[luisdent]

  There is a DIY amp called "the wire"  

 Supposedly, it's very clean.

 
Yeah, I have so many of those amps. They just never seem loud enough.

 

[SilverEars]

   
Yeah, I have so many of those amps. They just never seem loud enough.

I'm not kidding, it actually exist.  google it, it is suppose to be very clean.  It's perfect for me since I need a very clean amp for sensitive IEMs.

 

[luisdent]

I'm not kidding, it actually exist.  google it, it is suppose to be very clean.  It's perfect for me since I need a very clean amp for sensitive IEMs.

Haha i thought you were being funny. The c5d is a VERY clean amp and great for sensitive iems, especially because jds will cater the gain to your earphones i believe if you ask.

 

[Semont]

In case anyone is wondering, the Motorola RAZR 925 works audio out with an otg usb cable with the C5D when Cyanogenmod 11 is installed.
 
I'm using the fiio L17 and the Neutron Music Player
 
Unfortunately, since the usb ports are so awkwardly placed on both devices, the cable sticks out to the side and they will not line up back to back (that is, rubber feet on the back of the 925) without the C5D being slanted. However they can line up properly if the C5D is flipped over since the mini usb port isn't centered on the C5D. In fact, if you place both devices on a flat surface with the cable untangled, one device will be upside down.
 
At the moment, I'm using a Koss porta pro bag to put store them on the go (get it? otg? haha..) and it's a lot faster than binding them together with elastics and protects both of them from scratches as well. The carrying bag's mouth just happens to be at the right length so that when the mouth is fastened, only the edge of both devices will be covered. Fortunately, the bag against the 925's volume control provides enough tactile feedback so that I can change tracks while it's in sleep mode.
 
Edit: Might be just me but it seems like the bass adjustment via the switch seems to be more powerful when the dac is in use.

 

[utdeep]

I ordered a C5D yesterday and I'm really looking forward to it.  Unfortunately, I've been a snob when it comes to DACs and amps over the past few years.  For some strange reason, I've felt like if an amp/dac cost less than $300, it wasn't going to be enough of an upgrade.
 
The ODAC was okay, but I preferred other DACs.  The only reason why I want the C5D is the PCM5102A chip in it.  I loved it in the WA7 but its not a portable amp.  I liked it in the Alo Audio Key, but my Windows based machines didn't deliver enough current to keep the chip from clipping.  With its own battery, I'm sure that the C5D  can deliver enough power to the chip to make it do its magic.
 
The amp in the C5D is just gravy.  Is there any way to switch the C5D to DAC only mode?

 

[jseaber]

  I ordered a C5D yesterday and I'm really looking forward to it.  Unfortunately, I've been a snob when it comes to DACs and amps over the past few years.  For some strange reason, I've felt like if an amp/dac cost less than $300, it wasn't going to be enough of an upgrade.
 
The ODAC was okay, but I preferred other DACs.  The only reason why I want the C5D is the PCM5102A chip in it.  I loved it in the WA7 but its not a portable amp.  I liked it in the Alo Audio Key, but my Windows based machines didn't deliver enough current to keep the chip from clipping.  With its own battery, I'm sure that the C5D  can deliver enough power to the chip to make it do its magic.
 
The amp in the C5D is just gravy.  Is there any way to switch the C5D to DAC only mode?

 
It's possible to convert the 3.5mm analog input jack to a DAC line-output. This would allow you to use C5D as an amp+DAC, or just a DAC (instead of amp+DAC, or just amp). It's a quick soldering modification if you're interested.

 

[utdeep]

I'm definitely interested. Would I just send back the amp after I receive it? Talk about amazing customer service! Could you also optimize it for an IEM? I plan on using it with my SE846 exclusively.

 

[tracyca]

I would also like to get in on this mod!

 

[Mmet]

Is there any way or connection between the coax out to mini USB ???

 

[utdeep]

jseaber,
 
You should seriously consider the DAC line-output as a normal option because this would be one of the few battery powered instances of the PCM5102A DAC which could be used in conjunction with another amp.  
 
As I mentioned before, while the ODAC gets a lot of press as being very neutral, I think the majority of folks would enjoy a more musical DAC.  Woo Audio and ALO certainly regard this DAC very highly.

 

[jseaber]

I'm definitely interested. Would I just send back the amp after I receive it? Talk about amazing customer service! Could you also optimize it for an IEM? I plan on using it with my SE846 exclusively.

 
Please contact us privately with your order number if you'd like to arrange a custom modification. We process thousands of items per month, so a package without an RMA # would likely be delayed.
 

