[Heathb]

Update on my experience with Diva’s.

I just received my IFI Zen DAC and have been giving the two an audition all afternoon. I bought this to eventually run balanced into the Deva’s once I buy the correct cable with a 4.4 connection.

I have heard the Zen DAC was neutral and warm. This matches up very well to the Deva’s in my opinion after listening.

Initial Impressions:

The two pair extremely well together. Better than what I used to power the Deva’s up to this point (EarStudio ES100, Fiio Q1 M2, Nobsound Tube amp)
IF Zen DAC is being pushed to its limit in unbalanced output. About 1 oclock before some distortion comes in.
Sound Stage has opened up a lot.
Music sounds more musical and less analytical. The Deva’s can portray music in a very analytical way that can make it at times seem unnatural.. The music is smoother and more dynamic.
Treble has stayed about the same maybe a bit more sparkle.
Mids have become smoother and vocals have opened up little bit a more present.
Bass impact has improved so much. In my opinion the Deva’s have good base that emphasizes quality over quantity. The base has more feel and presence.

The best part is the resolution and detail the Diva’s had didn’t go anywhere.

All in all everything the Zen DAC brought to the table was exactly what these headphones were asking for.

I think the Bluemini sounds fantastic but I can honestly say I prefer the Zen DAC by a substantial margin. If I have my choice I am listening through the Zen.

Highly recommend for the Deva’s great match. Can’t wait to get cable to go balanced.

 

[MarkSubsonik]

Update on my experience with Diva’s.

I just received my IFI Zen DAC and have been giving the two an audition all afternoon. I bought this to eventually run balanced into the Deva’s once I buy the correct cable with a 4.4 connection.

I have heard the Zen DAC was neutral and warm. This matches up very well to the Deva’s in my opinion after listening.

Initial Impressions:

The two pair extremely well together. Better than what I used to power the Deva’s up to this point (EarStudio ES100, Fiio Q1 M2, Nobsound Tube amp)
IF Zen DAC is being pushed to its limit in unbalanced output. About 1 oclock before some distortion comes in.
Sound Stage has opened up a lot.
Music sounds more musical and less analytical. The Deva’s can portray music in a very analytical way that can make it at times seem unnatural.. The music is smoother and more dynamic.
Treble has stayed about the same maybe a bit more sparkle.
Mids have become smoother and vocals have opened up little bit a more present.
Bass impact has improved so much. In my opinion the Deva’s have good base that emphasizes quality over quantity. The base has more feel and presence.

The best part is the resolution and detail the Diva’s had didn’t go anywhere.

All in all everything the Zen DAC brought to the table was exactly what these headphones were asking for.

I think the Bluemini sounds fantastic but I can honestly say I prefer the Zen DAC by a substantial margin. If I have my choice I am listening through the Zen.

Highly recommend for the Deva’s great match. Can’t wait to get cable to go balanced.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I traded my Zen DAC recently and moved to a Schiit Stack but now i'm curious as to how these would sound with it after your remarks. The Zen is definitely warm and musical sounding and it would be interesting to hear how the analytical nature of the Deva's pairs with such a source. I'm not surprised you're encountering distortion at the 1 o'clock mark. Was that on low or high gain, btw? When I had the Zen, I was mainly running it balanced to my HD600's and it provided a decent amount of power from the 4.4 balanced out. You definitely want to get you a balanced cable asap because the power increase on the Zen is substantial from unbalanced to balanced. Unfortunately, I've not yet found anybody that makes the balanced cable and was directed by Hifiman support to actually have one made from a cable manufacturer. They also sent me a schematic for cable manufacturers and if you want that to pass on, let me know. I'd be glad to share.

 

[Heathb]

I have found a balanced cable for the Deva’s from Hart Cables. Z Reviews has used them and he seemed to like them. Need to buy the multi kits but seems reasonable considering the price is also.

https://hartaudiocables.com/collections/headphone-cables/products/hc-2-3-5mm-trrs

Yes the Zen DAC does match up well.I am getting the distortion at 1 o’clock on high gain as the low just does not work with the Deva’s providing enough power. At 1 o’clock the volume is plenty loud enough even for those who like to listen at high volumes.

Because of the Zen DAC being warm and musical it seems to move the Deva’s to sound more musical and less analytical which I think it needs. One of the few things I think it needs. The Zen DAC also seems to make the Deva’s more alive and fun.

What I have learned about the Deva’s with regard equipment matching is that they will react to every device and the device will impact their sound. This can be fun to some and frustrating to others. I believe the Deva’s probably respond well to eq. I was only able to try this with my ES 100 as it has an equalizer in their DAC used via their app. It did respond to adjustment but the ES doesn’t have nearly enough power.

The Schiit Loki could be a great addition to fine tune the Deva’s for personal preferences and might be my next purchase.

The Deva’s are becoming the chameleon of headphones which makes them fun for me.

 

[MarkSubsonik]

I have found a balanced cable for the Deva’s from Hart Cables. Z Reviews has used them and he seemed to like them. Need to buy the multi kits but seems reasonable considering the price is also.

https://hartaudiocables.com/collections/headphone-cables/products/hc-2-3-5mm-trrs

Yes the Zen DAC does match up well.I am getting the distortion at 1 o’clock on high gain as the low just does not work with the Deva’s providing enough power. At 1 o’clock the volume is plenty loud enough even for those who like to listen at high volumes.

