[Leander7777]

@SoulSyde
How does the Arrow sound with your Ultrasone pro 750s? I own a pair of pro 900s and I'd like to get a rough idea of how the two will match up. 
 
Edit: I'd also like to know how much better they sound with the arrow when compared to the FiiO E5. I know it's an unfair comparison, but while I was waiting for my Arrow, I decided to get the E5.

 

[Anaxilus]

It's not even fair in the slightest.  I wonder where my E5 is........

 

[grokit]

Warrior05, you don't need a capacitor dock, you have a 4G iMod? I would really like to be able to get a USB power input into my Vcap dock.

 

[SoulSyde]

Quote:

@SoulSyde
How does the Arrow sound with your Ultrasone pro 750s? I own a pair of pro 900s and I'd like to get a rough idea of how the two will match up. 
 
Edit: I'd also like to know how much better they sound with the arrow when compared to the FiiO E5. I know it's an unfair comparison, but while I was waiting for my Arrow, I decided to get the E5.

I got rid of my E5 before I bough my Pro 650s (now sold) or my more recent Pro 750s.  However, the E5 sucks in my opinion.  It's a hiss-monster, didn't power my headphones that much more adequately than the on-board amp in my DAP and the bass-boost was a bloated joke.  FiiO has come a long way since the E5.  If you must go FiiO I would spring for the E7.
 
But the Arrow is a joy paired with the 750s.  I've only had my Arrow for less than a week so my impressions are still too new to do a formal review, but in short they sound very-very good with the Arrow.

 

[warrior05]

Warrior05, you don't need a capacitor dock, you have a 4G iMod? I would really like to be able to get a USB power input into my Vcap dock.

I have a 5g so I need to include caps. This one will be fun to build since I also have to account for the input jack being on the edge and being careful not to block the volume control (I prefer my hp jacks oriented towards the bottom).

I'll definitely throw together an LOD for my Touch tonight so I can enjoy the Arrow while I work on the one for my iMod which will take me a few days.

 

[aamefford]

 
Quote:

602/DACPort
 
MDs
 
BASS: 0
CROSSFEED: 0
GAIN: 2
IMPEDANCE: 0
 
DBA-02
 
BASS: 0/1
CROSSFEED: 0
GAIN: 1/2
IMPEDANCE: 0
 
I wouldn't mind using Xfeed more but the sonic penalty is a but much for me.  Tonality > SS/Imaging for me.

 
SWEET JESUS!  Rob is modifying an amp for me (I think...) because I cannot listen on low gain with the DBA-02's because by the time I get it quiet enough, I am into channel separation on the potentiometer!  I literally have less than 10 degrees of rotation before it is just too loud for me.  I have to put the impedance on I or II to be able to use the amp with these.  It is not so bad with my PK3's.  Anaxilus - Please don't go deaf on us!
 
My Settings:
 
DBA-02
 
BASS: 0/1
CROSSFEED: 1/2
GAIN: 1 and wishing for less!!!
IMPEDANCE: 1/2
 
PK3
 
BASS: 1/2
CROSSFEED: 1/2

GAIN: 1

IMPEDANCE: 2 as it rolls off the treble a bit.
 
D7000's
 
 
BASS: 0
CROSSFEED: 1

GAIN: 1

IMPEDANCE: 0

All out of an iPhone 3GS or Touch 4G

 

[Party]

[size=12pt]Ok After listening with the Arrow (Have had it only for a couple of days) I have notice a couple of things. I will start off with the negatives:[/size]
 
[size=12pt]- I have a major hiss through my Westone3s, I am using a Cowon J3 as the source, and to put it into perspective it has about as much hiss as the Cowon J3 at its highest level! (Which I never listen to it that high). When connected to the J3 alone there is barely any hiss which I am happy with (although could be better as always

[/size][size=12pt]) and was hoping the Arrow would have been just as quiet or quieter, But through the Arrow man it hisses! This is with the gain on 1 and IMP at 0, if I bump up the IMP to remove some of the hiss it will not only take some of the treble away it will also lower the overall volume output. Has anyone else confirmed this with the Arrow and Westone3s?[/size]
 
[size=12pt]-This leads me to the least of my concerns, that at this setting I can bottom out the potentiometer not giving me the ability to blast my music when I want to. Now of course I could achieve louder sound by bumping up the gain etc… but then I would introduce noise and impede my sound quality. Now I could also up the Cowon J3 volume but again probably degrading the sound quality, and probably not a good idea to run the internal amp of the J3 up that high anyways… What is everyone running there source volume at (is not lower typically better, for sound quality that is)?? (If you don’t have a line-out that is)  [/size]
 
[size=12pt]-For the last of the negatives it seems to “downplay” the bass to a “beat” instead of a full bodied nicely rolled-off bass note. This seems to in return lessen the bass overall and again play it as just a harsh note and not a musically blended natural sound as it does when hearing directly from the source (J3).[/size]
 