  Is there any way or connection between the coax out to mini USB ???

 
Coax would require new circuitry, sorry.
 

I would also like to get in on this mod!

 
I'll post images as soon as possible for those with a DIY passion.
 
Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Mmet]

Coax would require new circuitry, sorry.

sorry for not making that clear .... what i meant is there is any connection i can use between Fiio x3 coax out andthe mini usb of the C5D dac ?? .... if so i would buy C5D instead of C5 

 

[miceblue]

O.k.  I've done some initial comparisons, and although I might get some flac for this, here are my findings:

Spoiler: Testing Details

First, let me say that I've done the initial testing with my Sony MH1.  I'll be doing further testing with my other earphones, especially the ER4S, which are considered more critical of things.

So far though, with the MH1 using the same lossless files, the C5D from the usb of my MacBook Pro sounds identical to the C5 from my iPod Touch 5G, which sounds identical to the iPod Touch 5G headphone output, which sounds identical to the digital output of the iPod Touch 5G to the C5D, which sounds identical to the Fuze v1 and ZipClip.

Now let me explain this brief testing and give some opinions.

First, again, I used all the same lossless files on each device and volume matched each device.  This is using no EQ, no effects, nothing but raw lossless audio.  I used tracks ranging from Christopher Cross to Dream Theater.  I compared a few seconds of each track, small sections of each track and tracks in their entirety.

This was a full double blind test.  The connections were made without me or the person connecting them knowing which was which.  Each song was synced perfectly for playback so well that I could flip the switch back and forth and the timing had zero interruption nor volume change.  In fact, when I flip the switch quick enough it makes no noticeable audio disruption at all.  I can flip the switch back and forth repeatedly, and when I do it fast enough it literally sounds like I'm listening to the same song and I wouldn't even know anyone was touching the switch.

It is very hard to rule out the brain, and last night I was listening to the C5D with the iPod and thought it sounded clearer somehow.  But I believe now that I was trying to hear if it was clearer and therefor thought it might be.  That is just my opinion.

So, before you think I'm saying anything bad about the C5D, quite the contrary.

The C5D is awesome.  Very awesome.  Every single device I have sounds better than the output of the MacBook Pro, which is really surprising.  The MBP output has noticeable noise, and lower fidelity in general.  Very disappointed in it myself, so much that I'd personally never use it.  For a speaker output the noise isn't as noticeable, but with earphones it seems much worse.  Anyway, the apogee duet costs around $500 new, the iPod touch with reasonable space (64gb) costs $400, the fuze+ costs roughly $100 or more when you add an SD card, but there are claims the fuze+ doesn't sound as good as the fuze (haven't heard it myself).  But as the fuze is discontinued we'll use the + as a price point.

The point is, for any device with reasonable quality and storage capacity you're looking at a good chuck of change.  The C5D can be used with any computer/laptop and turn it into an amazing sounding device with all of it's large storage and it costs $250.  That's an awesome deal, since most people have a laptop or computer.  But it's not just isolated to computers.  It can improve the quality of a phone.  Throw in an SD card and you have a great sounding player that way as well.  Just look at what you get for that price in general:

- uber portable compared to most desktop sound interfaces that don't suck
- reference sound
- amplification for harder to drive earphones/headphones
- isolated battery mode which I believe would eliminate noise issues with some usb systems (such as grounding loops)?
- a built-in reference amp that doesn't require usb (for devices not compatible with the dac functionality)
- Two-point bass boost option that sounds great

So I think it's an awesome investment for anyone who is an audiophile, even if you have other amps.  You can grab it and go, knowing that you'll be able to use it on pretty much any device.  It allows you to KNOW you're going to have reference sound.  It's an all-in-one package with a nice form factor.

In terms of sound, I'm not jumping to any full conclusions yet.  I'll do a lot more testing with the more demanding earphones I have and see how it goes, but I'm predicting the results will be similar.

But either way, great job JDS on the C5D!  I love how they threw the DAC right in the same case with the C5.  And their devices all have the same profile.  Very cool.  I'll report back with more testing results in a while.

I'm doing some A/B tests with the K 701 right now. I did approximate volume matching with a 1 kHz sine wave via Audacity and I'm listening to Daft Punk's "Give Life Back to Music" song in 24/88.2. Using the FiiO HS2 to switch between amps, I'm noticing that the C5D has a slightly deeper low-end compared to the C5 (bass boost is off for both amps and at low-gain). Especially with the bass guitar notes, the C5D hits them harder and it's more noticeable near the end of the song with the background people talking. Overall though they sound pretty darn similar, as is to be expected.

