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Personal BEST DAC-AMP & DONGLES discoveries thread (Best finds Reference List)
Jun 21, 2017 at 12:02 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 328
NymPHONOmaniac

NymPHONOmaniac

Headphoneus Supremus
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Ok Headfiers, this thread was sleeping and I decide to wake it up....since I have way too much dongles and DAC-AMPS that i didn't share impressions about (thanks to this 1 year pause due to pandemic).

I want to make a kind of Best DAC-AMP quest here, for everything under 500$, it will take price value in account, above it it's a bit harder but I will try to comment about overall sound and features benefit too.

Since 2 years, dongles market war have gone berzerk, their so much offering and this is beneficial for the consumers since price value is more and more competitive. Gone is the day where you need to pay 1K for a Chord to get great sound on the go, now, for 20$ you can have reference crisp neutral sound with Jcally Jm20 for example. This couldn't exist years ago so let's dig into this sound benefit bargain pool more! (and update this whole reference list too!)

10-100$:

JCALLY JM6 (CX31993-10$)
-Euphonic bright, weighty dynamic heft, open holographic spatiality, average resolution-imaging, 2vrms (65mw)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003093384809.html

JCALLY JM20 (Cirrus CS43131-20$)
-Crisp airy neutral, vivid dynamic, slight focus on treble brilliance, ultra clean background, 2vrms (65mw)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002272265385.html

TEMPOTEC HD PRO (CS43131-40$)
-Crisp neutral, same sound as JM20 but pricier. Volume control and changeable cables, 2vrms (65mw)
(don't worth it anymore)

Good guy Miguel ESS9280C (ESS9280C-35$)
-Open well layered natural tonality, hint of extra mid bass, excellent imaging, fowards mids, full yet smooth treble, 2vrms (simply put, an Audirect Atom2 for less than half the price)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000620903733.html

-TEMPOTEC HD V (dual ES9219-50 to 60$)
-Smooth W shape to neutral, effortless resolution, excellent layering-imaging, high technical performance, MQA compatible, DSD256, 145mw (incredible sound value)
https://nobsaudiophile.com/2022/04/08/tempotec-hd-v-review-the-perfect-hd-pro-upgrade/
https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005003754735791.html

-FIIO KA1 (ES9281C-45mw@32ohm SE)-
-Energic lush, natural and dense timbre, great layering presentation, slight mid bass and mids focus and crunchy not airy-sparkly treble.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004125819243.html

-TEMPOTEC E44 (dual CS43131-175mw@32ohm-70$to90$)-
-Crisp wide open sound presentation with holographic imaging, transparent yet dense timbre, no tonal or timbral unbalance, smooth yet highly resolved, great vocal present hint warm bass. Insane value since it's very powerfull.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002723420122.html

100-200$

-XDUOO LINK2 BAL (dual CS43131+LM27762 amp-150$)-
-Wide and tall holographic presentation, with hint of extra bass, euphonic analog timbre, dense sound layers, extremely musical and powerfull. (270mw@32ohm)
https://nobsaudiophile.com/2022/04/04/xduoo-link2-bal-the-musical-beauty-and-the-amping-beast/
https://keephifi.com/products/xduoo-link2-bal

-
 
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Jun 21, 2017 at 12:11 PM Post #2 of 328
 
Jun 28, 2017 at 11:40 AM Post #4 of 328
Jun 28, 2017 at 12:53 PM Post #5 of 328
I have NX4 & NX5. As an amplifier I think the NX5 is better. Both have the same power, low noise, but the NX5 has a tighter bass, better imaging. Vocals are more prominent. NX4 sound neutral & NX5 more bright. When bass bost is turned on, NX4 bass feels bigger than NX5, but NX5 bass is more controlled.
 
Jun 29, 2017 at 9:48 AM Post #6 of 328
TwoPalms said:
I have NX4 & NX5. As an amplifier I think the NX5 is better. Both have the same power, low noise, but the NX5 has a tighter bass, better imaging. Vocals are more prominent. NX4 sound neutral & NX5 more bright. When bass bost is turned on, NX4 bass feels bigger than NX5, but NX5 bass is more controlled.
Click to expand...

Both look nice but for little price difference NX5 is perhaps a better buy, it tempt me but it do not have DAC like the NX4. What about this DAC?

As I plan to use the AMP with a Ibasso DX90 wich is quite bright perhaps a more warm sound would be adequate. NX5 is perhaps too bright....

I see that you have the intriguing Little bear B5 portable tube amp too, read mixed reviews about it, especially for durability because I think the tube are not changeable. What's your final opinion about it? Did it get too hot to be really portable? Did it really have a clear and warm tube sound?
 
Jun 29, 2017 at 10:42 AM Post #8 of 328
As DAC, NX4 is an upgrade from my old dac SMSL M2. Better power, more neutral, lower noise. The main problem of little bear B5 is noise. If you use IEM, stay away from this amplifier.
 
Jun 29, 2017 at 10:58 AM Post #9 of 328
Oscar-HiFi said:
TA-02 Review: https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/review-xduoo-ta-02-yet-another-great-budget-tube-amp.715610/

Also consider adding the Topping A30 to the list, it's great, a

what about the Bravo Ocean? review: https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/r...valve-headphone-amp-budget-brilliance.700676/
Click to expand...

Yeah, I read about Bravo Ocean in a Xduoo TA-02 review, wasn't expecting better impression for the Bravo but look like it have a clearer sound : '' the Ocean has more inputs and outputs, and also sounds slightly smoother and quieter (less hiss) overall but the differences are not huge''

I really wonder how the Bravo Ocean compare to the cheaper Nobsound NS-02E, the design is really impressive and beautifull! Barely buy it 2 days ago cause of Ebay 15$ rebate on 75$ purchase but there were so much amp that time pass and when I was ready to buy coupon code didn't work!
413VQawJqmL.jpg
 
Jun 29, 2017 at 11:04 AM Post #10 of 328
TwoPalms said:
As DAC, NX4 is an upgrade from my old dac SMSL M2. Better power, more neutral, lower noise. The main problem of little bear B5 is noise. If you use IEM, stay away from this amplifier.
Click to expand...

Okay, yeah, I will stay away from it especially because we can't change tube and if it broke it's finish.
The tube amp is more for myheadphones tough, like the Grado Sr325i, Koss portapro and 3 different pair of Superlux, goal is to have fun with different tube.

I would like to have fun with OPamp too, so the portable will be for IEM and interchangeable amp is kind of a must. Breeze E47 look like to be a steal at 33$ cause we can change dual OPamp.
I find the inside impressive:
Breeze-Audio-The-E47-portable-headphone-amplifier-suite-double-47-amp-free-DIY-line-efficiency.jpg
 
Jun 29, 2017 at 11:11 AM Post #11 of 328
Nymphonomaniac said:
Yeah, I read about Bravo Ocean in a Xduoo TA-02 review, wasn't expecting better impression for the Bravo but look like it have a clearer sound : '' the Ocean has more inputs and outputs, and also sounds slightly smoother and quieter (less hiss) overall but the differences are not huge''

I really wonder how the Bravo Ocean compare to the cheaper Nobsound NS-02E, the design is really impressive and beautifull! Barely buy it 2 days ago cause of Ebay 15$ rebate on 75$ purchase but there were so much amp that time pass and when I was ready to buy coupon code didn't work!
413VQawJqmL.jpg
Click to expand...


The Bravo Ocean is pure tube, the Nobsound is hybrid :)
 
Jul 1, 2017 at 10:39 AM Post #13 of 328
Jul 1, 2017 at 10:41 AM Post #14 of 328
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