[HiFlight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by souperman /img/forum/go_quote.gif BTW I'm wondering...which one has the punchier bass...the MOVE or the D1.

I find the Move has a bit more emphasis in the lower bass than does the D1. A bit more fullness, perhaps due to the choice of opamps, perhaps due to other circuit choices. I would not say that one is necessarily better than the other, but the choice might be which one is more appropriate to the headphone current in use. For example, I do think the Move sounds better with my AKG701, but the D1 is the better choice when using my Atrios or HD650.

 

[ghezbora]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiFlight /img/forum/go_quote.gif I find the Move has a bit more emphasis in the lower bass than does the D1. A bit more fullness, perhaps due to the choice of opamps, perhaps due to other circuit choices. I would not say that one is necessarily better than the other, but the choice might be which one is more appropriate to the headphone current in use. For example, I do think the Move sounds better with my AKG701, but the D1 is the better choice when using my Atrios or HD650.

Would the MOVE or the D1 be better suited for driving MS2i's?

 

[souperman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiFlight /img/forum/go_quote.gif I find the Move has a bit more emphasis in the lower bass than does the D1. A bit more fullness, perhaps due to the choice of opamps, perhaps due to other circuit choices. I would not say that one is necessarily better than the other, but the choice might be which one is more appropriate to the headphone current in use. For example, I do think the Move sounds better with my AKG701, but the D1 is the better choice when using my Atrios or HD650.

Do you think there is an opamp that can be rolled into the D1 to make it have more emphasis on the bass?

 

[jamato8]

I think that in general opamps offer subtle changes. For me I find that the bass of the D1 to be fine and very well integrated into the frequency with speed and accuracy and not overblown. For me if it had any more bass I would not like it. It balances on well defined bass but at first it was too strong for my taste, as noted in my earlier observations. It has now firmed up and sounds right to me be it classical or rock or reggae.

 

[antonyfirst]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiFlight /img/forum/go_quote.gif The new Reference has a better soundstage and sounds much more 3-dimensional than do any of my other amps. It is now the benchmark that I use as a standard of comparison. It is the only one of my amps that truly gives the feeling of a live performance. The soundfield does actually extend beyond the width of one's head. It gives somewhat the same feeling as using a good crossfeed, but does so without the need for mechanical additions. Spatial characteristics of the musical performance leave very little to be desired, regardless of the type of music. Truly a remarkable instrument.

Hi Ron,

Reading your impressions in the "26 amp reviewed" thread, I thought you didn't like the Reference as much as both your Supermacro and Supermicro. Do you have a newer reference which has made you change your mind?

 

[jamato8]

Ron has a new Reference. It is based on the same topology as mine. If these ever make out to everyone you will be blown away. It is like a very fine tube amp in a little aluminum case that you can carry in your pocket, just don't sit on it.

 

[rhymesgalore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dexdexter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I can now confirm that this is exactly the case. I finally tried using the optical input of the D1 with my Sony CD Walkman D-EJ2000 and the difference in gain between the optical and line-outputs is fairly substantial. While I don't have anything on-hand as difficult to drive as your K340s (although the 40 ohm PROlines are not exactly easy), perhaps you'll find that the difference by going through the DAC is ultimately enough to drive them properly.

Does this apply to the USB connection as well? I mean, is the gain also higher when using USB compared to Line-In, or is this limited to the optical in?

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiFlight /img/forum/go_quote.gif Although the analog output of the H120/140 sounds very good, the optical out sounds better when using a quality phone. With mediocre phones, there will probably be no detectable differences. I would put it this way: With the analog out, it is like looking thru a clean window. With the optical out, it is like looking thru the window with the glass removed. The differences are subtle, but the detail and texture of complex musical passages are more apparent when using the optical out. The benefits of the optical out can only be fully realized with recordings of high quality.

Great! So it sounds like the DAC in the D1 is well implemented. Thanks.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Ahhhh... I see, you was saying "stay on topic" is all. I was confused, as I thought you ment start a new thread to refer to as "all things D1 except what we thing about it."

or did you mean, lets have a thread about objective/factual stuff, and a thread about the subjective/what we think stuff?

Okay, I'm still confused, but it gets better after 12 noon. Oh, wait, it's after 1pm. My bad.

Anyway, my D1 shipped yesterday, so I will burn-in the D1 with my "new to me but used/burned-in" HFI7000DVD's and HD600's that are also on the way, and then compare it to my burned in Tomahawk. Is that on topic enough

(really, I am being silly, not mean)

 

[Dexdexter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhymesgalore /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does this apply to the USB connection as well? I mean, is the gain also higher when using USB compared to Line-In, or is this limited to the optical in?

Yes. Same DAC, same 1.5v output voltage, just a different input. The gain is identical for the optical and USB inputs (and theoretically, coaxial, though I haven't tried it yet).

 

[Krohn]

The more I read the impressions starting to come in, the more I wish I had a money tree in my backyard, even a little sapling!

I'm very glad to hear this is a quality product with so many useful bells and whistles at a totally reasonable price. So many times I see stupid things passed off as 'features' for items. This seems to cut through all that and get right down to business.

 

[rhymesgalore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dexdexter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes. Same DAC, same 1.5v output voltage, just a different input. The gain is identical for the optical and USB inputs (and theoretically, coaxial, though I haven't tried it yet).

Can you perhaps explain to me, why the gain is lower when using the amp without the DAC?

I mean a gain of 6 is still fine for most headphones, but i'm interested in the technical explanation for this....

 

[Dexdexter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhymesgalore /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can you perhaps explain to me, why the gain is lower when using the amp without the DAC? I mean a gain of 6 is still fine for most headphones, but i'm interested in the technical explanation for this....

The gain imparted by the amp section of the D1 is the same for both DAC inputs and analog line-in. The difference lies in the output voltage of the respective "sources", with the DAC being higher at 1.5v.

It's exactly the same difference I find between my Roksan Xerxes.20 turntable and my Ah! Njoe Tjoeb CD 4000 Reference when using my Hi-Fi system or my CanAmp. In order to achieve the same listening levels, I need to turn the volume up higher when listening to my TT because my CDP has an output voltage of 2.5v. The gain of the respective amplifiers remains constant.

 

[souperman]

Jamato where do you put your D1 in your amp rankings?

 

[rhymesgalore]

So this means the output power of the amp itself (when using the line-in) is below 1.5v no matter how great the output power of the source for the line-in is?

Because that's where the difference in your example comes from. If you connect a source with a higher output voltage it results in a higher output voltage of the amp itself.