[Zoltan99]

 
Quote:

 
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.

Its not that I anted to be spoonfed.  I did a ton of research.  Though I asked for advice and took it.  last time I asked for advice I got the Ibasso D2 Boa for my iPod and it sounded amazing.  It was an actual improvement.   If you guys all know these Dac's don't improve on anything, why recommend them?  It just seems a bit silly to me.  and leperry please don't tell me you don't recommend them, because you do.  A recent thread somebody with the AD700, you recommend a similar setup.


Do you just wish for people to waste their money?

 

[leeperry]

 
you guys

 
You realize head-fi is not a religion or a commercial entity, right? You should always go for the most expensive phone you can afford, as it'll most likely sound better from a crappy source than a crappy phone on a good source ever will.
  
Price point doesn't mean much...some have reported the $30 RX700 to kill the $250 d2k, and even the $300 Pro750 sounded like **** to my ears(just like the d2k).
 
When ppl ask for advice, it's assumed that they are well aware of what they're buying...you don't buy a $400 cable for a $50 phone, the same way you don't buy a killer source if your phone is worthless.
 
Bottom line is: most ppl here haven't heard the AD700, so why don't ask AD700 owners what worked for them? maybe they'll tell you that they don't need an amp and aren't transparent enough to capitalize on them

 
FWIW, I've got friends using the FUN and the NG27 and they're all very happy w/ them.

 

[Hybrys]

Just ignore Leeperry.  He's just a very negative troll, and loves to push random products.
 
I do stand by my statement, though.  You should still be able to see more of a difference than you are seeing.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Yes, you should be hearing more of an improvement. 
Take use through your setup.
What type of music files are you using?
What player?
What output plug?

 

[Zoltan99]

Quote:

Yes, you should be hearing more of an improvement. 
Take use through your setup.
What type of music files are you using?
What player?
What output plug?

Mostly flac rips, and RythmBox.  As for plug the included TosLink cable. 
 

 

[Ypoknons]

[size=medium]

[size=small]DACs are a controversial area, there is a school of thought that maintains that digital reproduction is a mature enough area that all DACs are pretty much the same, and then others believe they make anything from a minor to a huge difference. You shouldn't be pissed, it happens. As for your Fun, at least it's a good, powerful amplifier which you can keep and use when you upgrade your headphones. [/size]
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[/size]

 

[Zoltan99]

Quote:

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.

OK so I followed these steps on a fresh XP machine. Got newest Realtek drivers Installed foobar and flac.  The installed the most stable version of Asio4ALL along with its foobar plugin. restarted.  Maxed all volume.  Created the ASIO4ALL virtual device and chose it as output.  Note that these was never a option to choose spidif.  Both the toslink and minijack worked with no settings changed.  I mainly followed the instructions on the head-fi tutorial.  I compared both the Realtek to the Asio in the foobar output option's and really could never tell the difference.  Kept it in ASIO and went back and forth between the Dac and the Onboard and other than onboard EMI (which is not apparent while the songs are playing), I really cannot tell the difference. 
 
 
Ive also change the power cable to a better one and plugged it into a more direct power source. 
 
 
Maybe I didnt set up the ASIO correctly?  I noticed in the ASIO control panel. the audi output had 8 channels set, but I couldnt really change that.

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoltan99 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
OK so I followed these steps on a fresh XP machine. Got newest Realtek drivers Installed foobar and flac.  The installed the most stable version of Asio4ALL along with its foobar plugin. restarted.  Maxed all volume.  Created the ASIO4ALL virtual device and chose it as output.  Note that these was never a option to choose spidif.  Both the toslink and minijack worked with no settings changed.  I mainly followed the instructions on the head-fi tutorial.  I compared both the Realtek to the Asio in the foobar output option's and really could never tell the difference.  Kept it in ASIO and went back and forth between the Dac and the Onboard and other than onboard EMI (which is not apparent while the songs are playing), I really cannot tell the difference. 
 
Ive also change the power cable to a better one and plugged it into a more direct power source. 
 
Maybe I didnt set up the ASIO correctly?  I noticed in the ASIO control panel. the audi output had 8 channels set, but I couldnt really change that.

ASIO4ALL is a stopgap method that I don't really like, but it does often work.  Quickly try KS (Kernel Streaming), and see if that gives you any difference.
 
If it doesn't, it's time to email Audio-GD, explain the situation, and probably ship it back.  If you're not noticing a difference, it's a waste of your time.  He might also have tips for you to try, but I think we've covered pretty much everything.  You might even be better off selling in on the FS forums for the price you paid, minus shipping, if you can get that going quick.
 
