[Hybrys]

Quote:

How can I check that out in Linux?

That's much more unlikely in Linux, it's more of a Windows 9X problem.
 
Looking into bitperfect players, as I suggested earlier is the equiv of that.

 

[Zoltan99]

Quote:

That's much more unlikely in Linux, it's more of a Windows 9X problem.
 
Looking into bitperfect players, as I suggested earlier is the equiv of that.

From everything ive read, modern linux audio is all bit perfect.  You dont need anything special. 

 

[muad]

To the OP:  Ive tried a few different modules and quite a few different opamps with the Fun. Only one setup has sounded amazing while the rest were krap. Im not trying to say that normal opamps are krap but the Fun was designed to work with the audio-gd opamps and normal ic opamps. I really wanted to believe that the ic opamps I was trying would be better than the discrete opamps from audio-gd. The Opa earth was the only acceptable opamp... which ironically was the one I burned in at the start.
 
The other thing is you got the basic. The acss unit in the version A is probably the best thing about the Fun. Without that, I think the Fun would be more inline with most soundcards and other dacs in this price range. My previous $200 dollar dac never sounded as clean as my Fun version A, but it did have a better soundstage than my onboard sound card. I think if you got the version A you would have been happier and have noticed a difference.
 
These are simply my opinions and I think you're right about not going on a wild goose chase. If I were you I'd send kingwa an email and see what he thinks. He's very helpful and Im sure his opinion is more valid than mine...

 

[leeperry]

your $90 ATH-A700 is most likely the weak link...I discussed it w/ a friend of mine and he says that his FUN and a Realtek chip are night and day.

 

[muad]

So you're saying the ATH-A700 is incapable of displaying the difference between a decent source and a good source?

 

[Zoltan99]

Quote:

your $90 ATH-A700 is most likely the weak link...I discussed it w/ a friend of mine and he says that his FUN and a Realtek chip are night and day.

I even tested the Fun vs my Ipod nano with my Shure SE210's and tbh, the iPod had clearer sound on the same lossless song.  If you look back in this thread, I specifically asked if my headphones were good enogh to see a difference.  I was told yes.  If There were the weak link, I would have never ever even attempted the Fun.

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

 
I even tested the Fun vs my Ipod nano with my Shure SE210's and tbh, the iPod had clearer sound on the same lossless song.  If you look back in this thread, I specifically asked if my headphones were good enogh to see a difference.  I was told yes.  If There were the weak link, I would have never ever even attempted the Fun.

That really doesn't make sense.  Can you try one last thing?  Do you have access to a Windows OS/machine?  (Win7 pref.)  I still have a feeling something is going wrong.  I can hear a night and day different with my PA2V2, nevermind all the hugely more expensive DACs/amps I've heard.  <_<
 
Once you get Windows up and running:
 
1.  Newest onboard drivers
2.  Foobar + WASAPI (on Vista/Win7), or ASIO4ALL
3.  Set Foobar to output to the SPDIF output over WASAPI or ASIO4ALL
4.  Make sure all volumes are maxed (System and Foobar)
4.  Connect the FUN via SPDIF, and connect your headphones to the FUN.
5.  Turn on the FUN and listen.

 

[Zoltan99]

Quote:

That really doesn't make sense.  Can you try one last thing?  Do you have access to a Windows OS/machine?  I still have a feeling something is going wrong.  I can hear a night and day different with my PA2V2, nevermind all the hugely more expensive DACs/amps I've heard.  <_<
 
Once you get Windows up and running:
 
1.  Newest onboard drivers
2.  Foobar + WASAPI (on Vista/Win7), or ASIO4ALL
3.  Set Foobar to output to the SPDIF output over WASAPI or ASIO4ALL
4.  Make sure all volumes are maxed (System and Foobar)
4.  Connect the FUN via SPDIF, and connect your headphones to the FUN.
5.  Turn on the FUN and listen.

 
 
Il try it, but im not going to use windows to listen to music, so I might as well not even try it.  But I will try it. 
 

 

[Ypoknons]

It is possible that with a AD700, the difference just aren't that stark. I don't know the AD700, but with the K701 the differences are plainly obvious, with a standard headphone jack it's a sibilant, congested piece of crap...
 
The other possibility is that you're not really used to critical listening yet. On one level you could say what isn't obvious isn't worth the money, but on the other hand, your definitions of obvious will change with time and experience.
 
So far, I think your descriptions of sound have been fairly general. Try describing sound specifically in terms of highs, mids and lows and compare them. Try comparing the wide and depth of the instruments and see if there's any difference. Place the instruments in your mind. Don't worry too much that someone else said you'll notice a huge, gigantic difference with the AD700, that is the inherent limitation of subjective opinion, your perception  will be a bit different... For example, someone may say the difference between two amplifers is night and day, but to me, it will be subtle.

 

[Ypoknons]

Sorry, guys, I don't want why the forum adds another post when I accidentally hit the enter button.

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

Il try it, but im not going to use windows to listen to music, so I might as well not even try it.  But I will try it. 
 

It's more of a thought experiment.  If you find a substantial difference in Windows than Linux, we can investigate other things, such as your Distro, current kerrnel, or alternative onboard drivers.  Just these are more... time consuming.

 

[m11a1]

 
Quote:

 
 
Il try it, but im not going to use windows to listen to music, so I might as well not even try it.  But I will try it. 
 

Zoltan, I also have the A700 and I understand what you're going through. It all started a long long time ago when I initially used the headphone output from my computer to listen to my music. But the sound wasn't great and I wanted something better so I brought myself the X-Fi soundcard. The headphone output from the soundcard was a huge sonic improvement; overall, the sound was much more impactful and detailed. Wanting better sound, I just recently purchased the Cambridge Audio DacMagic. Much to my amazement, it wasn't that much sound difference. At the most, the bass was more accurate and the soundstage was slightly expanded. Now if someone was deciding whether to get a DAC (mind you under $500) or just use a decent soundcard with their A700, I would say forget it, it's almost not worth it. However, trying the difference with my K701 is just simply unbelievable. 

 

[ROBSCIX]

I think you can always find upgrades to anything but, they come at a price.  You also need to decide what you need for features and options.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

How can I check that out in Linux?

Sorry, I've got no Idea.  I'm more of a windows geek.  You'll probably have to ask on a linux forum.  I'd start by looking up who wrote the drivers for your soundcard and look for some documentation on them, if any exists at all.
 
I could be downsampling to a lower rate for some reason, poorly resampling to the same rate for some reason, or really screwing up an upsample.  Play around with your sound settings in the OS and your media player and look for the output sample rate.
 
Just trying it on a another known good system, preferably with a different OS and soundcard will tell you whether its your PC or the FUN.

 

[leeperry]

I specifically asked if my headphones were good enough to see a difference.  I was told yes.  If There were the weak link, I would have never ever even attempted the Fun.

 
Don't you find it a bit easy to blame other ppl for your own mistakes? You wanted to be spoonfed, you were. Next time don't listen to a one guy clueless advice and do your homework.
 
Anyway, it's not too late...so don't give up just yet! sell it all, get an HA-Info NG27(the cheapest serious headamp you can buy AFAIK, try to get the MK2 version) and some serious phone to use it. And possibly upgrade the opamp too.