[skingg]

   
You sure you want to use a portable with the HD650? For the sameless coin, you can get a desktop set like the Schiit Modi + Vali, or Modi + Asgard 2, and the handsome combo should deliver great sound.

As I'll be travelling to Japan, I'll have to make do with whatever brands they have in the store which I always checked with here:
 
http://bit.ly/1rvTixO (Yodobashi official site headphone amps section)
 
I tried searching for what you suggested but it seems they are not available at Yodobashi.

 

[tomscy2000]

  As I'll be travelling to Japan, I'll have to make do with whatever brands they have in the store which I always checked with here:
 
http://bit.ly/1rvTixO (Yodobashi official site headphone amps section)
 
I tried searching for what you suggested but it seems they are not available at Yodobashi.

 
Ah, I see. Where in Japan? You might be able to take a trip to Fujiya-AVIC or e-earphone, which would be better choices to go to for audio than Yodobashi (not that it's bad; I've been to the Osaka Umeda Yodobashi before, and it was quite enjoyable).
 
Schiit is a US brand, sold mainly in the US. That's why you can't find it at Yodobashi.
 
If you're gonna be in Japan, though, you might as well pick up something uniquely Japanese. I guess the Onkyo would be cool, or the new Denon DA10, etc.

 

[skingg]

   
Ah, I see. Where in Japan? You might be able to take a trip to Fujiya-AVIC or e-earphone, which would be better choices to go to for audio than Yodobashi (not that it's bad; I've been to the Osaka Umeda Yodobashi before, and it was quite enjoyable).
 
Schiit is a US brand, sold mainly in the US. That's why you can't find it at Yodobashi.
 
If you're gonna be in Japan, though, you might as well pick up something uniquely Japanese. I guess the Onkyo would be cool, or the new Denon DA10, etc.

The Yodobashi I went to the last time were strictly Tokyo ones in Shinjuku and Akihabara. This time I'll be going back to Osaka and yeah, Umeda Yodobashi and Namba Bic-Camera it is. Here's hoping I can meet an attendant who can speak some English.
 
And thanks for the tips, it seems there is an e-earphone outlet down at Dendentown. Gotta mark it on my map! 

 

[tomscy2000]

Took some glamour shots of the DAC-HA200 on Friday.
 

 

[skingg]

I suppose it's likely to be between this and the Teac. Gonna see if the amp change would justify the extra $50 cost.

 

[tomscy2000]

  I suppose it's likely to be between this and the Teac. Gonna see if the amp change would justify the extra $50 cost.

 
Yeah, that'd be helpful --- I think a lot of people would be curious about a direct comparison.

 

[Necrophantasia]

I live in Japan, so over the weekend I had a chance to try both amps at e-earphone and Yodobashi.
 
I used my Sony Xperia Z1 (SOL23) as source for the USB DAC for both the TEAC and the Onkyo.
 
For some reason, I could use a standard USB cable to hook my phone up to the Onkyo amp and it took over volume controls immediately, but I could not get the TEAC amp in e-earphone to hook up my phone no matter how many times i tried. However, when I went over to Yodobashi Camera in search of an HA-P50-B to try, I found another HA-P50 on display. When I used the same USB cable on this TEAC, the amp hooked up right away! So I'm thoroughly confused.
 
Having not read anything previously, I was very curious about the difference between the two. I'm not the most intense audiophile but I was actually pretty disappointed by Onkyo DAC-HA500. Maybe the pairing is bad with my headphones, but it really feels like the bass was pumped up and a filter was applied over the treble to make it a lot less detailed and a lot more muffled. It's very very similar to the TEAC, but the TEAC was a lot less muffled and the bass felt a little bit stronger in contrast.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed. I actually thought the line out from Xperia Z1 + FIIO E11 amp sounded better than this amp in most cases.

However, take this with a grain of salt. I actually like the sound from the ADL X1/ADL A1 a lot (which got panned on page 1), so maybe my personal tastes just don't match with this kind of amp.

 

[skingg]

  I live in Japan, so over the weekend I had a chance to try both amps at e-earphone and Yodobashi.
 
