[seanwee]

Did anyone compare the Hiby r6 pro II with the M15S, if so which sounded better in sound quality (ignoring the power difference). and in what way do they differ in sound signature?

I was wondering if it really mathers the M15S don't use a dual dac solution, while almost every high and brand from desktop to daps uses dual dac chips?

I'm actually going to be trying the R6 Pro II out, hopefully soon.

Sound signature wise I've not had the best impression of the AK4499EX, on the SP3000 no less. It's like the WM1Z in terms of poor dynamics and cloudiness of sound.

I'm hoping it's an actually good chip but A&K had a really bad implementation.

 

[JoshG1217]

I'm actually going to be trying the R6 Pro II out, hopefully soon.

Sound signature wise I've not had the best impression of the AK4499EX, on the SP3000 no less. It's like the WM1Z in terms of poor dynamics and cloudiness of sound.

I'm hoping it's an actually good chip but A&K had a really bad implementation.

As an r6 pro ii owner, it's a good dap. Battery life is my only complaint. It sounds nearly as good as my dx320 with amp 14 at half the cost. So it sounds much better than dx240. I owned the dx240 twice and sold it both times. It's meh. The m6u was a much better package for the same cost. R6 pro ii sounds even better than m6u though.

 

[leo5111]

As an r6 pro ii owner, it's a good dap. Battery life is my only complaint. It sounds nearly as good as my dx320 with amp 14 at half the cost. So it sounds much better than dx240. I owned the dx240 twice and sold it both times. It's meh. The m6u was a much better package for the same cost. R6 pro ii sounds even better than m6u though.

how is sound of r6 pro? warm nuetrul? cool?

 

[leo5111]

also anyone heard a Cayin n6II A01? thats what i have now so wonder how that fares vs the others?

 

[JoshG1217]

Hiby is generally warm, but pro ii is pretty neutral. detail retrieval is really solid. Dx320 is a tad wider, butbother than that, not sure I could tell the difference in a blind test

 

[seanwee]

As an r6 pro ii owner, it's a good dap. Battery life is my only complaint. It sounds nearly as good as my dx320 with amp 14 at half the cost. So it sounds much better than dx240. I owned the dx240 twice and sold it both times. It's meh. The m6u was a much better package for the same cost. R6 pro ii sounds even better than m6u though.

Yeah the DX240 was really disappointing.

Love how the purple R6 Pro II looks though. Best looking dap I've seen by a mile.

 

[seanwee]

also anyone heard a Cayin n6II A01? thats what i have now so wonder how that fares vs the others?

Far far worse.

It's only somewhat competitive than with the Ti/Ess modules.

 

[Octavius]

I would not agree the radical qualifications that one dap is much better than other one, especially in the same price range.
I would agree that every experience is subjective and it depends on many factors.
I owned M6U, Ibasso DX248 and listened Ibasso dx300. And I can't say that some of devices have surprised me or disappointed me. Yep, M6u is warmer than the others, DX300 wih Amp11 is more neutral and ibasso dx240 is somewhere in between.
Mostly the impression was formed by user experience. I'm tending to think that M6u is better than Dx240 because of better overall experience with no glitches or problems, but the first impression was different because I was impressed by DX240 compact size and bright display.
But in terms of sound there is nothing dramatically better or worse, the same I can say about DX300, or Cayin N6 II, even my old DX220 doesn't sound much worse than daps mentioned above.
So in most cases, imho, the user will choose the dap based on his using scenarios. For example I would exclude M15s because of 345g and big size.
Yeah, maybe M15s or R6 Pro sounds better by 10-15% than Shanling or something else, but this difference doesn't deserve that much attention.

 

[seanwee]

I would not agree the radical qualifications that one dap is much better than other one, especially in the same price range.
I would agree that every experience is subjective and it depends on many factors.
I owned M6U, Ibasso DX248 and listened Ibasso dx300. And I can't say that some of devices have surprised me or disappointed me. Yep, M6u is warmer than the others, DX300 wih Amp11 is more neutral and ibasso dx240 is somewhere in between.
Mostly the impression was formed by user experience. I'm tending to think that M6u is better than Dx240 because of better overall experience with no glitches or problems, but the first impression was different because I was impressed by DX240 compact size and bright display.
But in terms of sound there is nothing dramatically better or worse, the same I can say about DX300, or Cayin N6 II, even my old DX220 doesn't sound much worse than daps mentioned above.
So in most cases, imho, the user will choose the dap based on his using scenarios. For example I would exclude M15s because of 345g and big size.
Yeah, maybe M15s or R6 Pro sounds better by 10-15% than Shanling or something else, but this difference doesn't deserve that much attention.

Somewhat agree, but my priority is on sound quality so that's what I focus on.

I stuck with the DX160 for the longest time because it was the best balance of sound, power and portability.

All potential upgrades were at least twice as heavy and much larger.

 

[seanwee]

New contender?



Comparing the DX260 and M15s

 

[leo5111]

ive read that the shanling m6u hisses with sensitve iems? i wonder if that means it will hiss with CFA Vega 2020 or Solaris 2020

 

[seanwee]

So far my impressions are similar to the dx240 but with refined treble and improved dynamics.

Dynamics still loses to the M15s but it's an improvement over the DX240.Treble is refined with a less harsh edge.

Now for the head to head.

Note weight is thinner on the 260 vs M15s. M15s hits harder but with the same speed. Only part where it's note weight somewhat hinders it is in really bassy tracks with small detail (some of my j-pop) where the bass could be slightly tighter.

Soundstage is similar to dx240 vs M15s. Clearer but smaller soundstage on the DX260 and larger overall on the M15s.

Microdetail seems to be slightly worse where the DX240 and M15s were comparable... but I can't say for sure without a direct side by side with the DX240. It's perceived as a subtle lack of bite on violin string pulls, like its being smoothed slightly.

 

[Octavius]

As you have described, I might be wrong, but the difference is distinguishable just in case of A/B comparison, in case in isolate listening, the differences will be smoothed out.
So in this case M15s is worth to be considered just in terms of over-ear headphones drivebility.

 

[seanwee]

As you have described, I might be wrong, but the difference is distinguishable just in case of A/B comparison, in case in isolate listening, the differences will be smoothed out.
So in this case M15s is worth to be considered just in terms of over-ear headphones drivebility.

The differences in timbre and dynamics will definitely be appreciable even without A/B ing the two, to which I favor the M15s.

Micro detail will likely be lost on all but the most discerning gear. I don't hear any difference in detail on the Ananda Nano for example. Nothing quite compares to the Annihilator in that aspect.

Both have plenty of power imo. Neither will drive the Susvara/HE6 types, neither will have problems with regular planars.

I wanted to try the R6 Pro II but they just sold their demo unit so that'll have to wait

 

[JoshG1217]

I would bet r6 pro ii is similar to m15s. It's nearly as good as my dx320, to the point where I'm not using at the latter nearly as much.

The dx240 has terrible software and feels cheap compared to m6u. M6u has better software, build, and resolution, with a warmer tone.

Dx320 has better detail/resolution, more 3d stage. It's pretty neutral. R6 pro ii has slightly narrow stage but 95% of the detail. Also neutral stage.