[TheEldestBoy]

I will! So far it sounds very promising with the HD650! I guess the red should be even more suitable to HD650.

I plan on getting the Red, and a set of HD 600 or HD 650. So, I'm very curious to hear what you think!

 

[calpiyuki]

I will be waiting for someone who has se846 paired with DFR to leave some review

 

[Mund1]

A novice on this stuff, I didn't know what a DAC was a couple of weeks ago.  
 
As an Android user (Samsung Galaxy s5) who found out the hard way of the incompatibility of the DFR with my phone, by using it. Why can't the issue be addressed in another way, using the 1/8 headphone jack?______ 
 
I may be way off here, correct me if I am, I can take it.  But, why not a 1/8 Male to USB Female to accommodate the DF ?
 
... as I search, I don't think it exists.  Technology or throughput wouldn't allow it to flow that way, would it. 

 

[Torq]

  A novice on this stuff, I didn't know what a DAC was a couple of weeks ago.  
 
As an Android user (Samsung Galaxy s5) who found out the hard way of the incompatibility of the DFR with my phone, by using it. Why can't the issue be addressed in another way, using the 1/8 headphone jack?______ 
 
I may be way off here, correct me if I am, I can take it.  But, why not a 1/8 Male to USB Female to accommodate the DF ?
 
... as I search, I don't think it exists.  Technology or throughput wouldn't allow it to flow that way, would it. 

 
The 1/8" (3.5mm) headphone jack is an analog output.  The digital-to-analog conversion has already occurred within the phone before it even gets to the headphone output, so there'd be nothing left for the DFR to do and, consequently, no point in buying one.
 
There's only so much a manufacturer can do when dealing with the myriad issues that are the Android Audio stack.  It really needs a complete overhaul, but I don't see that happening.

 

[Mund1]

   
The 1/8" (3.5mm) headphone jack is an analog output.  The digital-to-analog conversion has already occurred within the phone before it even gets to the headphone output, so there'd be nothing left for the DFR to do and, consequently, no point in buying one.
 
There's only so much a manufacturer can do when dealing with the myriad issues that are the Android Audio stack.  It really needs a complete overhaul, but I don't see that happening.

Ahhh Thank You for the explanation.  Makes sense. 

 

[AJTSin]

You max out the DFR to run it as a line-out into an amp. The volume into headphones is controlled by the Magni.

Exactly.

I was going off your comment "the Magni drives the He400i louder"

I am not neccesarily listening louder but the Magni can get much louder with no distortion. I find when I turn the Dragonfly to 80-90% on an iPhone it starts to add distortion.

I comfortably listen at 70-80% maybe I am deaf?

 

[Mund1]

I know this site is about headphones, having & achieving the best sound, quality, etc.  Curious about DAC use, proper use of it.
 
I do listen to headphones as stated before, nothing fancy or costly at this point, Audio Technica ATH-M50x, I also had a set of Westone 3's for a few years.  I like what I see with the Sennheiser HD 600, 650's and will eventually do a listen/purchase. 
 
 
However, are any of you using your DFR or DFB with a powered speaker as well?________  
 
Any Advantages / Disadvantages using with a powered speaker as I have set up here?_______
(Marshall Woburn speaker, Audioquest Golden Gate, DFR) 
http://www.marshallheadphones.com/mh_us_en/speakers/loudest/woburn-black
 

 

[Devodonaldson]

I know this site is about headphones, having & achieving the best sound, quality, etc.  Curious about DAC use, proper use of it.

I do listen to headphones as stated before, nothing fancy or costly at this point, Audio Technica ATH-M50x, I also had a set of Westone 3's for a few years.  I like what I see with the Sennheiser HD 600, 650's and will eventually do a listen/purchase. 


