[Oggranak]

My Audio-gd Compass will be arriving soon. I plan to use the Earth, um, thing.

My main pairs are Beyerdynamic DT770s (pleather pads) and DT880s, both 2005 consumer edition and both 250 ohms. Until now I've been using them out of a Zune headphone jack.

I will be using the compass in the following configurations:

FLAC -> USB -> Compass -> Headphones (music)

Xbox 360 -> Optical -> Compass -> headphones (gaming)

Will it be shockingly different, vaguely different, or somewhere between those two?

 

[theScribe]

It's like your headphone, but done better, tighter, and more refined.

It will not turn that 770 or 880 into an SA5000 or Sennheiser for example.

I run the DT770s/80ohm thru my HR MicroDAC and Audiotailor Jade and I noticed the bass is much tighter and controlled than the flabbiness I encounter running directly from the HP jack of my macbook Pro.

The DAC cleans up the sound and brings out the details, the amplifier adds warmth, power, and control. That is from my newbie, but honest impressions.

Does that help?

-JC

 

[moonboy403]

It also depends on the music you listen to. Some music will sound pretty much the same while others improve considerably.

 

[K_19]

Even from my lower end Total bithead, I found the FLAC through DAC to be of a massive improvement over let's say... a portable setup. With something great like the Compass you should be even more pleased most likely

 

[joewatch]

It takes some time for your ears to adjust, so you may not notice any difference at first. But after say a week of listening 4-6 hours/day on the Compass, go back to just the Zune headphone out. You will notice that the sound is much thinner and less enjoyable.

It's like drinking wine. If you drink cheap wine all the time and learn to enjoy it, then drink a $100 bottle, you aren't going to notice the difference. But if you drink $100 bottles all the time, then, drink a glass of "two buck Chuck", the difference will hit you like a schoolbus.

 

[lordearl]

it will blow your mind

 

[BigTony]

The earth hdam will really open your music up; lots of little details you never knew were there will pop up, and you'll have a great clean sound. The dac/hdam combo probably accounts for 90% of the sound improvement the amp side much less - but hey the amp is supposed to amp and not add/take anything away.
Enjoy!

 

[frank99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joewatch /img/forum/go_quote.gif It takes some time for your ears to adjust, so you may not notice any difference at first. But after say a week of listening 4-6 hours/day on the Compass, go back to just the Zune headphone out. You will notice that the sound is much thinner and less enjoyable. It's like drinking wine. If you drink cheap wine all the time and learn to enjoy it, then drink a $100 bottle, you aren't going to notice the difference. But if you drink $100 bottles all the time, then, drink a glass of "two buck Chuck", the difference will hit you like a schoolbus.

I have the exact same feeling when compare my AV receiver's headphone out with my dedicate amp. That's why usually I won't invite my non-Head-Fier friends to try my gears.

 

[Oggranak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordearl /img/forum/go_quote.gif it will blow your mind

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTony /img/forum/go_quote.gif The earth hdam will really open your music up; lots of little details you never knew were there will pop up, and you'll have a great clean sound. The dac/hdam combo probably accounts for 90% of the sound improvement the amp side much less - but hey the amp is supposed to amp and not add/take anything away. Enjoy!

I appreciate the honest, realistic answers most of you have given me, but I like these two the most, lol. Humans do have a tendency to justify a purchase after it has been made....

Thanks for the info everyone, it should be here on Wednesday at the latest, and I can't wait to give my initial feelings so that they might be useful to others about to take the plunge and get a full-sized amp/DAC.

 

[moodyrn]

I have both. The sound you will be getting will be vastly superior to what you are using now. You won't have to listen a few days to hear the difference. It will be apparent immediately. If you already had something like a zero, it might not be as apparent immediately, but coming straight from a portable, it will be a big leap in performance.

 

[krmathis]

It will be very apparent! No doubt!

Cause I have not heard a single 'phone so far which don't benefit sound wise when driven by an external DAC and amplifier, compared to built in ones.

 

[moodyrn]

Yeah, even my wife's phones, which are a pair of hd515s, benefit greatly from and external dac and amp.

 

[Oggranak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif It will be very apparent! No doubt!

I hope you're right.

 

[Oggranak]

Well, here is my experience with my new Compass:

At first, the difference seemed vague, like I couldn't put my finger on it. After 5 minutes, I decided to refresh my memory with a listen to my Zune.

The song was Slave Called Shiver from Stupid Dream by Porcupine Tree. As soon as I switched to the Zune, I realized why people praise proper amplification. The difference was not a small one. Significant improvement. I'm noticing many details I didn't notice before (Unfortunately for the album Vitalogy, some of these details would have been better left out) and everything just sounds more.. 'right'. I can't really describe it.

Testing them side-by-side, it's night and day. I am happy with my purchase.

I know this is hardly a proper review, I'm just trying to help other audio noobs by telling just how big of a difference an amp/DAC makes.

 

[moonboy403]

Congrats on your first step in the right direction!