[RIGATIO]

Don't forget that im using one of the most amazing transdusers in the world - the Thieaudio Monarchs MkII! These are insane! The only iems that give me a real out of my head experience! They have a bigger stage than the focal radiance! And they are so natural and realistic! Being soo realistic and emotional. These are really something special!

 

[samandhi]

Don't forget that im using one of the most amazing transdusers in the world - the Thieaudio Monarchs MkII! These are insane! The only iems that give me a real out of my head experience! They have a bigger stage than the focal radiance! And they are so natural and realistic! Being soo realistic and emotional. These are really something special!

I know exactly what you are saying. I have found the equivalent in the Yinman 600 Ohm 2.0 earbuds (to my ears). It IS still early in listening, but I still am finding them better in almost every way than the IT-07 (and you know how much I love those, and still do). These things just sound like full sized open back headphones (and need power like some of them also hehe). Some of the best sound I have yet heard in any head gear. And they were only $125.

Well, that is sort of deceiving. That price is actually close to the equivalent to TOTL/flagship prices in IEMs (though there are pricier ones out there).

I AM glad to see you are still happy with your IEMs though. Hopefully they will synergize well with the MAX?!

 

[RIGATIO]

I know exactly what you are saying. I have found the equivalent in the Yinman 600 Ohm 2.0 earbuds (to my ears). It IS still early in listening, but I still am finding them better in almost every way than the IT-07 (and you know how much I love those, and still do). These things just sound like full sized open back headphones (and need power like some of them also hehe). Some of the best sound I have yet heard in any head gear. And they were only $125.

Well, that is sort of deceiving. That price is actually close to the equivalent to TOTL/flagship prices in IEMs (though there are pricier ones out there).

I AM glad to see you are still happy with your IEMs though. Hopefully they will synergize well with the MAX?!

They are so well tuned that every source ive tried, sounded amazing with them. These iems are a pure magic! Crinacle was right again, defintely on of the best sounding iems on the market.

 

[Maxx134]

It's a very very personal preference, i was even thinking if the dx320 is too good for me? Too engagintand lively? Hard to describe.

You can relax that liveliness by using OG firmware on Mango OS..
Neutron always magnifies it a bit.

 

[AnalogandDigital]

Here's the difference in size
DX300 vs Kann Alpha
Thickness - both with case - Alpha is about 5 to 6mm more
.

 

[German Expat in Vietnam]

To notice this preference you must have a really good headphones/iems.

I can agree that the amp12 has bit more detail/etch. Detailing or low level resolve is not lost on the amp13, just different smoother presentation.

After listening to:
Amp11 (ok)
Amp11mk2 (better)
AMP11mk2s (good)
Amp11 whitigir mod (top notch!)

Amp12 (good-)
Amp12 EXN (good+)
Amp12 EXN-S (top notch!)

Amp13 (good+)

I prefer without hesitation the modded boards.
Whitigir coming out with even newer "muse" moded now, & also both modders are doing the amp12 ex -"Silver" versions. It doesn't stop with stock.



To me, both the AMP11mk2s and amp13 (not pictured) are also great and above average, but not best you can get.

Using my Mest Indigo IEM was most revealing trumpet/strings edge detailing.
Users with smoother IEMs may not notice as much. Smoothness does not mean less resolve, so I'm not saying that. Some IEMs have more value in presentation and musicality.

I still own both dx300 & dx320 to compare:

I find no matter the setup of players or amps, the dx300 retains a bit more tonal thickness to notes, while the dx320 is less colored DAP, while retaining naturalness, musicality, and a touch more low level dynamics & depth.
The amp boards and music players make the dx300 to catch up/ get closer to the dx320 in those two latter aspects.

How would you rate the sound. describe from the EXN version to the EXNs version with the 3 Solen Silver caps?? Would be interesting to hear. My Amp 12 is now also at Steven's. I chose the same. Version decided though with Audio Note Kaisei and 4 ADA 4625 opamps. My Solen Tefflon capacitors are unfortunately too big. Solen gave incorrect measurements. really annoying.

 

[RIGATIO]

How would you rate the sound. describe from the EXN version to the EXNs version with the 3 Solen Silver caps?? Would be interesting to hear. My Amp 12 is now also at Steven's. I chose the same. Version decided though with Audio Note Kaisei and 4 ADA 4625 opamps. My Solen Tefflon capacitors are unfortunately too big. Solen gave incorrect measurements. really annoying.

Bro just let it go and get the amp13 The best sound you can get out of the dx320. The most organic and natural. Also the best soundstage.

 

[German Expat in Vietnam]

Bro just let it go and get the amp13 The best sound you can get out of the dx320. The most organic and natural. Also the best soundstage.

I decided to try Steven's latest mod. I think the mod will sound even better than the EXN original as you have it. I promise myself a lot from the 3 soles silver capacitors. And the ADA 4625 op amps. Wait and see. Steven still has hope of being able to save my first amp 12. A Panasonic Pos Cap in the left signal path is burnt out. Wait and see. To be honest, I don't really like the tube sound that much. I have the Oriolus BA 300 S. And I don't use it with the Monarch MKII at all. Somehow the tubes smooth out too much for me. It all sounds a bit too soft for me. Let's see maybe I'll buy one at some point. Maybe if Steven has a mod for Amp13?? And then buy a finished one directly from him.

