icnaiwhimor1975
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does anyone have any ideas why d16 prices are falling so fast?
D16 is dragging DX340 prices down with it
D16 is dragging DX340 prices down with it
Ibasso 1 bit Discrete portable DAC with Resistors Array D16
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LWR999
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Gah!!! Was hoping I could just use an IFI 4.4mm to dual male XLR cable...
https://ifi-audio.com/products/4-4mm-to-xlr-cable
... is it not that straight forward? Did I screw up again? Doh!
That looks like the correct cable (connections wise). The only question is the spacing between your active speakers….I don’t think the distance of the individual XLR cable wires on that IFI cable is long enough to accommodate the distance between your speakers. There’s a y-split on that IFI cable where the two cables become one cable to the 4.4 mm plug. The IFI cable is designed to be plugged into an amp with XLR inputs fairly close to each other….
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LWR999
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This cable would be plugging into the female XLR cables that run to each speaker. I would have been OK with a Y splitter, but wanted to get something half decent for testingThat looks like the correct cable!. The only question is the spacing between your active speakers….is the distance of the individual XLR cable wires on that IFI cable long enough to accommodate the distance of your speakers. There’s a y-split on that IFI cable where the two cables become one cable to the 4.4 mm plug. The IFI cable is designed to be plugged into an amp with XLR inputs fairly close to each other….
Yes, you’ll be fine then using that IFI cable if your female XLR cable connections are next to each other.
I needed a special cable to be made to connect my DAC to my portable headphone amp….dual “female” XLR’s to 4.4 mm plug.
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LWR999
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Thought so. You had me worried.Yes, you’ll be fine then using that IFI cable if your female XLR cable connections are next to each other.
Please share with us how the D16 pairs with your active speakers in comparison to how your D16 sounds with your various headphones.
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In my situation, my Dx320/340 + D16 feeds my speakers Yamaha NS-F901 and Yamaha A-S3000 sounds better than my Linear Powered Built PC to I2S pinkfaun card to my LKS-004 with tons of upgrades.
Yet, modified D16 sounds even further Ethereal. The reason why I love D16 so much. It sounds as if I was using AAA LP record on my AT-LP7 but with no floor noises or crackles, yet even more timbres density and meatiness.
The D16 is no jokes, and people can find my impressions about it in my previous posts
Yes, I agree. Portable gear today is blurring the lines of true desktop gear. It never used to be like that.
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Only DAC so far though. Amps, it is never enough
Only DAC so far though. Amps, it is never enough
I’m pretty content with my EA4 as a portable headphone amp! It’s got a lot of power; almost too much for some of my IEM’s.
A few headphones on my wishlist are ZMF Caldera, Abyss Diana DZ, and Susvara Unveiled. With those headgears, I just may need a full desktop head amp….we’ll see. Too far into the future to dive into that right now, but also fun to daydream!
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LWR999
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Well I had a 30 minute experiment last night. I ran the experiment and so did my other half (with amazing ears)
Both setups volume matched with a sound metre. Fixed part of the chain...
Roonserver -> ethernet -> Mac Studio Ultra -> Roon -> AQ Jitterbug
Setup 1 - AQ Carbon USBA-B -> Chord MScaler -> Wave Stream Dual BNC -> Chord Hugo TT2 (Low Gain) -> XLR Cables -> Genelec 7060 Sub -> Genelec 8050 Monitors
Setup 2 - AQ Carbon USBA-C -> iBasso D16 (Amp : H / DAC : H / DAC Vol 100 / Phone Out) -> Balanced 4.4mm to XLR -> Genelec 7060 Sub -> Genelec 8050 Monitors
So, as mentioned previously when listening with IEMs I much prefer the D16 to the Chord stack - better soundstage/note weight/separation/fun etc
With speakers, I was amazed that I MUCH preferred the Chord stack - it was not even close. The soundstage and sparkle was so much more impressive - almost breathtaking.
I was secretly pleased (without being biased - it really was too big a difference to be lost in bias). I was worried I would like the D16 more, and have the incovenience of a portable DAC in desktop stack. And I was nervous about what I would do with the funds if I sold the Chord stack
Why have you used phone out instead of line out? Phone out sounds much warmer to me.
LWR999
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Um ... because I have to attenuate the volume somehow? Can't just feed line out to the active speakers - 270 watts of amplification there. In fact I accidentally did use LO for part of the test and it hurt even for the split second before unplugging
You can use the DAC volume instead of the Phone Volume. That way you won't use the headphone amplifier.
Just make sure to start with a very low DAC volume and DAC Gain Low. As the DAC volume is 32 bit internally, the quality should be fine even at a very low volume.
I just tried the D16 with a Cayin C9ii as amplifier, and line out sounded much better than phone out to me (more staging, resolution and sparkle).
Just make sure to start with a very low DAC volume and DAC Gain Low. As the DAC volume is 32 bit internally, the quality should be fine even at a very low volume.
I just tried the D16 with a Cayin C9ii as amplifier, and line out sounded much better than phone out to me (more staging, resolution and sparkle).
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