[matthewh133]

OK there's no way in hell that can be considered "portable"

 

 

[miceblue]

My desktop rig is more portable than that. T_T

 

[gikigill]

That stopped being portable a long time ago.
Why would you need a preamp when you have a DAC?

 

[matthewh133]

My desktop rig is more portable than that. T_T

Agreed, I really don't see the point in that rig at all.. so much redundancy.
 

That stopped being portable a long time ago.
Why would you need a preamp when you have a DAC?

 
One of those cases of people getting far too carried away..

 

[gikigill]

If I can't hold it comfortably in one hand, it's not portable. A Fiio X3 with an iBasso PB2 is the maximum for me.

 

[SkyBleu]

That stopped being portable a long time ago.
Why would you need a preamp when you have a DAC?

because $$$. 

 

[gikigill]

  because $$$. 

Because double amping/DACing = fail.

 

[lee730]

  because $$$. 

 
Do I detect a hint of jealousy? ....

 

[SkyBleu]

   
Do I detect a hint of jealousy? ....

Oh plz, Lee.
 
If I wanted some amps, I could grab a few, and still have some cash left over to fly to Hawaii and relax by your beaches. 

 

 
Because double amping/DACing = fail.

Sadly, double amping was never proven to be a failure

 

[lee730]

  Oh plz, Lee.
 
If I wanted some amps, I could grab a few, and still have some cash left over to fly to Hawaii and relax by your beaches. 

 
Sadly, double amping was never proven to be a failure

 
lol.  
 
 

 

[miceblue]

Because double amping/DACing = fail.

Sadly, double amping was never proven to be a failure

I don't understand double amping. I had a conversation via PM about double amping the Clip Zip with the JDS Labs C5.

All righty. Thanks for letting me know about this combo. I purchased a 64 GB microSDXC card on Black Friday and I just loaded it up with some music for this test.

Sansa Clip Zip -> V-MODA Crossfade M-100
or
Sansa Clip Zip (0 dBFS) -> 3.5 mm - 3.5 mm interconnect (FiiO L2) -> JDS Labs C5 -> V-MODA Crossfade M-100

I always thought the Clip Zip sounded a bit harsh and bright to my ears, and when using it with the C5, that harshness was removed for the most part. Using the C5, not only did the upper-midrange and lower-treble become less harsh and more smooth, but the soundstage also increased a bit both in depth and width. Additionally, partly because the soundstage was increased, the imaging seemed more accurate to me as well. So overall, the C5 definitely seems to make a good increase in sound quality despite being double amped.



As for my test tracks, I used some music that I would listen to at home (more natural-sounding songs) and songs that I would listen to on-the-go (mostly synthetic/artificial/electronic songs).

I used some tracks from Linn Record's 24-bits of Christmas:
http://www.linn.co.uk/christmas

as well as some ripped CDs such as Lindsey Stirling's album, and digital downloads such as Two Steps from Hell's Invincible album from iTunes and Yosi Horikawa's music from BandCamp:
http://yosihorikawa.bandcamp.com/

So double amping actually helped in that case...but why and how? o.0


[rule]
Just to re-confirm, this does work with the Clip Zip, but it has to be re-formatted to FAT32.

 

[SkyBleu]

   
lol.  
 
 

lol.
 
 

 

[SkyBleu]

I don't understand double amping. I had a conversation via PM about double amping the Clip Zip with the JDS Labs C5.
So double amping actually helped in that case...but why and how? o.0

Me neither, to be honest, haha.
 
Well, there's no proof that double-amping shouldn't be giving us an improvement over not double-amping. Our trusty reviewer, ClieOS said it himself that double-amping isn't bad, but rather beneficial (Lost the quote somewhere). 
 
Time for you to head over the Sound Science threads to find out for us, why

 

[gikigill]

Double amping leads to a lowering of the SNR. Double DACing colours the sound
 
Not audible but not desirable either especially if you use high quality amps and interconnects.
 
Ruins the whole chain since its a high noise high current to a high noise high transfer instead of the low noise, low current of a line-out to a high noise high current.

 

[SkyBleu]

  Double amping leads to a lowering of the SNR. Double DACing colours the sound
 
Not audible but not desirable either especially if you use high quality amps and interconnects.
 
Ruins the whole chain since its a high noise high current to a high noise high transfer instead of the low noise, low current of a line-out to a high noise high current.

Ah, I see what you're getting at. We're getting too specific here, and you've got me lost