[gearofwar]

  yup im serious, you grow to the sound not actively looking for new sound lol. if you do that you are a fool because its never gonna end . thats why onkyo is fun to have? if u are bored of 1 sound? switch between balance and unbalance for different sound lol tada!

I do switch to SE on occasion and I don't like it at all so I prefer to leave it alone.

 

[fumoffuXx]

  I do switch to SE on occasion and I don't like it at all so I prefer to leave it alone.

then im sorry to hear that, one size doesnt fit all.

 

[Zenifyx]

yup im serious, you grow to the sound not actively looking for new sound lol. if you do that you are a fool because its never gonna end . thats why onkyo is fun to have? if u are bored of 1 sound? switch between balance and unbalance for different sound lol tada!

Nah, that's what you have eq for!
Potentially over a million possible sound signatures!
I always find myself playing around with the eq when I'm bored =P

 

[fumoffuXx]

Nah, that's what you have eq for!
Potentially over a million possible sound signatures!
I always find myself playing around with the eq when I'm bored =P

only EQ i will ever play with is Everquest. hahaha

 

[davidmolliere]

  I do switch to SE on occasion and I don't like it at all so I prefer to leave it alone.

 
What the differences to your ears?
Which headphones/IEM?
 
I ask because first I thought the difference would be more drastic between SE and balanced but I must say differences are not as night and day as my PHA-3 was. I'd say the singled ended output is very good already, and I see 3 main areas where balanced brings some more goodness : soundstage (although not the biggest improvement as I would have expected), imaging and layering (that's where it truly shines balanced IMHO) and separation.
 
Also I think differences depend quite a bit on the headphones / IEM you pair the DP-X1 with.

 

[Jimmy6]

  I can't imagine the source in such a configuration would matter much as the source will simply be outputting a digital stream. So, unless the source has a significant amount of distortion in the digital it outputs, or significant errors, essentially all the sonic characteristics you will hear should be from the Hugo. I could be wrong as I am no expert, but I think you were correct in saying the digital signal being received by Hugo should be the same from either source.
 
As for Tidal, as I should have stated previously, Tidal will sound different on both players as they both use different hardware and software environments, so whatever general sonic differences exist between them will be reflected in the sound of Tidal. Tidal is the constant, the only variable that changes is the player so the sound will reflect those differences.

 
Thanks for that. Makes me rethink whether the purchase of the DP-X1 is necessary as a transport, as the SQ from my Iphone 6+ -> Hugo is pretty good already. My guess was that it would sound different, as software and hardware variables account for lots of things. Was hoping though, that since the DP-X1 uses a better DAC, that it would make Tidal/Spotify songs sound better?
 
I read this in some forum ages ago, but not sure if it stands true, but someone mentioned that for a usb digital connection, sources matter more, however, for coax and optical connections, differences are minimal if any. Don't know where I read that, but thought I'd throw that out to see if anyone knew. Could all just be reasons to be spending more $$

 

[REXNFX]

 

It does. I listen to Tidal more than anything else, either with the Onkyo solo or stacked with a Hugo or ALO CDM using an OTG that Konstantin at Lavricables made for me.

 


Can you please tell me how to out with TIDAL I cant seem to make it work with the MOJO, I can only use the MOJO with the Stock player and if I use UAPP.

Did you get it working?

 

[Jimmy6]

Yeah absolutely. It's getting to be a bit of a pain connecting my phone to the Hugo. It's only maybe 5-10 seconds, but that 5 or 10 seconds can sometimes make you rethink whether it's worth the hassle for a bit of listening time. I can imagine how much easier if I permanently have a source attached to the Hugo, so that all I need to do is switch on and PLAY
 
Though I do like having a all in one device. I can play some texas holdem poker on my iphone and change tracks at the same time, or browse the net and change songs without having to switch devices
 
 
 
Quote:

+1.
Tidal will sound different depending on the player you use, just like any other music medium will. I'm a slight contrarian on head-fi in that i'm axtually quite a fan of the iPhone by itself, with Tidal and some top of the line IEMs. You could enjoy that combo for a long time. The iP (6) has a nice punchy, reasonably bright and crisp sound. The DP-X1 is smoother and richer - more like the old AK120. And when you go balanced on the Onkyo (and I'm sure any other player), the difference starts to seem more night and day.

The pairing with the Hugo (in my case) or Mojo is one of those can-of-worms subjects. I'm pretty sure that music (including Tidal) sounds slightly different with my iPhone + Hugo (or ALO CDM) than with Onkyo + Hugo. This should technically not be the case, so I'm quite prepared to put it down to placebo effect (for context, I'm don't believe in burn in except for valves but I do hear massive differences with different IEM cables).

Either way, the iPhone (or Onkyo) + Hugo (or CDM) sounds better than just the iPhone or the Onkyo (or any other standalone DAP that I've tried). But the nice thing about upgrading from iPhone to a standalone player is that you have the option to have great sound in one box (e.g. lovely balanced output) or use it as a source with a DAC/'amp' like the Mojo/Hugo/CDM - so it's win-win. And your phone gets freed up to just be a communication tool (it's very annoying connecting and dos connecting from a stack all the time, for example), and the battery lasts a lot longer.

