[airman]

I haven't read any thing on the D6 in comparision to the Practical Devices XM6. I'm looking to get a Headphone amp/USB DAC and it broils down to the D6 vs the XM6 http://www.practicaldevices.com/amps.htm Has anybody got any opinion on the differences between these 2 products, I'm leaning toward the XM6 but the D6 is a little less money. Has anybody tried out these two headphone amp/DAC's side by side? What do you think is the better. The D6 has 2 Wolfson 8740 DAC's but is that going to get me better performance and sound quality. The XM6 has more upgrade options and a 3 year warranty and it is MADE IN THE USA or Canada. Please let me know what your opinion is and what product would you choose between the two. Your prompt replies will be appreciated. 

 

[rrahman]

From my memory and experience, the Xm6 was slightly more powerful (1W/Ch rms?) w/ a slew of features for 100 dollars more in price.  The amp is powerful, but probably not a cost effective option for lcd2s, beyer 250 ohm cans, or sennheiser 300ohm cans.  Most of the features tbh I haven't used.  The crossfeed sounds unnatural to me.  The bass boost and treble boost work well, but I haven't used it.  The flashlight is useless to me.  The remote doesn't work w/ spotify (my main source).  The timer settings I love.  The 75 ohm attenuator I also love.  +8db gain is also great, but should be standard for all amps.  In my hands the Xm6 has a more impressive build and design than I anticipated, probably on par w/ the D6.  One issue I have is that L shaped iphone LOD's are kinda tricky to plug in w/o obstructing the headphone plug, but it can be done.
 
The D6 is more minimalist, but I thought the dual dacs was overkill.  Both dacs upsample to my knowledge.  I haven't tried out a D6, so I can't say much else about it.
 
Both amps can be tweaked w/ op amps.  I loved the Xm6 sound right out of the box, so I didn't bother with it.
 
I went w/ the Xm6, b/c of the extra power and more customizeable sound w/ treble n bass boost.  
 
My advice, go for the d12 unless u need that extra power for a hungry headphone.  Otherwise the amps and dacs are more similar than different and it comes down to if you want to pay 100 dollars for features.
 
hope this helps

 

[markkr]

Nice input, thank you... I'm contemplating the same couple amps...

 

[airman]

Quote:

From my memory and experience, the Xm6 was slightly more powerful (1W/Ch rms?) w/ a slew of features for 100 dollars more in price.  The amp is powerful, but probably not a cost effective option for lcd2s, beyer 250 ohm cans, or sennheiser 300ohm cans.  Most of the features tbh I haven't used.  The crossfeed sounds unnatural to me.  The bass boost and treble boost work well, but I haven't used it.  The flashlight is useless to me.  The remote doesn't work w/ spotify (my main source).  The timer settings I love.  The 75 ohm attenuator I also love.  +8db gain is also great, but should be standard for all amps.  In my hands the Xm6 has a more impressive build and design than I anticipated, probably on par w/ the D6.  One issue I have is that L shaped iphone LOD's are kinda tricky to plug in w/o obstructing the headphone plug, but it can be done.
 
The D6 is more minimalist, but I thought the dual dacs was overkill.  Both dacs upsample to my knowledge.  I haven't tried out a D6, so I can't say much else about it.
 
Both amps can be tweaked w/ op amps.  I loved the Xm6 sound right out of the box, so I didn't bother with it.
 
I went w/ the Xm6, b/c of the extra power and more customizeable sound w/ treble n bass boost.  
 
My advice, go for the d12 unless u need that extra power for a hungry headphone.  Otherwise the amps and dacs are more similar than different and it comes down to if you want to pay 100 dollars for features.
 
hope this helps

Thank you for your input. What I'm most interested in is whether or not the XM6 will do bit for bit decoding of 24bit 96khz source material. I'm planning to download  alot of 24 bit music files from HDtracks.com or other locations and I want to be able to play them back from my laptop in all their 24bit 96khz dynamic range glory or is everything upsampled up to 24bit 192khz no matter what bit depth source it is. Can you please confirm this or not for me. BTW I'm using Shure SE535 IEM
 

 

[rrahman]

I don't know for sure.  This is a bit beyond my technical expertise.  My guess would be that its all upsampled to 24/192.   More importantly, I believe the D6 has a similar limitation making it a non-issue in comparing both amp/dacs
 
I recently learned that upsampling isn't the worst thing in the world.  So even if it is upsampled to 24/192, it may not take away anything.
 
You should ask your question in this forum, since i personally have yet to reliably hear a difference between 16/44, 24/96, and 24/192.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/510543/new-practical-devices-xm6-amp-dac-the-complete-review/
 
 
 
Quote:

Thank you for your input. What I'm most interested in is whether or not the XM6 will do bit for bit decoding of 24bit 96khz source material. I'm planning to download  alot of 24 bit music files from HDtracks.com or other locations and I want to be able to play them back from my laptop in all their 24bit 96khz dynamic range glory or is everything upsampled up to 24bit 192khz no matter what bit depth source it is. Can you please confirm this or not for me. BTW I'm using Shure SE535 IEM