[Ultrainferno]

Quote:

i anticpate purchasing one in the next few months!
 
need a dac to go with it, any recommendations?
 

You won't be disappointed with the 339. What's your Dac budget? What are you looking for?

 

[DrDustCell]

Well, (today) I myself just bought a DAC after a few busy months! I got a Yulong D100 and my friend got a Yulong U100, both of which are actually integrated DAC/AMPs. I'll be recommending them to our friend here.
 

Spoiler: Picture%20of%20D100

Spoiler: Pictures%20of%20U100

 
I have auditioned both for a few times, but moreso of course for my own D100 purchase. I've just now paired the Yulong D100 and U100 with my La Figaro 339 and both of them were unbelievably transparent while noticeably increasing the clarity (redundant?) when paired with the 339. Left alone without an external amplification, they sound very inadequate. If it's just power you're looking for, then yes, they've got just enough juice to drive a DT990 600 ohms to normal listening volumes but you can feel the integrated amplifier struggle in quality which was especially evident on the AKG K702. But you're getting the powerhouse of an amplifier, the 339, which will give you much more than any dynamic headphone you're trying to to drive. I haven't been able to try any orthodynamics on the 339 yet though, but I personally cannot go any higher with the DT990 600 after 2.5 o' clock on the volume knob (treble heavy electronic music!).
 
DAC-wise, the D100 and the U100 are similar(ly very clear and transparent), and I really do not feel the bump down in price from D100 to U100 was because of the sizable loss of quality of the DAC, but rather because of the loss of the myriad inputs and outputs that the D100 had, as well as the reduced size.
 
The U100 has these in/outs in the back:

Spoiler: U100 back

The D100 is more versatile with these:

Spoiler: D100 back

 
Even after having decided to choose the D100 for the reason of future proofing myself (going optical in after getting a pc, balanced outs for a future speaker system, etc), I still think that price-to-performance wise, the U100 wins hands down and would be the best one to test the waters of chinese DACs with. Either way you won't be disappointed I assure you twenty times over. Oh, and don't forget you're already getting the heavenly sounding LF339 to pair up with any of these two great DACs!
 
Other DAC's tried but dropped: (all of them were inferior to both the D100 and U100 in price-to-performance ratio)
- LITE DACAH
- Musiland MD10
- Arce MDAC
 
The standard store prices of the U100 and D100 in China are:
Yulong U100 - 1399 RMB
Yulong D100 - 2680 RMB
 
I always get sizable (hundreds of RMB) discounts from the audiophile store I frequent though, so if your distributor is not haggle-allergic, you could try.
 
