gain unit, both played pretty well, though I think the HE5LE would like even more power. On it I don't think 5 or even 6 volts would be too much.  I hear the same is true of the HE6 (even more so) but at least I don't feel it is really underpowered.
 
I can't tell any tonal differences in the two units & that is a good thing.  I think all your DACmini's ought to have the gain set at least as high as the one you sent me & not a tick or two higher. I know Michael still won't agree, but I don't think you are going to be selling most of your units to IEM users.  This is a desktop unit & at this price & quality, people with T1s 880s & 990s; HD6XXs & HD 800s; HE5, HE5LE, HE6s; LCD1s & 2s are going to be your target buyers.
 
You guys need to get a beefed up DACmini to Headphone Addict, & Skylab ASAP for review.  Headphone Addict said that he loved your demo model at one of the shows but said he told Michael that it needed more gain.  I think the gain on the one you sent me is good, but even a tick or two more gain would be better. But I'm happy with mine since my primary headphone from this point on will be the LCD-2. When you come out with your pre-amp models, I'd like to see you do two things:  1) Up the power even a bit more & 2) add at least one set of balanced inputs & both a 3 pin & 4 pin output. If so, I'd be first in line to buy & I'd sell a ton of other gear.  Oh & also add a 32 bit sabre chip to the dac while you're at it.  Need to keep up with the "Jones" & that 32 bit dac chip makes an audible difference.
 
Thanks guys for sending me the modded second unit. I'll return the unmodded one this week.  I'd like a little more comparison time as the new unit gets broken in.  I'd like to do more comparisons with my other dac/amp combos. I'm thinking I can greatly simplify my dac/amp gear now with this unit meeting most if not all my ss needs other than keeping my Phoenix for my Balanced headphones (at least until you guys produce a balanced amp)! I'll still keep some of my tube amps, cause I'm a "tube" kind of guy, but I feel sure my go to dac/amp when I'm on the PC will be this new DACmini.  Very impressed with the sound & finally, with the additional power! I'm a happy camper!  Thanks again!  THAT IS CUSTOMER SERVICE!

 
Quote:

What's the impedance of the UE3X10?

 

[pekingduck]

It's an interesting product but I have to wonder why there are so few impressions so far?
 
Also, it's strange that the DACmini is still not available at CEntrance's store yet...

 

[rymd]

 
Quote:

It's an interesting product but I have to wonder why there are so few impressions so far?

Quote:

the DACmini is still not available at CEntrance's store yet...

 

 

[AustinHorn]

It is there. Go to the web store & the DACmini CX is there for sale. They do need to update their web site I think to make getting to everything easier.
 
If you Google the DACmini it will lead you to the product page for a little more info. 

 

[AustinHorn]

Here is part of a comment HeadphoneAddict (Larry) made on the "Amps for the LCD02" in response to something I'd said.
 
"I loved my LCD-2 with the DACmini at RMAF.  While the HDP is a nice match for the LCD-2, the DACmini was more refined, smoother and more transparent sounding with the LCD-2 (and as a bonus much smoother sounding with the HD800, and still a good match for my HE-5 LE)."
 
True this dac/amp is brand new, but if you read the professional reviews of the DACport, which has been around much longer, you'll see these guys know their business.  Now that CES is over I hope Michael & the guys will get key folks here on HeadFi to do some reviews. I know he told me that he planned to do that. NOW wouldn't be toooooo soooooon IMHO!

 

[budx3385]

Yup, I love my DACport, too, so I am now very interested in this new DACmini.
 
But one question ---
 
the website says "Future-proof USB implementation features full 24/96 resolution" and mine sounds great with 24/96
 
but there are several mainstream places now to buy 24/192 FLAC downloads, such as LINN and HDTracks, so when does Michael say it will handle 192KHz via USB, instead of just S/PDIF? Is it even possible via USB, or will we all need to buy Macs and get a Firewire USB-DAC?
 

 

[pekingduck]

24/192 is possible via USB. The Ayre QB-9 already supports that (though special driver is required)
 
Quote:

Yup, I love my DACport, too, so I am now very interested in this new DACmini.
 
But one question ---
 
the website says "Future-proof USB implementation features full 24/96 resolution" and mine sounds great with 24/96
 
but there are several mainstream places now to buy 24/192 FLAC downloads, such as LINN and HDTracks, so when does Michael say it will handle 192KHz via USB, instead of just S/PDIF? Is it even possible via USB, or will we all need to buy Macs and get a Firewire USB-DAC?
 

 

[Jay Listens]

Hi guys. Michael and I work together at CEntrance. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, we will be updating the website shortly to minimize the confusion.
 
The reason we used "future proof" was to indicate that our solution will not require any drivers when new versions of OS are released.
Our technology is class compliant, so that when you upgrade your computer, you won't need to hunt for new drivers. Our products will work right away.
 
We have been in the business of writing drivers for various pro audio and audiophile vendors for over a decade and the philosophy behind our current USB solution is that it won't "break" due to an OS update. We have seen this happen time and again in pro audio and as a result wanted to avoid this issue with our DAC products. 
 
As always thanks for the input, as we rely our your feedback in order to deliver great products.

 

[budx3385]

Hi there Jay --- thanks for the clarification on the future LOL
 
Seriously, since the DACmini can handle 192 via S/PDIF, does that mean that it will someday (soon?) be able to handle 192 via USB?
 
just for clarification ... 

 

[Jay Listens]

There are a variety of options we are looking at. Like I mentioned we have been consulting many other companies on computer interfacing technology (USB, FireWire, etc.) for over a decade. So it would be very reasonable to expect us to also be at the leading edge of 192. We just want to make sure we are implementing it in a way that best serves our customers.
 
Currently any 192 USB solution is susceptible to compatibility issues after an OS update (ie driver incompatibility). We want to avoid this issue entirely and make sure we deliver products that stand the test of time.
 
All that being said, I would expect a number of higher resolution devices from CEntrance in the near future.

 

[ak3r]

How near is "near future" ? 

 

[Jay Listens]

Well we showed our DACmini PX (integrated DAC and amp) and our MasterClass Coaxial Speakers at CES.
 
http://www.stereophile.com/content/centrace-dacmini-px
 
They are slated for release in the summer and we are hoping to have a higher than 96kHz products later this year.
 
One thing that has been a decade-long focus for us is our USB drivers. We are already licensing 192kHz USB drivers. It can often be overlooked, but I would be cautious about buying a product from a company that outsources its drivers and does not write them internally.

 

[budx3385]

This is all good news, Jay - thank you !!!