[CrapInMySoul]

Hello,
 
I am new here

and want to join now headphone/dac hifi

. Think about buying K701 headphones and the iDSD Nano for beginning. So my question is, if the Micro would be the more better choice only soundwise or would the Nano make me happy enough??
 
Sorry for my English, it is not my native language.

 

[shabta]

  Hello,
 
I am new here

and want to join now headphone/dac hifi

. Think about buying K701 headphones and the iDSD Nano for beginning. So my question is, if the Micro would be the more better choice only soundwise or would the Nano make me happy enough??
 
Sorry for my English, it is not my native language.

 
The micro will be a bit better soundwise, but you will notice a much bigger difference if you take the difference between the micro and the nano and put it towards better headphones...

 

[CrapInMySoul]

Thanx, have ordered the Micro now. We will see. Regarding headphones I am doubtful if I should go with AKG 701 or Philips Fidelio X1??

 

[zorin]

  Thanx, have ordered the Micro now. We will see. Regarding headphones I am doubtful if I should go with AKG 701 or Philips Fidelio X1??

It depends on what music you listen to.

 

[CrapInMySoul]

  It depends on what music you listen to.

 
Mostly Rock, Pop, 60s-90s .....

 

[Turrican2]

Tried searching this thread but can't really find what I'm looking for.  I've loaned my nano to a friend and he has a MAC.  Are there any good free solutions which play well with the idsd nano?  I'm aware of Audirvana and JRiver but looking for a potentially free solution (not just a trial)
 
 
I should clarify I'm talking about dsd playback.  I know the nano is supported without drivers on the MAC so any audio app should be able to use it, just not sure about dsd support.
 
Thanks in advance

 

[zorin]

   
Mostly Rock, Pop, 60s-90s .....

My picks
- Philips Fidelio X2 - 50 mm driver
- Audio Technica A900X - 53mm driver. On badly mastered and shrill albums you'll have to tone down/EQ down the treble of these headphones because it is a bit hot. .. but rock music and acoustic music requires full treble otherwise it sounds dull.
- Audio Technica W1000Z [ or or previous version W1000X ] - 53mm driver. To sound the best W1000Z should be paired with either a tube amplifier or a hybrid tube + solid state amp. There are three portable hybrid amps you can get.
- Sony MDR-Z7 - 70mm driver. Bass a little overpowering and treble is lacking a bit.
Top end
- Beyerdynamic T1 - 50mm driver. Best over-all electrodynamic headphones for all kinds of music. Tube or hybrid amplifier is required for T1.
- Audio Technica W3000ANV - 53mm driver. Magic for vocals and for folk, country, country rock, classic rock, pop and ancient/baroque/chamber music and for acoustic music. 
- Fostex TH900 - 50mm driver. Bass is somewhat overpowering, interferes with the middle frequencies [for some people the quality of bass outweighs its being a nuisance sometimes]. The middle frequencies, and vocals, are moderately recessed. Treble is rough a bit.
 
Do not go for headphones with driver that is smaller than 50 mm.

 

[CrapInMySoul]

  My picks
- Philips Fidelio X2 - 50 mm driver
- Audio Technica A900X - 53mm driver. On badly mastered and shrill albums you'll have to tone down/EQ down the treble of these headphones because it is a bit hot. .. but rock music and acoustic music requires full treble otherwise it sounds dull.
- Audio Technica W1000Z [ or or previous version W1000X ] - 53mm driver. To sound the best W1000Z should be paired with either a tube amplifier or a hybrid tube + solid state amp. There are three portable hybrid amps you can get.
- Sony MDR-Z7 - 70mm driver. Bass a little overpowering and treble is lacking a bit.
Top end
- Beyerdynamic T1 - 50mm driver. Best over-all electrodynamic headphones for all kinds of music. Tube or hybrid amplifier is required for T1.
- Audio Technica W3000ANV - 53mm driver. Magic for vocals and for folk, country, country rock, classic rock, pop and ancient/baroque/chamber music and for acoustic music. 
- Fostex TH900 - 50mm driver. Bass is somewhat overpowering, interferes with the middle frequencies [for some people the quality of bass outweighs its being a nuisance sometimes]. The middle frequencies, and vocals, are moderately recessed. Treble is rough a bit.
 
Do not go for headphones with driver that is smaller than 50 mm.

 
Thank you very much, I think I buy X2.

 

[technobear]

- Beyerdynamic T1 - 50mm driver. Best over-all electrodynamic headphones for all kinds of music. Tube or hybrid amplifier is required for T1.

Absolute nonsense!

The T1 pairs brilliantly with all of the following:

ifi Audio micro iCAN

Audiolab 8200CDQ or M-DAC

Kenwood KR950B (yes, a 32 year old receiver and a very good one at that)

Tubes are not "required" at all.

That doesn't mean the T1 won't sound good with a decent tube amp. It will. Just that it can sound just as good with a decent solid state amp.