 

[FidelityCastro]

Thanks for that. Makes me rethink whether the purchase of the DP-X1 is necessary as a transport, as the SQ from my Iphone 6+ -> Hugo is pretty good already. My guess was that it would sound different, as software and hardware variables account for lots of things. Was hoping though, that since the DP-X1 uses a better DAC, that it would make Tidal/Spotify songs sound better?

I read this in some forum ages ago, but not sure if it stands true, but someone mentioned that for a usb digital connection, sources matter more, however, for coax and optical connections, differences are minimal if any. Don't know where I read that, but thought I'd throw that out to see if anyone knew. Could all just be reasons to be spending more $$
[/quote]

In theory it shouldn't matter, as the Hugo takes on DAC duties. But yes, I do think I detect a small difference, although that may be due to the connection cables used (I.e. Apple CCK + USB-micro USB with iPhone, versus micro USB - OTG with the Onkyo).
With the IPhone + Hugo, when I changed from CCK + micro USB to a dedicated single interconnect replacement (from Lavricables), I had a definite improvement in SQ. I have always attributed this to the fact that the Apple CCK is not an audiophile product, so even if you use a good micro USB - USB to connect the CCK to the Hugo, the overall effect is still only as good as the CCK.

The Onkyo uses a different, single-cable solution to connect to the Hugo, and it's a cable that is designed to carry music data. So the SQ (or at least the sound signature) is going to be different to the CCK > USB solution that an iPhone needs to transmit the digital information.

 

[Jimmy6]

For anyone who's got the knowledge about balanced cables.
 
Is this an expensive journey to trek?
 
I've got a few CIEMs with the standard 2 pin connection.
 
To play with balanced, all I need is to buy a 2 pin connection cable with a balanced terminal? Are there any sort of adaptors you can purchase to change the balanced cable into single ended? thus making more use out of the one cable, and less fuss with swapping connectors?
 
Cheers
James

 

[fumoffuXx]

For anyone who's got the knowledge about balanced cables.

Is this an expensive journey to trek?

I've got a few CIEMs with the standard 2 pin connection.

To play with balanced, all I need is to buy a 2 pin connection cable with a balanced terminal? Are there any sort of adaptors you can purchase to change the balanced cable into single ended? thus making more use out of the one cable, and less fuss with swapping connectors?

Cheers
James

minimum 4 isolated cables never shorting each other terminated to a 4 pole jack 2.5mm 3.5mm 4pin xlr or kobicon plug.not expensive to diy but pple exploits this to charge uber high prices

 

[Jimmy6]

Thanks for the explanation. That makes a lot of sense to me
 
Would you be able to pass me a link to the lavricables? Worth giving it a try.
 
Cheers!
 
Quote:

Thanks for that. Makes me rethink whether the purchase of the DP-X1 is necessary as a transport, as the SQ from my Iphone 6+ -> Hugo is pretty good already. My guess was that it would sound different, as software and hardware variables account for lots of things. Was hoping though, that since the DP-X1 uses a better DAC, that it would make Tidal/Spotify songs sound better?

I read this in some forum ages ago, but not sure if it stands true, but someone mentioned that for a usb digital connection, sources matter more, however, for coax and optical connections, differences are minimal if any. Don't know where I read that, but thought I'd throw that out to see if anyone knew. Could all just be reasons to be spending more $$

In theory it shouldn't matter, as the Hugo takes on DAC duties. But yes, I do think I detect a small difference, although that may be due to the connection cables used (I.e. Apple CCK + USB-micro USB with iPhone, versus micro USB - OTG with the Onkyo).
With the IPhone + Hugo, when I changed from CCK + micro USB to a dedicated single interconnect replacement (from Lavricables), I had a definite improvement in SQ. I have always attributed this to the fact that the Apple CCK is not an audiophile product, so even if you use a good micro USB - USB to connect the CCK to the Hugo, the overall effect is still only as good as the CCK.

The Onkyo uses a different, single-cable solution to connect to the Hugo, and it's a cable that is designed to carry music data. So the SQ (or at least the sound signature) is going to be different to the CCK > USB solution that an iPhone needs to transmit the digital information.[/quote]

 

[Jimmy6]

Not meaning to sound rude or anything, but that sounds like 4 unit mathematics to me
 
So basically it's a DIY job which includes an ugly thick bunch of cables with two end terminals? Thanks but no thanks!!
 
Quote:

minimum 4 isolated cables never shorting each other terminated to a 4 pole jack 2.5mm 3.5mm 4pin xlr or kobicon plug.not expensive to diy but pple exploits this to charge uber high prices

 

[REXNFX]

 

I haven't tried with external DAC but TIDAL sounds way better on my Android phone with UAPP than my iPhone 5 so gonna stick with Android for my dedicated transport. 

 

[Zenifyx]

For anyone who's got the knowledge about balanced cables.

Is this an expensive journey to trek?

I've got a few CIEMs with the standard 2 pin connection.

To play with balanced, all I need is to buy a 2 pin connection cable with a balanced terminal? Are there any sort of adaptors you can purchase to change the balanced cable into single ended? thus making more use out of the one cable, and less fuss with swapping connectors?

Cheers
James

You just need to purchase a cable with the appropriate connector and wiring.
You can also get an adapter (with balanced connector for the female, and 3.5mm male connector) to essentially use the same cable for single ended connection.
The opposite is not possible tho.

The cost of such a journey entirely depends on you.
On one hand, you have relatively affordable cables which range from $100-200, and on the other you have cables that may cost upwards of $700.