Right, sorry, was looking at images of its back comparing to what I have and thought there might be a chance.
New Questyle CMA400i
- Thread starter Bacon Bits
- Start date
-
- Tags
- questyle
No worries. I think they omitted this feature to keep costs down and because it would further cannibalize CMA600i sales—that unit does have analog inputs.
esauseesaw
Member of the Trade: SCV Distribution
See reply in Clear thread...
That is a really good price if you don't need the 'newer' features.
Hi,
Just wanted to give a short heads-up using the CMA400i as a dac/preamp.
So...after testing for a couple of days the Questyle CMA400i as a preamp/dac with the tube amp Darkvoice 336se (with Tung-Sol tubes), I am more than happy about this combo.
First, I did not really notice such a huge difference from using the CMA400i straight as an amp...but after a few days, the tubes sort of "revealed" themselves.
Actually, this combo does not sound very "tubey". My feeling is that it quite improves the dynamic and even the slam, with just a tad more "reverb". Maybe it colors the sound a bit.
And this is really not what I expected.
I got the Darkvoice initially for a HD6xx that I should receive shortly, but then I wanted to try it in combination with the questyle as a preamp and with my lcd2c...
I know people usually say planar do not get along well with OTL tube amps, but this combo in particular really sounds fantastic to me.
Will continue the tests further in the coming days.
Just wanted to give a short heads-up using the CMA400i as a dac/preamp.
So...after testing for a couple of days the Questyle CMA400i as a preamp/dac with the tube amp Darkvoice 336se (with Tung-Sol tubes), I am more than happy about this combo.
First, I did not really notice such a huge difference from using the CMA400i straight as an amp...but after a few days, the tubes sort of "revealed" themselves.
Actually, this combo does not sound very "tubey". My feeling is that it quite improves the dynamic and even the slam, with just a tad more "reverb". Maybe it colors the sound a bit.
And this is really not what I expected.
I got the Darkvoice initially for a HD6xx that I should receive shortly, but then I wanted to try it in combination with the questyle as a preamp and with my lcd2c...
I know people usually say planar do not get along well with OTL tube amps, but this combo in particular really sounds fantastic to me.
Will continue the tests further in the coming days.
SomeGuyDude
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2012
- Posts
- 7,595
- Likes
- 3,423
And if anyone wants a near-perfect condition 400i at a discount, I got one for sale...
ninetylol
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2017
- Posts
- 206
- Likes
- 71
Keeping One for your self i hope!
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2014
- Posts
- 2,122
- Likes
- 1,413
Correct.
The creator of "Current Mode Amplification" used in the 800i bought an HD800 close to when it came out. He thought the amps at the time sounded like crap (for more or less words). So he built his own amp to drive the HD800 and the CMA800 is the birth child of all of that. I was trying to find the page on Questyle's website where I read all this information but I can't find where it is.
The CMA800i, CMA600i and also CMA400i all share the ability to take the edge off the HD800 just enough to let it still retain its detail, but also cut out the sharpness that irritates some people.
How does this compare to the Schiit Jotunheim amp only?
Ok, I need some opinions. In my opinion the single-ended sound is not good. Is this one of those devices meant to be used balanced and there is a dramatic difference between single-ended and balanced? Just tried an RCA interconnection with the Jotunheim and single-ended at least the Jotunheim is more or less crushing the 400i amplifier. I'm using an easy to drive LCD-X so it shouldn't be about the power difference. I'm also inclined to believe the Modi Multibit might be a better DAC single-ended too but this would require more critical listening and I'm in the process of replacing the Mimby with a Bimby. Using the Jotunheim is a big improvement though.
Last edited:
ninetylol
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2017
- Posts
- 206
- Likes
- 71
first time i hear that
I just tested using the Jotunheim amp with the 400i DAC and appended an edit to the post. To my ears a Mimby + Jotunheim combo crushes the 400i single-ended. More energetic and seemingly clearer sound with little seeming to go in the 400i's favor. I'm wondering whether this could be attributed to the 400i being intended to be used balanced and providing a dramatic improvement between the two outputs.