Good luck in deciding!
 
~~~
 
Short disclaimer: I am currently residing in China and I get to try all these nice Chinese dacs/amps/speakers/power filters/etc in audiophile stores, but mostly only those. Western audio hardware (aside from headphones obviously) are quite limited in my city aside from big names like Lehmann or Graham or Woo Audio or whatever.
 
Anyway, headphone convention coming up next month so if there's any impressions you guys want from Chinese stuff, just say the word.

 

[panda-R]

Quote:

You won't be disappointed with the 339. What's your Dac budget? What are you looking for?

umm ~600 would be alright, i don't want to go too crazy
 
right now i'm using a matrix mini-i, so something definitely better!
 

 

[keph]

DrDustCell hey which part of China are you in?im in China too im in Beijing...its nice to have a fellow head-fier in Beijing too hahha...

 

[Ultrainferno]

It always amazes me to see how loud you can get it. With the same beyers I can only get up to 9 o'clock. 9.30 max and with the senns its just 1 mark on the volume dial.

 
Quote:

 I haven't been able to try any orthodynamics on the 339 yet though, but I personally cannot go any higher with the DT990 600 after 2.5 o' clock on the volume knob (treble heavy electronic music!).

 

[Ultrainferno]

Quote:

umm ~600 would be alright, i don't want to go too crazy
 
right now i'm using a matrix mini-i, so something definitely better!
 

There are lots of good DAC's out there. Audio GD is popular here. The Havana Dac, the Anedio D1 dac, ...

 

[DrDustCell]

 
Quote:

DrDustCell hey which part of China are you in?im in China too im in Beijing...its nice to have a fellow head-fier in Beijing too hahha...

Haha, sorry, I'm quite far from Beijing. I'm based in Hangzhou. I do go to Beijing from time to time though! Any meet-ups there in the next few months?
 
Quote:

It always amazes me to see how loud you can get it. With the same beyers I can only get up to 9 o'clock. 9.30 max and with the senns its just 1 mark on the volume dial.

 

 
I always have to clean some ruptured eardrum blood off the pads of my DT990 after an extended listening session..
 
edit: maybe the difference in our volume knob level is because i almost never listen to western music (i.e. music made in the western hemisphere) where the loudness war runs uncontrollably rampant.. i just acquired MJ's album "Invincible", played "Unbreakable", put on my HD650's, and I was immediately forced to crank my usually 1:30 to around 10.. does my theory have any weight?

 

[Ultrainferno]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDustCell /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I always have to clean some ruptured eardrum blood off the pads of my DT990 after an extended listening session..
 
edit: maybe the difference in our volume knob level is because i almost never listen to western music (i.e. music made in the western hemisphere) where the loudness war runs uncontrollably rampant.. i just acquired MJ's album "Invincible", played "Unbreakable", put on my HD650's, and I was immediately forced to crank my usually 1:30 to around 10.. does my theory have any weight?

 
That could be one reason, a weird one but it sure is possible. Maybe someone else can chip in as well?
Whats your listening level on the 339 using a DAC, no preamp?

 

[keph]

using my musiland monitor 02 dac using my hd650 i turn the knob to 10 O clock position using my dt990 600ohm turn it to 11 O clock..
 
but using my lyrical 5i dac hd650 only at 9 O clock and dt990 to 10 O clock..
 
this the the most enjoyable listening volumes to me..everyone have different ears so i guess is up to the user on turning the volume up or down...

 

[Mambosenior]

Around  9:-10: with the HD-800. Anything over that and I'd be eligible to apply for disability payments.

 

[DrDustCell]

Now that I think about it, back when I wasn't using a DAC, my listening volume was always 1 level higher than now... Maybe that's the cause? Just to be sure, here's a quick experiment. If anyone's up to it, please compare your 339 listening levels with mine.
 
notes: I don't use an external preamp. Everything is at 100%, I only control the volume knobs on the 339.
The setup is: Laptop --USB-> Yulong D100 ==RCA2=> LaFigaro 339 -> HD650; with youtube video volumes also at max
 
[HQ] MV 周杰倫 星晴 - Jay Chou . Xing Qing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByYicT595kM
my 339 volume knobs at:

Spoiler: anti-placebo

4.5/8

 
王菲 《天空(unplugged)》
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv-Wax5dQl0
my 339 volume knobs at:

Spoiler: anti-placebo

4/8

 
Harmonia～見果てぬ地へ～ - 志方あきこ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqnLAhlW1c8
my 339 volume knobs at:

Spoiler: anti-placebo

3.5/8

 
Perfume edge(⊿-mix) live performance multiangle-3 HD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oppTgTq4u7M
my 339 volume knobs at:

Spoiler: anti-placebo

3.5/8

 
DAISHI DANCE - Take Me Home Country Roads (Feat. Arvin Homa Aya)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KGBe_pfWgw
my 339 volume knobs at:

Spoiler: anti-placebo

4/8

 
Black Eyed Peas - Outta My Head HQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjCbFAKXpGA
my 339 volume knobs at:

Spoiler: anti-placebo

4/8

 

[Ultrainferno]

Quote:

Around  9:-10: with the HD-800. Anything over that and I'd be eligible to apply for disability payments.

Exactly! I have never ever listened over 10, so position 3.
So I guess alot depends on the dac used...

 

[xmdkq]

 

[Ultrainferno]

 
Quote:

New adapter available?
 

 

[xmdkq]

New adapter available     EF86