[Maxx134]

I would agree with that.
But, it largely misses the point of that particular discussion.

Correct your post was covering another point, so my info, although irrelevant, was just to add a neutral side-note.

 

[NAD Fi]

All that is true indeed. The upkeep cost of a software development team to 'just' support a newly launched platform is anything but affordable.

Seeing you are currently in the neighbourhood it is fair game for me to ask whether iFi will consider releasing a ZEN CAN Signature Amp with universal tuning (not specific to a particular brand)?

 

[samandhi]

Tell that to someone who has 12k songs in the library hah!

I have taken that route in the past (FiiO X5 and X3II) where there is no search feature, and all you had was a scroll wheel (rather than touch), and I can tell you that it really not a great experience IMHO (I have 28K songs).

I agree. I also wish it could let us choose to display file name or meta data. I renamed certain tracks while keeping metadata the same on purpose so I can distinguish them, but useless on Mango.
Also, in folder view it shows the file name, but it doesn't auto scroll long names, so all my long file names are the same since the start of the file names are all the same.

I also wish it would let us select a track and then select go to the album or go to the folder.

There's others that I don't remember, but it's quite inconvenient.

While still missing in Mango OS, they have (sort of) added a feature for this in Mango android over the years. If you are playing a random track, you can hit the hamburger button on the upper left, and choose "albums" then there is a (sort of) radar looking icon in the lower right of the screen that will take you to the current playing album. You can also do this with artist, ect... I wish they would add this in Mango OS. It would make things a lot easier IMO.

I realize that this all might seem to be a moot point (being android rather than Mango OS), but I thought I would throw it out there that it DOES have a functional way to make this happen at least in the native software on the android side (at least).

 

[iFi audio]

Interesting amp, but also shows that there is "nothing new, under the sun", in the traditional tube amp sector.

The name of the product is cool though and pronouncing it right is a task to behold

 

[RIGATIO]

I was a Sony wm1z fan boy loving its "sound", so I could understand that phase in your audio journey. Later you will realize it doesn't last, and that DAPs,absolutely need to be neutral reference high quality sources, in order to cover the widest possible synergies with IEMs & headphones, and more importantly, widest genres of music types. Listen to some live recordings to expand your horizons and realize you will need that non-biased DAP.

It seems my way is other way around at the moment. I was always fan of a reference and brighter sources as i didnt need the bass even. My first setup was dx80 + Pinnacle P1 and the bass was almost non existant. There was very little warmth there and i was very happy.
I also preferred the dx220 over the dx300. I loved the dx220s etheral cleanliness and dry impact to the notes. I was quite disappointed with the dx300 when heard it first time.
I also still love my Pioneer 300r for its technical abilities and clean notes.
About the coloring- i actually think that every source is somehow colored. I find the dx320 bit colored in mids. It has more forward mids than lets say Fiio K9 Pro and both are supposed to be neutral. Their sound sig are very similar but they differ slightly and for me the dx320 is more colored.
Maybe the M8 is more colored in bass but is dead flat in mids and i like its timbre temperature. Is safer with shoutier and brighter iems. It can be too bassy with basshead iems tho.
Besides i dont really care about reference, critical listening with a dap. I treat it as a source of high level music engagement and fun. It should deliver emotions to me and my actual setup- M8/ Kinera Nanna/Xelento/IT07 is able to do this better than any other combo ive tried.
So for me all this terminology like reference, clean, colored, natural, neutral doesnt matter at the moment, i let my ears judge what is best. And best if what makes me smile and gives me shivers when listening to my old mp3s
The fact that im happy moving from the dx320 to the M8 doesnt mean someone else will feel the same way. For me they are on a very comparable level technically but i just like the temperature of the timbre and a very linear mids better on the M8.
Still, the dx320 is a monster player imo and i will still be keeping eye on iBasso products.

