[RamblerBoy]

Hey guys,

I have a doubt.. is it advisable to plug the Shure SE846 having impedance of 9 ohms into the Fiio X7 Mark II having output impedance of 1.2 ohms?

Will it really alter the the sound properties of the Shure SE846?

Please do reply, i am really interested in buying the Fiio X7II.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Niouke]

you should be fine, as I understand it poses problems if the output impedance is higher than the IEM's you are trying to power. That said the Shure's impedance is so low that I'm not convinced a DAP is necessary!

 

[reginalb]

you should be fine, as I understand it poses problems if the output impedance is higher than the IEM's you are trying to power. That said the Shure's impedance is so low that I'm not convinced a DAP is necessary!

The general rule is 8x, impedance is a curve, but the rating is an average, so funky things can happen. Low impedance often means that you should in fact use a DAP, as does low sensitivity, which might be what you're thinking of, which would require more output power.

My PS1000, for example, has a 32Ω impedance but it has a weird curve, so you can still see a big spike with a relatively high output impedance DAP: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...utorial-in-post-2.800208/page-4#post-12689814

The PS1000 is the green line, you can see that +1.5 dB spike.

You can see that the impedance of the cans spikes in the same place:

https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoPS1000.pdf

So to be safe, you'd need a DAP that had significantly lower output impedance unless you can get the curve for both the cans and the player, and they're rarely published.

 

[RamblerBoy]

So you mean to say that it isn't safe to get the fiio x7 mark ii?

 

[Niouke]

IMO you can't go wrong with the X7, if it cannot drive your shures properly, nothing will.

I have the X5-3 and drive rather funky BA IEM's with no issue whatsoever, while smartphones struggle to cover all frequencies correctly.

 

[reginalb]

So you mean to say that it isn't safe to get the fiio x7 mark ii?

1.2 is pretty low, 1.2x8 is 9.6, a bit higher than what you're looking for, but there aren't a ton of DAP options out there that are lower than that. Nine ohms is really low, I struggle to find anything that plays well with my Merlins, so I feel your struggle, and they're a bit higher than that. I'd feel pretty safe with a Fiio DAP (any of them) if I were you. My response was more to clear up any confusion for others that might find this thread, sorry I should have answered you as well.

 

[Niouke]

As a sidenote it's rather sad that we have to ask in the science section for recommendations that are not just plain snake oil bullcrap.

 

[RamblerBoy]

Thank you so much for your valuable inputs guys.. i already have the fiio x5iii so i guess i might put up the response curve on the thread mentioned above this week.
Was thinking about upgrading to x7ii.
Only now did i read about the method used to measure it (rmaa, etc..)

 

[reginalb]

Thank you so much for your valuable inputs guys.. i already have the fiio x5iii so i guess i might put up the response curve on the thread mentioned above this week.
Was thinking about upgrading to x7ii.
Only now did i read about the method used to measure it (rmaa, etc..)

That would be great, you'll need an ADC (analog to digital converter) but there are some inexpensive ones that do the job well and can even work as a DAC (I use a Behringer that cost me about $30. It's really good for measuring FR, but not at some other things (like noise) as it produces some of its own and that's what you're going to be measuring with RMAA - but I wouldn't trust RMAA noise figures any way. You really need much more expensive equipment to get good measurements on some of the other things that it measures. But I use it as a DAC for my desktop amp as well as an ADC, and it does what I need it to pretty well all for $30. Can't complain too much.

There is an X3II and an A1 measured from Fiio in there, and both are exemplary, by the way.

 

[Niouke]

I'm not sure sound quality wise that you will see any improvement from the X7ii over the X5iii. Also the software provided is the same so...

 

[RamblerBoy]

But wouldn't the sound signature change?
I have read comments that the x7ii is more neutral and transparent as opposed to x5iii.

The x5iii is warm and dark and paired with the se846, it is slightly a bit too warm or syrupy or veiled.

But i am also thinkig if the x5iii proves good when it comes to frequency response when loaded with se846 then i'd be better off with the fiio x5iii and some eq...
But is it safe to believe so?

 

[reginalb]

But wouldn't the sound signature change?
I have read comments that the x7ii is more neutral and transparent as opposed to x5iii.

The x5iii is warm and dark and paired with the se846, it is slightly a bit too warm or syrupy or veiled.

But i am also thinkig if the x5iii proves good when it comes to frequency response when loaded with se846 then i'd be better off with the fiio x5iii and some eq...
But is it safe to believe so?

That's a good catch, I was thinking we were talking the pre-Android X5 - and I'd gladly upgrade from a non-Android DAP to an Android one.

If you read warm and dark, you shouldn't (but really should - you'll just get in trouble for saying it) ask them if they tested it blind. They all sound the same outside of the EQ and DSP offerings.

Get one of these bad boys https://www.amazon.com/STEREO-Manual-Speaker-selector-available/dp/B073GWCRP3/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511884793&sr=8-3&keywords=audio+a/b+switch

And test for yourself. A helper to let you do it blind would be best. But if you're honest with yourself, you will realize that even if there are differences, they are so darn small you'd never actually notice, and that the "reviewers" are mainly just full of baloney.

 

[RamblerBoy]

That's a good catch, I was thinking we were talking the pre-Android X5 - and I'd gladly upgrade from a non-Android DAP to an Android one.

If you read warm and dark, you shouldn't (but really should - you'll just get in trouble for saying it) ask them if they tested it blind. They all sound the same outside of the EQ and DSP offerings.

Get one of these bad boys https://www.amazon.com/STEREO-Manual-Speaker-selector-available/dp/B073GWCRP3/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511884793&sr=8-3&keywords=audio+a/b+switch

And test for yourself. A helper to let you do it blind would be best. But if you're honest with yourself, you will realize that even if there are differences, they are so darn small you'd never actually notice, and that the "reviewers" are mainly just full of baloney.

Thank you so much... The reason why its bothering me is because i had the mojo untill last week (owned for about 1.5 years)..had to sell it to buy x5iii...

so i am basically talking out of memory; seems like the mojo is (in my mind) a lot clearer than the x5iii.. only if i had it with me atm to a/b them..

Maybe i am thinking a bit too much and at other times when i don't brood upon it, i find the fiio just fine..

But i have also noticed bass distortions and increased rumble in my car's speakers and home theatre / audio set up through the fiio's lo; something i have never noticed with the mojo (3v lo). But then again it's all memory.

I guess i will remain happy with the x5iii. Let me first try measuring the fr curves though.

 

[bigshot]

If the problem is in the sub bass, it might be that there are frequencies reproduced that you weren't reproducing before. I had a great frequency response all the way down to the lowest frequency my speakers could reproduce until I got a subwoofer that went lower. Then I realized that there were big imbalances just below my old speakers' ability to reproduce. I didn't hear it until I got a sub that would reproduce it. I'd suggest readjusting your EQ bass settings. It may just be an imbalance you weren't aware of before because it was being rolled off. Frequency response should be consistent from DAC to DAC, but it is possible that one DAC might have more frequency extension at the bleeding edges of the response than another one.

 

[RamblerBoy]

Maybe that is what it is..
X7ii's fr curve shows a roll off below 50 hz with a 32 ohm load (fiio's website) while X5iii has it below 15-16 hz.

Mojo too has a slight roll off in the sub bass.
Is it right to believe that this the reason why i am getting increased rumble with the x5iii? And the reason why people find x7ii cleaner?
They all have more or less the same fr at around mids and highs though.