[Pharmaboy]

"lack of soul/spirit"

(if only this were due to inferior amplification!)

 

[Tarikara]

You should look at the ZMF Auteur instead, IMO. If that’s way over budget then the MrSpeakers ÆON Flow Open (or Closed) is also a killer pick for about half the price. AFO won’t have the staging or detail of an Auteur, but it will be more engaging than a PM1.

I’d also maybe consider a different DAP or amp/DAC section. From your description, it sounds like a lot of it goes wrong for you here. A lot of the characteristics you describe here are subtleties I would ascribe to a DAC and/or an amp:

- “falling asleep under a warm blanket”, as you say is likely a damping issue. The attack is rounded and the decay is slow. The root cause of this can be one of several things, but it is often an issue of current availability with the amp. When this comes up short, it can flatten the dynamics by causing the driver not to react as abruptly as it is supposed to, leaving a sort of layer of “grey” over the sound. It can also come from excessive vibration from the headphone housing. In the case of the Oppo and the Fiio being paired together, it is probably both.

-When you say, “lack of color and depth” I think you are actually talking about detail. I don’t know what you mean when you say “detail” if you’re talking about little pops and strings sliding on guitars, that is called clarity. If you’re talking about the distinction between individual instruments in the mix, that is called separation. Many people confuse these three things. To me, when I hear you talking about “lack of color and depth” and instruments having a “metallic hue” that’s an issue of you not liking your DAC, because these are the same words I would use to describe a Sabre DAC, which is what the Fiio employs.There are really only a couple people who really know how to do those right. My gut tells me you’d probably enjoy the iFi Micro iDSD Black Label more for something in that price range. If you want an all-in-one DAP, maybe an Acoustic Research M2 or an A&K Kann. Maybe even a Sony WM1A, if it’s within budget.

- The “lack of soul/spirit” is what happens when you compound the two aforementioned issues. IMO, you’re going to have to address the whole system to get the results you want.

Thank you for being so overbearing with my lacking hi-fi vocab!

From what you explain I think you got It right.
There must be a damping issue.
Detail is missing.(or would you say "it's low on detail"?) The clarity and separation is ok but nok perfect.

What you say about it being an issue with both DAP and headphones makes perfect sense in relation to what i am experiencing.
The Oppo and the Fiio is not a great mix, and neither meets my need. Lesson learned the expensive way.

I will see if i can return them both and check out your recommendations online instead. Unfortunately I have no way of trying before purchase, as there are very few stores dealing in this stuff here - which is why I ended up like this in the first place.

Again, thank you very much for giving me a new direction to pursue.

 

[Hansotek]

Thank you for being so overbearing with my lacking hi-fi vocab!

From what you explain I think you got It right.
There must be a damping issue.
Detail is missing.(or would you say "it's low on detail"?) The clarity and separation is ok but nok perfect.

What you say about it being an issue with both DAP and headphones makes perfect sense in relation to what i am experiencing.
The Oppo and the Fiio is not a great mix, and neither meets my need. Lesson learned the expensive way.

I will see if i can return them both and check out your recommendations online instead. Unfortunately I have no way of trying before purchase, as there are very few stores dealing in this stuff here - which is why I ended up like this in the first place.

Again, thank you very much for giving me a new direction to pursue.

Well, for someone who “doesn’t know the lingo”, you sure did an incredible job of articulating what you were hearing. I hope you stick with the hobby.

Also, welcome to Head-Fi. Sorry about your wallet.

 

[Blommen]

Thank you for being so overbearing with my lacking hi-fi vocab!

From what you explain I think you got It right.
There must be a damping issue.
Detail is missing.(or would you say "it's low on detail"?) The clarity and separation is ok but nok perfect.

What you say about it being an issue with both DAP and headphones makes perfect sense in relation to what i am experiencing.
The Oppo and the Fiio is not a great mix, and neither meets my need. Lesson learned the expensive way.

I will see if i can return them both and check out your recommendations online instead. Unfortunately I have no way of trying before purchase, as there are very few stores dealing in this stuff here - which is why I ended up like this in the first place.

Again, thank you very much for giving me a new direction to pursue.

I don't think you should change everything so easily in hope reaching some magical synergy. What is magical for someone else might not be magical for you.

You have the fiio, it is very versatile. If you are going to be listening to over the ear headphones from it you should change the amp module and go balanced, no way around it. If you don't need streaming I would change it for the Sony wm1a, for battery and sq reasons, balanced from that too.

Remember a lot of planars only shine with power so maybe reconsider those unless they are very efficient.

I can see you live in Denmark, you can pm me if you want, maybe I can help you in some way if you need to try some stuff.