 

[luisdent]

O.k.  I've done some initial comparisons, and although I might get some flac for this, here are my findings:

Spoiler: Testing Details

First, let me say that I've done the initial testing with my Sony MH1.  I'll be doing further testing with my other earphones, especially the ER4S, which are considered more critical of things.

So far though, with the MH1 using the same lossless files, the C5D from the usb of my MacBook Pro sounds identical to the C5 from my iPod Touch 5G, which sounds identical to the iPod Touch 5G headphone output, which sounds identical to the digital output of the iPod Touch 5G to the C5D, which sounds identical to the Fuze v1 and ZipClip.

Now let me explain this brief testing and give some opinions.

First, again, I used all the same lossless files on each device and volume matched each device.  This is using no EQ, no effects, nothing but raw lossless audio.  I used tracks ranging from Christopher Cross to Dream Theater.  I compared a few seconds of each track, small sections of each track and tracks in their entirety.

This was a full double blind test.  The connections were made without me or the person connecting them knowing which was which.  Each song was synced perfectly for playback so well that I could flip the switch back and forth and the timing had zero interruption nor volume change.  In fact, when I flip the switch quick enough it makes no noticeable audio disruption at all.  I can flip the switch back and forth repeatedly, and when I do it fast enough it literally sounds like I'm listening to the same song and I wouldn't even know anyone was touching the switch.

It is very hard to rule out the brain, and last night I was listening to the C5D with the iPod and thought it sounded clearer somehow.  But I believe now that I was trying to hear if it was clearer and therefor thought it might be.  That is just my opinion.

So, before you think I'm saying anything bad about the C5D, quite the contrary.

The C5D is awesome.  Very awesome.  Every single device I have sounds better than the output of the MacBook Pro, which is really surprising.  The MBP output has noticeable noise, and lower fidelity in general.  Very disappointed in it myself, so much that I'd personally never use it.  For a speaker output the noise isn't as noticeable, but with earphones it seems much worse.  Anyway, the apogee duet costs around $500 new, the iPod touch with reasonable space (64gb) costs $400, the fuze+ costs roughly $100 or more when you add an SD card, but there are claims the fuze+ doesn't sound as good as the fuze (haven't heard it myself).  But as the fuze is discontinued we'll use the + as a price point.

The point is, for any device with reasonable quality and storage capacity you're looking at a good chuck of change.  The C5D can be used with any computer/laptop and turn it into an amazing sounding device with all of it's large storage and it costs $250.  That's an awesome deal, since most people have a laptop or computer.  But it's not just isolated to computers.  It can improve the quality of a phone.  Throw in an SD card and you have a great sounding player that way as well.  Just look at what you get for that price in general:

- uber portable compared to most desktop sound interfaces that don't suck
- reference sound
- amplification for harder to drive earphones/headphones
- isolated battery mode which I believe would eliminate noise issues with some usb systems (such as grounding loops)?
- a built-in reference amp that doesn't require usb (for devices not compatible with the dac functionality)
- Two-point bass boost option that sounds great

So I think it's an awesome investment for anyone who is an audiophile, even if you have other amps.  You can grab it and go, knowing that you'll be able to use it on pretty much any device.  It allows you to KNOW you're going to have reference sound.  It's an all-in-one package with a nice form factor.

In terms of sound, I'm not jumping to any full conclusions yet.  I'll do a lot more testing with the more demanding earphones I have and see how it goes, but I'm predicting the results will be similar.

But either way, great job JDS on the C5D!  I love how they threw the DAC right in the same case with the C5.  And their devices all have the same profile.  Very cool.  I'll report back with more testing results in a while.

I'm doing some A/B tests with the K 701 right now. I did approximate volume matching with a 1 kHz sine wave via Audacity and I'm listening to Daft Punk's "Give Life Back to Music" song in 24/88.2. Using the FiiO HS2 to switch between amps, I'm noticing that the C5D has a slightly deeper low-end compared to the C5 (bass boost is off for both amps and at low-gain). Especially with the bass guitar notes, the C5D hits them harder and it's more noticeable near the end of the song with the background people talking. Overall though they sound pretty darn similar, as is to be expected.

Perhaps you're hearing the difference in format? I heard no difference in the amp sections with a volume matched a/b. however, if you have 24/88 going through the c5d, perhaps you're picking up the increased dynamics showing in the bass.? Just a thought. What are you playing through the c5? The cd? The 24/88 output through your source?