It really is odd that you don't find much of a difference.  It might just be your preferences, or no difference actually appearing due to some hardware in the way.  IF you want to try again (although you're out $40-50 for shipping costs, which really sucks...), I'd recommend a USB interface, just to eliminate the possibility again.

 

[leeperry]

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/495666/audio-gd-sparrow-blind-test#post_6689553

 For newcomers, please don't believe you need to spend lots of money on DACs and amps to get good sound.  Most of the posts on this forums are highly opinionated, exaggerated, or just false.  Grab a pair of nice headphones (which do make a HUGE difference) and enjoy.

 
exactly what I said, hah.

 

[tfarney]

Zoltan,
 
I own those headphones. They are not the "weak link," they are efficient. And what that means is that they don't require a lot of watts or current to do their best (I'm listening to mine directly out of an iPod Touch right now, and while it's not as good as my Senn 580s through an amp, it is very good.).
 
The reason why you're not hearing a big difference is because there is not a big difference.
 
Plug a pair of Sennheiser 650s or AKG 701s directly into your computer and they won't be driven properly. They require more power, and most soundcards simply don't have enough headroom. Your Audio Technicas work fine with your computer as a source, so the only big difference you're likely to hear is the loss of noise you might experience by getting the analog function of your DAC outside of the noisy environment of your computer. Maybe...just maybe, your computer isn't all that noisy. Mine isn't. Is it too late to send that amp back? When you upgrade to or add on a pair of demanding, high-ohm, inefficient cans, that will be the time to buy an amp.
 
In the meantime, you've gotten a whole barrage of typical audiophile board advice. IE: if your experience doesn't fit with their belief system (it is faith-based) , the fault must be somewhere else in your signal chain (throw good money after bad), or in your ears. Or the best of all...burn in. Yeah, that's it, keep the thing you're getting no value from until you're past the return policy deadline and you've talked yourself into hearing something that's not really there. Last but not least - "you have to listen for awhile before these advantages reveal themselves." Nonsense. Every scientific study on the subject ever conducted says we differentiate subtleties in sound best in a quick A/B comparison, and the basic science about memory makes it pretty clear that it changes, enhances, trends further away from reality and closer to what we want to believe with time. If you don't hear it now, you won't hear it later. Though you may imagine that you do.
 
Send the DAC/Amp back. Enjoy the music.
 
Tim

 

[happyxix]

Honestly in my opinion one DAC is as good as the next. Sure there might be minor improvements here and there but when I want to listen to music I don't scrutinize it.
 
What does change the sound for me is first and foremost the headphone which is obvious. Then comes the amp. An amp can make that bottlenecked headphone sound much more open. It can also color the sound for better or worse. I personally prefer an SS amp as it increase the quantity of everything which gives you that impression of being detailed.

 

[aimlink]

Honestly in my opinion one DAC is as good as the next. Sure there might be minor improvements here and there but when I want to listen to music I don't scrutinize it.
 

 
What DACs have you personally used or tried to have this opinion?
 

 

[happyxix]

Quote:

 
What DACs have you personally used or tried to have this opinion?
 

Twisted Pair Opus, various music players, Pico, Dacmagic, EF2, this and that soundcards. These are all in the mid-fi to low end range I know but if there no difference between low and mid then I doubt there is a large different between mid and high. If you do say there is a vast improvement, I will call bull and tell you what you are hearing is money.

 

[aimlink]

Quote:

Twisted Pair Opus, various music players, Pico, Dacmagic, EF2, this and that soundcards. These are all in the mid-fi to low end range I know but if there no difference between low and mid then I doubt there is a large different between mid and high. If you do say there is a vast improvement, I will call bull and tell you what you are hearing is money.

It's not about convincing you of anything.  You have your mind already made up and you're certainly entitled to your opinion.  What I want out in the open is the direct experience that your sweeping opinion is based on.  Others reading it will now know what your opinion is based on.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

 

I've heard and used quite a few DACs, including a bunch of studio converters, and I more or less agree with happyxix. These days, most DACs that are designed to be accurate are, and they sound very much alike. The exceptions are almost always "audiophile" DACs, either based on antiquated technology, like non oversampling, or featuring over-engineered analog output stages that are really preamps and designed to color the output "warm" or more "analog-sounding." Nothing wrong with this; it is simply a matter of taste. But you just need to understand that they don't sound better because they're more expensive or better designed; they sound different, because they are deliberately engineered to do so. 
 
Then, of course, there is jitter. An entire subject of its own.
 
P
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