[starblue]

POST THREE - BATTERY LIFE
 
This isn't gonna take long. Sony PHA-3 is a winner, by 25%.
 
With full charge PHA-3 shelled out close to 6 hours. XPA-700 died some what past 4 hours. 
 
Above said, XPA-700 just needs a single USB cable to carry both audio and power with the option to turn off the charging. battery life is not such a big issue if you are using either unit as a desktop amp or have juice available before the unit dies however I can see the lesser battery life of XPA-700 a issue in some scenarios , example a flight from Tokyo to HK vs Tokyo to Singapore. Would suck to run out of juice when you are carrying all the portable gear with you.
 
Winner - Sony. Although 6 hours is not that much either.
 
More to follow.

 

[starblue]

  I don't speak Japanese...

I can try to help with that if there are specific questions.

 

[phlegm]

Thanks for your insightful review starblue!

I have been on a search for a warm,mellow dac-amp for my iPhone 5 and ESW10 for some time now. Recently I found out that VentureCraft Go-Dap TT is the closest one to what I have been looking for. Will definitely give XPA-700 a try when I visit e-earphone store!

P.S Could you compare XPA-700 to dac-amp like Centrance Hi-Fi M8? my ESW10 has serious sibilance issue, do you think XPA-700 could help tame down the highs and add lushness to overall tonality? Thank you.

 

[Mazer]

Hi starblue, great review
Can you let us know what the user guide says about Android compatibility?
Thanks!

 

[starblue]

Mazor, to be quite frank I never looked in to the manual, the unit is quite self explanatory. I will look in to the manual and tomorrow give the amp a try with my colleagues android phone in office. If there are request for specific phone models let me know, will try out if available.


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[starblue]

Phelgem, definitely try out the XPA-700. It IS warm! 99% of my listening is via tube amps, both headphone and speakers. I find even the Denon PMA series solid state amps which is considered relatively warmer for a solid state, is relatively cooler for me. The XPA-700 is definitely warm by solid state standards approaching closer to tube sound. It can be a good choice for you.

I don't have the M8 you mention so unfortunately I can't help with this request.....


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[starblue]

POST 4 - Sonic impressions with Beyerdynamic T5P

Ak120 firmware v1.40 optical input in to the amps
Tracks - listed as above plus best of holly Cole jazz, best jazz voices collection (later at CD rips)

I bought the T5P just 2 weeks back and it has about 25 hours of burn in. I have been using a Denon D5000 at work for last three years and was looking for a substitute toy and bough the T5P.

My first listening experience with the T5P was an absolute shock, they sounded like tin cans. They still do the same on some tracks. Priory to burn in even the Woo audio wa6se failed to pump life in them. I honestly thought may be I got a defective piece. Kept on burning them though.

Today I plugged the T5P with Sony with the fear of getting disappointed. To my surprise they actually sounded alright. The bass impact ain't there but the mids have improved. Whether it's the burn in or the amp I can't say, but overall the combination is engaging. I came out with the impression that PHA-3 is quite decent at controlling the overly bright nature of T5P..

Switching to the XPA-700 I had the expectation for it to perform better then the PHA-3 on this can and it didn't disappoint. The XPA-700 is definitely warmer, has stringer mids and pumps more bass then the PHA-3. It was a tad more engaging then the Sony stop brother. Take for example 'ain't no sunshine' track by Jacqui Naylor which is quite strong female vocal - she sound a bit brighter and thinner in the Sony while the pioneer gives authority and warmth to her voice. Neither amp is low on resolving power though. Put up a poorer recording (which in my case happened to be VBR mp3) and the amp plus T5P combo will tell you the defect. It's a bit surprising but the XPA-700 appeared more brutal in exposing the poorer recording then Sony despite its extra warmth. Does this mean it resolves details better ? I don't know and when a amp is musical and engaging it does not matter.

I still don't know if I like the T5P, but again for me the XPA is a winner in this round purely because of its star warmth. This by no means makes PHA3 a looser as some will prefer its sound signature over the XPA.

By the way - both Amps get warm when running, Sony quite a lot more. The XPA runs cooler but if it's charging when running then it gets quite warm as well.

Note - all my listening is in pass through mode, no upsampling/enhancement/high gain applied.


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[starblue]

Phlegem, it's absolutely rubbish to compare audio equipment based on paper specs but just in case you haven't notice, the M8 can handle max 24/192 files, big PHA3 and XPA700 can handle Upto 32/384 and DSD. Also both have balanced outputs.

The M8 comes with ®ot of additional bell and whistles, personally I am not a fan of upsampling or enrichment etc but to each its own. I think you should try the XPA without any upsampling tuned on. You may like what you will hear.


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[phlegm]

Thanks a lot starblue. I really do appreciate your advice!

My ears are really sensitive to the highs. From my past experience, lots of ios DACs( Sony pha-1&2, Teac ha-p50, Cayin C6, Fostex HP-P1, Venturecraft Typhoon) are too bright for my taste. I've tried Pha-3 for like 30 mins and found that it was warmer and smoother than the previous versions. I'm really glad to hear that XPA-700 is warmer than Pha-3 )

 

[starblue]

Phlegm, I think I know what you mean, I have similar problem with my ears...!


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[Mazer]

If there are request for specific phone models let me know, will try out if available.

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact would be ideal. Especially vs. PHA-3 with this phone (full or compact)

 

[DanBa]

A list of Android phones compatible with the Sony PHA-3 USB DAC/amp:
http://www.sony.jp/support/headphone/confirm/pha-3.html

 

[phlegm]

I've just bought XPA-700 from e-earphone today. been comparing it side-by-side with VentureCraft Go-Dap TT grey version for almost 2 hours.

At the end of the day I realised that I can't really go wrong with either, so I chose XPA-700 over Go-Dap TT. Below are my brief impressions.

Paired with my ESW10 modded:

Go-Dap TT has more sparkle and more bass impact, more spacious sound stage, brighter. However, I find the vocal rendered by Go-Dap TT to be comparatively thin sounding, and the overall tonality somewhat V-Shaped.

XPA-700, on the other hand, is warmer, with smoother and fullbodied vocal. It is undeniably more engaging of the two. Most importantly, it has incredible synergy with my modded ESW10, which is otherwise harsh and thin sounding when listening unamped.

Paired with Aedle VK-1:

This is when things get more tricky. Paired with Aedle VK-1, XPA-700 made the already rolled-off highs of VK-1 become even more so, thus resulting in a rather dull sound. I would say that the synergy of this set is rather poor.

For Go-dap TT, it adds liveliness and sparkle to VK-1. It also increases bass impact of VK-1 too. Sound stage noticeably become more spacious. However, both male and female sound thinner when compared to XPA-700.

I had a really hard time deciding which one to get. Eventually I decided to go with XPA-700 because it was such a perfect match for my ESW10. I already love the sound of my VK-1 even when listening directly from my iPhone 5, so it would be more suitable to use it on the go, when it is too much of a bother to connect to an amp.

Thank Starblue, without your review I would never have given this amp a go




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[21qz]

Has anyone here used the fiio e12? How does this compare?

 

[Edric Li]

Has anyone here used the fiio e12? How does this compare?

 
I used the fiio e12. e12 is just an amp, but the pioneer is a DAC+amp. I guess this is the biggest difference.