[Xmas]

Dear xDSD users Your help is needed and would be appreciated very much
My wife purchased me a IFI XDSD as a Christmas gift. I opened it to today, charged it and plugged my headphones into them in wireless Bluetooth mode. I am using Beyerdynamic T5p 2nd gen headphones which have a 32 Ohm impedance. I used the unit on 'listen mode'. I am listening to high quality mp3 ( Google play music) and have aptx on my Samsung note 9 phone. I was surprised about two things.
1. There was no perceptable difference in audio quality between headphones plugged directly into my Samsung note 9 phone and music coming from the xdsd. I pumped up the volume to 100% on the phone and controlled the volume on the xdsd as recommended.
2. The volume reached moderate listening levels only when the light indicator on the unit was green.

I find the above surprising and am thinking of returning the product as I'm disappointed. Is there supposed to be a noticeable difference even with high quantity mp3? I haven't tried the wired option as the reviews all say that the Bluetooth option was as good as the wired option. Please help. Thanks

 

[spdtdl]

1. So you were using it in wireless bluetooth mode, and you say "There was no perceptable difference in audio quality between headphones plugged directly into my Samsung note 9 phone and music coming from the xdsd". So the xdsd bluetooth sounds as good as when you plug directly into your note 9. Then surely that's great! To have bluetooth that's as good as directly plugged in.

2. That's normal.

 

[Xmas]

1. So you were using it in wireless bluetooth mode, and you say "There was no perceptable difference in audio quality between headphones plugged directly into my Samsung note 9 phone and music coming from the xdsd". So the xdsd bluetooth sounds as good as when you plug directly into your note 9. Then surely that's great! To have bluetooth that's as good as directly plugged in.

2. That's normal.

Are you saying a £400 dedicated DAC amplifier may not sound any better than a phone DAC? I have the Bowers and Wilkins px which does not sound noticeably different in wired and wireless mode as well (direct from phone) .. The point being I bought this DAC after reading reviews that said a phone dac would be no comparison to an external dedicated DAC such as this - in the quality of the sound. Thanks for your input.

 

[hamachan]

1. There was no perceptable difference in audio quality between headphones plugged directly into my Samsung note 9 phone and music coming from the xdsd. I pumped up the volume to 100% on the phone and controlled the volume on the xdsd as recommended.
Thanks

Tell us the bitrate of mp3 you are listening, though mp3 is not hi-fi as far as this forum recognizes. And, check the setting of your music player if full bitrate of the mp3 is truly sending to xDSD. For me, it is quite a noticeable difference if I playback CD grade (16bit 44.1kHz) and above. I am using iphone as music carrier but I do not want to listen via iphone directly any more. It worths $400 for me.

 

[Xmas]

Tell us the bitrate of mp3 you are listening, though mp3 is not hi-fi as far as this forum recognizes. And, check the setting of your music player if full bitrate of the mp3 is truly sending to xDSD. For me, it is quite a noticeable difference if I playback CD grade (16bit 44.1kHz) and above. I am using iphone as music carrier but I do not want to listen via iphone directly any more. It worths $400 for me.

I'm listening to 320kbps via the Google play music app and via power amp. I've checked power amp and there is no setting to change the bit rate that the app sends via Bluetooth. Do you recon i should hear a difference with 320kbps mp3?? Does this DAC mainly benefit people who listen to high resolution audio?

 

[MarkF786]

Has anyone compared the xDSD to the less expensive bluetooth headphone amps, like the Fiio BTR3 or the Radsone ES100? I have both the BTR3 and ES100 which sound great with IEMs, but I was curious if the xDSD sounded any better.

 

[RockStar2005]

I'm listening to 320kbps via the Google play music app and via power amp. I've checked power amp and there is no setting to change the bit rate that the app sends via Bluetooth. Do you recon i should hear a difference with 320kbps mp3?? Does this DAC mainly benefit people who listen to high resolution audio?

