[Damz87]

Is there a DAP that has absolutely zero hiss with those? I can't imagine. My DX300 is dead silent with everything, but there some hiss with the Erlkonig.

The only DAP I didn’t notice much hiss with Erlky was DX220 Max. I don’t own any super sensitive IEM’s anymore so I can’t tell you if Dx300 Max is the same, but I’m guessing it would be pretty similar.

But yeah, I’ve basically given up on sensitive IEM’s at this point. I just feel like there’s so many other great sounding IEM’s that aren’t stupidly sensitive where I don’t have to worry about DAP noise floor. I guess it’s easier to find a less sensitive IEM than a completely silent DAP haha

 

[gLer]

Is there a DAP that has absolutely zero hiss with those? I can't imagine. My DX300 is dead silent with everything, but there some hiss with the Erlkonig.

The only DAP I didn’t notice much hiss with Erlky was DX220 Max. I don’t own any super sensitive IEM’s anymore so I can’t tell you if Dx300 Max is the same, but I’m guessing it would be pretty similar.

But yeah, I’ve basically given up on sensitive IEM’s at this point. I just feel like there’s so many other great sounding IEM’s that aren’t stupidly sensitive where I don’t have to worry about DAP noise floor. I guess it’s easier to find a less sensitive IEM than a completely silent DAP haha

My thoughts exactly. Judging DAP hiss with CA IEMs is like using a hammer to hit a needle and asking if there are any hammers that don't smash your fingers (hint: it's not the hammer).

 

[Nalin]

My QP2R hisses terribly with Andros, but with Apple USB C dongle I can’t notice any hissing.

 

[MatW]

The only DAP I didn’t notice much hiss with Erlky was DX220 Max. I don’t own any super sensitive IEM’s anymore so I can’t tell you if Dx300 Max is the same, but I’m guessing it would be pretty similar.

But yeah, I’ve basically given up on sensitive IEM’s at this point. I just feel like there’s so many other great sounding IEM’s that aren’t stupidly sensitive where I don’t have to worry about DAP noise floor. I guess it’s easier to find a less sensitive IEM than a completely silent DAP haha

I have a CA IEM coming in for the very first time...a MW10. I'll make sure to have the ifi iematch at hand...

 

[Damz87]

I have a CA IEM coming in for the very first time...a MW10. I'll make sure to have the ifi iematch at hand...

Nice! It’s a great IEM looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Have you got any dongle DAC/Amps? I found them to be the best option for Andro’s

 

[MatW]

Nice! It’s a great IEM looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Have you got any dongle DAC/Amps? I found them to be the best option for Andro’s

Nope only DAPs and desktop stuff. Why is that, because the dongles are less powerful, therefore more quiet?

 

[KuroKitsu]

Is there a DAP that has absolutely zero hiss with those? I can't imagine. My DX300 is dead silent with everything, but there some hiss with the Erlkonig.

The only DAP I've tried that was completely dead silent up to the Andros was the Onkyo DP X1A. Sadly Onkyo seems to have not released a flagship DAP since then.

Surprisingly the AK SE100 was close. I only heard hiss in the middle of the night with the lights off.

One of the reasons I rebought the RME was mostly the lack of hissing.

My thoughts exactly. Judging DAP hiss with CA IEMs is like using a hammer to hit a needle and asking if there are any hammers that don't smash your fingers (hint: it's not the hammer).

It's more an edge case if CA iems are the only things you detect hiss on.

Unfortunately for me "Does it hiss with my source gear" is an essential requirement. A more apt metaphor for hiss for me is like allergy induced throat itch with varying degrees.

My QP2R hisses terribly with Andros, but with Apple USB C dongle I can’t notice any hissing.

I've tried the Andro on the Apple dongle, no bueno.

 

[Billyak]

I have the hiby r3 sabre and it is silent with my Andro 2020.