 

[miceblue]

O.k.  I've done some initial comparisons, and although I might get some flac for this, here are my findings:

Spoiler: Testing Details

First, let me say that I've done the initial testing with my Sony MH1.  I'll be doing further testing with my other earphones, especially the ER4S, which are considered more critical of things.

So far though, with the MH1 using the same lossless files, the C5D from the usb of my MacBook Pro sounds identical to the C5 from my iPod Touch 5G, which sounds identical to the iPod Touch 5G headphone output, which sounds identical to the digital output of the iPod Touch 5G to the C5D, which sounds identical to the Fuze v1 and ZipClip.

Now let me explain this brief testing and give some opinions.

First, again, I used all the same lossless files on each device and volume matched each device.  This is using no EQ, no effects, nothing but raw lossless audio.  I used tracks ranging from Christopher Cross to Dream Theater.  I compared a few seconds of each track, small sections of each track and tracks in their entirety.

This was a full double blind test.  The connections were made without me or the person connecting them knowing which was which.  Each song was synced perfectly for playback so well that I could flip the switch back and forth and the timing had zero interruption nor volume change.  In fact, when I flip the switch quick enough it makes no noticeable audio disruption at all.  I can flip the switch back and forth repeatedly, and when I do it fast enough it literally sounds like I'm listening to the same song and I wouldn't even know anyone was touching the switch.

It is very hard to rule out the brain, and last night I was listening to the C5D with the iPod and thought it sounded clearer somehow.  But I believe now that I was trying to hear if it was clearer and therefor thought it might be.  That is just my opinion.

So, before you think I'm saying anything bad about the C5D, quite the contrary.

The C5D is awesome.  Very awesome.  Every single device I have sounds better than the output of the MacBook Pro, which is really surprising.  The MBP output has noticeable noise, and lower fidelity in general.  Very disappointed in it myself, so much that I'd personally never use it.  For a speaker output the noise isn't as noticeable, but with earphones it seems much worse.  Anyway, the apogee duet costs around $500 new, the iPod touch with reasonable space (64gb) costs $400, the fuze+ costs roughly $100 or more when you add an SD card, but there are claims the fuze+ doesn't sound as good as the fuze (haven't heard it myself).  But as the fuze is discontinued we'll use the + as a price point.

The point is, for any device with reasonable quality and storage capacity you're looking at a good chuck of change.  The C5D can be used with any computer/laptop and turn it into an amazing sounding device with all of it's large storage and it costs $250.  That's an awesome deal, since most people have a laptop or computer.  But it's not just isolated to computers.  It can improve the quality of a phone.  Throw in an SD card and you have a great sounding player that way as well.  Just look at what you get for that price in general:

- uber portable compared to most desktop sound interfaces that don't suck
- reference sound
- amplification for harder to drive earphones/headphones
- isolated battery mode which I believe would eliminate noise issues with some usb systems (such as grounding loops)?
- a built-in reference amp that doesn't require usb (for devices not compatible with the dac functionality)
- Two-point bass boost option that sounds great

So I think it's an awesome investment for anyone who is an audiophile, even if you have other amps.  You can grab it and go, knowing that you'll be able to use it on pretty much any device.  It allows you to KNOW you're going to have reference sound.  It's an all-in-one package with a nice form factor.

In terms of sound, I'm not jumping to any full conclusions yet.  I'll do a lot more testing with the more demanding earphones I have and see how it goes, but I'm predicting the results will be similar.

But either way, great job JDS on the C5D!  I love how they threw the DAC right in the same case with the C5.  And their devices all have the same profile.  Very cool.  I'll report back with more testing results in a while.

I'm doing some A/B tests with the K 701 right now. I did approximate volume matching with a 1 kHz sine wave via Audacity and I'm listening to Daft Punk's "Give Life Back to Music" song in 24/88.2. Using the FiiO HS2 to switch between amps, I'm noticing that the C5D has a slightly deeper low-end compared to the C5 (bass boost is off for both amps and at low-gain). Especially with the bass guitar notes, the C5D hits them harder and it's more noticeable near the end of the song with the background people talking. Overall though they sound pretty darn similar, as is to be expected.

Perhaps you're hearing the difference in format? I heard no difference in the amp sections with a volume matched a/b. however, if you have 24/88 going through the c5d, perhaps you're picking up the increased dynamics showing in the bass.? Just a thought. What are you playing through the c5? The cd? The 24/88 output through your source?

MacBook Pro playing the 24/88.2 file via Audirvana Plus -> ODAC -> splitter -> C5 and C5D -> HS2 box -> K 701.

The K 701 has more rumble for me with the C5D. It's slight, but noticeable for me.