[zilch0md]

A good friend of mine who has extensive experience with audio products still recommends D1 much higher than D100. Problem with D1 is that it is huge, 4GB of internal and yea....

As a recorder, as a player, or both?

 

[audionewbi]

As a recorder, as a player, or both?

As a player, I did not ask him about the recording part. 

 

[zilch0md]

That would be one big, heavy player!

 

[audionewbi]

Indeed, this is what has turned me off, and the price tag too.

 

[skyeplayer]

Can anyone help me with the specification for the DC input plug I need to connect the PCM-D100 to an external 6v 800mA power supply?
 
I need the dimensions to send to the supplier of the new power supply so he can source one for the new power supply he's building.
 
Thanks. David

 

[seeteeyou]

.

 

[skyeplayer]

That's really helpful. Thank you seeteeyou. David

 

[georgelai57]

If only this wasn't so damn powerful, and hence unsuitable for IEMs.

 

[georgelai57]

The Sony D-100 is the closest to carrying a miniature laptop with you that can play virtually all your music formats. If you don't care about cover art (are we here to listen to music or admire the artwork?), it's super duper fast when you load in an SD card and all 256 GB contents are read in under 30 seconds. Like plugging in a thumb drive to a full size laptop.

 

[zilch0md]

^ You could connect the D100's Line Out to an OPPO HA-2. 
 
You could then get control of the gain, with the ability to run less efficient headphones, and the possibility of adding  an Apple or Android mobile device, for access to streaming services (Tidal HiFi), in addition to your static microSD card library.
 
Then, it really will be like a laptop (sandwiching the HA-2 between the D100 and your mobile device).  

  
 
I've done this with the 96/24-capable Sony PCM-M10 (but more often with the dual-card reader FiiO X5 Line Out, which has a much nicer DAC (PCM1792A) than the proprietary sigma-delta DAC in the M10).
 
(Pictured with the OPPO PM-1)
 
 

 

 

 
Mike

 

[georgelai57]

Mike. That is interesting. Is it possible to use an amp not for harder to drive headphones but to reduce the D-100's power for sensitive IEMs?

 

[zilch0md]

Hi gerogelai57, Yes, but you've got me wondering if you aren't plugging your IEMs into the D100's Line Out instead of into the Headphone Out. I apologize for even suggesting that possibility, but want to rule it out, as you haven't actually said that you're able to use the D100's volume control, at least to some degree, to attenuate the power, so here goes...
 
Does the volume at your IEMs change at all when you use the D100's volume control?
 
The output of just about any DAC's Line Out can be much "louder" than the headphone out, with typical desktop DACs having outputs of 2.0V rms, and portables like my PCM-M10 having a Line Out output of 1.0V rms. I don't know what voltage you get from the Line Out of the D100, but most likely it's 1.0V rms or higher. This can be really loud for most headphones, never mind efficient IEMs.
 
But whether you've accidentally used the D100's Line Out or not, most headphone amps actually play a role of reducing the voltage that's coming in from the DAC, rather than amplifying it, while also adding current (milliamps) to deliver the final power output (milliwatts) to your headphones.
 
   
 
(Inside my recliner's side table.)
 
Headphone amplifiers don't necessarily amplify anything.

 
 
My Metrum Acoustics Aurix amp (on top in the photo) has a toggle switch on the back that allows me to select 0 dB of gain or 10 dB of gain.
 
At the 0 dB setting, I'm listening to the DAC directly, with only the volume control and some impedance matching inserted into the signal path - with 100% of the actual power coming from the 2.0 V rms provided by the DAC (a Metrum Acoustics Octave MkII - in the middle of the photo) and no power whatsoever provided by the Aurix amp itself.
 
I use the 0 dB Gain setting routinely to listen to my HD800, but I need the Aurix' 10 dB gain setting for my LCD-2 (which is actually much happier still with the power provided by the OPPO HA-2, balanced out.)
 
So yes, a headphone amp can be used as nothing more than an attenuator and impedance match.
 
The Low Gain setting of the OPPO HA-2 was purposely tuned to work with IEMs, giving you some finesse when adjusting the volume control.
 
Mike

 

[georgelai57]

Hello Mike,
 
Thanks for the detailed answer and no apologies needed. I am using the headphone out and yes the volume control on the D-100 does work as a result. Phew, I'm glad I'm not going crazy - I think - Ha Ha.
 
I wanted to explore how I could attenuate the volume for using sensitive IEMs with the D-100.
 
Cheers,
George

 

[zilch0md]

Oh, good!   I feel better, thanks!  

 

[georgelai57]

You and me both.