[Sound Eq]

   
Can't help you there, but I think most owner will agree that iDSD micro is not a particularly warm sounding DAC/amp. But there is bass boost and it does take care of the quantitative part of things.

i think now people who post comparative posts, should maybe follow a rule as i can not believe how come such things which are so easy to notice people come up with different opinions
 
now let me set the record straight for comparative examples
 
hugo vs denon da 10:
1- hugo bigger wider soundstage
2- da10 more bass but losse
3- hugo better mids and more warm 
4- denon da-10 mids in your face
5- hugo not shouty
6- denon can be shouty
 
now simple question which has more bass idsd or hugo, can the idsd be shouty with in your face mids, and irritating highs
 
please stop confusing us and i hope a moderator can establish a scale or something we can bass our evaluations on, like maybe test songs and we all write our impressions based on test songs, as this is so confusing and people are starting to lose confidence in some reviews 

 

[warrior1975]

Take everything with a grain of salt and do your absolute best to hear things yourself. If not possible, find someone that has heard something you've heard and hears it the same you do, and listen more closely to their opinions

 

[If6was9]

but how is it possible that an old and simple DVD Player (2002), sounds better than the Micro iDSD ?

 

[Sound Eq]

that is not ideal, i think seriously the moderators of this forum should look at having reference songs for us to base our opinions on, and not this chaotic thing that is going on in this forum. 
 
the moderators should establish a song selection of various qualities and genres and based on those songs we give our opinions
 
because u simply u can't give your opinion on anything if the test is conducted on songs that have differing mattering and qualities and recordings.
 
I for example have albums that were mattered differently of the same artist and each sounds so different, so we should seriously look into making our reviews more reference based
 
this gives me the idea to open a whole new website where people can post their reviews on headphones based on reference songs from each genre and different qualities and I am sure no one would suffer from this huge confusion from reading such contradicting reviews 

 

[warrior1975]

That would never work. We still hear things differently, it's all subjective... What I hear nobody else hears.

 

[Sound Eq]

That would never work. We still hear things differently, it's all subjective... What I hear nobody else hears.

but if you hear the same song on different devices or headphones you can give a more reference base review 

 

[Sound Eq]

 
but if you hear the same song on different devices or headphones you can give a more reference base review 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/743425/to-the-moderator-time-to-create-a-database-to-test-our-gadget-and-headphones-on-instead-of-this-confusion
 
lets start getting serious in our reviews, above is a link that should kick start idea and project and a new way for us to reference our reviews on 

 

[iFi audio]

 
now such posts confuse the hell out of me, i thought the hugo had a thin sound and i owned and sold it because i found it lacking in bass and warmth, now from the quoted post above i see that the ifi is even less warm and with lower bass quantity why on earth can't people agree on things which should be easy to determine

Hi,
 
We suggest to use the SPDIF out from the Sony DVD to iDSD micro and compare directly the same recording etc.
 
This leaves out the Computer Audio Setup side of things - out of the listening equation. iTunes, JRMC, optimisation and other things all impact the sound on the PC side.

The Hugo is a very nice DAC and should deliver - sonically speaking.
 
Thanks.

 

[ClieOS]

That would never work. We still hear things differently, it's all subjective... What I hear nobody else hears.

 
Agree, that will never work. There will require everyone has the same source and headphone to test an DAC / amp inbetween, or same source and amp/DAC to test a headphone, or the same DAC/amp and headphone to test the same source. Even with everything being the same, you still have to deal with people opinion, which can be influenced by their experience as well as emotion. That arguably is the biggest factor and you will need at least a blind test to take out some of the human factor. That's just too many variable to be fixed by just using the same songs.

 

[If6was9]

Hi,

We suggest to use the SPDIF out from the Sony DVD to iDSD micro and compare directly the same recording etc.

This leaves out the Computer Audio Setup side of things - out of the listening equation. iTunes, JRMC, optimisation and other things all impact the sound on the PC side.

Thanks.

Thanks,
I tried it this way, there is no comparison, the Micro iDSD comparison to Sony DVD, seems to play an mp3.
But at this point, really, I do not understand all the reviews and good things about this DAC / amp, even in specialized journals.
I'm afraid I made a purchase wrong, probably this can be a DAC suitable for young people, who have always listened to music exclusively through ipod or mp3.
or maybe it's simply a device intended only for use with headphones (and I, do not use headphones)
I would like to delude myself still something to be wrong, because having thrown € 500 is a very bad thought.

Someone could do this test, with any stand alone player, connected directly to the amp of your hi-fi home system, try playing a CD of "Four Seasons" by Vivaldi, and hear what they sound like strings, especially violin and cello?