 

[bflat]

It seems my way is other way around at the moment. I was always fan of a reference and brighter sources as i didnt need the bass even. My first setup was dx80 + Pinnacle P1 and the bass was almost non existant. There was very little warmth there and i was very happy.
I also preferred the dx220 over the dx300. I loved the dx220s etheral cleanliness and dry impact to the notes. I was quite disappointed with the dx300 when heard it first time.
I also still love my Pioneer 300r for its technical abilities and clean notes.
About the coloring- i actually think that every source is somehow colored. I find the dx320 bit colored in mids. It has more forward mids than lets say Fiio K9 Pro and both are supposed to be neutral. Their sound sig are very similar but they differ slightly and for me the dx320 is more colored.
Maybe the M8 is more colored in bass but is dead flat in mids and i like its timbre temperature. Is safer with shoutier and brighter iems. It can be too bassy with basshead iems tho.
Besides i dont really care about reference, critical listening with a dap. I treat it as a source of high level music engagement and fun. It should deliver emotions to me and my actual setup- M8/ Kinera Nanna/Xelento/IT07 is able to do this better than any other combo ive tried.
So for me all this terminology like reference, clean, colored, natural, neutral doesnt matter at the moment, i let my ears judge what is best. And best if what makes me smile and gives me shivers when listening to my old mp3s
The fact that im happy moving from the dx320 to the M8 doesnt mean someone else will feel the same way. For me they are on a very comparable level technically but i just like the temperature of the timbre and a very linear mids better on the M8.
Still, the dx320 is a monster player imo and i will still be keeping eye on iBasso products.

Definitely let your ears and emotions guide your path! Just keep in mind that the journey can be really expensive when you try to mix and match sources and headphones to your specific tastes. It can be like buying a house - how long will it take and how much will you spend if you expect everything down to the furnishings to be to your exact personal tastes? Alternatively, you could buy a house that has the right "bones" like the number of rooms, general layout, and very clear potential to get you exactly what you want. Once you start using EQ or PEQ you can get "free" tuning upgrades to get your existing equipment to your personal preference.

For example, I've saved two different PEQ settings for my JH Layla for DX320 - one when I use the Amp 12 EXN and another one for the C9. The differences are pretty minor where the EXN needs a little more lift in the 2-6 kHz region versus C9. Did I need to do that? No, I could have just averaged out the difference and use one, but there is no added cost for me to have multiple PEQ profiles so I get exactly what I want for each use case. Sure, setting PEQ is a long process which is why I no longer swap out gear so quickly which require new PEQ settings. It takes me about an hour to get the initial PEQ curve, then another couple weeks of listening to finish tweaking the curve. Admittedly, this feeds my obsessive behavior, but the value of EQ/PEQ is better than anything else you can buy for your listening pleasure.

 

[nioh]

Now I can take my DX320 when I go for a walk !

 

[RIGATIO]

Definitely let your ears and emotions guide your path! Just keep in mind that the journey can be really expensive when you try to mix and match sources and headphones to your specific tastes. It can be like buying a house - how long will it take and how much will you spend if you expect everything down to the furnishings to be to your exact personal tastes? Alternatively, you could buy a house that has the right "bones" like the number of rooms, general layout, and very clear potential to get you exactly what you want. Once you start using EQ or PEQ you can get "free" tuning upgrades to get your existing equipment to your personal preference.

For example, I've saved two different PEQ settings for my JH Layla for DX320 - one when I use the Amp 12 EXN and another one for the C9. The differences are pretty minor where the EXN needs a little more lift in the 2-6 kHz region versus C9. Did I need to do that? No, I could have just averaged out the difference and use one, but there is no added cost for me to have multiple PEQ profiles so I get exactly what I want for each use case. Sure, setting PEQ is a long process which is why I no longer swap out gear so quickly which require new PEQ settings. It takes me about an hour to get the initial PEQ curve, then another couple weeks of listening to finish tweaking the curve. Admittedly, this feeds my obsessive behavior, but the value of EQ/PEQ is better than anything else you can buy for your listening pleasure.

