[yanfeng]

It's generally acknowledged DAC1 matches best with HD650, but do other good synergies exist?
Today I plugged Shure E4C into the built-in headphone out of DAC1, and the result is...
AMAZING!
I just can't imagine how such a tiny phone could possibly sound so good! Big sound stage, punchy, very balanced, very involving.
Compared with HD650, it has slightly sharper highs, slightly thiner mids, and not so big basses. Its soundstage is not so "3d like" as HD650, but very broad and open.
It is not as good, but they are definitely on the same league. If I rate HD650 10, E4C deserves 8, driven both by DAC1, and my HD650 is also driven by a high quality DIY amplifier.
This leads me to think other possibilities to hook with DAC1. I used to have a CD3000. It's a disaster with DAC1. I once heard SA5000 on my DAC1, and it's much better synergy than with CD3000.
Other phones? RS1? MPRO? K1000? DT880? K501? STAX 4040? I like my DAC1 so much that I'd really want to see her with more companions other than HD650.
Eagerly waiting your opinions.

 

[rajs]

Hmmm ... I've a Benchmark Media DAC1 ... fed from a PowerMac G5's optical ouput ... using Appleloss encoded music and the DAC1 feeds my Ray Samuels Emmeline HR-2 headamp which feeds the a Sony MDR-3000.

Sounds GREAT to me ... nice and warm actually ... but I suspect that has a lot to do with what the HR-2 is doing also. I never bothered using seriously myself at least ... the output of the DAC1 headphone jack ... as it was showing the brightness of the Sony MDR-3000 ... but I do believe the output is very clean ... even from the headphone jack and just highlights the Sony's behavior ... which many have posted about.

Haven't listened in a while ... but definitely my recollection ... as I mostly listen at home using my stereo system now-a-days.

 

[daba]

I actually find the DAC1's headamp to be too harsh and unforgiving with my HD-650's. That's why I have kept my Gilmore Lite -- it makes them more musical.

But yes, DAC1 + Glite + HD650 is really the ultimate synergy. It is just so good!

 

[Ferbose]

K1000: not enough power.

K501: a bit sharp. XLR as headphone amp would solve the problem.

SR225: aggressive and fun to my ears but YMMV.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

The thing about the DAC1 is that it really tells you what a headphone sounds like, flaws and all. So you hear the brightness of the CD3000, the sibilance of the W1000, and so on. The only headphones I have found to exhibit minimal flaws are the SA5000, HD650 and DT880, in which case the latter can only be accused of having less resolution and performance than the former. Now many other cans sound good, but it is a case of managing the flaws. The W1000 sounded great for classical or acoustic music, but for rock, pop, etc. a certain band of treble pops up (especially w/electric guitars) that is quite sibilant and annoying. The RS1 sounded fabulous about 30% of the time, but on other recordings the coloration and lack of extension were much more noticeable. The DT770-80 sounds very good, but the lack of lower mids is ever-present.

The question comes down to whether you want a one can (all-around) rig (go for SA5000, HD650, or DT880), or one pieced together with many cans that sound good for certain music, flawed on others.

 

[billinkansas]

I have listened with other members' DAC-1 units and have found them to be excellent with the 650's and 580's, not bad with the Beyer DT-880's.

An interesting thing that some of us at a mini meet observed last spring - we hooked up a DAC-1 and a Fisher 400 tube receiver on an A/B tester and did instant comparisons between the two using the 650's. We were all surprised that the two sounded really very close, with the DAC-1 having maybe the slightest better detail - and that even that "maybe" took a while to hear.

 

[fatko]

Using one more HPA should be better fitted your headphones

 

[Ferbose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer The thing about the DAC1 is that it really tells you what a headphone sounds like, flaws and all.

Looking closely at DAC1's datasheet, I noticed that its XLR and RCA output has as little THD+N as any source I have seen. Its noise floor is -144 dB, which is as low as any DAC can go. For 1 kHz signal, the 2nd harmonics peak is -109 dB and the only spurious peek is at -127 dB and is not jitter related. It jitter artifacts are hidden below the analog noise floor, which means its jitter rejection is textbook perfect.

Now the scary part--its headphone out has the same super-low THD+N distortion of the XLR and RCA out. This does not fully predict the magnitude and nature of the dynamic IMD a headphone would receive during music playback, but there is generally a good correlation between low THD+N and low IMD. Anyway, the THD+N measurement of its headphone jack is -109 dB, which is the lowest distortion I have seen in any headphone amp. For example, the well-regarded Lehmann amp has 95 dB S/N, and 0.001% THD+N (-100 dB). In fact, the DAC1 headphone out would have lower distortion measurements than most hi-end sources on the market.

DAC'1 headphone out might actually be the lowest distortion headphone amp in the world. What does that mean sonically? It means very little. In fact, a single post by Iron_Dreamer can give you more info about its sound than comparing all the measurments you can gather. To my ears it is a mediocre sounding headphone amp. Its clarity may be great for monitoring recording engineering flaws in a studio, but there is not much charm. Lower distortion means low-level artifacts in the entire system can now stand out and catch the ear's attention. If that low level artifact is sonically detrimental, then the ear-brain won't be happy. It is well known that there is little correlation between good sound and super-low distortion. The fact that DAC1's headphone amp is so technically superior probably means it should have good synergy with at least some headphones to some ears.

 

[Ferbose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by billinkansas An interesting thing that some of us at a mini meet observed last spring - we hooked up a DAC-1 and a Fisher 400 tube receiver on an A/B tester and did instant comparisons between the two using the 650's. We were all surprised that the two sounded really very close, with the DAC-1 having maybe the slightest better detail - and that even that "maybe" took a while to hear.

Interesting observtion.
Was HD650 driven by the DAC1 front jack? Or balanced drive via XLR?

 

[fatko]

how about DAC1 + RS1

will it be too Bright for Grado ?

 

[rajs]

Iron_Dreamer and Ferbose -- Excellent posts ... both in regards to the DAC1 and headphones -- my experiences with the DAC1 and using the Ray Samuels HR-2 Head Amp ... lead me to believe the same ... the Sony's are a bright sounding headphone and the HR-2 warmed them up for me based on the chip I had Ray put in it.

- raj

 

[Ferbose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatko how about DAC1 + RS1 will it be too Bright for Grado ?

If brief A/B (RS1/SR225) counts, I think it would not be too bright for RS-1.
DAC1+SR225 is what I call fast and exciting and what some would call overly bright and agressive.
DAC1+RS1 sounds more balanced but I like DAC1+SR225 for pop/rock. I am sorry but I am a sucker for aggressive sound in rock/pop. But for classical/jazz I am a sucker for tube warmness and tonal purity, which results in a box-full of spare tubes after tube rolling three amps.

 

[fatko]

thx bro..

i am planing to get a DAC1+RS1/AD2000 combination for serious listening and upgrade for my source

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

RS1+DAC1 is not too bright, depending on the pads used. With flats, the treble is only very slightly more than HD650+Zu+DAC1. With bowls, it's a bit brighter, but not bad at all (still not even close to the CD3K), but the sharp nature of the highs can be overdone with bad recordings.

 

[fatko]

be frank, i just use 0404+MF X-CAN V2+AD2000

should i upgrade my soundcard before getting a DAC1 for better result?
or DAC1 is just good enough with 0404?

and is the HPA of DAC1 better than MF X-can V2?