[bzippy]

How about the original FiiO X3? It's very warm sounding. I have one buried in my closet somewhere. I tied to sell it here a few times but didn't get a single inquiry. So I'd be willing to let you have it for almost nothing. If you're interested let me know.

 

[Tempy-17]

Calyx M sounds like heavy strain bass unloading on the mid-range... most tubey analogue sound device I have.

 

[maira]

You get can much better machines than the Pono with balanced output brand new that show a lot of info on the screen for less money. HiBy R5 is my cup of tea but there are many other ways to go.

SQ of the R5 is not even close to the Pono. You´ve never owned or listened to one, right?

 

[originalsnuffy]

SQ of the R5 is not even close to the Pono. You´ve never owned or listened to one, right?

I consulted with a software firm that worked with Pono. We had a couple of yellow Tobelrone packs that posed as Ponos.....

 

[gregorio]

You get can much better machines than the Pono with balanced output brand new that show a lot of info on the screen for less money. HiBy R5 is my cup of tea but there are many other ways to go.

The pono is almost unique in that for some reason the designers have implemented a filter that rolls-off very gradually, starting around 10kHz. The vast majority of DACs roll-off more steeply and starting around 20kHz . This early roll-off filter can be audible under certain conditions, if for example you are reproducing material with a lot of very high freq content and have younger ears with a good HF response.

Calyx M sounds like heavy strain bass unloading on the mid-range... most tubey analogue sound device I have.

If the Calyx M is outputting a signal that's distorted similarly to the typical analogue tube sound, there's three options, either:
A. The device is very seriously faulty (I personally have never seen or heard of one so faulty),
B. The wrong headphones are being used, EG. Headphones with a power/impedance requirement inappropriate for the Calyx M's amp, or
C. You're imagining it.

SQ of the R5 is not even close to the Pono. You´ve never owned or listened to one, right?

The SQ of the Pono IS close to the output of just about every other DAP. The difference, as mentioned above, would only be audible with certain material and if one has good very HF hearing, but it's still a fairly small/moderate difference. The big difference between DAPs isn't their SQ but their output power, which could result in headphones/IEMs with a significantly different power/impedance requirement audibly changing the SQ but of course that's a headphone issue, not a DAP sound quality issue.

G

 

[maira]

I consulted with a software firm that worked with Pono. We had a couple of yellow Tobelrone packs that posed as Ponos.....

 

[Tempy-17]

I'm just recommending a tubey sounding device for the thread starter. There's nothing wrong with my Calyx M. I'm describing the tube sound. It's like a larger bass sound that seems to come out of being strained and it's mid-range is warm and snachy. The Class A amp in it helps.

 

[originalsnuffy]

How about the original FiiO X3? It's very warm sounding. I have one buried in my closet somewhere. I tied to sell it here a few times but didn't get a single inquiry. So I'd be willing to let you have it for almost nothing. If you're interested let me know.

I had the original X3. It had the Wolfson chip. A bit darker sounding than current machines but good sound. Nice thing about that unit; the EQ was a separate circuit so it worked with everything the unit played. That is a bigger deal than you might think; DSD files could be have EQ and on many units that is not the case. Plug Joe Bloggs ran a really nice service on that unit; he let users upvote and downvote new feature ideas.

I did like the sound of the replacement better (the X3 II). But FIIO gave up on supporting feature like OTG once they went from firmware 1.4 to 2.0. I have not purchased a FIIO unit since but who knows what the future might bring.

I have the Cayin N5II. That has an almost analog like sound but does not have treble rolloff like the X3 or the Pono.

 

[maira]

The SQ of the Pono IS close to the output of just about every other DAP. The difference, as mentioned above, would only be audible with certain material and if one has good very HF hearing, but it's still a fairly small/moderate difference. The big difference between DAPs isn't their SQ but their output power, which could result in headphones/IEMs with a significantly different power/impedance requirement audibly changing the SQ but of course that's a headphone issue, not a DAP sound quality issue.

G

This is just your opinion. Trust your ears! You can´t measure everything when it comes to Tonality, Separation or ´stage´... .

 

[gregorio]

[1] This is just your opinion.
[2] Trust your ears!
[3] You can´t measure everything when it comes to Tonality, Separation or ´stage´... .

1. No it's not, it's the objective facts.

2. Why? Human ears are notoriously inaccurate and easily fooled. Which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned because if they weren't then my job (and many thousands of others around the world with the same job) would not exist.

3. We CAN of course measure EVERYTHING that comes out of a DAC, because if we couldn't then ADCs, DACs and digital audio itself could NOT exist in the first place! What we can't measure is how your brain interprets and perceives what comes out of a DAC/audio reproduction system. We can't for example measure soundstage because soundstage doesn't exist as an audio property, it's a human perception (that therefore occurs in the brain) that's elicited by the stereo illusion. If your ears couldn't be fooled (and you could "trust" them) then you could not perceive soundstage!

G

 

[maira]

@gregorio

I knew your answer in the moment i wrote my last post.

Show me how to measure ´instrument separation´.

 

[gregorio]

@maira

If someone already knows the actual facts, why would they post assertions contrary to them?

G

 

[maira]

@maira

If someone already knows the actual facts, why would they post assertions contrary to them?

G

Your question shows your problem. You have no facts, its just your opinion.

 

[originalsnuffy]

1. No it's not, it's the objective facts.

2. Why? Human ears are notoriously inaccurate and easily fooled. Which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned because if they weren't then my job (and many thousands of others around the world with the same job) would not exist.

3. We CAN of course measure EVERYTHING that comes out of a DAC, because if we couldn't then ADCs, DACs and digital audio itself could NOT exist in the first place! What we can't measure is how your brain interprets and perceives what comes out of a DAC/audio reproduction system. We can't for example measure soundstage because soundstage doesn't exist as an audio property, it's a human perception (that therefore occurs in the brain) that's elicited by the stereo illusion. If your ears couldn't be fooled (and you could "trust" them) then you could not perceive soundstage!

G

Somehow I found this particular post funny. Differences between these DAP devices are largely opinion driven. On paper they all look remarkably similar when it comes to frequency response. So the difference between units is often more subjective than not. What is objective is power ratings and impedance; what is subjective is how you feel about the results from those facts.

At some level, you do have to trust your ears because on paper what should sound good may not (true for DAP units and IEMs). I once had a Pioneer high end surround receiver that on paper was the top of the line. But after about one hour of listening, for me that unit was like screechy chalk. Was it due to higher level distortion? Who knows. But I got rid of it and went with Denon and that solved the problem. Full disclosure; my home theater electronics choices tend to be NAD, Denon, and Marantz.

Did you know that TV showrooms turn up brightness and other factors to unnatural levels? Your job as a consumer is to level out the settings and then make an informed choice. Same is true for loudspeakers. Speakers that sound good in the store are often horrid once you get them home. They are actually designed to sound good in open spaces not well defined spaces like a living room. Remember Definitive Audio? Highly boosted bass that sounded great in the store (look Ma no subwoofer!). But sounded bloated in the home. Don't even get me started on Bose speakers by the way.

 

[lantian]

Id assume the op meant wich player has the most lifelike sound/realistic. This is what people usualy mean when they say they want a digital device that sounds analog. And no digititus. For me this is dx220 with amp8ex. Wm1z could be better. Cayin n8 is definetly right there aswell.