There most certainly IS a way to change the output for BT, wired connections, via USB, etc. Assuming you have the most up-to-date version of Poweramp (V3), you'll want to enable the Hi-Res Output option, which 1) Completely BYPASSES the lesser quality Snapdragon DAC and relies on the external DAC, which in this case would be the xDSD & 2) Automatically disables the other 2 options (OpenSL ES Output & AudioTrack Output), which I believe DO include the Snapdragon DAC.

To do this:

1) Activate a BT connection between your phone and the xDSD (you must do this first in order to change the Sample Format)
2) Go to Poweramp
3) Follow this path: Settings, Audio, Output, Hi-Res Output, Bluetooth (enable it), tap on Settings icon for BT...........change the Sample Rate to the highest setting, and same for Sample Format. Leave all other options on default, though make No DVC and the 2 after it are disabled (No Duck can be enabled).

I recommend doing the same thing for the Wired Headset/AUX option too if you ever use it. But you must have an audio cable plugged into the phone in order to change the Sample Format as well.

Hope this helps!

 

[RockStar2005]

Has anyone compared the xDSD to the less expensive bluetooth headphone amps, like the Fiio BTR3 or the Radsone ES100? I have both the BTR3 and ES100 which sound great with IEMs, but I was curious if the xDSD sounded any better.

I'm listening to 320kbps via the Google play music app and via power amp. I've checked power amp and there is no setting to change the bit rate that the app sends via Bluetooth. Do you recon i should hear a difference with 320kbps mp3?? Does this DAC mainly benefit people who listen to high resolution audio?

I compared my xDSD to my former LG V30, which had a really good Sabre DAC in it (aka the "Quad DAC"). After listening to several different songs on both, I came to the conclusion that the xDSD had more punch to it and was more lively. It also has the ability to drive my 250-ohm Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro, which is no easy feat. I also had tried out the Shanling M0 right before it (also Sabre DAC), and it was great! But it didn't have the power to drive my Beyers to volumes I needed (though was pretty close), so it went back. Since I felt the M0 MATCHED my V30's output quality (just not the volume), I would say the xDSD outdoes the M0 as well. So I definitely don't agree that there's no difference b/t the xDSD and the Note 9, since the LG V30 VERY likely has better audio than the Note 9.

I should also add that pretty much all my music is either CD-Quality or Hi-Res that's been downsampled to 256-512 kbps AAC. Since I don't perceive ANY difference b/t the original FLAC format and the AAC-converted version, I don't believe you need to have the songs in FLAC to matter. The truth is, CDQ and Hi-Res albums only sound better BECAUSE they are given better-sounding masters than CDQ and esp mp3s are. Between excessive research and blind listening tests like ABX, this is the conclusion I've reached. The only exception to this is that I feel mp3s are inferior in quality. Statistics show that ppl can't tell a difference b/t 256 kbps AAC vs. FLAC, but that they CAN when it comes to mp3s vs. FLAC. Just something to consider and keep in mind.

 

[Hinomotocho]

When I first got my xDSD it didn't immediately stand out to be noticeably better than what I was comparing it to, but after a little more time I could begin to hear the improvements - then I went balanced and it really shone.

 

[sbtourist]

I'm listening to 320kbps via the Google play music app and via power amp. I've checked power amp and there is no setting to change the bit rate that the app sends via Bluetooth. Do you recon i should hear a difference with 320kbps mp3?? Does this DAC mainly benefit people who listen to high resolution audio?

I do not think anything beyond 256VBR MP3s will make any audible difference, in particular with most recordings, which is really the key point to me: you need well recorded music to hear actual differences between good DACs and headphones. My 2 cents.

 

[Xmas]

I do not think anything beyond 256VBR MP3s will make any audible difference, in particular with most recordings, which is really the key point to me: you need well recorded music to hear actual differences between good DACs and headphones. My 2 cents.

Thanks to everyone who replied. I'll try and change Bluetooth settings as recommended above. Sbtourist might be right. To get a noticeable difference one might need better than 320kbps mp3 quality to begin with. Thanks to everyone once again.

