[CharlyBrown]

I just downloaded the latest update for my W2 (V1.0.2.6). Has anyone else noticed that the volume went up? I was listening at 54 but had to lower it to 53. Am I going crazy?

The year's '94 and my trunk is raw
In my rearview mirror is the mother****ing law
I got two choices y'all, pull over the car or
Bounce on the devil, put the pedal to the floor
Now I ain't trying to see no highway chase with Jake
Plus I got a few dollars I can fight the case
So I, pull over to the side of the road
I heard, "Son, do you know why I'm stopping you for?"
"Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low"
Do I look like a mind reader, sir? I don't know
Am I under arrest or should I guess some more?
"Well you was doing fifty-five in a fifty-four" (uh huh)

 

[sirmrdoctor]

The sound is spectacular. I replaced the USB-c to USB-c cable, and I'll probably replace the USB-c to lightning cable as well.

 

[Babayagga]

The year's '94 and my trunk is raw
In my rearview mirror is the mother****ing law
I got two choices y'all, pull over the car or
Bounce on the devil, put the pedal to the floor
Now I ain't trying to see no highway chase with Jake
Plus I got a few dollars I can fight the case
So I, pull over to the side of the road
I heard, "Son, do you know why I'm stopping you for?"
"Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low"
Do I look like a mind reader, sir? I don't know
Am I under arrest or should I guess some more?
"Well you was doing fifty-five in a fifty-four" (uh huh)

One foot on the brake and one on the gas, hey
Well, there's too much traffic, I can't pass, no
So I tried my best illegal move
A big black and white come and crushed my groove again

Go on and write me up for 125
Post my face, wanted dead or alive
Take my license, all that jive
I can't drive 55, oh no, uh

 

[Syracuse]

Is the sound really bottlenecked with the black cables, as I understand the white ones are an upgrade?

 

[sirmrdoctor]

So I must say, for people that have external amps, definitely give it a try with the W2. I used my xCan with my W2 and it simply comes alive! The sound of the W2 alone is good, but I feel like it’s being held back by it’s built in amplifier. W2 -> xCan -> headphone of choice, sounds sooooo good!

Could you send a photo of how you have that set up? I’m intrigued…

 

[vanez1985]

Will check later if these can acceptably drive the Aeon 2 Closed and this will be my end game, right?

Did you have a chance to try W2 with A2C? I'm considering these as a replacement for my Cascades but feel unsure if W2 could properly drive them.

UPD: any other recommendations for closed-back portable HPs which do pair well with W2 and provide both good isolation and natural timbre esp. in vocals are also more than welcome

 

[0RF30]

Is the sound really bottlenecked with the black cables, as I understand the white ones are an upgrade?

Nope ! You can experience interference with non-shielded cables (EMI especially with mobile data networks on phone), you can have micro disconnections due to wobbly cable/device connectors, but a digital signal is a digital signal. If transmitted properly, you'll have no sound differences swapping cables. My experience with short usb-c cables used with phones and dongles is that cables are mostly fine at the beginning, and degrade with time due to the dongle hanging weight (some quicker than others), especially with W1/W2 which are very heavy for dongles. Tried many cables, all ended up degrading. Best solution : velcro (brand name, don't know the generic term in English) on phone case and dongle, no hanging. Magnet under the phone case and on the dongle could be a solution, but I'm not comfortable using magnets in close proximity of electronic devices.

[EDIT] By the way, I have both black and white cable from L&P (one came with W1, the other with W2), both ended up inducing micro disconnections, black one quicker than white one for me.

 

[vanez1985]

Did you have a chance to try W2 with A2C? I'm considering these as a replacement for my Cascades but feel unsure if W2 could properly drive them.

UPD: any other recommendations for closed-back portable HPs which do pair well with W2 and provide both good isolation and natural timbre esp. in vocals are also more than welcome

Answering my own question: A2C really sounds much closer to what I prefer but W2 is too weak for these unfortunately requiring 80+ in high gain so unlistenable on iOS due to clipping.

 

[Babayagga]

Answering my own question: A2C really sounds much closer to what I prefer but W2 is too weak for these unfortunately requiring 80+ in high gain so unlistenable on iOS due to clipping.

Give it a shot on your PC

 

[vanez1985]

Give it a shot on your PC

I was looking for a portable & foldable alternative to Cascades, these seemed to be the best option but failed in my setup

 

[bluestorm1992]

I was looking for a portable & foldable alternative to Cascades, these seemed to be the best option but failed in my setup

If you want to get away with the power supply restriction from your iphone, perhaps an Apple camera adaptor will help.

 

[Babayagga]

I was looking for a portable & foldable alternative to Cascades, these seemed to be the best option but failed in my setup

It seems to me that if you want a solid on-the-go setup for audio, iPhone just isn't the best option for a phone.

 

[vanez1985]

It seems to me that if you want a solid on-the-go setup for audio, iPhone just isn't the best option for a phone.

It's the only one for lossless/hi-res streaming currently unfortunately as any Android phone inherently resamples anything you throw in to 48 unless you use UAPP with all its restrictions and clumsiness.

 

[dgjl]

Just a little "hack" (as the kids say) for those of you struggling with usb c cables disconnecting because they wobble, however slightly - a real problem with external dacs and one that I suffered 3 times on the way to work, and twice at work. Enough to make me scream - albeit silently. Until I tried this...

Get an old set of silicon ear tips. Cut off about 2mm from the nozzle (the end that goes over the earphone). Put this over the usb c connecter and push it down till it's flush with the bottom of the connecter (the plastic bit). Make sure it's pretty even all round. Should be about 0.5-1mm of silicon once it's stretched out. Do this for both ends of the usb c cable. Presto, you have a stable usb c cable connection. At least I did. You may need to play a bit with the width of the silicon. Hope it works for you and helps prevent the disconnect plague. Apologies is this is well-known. - it's new to me. Now my ddhifi cable works! Currently listening to the W2 using the stock cable, which has always been utter c**p. Indeed, 4 rubbish cables now have new life (for how long, who knows, but I've no shortage of eartips to cut up - who on this forum doesn't have plenty of those!).

 

[Babayagga]

It's the only one for lossless/hi-res streaming currently unfortunately as any Android phone inherently resamples anything you throw in to 48 unless you use UAPP with all its restrictions and clumsiness.

That's why we use dongles. Dongles bypass the onboard DAC of phones, but the inherent issue with iPhones is the low voltage they pump through their USB port. Also, I can assure you that my DAC on my V60, far surpasses that of any iPhone