 

[Precogvision]

Sony MDR-EX1000 (no filter) & MDR-EX800ST Impressions

Spoiler: FR Graph

Drove down to hear the latest revision of the Auribus Acoustics Everest and got to hear these too. These two IEMs still get a lot of talk for being single-DD wonders, but I have to be honest: I find them somewhat underwhelming. To my ears, the most notable thing about the EX1K and EX800ST would be their imaging chops. They sound exceptionally open for IEMs - likely more than even the Andromeda 2020 - and it's not at all the forced type of presentation that's the result of frequency response tricks. Layering and staging, that's where the EX1K and EX800ST really shine.

But outside of that, I don't find either of these IEMs competitive for their tonality. Generally, I'd say the EX800ST's slightly more pleasant than the EX1K at the expense of resolution. The EX800ST is basically a warmer, thicker interpretation of the EX1K that sounds somewhat muffled in tandem with a pronounced upper-midrange suppression and a fairly strong roll-off after 10kHz. The lack of air after 10kHz is a problem for both of these IEMs, by the way. The EX1K brings back up the upper-midrange slightly and follows this up with a monstrous 5.5kHz peak in the treble. The result is a double whammy: 1) The EX1K's upper-midrange borders on sibilant, likely due to notes touching on the 5.5kHz peak on some tracks, and 2) the treble generally sounds like chalk being scraped against a blackboard. Grating. I've also heard a lot of good things about the bass response of these IEMs; however, I'm not sure if I can agree with that praise. It's certainly not bad bass - the EX800ST even has a little more impact than it's brother - but it's also not special to the point of which I don't really care to explore it further. Maybe it's because I was A/B-ing them with my IE900, but I expected better on this end.

Intangibly, the other problem with these IEMs is that they don't really sound all that dynamic despite what I've read. Macro-dynamic swings might be alright (and I'm being generous), but the EX1K sounds quite boring, and there's a lot of missing luster to attack that becomes readily apparent when I compare with the IE900. And it's not just against the IE900 either. From memory, I'm pretty sure the Tanchjim Hana 2021 had more pleasing transients than this. Now, to be fair, it's important to remember that these are 10 year old IEMs. When they were released, they likely would have been groundbreaking; they enjoy the cult followings that they do for good reason. I was also A/B-ing them with a considerably more expensive IEM. But in my opinion, the time for praising these IEMs passed some time ago.

Scores: 5/10 (MDR-EX1000), 5/10 (MDR-EX800ST)

Speaking of cult followings, I also heard my first Stax today, the SR-L700 MK2. The tonality on it clearly isn't quite where it should be, but I almost didn't care. Incredible resolution, easily worthy of playing at the top - just wow.

 

[Damz87]

Nope only DAPs and desktop stuff. Why is that, because the dongles are less powerful, therefore more quiet?

L&P W2 is more powerful than the Sony WM1A/Z so in that particular case it’s probably more about implementation, but yeah my guess is that they’re generally less powerful than a DAP.

 

[MatW]

L&P W2 is more powerful than the Sony WM1A/Z so in that particular case it’s probably more about implementation, but yeah my guess is that they’re generally less powerful than a DAP.

Interestingly, my Topping A90 and THX789 are more silent than any DAP I have heard, and @KuroKitsu mentioned a similar result with an RME.. So there's always a fallback scenario..

 

[mndless]

Interestingly, my Topping A90 and THX789 are more silent than any DAP I have heard, and @KuroKitsu mentioned a similar result with an RME.. So there's always a fallback scenario..

My best guess is that a lot of DAPs are failing to adequately isolate their ground plane for the audio processing and amplification circuits from the actual computer SoC and power management circuit. I think Vivo did a phone several years back where they advertised that they had isolated their audio circuit from the ground plane of the main logic board for this reason. I think it was the Vivo X5 Max. Wasn't available in my country and couldn't be made to work on my carrier at the time, so I don't know how good it may or may not have actually been, though they did use Saber chips for the DAC/amp units.

Edit: did some more digging and found this site that dug through the specs more thoroughly for the Vivo X5 Max. Truly a surprisingly capable audio setup for a phone that they also tried to make the thinnest mobile phone in the world. Apple definitely lied when they claimed that they cut the 3.5mm jack just to save space.

 

[gLer]

Interestingly, my Topping A90 and THX789 are more silent than any DAP I have heard, and @KuroKitsu mentioned a similar result with an RME.. So there's always a fallback scenario..