 

[vipervick]

Ok metalheads, I have a couple good headphones now and need a Hi-Def DAP. Which would you recommend for metal? I was looking into either the FiiO X5 III or X7 II. I do own an E12A to pair with it if needed.

Mainly Stoner, Doom, Black, Death, and Melodic.

 

[Hansotek]

Ok metalheads, I have a couple good headphones now and need a Hi-Def DAP. Which would you recommend for metal? I was looking into either the FiiO X5 III or X7 II. I do own an E12A to pair with it if needed.

Mainly Stoner, Doom, Black, Death, and Melodic.

X5 III has a nice AKM DAC in it that is fairly forgiving while still sounding really good. X7 II offers a little higher level performance and functionality, but some people are allergic to the sound of Sabre DAC chips. If you plan on streaming, I believe the Wifi chip in the X7 II is a little better - you might want to look into that because I get a fair amount of wifi signal dropouts with the X5 III.

 

[shuto77]

Ok metalheads, I have a couple good headphones now and need a Hi-Def DAP. Which would you recommend for metal? I was looking into either the FiiO X5 III or X7 II. I do own an E12A to pair with it if needed.

Mainly Stoner, Doom, Black, Death, and Melodic.

Hey buddy!

I had the FiiO X5iii. It's very nice, especially for the price. I haven't heard the X7ii, so I'm not sure if it's worth the up-charge ($250 extra). Furthermore, the stock amp module on the X7 is kinda meh from what I've read, so you'll probably have to spend an extra $100 to upgrade it anyway. You can grab the X5iii used for like $300.

The most important thing - for me at least - is that they're both WiFi-enabled. So you can hook either of them up to Spotify/Tidal for unlimited music.

Stack it with your E12A to change up the sound. You'll be probably be happy with it. If not, you can always upgrade.

 

[shuto77]

X5 III has a nice AKM DAC in it that is fairly forgiving while still sounding really good. X7 II offers a little higher level performance and functionality, but some people are allergic to the sound of Sabre DAC chips. If you plan on streaming, I believe the Wifi chip in the X7 II is a little better - you might want to look into that because I get a fair amount of wifi signal dropouts with the X5 III.

I always downloaded all my music from Tidal, so I never had any issues with Wifi dropouts. I didn't realize that was an issue.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Ok metalheads, I have a couple good headphones now and need a Hi-Def DAP. Which would you recommend for metal? I was looking into either the FiiO X5 III or X7 II. I do own an E12A to pair with it if needed.

Mainly Stoner, Doom, Black, Death, and Melodic.

X7mkii is excellent.

 

[Hansotek]

I always downloaded all my music from Tidal, so I never had any issues with Wifi dropouts. I didn't realize that was an issue.

It can be. For the price difference and the relative ease of workarounds I’m more than happy with mine.

 

[King CATalyst]

Ok metalheads, I have a couple good headphones now and need a Hi-Def DAP. Which would you recommend for metal? I was looking into either the FiiO X5 III or X7 II. I do own an E12A to pair with it if needed.

Mainly Stoner, Doom, Black, Death, and Melodic.

I have a fiio X5 III and it drives everything I throw at it to decent volume levels and sounds good enough for me (atticus and hd800s included) I do have 1 small problem with it, it stutters quite badly every 8 songs or so and I have to rebuffer the song but that's probably just my particular unit so I would take that info with a grain of salt.

 

[shuto77]

Hey, @Hansotek, I'm DAC-less. (Except for my Chromecast Audio's DAC, which isn't appropriate considering the rest of my mid-fi chain). What should I look into that's not crazy expensive? I picked up both the Aeons, and will keep the one I like better (probably the open, but we'll see).

 

[Dobrescu George]

I have a fiio X5 III and it drives everything I throw at it to decent volume levels and sounds good enough for me (atticus and hd800s included) I do have 1 small problem with it, it stutters quite badly every 8 songs or so and I have to rebuffer the song but that's probably just my particular unit so I would take that info with a grain of salt.

You listen really quiet... X5-3 does not drive HD800S loud enough for me.

 

[King CATalyst]

You listen really quiet... X5-3 does not drive HD800S loud enough for me.

Loud enough to annoy my fiance 2 rooms away lol...I wouldn't say it gets the hd800s "loud" but gets them to the point that most people should be listening to music without getting fatigued and without damaging your hearing.

 

[Hansotek]

Hey, @Hansotek, I'm DAC-less. (Except for my Chromecast Audio's DAC, which isn't appropriate considering the rest of my mid-fi chain). What should I look into that's not crazy expensive? I picked up both the Aeons, and will keep the one I like better (probably the open, but we'll see).

What’s your budget? And what amp are you pairing with?