[Dsnuts]

Ya there will be many more soon. I ended up showing this to the guys on the HA-S500 thread and using JVCs newest headphone with this DAC is synergy like I have never experienced from something this cheap. I took a chance on it as Kiteki here knows much about hardware and since someone had to try it out I thought it might as well be me.
 
I wanted a bit of an upgrade to what I was using anyhow and upgrade I got. One would expect this level of sound from much more expensive equipment but not something that cost $105 shipped. It does take a while to get to you around two to three weeks but is completely worth the wait.. I am listening to it as I type. Just crazy sounding..I keep on looking at the box thinking. There is no way this level of sound is coming from this box. lol!

 

[zowki]

The same ebay seller is selling the Shiyun DAC-05 which is about $50 more expensive than the Fire Phoenix:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SHIYUN-DAC-05-Upgrade-Version-OPA2604-192K-24BIT-USB-DAC-Headphone-Amplifier-/170702482999?pt=US_Pro_Audio_Amplifiers&hash=item27bea92e37

The Shiyun DAC-05 has the same DAC (CS4398) and receiver chips as the Fire Phoenix. However the Shiyun has a the TPA6120 amplifier and OPA2604 balance filter while the Fire Phoenix has a JRC4556 amplifier and LM4562 balance filter. Does anyone know if those components would be worth the $50 difference?

 

[phantompersona]

Ooh im definitely getting interested in this thread. I never bought any dac's before.. But this phoenix sounds pretty awesome since it includes some of the top of the line stuff. Is there anything else on Ebay that has maybe high quality components for under $200? super noob here

 

[zowki]

Ooh im definitely getting interested in this thread. I never bought any dac's before.. But this phoenix sounds pretty awesome since it includes some of the top of the line stuff. Is there anything else on Ebay that has maybe high quality components for under $200? super noob here

See the post directly above yours
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SHIYUN-DAC-05-Upgrade-Version-OPA2604-192K-24BIT-USB-DAC-Headphone-Amplifier-/170702482999?pt=US_Pro_Audio_Amplifiers&hash=item27bea92e37

 

[phantompersona]

Quote:

See the post directly above yours

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SHIYUN-DAC-05-Upgrade-Version-OPA2604-192K-24BIT-USB-DAC-Headphone-Amplifier-/170702482999?pt=US_Pro_Audio_Amplifiers&hash=item27bea92e37

All the components in this system outclass the phoneix?

 

[eke2k6]

Wait, does it have to be plugged into an outlet?
 
Also, it'd be great if you could plug in your most sensitive iem to see if you can hear any hiss or noise.

 

[Dsnuts]

It does need to be plugged in but the benefit of this is. It has some serious power. I can't crank past half volume or I will do some hearing damage. No hiss so far but I will test this more tomorrow.

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

It does need to be plugged in but the benefit of this is. It has some serious power. I can't crank past half volume or I will do some hearing damage. No hiss so far but I will test this more tomorrow.

 
Sweet. Thanks

 

[129207]

Remember it's not the components that make a great DAC, it's the implementation. I can throw every bleeding edge, fancy shmancy piece of gear in a box and it won't sound amazing without a good build. People get carried away so easily here... 

 

[zowki]

Remember it's not the components that make a great DAC, it's the implementation. I can throw every bleeding edge, fancy shmancy piece of gear in a box and it won't sound amazing without a good build. People get carried away so easily here... :wink_face:

What do you mean by implementation? If I build a computer with all the top of the line components and hardware its going to be a very fast computer. How is this any different from DACs and amps?

 

[stv014]

Quote:

What do you mean by implementation? If I build a computer with all the top of the line components and hardware its going to be a very fast computer.

 
Apples and oranges. In an analog circuit, the quality of the implementation - including the schematics, the choice of parts used, the PCB layout, grounding, etc. - is very important. Compare the measurements of the FiiO E11 and the AMB Mini3 (same op amps), or the NuForce uDAC2 and the ODAC (same USB interface chip, very similar DAC - ES9022 vs. ES9023), for example. The data sheets of the components used tell the best case performance under ideal conditions, but this can be degraded to any extent by a bad implementation, which is not uncommon at all.

 

[Sweden]

What kind of driving capabilities does the headphone out have? How is it with a 300-600 ohm headphone?
Someone should do a head to head comparison to the HA INFO U2 Plus, which is an even cheaper unit. http://www.head-fi.org/t/572262/ha-info-u2-plus-usb-dac-headphone-amp-review-the-best-inexpensive-usb-dac-headphone-amp

 

[shsh]

Really nice budget dac/amp. Would like to see the fire phoenix dac vs o2amp vs shiyun dac.

 

[Disharmonic]

Quote:

What kind of driving capabilities does the headphone out have? How is it with a 300-600 ohm headphone?
Someone should do a head to head comparison to the HA INFO U2 Plus, which is an even cheaper unit. http://www.head-fi.org/t/572262/ha-info-u2-plus-usb-dac-headphone-amp-review-the-best-inexpensive-usb-dac-headphone-amp

Well the specs here http://www.ebay.com/itm/FIRE-PHOENIX-DAC-02-CS4398-LM4562-MINI-USB-DAC-Headphone-Amplifier-/180738679826 state
[size=10pt]Headphone output: support 32-300Ohm impedance headphone and[/size] [size=10pt]MAX 14dBV (5V) THD + N <0.003% (1KHZ/50 ohm load & 2V). [/size]Also it doesn't seem to have any gain settings. Looks very interesting for the price(to my noob eyes). 
 

 

[potatoos]

Has anyone besides Dsnuts purchased this?