[Caruryn]

   
Yes it may change in time due to burn-in. The reviewed unit had more than 150 hours of burn-in. 
 
And here it is ZX2 rank in my list: 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/751068/dap-challenge-chart-including-23-portable-sources-sony-zx2-added-more-to-come

Nice list.The only one missing is Cayin N6 and you have full house

.

 

[MikePortnoy]

  Nice list.The only one missing is Cayin N6 and you have full house

.

 
Thanks mate. I hope I will add it soon  
 
I haven't heard it yet; how about its sound signature? Warm, open, bright? There are different points of view about it as far as I read. 

 

[Caruryn]

   
Thanks mate. I hope I will add it soon  
 
I haven't heard it yet; how about its sound signature? Warm, open, bright? There are different points of view about it as far as I read. 

Up to fw 2.0 slightly bright.After fw 3.0 tilting on neutral-warm and more musical.With 3.1 the highs are less fatiguing with my ie800.

 

[vilhelm44]

You can understand more or less but Google translate effing up again :mad:

http://www.mobile01.com/newsdetail.php?id=16501

Cool, thank you.

 

[MikePortnoy]

  Up to fw 2.0 slightly bright.After fw 3.0 tilting on neutral-warm and more musical.With 3.1 the highs are less fatiguing with my ie800.

 
Thank you for the info. I think I will test it with its latest firmware. 

 

[jamato8]

Oh, that's good. Hopefully it happens.

I was looking at the 901s also but eventually bought an alo continental dual mono instead.

Compared to ak240 and 380 i thought the hm901s was more organic but soundstage (sense of space) was in the intimate side of the spectrum. My preference was on the ak. Though I'm still very curious on the hifiman due to the ability to change amp cards.

I find it depends upon what headphones and card you are using. With the Angel card, it is very open and the new Minibox gold card is very open, not what I would call close to the sound but a very good perspective with a large and well defined soundstage, if recorded this way. 

 

[Mach3]

   
Yes it may change in time due to burn-in. The reviewed unit had more than 150 hours of burn-in. 
 
And here it is ZX2 rank in my list: 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/751068/dap-challenge-chart-including-23-portable-sources-sony-zx2-added-more-to-come

 
Base on your list, I went for 901s. Good sound, loads of module amp card to play with.
Was even considering the AK380 with the AMP add-on.
But after factoring the price of both so I can drive large full size can, it's like $4300 USD.
I thought a much wiser purchase would be 901s + HE1000 for the same price.

 

[MikePortnoy]

Base on your list, I went for 901s. Good sound, loads of module amp card to play with.
Was even considering the AK380 with the AMP add-on.
But after factoring the price of both so I can drive large full size can, it's like $4300 USD.
I thought a much wiser purchase would be 901s + HE1000 for the same price.

I agree, we have customisation option with different cards. I haven't heard AK380, but I found 901 Minibox better than RWAK240.

 

[Ripvanlink]

 
I find it depends upon what headphones and card you are using. With the Angel card, it is very open and the new Minibox gold card is very open, not what I would call close to the sound but a very good perspective with a large and well defined soundstage, if recorded this way. 

I presently own the very excellent K10 Custom so I would be interested to know if anyone has listened to the 901s with the Noble K10 to compare with the Angel's interaction with the 901s? I would be especially interested in the soundstage presentation and if it is sufficiently wide and deep, as opposed to the aforementioned Angel.
 
I am presently using the K10 with my Fiio X5 and am quite happy with the sound but would be interested in the 901s if there would be an improvement in the soundstage width, depth and and frontal presence.

 

[Alje]

^
owner of custom k10s who is still searching for satisfaction

 

[Caruryn]

  ^
owner of custom k10s who is still searching for satisfaction

Everyone is praising the K10+ZX2 combo.If that isn't enough add a chord hugo and if you still aren't satisfied start 

 

[MikePortnoy]

  Nice list.The only one missing is Cayin N6 and you have full house

.

 
Here it is; Cayin N6 has been added to the chart
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/751068/dap-challenge-chart-including-24-portable-sources-cayin-n6-added-more-to-come#post_11229263

 

[eke2k6]

I had a mini-meet last night in Baton Rouge with a few friends. There were a few new IEMs and DAPs present that I was curious to hear. IEMs like the Angie were pretty nice, but didn't really present me with a solid reason to drop another $1k+ on IEMs.
 
The biggest takeaway from the meet for me was once again how ridiculously low the SQ value for money is when DAPs are involved. I had a volume-matched listening session with the likes of the AK240SS, HM-901s, etc. and came away feeling so disappointed. The differences were maybe a couple db at best, yet forum members will argue about the huge differences between high end DAPs and smartphones. I came away again feeling like my iPhone 6 was the best DAP of the bunch when driving IEMs, not because of sound (I could barely tell them apart), but for the UI.
 
It's depressing that the hobby now is trending in a way where a consumer will spend far more money for virtually tiny improvements, if any at all.

 

[bcarr112281]

 
The biggest takeaway from the meet for me was once again how ridiculously low the SQ value for money is when DAPs are involved. I had a volume-matched listening session with the likes of the AK240SS, HM-901s, etc. and came away feeling so disappointed. The differences were maybe a couple db at best, yet forum members will argue about the huge differences between high end DAPs and smartphones. I came away again feeling like my iPhone 6 was the best DAP of the bunch when driving IEMs, not because of sound (I could barely tell them apart), but for the UI.

Hello, eke2k6 -
 
Will you have a chance to listen to the Questyle QP1R? Unlike most other DAPs, the QP1 and QP1R use a form of current mode amplification. I'd be keen to know whether you could hear significant differences with the Questyle models compared to competing products. Indeed, I do hope you have the chance to test them; your experiences would have a major impact on my purchasing decision.
 
Kind regards,
Brian

 

[KT66]

Eke your record's stuck, you have explained many times that an Iphone is the best thing in the world, I am happy for you 
but happier that I can hear how poor it is compared to a 901