Last edited:
Pings
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2015
- Posts
- 92
- Likes
- 43
Really? You sure about that. The Jotunheim couldn't even spot the CMA400i if it wanted to. Single or balanced the CMA400i is better in every way and it's noticeable. My wife ended up with a Jotunheim after buying and selling some things and the Jotunheim is nowhere on the same level as the CMA400i is.
alphanumerix1
1000+ Head-Fier
Lol. Care to elaborate on how the se sounds "not good"
If you dont like single ended you won't like balanced the difference between is not major.
Last edited:
Like I said, the Jot (+ Mimby) is more energetic across the spectrum and even sounds clearer or cleaner. If the 400i does anything better it sounds marginal. It's a rather major difference.
I've sent the Mimby back to upgrade to a Bimby with USB gen5 as I've run into background noise so now I'm using the 400i as a DAC and the Jot as the amp, RCA interconnection. I wasn't enjoying my headphones and music with the 400i alone. The Jot made a significant positive difference, although I think it's better with the Mimby. The 400i sounds "laid-back", lifeless is too strong a word but disappointing, and even lacks any sense of refinement. For a time I wondered if the relatively low quality of the source is an issue (youtube and my iTunes library which includes iTunes purchases as well as music imported from CDs) but I find it hard to believe that things will flip as the source becomes better. It doesn't make sense to me that the 400i would be exposing something when the sound signature appears to be the biggest difference and I find it hard to believe to a large extent I'm hearing more fine artifacts or imperfections with the 400i that are being masked by the Mimby and Jot. Some of you might look down upon these sources but they really don't sound bad and the 400i does not strike me as the extremely resolving and articulate device some more expensive DACs and amps may be.
Furthermore, how similar is the CMA400i to the 600i? I've been auditioning headphones at a store with the 600i and Tidal and was not too impressed with that device either, although the Tidal tablet was connecting wirelessly to some $500 device that must've been feeding the 600i. I was told that the 600i was acting as both DAC and amp though. I was hoping that at a home environment the 400i will come through and hopefully beat a Schiit stack at a similar price but was sorely disappointed. Perhaps Schiit are correct in hyping up multibit DACs as opposed to the more standard DAC within the 400i? I presume you had an internal module with the Jot, Pings, which one? Ever tried an external Schiit multibit DAC with the Jot or have you been using it as a DAC + amp only? Even so, the Jot sounds better head to head against the 400i amplifier to me, single-ended at least.
I've sent the Mimby back to upgrade to a Bimby with USB gen5 as I've run into background noise so now I'm using the 400i as a DAC and the Jot as the amp, RCA interconnection. I wasn't enjoying my headphones and music with the 400i alone. The Jot made a significant positive difference, although I think it's better with the Mimby. The 400i sounds "laid-back", lifeless is too strong a word but disappointing, and even lacks any sense of refinement. For a time I wondered if the relatively low quality of the source is an issue (youtube and my iTunes library which includes iTunes purchases as well as music imported from CDs) but I find it hard to believe that things will flip as the source becomes better. It doesn't make sense to me that the 400i would be exposing something when the sound signature appears to be the biggest difference and I find it hard to believe to a large extent I'm hearing more fine artifacts or imperfections with the 400i that are being masked by the Mimby and Jot. Some of you might look down upon these sources but they really don't sound bad and the 400i does not strike me as the extremely resolving and articulate device some more expensive DACs and amps may be.
Furthermore, how similar is the CMA400i to the 600i? I've been auditioning headphones at a store with the 600i and Tidal and was not too impressed with that device either, although the Tidal tablet was connecting wirelessly to some $500 device that must've been feeding the 600i. I was told that the 600i was acting as both DAC and amp though. I was hoping that at a home environment the 400i will come through and hopefully beat a Schiit stack at a similar price but was sorely disappointed. Perhaps Schiit are correct in hyping up multibit DACs as opposed to the more standard DAC within the 400i? I presume you had an internal module with the Jot, Pings, which one? Ever tried an external Schiit multibit DAC with the Jot or have you been using it as a DAC + amp only? Even so, the Jot sounds better head to head against the 400i amplifier to me, single-ended at least.
It probably won't make much difference because it sounds like you prefer the Jot's signature over the CMA400i, but you could try using coax or optical to the CMA400i instead of USB. I've found the USB to be noisy from my PC. Using an Eitr removes the noise entirely.
Users who are viewing this thread
