Pioneer XDP-300R | Twin DAC ES9018K2M | Balanced Out | Android | MQA | 2x MicroSD | WiFi | AptX
Jan 23, 2018 at 11:39 AM Post #1,321 of 2,532
Can someone solve a little mystery for me?

I was looking at the different versions of Thriller on HDTracks.

There's the DSD version (which I understand is more or less a SACD master, so very hi-resolution).

176/24 FLAC which of course is also very good.

I assume the DSD version is the better choice but I'm puzzled why the FLAC version is £9 more....

Maybe DSD is less supported and that's why it's cheaper?
Haha, get the DSD then. Or, if you want to wait for a couple days, they sometime give you 20% discount if you buy 2 or more albums. You can save more that way. You just gotta wait.
 
Jan 23, 2018 at 11:47 AM Post #1,322 of 2,532
Haha, get the DSD then. Or, if you want to wait for a couple days, they sometime give you 20% discount if you buy 2 or more albums. You can save more that way. You just gotta wait.

Haha, thanks for confirming. Odd question I know but usually what you would expect to be "better" is the less expensive version in this case.
 
Jan 23, 2018 at 12:05 PM Post #1,324 of 2,532
That's
Haha, thanks for confirming. Odd question I know but usually what you would expect to be "better" is the less expensive version in this case.
See, that's the "thriller"
 
Jan 23, 2018 at 4:26 PM Post #1,325 of 2,532
41xjv7cqxqL.jpg
Guys, can someone answer the following question for me?
I have the XDP-300R for little more than a month now and it's a brilliant device. My primariy headphones are Bose Quietcomfort 25 and they do a nice job. Especially in vocal heavy jazz or folk songs.
Still I do wonder if I use an adapter like the image above, will the balanced sound be noticeably better? Or will they remain unbalanced anyway?
 
Jan 23, 2018 at 5:57 PM Post #1,326 of 2,532
41xjv7cqxqL.jpg
Guys, can someone answer the following question for me?
I have the XDP-300R for little more than a month now and it's a brilliant device. My primariy headphones are Bose Quietcomfort 25 and they do a nice job. Especially in vocal heavy jazz or folk songs.
Still I do wonder if I use an adapter like the image above, will the balanced sound be noticeably better? Or will they remain unbalanced anyway?
You can not go single ended to balanced. You run the risk of damaging the headphones and DAP
 
Jan 25, 2018 at 2:03 PM Post #1,327 of 2,532
Just found my old UE tf-10’s and fell in love with them all over again! Pioneer xdp-300, making all my old and new music sound brilliant again. It doesn’t matter what format MQA, Flac, even 320 mp3, they all sound great!
 
Jan 25, 2018 at 2:10 PM Post #1,328 of 2,532
Just found my old UE tf-10’s and fell in love with them all over again! Pioneer xdp-300, making all my old and new music sound brilliant again. It doesn’t matter what format MQA, Flac, even 320 mp3, they all sound great!

Yeah I have a pair of those too. They really are superb. The only thing that used to annoy me was the breakages on the original cables. I think I got through three sets in two years. Something always became disconnected inside the plug, even when I was super gentle.

I found the 2.5mm balanced cable on the UE website (which looks compatible) and debating about getting it but at $50 (plus a healthy amount of postage) I'm leaning towards a set of Brainwavz B400 instead.
 
Jan 25, 2018 at 2:17 PM Post #1,329 of 2,532
Yeah I have a pair of those too. They really are superb. The only thing that used to annoy me was the breakages on the original cables. I think I got through three sets in two years. Something always became disconnected inside the plug, even when I was super gentle.

I found the 2.5mm balanced cable on the UE website (which looks compatible) and debating about getting it but at $50 (plus a healthy amount of postage) I'm leaning towards a set of Brainwavz B400 instead.

Funny, I never really had a problem with the cable after I fitted a Fiio replacement one. I did think about getting them re-shelled though, but didn’t get around to it.
 
Jan 25, 2018 at 2:22 PM Post #1,330 of 2,532
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Jan 25, 2018 at 4:04 PM Post #1,331 of 2,532
Jan 25, 2018 at 6:26 PM Post #1,332 of 2,532
Nice, I was only aware of the Fiio version until recently but it looks well made. Thanks for letting me know it's a good idea.

Was this a 3.5mm cable or the 2.5mm version I've seen?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FiiO-RC-...795005?hash=item3ac8aba3fd:g:qBgAAOSwbsBXlgw-

I have the balanced version of the Fiio cable - it’s boxed & unused other than to establish that it wasn’t suited to what I wanted it for. It’s well made, but I hadn’t realised it only fits UE models. You can have it for £20 including post. PM me if you’re interested - I’m in the UK.
 
Jan 26, 2018 at 3:10 AM Post #1,333 of 2,532
When I play a track in the Music app, the display shows two formats, the original track format, and the output format. What exactly is the output format? The user manual is vague on this point. Is it what would be output from the USB socket? Is it what is fed into the XDP-300R's DAC?

When I play a DSD file, the output format is shown as 192/24 PCM. Is the XDP-300R's not able to handle DSD? Is there a way I can configure the unit to send the track to its DAC without converting it to PCM?
 
Jan 26, 2018 at 3:59 AM Post #1,334 of 2,532
When I play a track in the Music app, the display shows two formats, the original track format, and the output format. What exactly is the output format? The user manual is vague on this point. Is it what would be output from the USB socket? Is it what is fed into the XDP-300R's DAC?

When I play a DSD file, the output format is shown as 192/24 PCM. Is the XDP-300R's not able to handle DSD? Is there a way I can configure the unit to send the track to its DAC without converting it to PCM?
I'm not sure if it's really the DAC or the stock player that converts dsd into pcm. I use hiby app and it's not converting dsd into pcm based on the screen output. Not good UI though.
 
Jan 26, 2018 at 2:06 PM Post #1,335 of 2,532
Hello guys can i ask and explain to me what the difference between fixed line out mode and variable line out mode on sound settings?
And can somebody tell they best set up on settings to maximize this device
New xdp-300 users here
 
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