I used my Sony Xperia Z1 (SOL23) as source for the USB DAC for both the TEAC and the Onkyo.
 
For some reason, I could use a standard USB cable to hook my phone up to the Onkyo amp and it took over volume controls immediately, but I could not get the TEAC amp in e-earphone to hook up my phone no matter how many times i tried. However, when I went over to Yodobashi Camera in search of an HA-P50-B to try, I found another HA-P50 on display. When I used the same USB cable on this TEAC, the amp hooked up right away! So I'm thoroughly confused.
 
Having not read anything previously, I was very curious about the difference between the two. I'm not the most intense audiophile but I was actually pretty disappointed by Onkyo DA-500. Maybe the pairing is bad with my headphones, but it really feels like the bass was pumped up and a filter was applied over the treble to make it a lot less detailed and a lot more muffled. It's very very similar to the TEAC, but the TEAC was a lot less muffled and the bass felt a little bit stronger in contrast.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed. I actually thought the line out from Xperia Z1 + FIIO E11 amp sounded better than this amp in most cases.

However, take this with a grain of salt. I actually like the sound from the ADL X1/ADL A1 a lot (which got panned on page 1), so maybe my personal tastes just don't match with this kind of amp.

 
What headphones were you using? 

 

[Necrophantasia]

I used the Noble Audio Noble 4 to test the amp.

 

[tomscy2000]

  I used the Noble Audio Noble 4 to test the amp.

 
Interesting. I have the Noble 4C, though I haven't tried it with the Onkyo or Teac. At least for the UERM, I don't think neither the Onkyo nor Teac has a muffled sound signature. The impedance curve of the Noble 4/4C is known, and it's actually less susceptible to FR changes due to output impedance of the source amplifier. Yes, however, both the Onkyo and the Teac are definitely warmer devices than the ADL X1 (was I the one that "panned" the X1? Because I don't like it, and I might've mentioned something about the Onkyo and Teac being better units). I can understand if you come from an ADL sound signature, or something similar like the ODAC, that the sound might be too "relaxed" sounding, but I feel the Teac definitely has adequate detail levels, to go with a warmer signature and a smoother treble response. Again, I only listened to the Onkyo long enough to think that it sounded somewhat similar to the Teac, because I knew I couldn't do a real comparison between the two, so I wouldn't be able to remark whether the two have distinct differences. I don't recall exactly, but one of the Japanese bloggers might've mentioned that the Onkyo sounds warmer than the Teac somewhere. Personally, I couldn't really make a declaration either way.

 

[Necrophantasia]

   
Interesting. I have the Noble 4C, though I haven't tried it with the Onkyo or Teac. At least for the UERM, I don't think neither the Onkyo nor Teac has a muffled sound signature. The impedance curve of the Noble 4/4C is known, and it's actually less susceptible to FR changes due to output impedance of the source amplifier. Yes, however, both the Onkyo and the Teac are definitely warmer devices than the ADL X1 (was I the one that "panned" the X1? Because I don't like it, and I might've mentioned something about the Onkyo and Teac being better units). I can understand if you come from an ADL sound signature, or something similar like the ODAC, that the sound might be too "relaxed" sounding, but I feel the Teac definitely has adequate detail levels, to go with a warmer signature and a smoother treble response. Again, I only listened to the Onkyo long enough to think that it sounded somewhat similar to the Teac, because I knew I couldn't do a real comparison between the two, so I wouldn't be able to remark whether the two have distinct differences. I don't recall exactly, but one of the Japanese bloggers might've mentioned that the Onkyo sounds warmer than the Teac somewhere. Personally, I couldn't really make a declaration either way.

 
I am not a very well-versed audiophile so maybe my opinions are just completely wrong, but this is what I think after listening to the amps.
 
I very much prefer the tighter clearer sound of the ADL A1/X1 and similar amps because I feel they really make the Noble 4 treble sing and the details in vocals is pretty awesome. When I pair the Noble 4 with either the Teac or the Onkyo, the much more "relaxed" sound of the amps, imho, destroys the best part of the Noble 4 and makes the treble sound pretty mushy. It was almost to the point where I felt the cheapo Fiio E11 paired with the Noble 4 sounded better. I was so prepared to make the purchase the amp that day, but after testing, I changed my mind.
 
