[kellte2]

I find the Sparkos duals are overpriced compare to Bursons V6, and I asked sparkos to give me good offer as im going to review them, but he can't go lower than $50 for each+ $20 for shipping.

Luckily I got 2 used ss3601 for £40 on ebay,and imo they dont sound anything special while pairing with ic op amps.

I don't know what's so special in sparkos dual op amps.I wish I could try them and then buy them.

Sounds like he made you a killer offer on those duals...

 

[Yethal]

I find the Sparkos duals are overpriced compare to Bursons V6, and I asked sparkos to give me good offer as im going to review them, but he can't go lower than $50 for each+ $20 for shipping.

Luckily I got 2 used ss3601 for £40 on ebay,and imo they dont sound anything special while pairing with ic op amps.

I don't know what's so special in sparkos dual op amps.I wish I could try them and then buy them.

Well, for starters they're not opamps. They are fully discrete devices that just happen to be opamp compatible.

 

[Yethal]

I find the Sparkos duals are overpriced compare to Bursons V6, and I asked sparkos to give me good offer as im going to review them, but he can't go lower than $50 for each+ $20 for shipping.

Luckily I got 2 used ss3601 for £40 on ebay,and imo they dont sound anything special while pairing with ic op amps.

I don't know what's so special in sparkos dual op amps.I wish I could try them and then buy them.

Just take a leap of faith. They are worth it.

 

[razorpakk]

I've been happy with my X7 since it came out, is there any new product today that's as versatile?

Not that I would change much about it, just curious.

Another thing: you know how "direct mode" makes everything sound just right? Would the effect of that mode be lost using other dacs?

 

[TeeReQs]

Has anybody used an X7 as a DAC for a Bottlehead Crack? I just finished building my Crack, and the X7 is the only worthy DAC/Amp I have. I'm guessing I just plug the two RCA jacks into the LINE OUT of the X7, correct?

 

[Rozzko]

So.. I guess that answers all this heartwrenching back and forth testing. I won't be mad at you Conquer.

I did learn quite a bit from all this, mainly that the software is lagtastic and prone to messing up other programs...

I'll live with the X7 not being able to feed headphone surround to other devices, though that means no Vali use for gaming unless I double amp, and I'm tired of doing that. I bought the X7 specifically to NOT do that.

It's sad that a $30 external device can do things a $400 one couldn't.

All in all, did you fix it? did SBX virtual sound work good on ps4? or creative x7 dont give good virtual surround on ps4?
thanks

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

That comment is from very long ago. My complaints have been fixed. The X7 works wonderfully.

 

[Rozzko]

That comment is from very long ago. My complaints have been fixed. The X7 works wonderfully.

Does Virtual surround sound work good on PS4?

 

[mexx]

There is a new firmware available from Creative (SBX7_PCFW_EN_170331.exe). I did not notice a difference after installing (release notes just say "General bug fixes and improvement").

Also the Creative Auto-Updater wants to install a new X7 driver/software for windows, but after installation it was still the old version (could also see the old executable file name during installation) which does not even include the newest driver you can get via the Windows-Update. On the Creative page there is only the new firmware, everything else is old.

 

[Onik]

There is a new firmware available from Creative (SBX7_PCFW_EN_170331.exe). I did not notice a difference after installing (release notes just say "General bug fixes and improvement").

Also the Creative Auto-Updater wants to install a new X7 driver/software for windows, but after installation it was still the old version (could also see the old executable file name during installation) which does not even include the newest driver you can get via the Windows-Update. On the Creative page there is only the new firmware, everything else is old.

I think they just modified the last firmware, and released it as a new update, that's why you can't also update without recovery mode if you were on the last old firmware. They were too lazy to work on a brand new firmware imo.

 

[mbyrnes]

Has anybody used an X7 as a DAC for a Bottlehead Crack? I just finished building my Crack, and the X7 is the only worthy DAC/Amp I have. I'm guessing I just plug the two RCA jacks into the LINE OUT of the X7, correct?

Not a Bottlehead Crack, but I use my LTA MicroZOTL2 as the amp, X7 as the DAC. I love it, and honestly can't tell much difference between it and a Schiit Modi Multibit (Sparkos full swap). I'm happy enough that once my Smyth Research Realizer A16 comes, I'll be sending the A16 magic sauce through optical to the X7 & MZ2. Hopefully you've tried it by now!

