[jaganeee]

i am in little bit confusion to buy either standalone Ibasso dx100 or CLAS DB + Rx MK3 B for my Sennheiser HD650
i am having ibasso dx50 and ipod touch as a source with me.
any other setup is also welcome.

 

[Mooses9]

  i am in little bit confusion to buy either standalone Ibasso dx100 or CLAS DB + Rx MK3 B for my Sennheiser HD650
i am having ibasso dx50 and ipod touch as a source with me.
any other setup is also welcome.

IMO
 
if you go with the dx100 (mind you i dont know if you can get true line out with the dx100)
 
but if you only can use a 3.5 to 3.5mm adapter for the dx100 to the clas db + rxmk3b you are only going to be using the dx100 as a media carrying front face..your not going to be using neither the internal dac or internal amp. so imo the dx100 is a waste of money.
 
if you wanna go with the clas and mk3, i would go with a ipod, same thing takes the line out bypasses internal dac and amp just using it as a media carrying device.
 
if you go with a 3.5mm to 3.5mm interconnect to the clas and mk3 you are going to be amplifying the internal amplifier, basicly amping the amp...your not going to get a true single signal from the mk3 you also wont be getting a true signal from amping the amp.
 
when you use a stand alone amp and dac, a high end DAP isnt needed, when i had the mk2 and clas i was using a 64gb ipod, as the only purpose it served was holding and playing the music, but the internal dac and amp was bypassed.
 
i hope that doesnt confuse you farther

 

[jaganeee]

Thanks for ur brief explanation.
but i am confused for SQ and not on the setup. Whether i have to go for dx100 or clas with rx mk3 purely based on SQ. Which is preferable

dx100 -> hd650
dx50 -> rx mk3 -> hd650
ipod -> clas db -> rx mk3 -> hd650

hope it is clear now

 

[Mooses9]

Thanks for ur brief explanation.
but i am confused for SQ and not on the setup. Whether i have to go for dx100 or clas with rx mk3 purely based on SQ. Which is preferable

dx100 -> hd650
dx50 -> rx mk3 -> hd650
ipod -> clas db -> rx mk3 -> hd650

hope it is clear now

very.
 
IMO the ipod>clas db>rx mk3> earphone or headphone of your choice is imo going to be the best in sound quality, again in my opinion.
 
you have to take into consideration that a basic rule of thumb while not always true in this hobby, but you get what you pay for. so the clas and the mk3 are quite expensive. and its not just price, they are quality. you will need interconnects if you go that route, and i suggest if you go that route, go with completely balanced setup. theres no point in getting a setup that can be completely balanced just to use single connection.

 

[jaganeee]

this make it clear for me.
but i haven't came across rule of thumb
 
what it means
"basic rule of thumb while not always true in this hobby"

 

[Mooses9]

  this make it clear for me.
but i haven't came across rule of thumb
 
what it means
"basic rule of thumb while not always true in this hobby"

what i mean is that, there are instances where more expensive doesnt mean better. 
 
but for amplifiers,dacs,daps ect this normally is true, as the more expensive the better the craftsmanship, better circuitry,more options ect.
 
it more or less refers to headphones, but there are some good cheapo amps out there that arent super expensive but are still good in sound quality.

 

[jaganeee]

thanks for sharing.

 

[zeiter]

  IMO
 
if you go with the dx100 (mind you i dont know if you can get true line out with the dx100)
 
 

The DX100 has an optical  out and a coaxial out  to connect to another DAC, and a line out to make use of it's DAC but connect to another amp.

 

[jaganeee]

using the dx100 as source is like ipod as source bypassing dac and amp.
then what is the need for spending so much money in dx100.
but LO be helpful with dx100

 

[Mooses9]

  using the dx100 as source is like ipod as source bypassing dac and amp.
then what is the need for spending so much money in dx100.
but LO be helpful with dx100

right IMO its pointless. the dx100 becomes almost pointless. other than storing and playing your music, its not bering utilized for a dac or amp if you bypass it. so clearly if you arent going to use its internal dac or amp the ipod is the way to go....if you are going to use its dac and amp then its useful. but otherwise its a waste of money imo.
 
always remember your chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

 

[zeiter]

DX100 has a very nice DAC, and I wouldn't want to bypass it at all. it does up to  24/192 very nicely.  I guess maybe the digital  outputs were meant to connect to a better desktop DAC, but to me it defeats the mean of portable  by then. And for the line out, even though it has probably the best or I should say the most powerful  amp of any DAP ( except the 901 which I don't really know the specs ), still let's say you want to use it as HD player with it's own DAC, but want a more powerful  portable amp lile the ibasso PB2 with double the power ?  This is where the line out option  comes handy, But also I seem to have read by some user that he tried it, and prefers the sound of the DX100  on it's own over combined with the PB2.

 

[headwhacker]

DX100 alone is already excellent. The only negative is the bulk.

The DAC is awesome and the amp is powerful enough and capable of driving HE-500. If you don't mind the bulk ( which I'm guessing you don't)

you don't need CLAS/Alo combo. It's just redundant. However, if you can demo both setup and like the CLAS/Alo combo. Then you don't need DX100.

 

[jaganeee]

i don't have dx100 but i auditioned combo.
combo is very nice but when comparing the price the combo comes around extra half the value of dx100.
is it worth to go for combo instead of dx100.
if dx100 on par or outperforms the combo based on sound quality only i will go for dx100.