 

[Whitigir]

Ive met a very good buyer, we are very honest with ourselves and he trusts me and i trust him. His an audiophile creep like myself an amazing guy. We talk to each other all the time and i love it! He was amazed by the dx300 and waiting for the DX 320 to come. Thanks to this i can try some other daps but I'm still losing money from this transactions. So my limit is limited. But at least i can give you some comparisons. I really love the community here and i really dont want to disappear.

You lose money in every hobby

 

[Painterspal]

Two reasons:
1. The max is significantly smaller
2. More pronounced sub bass
But it's just a try, i know there's a good chance to coming back to the dx320.
Besides I'm still thinking of getting the Shanling m9 again. Not because it's better, I think i liked the presentation of the sound bit more. The dx320 is very engaging, almost too much for me. I think i could be better off with something more laid back.
It's a very very personal preference, i was even thinking if the dx320 is too good for me? Too engagintand lively? Hard to describe. But definitely its not a quality choice.

I’m puzzled. You’ve spent a lot of time on this thread telling us how much you like the DX320, and how great it sounds with your Monarchs, but now you’ve sold it after just a few short weeks. If size was a factor, why did you buy it in the first place? I recognise that I’m probably a bit of an outlier on Headfi - I don’t buy that much, research stuff carefully and tend to keep what I buy long term - but even by Headfi’s ‘next shiny thing…’ mentality to me this seems extreme. It must be great to have such deep pockets!

That said, I am tempted by the Monarch’s, given everything you’ve said about them. The DX323 is such a step up from what I had previously, and the set up with IEMs so convenient, I hardly use my desktop set up now, so wondering whether the Monarchs would a worthwhile upgrade over my Noble Kaiser Encores.

 

[German Expat in Vietnam]

I’m puzzled. You’ve spent a lot of time on this thread telling us how much you like the DX320, and how great it sounds with your Monarchs, but now you’ve sold it after just a few short weeks. If size was a factor, why did you buy it in the first place? I recognise that I’m probably a bit of an outlier on Headfi - I don’t buy that much, research stuff carefully and tend to keep what I buy long term - but even by Headfi’s ‘next shiny thing…’ mentality to me this seems extreme. It must be great to have such deep pockets!

That said, I am tempted by the Monarch’s, given everything you’ve said about them. The DX323 is such a step up from what I had previously, and the set up with IEMs so convenient, I hardly use my desktop set up now, so wondering whether the Monarchs would a worthwhile upgrade over my Noble Kaiser Encores.

The Monarch MKII are really top class. At least for me. I'm in the process of selling my collection because I don't hear the other IEMs headphones anymore. Among them were Mest MKII. So if you buy the Monarchs, I don't think you'll regret it. I only bought them because Rigatio felt good reports every day for 2 years. Anyone who has participated in the DX 300 thread from the beginning knows that Rigatio sometimes changes his mind within 1 hour. I also believe that he will not be happy with the Kan Alpha Max in the long term. He'll get bored after a month. The reason is quite simple. He can no longer swap an amp for a different sound signature. Of course it's just my opinion. But the chance that it will happen is very high.

 

[hellfire8888]

Just for the fun of it. Installed Diablo Immortal in DX320. Playing the game in full audio immersion

 

[Whitigir]

Just for the fun of it. Installed Diablo Immortal in DX320. Playing the game in full audio immersion

You must be kidding lol

 

[Dobrescu George]

DX320 runs most apps I typically use just fine, but man I don't use my smartphone for a lot of tasks either

I like the size, makes searching and navigation easy for me. Also love the large high quality display.

 

[ginandbacon]

Not sure if this has already been posted but just saw this review of the DX320 by Moon Audio if anyone is interested. To my ears, the ROHM duel DACs are worth the upgrade but that all depends on your tastes and personal preferences. Even my new SMSL D300, which uses the same ROHM DAC sounds very neutral and more analogue, but in a very good way. Outside that i haven't really read or heard any other DAC using the ROHM DAC outside some 5K+ preamps/DAC's.

I still have no idea why a non stock silver cable, made by Thieaudio, with a slightly slightly different modular design makes 2 pairs of my IEMs louder but I'll take it. It really is night and day with the Monarch MKII's, no placebo effect, it louder. Same with the 7hz timeless. I ended up ordering an MMCX version after getting the 2 pin version.

The stock cable that comes with the Monarchs is pretty bad IMO. I think you can buy it for like 30 bucks. While more money doesn't necessarily mean I would rather pay for the IEMs then 100+ extra for a better cable that comes with the the IEM's. A better cable can be bought separately and I have a feeling Thieaudio knows that anyone buying IEMs in this price range is probably, but not always, have or buy a better cable.

I am addicted to the 11MKII stock amp. It still has the same magic as the first time I listened to it, actually better after burn in. I hate that some can tell a difference between the stock firmware vs the latest version.

One would think the firmware upgrade for the AMP13 would be similar to drivers for a computer or software to load at boot depending on the amp card detected. If it's the stock amp load this software/drivers or if it's the AMP13 load this software, ECT...

Something during boot has to load something different to control the amp on the hardware level so I'm not sure how that would effect the stock firmware. Maybe it doesn't work that way. I'm a techy but by no means an electrical engineer so I'm just speculating. I also haven't reverted back to the stock firmware but your going by memory. You would have to have 2 DX320's to really compare without some memory placebo effect going on.