When I listened to the amps, I had no clue what was different, other than the price tag, but this is what I noticed.
 
Both amps are 90% similar, and only subtly different. The Japanese bloggers are right in that the Onkyo is definitely more "relaxed" as you call it with the low end much stronger. The warm treble (which I really don't like) is slightly, but noticeably, warmer on the Onkyo than the Teac.
 
If I had to compare the two, I think the Teac is definitely the better of the two.

 

[tomscy2000]

 
I am not a very well-versed audiophile so maybe my opinions are just completely wrong, but this is what I think after listening to the amps.
 
I very much prefer the tighter clearer sound of the ADL A1/X1 and similar amps because I feel they really make the Noble 4 treble sing and the details in vocals is pretty awesome. When I pair the Noble 4 with either the Teac or the Onkyo, the much more "relaxed" sound of the amps, imho, destroys the best part of the Noble 4 and makes the treble sound pretty mushy. It was almost to the point where I felt the cheapo Fiio E11 paired with the Noble 4 sounded better. I was so prepared to make the purchase the amp that day, but after testing, I changed my mind.
 
When I listened to the amps, I had no clue what was different, other than the price tag, but this is what I noticed.
 
Both amps are 90% similar, and only subtly different. The Japanese bloggers are right in that the Onkyo is definitely more "relaxed" as you call it with the low end much stronger. The warm treble (which I really don't like) is slightly, but noticeably, warmer on the Onkyo than the Teac.
 
If I had to compare the two, I think the Teac is definitely the better of the two.

 
Oh no, there's no "wrong" or "right" here --- if you like the ADL sound, then you like it. No one should or could hold that against you just because of differing opinion. 

 
My preference for the Teac/Onkyo is as follows: (1) basal hiss is non-existent, whereas I can definitely hear it on the ADL, and (2) the warmer, smoother sound is more conducive for long-period listening, as I use both the Noble 4C and the UERM, both of which are revealing CIEMs that are neutral-tilted, whilst simultaneously the TEAC had enough detail and transparency in the midrange for me to be satisfied.
 
You might like the CEntrance Mini-M8, though that's a far more expensive unit.

 

[volcanicvoltage]

This post it true on DC Charging port and charger options.
 
I bought Onkyo DAC Amp HA200 last week and am quiet happy with it so far. 
Something that really bothered me was a need to buy additional charger to charge it (as I wanted a dedicated charger and did not want to use the USB cable on a USB phone charger or I wanted to use TASCAM PS-P515U (http://amzn.to/1i8QFia) as recommended by the TEAC for its  HA-P50). After searching for quiet some time, I decided to find what kind of DC barrel is the received USB to DC cable has. A visit to RadioShack gave the answer to be EIAJ-2 DC Jack. Viola!!!! PSP AC Charger (http://amzn.to/1rn3Of4) has the same EIAJ-2 DC Jack with the same 5V, but with 2A.
 
The only issue i found was that the instruction manual says "Maximum current when charging is 1 A." It also says, "The voltage supplied to the unit should match the voltage printed on the rear panel." (TASCAM PS-P515U is 1.5A) But i think it is only going to fasten the charging time. 
 
So far, I am really happy with my decision and really enjoying it. 

 

[audionewbi]

Darn I want to test the HA-200, why does Australia have to be years behind the rest of the developed world?

 

[bulabulabanana]

I also live in Japan and have tried both of these amps side by side at Yodobashi Camera in Umeda. I used my TF10's that have been re-cabled with Audio Tracs ue10 pro2 cables. I found that the TEAC had better timing and pace than the Onkyo, while the Onkyo had deeper more accurate bass. I liked both of them, and had no problems connecting my iPhone 5 to either of them. I also tried the Sony PHA-1 and PHA-2. All of these amps sounded very nice. I felt the TEAC, Onkyo and PHA-2 had slightly similar sound signatures and a real high quality to their sound. I'm going back to test them again, but I have a feeling I'll pick up the Onkyo. The lush accurate bass was quite addictive. In a perfect world I would like to have the rythym and timing of the TEAC with the bass of the Onkyo.