 

[TeeReQs]

Not a Bottlehead Crack, but I use my LTA MicroZOTL2 as the amp, X7 as the DAC. I love it, and honestly can't tell much difference between it and a Schiit Modi Multibit (Sparkos full swap). I'm happy enough that once my Smyth Research Realizer A16 comes, I'll be sending the A16 magic sauce through optical to the X7 & MZ2. Hopefully you've tried it by now!

Thanks for the reply! I actually haven't tried it yet. I finished building the crack, but still need to do the final checklist of test to make sure I hooked everything up correctly. I thought I'd be done by now. Probably will get to it this weekend. Am I right about plugging the two RCA jacks into the LINE OUT of the X7 to use the X7 as a DAC?

 

[mbyrnes]

That's how mine is setup. Can't wait to hear your impressions of the crack. I don't own high impedance cans (I really don't like my HD6XX). So I went with the MZ2 used, which is a tube amp, but good for all impedance cans. I've heard nothing but praise for the Crack. I believe you weren't installing the Speedball upgrade at first, so I'll be following your experience with great interest.

I've kind of stalled in the hobby over the winter. I'm really looking forward to the A16, and every movie and game release kills me. Hopefully I'll have my unit by my birthday (early August). They're saying 2 months, but we've heard that before. The units are basically built, it's software now (which scares me reading the Jason Stoddard thread).

I've been slowly getting back in, terrified I'll start spending money before I get the A16. I have plenty of headphones, and what I believe will be a fantastic headphone for the A16 (Hifiman HE-X V2).

The new Lyr3 looks UNREAL, and with the Multibit card, the best bang for buck 'all in one' at or near it's price. The Monoprice Monolith Alex Cavalli amp at $699 looks interesting as hell as well.

The A16 was apparently built with the Sennheiser HD800 as the main headphone. Now the software should take most headphones and do the magic. I just can't believe a good headphone, like the Fostex TH-X00 Ebony will sound the same as the HD800. Hopefully I'll be able to find a local with an HD800, who wants to meet up and check out the A16 (This shouldn't be a problem, lol).

Long story short, I'm in the possible HD800/S market, which would put me in the Crack w/ Speedball market as well. I've just heard way to many good things about it with the Sennheiser HD series, and it's a great value (and I'd LOVE to build it, I've taken courses in college).

 

[TeeReQs]

Right on, thanks. I actually bought the crack on sale about a year ago, but never got around to building it. I put together the chassis months ago(painted the face plates, sanded and stained the wood), but hadn't gotten around to doing the actual wiring part until a couple weeks ago. Been taking my time, doing everything slow and meticulous to have nice clean wiring. I'll be using my HD6XX..everyone says how well it pairs with the crack, so we'll see. I'm kind of like you in the fact that I wasn't blown away by them using the X7, but we'll see if the crack changes that. I purchased the speedball upgrade too, but will wait to install that until after I've had some listening time with the base setup.

 

[mbyrnes]

Right on, thanks. I actually bought the crack on sale about a year ago, but never got around to building it. I put together the chassis months ago(painted the face plates, sanded and stained the wood), but hadn't gotten around to doing the actual wiring part until a couple weeks ago. Been taking my time, doing everything slow and meticulous to have nice clean wiring. I'll be using my HD6XX..everyone says how well it pairs with the crack, so we'll see. I'm kind of like you in the fact that I wasn't blown away by them using the X7, but we'll see if the crack changes that. I purchased the speedball upgrade too, but will wait to install that until after I've had some listening time with the base setup.

It's so funny. I remember you buying it well, crazy. Few members stick out here for some reason. When I joined the drop for the HD6XX, I only owned my AKG K702 65TH, AT M50 and Beyer DT990. By the time they came, I had my HEX V2, TH-X00 Ebony, and just a few days before, Monoprice M1060. They just couldn't compete with the full sound of the new cans I had. They're really not my sound signature, just too weak in the bass and highs for me. I understand why people like them, just not my style. The MZ2 didn't help them much, which is supposedly a good match for HD650. If I gave them a chance, I would probably be ok with them. I don't have to, so in the box they sit.

How was the build? What was your experience level? Do they do build threads here? Tube rolling?