[Pedro83]

   
The price between the Fulla and the first generation Explorer is now closer - I noted a price drop around December when the second generation Explorer was released. However, and I suspect it is at least partly due to the much lower impedance, I am finding the second generation Explorer to work very well with many more headphones. I have just acquired the second generation Explorer, so I'm still listening to it 

 
I've already posted my opinions on the Fulla versus the first generation Explorer. Simply put, some phones mated best with the Fulla and another mated best with the Explorer. I did not feel that either product was necessarily better.
 
Comparing the Fulla to the Explorer2 will be a lot harder. I like what I hear in the Explorer2, but some people may not. There's a lot more audio processing going on in the Meridian, which will not be the case with the Schiit products. I read a review on What Hi-Fi about the Meridian Director. They said in reference to the Director "it seems to take its eye off the actual flow and rhythm" and "doesn’t build the same sense of tension". After listening to the Explorer2, I kinda think I understand what they meant. When I plugged back in my original Explorer, I got that edge and attack back, and I felt it more. But in the Explorer2, there's such a vast expanse of sonic information, so it's like I heard it more.
 
The Fulla and Explorer are really sweet, but they are simple products. The Explorer2, thus far, seems to play with a lot more headphones and lets you cozy right up next to the music (especially at the lower bit rates) - but it seems to me to be lacking that magic one gets in connecting with the musical moment. And as always, your mileage and experience may vary! I like them all 

 

I have the E2, also owned the E1, happen to use the E2 with the Schiit wyrd. Which is a very very nice upgrade. I use IE800 with the E2, it's a lovely combination. I also own an AK240 for on the move - I cannot work out whether it is better or not yet, just very very different. More analogue and smooth, but the E2 has something very special about it. 
 
 
Thanks for your reply. 

 

[sheldaze]

Yeah,
 
The Schiit Wyrd kinda got sucked into my main speaker system. I was first listening to it with headphones plugged into the Explorer and Explorer2. Then I took a break and moved it into the chain between my desktop Mac and Oppo BDP-105. That was a mistake! Whereas it was a perceptible improvement to my ears with the Meridian boxes, I felt like I could not go back back to my original main speaker setup once I heard it with the Oppo. The fidelity of my main system is higher than my headphones, for now. It is also possible that I was simply hearing the sound improved by USB Schiit Pyst cables in the main speaker system - I don't know. But for now I'll have to do without the Wyrd with my USB-powered headphone DAC/AMP boxes.
 
Your setup, with high end Sennheiser headphones, and especially in-ear, would probably benefit the most in your headphone system. Congrats!

 

[Pedro83]

  Yeah,
 
The Schiit Wyrd kinda got sucked into my main speaker system. I was first listening to it with headphones plugged into the Explorer and Explorer2. Then I took a break and moved it into the chain between my desktop Mac and Oppo BDP-105. That was a mistake! Whereas it was a perceptible improvement to my ears with the Meridian boxes, I felt like I could not go back back to my original main speaker setup once I heard it with the Oppo. The fidelity of my main system is higher than my headphones, for now. It is also possible that I was simply hearing the sound improved by USB Schiit Pyst cables in the main speaker system - I don't know. But for now I'll have to do without the Wyrd with my USB-powered headphone DAC/AMP boxes.
 
Your setup, with high end Sennheiser headphones, and especially in-ear, would probably benefit the most in your headphone system. Congrats!

You should buy another, for the price, the gains are well worth it. I certainly would if funds permit. I have read many many reviews about the Explorers and a 5v linear supply. I'm yet to read any negativity regarding the combo. It is certainly staying with my Explorer 2. 
 
Maybe a try a cheap USB hub for the power, these are said to be no different, so I am told. 

 

[sheldaze]

If you have both the Explorer and Explorer2, you may want to do an experiment. I've been considering the purchase of the Director based on my experience with the Explorer2. However I first wanted to be able to isolate the Upsampling from the Apodizing features, which unfortunately do not appear to be user-accessible on the Explorer2. From the Audio Filters tab in Audirvana, I selected the Oversampling 2x only option, thus bypassing the internal sampling rate conversion of the Explorer2. I also used the pair of headphones I own that best match with the original Explorer.
 
To my ears, whatever algorithm that Meridian is using to resample the bits is what is bringing the sound closer (height, width, clarity, etc.) yet it is also keeping me from completely immersing myself into the carnal emotion of the music - the happiness, sadness, peaks and valleys of the emotional journey that I'm supposed to be riding as I listen to the music. Using the Audirvana resampling algorithm, I was able to engage with the emotional texture of the music, with both the Explorer and Explorer2. And I did not hear much difference between the two, given that I was using the headphone pairing that worked well with the original Explorer.
 
I suppose what I'm trying to conclude is the advantages of the Explorer2 appear to be mostly tied to the software updates. If you like those updates, it's a great buy! I love the sound for the first half of the song, then I find it frustrates me for the second half, when the heartbreak happens for the singer, and I don't feel it. Now leaving the same setting on for Audirvana and continuing with the same headphones, I still love the Schiit Fulla. It actually seems to add a little more weight to the music, in comparison with the Meridian boxes. And there's nothing between me and the music. It simply plays whatever comes out of the USB.
 
