Nice of you to drop in, here is a cup of coffee
for you to sip on
The new Topping D70 certainly does look really nice, no argue there and maybe just maybe a tad better than a diy dual mono version. But wouldn't it be fun to do one... I can always pour my energy and money in some diy amp's and purchase a ready made dac, with the benefit of not having to worry. And it also seems as my hunch was right, Asahi Kasei Microdevices does make the finest delta-sigma dac there is and to top it of, I just read that they are releasing a new one, even better than the AK4497EQ. Enter the AK4499EQ. I wonder if the differences are notable for a normal human being. The 4497 is already the best according to many, but as they say - better is better.
https://www.akm.com/akm/en/product/datasheet1/?partno=AK4499EQ&link_id=link5073
You are absolutely right, so I am not going to defend anything. The reason I merged the measurements was simply put, to get an idea of how the T50RP Mk.3 compare to the RBH HP-2 in terms of bass response, and according to the merger, I am a happy camper .. lol, but ... real life is different. With the modding possebility's and custom Fr response and all.
Which bring me to another section. you mention; "Though I would love for Fostex to make a new larger planar driver, 50mm or more to compete with the Hifiman ones" - I have not listened to Hifiman planars, only Audeze and I did not like Audeze. But since there is a huge difference between dynamic drivers, one cannot judge all planar by one company and model (LCD-2). So, since we are on the topic of different and vs. Let me ask you, have you listened to Sundara and HE400i and if so, how do they compare to the Fostex Tx0RP line ??? - I get that there is a HUGE price difference between Fostex and Hifiman and for many, probably too huge of a difference, then there is the charm of modding, adjusting the soundscape to ones own liking etc etc. Its not difficult to mod the Tx0RP line to be worth $300-500 and that puts you right on the same playing field as the Hifiman - and there has been talks about using 2 Fostex drivers in each cup in this thread (waiting on that one). I have modding ideas myself which build upon the T60RP, but that is for another time.
Thanks for adding or confirming the dif between the 50 and 60, this makes it easier for me to just jump on the 50 and go from there.
Regarding amps,
JDS Labs Atom,
THX/AAA/789 and
Neurochrome hp-1 over at audiosciencereview.com gets grave reviews and is most certainly sailing to the top. 3 different price ranges with the HP-1 landing at roughly $1200 for the ready made one. The PCB alone is roughly $250 which is $99 shy of the THX/AAA/789 which could end up as the end game headphone amp. But they are all OP Amp amplifiers compared to Dynalo (Mk.2) / Dynahi which is FET and class A, so it play in a different league ... get it... play ...
- Oneminde
- EDIT -
There is also the M1060 or M1060C with upgraded driver which we could add to the Fostex / Hifiman vs debate.