[technobear]

If you want warm sound then buy warm headphones

 

[Music Path]

If you want warm sound then buy warm headphones

Of course My favorite are the warm ones. 

 

 

[maricius]

  can we recap what settings give u the wamrest result as now i am totally confused, my headphone is audeze lcd2 and i also use the alo mk3 B amp with the ifi

I personally use the iDSD on "BitPerfect" with no upsampling on my laptop running Audirvana Plus with these extra settings.
 
 
 

 
I find this pretty warm, at least relative to my DX90 on L2.2.0 firmware

 

[KritiKal]

can we recap what settings give u the wamrest result as now i am totally confused, my headphone is audeze lcd2 and i also use the alo mk3 B amp with the ifi

Bitperfect filter
Xbass on
3D off

For me, no other physical settings make a change to the tuning. IME, reducing the gain simply reduces the gain, and adjusting the polarity does nothing except maybe make soundstage positioning information a little more vague.

I have reduced the treble from 9k to 18k by about 1.2dB for use with the 3D holographic setting. It seems that a 1dB reduction equates to a far greater drop in treble with 3D activated. I know that EQ isn't for everyone, but it goes a long way for me. If it wasn't for the bite that 3D added (especially to already treble heavy recordings) it would be flawless IMO.

 

[WriterHead]

That is the exact opposite of my experience.

The whole point of Bit Perfect is that it sounds LESS artificial and MORE musical.

The Standard filter is basically the one we have all been deriding for the last 35 years as sounding "digital" and is really only present because the chip supports it and so that you can here how bad it is.

If you have particular recordings where Bit Perfect doesn't have quite enough top end air then use Minimum Phase instead as this has slightly more top end treble without losing the musicality to much.

Personally I don't find the iDSD bright at all. Some of my CDs are bright but there is XBASS to deal with that.

I am unable to tell any difference between those filters.

 

[KritiKal]

I am unable to tell any difference between those filters.

The bitperfect & minimum phase filters do have a difference but for a while I struggled to hear anything meaningful between them. For me, Bitperfect pushes the vocals back by a touch, takes a little extra sparkle from the treble and reduces the "twang" of guitars wheb compared to Minimun Phase. The differences are minimal, but they are audible.

 

[Sound Eq]

The bitperfect & minimum phase filters do have a difference but for a while I struggled to hear anything meaningful between them. For me, Bitperfect pushes the vocals back by a touch, takes a little extra sparkle from the treble and reduces the "twang" of guitars wheb compared to Minimun Phase. The differences are minimal, but they are audible.

so why some people say the warmest is the standard filer, so according to you bitperfect is the warmest filter

 

[Sound Eq]

kindly please answer my concern
 
i am using the following rig
 
ifi dsd micro---- alo mk3---- audeze lcd2
 
I know i should set the output of the ifi dsd to direct mode when I want to send signal to an amp
 
but I noticed the volume is so so low compared to when i set the output of ifi to preamp, and I am talking about a huge volume difference between the 2 settings which made me set the ifi to pre-amp when i amping it with alo mk3
 
very strange why this is happening???

 

[WriterHead]

  so why some people say the warmest is the standard filer, so according to you bitperfect is the warmest filter

 
It should come as no surprise. This is headfi, where audiophile batteries and memory cards happen.

 

[ClieOS]

  kindly please answer my concern
 
i am using the following rig
 
ifi dsd micro---- alo mk3---- audeze lcd2
 
I know i should set the output of the ifi dsd to direct mode when I want to send signal to an amp
 
but I noticed the volume is so so low compared to when i set the output of ifi to preamp, and I am talking about a huge volume difference between the 2 settings which made me set the ifi to pre-amp when i amping it with alo mk3
 
very strange why this is happening???

 
micro iDSD's pre-amp mode has a fixed 9dB gain, where direct has no gain, that's why there is a volume difference..
 