However, are any of you using your DFR or DFB with a powered speaker as well?________  

Any Advantages / Disadvantages using with a powered speaker as I have set up here?_______
(Marshall Woburn speaker, Audioquest Golden Gate, DFR) 
http://www.marshallheadphones.com/mh_us_en/speakers/loudest/woburn-black

The point of the DFR or any dac is to achieve the cleanest audio output possible. Doesn't matter what you connect it to, will be an upgrade in quality over the dac in your laptop or phone. You are taking the processing out of the hands of a device that is handling multiple tasks, and placing in the hands of a device, with much better components, which has the singular duty of converting the digital signal to analog

 

[Duncan]

Exactly.
I am not neccesarily listening louder but the Magni can get much louder with no distortion. I find when I turn the Dragonfly to 80-90% on an iPhone it starts to add distortion.

I comfortably listen at 70-80% maybe I am deaf?

agreed re distortion (found out the hard way that(I'm guessing) the S7E led view cover screws around with the volume control occasionally, so the more I tried to turn the volume down the more it went up (both up and down buttons act as up!)

Could be worse, my initial praise for the LG is starting to diminish. I still believe it sounds better than the DFR, but the volume control issue and also there's fact that it on occasion locks up my phone after connecting, not good!

 

[waynes world]

Hey man, welcome to the thread. Ok, I'm going to speak solely for your galaxy s5. Download the trial of usb audio player pro. Through that app connect to Tidal, set the hardware volume at about 70% and turn down the player volume. Start your FLAC music and gradually turn up the volume. Volume is completely different, and sound quality is majorly different. The reds digital volume control is not playing nice with Android drivers at the moment. In addition, the android drivers are negatively affecting the output to any DAC connected to an Android device. UAPP app, as well as Onkyo Hf player use their own drivers to bring the best out of your dac. For Tidal streaming, UAPP is the only way to go. Try that and report back with thoughts or any questions. It's worth the price once you get passed the trial. Happy listening

Excellent advice. Largely applies to the zuperdac as well.

 

[slackerpo]

   
Guys this worked perfectly for me and I'm finally able to use my streamed google music from my one plus one, to my matrix mini portable via a USB OTG.
 
So much win over youtube music as well.
 
My only ammendment to the above is after you make the system change on your android device, just reboot it and profit!

 
so would you say the "volume" issues with android are gone with that set up?

 

[estreeter]

Is there a greater improvement throwing the usb into the equation when you use low impedance iems or high impedance or will either type yield similar sonic benefits with a powered hub? (sorry- I don't have the engineering background that a lot of head-fi'ers around these parts possess

)

 
Ok Chris, at the risk of appearing to sit on the fence here I have to preface what I'm about to say with a warning re placebo. I dont think any of us are completely immune from its effects, and I far prefer to give gear impressions after several months vs several days of use for that reason. If the hub IS placebo, then its impact definitely lasts a lot longer than any other cheap gadget I've encountered and it seems to work with every USB DAC I've owned. I'm also not the only music lover who has good things to say about this very cheap - and versatile - addition to a laptop/tablet (check the Computer Audiophile forums).
 
As to which cans will benefit, I have such a modest 'collection' atm that I cant make any claims re IEMs (my Shure SE425s get very little use and I've never been a fan of the lack of soundstage inherent in the design) or high impedance fullsize cans (neither my Philips Cityscape nor Beats Solo2 on-ears are hard to drive). When I sold off my gear last year I swore I wasnt going to get back to the point where I had to spend hours comparing a dozen different combinations in total silence to find 'the best' anything, but I fear that I'm back at the point where I need a decent open headphone (think AD900X or Fidelio X2, not HD800) to make any worthwhile comparisons with the experience I get with my portable cans. Its not about 'audiophile cred' - its an acknowledgement that fun cans may not accurately reflect the strengths of something like the DFB, even if I still maintain that my on-ears are EXACTLY where the DFB is aimed. Getting the DAC away from its vulnerable default position - poking out the side of your device - is a major plus for mine, but YMMV. Dragontail+Jiitterbug+hub is a combination I'd be very keen to try, even with a DAC as modestly priced as the DFB - if anything, this is the end of the DAC spectrum which stands to gain the most from improvements to the USB output of our electrically noisy sources.
 
