[abitdeef]

Trust your ears rather than the folks in the thread like me or graphs from various sources. I think every dac/amp in the last 6 years has been compared to the Chord Mojo at some point. Sometimes minor differences are overblown.

If the Cobalt works for you, great. I'd still probably check this one now out to see if it works better for your tastes and need. OR save your money and wait for the fire sale in the classifieds section when there is a new flavor of the month. I am pretty impressed with how much power it can deliver, although I don't always love its sound signature.

I'll be honest, I'm more interested in the Hifiman Ananda through this thread than the W2. An easy to drive planar headphone would be a beautiful thing.

Yep, all that matters is how it sounds to oneself. I only look at graphs to see how the power output is and the imd/snr is. Plus the LP engineer/founder claimed that the SINAD was higher than the specs from the DAC’s data sheet. And that’s proven here. At least I can see this is a very well designed Audio circuit electrically.

 

[abitdeef]

I just received the Penon cables (they have both straight and angled versions) and can confirm they are great. No random disconnects from the iPhone. like with virtually any other cables I tried. They did take a long time to arrive (to the US) but were worth the wait.

How long did the take? I’m still waiting for an item to leave HK and it’s been 3 weeks.

 

[JelStIy]

How long did the take? I’m still waiting for an item to leave HK and it’s been 3 weeks.

About 4 weeks. Once they left HK, the tracking was no longer updated (the package was handed over to and delivered by the US Postal Service).

 

[sebek]

Trust your ears rather than the folks in the thread like me or graphs from various sources. I think every dac/amp in the last 6 years has been compared to the Chord Mojo at some point. Sometimes minor differences are overblown.

If the Cobalt works for you, great. I'd still probably check this one now out to see if it works better for your tastes and need. OR save your money and wait for the fire sale in the classifieds section when there is a new flavor of the month. I am pretty impressed with how much power it can deliver, although I don't always love its sound signature.

I'll be honest, I'm more interested in the Hifiman Ananda through this thread than the W2. An easy to drive planar headphone would be a beautiful thing.

I understand, don't you particularly love the W2 signature? What kind of signature do you prefer? A warmer, more relaxed sound?

W2 was described to me as quite neutral, powerful and energetic signature and more from the parts of DFC, while Lotoo Paw S1 closer to Mojo with added warmth and more softness.

On the Ananda I can tell you that with DFC from Android smartphones they were guided perfectly, with abundant volume reserve. They are very efficient. And the pairing with DFC has been my favorite when it comes to portable devices.

I just sold them because comfort wasn't the best for me - but it's very subjective - and I wanted something with a little more punch and dynamics - perhaps the two points Ananda is most lacking on.

However, they are very good headphones, technically very competent.

Hifiman has the open boxes - which are actually brand new headphones, only opened by customs for checks, customer service told me - at $ 599 and for the price and being able to drive them easily even from a dongle I think they are overall hard to beat.

 

[abitdeef]

About 4 weeks. Once they left HK, the tracking was no longer updated (the package was handed over to and delivered by the US Postal Service).

Ahhh maybe that’s it.

 

[utdeep]

Yes - I'm probably more in favor of the Mojo sound. The iFi Diablo has been my recent favorite - found it to hit the mark more often than the Signature, although it has oodles of power I will never use. Punch, dynamics, and quality bass are my drugs of choice.

Holding onto the W2 because I have the Sennheiser IE900 on preorder and someone mentioned they have synergy.

 

[Stuff Jones]

am using the same combo, highly recommended

Is it flexible enough to wrap around a phone?

 

[musicday]

Yes - I'm probably more in favor of the Mojo sound. The iFi Diablo has been my recent favorite - found it to hit the mark more often than the Signature, although it has oodles of power I will never use. Punch, dynamics, and quality bass are my drugs of choice.

Holding onto the W2 because I have the Sennheiser IE900 on preorder and someone mentioned they have synergy.

Yes that's something I am curious to try also, IE900 with the W2.

 

[FooFighter]

Yes that's something I am curious to try also, IE900 with the W2.

Let us know your findings!

 

[abitdeef]

I have original ie800 and they sound pretty good with W2 but I EQ treble down a bit and boost mid bass just a touch. I like the warmer ak ti8ie ii better with it though.
My brother is still using my multi hybrids but I suspect they will sound good too.

That’s one thing I like about using android transport it’s easy to get files on the device and I can use neutron or whatever for EQ.
No EQ for iTunes, and that’s the only way I’ve gotten and files on the phone. I used media monkey too and files still don’t show up for 3rd party music apps.

But then again, Android doesn’t have anything this size - iPhone 12 mini.
I think I’m going to order Sony nw a105 for a transport just because it’s full android and it’s small. Battery is weak steaming but it charges fast.

 

[JelStIy]

I have original ie800 and they sound pretty good with W2 but I EQ treble down a bit and boost mid bass just a touch. I like the warmer ak ti8ie ii better with it though.
My brother is still using my multi hybrids but I suspect they will sound good too.

That’s one thing I like about using android transport it’s easy to get files on the device and I can use neutron or whatever for EQ.
No EQ for iTunes, and that’s the only way I’ve gotten and files on the phone. I used media monkey too and files still don’t show up for 3rd party music apps.

But then again, Android doesn’t have anything this size - iPhone 12 mini.
I think I’m going to order Sony nw a105 for a transport just because it’s full android and it’s small. Battery is weak steaming but it charges fast.

Neutron is able to discover files that were purchased and downloaded in the Music app on an iPhone (that's how I am using it). It's also possible to have system EQ on an iPhone, but you have to jailbreak it, which is not recommended on your primary phone (and may be impossible depending on the iOS version).

 

[abitdeef]

Neutron is able to discover files that were purchased and downloaded in the Music app on an iPhone (that's how I am using it). It's also possible to have system EQ on an iPhone, but you have to jailbreak it, which is not recommended on your primary phone (and may be impossible depending on the iOS version).

let me try it again, because tons of my songs won’t transfer to iTunes. Like I’ve got 0 police albums. Just stupid

oh crap I’ve only bought the android version of neutron. I’ve got to buy it again. Not worth it, because I can’t get all my files on the phone.

I wish Samsung still made ‘mini’ models.

It would be cool if they got custom EQ firmware somehow on W2.

 

[FooFighter]

I have original ie800 and they sound pretty good with W2 but I EQ treble down a bit and boost mid bass just a touch. I like the warmer ak ti8ie ii better with it though.
My brother is still using my multi hybrids but I suspect they will sound good too.

That’s one thing I like about using android transport it’s easy to get files on the device and I can use neutron or whatever for EQ.
No EQ for iTunes, and that’s the only way I’ve gotten and files on the phone. I used media monkey too and files still don’t show up for 3rd party music apps.

But then again, Android doesn’t have anything this size - iPhone 12 mini.
I think I’m going to order Sony nw a105 for a transport just because it’s full android and it’s small. Battery is weak steaming but it charges fast.

Sony made pretty nice small smartphones like 10 years ago, guess not anymore *lol*

 

[abitdeef]

Sony made pretty nice small smartphones like 10 years ago, guess not anymore *lol*

Nope they’ve got giants now. Plus $$$$

 

[abitdeef]

Can I ask one more thing about iPhone 12 mini lol. How do I stop the brightness from automatically going down? It’s driving me crazy.