I do however believe ALO Rx Mk3 has a gain switch - the 'High' option should give you a 12dB gain. If you haven't done so, set the micro iDSD to 'direct' and Rx Mk3 to high gain - if you can't get enough volume that way, then set the micro iDSD to 'pre-amp'. Of course, you can always plug the LCD2 into micro iDSD's headphone-out  since it is much more powerful than Rx Mk3.

 

[iFi audio]

 Quote:

   
micro iDSD's pre-amp mode has a fixed 9dB gain, where direct has no gain, that's why there is a volume difference..
 

 
Hi,
 
Slight tweak.
 
User Manual item 12: Direct and Pre-Amp.
 
Direct is always fixed level, 2V.
 
Preamp is 0dB Gain (so 2V max.) on Eco and 10dB (5.5V max, limited by powersupply) on Normal/Turbo settings.
 
Headphone is 0dB Gain (so 2V max) on Eco and 10dB (5.5V max, limited by powersupply). On Turbo gain is around 20dB and maximum output is > 10V into sufficiently high impedance Headphones.
 
User Manual - attached.

 

[KritiKal]

so why some people say the warmest is the standard filer, so according to you bitperfect is the warmest filter

It should come as no surprise. This is headfi, where audiophile batteries and memory cards happen.

It sounds the "warmest" because it is the "warmest", and measures as such.

Here's a graph of the frequency responses of all filters (EDIT: For PCM), measured and published by ClieOS.

Here's a link to his review:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/ifi-audio-micro-idsd/reviews/13009
It's well done, accurate and definitely worth reading.

Can you point me in the direction of comments where people have said that the standard filter is the warmest? I'm struggling to find any, except one.
My experience in the thread contradicts it, so I am genuinely curious to read the comments stating that standard is warmest/bitperfect is brightest. Many thanks!

 

[Sound Eq]

It sounds the "warmest" because it is the "warmest", and measures as such.

Here's a graph of the frequency responses of all filters, measured and published by ClieOS.

Here's a link to his review:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/ifi-audio-micro-idsd/reviews/13009
It's well done, accurate and definitely worth reading.

Can you point me in the direction of comments where people have said that the standard filter is the warmest? I'm struggling to find any, except one.
My experience in the thread contradicts it, so I am genuinely curious to read the comments stating that standard is warmest/bitperfect is brightest. Many thanks!

it was mentioned in this thread by a user 
 
but your graph above is really interesting, and i will read the link u provided thanks so much

 

[Sound Eq]

well i do not know but after alot alot of A/B between connecting my audeze directly to ifi micro dsd and between connecting it to ifi amped by alo mk3 B, i totally prefer the ifi-alo mk3 combo sound i hear, as i feel that i am getting more warmth and less brightness issues with my audeze, and also more punchier bass
 
now also when doing lots of A/B between using the output to be direct in the output setting than preamplifier I always like to use the preamp setting in ifi with my alo mk3 B by miles and miles,
 
with direct mode output and even if i use the High gain in Alo mk3 , I feel the music is not loud enough with direct mode output and alo, while with preamp mode and alo high gain, the volume is so good 
 
I am now using the bitperfect filter and i think its correct it might sound warmer than the rest.
 
on another note I was wondering which is a bassier and warmer amp alo mk3 B or ifi micrio ican and which is more powerful

 

[ClieOS]

   
Hi,
 
Slight tweak.
 
User Manual item 12: Direct and Pre-Amp.
 
Direct is always fixed level, 2V.
 
Preamp is 0dB Gain (so 2V max.) on Eco and 10dB (5.5V max, limited by powersupply) on Normal/Turbo settings.
 
Headphone is 0dB Gain (so 2V max) on Eco and 10dB (5.5V max, limited by powersupply). On Turbo gain is around 20dB and maximum output is > 10V into sufficiently high impedance Headphones.
 
User Manual - attached.

 
Ah, I did my measurement with normal setting and got a little over 9dB, so I just rounded it back to 9dB. That certainly explains it.
 
My headphone-out measurement (Turbo mode) isn't done on very high impedance impedance load (around 50ohm, IIRC) so that also explains why it doesn't swing as high as it can.