[hollabackitsobi]

I ordered a 16GB D2 and a 32GB SDHC card last night as well (along with an awesome Noreve leather case). I won't amp it, because I'm sure it will be able to drive my UE Super Fi. 5s, which I hope to upgrade to Shure SE530s in the near future. Filling it with FLAC files of course; I'll probably be able to carry around a fourth or so of my collection but that's an alright trade-off for the great sound quality.

 

[noremedy]

I'm jealous right now

Congratulations. I'm saving to grab a D2 at some point after selling my iMod. I just couldn't risk loosing it in high school. A Cowon seems like a just replacement, and i hope yours serves you well.

Ben

 

[shigzeo]

amp: the smaller the better. i had the supermini and supermicro. small makes the whole package pocketable (sort of). i would suggest a low profile connecting cable as well that has right angle connectors. even a cheapo will be fine.

driving an iem has only partly to do with volume. all iems will become excruciatingly loud from any dap. however, the d2 is noted for two things: small soundstage and bass roll off when paired with low ohm iems. an amp and to lesser extent, impedence cable will fix most of those flaws. in the end, i used only impedence cable as it was much cheaper and still efficient as a portable.

 

[AgainstTheGrain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif amp: the smaller the better. i had the supermini and supermicro. small makes the whole package pocketable (sort of). i would suggest a low profile connecting cable as well that has right angle connectors. even a cheapo will be fine. driving an iem has only partly to do with volume. all iems will become excruciatingly loud from any dap. however, the d2 is noted for two things: small soundstage and bass roll off when paired with low ohm iems. an amp and to lesser extent, impedence cable will fix most of those flaws. in the end, i used only impedence cable as it was much cheaper and still efficient as a portable.

that doesn't sound good as my IE8 are only rated 16 Ohm. i still have my headsix. it might fit better witht he D2 since it is around the same size. or i might go with a mustang to reduce size. btw where can i find an impendence cable?

 

[shigzeo]

we have a sponsor here at headfi that sells them for 25$ or you can get them for even more money. head-direct is the place. i bought two there and have been very happy with them. they all but eliminated hiss with my 1g touch and deepened the bass. with d2, no hiss at all much better bass and stage.

about 90% of portables or even more perhaps have severe bass roll off and hiss and a small stage with low ohm iems. i had the d2 and was really distressed by it without an amp but i also listen to trance and used some hard to drive phones: denon c700 and atrio m5: both of which have volume with any portable but lose control without an amp or other measure.

 

[AgainstTheGrain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif we have a sponsor here at headfi that sells them for 25$ or you can get them for even more money. head-direct is the place. i bought two there and have been very happy with them. they all but eliminated hiss with my 1g touch and deepened the bass. with d2, no hiss at all much better bass and stage. about 90% of portables or even more perhaps have severe bass roll off and hiss and a small stage with low ohm iems. i had the d2 and was really distressed by it without an amp but i also listen to trance and used some hard to drive phones: denon c700 and atrio m5: both of which have volume with any portable but lose control without an amp or other measure.

so you would recommend the impendence cable over the amp?

 

[norseman8485]

I just bought a 16GB D2 last week and still playing around with it. Most people I know with the D2 run it ampless as the improvement of an amp thru its headphone out is rather minimal. That's another reason why I got it: the SQ of the D2 is good enough without an amp and thus, less bulk, cables and hassle.
The impedence cable sounds good; will be an easy fix for the lack of bass, though I haven't spent enough time with the D2 to perceive that yet.

 

[RAQemUP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AgainstTheGrain /img/forum/go_quote.gif so you would recommend the impendence cable over the amp?

Here is a decent looking one off of ebay. You can also specify what impedance you want installed in it as well.

I just ordered one of these a few days ago to give it a try (75 ohm version). Should be in late this week or early next.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

I bought one of those, but it has developed an intermittent problem. Whenever I bump into it slightly or jerk the headphone plug, the resistor is bypassed on the left channel. I contacted the seller. Hopefully he will send me a replacement.

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AgainstTheGrain /img/forum/go_quote.gif I bought an 8GB and I am going to use Prolly two or three 8GB sdhc from work. I'm gonna compare the sound of the IE8 with my first rig and then with the D2 then I will decide if I need an amp or not.

One other thing about the D2. The battery loses its charge quicker with higher bit rates and an external SDHC.

 

[shigzeo]

the problem with just a metal protrusion from your dap is that it has a bigger chance when fit with your headphones of hurting your dap or breaking off inside when bumped or from weight. a cable is 25$ and is safer on the unit but only available from head-direct.com in 75ohm.

it is not lack of bass: it is too much bass thump and absolutely no resolution if you are using sub 50ohm phones. even over 100 it is not perfect. the d2 does not sound bad but it does not sound better than average either without an amp (which it drives very well) or a cable.

i prefer the cable for protability, stealth and hiss levels. an amp will still hiss.

 

[RAQemUP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wuwhere /img/forum/go_quote.gif One other thing about the D2. The battery loses its charge quicker with higher bit rates and an external SDHC.

I thought this was true of all DAPs. The higher the bitrate, the higher the drain. If you also use music off of your expandable memory, the higher the drain. Not just the D2, but any DAP.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

the head direct cable is no different than the metal adapter. Both are straight connectors and anything bumping into them will stress the headphone jack. The best cable is the etymotic cable with right angled connector. Like iPods, the D2 sounds best when amped. Since headphone amps present a large impedance to the source, all bass rolloff issues disappear. The resistor option is the poor man's way to address the bass rolloff problem.

 

[hollabackitsobi]

So wait...where's the best place to get these cables? I'd rather not use eBay at the moment.

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAQemUP /img/forum/go_quote.gif I thought this was true of all DAPs. The higher the bitrate, the higher the drain. If you also use music off of your expandable memory, the higher the drain. Not just the D2, but any DAP.

On the D2, the drop is about half. I was getting almost 48hrs before. After adding an external 16gb SDHC and higher bit rates, it dropped to around 24hrs, maybe even less now. My D2 is about 9 months old. The long battery time was one of my main reasons I got the D2. So, the battery time specified by the manufacturer is very misleading.