 

[iFi audio]

Thanks to everyone who replied. I'll try and change Bluetooth settings as recommended above. Sbtourist might be right. To get a noticeable difference one might need better than 320kbps mp3 quality to begin with. Thanks to everyone once again.

Sure thing. And this...

 

[Xmas]

Sure thing. And this...

Nailed it ... Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year to everyone here.

 

[RockStar2005]

Dear xDSD users Your help is needed and would be appreciated very much
My wife purchased me a IFI XDSD as a Christmas gift. I opened it to today, charged it and plugged my headphones into them in wireless Bluetooth mode. I am using Beyerdynamic T5p 2nd gen headphones which have a 32 Ohm impedance. I used the unit on 'listen mode'. I am listening to high quality mp3 ( Google play music) and have aptx on my Samsung note 9 phone. I was surprised about two things.
1. There was no perceptable difference in audio quality between headphones plugged directly into my Samsung note 9 phone and music coming from the xdsd. I pumped up the volume to 100% on the phone and controlled the volume on the xdsd as recommended.
2. The volume reached moderate listening levels only when the light indicator on the unit was green.

I find the above surprising and am thinking of returning the product as I'm disappointed. Is there supposed to be a noticeable difference even with high quantity mp3? I haven't tried the wired option as the reviews all say that the Bluetooth option was as good as the wired option. Please help. Thanks

The fact is, even IF the Note 9's Snapdragon DAC ACTUALLY sounded as good as the xDSD's Burr Brown DAC, the moment you decide to listen from the Note 9 via BT, you will LOSE that perceived audio quality as the phone's internal DAC will be bypassed completely, and then you're relying on the BT headphones' DAC, which is normally not that great, esp if they're cheaper headphones. Also, most phones (Samsung is DEFINITELY included here) don't have very strong amp output, so you may not get the volume you want, especially if your headphones are higher impedance like mine are. This is where the xDSD reigns SUPREME............not only is the quality considered better by most people who try it, but the amp also gets much louder. It doesn't matter how great a DAC sounds, without a strong amp, if you can't hear the improvements it brings to the table, then it's utterly useless.

I see that you live in Ireland Xmas. I know that outside of the U.S., Samsung phones get the Exynos chip vs. Snapdragon, but they ALSO get an EXTRA high-quality DAC...........the Cirrus Logic DAC. This might be why you have more trouble hearing a difference between the Note 9 and the xDSD. You've got a better DAC in your phone vs. the Snapdragon one which isn't AS good. Still, what I said just above holds true.............the moment you go BT, having that Cirrus Logic DAC in your phone won't matter b/c it too will get bypassed since no conversion to analog is necessary since BT signals are digital, not analog. The signal will get sent to the headphones, and THERE they get converted to analog. But even if the Cirrus Logic DAC was somehow being used (or if you just remained wired), if the LG V30's Quad DAC was so great (which it was, which I know cuz it was my former phone for over a year), and some on here even saying it sounded better than the non-U.S. Note 8, then I just find it hard to believe the non-U.S. Note 9 would be better. I would say at best it would match the V30 in sound quality, but that's still unlikely IMO. I know the amp still hasn't been upgraded at the very least vs. the V30's VERY powerful audiophile amp (when in Aux or High Impedance Mode of course).

 

[hamachan]

I'm listening to 320kbps via the Google play music app and via power amp. I've checked power amp and there is no setting to change the bit rate that the app sends via Bluetooth. Do you recon i should hear a difference with 320kbps mp3?? Does this DAC mainly benefit people who listen to high resolution audio?

I have just listened Spotify standard streaming (96kbps) which I never tried before. xDSD bluetooth (AAC codec) is much better than direct plug in to iphone even though such low bitrate source. I could easily notice lower noise floor, wider dynamic range etc within 5 seconds. Probably you may have issue around your power amp or Samsung note 9 (not sure hardware or software).