[Gintaras]

Quote:

Has anyone already made the sound comparison between this giant killer,  Colorfly C3 (with & without amplifier) with the mighty HM-901 or AK-100 or 120?
I'm very curios how much does C3 fall behind in sound quality comparing to those top end DAPs?

 
cyber, i would not do 1:1 comparison between 100$ DAP and 900$ DAP... i have RWAK.
i can assure that RWAK sounds more clean, spaciously detailed and more refined, 3D, imaging, else are just better on this.
 
without BH there is no contest between these two and even BH would not help lift C3 as much as you perhaps wish for.
 
however, add BH and C3 turns into a great all rounder and might performer. NO, it will not beat AK100 or RWAK, but it will reward you with fairly intimate, mid centric analogue like presentation. C3+BH is really lovely combination that i keep for pure fun purpose. this cannot replace my RWAK but C3+BH on its own is a very lovely combination and it sounds pretty different too.
 
on a budget i believe comparisons must be done between C3+BH and new Fiio X3 or perhaps Rocoo BA. however comparing C3 to AK100, AK120 or Ibasso would not make much sense. unfortunately for us this is rare occasion when cheaper gear would best most expensive benchmark DAPs. and considering 8x price of them they surely must sound just better.
but this does not tell anything about C3 which is a great DAP on its own.
 
what i can say for sure is that C3 with BH easily outshines Cowon and normal (not moded) Apples, and the combination is still portable enough to keep you enjoying it on the go.

 

[cyberalpha11]

Quote:

 
cyber, i would not do 1:1 comparison between 100$ DAP and 900$ DAP... i have RWAK.
i can assure that RWAK sounds more clean, spaciously detailed and more refined, 3D, imaging, else are just better on this.
 
without BH there is no contest between these two and even BH would not help lift C3 as much as you perhaps wish for.
 
however, add BH and C3 turns into a great all rounder and might performer. NO, it will not beat AK100 or RWAK, but it will reward you with fairly intimate, mid centric analogue like presentation. C3+BH is really lovely combination that i keep for pure fun purpose. this cannot replace my RWAK but C3+BH on its own is a very lovely combination and it sounds pretty different too.
 
on a budget i believe comparisons must be done between C3+BH and new Fiio X3 or perhaps Rocoo BA. however comparing C3 to AK100, AK120 or Ibasso would not make much sense. unfortunately for us this is rare occasion when cheaper gear would best most expensive benchmark DAPs. and considering 8x price of them they surely must sound just better.
but this does not tell anything about C3 which is a great DAP on its own.
 
what i can say for sure is that C3 with BH easily outshines Cowon and normal (not moded) Apples, and the combination is still portable enough to keep you enjoying it on the go.

Great comment.
 
May be the next question which is the best DAP to up grade from C3?
 
1) Fiio X5 (Comment: Some said X5 is a game changer-has the same sound quality like top end  DAPs but at more reasonable price (30 to 40% cheaper)

2) Hifiman HM-901 (Comment: Some said this is best Top end DAP in 2013)

3) iRiver AK-120 (Comment: Many said this is an extremely over priced DAP)

4) iBasso HDP-R10 (Comment: Some said it sounds similar to DX100 but with a longer battery life)

5) iBasso DX100 (Comment: The best DAP before HM-901)
 
Do you have any comment and suggestion?

 

[Gintaras]

Cyber, difficult to say.

X5 still not on the market and exists only on paper.
H901 is bulky and irky Ui and else.
DX100 and updated again not so portable and Android issues.
AK120 completes most of our wishes but at crazy price.
AK100 needs amp.
C4 is nice but again not so portable, battery, irky UI.

I am afraid we must wait for X5 and DX50 to see if something really worth can emerge.

AK120 is the only choice that ticks most of the boxes right now but asking price mind blowing, so a question here is IF upgrade now or wait for X5 and else.

 

[TrollDragon]

Here are the results of the C3 volume output comparison between 1.0.0.3 and 1.0.0.6 firmware.
 
Track 59 from this disc "1kHz sine wave at 0dB FS (Duration 20 seconds)"

 
Converted the track to FLAC for the C3 and placed in internal memory.
C3 EQ Normal and Volume level @ 35
 
Firmware 1.0.0.3 - 3.6V p-p

 
Firmware 1.0.0.6 - 3.6 V p-p

 
With both output levels at 3.6 V p-p It appears there is no difference in the volume output of the different firmware.
Remember when you do flash the firmware it will reset the volume to less than half.

 

[Alexei23]

Just been testing out my new C3 without an amp and I am impressed.  I don't think it sounds as good as the Cowon Z2 I had before, as I like extra bass and treble and you only have that silly eq sel of which only the jazz setting I like. The bbe on the cowon is very good and you can nicely tailor the sound to your preferences.  I have to say though the sound does appear more natural compared to the cowon which is good for much of the music i listen to.  I am a bit noob when it comes to this stuff (although I have always had portable players such as walkmans, discmans and minidisc players and am now on my 3rd mp3 player). More of a hifi man (looking for a good set of mid-priced floorstanders with nice low bass), but joining this forum has infected me with the bug now and I want to explore this more. 
 
