[Josh83]

Is the upsamlling on the E2 always on, or can it be turned off?

 

[rav101]

Hi all,
 
After reading the thread and doing a little research I decided to get the Explorer 2 and is arrived earlier today. There was care and attention to the packaging (a sign for me that this isn't just some cheap product) and when opened up, the Explorer 2 is front and centre. You get the USB cable, a carry pouch (I think, I haven't opened it up yet) and an instruction leaflet. On OSX its effectively plug and play which is handy. All in all, I was up and running within a couple of minutes of opening the box after changing the settings to upsample to 178/192khz.
 
My set up is
Source: 2014 Macbook Pro with Vox playing mainly 16 bit 44.100khz Flac files. It will get Spotify (standard because im cheap) use as well
DAC: Meridian Explorer2
Headphones: AKG K702 65th anniversary edition
 
I'm no audiophile but I have to say that I am impressed. Listening to the same songs I have many times previously, there seems to be additional clarity, depth within the bass (whilst not being muddy or over powering), detailed highs whilst not feeling analytical all whilst not producing much / any background noice as higher volumes. So far I have listened to about 6 hours of music through this DAC and loving it for the most part. I have noticed that a couple of rap songs (old school Jay Z) seemed to have muddy bass but this hasn't been present in other bass heavy songs so could be individual cases with those files specifically (I'm listening to N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton as I type and it sounds great).
 
Personally I like this design choice to use a USB cable rather than plugging straight into the USB port. Given that I'm on a laptop, real estate is limited where the ports are located. I guess this would be a consideration against something like the Dragonfly or the Geek Out as you might loose the port next to the USB port being used when it is plugged in.
 

Is the upsamlling on the E2 always on, or can it be turned off?

 
You don't have to upsample if you don't want to.

 

[cloud13cherish]

-http://lhlabs.com/force/geekout/898-geek-out-vs-the-others-3rd-installment-
 
This place has some comparison between Explorer and Geek out. The data shows that Geek out outweigh it's opponents. But, it's just me but these make me assume that the data was made deliberately to make Geek out sound better.

 

[kawaivpc1]

 
-http://lhlabs.com/force/geekout/898-geek-out-vs-the-others-3rd-installment-
 
This place has some comparison between Explorer and Geek out. The data shows that Geek out outweigh it's opponents. But, it's just me but these make me assume that the data was made deliberately to make Geek out sound better.

I'm not interested in this kind of data sheet. I want to hear an opinion from a person who has listened to the both of them. As far as I know, Explorer 2 sounds superior to its first model.

 

[cloud13cherish]

Of course, you're definetly right about it. just wanted to provide some references to you

 

[Click]

 
-http://lhlabs.com/force/geekout/898-geek-out-vs-the-others-3rd-installment-
 
This place has some comparison between Explorer and Geek out. The data shows that Geek out outweigh it's opponents. But, it's just me but these make me assume that the data was made deliberately to make Geek out sound better.
 

That was made back in March and only had data on the first Explorer, which is somewhat irrelevant since the Explorer² is completely upgraded and different. Of course they're going to make the Geek Out look better than the rest of the products they're comparing it to. It's the LH Labs forums afterall and the charts were posted by a mod there.

 
 
 
Quote:

  I'm not interested in this kind of data sheet. I want to hear an opinion from a person who has listened to the both of them. As far as I know, Explorer 2 sounds superior to its first model.

 I think most of us here reading this thread want a comparison between the Explorer² and other portable DAC/amps. Just gotta be patient and wait for the collectors and professional reviewers to get their hands on the E². Not everyone can shell out $300 for an E² just to compare it with other $300 DAC/amps. Hopefully the initial impressions of us early adopters that took the plunge first is enough to satisfy your curiosity for now. 

 

 

[obsidyen]

I bought it for USD 275. From Custom Cable (England).

 

[wanderingsounds]

On a Mac, does keeping the bit-depth set @ 24bit in Audio MIDI settings make a difference when listening to 16bit sources (MP3, AAC or FLAC)?

 

[HiFiGuy528]

got the ME2.  It's certainly a different sound to me.  Have to play with it some more over the weekend.
 

 

[kawaivpc1]

  got the ME2.  It's certainly a different sound to me.  Have to play with it some more over the weekend.
 

Awesome!
Please tell us how it sounds compared to Geek Out, DX100, D42, PHA-2, Chord Hugo, etc.

 

[obsidyen]

I had Chord Hugo and I prefer Explorer2 over it in terms of sound signature. If you have a hard to drive headphones, Hugo can drive them better. If you don't have power hungry headphones, Explorer2 is better in my opinion. Hugo's sound signature is lean and bright and forward, I just couldn't stand it after 30 minutes of listening. I feel like Hugo was designed for old people because they have problems with hearing high frequencies. Explorer2 is smoother and easier to listen to. I prefer it over Hugo. 

 

[kawaivpc1]

I had Chord Hugo and I prefer Explorer2 over it in terms of sound signature. If you have a hard to drive headphones, Hugo can drive them better. If you don't have power hungry headphones, Explorer2 is better in my opinion. Hugo's sound signature is lean and bright and forward, I just couldn't stand it after 30 minutes of listening. I feel like Hugo was designed for old people because they have problems with hearing high frequencies. Explorer2 is smoother and easier to listen to. I prefer it over Hugo. 

Interesting. How's its sound stage? Does it have a big and wide sound stage which you can hear all instruments with extreme clarity?
Can anyone compare its sound to that of AK240 and Geek Out?

 

[ZoNtO]

  got the ME2.  It's certainly a different sound to me.  Have to play with it some more over the weekend.
 
[pic snip]

 
I'm extremely interested in your opinions of how the Etymotic ER4 jive with the Explorer², especially after reading in the Etymotic ER4 thread that "[t]he ER4s paired with Meridian Explorer DAC is IMO the in-ear version of HD800 on a good amp."

 

[campj]

 

 
-http://lhlabs.com/force/geekout/898-geek-out-vs-the-others-3rd-installment-
 
This place has some comparison between Explorer and Geek out. The data shows that Geek out outweigh it's opponents. But, it's just me but these make me assume that the data was made deliberately to make Geek out sound better.
 

That was made back in March and only had data on the first Explorer, which is somewhat irrelevant since the Explorer² is completely upgraded and different. Of course they're going to make the Geek Out look better than the rest of the products they're comparing it to. It's the LH Labs forums afterall and the charts were posted by a mod there.

 

So you're saying they posted false measurements? Otherwise, how exactly would they go about making their measurements 'look better' than the competitors' products?

 

[Click]

  So you're saying they posted false measurements? Otherwise, how exactly would they go about making their measurements 'look better' than the competitors' products?

Where did I ever say they posted false measurements? Nice job trying to put words in my mouth.
 
If you actually took the time to read the comments below their measurements, you'd see that they talk up the Geek Out while criticizing the other DACs/amps. I won't bother to copy all of what they said and post them here, but comments like "Geek Out measures 2,000 better" or "more than 1,000 better than the competition" is just silly marketing sales talk. 
 
http://lhlabs.com/media/kunena/attachments/42/04_4_pcm_thd_plus_noise_percent_geek_out.jpg
 
http://lhlabs.com/media/kunena/attachments/42/08_4_channel_separation_crosstalk_geek_out_2014-03-15.jpg
 
Again, I couldn't care less about that post on the LH Labs forums. It's not measuring the Exporer² and it's obviously biased. I may put more credence into a product comparison from a source that's not trying to sell you their products or affiliated with them financially.