[Pudu]

I used to own the Cowon S9 and J3 and as I posted somewhere in these pages, I was not immediately floored by the DX100. I was expecting an instant WOW and it didn't happen and so was quite disappointed. However with a bit of dedicated listening time, it was like a slow realisation that everything just sounded "better", "bigger" and "weightier". I did some testing back and forth between the DX100 and my Cowons and the limitations of the Cowon soon became obvious.
My J3 had never really sounded right to my ears and I was forever playing with the EQ trying to get the perfect sound. There has been none of that with the DX - set the EQ to OFF and the sound is perfect.
My Cowons have now been sold as the DX is the only player I want (apart from the battery life and weight)

In all my limited audio experience - instant WOW, after a fairly short time, turns into a Hmmm and then eventually an ewww.

Audio excellence subtly creeps up on you and when you aren't expecting, it pounces, knocking you out of your socks and into the sublime.






But then you're like ...

 

[kryten123]

Quote:

In all my limited audio experience - instant WOW, after a fairly short time, turns into a Hmmm and then eventually an ewww.

Audio excellence subtly creeps up on you and when you aren't expecting, it pounces, knocking you out of your socks and into the sublime.






But then you're like ...

 
Excellent

 
That sums up my experience with the DX100 perfectly !

 

[Sorensiim]

Quote:

In all my limited audio experience - instant WOW, after a fairly short time, turns into a Hmmm and then eventually an ewww.

Audio excellence subtly creeps up on you and when you aren't expecting, it pounces, knocking you out of your socks and into the sublime

Couldn't agree more. The Ultrasone Pro 900 is the best example of this phenomenon I think.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Couldn't agree more. The Ultrasone Pro 900 is the best example of this phenomenon I think.

False advertising at its worst . It's not important what wows you initially. But if it can continue to wow you for the long term (thus having staying power instead of for sale power ). Thus my hatred for FOTM crap. For me that is just wasting my money and time lol. I'm over it though and nearing the end of my journey at least in terms of portable gear . However in terms of full size headphones, that may be another journey in the future...

 

[kryten123]

Quote:

...and nearing the end of my journey at least in terms of portable gear . However in terms of full size headphones, that may be another journey in the future...

 
+1

 

[Sorensiim]

Quote:

False advertising at its worst . It's not important what wows you initially. But if it can continue to wow you for the long term (thus having staying power instead of for sale power ). Thus my hatred for FOTM crap. For me that is just wasting my money and time lol. I'm over it though and nearing the end of my journey at least in terms of portable gear . However in terms of full size headphones, that may be another journey in the future...

I totally loved the thunderous bass and sparkling highs of the Pro 900, but it gets tiring in the long run. 95% of my music listening is now my DX100 feeding the 8.A. Neither of them floored me initially but the more I listened, the more impressed I was. Still am, really.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

I totally loved the thunderous bass and sparkling highs of the Pro 900, but it gets tiring in the long run. 95% of my music listening is now my DX100 feeding the 8.A. Neither of them floored me initially but the more I listened, the more impressed I was. Still am, really.

That is why I bought them . From all the reviews I hope they live up to the hype they get . So far I am extremely happy with my 1Plus2s and am hoping the 8As will satiate my needs for a bassier/euphoric IEM that is non-fatiguing to listen to for long hours (something that the IE80 has done for me for the longest of time as well as the 1Plus2 v1). Not saying the 1Plus2 is fatiguing, far from it. But it's a completely different sound presentation from the Heirs. That I already now just from reading the reviews .

 

[Sorensiim]

Quote:

That is why I bought them . From all the reviews I hope they live up to the hype they get . So far I am extremely happy with my 1Plus2s and am hoping the 8As will satiate my needs for a bassier/euphoric IEM that is non-fatiguing to listen to for long hours. Not saying the 1Plus2 is fatiguing, far from it. But it's a completely different sound presentation from the Heirs. That I already now just from reading the reviews .

The 8.A is exactly that 

 

[shigzeo]

Quote:

As a  big fan of the J3 that supposedly sounds like the D3 and a fan of Fiio in general (awesome price/performance ratio on everything they make) I'd say you are in for one hell of an upgrade. Several have stated here in this thread that the DX100 outperforms their previous iDevice -> CLAS -> Amp rigs.

The DX100 does indeed outperform the vast majority of portable amps out there. That is raw performance. But raw performance isn't always what people are after. If it was, valves, crossfeed, etc., wouldn't be in audio at all. I love the DX100 and I love the CLAS-> amp setups as well. Performance or not, in the end is enjoyment that matters.

 

[Sorensiim]

Quote:

The DX100 does indeed outperform the vast majority of portable amps out there. That is raw performance. But raw performance isn't always what people are after. If it was, valves, crossfeed, etc., wouldn't be in audio at all. I love the DX100 and I love the CLAS-> amp setups as well. Performance or not, in the end is enjoyment that matters.

I feel the same way about cars - it's all about smiles per gallon.

 

[shigzeo]

I feel the same way about alcohol - it's all about smiles per gallon. 

 

[Pudu]

I feel the same way about alcohol - it's all about smiles per gallon. 

Nice.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

I feel the same way about alcohol - it's all about smiles per gallon. 

If not then Alcohol would also have an Octane rating .

 

[goodvibes]

It does. I have proof.
 

 

[walteroly]

I create .flac files from my CDs using EAC. I also created a few .wav files of the same tracks just to test if I could hear a difference. It turns out that flac files are good on the DX100 but I found the wav version to have a bit more dynamic range, which is very important to me. Most of the tracks on the CD I create as flac to save space. But the special tracks, the ones I listen to most, I create as wav. The DX100 handles this mix just fine.
 
So I always thought the one downside to .wav files, other than the large size, was the lack of tags. But I experimented by adding metadata to wav files via MediaMonkey, including artwork, and then copying those files to the DX100. And guess what? That metadata does display when playing the wav file in the DX100. Now I like my DX100 even more!