 

[mannitheear]

Hi all,
 
I'm very, very satisfied with my iDSD nano and use it mostly on the go as a DAC - headphone amp with a Sony Xperia Z (Android 4.4.). This works and sounds perfectly with the UAPP App.
 
Now I have two minor issues I could not solve yet: 
 
1. I would it find convenient to have one single short cable from the Phone to the DAC instead of a cable + adapter, but I could not find such a cable.
 
2. The digital out works only with the UAPP App, sadly not with Spotify or any other audio player. Is this a problem with the Xperia Z hardware or more likely with the Android version?
 
Thanks

 

[iFi audio]

  Hi all,

 
I'm very, very satisfied with my iDSD nano and use it mostly on the go as a DAC - headphone amp with a Sony Xperia Z (Android 4.4.). This works and sounds perfectly with the UAPP App.

 
Now I have two minor issues I could not solve yet:

 
1. I would it find convenient to have one single short cable from the Phone to the DAC instead of a cable + adapter, but I could not find such a cable.

 
2. The digital out works only with the UAPP App, sadly not with Spotify or any other audio player. Is this a problem with the Xperia Z hardware or more likely with the Android version?

 
Thanks

Hi,
 
To answer your technical questions:

 
> 1. I would it find convenient to have one single short cable from the
> Phone to the DAC instead of a cable + adapter, but I could not find
> such a cable.
 
Your solution is probably a custom made/termniated OTG cable. We recommend Forza Audio Works - see if they can do this for you.
 
They know their stuff and their workmanship is second-to-none. We show with their noir hybrid with our LCD-Xs and ATs and LCD-2s.
 
 
> 2. The digital out works only with the UAPP App, sadly not with Spotify
> or any other audio player. Is this a problem with the Xperia Z hardware
> or more likely with the Android version?
It is an Android Limitation.
 
Sony has released Android 4.4.4 for the Xperia Z2 & Z3 but AFAIK, not yet for the Xperia Z range.
 
This revision has much better USB Audio and Hi-Rez support. We have a Z2 Tablet and a Z Ultra Phone. And it is the business.
 
On the Z2/3 with 4.4.4 you can now use a USB DAC directly, it will play back the system sounds and audio from Spotify, Tidal, Games and no doubt any other Android App. The built-in "Walkman" branded Music Player supports High-Rez up to 192kHz and DSD playback via USB DAC or Headphones, though DSD is transcoded to 176.4kHz PCM. It also plays from Network Sources (Media Server DLNA etc. e.g. the Media Library from a suitalby consigured windows PC).
 
As long as you stop any Music Playback App (meaning kill it) you can use USB Audio Player Pro for native DSD playback and High Rez beyond DSD64/192kHz.
 
There is no intention announced by Sony to bring this to the original Z lineup, though Sony has committed to bringing Adroid Lollipop (5.0) to Xperia Z devices in 2015 starting in Q1 with the Z3 range.
 
Lollipop will support USB Audio in the same way 4.4.4 does, indeed, Sony may have backported this feature from Lollipop to Kitkat (4.4) making their 4.4.4 Version.
 
Anyone who wants 4.4.4 (and full USB Audio support) on an Xperia Z1 or Xperia Z - do write to Sony care of Kunimasa Suzuki (CEO of Sony mobile).
We hope this has shed more light on this matter and pointed you in the right direction.

 

[mannitheear]

Hi,
 
first, thank you for the comprehensive reply.
 
My Xperia Z says it has 4.4.4 yet. So I have not too much hope, the situation will change with 5.0. 
 
I wrote to Sony now and will contact Forza Audio.

 

[h1f1add1cted]

  Hi all,
 
I'm very, very satisfied with my iDSD nano and use it mostly on the go as a DAC - headphone amp with a Sony Xperia Z (Android 4.4.). This works and sounds perfectly with the UAPP App.
 
Now I have two minor issues I could not solve yet: 
 
1. I would it find convenient to have one single short cable from the Phone to the DAC instead of a cable + adapter, but I could not find such a cable.
 
2. The digital out works only with the UAPP App, sadly not with Spotify or any other audio player. Is this a problem with the Xperia Z hardware or more likely with the Android version?
 
Thanks

My solution for question no. 1:
 


 

 

 

 

 
 
 
Solution for question no. 2 is wait for Android 5.0 / Lollipop for your phone, with this you will able to use the nano system wide, not only with UAPP, but only 16bit output, no 24bit output, but 16/44 FLAC files are more than enough

 

[ClieOS]

You will need to be able to use Taobao to get this, but here is my solution:
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.3.w1017-3761430234.69.9JPefY&id=18981853790&
 

 

[h1f1add1cted]

Or a little shorter way:
 


 
 
Get an generic short micro USB OTG cable and add a simple USB type B plug = only 9 cm long.