Yes I think you have two factors at play here: more room for isolation from power and EMF, and amp design. The THX amps' reason for being is their high power output combined with almost imperceptible noise levels. Pity they sound souless and clinical as a result.

 

[RikudouGoku]

Sony MDR-EX1000 (no filter) & MDR-EX800ST Impressions

Spoiler: FR Graph

Drove down to hear the latest revision of the Auribus Acoustics Everest and got to hear these too. These two IEMs still get a lot of talk for being single-DD wonders, but I have to be honest: I find them somewhat underwhelming. To my ears, the most notable thing about the EX1K and EX800ST would be their imaging chops. They sound exceptionally open for IEMs - likely more than even the Andromeda 2020 - and it's not at all the forced type of presentation that's the result of frequency response tricks. Layering and staging, that's where the EX1K and EX800ST really shine.

But outside of that, I don't find either of these IEMs competitive for their tonality. Generally, I'd say the EX800ST's slightly more pleasant than the EX1K at the expense of resolution. The EX800ST is basically a warmer, thicker interpretation of the EX1K that sounds somewhat muffled in tandem with a pronounced upper-midrange suppression and a fairly strong roll-off after 10kHz. The lack of air after 10kHz is a problem for both of these IEMs, by the way. The EX1K brings back up the upper-midrange slightly and follows this up with a monstrous 5.5kHz peak in the treble. The result is a double whammy: 1) The EX1K's upper-midrange borders on sibilant, likely due to notes touching on the 5.5kHz peak on some tracks, and 2) the treble generally sounds like chalk being scraped against a blackboard. Grating. I've also heard a lot of good things about the bass response of these IEMs; however, I'm not sure if I can agree with that praise. It's certainly not bad bass - the EX800ST even has a little more impact than it's brother - but it's also not special to the point of which I don't really care to explore it further. Maybe it's because I was A/B-ing them with my IE900, but I expected better on this end.

Intangibly, the other problem with these IEMs is that they don't really sound all that dynamic despite what I've read. Macro-dynamic swings might be alright (and I'm being generous), but the EX1K sounds quite boring, and there's a lot of missing luster to attack that becomes readily apparent when I compare with the IE900. And it's not just against the IE900 either. From memory, I'm pretty sure the Tanchjim Hana 2021 had more pleasing transients than this. Now, to be fair, it's important to remember that these are 10 year old IEMs. When they were released, they likely would have been groundbreaking; they enjoy the cult followings that they do for good reason. I was also A/B-ing them with a considerably more expensive IEM. But in my opinion, the time for praising these IEMs passed some time ago.

Scores: 5/10 (MDR-EX1000), 5/10 (MDR-EX800ST)

Speaking of cult followings, I also heard my first Stax today, the SR-L700 MK2. The tonality on it clearly isn't quite where it should be, but I almost didn't care. Incredible resolution, easily worthy of playing at the top - just wow.

You need EQ with them, their stock tuning is pretty bad.

 

[KuroKitsu]

Interestingly, my Topping A90 and THX789 are more silent than any DAP I have heard, and @KuroKitsu mentioned a similar result with an RME.. So there's always a fallback scenario..

Pre W2 days, the RME pretty much gets the recommendation.

Budget wise the Topping E30 and the 789 were dead silent in terms of hiss.The sensitivity of the Andros killed it though, on line out, the listenable volume of the Andros was right in the channel imbalance zone of my 789, and applying a pramp of - 26db on the E30 pushed it out, but the Andro sounded souless at that point.

So the RME was hiss proof and channel imbalance proof.

But like @Damz87 said, the W2 exists now, and it's very well implemented.

Yes I think you have two factors at play here: more room for isolation from power and EMF, and amp design. The THX amps' reason for being is their high power output combined with almost imperceptible noise levels. Pity they sound souless and clinical as a result.

Souless and clinical describe my mental state from the pandemic, so music preference had ended up the same

I would call the 789 transparent, there's no colouration of the sound being done. Arguably the RME is like that but is also an all in one. I prefer(ed) to use those as a final confirmation of what I hard on the 1A since a lot of people call it warm (while the 1A is neutral to me)