Agree! I used to play with eq earlier but stopped it as the real fun starts with parametric EQ and filters. I just didn't wanna bother.
The money, time and the fact that this route never ends are the reason why I went the actual path. Just want to have fun on a high level, that's all.
My Pure Pleasure setting is M8 -> Kinera Nanna 1.0 right now. I liked the Kinera from the beginning but 2 days ago tried it with foam tips and I'm blown away by the sweetness of the sound. It's just so beautiful, smooth and non offensive.
This time Zeos was right! M8 and Nanna is a combo made in heaven.
Is it the best I've heard technically? Hell no! But it's good enough! Actually don't hear any significant detail degradation coming from the Monarchs, maybe 4-5% less.
But it just so emotional and enjoyable sound. Dynamic yet laid back, very very open, sweeeet trebles and mids. Punchy bass, with just right amount of kick and depth. And it's so romantic, no matter what music or file i throw at it.

 

[Whitigir]

All the talk about Amp12 with EX and Steve Excellent ADA Opamp upgrades !!! I can’t help but be curious about it….been spending a bit with amp12 and toying around

Carrying on from amp11 Muse-XF, here is Amp12 Ada-XF (Extreme Fidelity)

Aerospace Wet Tantalum, Silmic Elna II and Cerafine, Nichicon UKW, Rubycon PML, KEMET polymer and film foils, Panasonic PosCAP, Ada4625-1

 

[kundica]

Now I can take my DX320 when I go for a walk !

I never thought to pair my Garmin and use the widget to control playback. Thanks!

 

[DAPpower]

All the talk about Amp12 with EX and Steve Excellent ADA Opamp upgrades !!! I can’t help but be curious about it….been spending a bit with amp12 and toying around

Carrying on from amp11 Muse-XF, here is Amp12 Ada-XF (Extreme Fidelity)

Aerospace Wet Tantalum, Silmic Elna II and Cerafine, Nichicon UKW, Rubycon PML, KEMET polymer and film foils, Panasonic PosCAP, Ada4625-1

Wow, amazing! Glad you started working on the AMP12 again.

 

[RIGATIO]

All the talk about Amp12 with EX and Steve Excellent ADA Opamp upgrades !!! I can’t help but be curious about it….been spending a bit with amp12 and toying around

Carrying on from amp11 Muse-XF, here is Amp12 Ada-XF (Extreme Fidelity)

Aerospace Wet Tantalum, Silmic Elna II and Cerafine, Nichicon UKW, Rubycon PML, KEMET polymer and film foils, Panasonic PosCAP, Ada4625-1

Damn, need to move to the US, will be visiting you whenever you come with something like this

 

[nioh]

I never thought to pair my Garmin and use the widget to control playback. Thanks!

Hehe you’re welcome !
I don’t use Google Play.
Garmin Connect is not on apkpure but you can find the latest signed one on apkmirror. Don’t forget to turn off your phone Bluetooth while pairing the watch to your DAP because the watch connects to whichever device it knows that’s nearby.

Once it is setup, it works flawlessly. The watch connects to the DAP or Phone whichever is nearby.

 

[ThaPapper]

All the talk about Amp12 with EX and Steve Excellent ADA Opamp upgrades !!! I can’t help but be curious about it….been spending a bit with amp12 and toying around

Carrying on from amp11 Muse-XF, here is Amp12 Ada-XF (Extreme Fidelity)

Aerospace Wet Tantalum, Silmic Elna II and Cerafine, Nichicon UKW, Rubycon PML, KEMET polymer and film foils, Panasonic PosCAP, Ada4625-1

Even more evolution for this player, wonderful news!

 

[SteveK27]

All the talk about Amp12 with EX and Steve Excellent ADA Opamp upgrades !!! I can’t help but be curious about it….been spending a bit with amp12 and toying around

Carrying on from amp11 Muse-XF, here is Amp12 Ada-XF (Extreme Fidelity)

Aerospace Wet Tantalum, Silmic Elna II and Cerafine, Nichicon UKW, Rubycon PML, KEMET polymer and film foils, Panasonic PosCAP, Ada4625-1

Congratulations and they look absolutely stellar and so tempting to try it.

How would you compare the amp12 ada-xf to the amp11 Muse? Do you see this amp12 as the final modification or do you still see more room for improvement?