I tried with these editions:

Chesky Records (CD)
Performer: Connecticut Early Music Festival Ensemble, Igor Kipnis
http://www.amazon.com/Vivaldi-The-Four-Seasons-Antonio/dp/B000003GDQ

Telarc (SACD, play CD layer)
Performer: Ozawa / Boston Symphony / Silverstein
http://www.amazon.com/Vivaldi-The-Four-Seasons-Antonio/dp/B00005Q46G

Fonè (SACD, play CD layer)
Performer: Marco Fornaciari, Giuseppe Volpato, Antonio De Lorenzi
http://www.fone.it/shop/shop.php?action=mostraScheda&cID=2&pID=25

Thanks

 

[jhwalker]

Thanks,
I tried it this way, there is no comparison, the Micro iDSD comparison to Sony DVD, seems to play an mp3.
But at this point, really, I do not understand all the reviews and good things about this DAC / amp, even in specialized journals.
I'm afraid I made a purchase wrong, probably this can be a DAC suitable for young people, who have always listened to music exclusively through ipod or mp3.
or maybe it's simply a device intended only for use with headphones (and I, do not use headphones)
I would like to delude myself still something to be wrong, because having thrown € 500 is a very bad thought.

Someone could do this test, with any stand alone player, connected directly to the amp of your hi-fi home system, try playing a CD of "Four Seasons" by Vivaldi, and hear what they sound like strings, especially violin and cello?

Thanks

My iDSD is head and shoulders above any standalone player I've heard, but I can say the same about just about any computer + DAC vs. any standalone player.
 
If you're hearing a night and day *negative* difference between the iFi Micro iDSD and your Sony DVD player, you probably have some other problem in your system (i.e., there's an issue with your USB setup, you have a bad cable, etc.) - the iDSD is a quality DAC that is *not* aimed at "young people, who have always listened to music exclusively through ipod or mp3" (sic).

 

[If6was9]

 

 

 
My iDSD is head and shoulders above any standalone player I've heard, but I can say the same about just about any computer + DAC vs. any standalone player.
 
If you're hearing a night and day *negative* difference between the iFi Micro iDSD and your Sony DVD player, you probably have some other problem in your system (i.e., there's an issue with your USB setup, you have a bad cable, etc.) - the iDSD is a quality DAC that is *not* aimed at "young people, who have always listened to music exclusively through ipod or mp3" (sic).

 
 


In fact, just to rule out any signal interference,
as a final test,I tried the Sony DVD connected directly  to the amplifier, with and without iDSD (SPDIF connected) with the same RCA cables, no USB or PC.
 
Where can be the problem?
 
there is no difference between day and night,
but with the DVD, any musical instruments are well placed, and present,
with iDSD remain with arrears or draw back,
with iDSD disappears the air or the separation that there is between a string and the other of the violins, disappears the reverb or tail produced by the arcs (violins, cellos, etc..), as if a veil lay over the instruments with the iDSD
 


I do not know if I can make myself understood
 
Sorry, You  what kind of music listen?

 













 
Sorry for my bad English

 

[ImperialBlade]

I have been following this thread as the iFi iDSD Micro DSD512 is exactley what I am looking for. Small form factor, able to play just about anything, able to drive anything from IEMs to full on Planars, and doesn't break the bank.
 
What I don't know is the iFi Purifier or iFi Mercury Cable needed with the iFi iDSD Micro DSD512? If yes, what do they add and has anyone used this combo?

 

[jhwalker]

  I have been following this thread as the iFi iDSD Micro DSD512 is exactley what I am looking for. Small form factor, able to play just about anything, able to drive anything from IEMs to full on Planars, and doesn't break the bank.
 
What I don't know is the iFi Purifier or iFi Mercury Cable needed with the iFi iDSD Micro DSD512? If yes, what do they add and has anyone used this combo?

 
iPurifier technology is built-in to the iFi Micro iDSD, so you will not need an external iPurifier.
 
You could choose to try iUSBPower in conjunction with your cable.  I believe others in this thread have reported on this combo.

 

[senorx12562]

   
 
 


In fact, just to rule out any signal interference,
as a final test,I tried the Sony DVD connected directly  to the amplifier, with and without iDSD (SPDIF connected) with the same RCA cables, no USB or PC.
 
Where can be the problem?
 
there is no difference between day and night,
but with the DVD, any musical instruments are well placed, and present,
with iDSD remain with arrears or draw back,
with iDSD disappears the air or the separation that there is between a string and the other of the violins, disappears the reverb or tail produced by the arcs (violins, cellos, etc..), as if a veil lay over the instruments with the iDSD
 


I do not know if I can make myself understood
 
Sorry, You  what kind of music listen?

 













 
Sorry for my bad English

My iDSD sounds nothing like you describe.