Eric Scheffel
New Head-Fier
Hi there,
I got into the audiophile listening experience about a year ago. I have purchased together quite an exotic combination of mostly portable devices. I first bought the Oppo PM-3 with the IBasso Bushmaster D14 and then recently supplemented this with a RSA Emmeline P-51 Mustang which I used on the D14's line-out. My (cheap) source which I drive via the SPDIF coax is the Fiio X3iii which while slow/laggy is adequate enough to feed the D14 with a digital signal.
I also bought the Massdrop HE4XX which I really like for its airy and more treble-accentuated character compared to the more sedated/rolled-off PM-3(which is however great for travelling). The 4XX I find also really exhibits great versatility across all music genres. By contrast, I almost hated listening to classical string instruments-based music on the Oppo PM-3, as a result of the violins, etc not having something I would call a "natural shimmer" when listened to on the PM-3. The 4XX by contrast are great in this department. I should also add that switching the P-51 in between the D14's line-out and my HE4XX adds body and also power to the bass which is ideal as a result of the 4XX naturally coming up a bit short in that frequency range if unpreamped.
But here is my actual question: Given the D14' coming-of-age, I played with the idea of getting the Chord Mojo. But would I really feel a noticeable difference between the Mojo and my current D14+P-51 setup, especially in view of the fact that the $300-400 P-51 AMP really helps to add body and punch to the somewhat more glary D14, and even manages to "filter out" some of that glare? I would only consider an upgrade that would really make a difference given how well the D14 physically fits into my stack (see pic).
Or asked differently, what DAC(portable or non-portable) is going to blow me away relative to my current stack? I was also looking to the more recently introduced RME ADI-2 DAC which has been getting very good reviews and seems a steal for the price. Also looked at the HUGO2, but this may be a bit too expensive for me. The last one I checked was the IDSD Micro BL. I very much like analytical listening of classical music (Bruckner's 4th and 7th for example) but also like intimate vocal jazz recordings such as Nina Simone (e.g. Bethlehem recordings from the 60s).
Thanks!
I got into the audiophile listening experience about a year ago. I have purchased together quite an exotic combination of mostly portable devices. I first bought the Oppo PM-3 with the IBasso Bushmaster D14 and then recently supplemented this with a RSA Emmeline P-51 Mustang which I used on the D14's line-out. My (cheap) source which I drive via the SPDIF coax is the Fiio X3iii which while slow/laggy is adequate enough to feed the D14 with a digital signal.
I also bought the Massdrop HE4XX which I really like for its airy and more treble-accentuated character compared to the more sedated/rolled-off PM-3(which is however great for travelling). The 4XX I find also really exhibits great versatility across all music genres. By contrast, I almost hated listening to classical string instruments-based music on the Oppo PM-3, as a result of the violins, etc not having something I would call a "natural shimmer" when listened to on the PM-3. The 4XX by contrast are great in this department. I should also add that switching the P-51 in between the D14's line-out and my HE4XX adds body and also power to the bass which is ideal as a result of the 4XX naturally coming up a bit short in that frequency range if unpreamped.
But here is my actual question: Given the D14' coming-of-age, I played with the idea of getting the Chord Mojo. But would I really feel a noticeable difference between the Mojo and my current D14+P-51 setup, especially in view of the fact that the $300-400 P-51 AMP really helps to add body and punch to the somewhat more glary D14, and even manages to "filter out" some of that glare? I would only consider an upgrade that would really make a difference given how well the D14 physically fits into my stack (see pic).
Or asked differently, what DAC(portable or non-portable) is going to blow me away relative to my current stack? I was also looking to the more recently introduced RME ADI-2 DAC which has been getting very good reviews and seems a steal for the price. Also looked at the HUGO2, but this may be a bit too expensive for me. The last one I checked was the IDSD Micro BL. I very much like analytical listening of classical music (Bruckner's 4th and 7th for example) but also like intimate vocal jazz recordings such as Nina Simone (e.g. Bethlehem recordings from the 60s).
Thanks!
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