[AitchKay]

Hi All,
 
A long time analogue junkie I'm just dipping my toes into the ( portable ) digital domain - and I'm completely lost haha.
 
All of my digital music is .flac and I use a Meridian Explorer2 DAC with both my (windoze) laptop and my HTC ONE M8 phone ( with USB Audio Player Pro ). Headphones are Oppo PM3.
 
Sooooo.... my problem.... 
 
The sq is good but somewhat "muddy" to my ears  - I need more differentiation between the various instruments / voices.
 
Open back headphones = not a choice
 
So, do I need a good amp, better dac, both or what - I'm completely lost with ohms and mW whatever they are, just know that something needs to grab those PM3s and make 'em sing the way they did when I demo'd them.
 
Suggestions / Recommendations REALLY gratefully received.
 
H

 

[fjrabon]

If you've heard the PM3 sound like you wanted with a different setup, then my guess is that the ME2 doesn't have enough power for you, and you're experiencing some mild clipping.  That or the DAC isn't good enough compared to what you previously heard.  what volume level are you using on the ME2?

 

[AitchKay]

I'm not really a high-volume person - I tend to have the volume set between 6 or 7 ( scale of 10 ).
 
I have thought about something like the ifi micro iDSD as a "just chuck some cash at it" sorta solution but the ME2 sounds great, just the sound I want when playing through the living room kit. Sorta thinking a bit more power wouldn't go amiss but don't really want to make too many expensive mistakes ( not when there's all this experience to be guided by )  

 

[tomb]

  Hi All,
 
A long time analogue junkie I'm just dipping my toes into the ( portable ) digital domain - and I'm completely lost haha.
 
All of my digital music is .flac and I use a Meridian Explorer2 DAC with both my (windoze) laptop and my HTC ONE M8 phone ( with USB Audio Player Pro ). Headphones are Oppo PM3.
 
Sooooo.... my problem.... 
 
The sq is good but somewhat "muddy" to my ears  - I need more differentiation between the various instruments / voices.
 
Open back headphones = not a choice
 
So, do I need a good amp, better dac, both or what - I'm completely lost with ohms and mW whatever they are, just know that something needs to grab those PM3s and make 'em sing the way they did when I demo'd them.
 
Suggestions / Recommendations REALLY gratefully received.
 
H

 
It appears to me that the Meridian DAC is USB-powered.  That can make a huge difference, especially if you are playing with a laptop.  Even if your phone provides "5V" on the USB buss, there may not be enough headroom to provide full regulation inside the Meridian (assuming it has any).  That can make the difference between a clean, transparent DAC and one without detail.
 
Meridian also quotes <500ma as the current needs.  That's hardly a helpful way to show a specification ("<"), but the implication is that it may take quite a bit of current.  Again, neither your phone or laptop can probably provide the power needed cleanly.  Even if the laptop can provide plenty of voltage headroom, the USB power from a laptop is notoriously dirty.  The Meridian has an amp and at some point, the dirty power will infect the analog portions of the circuit if all you're using is USB-power.
 
You might try to find a powered USB hub or a separate USB-power device, preferably using linear regulation for the separate power supply (walwart).  Looking at the tests for the PM-3, it's very efficient.  So lack of power to the headphone is not the issue, but rather: clean power at the DAC/amp.

 

[AitchKay]

Hmm, hadn't thought of power from that angle ( although I do have to use a power supply ( battery 1A ) ) to even get the ME2 to fire up when connected to my phone ( OTG cable with separate data and power leads ). I've been going along the lines of the ME2 delivering "only" 130mW and my experience with the home system has been that greater current gives more precise speaker control. Ooooer - now I'm really lost

 

[AitchKay]

........   sorta pointing towards something like the Micro iDSD, has anybody done a comparison between the ME2 and iDSD ?

 

[AitchKay]

Ok - 2 days spent pouring over reviews (mostly here on head-fi) and following the comments from tomb (thanks) I've been trying to find a device to provide that clean power to my me2.
Does anybody have any suggestions (other than ifi iusb3.0?)