As promised using JDS Labs in comparison to Schiit Magni 2 to drive the Sennheiser HD650,
The first order of business was to pick a DAC. Though this is not a DAC comparison, I wanted to pick something of enough quality to allow for proper comparison of the AMP options. Yet I also wanted to pick something around the same price/quality of the JDS Labs and Schiit products. Instead of picking Meridian Director and Schiit Bifrost, I choose to compare the internal JDS Labs DAC against the line output from the Meridian Explorer2 and HRT microStreamer, in hope that one of the two would provide a comparable sound for later use as input to the Schiit AMP options.
I’m admittedly a little lazy when it comes to music selection. I usually just pick whatever suits my mood. Today the selections are:
- Norah Jones - Don’t Know Why and Seven Years from Come Away with Me (HDtracks FLAC, 24/192)
- Cassandra Wilson - Another Country (HDtracks FLAC sampler 2014, 24/96)
- Lorde - Ribs and Buzzcut Season (HDtracks FLAC, 24/48)
- Fleetwood Mac - Dreams from Rumors (Pono FLAC, 24/96)
- Dave Matthews Band - Proudest Monkey from Crash (Pono FLAC, 16/44.1)
- Eagles - Hotel California (Pono FLAC, 24/192)
Notes follow, which I may or may not include in final summary. I’m accustomed to hearing grain during playback of the Norah Jones album - straight through the JDS Labs internal DAC, it was quite a smooth sound. There’s still plenty of breath and air around each of her phrases. She just has a style, like it or not, of closeness with the microphone. Hard to believe I suffered with these headphones for 10 years, not liking them until I got my first USB dongle last year - they’re very nice in this setup. The Cassandra Wilson song can suffer from a poor presentation, due to acoustic guitar and lots of cymbal percussion adding to a lot of high frequency energy. This is not the best presentation I’ve heard, very near to the edge of my personal comfort of high frequency detail. What can I say about Lorde - I am simply waiting to hear her second album. Uh-oh, raining outside, which I hope will not create too much background noise. Rumors by Fleetwood Mac is also perfect sound - spacious, detailed, layered with the bazillion sounds that the band created in their studio masterpiece. The Dave Matthews Band song starts quietly and simply, but then crescendos into a louder and more energetic piece by song’s peak. Again it’s definitely not the best presentation of this song I’ve heard. Some of the layers of sounds are starting to get lost behind the foreground instrument sounds. There is a thumping beat to the Eagles song, which I do not recall. I cannot see this getting better with a different DAC or AMP, but I hope it does. Again, I’ve heard it sound better during playback on other devices and headphones.
I switched over to a “naked” Meridian Explorer2. I call it “naked” because I usually use some kind of USB power buffer between it and my laptop USB. I feel as if there is just the slightest bit of tasty grain. It’s not a bad sound at all. It’s just Norah Jones sound up-close-and-personal with a microphone, a tasty sound. Me being a piano player, I also appreciate the crisp piano sounds that sparkle in the pause between each musical phrase. On the second song, there’s a depth to the guitars that I do not recall from the JDS Labs internal DAC. There’s a base note at the beginning of the Cassandra Wilson song, which I do not recall from the internal DAC. No issues at all with the percussion as a play through the Meridian DAC. It is so much more relaxed that I wonder if things are missing. But each time an instrument is allowed a solo moment, it immediately appears in the foreground, and quickly settles back into the stage depth of the main band, when the solo moment concludes. I’m really liking the bass player during this go around. Checking Wikipedia to be sure Lorde is working on her second album. If I weren’t doing a review, this is the point where I’d start to turn up the volume. Second song from Lorde has a piano note - so nice. The separation between the instruments, which was there during the first playback of Fleetwood Mac, is just more during playback through the Meridian DAC. For example, when he hits the cymbal and lets it ring, the decay is audible longer. The slow entrance of each instrument of the Dave Matthews Band is even more delayed. The sound of Dave’s voice, first in the chorus of other band member voices, next in the foreground, the change between the two placements is more dramatic. Eagles! Yes - the bass and drum, while playing at the same time are not the same sound. That was really annoying during the first playback with the JDS Labs internal DAC.
Let’s start with the dynamics to describe the HRT microStreamer. Each time Norah Jones makes a phrase, there’s a zing of sound, kind of like a race car revving its engine. It make take me a song or two to adjust to the sound of the HRT microStreamer. However on the second song from Norah Jones, I can hear that she’s changed her cadance. She’s using a more subtle, gradual introduction to each phrase, always soft, and more delicate - artfully matching her sound to the new lyrics. I could say I noted an artist choice, which I did not notice before. Listening to the song by Cassandra Wilson, I would definitely need to conclude there is less delta between foreground and background. It is still not harsh like the original JDS Labs internal DAC. But there was a guitar solo that did not jump as far into the foreground, or afterward sink as far back into the band sound. Sounds go from soft to loud, but they don’t move as much front to back on the soundstage. Don’t read this as a dislike for the HRT microStreamer sound, which I definitely like. I just find the soundstage works for some headphones, and not for others. Then the sound cut out, which it’s been doing on the Lorde track of lately. Grrr… So I skipped forward to Rumors track by Fleetwood Mac. The sound is nice, but the instruments are clearly on top of one another again. So I skipped to the Dave Matthews Band, which had the same stage depth issue. I can describe the issue even further with the Eagles song. Because there are three people playing guitar at the same time, it is critical the listener is able to hear separation. Otherwise the sound becomes a confusing mess of a note on the left, a note on the right, and another note in the middle. Who’s playing what? Who knows?
Both USB DAC sound better to me than the DAC in the JDS Labs. But the Meridian Explorer I will use when I compare the JDS Labs to each Schiit AMP due to the increased soundstage when listening to my HD650 headphones.