Anyway my only real complaint (other than the silly eq oh and the tiny display) is that the bass without an amp on a few tracks distorts a little and reverb can sound a bit muffled. So what amp would you guys recommend for me to help improve the bass and retain that natural sound and the lively midrange which makes this an enjoyable listen. Oh nearly forgot smaller the better as I hate my pockets bulging.

 

[got2haveit]

Alexri23 ...... you will find a lot of folks have mentioned that the c&c bh amp pairs up well with the colorfly c3 and it won't break the bank. I love that little amp and am waiting for my colorfly c3 right now. The amp is small just about the size of the c3 or a credit card and gets 80 hours per charge ...... there is an appreciation thread you can check out.

 

[Alexei23]

Sounds good, I was looking at some review on this site of headphone amps and another that looked interesting the hippo cricri, I like the brushed steel, and it looks like it would look good alongside my c3 plus it has adjustable bass control, has anyone tried that combination?
 

 

[d marc0]

Hi guys, my current portable player is the iPod touch 5th gen paired with the FiiO E11. Most songs in my collection are 320kbps mp3s and a few flacs in my pc.

Will it make a huge difference "sound wise" if I upgrade to the C3 when my music is only 320kbps mp3. I don't have the luxury of time to rip all my CDs into flac

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

Hi guys, my current portable player is the iPod touch 5th gen paired with the FiiO E11. Most songs in my collection are 320kbps mp3s and a few flacs in my pc.

Will it make a huge difference "sound wise" if I upgrade to the C3 when my music is only 320kbps mp3. I don't have the luxury of time to rip all my CDs into flac

The 5th gen Touch is excellent....you'd get more of an upgrade by switching out the E11 for a better amp. 

 

[H20Fidelity]

Hi guys, my current portable player is the iPod touch 5th gen paired with the FiiO E11. Most songs in my collection are 320kbps mp3s and a few flacs in my pc.

Will it make a huge difference "sound wise" if I upgrade to the C3 when my music is only 320kbps mp3. I don't have the luxury of time to rip all my CDs into flac

Before C&C BH was around many people were using E11 in combination with the Colorfly, it's mostly all logged in the old thread which is locked, Though members were really impressed with the synergy at the time. Personally, considering the debate about 320kbps / FLAC and how many claim there's no difference sure, why wouldn't it sound good? What I would do in your situation is get the C3 pair it with E11, then eventually (once you become curious enough) possibly try the BH amp. Or take the second option and simply buy BH to pair with your iPod.

Personally trying Apple products, you want to leave the mainstream otherwise one won't move forward.

That's just what I'd do,

I'm not here to be told it's wrong by anyone or incorrect, or to debate about brand names, their capability's. Fact or fiction right vs wrong. web sites etc etc....

Cheers,

 

[cyberalpha11]

Quote:

Hi guys, my current portable player is the iPod touch 5th gen paired with the FiiO E11. Most songs in my collection are 320kbps mp3s and a few flacs in my pc.

Will it make a huge difference "sound wise" if I upgrade to the C3 when my music is only 320kbps mp3. I don't have the luxury of time to rip all my CDs into flac

MP3 even at 320kbps is still loosing out the high fidelity compring to lossless files such as flac. 

 

[d marc0]

Thanks for your input guys! I'll read more about the C&C BH and make a decision from there...
So far, I'm quite impressed with the 80 hrs battery performance of the said amp.

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

MP3 even at 320kbps is still loosing out the high fidelity compring to lossless files such as flac. 

Yet 99% of people won't notice the minute differences in a properly administered ABX test.

 

[TrollDragon]

+1 to that.

Most can't tell the difference on 160K AAC's

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2

 

[olddude]

I upgraded from an iPhone 4 running Apple Lossless files through my TF 10s to the C3 BH combo running FLAC/WAV and I CAN tell the difference.  The sound is wider, fuller, clearer, and easier on my ears.  It doesn't tire me out after long-term listening (ear fatigue).  I haven't listened to MP3 for years just because I want as much quality as I can get.  Sometimes you can't "tell" the difference but it is there nonetheless, just below conscious awareness.  
 
Years ago (the 80s) I bought a pair of KEF tower speakers.  They were great.  Then I went back to the retailer and listened to a pair of KEFs that cost three times as much.  I could HEAR the difference, maybe 10-15% improvement.  Would that be worth the financial cost?  I decided, no.  Buying the C3, with or without the BH, is like that.  The difference is there, is it worth it to you?  As to re-ripping your CDs, I re-ripped everything and I'm glad I did.  It was worth the time I spent.