Because of the Zen DAC being warm and musical it seems to move the Deva’s to sound more musical and less analytical which I think it needs. One of the few things I think it needs. The Zen DAC also seems to make the Deva’s more alive and fun.

What I have learned about the Deva’s with regard equipment matching is that they will react to every device and the device will impact their sound. This can be fun to some and frustrating to others. I believe the Deva’s probably respond well to eq. I was only able to try this with my ES 100 as it has an equalizer in their DAC used via their app. It did respond to adjustment but the ES doesn’t have nearly enough power.

The Schiit Loki could be a great addition to fine tune the Deva’s for personal preferences and might be my next purchase.

The Deva’s are becoming the chameleon of headphones which makes them fun for me.

Awesome. I have reached out to Hart to make me a custom cable for these but have not heard back in awhile, which i can understand given the current world circumstances. As far as responding to EQ, I can confirm that they do, indeed, respond well. I use the Loki in my chain and have been adding a bit of 20hz here and there.

 

[mindhead1]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Unfortunately, I've not yet found anybody that makes the balanced cable and was directed by Hifiman support to actually have one made from a cable manufacturer. They also sent me a schematic for cable manufacturers and if you want that to pass on, let me know. I'd be glad to share.

I’ve had balanced cables made for my 6xx and 4xx by Periapt Cables. I have both sets for a couple of years now and am very happy with them.

 

[mindhead1]

I have found a balanced cable for the Deva’s from Hart Cables. Z Reviews has used them and he seemed to like them. Need to buy the multi kits but seems reasonable considering the price is also.

https://hartaudiocables.com/collections/headphone-cables/products/hc-2-3-5mm-trrs

Yes the Zen DAC does match up well.I am getting the distortion at 1 o’clock on high gain as the low just does not work with the Deva’s providing enough power. At 1 o’clock the volume is plenty loud enough even for those who like to listen at high volumes.

Because of the Zen DAC being warm and musical it seems to move the Deva’s to sound more musical and less analytical which I think it needs. One of the few things I think it needs. The Zen DAC also seems to make the Deva’s more alive and fun.

What I have learned about the Deva’s with regard equipment matching is that they will react to every device and the device will impact their sound. This can be fun to some and frustrating to others. I believe the Deva’s probably respond well to eq. I was only able to try this with my ES 100 as it has an equalizer in their DAC used via their app. It did respond to adjustment but the ES doesn’t have nearly enough power.

The Schiit Loki could be a great addition to fine tune the Deva’s for personal preferences and might be my next purchase.

The Deva’s are becoming the chameleon of headphones which makes them fun for me.

but the ES doesn’t have nearly enough power.

the balanced out on the ES100 provides a nice bump in power.

 

[MarkSubsonik]

I’ve had balanced cables made for my 6xx and 4xx by Periapt Cables. I have both sets for a couple of years now and am very happy with them.

Awesome. They were going to be my next contact but I heard back from Hart today and I've ordered a cable for my Deva's and my HE4XX. Longer than usual lead time but, it'll be worth it. =)

 

[mindhead1]

Awesome. They were going to be my next contact but I heard back from Hart today and I've ordered a cable for my Deva's and my HE4XX. Longer than usual lead time but, it'll be worth it. =)

I checked out the Hart site. I like the modular cable setup. If I ever decide to update my cables or better yet buy more headphones I might get the Y piece for all my headphones and leave longer cables with each of my amps. But I probably won’t be doing that anytime soon. I already have 1/4” and 2.5mm adapters for my XLR cables.

 

[xkoo]

Hi to All,
did anyone test how long it last Deva on BT?
thank you in advance

 

[Birdland]

I've gotten over 6 hours. I didn't run it all the way out, because it's starts to cut out and distort as the battery gets low. I never heard an audible warning.

 

[xkoo]

I've gotten over 6 hours. I didn't run it all the way out, because it's starts to cut out and distort as the battery gets low. I never heard an audible warning.

thank you that is enough for me! how long it takes to fully charge?

 

[Birdland]

Charging is extremely fast. 30-40 minutes, and it's fully charged. I'm listening to it BT right now, it's pretty impressive. I'm hoping that I can sit down and type out my after break in thoughts on these tomorrow. I've gotten a lot of hours on these, amd found out a lot of interesting things. I can't today, but I'll do it tomorrow.

 

[xkoo]

Charging is extremely fast. 30-40 minutes, and it's fully charged. I'm listening to it BT right now, it's pretty impressive. I'm hoping that I can sit down and type out my after break in thoughts on these tomorrow. I've gotten a lot of hours on these, amd found out a lot of interesting things. I can't today, but I'll do it tomorrow.

40min it is super fast what kind charger are you using?

 

[Birdland]

Just a regular USB C charger. I'm sure it doesn't have a huge battery in there.

 

[xkoo]

Just a regular USB C charger. I'm sure it doesn't have a huge battery in there.

So for me, this is great news I was hoping for 4+ hours last on battery and fast charge. No reason for me now not buy it.