[size=12pt]So if it was not for these issues I would be happy and content! Now the positives are that this does most defiantly clarifies the vocals and basically sharpens and increase the definition of the sound over all. This in return with what was said above tends to lead my ears in hearing more of the treble end of the spectrum (colder sound than warmer). Now if the amp could produce or keep more of that naturally mid-lower end sound I think that would bring much of the “warmth” back to the sound. I would also say that this amp widens the soundstage and gives an over all “open” sound which is great, but again I cannot imagine what this open sound would sound like if it also had that extra “low-end warmth to it” (sometimes sounds analytical), then again this openness may just also come from the fact that it does not accent the mid-low band (as described above) and gives rise to its open airy high-def. sound?[/size]
 
[size=12pt]These were just some of the major things that first stood out with in the first couple days of listening. Over all this is a nice way to bring in the New Year!!![/size]

 

[rehabitat]

Sounds like the Arrow is merely amplifying the hiss already present in your Cowon's amp section.  It may be that the J3 and W3 are a poor match.  I suggest trying the Arrow with a different source and compare.
 
Oh and search the thread, I don't recall anyone posting about any more than very minor hiss issues with the Arrow couple with highly sensitive iems like Westones, although most impressions here are of G1.  It's possible your amp may have a fault too...
 
It's my impression from others that the Arrow is not the best choice to drive some highly sensitive iems, which usually don't require an additional amp to perform near their best.  There are other amps that are designed specifically for this purpose, like the Pico Slim.
 
The Arrow really shines with full size and medium to high impedance/low sensitivity cans because it enables you to use these cans portably, which are often impossible to drive well from a portable dap.  It's accepted that the Arrow is not the finest sounding portable on the market, but it is certainly the most versatile one.

 

[average_joe]

I don't have any hiss from my Arrow with any of my sources (Fuze, modded iPods, 601) and my high sensitivity IEMs including the SM3 and EP-10 Plus, which has the highest sensitivity of my IEMs.  My thought is it is the source.  What volume is the J3 at when you are connecting it to the Arrow?  If it is at a low volume, I would imagine that could be a large contributor to the hiss, and a max volume on the J3 would probably be best.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Quote:

602/DACPort
 
MDs
 
BASS: 0
CROSSFEED: 0
GAIN: 2
IMPEDANCE: 0
 
DBA-02
 
BASS: 0/1
CROSSFEED: 0
GAIN: 1/2
IMPEDANCE: 0
 
I wouldn't mind using Xfeed more but the sonic penalty is a but much for me.  Tonality > SS/Imaging for me.

 
SWEET JESUS!  Rob is modifying an amp for me (I think...) because I cannot listen on low gain with the DBA-02's because by the time I get it quiet enough, I am into channel separation on the potentiometer!  I literally have less than 10 degrees of rotation before it is just too loud for me.  I have to put the impedance on I or II to be able to use the amp with these.  It is not so bad with my PK3's.  Anaxilus - Please don't go deaf on us!
 
 
All out of an iPhone 3GS or Touch 4G

You realize we aren't using the same sources right?  Plus I shouldn't have listed my DACPort as I don't use it w/ the Arrow.  My Arrow can go silent on gain II so not sure what the problem is.  I'm out of channel imbalance by the time I get to listening level easily.  I don't listen to music at room noise level (35-40) like some of you.   I listen at music level.  I'll watch my SPL though.  

 

[bhaskarjyotik]

Will my arrow (hope it arrives soon!) be able to drive the Senn HD650s to their fullest potential?
Or will I need another amp for that?

 

[rehabitat]

Search the thread and you'll find that the Arrow is just about as good as a portable gets for driving HD650s.  A desktop amp is required for fullest potential, however.

 

[SoulSyde]

Quote:

Will my arrow (hope it arrives soon!) be able to drive the Senn HD650s to their fullest potential?
Or will I need another amp for that?

It pushes my HD600s very well.

 

[average_joe]

I don't have the HD600 or HD650, but the Arrow does not drive the LCD-2 as well as the Stepdance.  The Arrow did fine with the SA5000, but not sure how comparable it is to the HD600/650.

 

[Party]

[size=medium]Hmm I wonder if I do indeed have a defective Arrow then??? I need not even plug the Arrow into a source to even hear the Hiss (with the unit on and my earphones in I hear the hiss), so it is most defiantly the Arrow! Like I said I can listen to the J3 with virtually no hiss at normal listening and even pretty high without much hiss. [/size]
 
[size=medium]Also I can hear some hiss through my DT 770! However less as expected. I can plug the phones into the J3 and pump it all the way up and it will still be pretty much silent, but once hooked to the Arrow there is most defiantly a prominent hiss, but much more tolerable, nowhere close to the hiss hear on the Westone 3s (it is truly unacceptable the more I listen to it!)… Also I can top the Arrow out on these (DT770) as well, on gain 3!! Now I am running the J3 at about 25 vol level (so a little more than half way to its MAX vol of 40), if I go higher I probably would not be able to top out the Arrow, but again I don’t think you want to be running the setup like that, you basically want to run the Source at its lowest vol that still gives you all the vol you could want through the Arrow?[/size][size=medium] Is not Line outs low?. So what is everyone running their source(s) vols at??? Or maybe give percentages of the max vol of your devices?  [/size]