MQA may change my opinion, but I still think the Schiit Fulla is money well-spent. And I think most people will not be trying to pair it with high end Sennheiser phones. It is still a less than $100 box, and will not make magic happen. But I think it will make most people happy 

 

 

[ClieOS]

Got the Fulla yesterday and spent a little time listening to it. Overall a pretty nice DAC/amp for the price. The two minor things I'll like to see are (1) a micro-USB port instead of mini-USB and (2) the metal edges are a bit shape and could use some smoothing out.

 

[Greg Holmberg]

FYI, I got the Fulla to work without additional power with my Android tablet.
 
I have a Google/Samsung Nexus 10 tablet running Android 5.0.2.
 
I connected the Fulla directly with this micro-to-mini USB on-the-go cable:
 
http://www.jdslabs.com/products/86/micro-to-mini-usb-otg-cable/
 
I play music using the Tidal HiFi app. No special player app or USB tweaks used.
 
It sounds great with my HiFiMAN RE-400 in-ear monitors.  The volume knobs only needs about 20% of its travel to be plenty loud.
 
Specs on the RE-400:
 
Impedance: 32  OHM+/- 3.2
Sensitivity: 102dB/1mW
Rated power: 10mW
Maximum power: 30 mW
 
 
Hope this helps someone.
 
Greg

 

[Greg Holmberg]

Additional information: when the battery got down to 72%, the Fulla quit.  Tried unplugging and re-plugging, but still wouldn't run.
 
So you can play the Fulla from a fully charged Nexus 10 for about two or three hours.
 
 

 

[AKGunkie]

  Additional information: when the battery got down to 72%, the Fulla quit.  Tried unplugging and re-plugging, but still wouldn't run.
 
So you can play the Fulla from a fully charged Nexus 10 for about two or three hours.
 
 

I Haven't tried playing it from my surface on low battery yet, I'll have to try to see if it has similar problems.

 

[bearFNF]

Is it due to a power saving function as the battery goes down?  does your device have a "performance mode" that could be set?

 

[twister6]

  FYI, I got the Fulla to work without additional power with my Android tablet.
 
I have a Google/Samsung Nexus 10 tablet running Android 5.0.2.
 
I connected the Fulla directly with this micro-to-mini USB on-the-go cable:
 
http://www.jdslabs.com/products/86/micro-to-mini-usb-otg-cable/
 
I play music using the Tidal HiFi app. No special player app or USB tweaks used.
 
It sounds great with my HiFiMAN RE-400 in-ear monitors.  The volume knobs only needs about 20% of its travel to be plenty loud.
 
Specs on the RE-400:
 
Impedance: 32  OHM+/- 3.2
Sensitivity: 102dB/1mW
Rated power: 10mW
Maximum power: 30 mW
 
 
Hope this helps someone.
 
Greg

 
Just ordered this otg cable from JDS labs. Will report back when I get it to confirm if it works with my Note 4.

 

[aznpos531]

I Haven't tried playing it from my surface on low battery yet, I'll have to try to see if it has similar problems.

I've tried it with my Surface Pro 3 on low battery. The Fulla worked fine.
On my S4, doesnt matter what I try, nothing works.

 

[AKGunkie]

I've tried it with my Surface Pro 3 on low battery. The Fulla worked fine.
On my S4, doesnt matter what I try, nothing works.

Mines a surface rt

 

[transcendental]

I received my Fulla yesterday.  I have been anticipating it's arrival all week.  I plugged it in to my usb in my imac.  Listening on my Sennheiser hd650's, I was initially taken by the vivid textures and clarity of bowing on stringed instruments.  I heard beginnings of notes on Starker's cello.  I heard the hair on Suk's violin engaging the strings on Brahms Piano Trios.  It was very engaging- at first.
I listened to the Cherubini's Mendelsson String Quartets- again, nice separation, good vitality.  But then on vocal recordings, such as Diana Krall,and Rickie Lee Jones, I started to hear edgy graininess.  And then back to string recordings, same, bright hash.  I see metallic shards.  And then, I compared it to the headphone jack straight into my imac...  and it was much smoother.  Way less fatiguing.  I think I did a total of an hour of listening today, really not that much, and my ears feel like they're bleeding.  
 
  
Just out of curiosity, does anybody else think this?
 
Can somebody recommend a good dac/amp combo that is smoother, but less fatiguing? 
 
Update 3/15/15:
 
After doing alot of listening since my initial findings, things have gotten alot better.  I'm finding alot more balance, spaciousness, nice instrumental timbres.  There must be an ear adjustment period where one might be overly hyper objective with new products.   I do agree with the person that said the edges are very sharp and stick out over the edges.  Not very precise work.    

 

[sheldaze]

The only thing I can suggest is you check the settings using the Audio MIDI Setup utility. When I listened to my first external USB dongle, I too had an issue. The Mac recognized that the USB dongle was capable of 24-bit @ 96kHz sampling rate. So it defaulted the audio to this although the audio I was playing was only 16-bit @ 44.1kHz. Once I manually set the audio to the native rate, the sound was considerably better.
 
The issue was that the Mac was converting the audio between the two audio rates and was adding a lot of noise to the signal during the conversion. Once the USB dongle was able to play the songs at their native rate without the software conversion, I was much happier with the sound.

 

[USAudio]

Well the Fulla has been out for a few months now and many folks have complained that some of the chassis edges/corners are just too sharp.
Has that been addressed in the recently shipped units?  Does anyone who has received a recent unit care to share their thoughts?
Thanks