I'll finish with the most important part of my initial recommendation - even if the hub does absolutely nothing for you, you still have a device that cost you minimal $ and has other applications beyond listening to music. Given that many laptops and tablets come with one or two USB 3.0 ports at most, a USB 3.0 hub is particularly handy. If you elect to give it a shot, I'd be interested in your impressions, be they positive or negative - all I ask is that you try leaving your DAC plugged into the hub for 24 hours before commenting.
 
Cheers,
 
estreeter

 

[canali]

Estreeter...isn't this related to signal/line conditioning...something that you'd get from the jitterbug...or from IFi's nano or micro iusb 2.0 or newer 3.0?
 
and to your poin, my tube amp make (lloyd peppard of mapletree) did say something about a hub (even a cheaper one) having positive effects on signal.
wish I could find his email...i might write him even on this and report back later.
 
Quote:

   
Ok Chris, at the risk of appearing to sit on the fence here I have to preface what I'm about to say with a warning re placebo. I dont think any of us are completely immune from its effects, and I far prefer to give gear impressions after several months vs several days of use for that reason. If the hub IS placebo, then its impact definitely lasts a lot longer than any other cheap gadget I've encountered and it seems to work with every USB DAC I've owned. I'm also not the only music lover who has good things to say about this very cheap - and versatile - addition to a laptop/tablet (check the Computer Audiophile forums).
 
As to which cans will benefit, I have such a modest 'collection' atm that I cant make any claims re IEMs (my Shure SE425s get very little use and I've never been a fan of the lack of soundstage inherent in the design) or high impedance fullsize cans (neither my Philips Cityscape nor Beats Solo2 on-ears are hard to drive). When I sold off my gear last year I swore I wasnt going to get back to the point where I had to spend hours comparing a dozen different combinations in total silence to find 'the best' anything, but I fear that I'm back at the point where I need a decent open headphone (think AD900X or Fidelio X2, not HD800) to make any worthwhile comparisons with the experience I get with my portable cans. Its not about 'audiophile cred' - its an acknowledgement that fun cans may not accurately reflect the strengths of something like the DFB, even if I still maintain that my on-ears are EXACTLY where the DFB is aimed. Getting the DAC away from its vulnerable default position - poking out the side of your device - is a major plus for mine, but YMMV. Dragontail+Jiitterbug+hub is a combination I'd be very keen to try, even with a DAC as modestly priced as the DFB - if anything, this is the end of the DAC spectrum which stands to gain the most from improvements to the USB output of our electrically noisy sources.
 
I'll finish with the most important part of my initial recommendation - even if the hub does absolutely nothing for you, you still have a device that cost you minimal $ and has other applications beyond listening to music. Given that many laptops and tablets come with one or two USB 3.0 ports at most, a USB 3.0 hub is particularly handy. If you elect to give it a shot, I'd be interested in your impressions, be they positive or negative - all I ask is that you try leaving your DAC plugged into the hub for 24 hours before commenting.
 
Cheers,
 
estreeter

 

[estreeter]

While I'm hammering this keyboard, can I ask if anyone else here is using their DFB from Linux ?
 
Having spent more time with different players and video apps like VLC, I'm convnced that the linux sound architecture (presumably ALSA as I havent changed any of the settings) is more forgiving of the high gain on the DFB - I can slide the OS volume control without having to worry about inadvertently blasting my ears. It's not a 2x improvement - think '6' instead of '4' - but its definitely an improvement over Windows IME. I dont want to drag this thread into an operating system debate - just putting it out there for those who have access to non-Windows machines.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Linux_Sound_Architecture

 

[Mund1]

Excellent advice. Largely applies to the zuperdac as well.

Well taken.. this entire thread is educating. Learned/learning a lot.