[niron]

Actually, I'm pretty spot on mate, have a look at the Radsone Player, it's basic edge on other players is having DCT technology. Now have a look at the EQ section of both Apps, it's clear the ES100 App was built on top of it - which is perfectly fine, but if you have an ES100, I doubt you'll be wanting to apply DCT twice.

The whole point of the ES100 over just the App was that it gave the use of DCT a lot more flexibility, because it now works with all Apps.

Okay, I understand your point.
The way you worded the previous post seemed to imply that no player app was needed to use the ES100.

And what's the best app you guys would recommend?

 

[bidn]

And what's the best app you guys would recommend?

Re. free apps:
- for the USB DAC mode I can recommend Onkyo HF Player (some other apps may offer more settings, but you will have to pay for using them)
- for the bluetooth mode, I prefer aimp (this is my favorite app but it does not have a USB DAC mode) .

BTW with highly resolving earphones like the Final LAB II , I can clearly hear the superior resolution of the LDAC mode over AAC (but the problem is that the higher bitrate limits the bluetooth range).

 

[chinmie]

can the VE Zen 2.0 (non black or white) be driven by this bad boy?

yes

 

[niron]

Re. free apps:
- for the USB DAC mode I can recommend Onkyo HF Player (some other apps may offer more settings, but you will have to pay for using them)
- for the bluetooth mode, I prefer aimp (this is my favorite app but it does not have a USB DAC mode) .

BTW with highly resolving earphones like the Final LAB II , I can clearly hear the superior resolution of the LDAC mode over AAC (but the problem is that the higher bitrate limits the bluetooth range).

Thanks, very interesting. I assume that you refer to the regular Onkyo HF Player, right? Because there's also the HD version that supports high-res files.

Also downloaded the Hiby and the Radsone Hi-Res Player apps.

 

[officerdibble]

How does this compare to the XB10?

Currently run my pixel 2 into the XB10 using Aptx HD which is pretty good but not great....

Wondering if this would be an upgrade, downgrade or sidegrade!!!

 

[PiSkyHiFi]

How does this compare to the XB10?

Currently run my pixel 2 into the XB10 using Aptx HD which is pretty good but not great....

Wondering if this would be an upgrade, downgrade or sidegrade!!!

I don't have an XB10, so I downloaded the manual to see the specs and what do I see? The proprietary DCT technology belongs to AK, not Radsone!

So, I don't know yet what chipset from AK the XB10 uses, but it's probably very similar, if not the same as the ES100.

The advantage of the ES100 is the great control App you get with it to set it up the way you like it, very functional, download it and have a look.

Edit: Oh and now the ES100 supports LDAC too, which might even give it a sound quality edge - some people here say it does, I haven't tried LDAC yet, I have to wait a month for my phone to be updated to include it.

Edit 2: Love The Orb! Is this Haile Selassie?

 

[SubMash]

I don't have an XB10, so I downloaded the manual to see the specs and what do I see? The proprietary DCT technology belongs to AK, not Radsone!

So, I don't know yet what chipset from AK the XB10 uses, but it's probably very similar, if not the same as the ES100.

The advantage of the ES100 is the great control App you get with it to set it up the way you like it, very functional, download it and have a look.

Edit: Oh and now the ES100 supports LDAC too, which might even give it a sound quality edge - some people here say it does, I haven't tried LDAC yet, I have to wait a month for my phone to be updated to include it.

Edit 2: Love The Orb! Is this Haile Selassie?

Check again, Radsone licensed DCT to AK. While we are there, they also licensed it to LG and Audio Technica.

 

[PiSkyHiFi]

Check again, Radsone licensed DCT to AK.

Oh that's cool and makes a bit more sense since DCT was originally in the Radsone Hi-res player as software, I guess I thought it was hardware when I saw it in both the ES100 and the XB10, so I assumed it was the other way around.

I have found only mild use of DCT works for my ears - I use it on DCT level 2/10

That's leaves the question, what chipset does the XB10 actually use?

 

[lucifero13]

yes

Is there any change in volume output if compared with an amp? What can you say?

 

[officerdibble]

I don't have an XB10, so I downloaded the manual to see the specs and what do I see? The proprietary DCT technology belongs to AK, not Radsone!

So, I don't know yet what chipset from AK the XB10 uses, but it's probably very similar, if not the same as the ES100.

The advantage of the ES100 is the great control App you get with it to set it up the way you like it, very functional, download it and have a look.

Edit: Oh and now the ES100 supports LDAC too, which might even give it a sound quality edge - some people here say it does, I haven't tried LDAC yet, I have to wait a month for my phone to be updated to include it.

Edit 2: Love The Orb! Is this Haile Selassie?

Yes looks like LDAC could be the most worthwhile reason for potentially switching.

I couldn't find any information on what chipset is being used in the XB10 either.

U.F.Orb..... Towers of Dub opens with the phone call to Haile Selassie. Just love the Orb amazing dynamic range and well produced albums.

Thanks for your help.

 

[monsieurfromag3]

Yes looks like LDAC could be the most worthwhile reason for potentially switching.

While I love that Radsone included LDAC to keep up in the specs arms race, I’d argue it’s mostly a useless codec in this instance. AptX is already an almost transparent codec up to Tidal Hi-fi/FLAC standards (16bit/44.1Hz CD quality) and AAC possibly even more so as @SubMash has been putting forward earlier in the thread. AptX HD gets bandwidth up to 24-bit streaming quality - we’re talking über-high-end formats here, with the majority of even well-recorded commercial tracks showing no appreciable difference when moving from mp3 320 to 16-bit FLAC, blind and volume-matched.

And then you have LDAC alone at the top, claiming better results but still using compression. The default mode is almost at the same bandwidth as aptX HD actually, and many report a poorer range at 990 kbps. So I’m asking: who really needs LDAC with the ES100? With the LDAC settings on the highest quality and transmitting an immaculately-recorded HD file, you'll need a sound-proofed room and at least a thousand dollars worth of highly analytical headgear to even detect, let alone derive enjoyment from the upgrade. And that’s if you even believe the material factually contains more detail depth or dynamics at 24-bit/96Hz than you could extract from FLAC; and that LDAC is substantially more lossless than aptX HD.

With that kind of expectations, it would be appropriate to move higher up the chain than the ES100 on the dac/amp side, go for the iFi xDSD or the Fiio Q5, whose Bluetooth support only extends to... non-HD aptX.

Needless to say it’s not the typical scenario I associate with streaming from the ES100. In fact aptX HD seems overkill too although it’s nice to have, with LDAC as an alternative to aptX HD for those whose source doesn’t support it, such as silly Samsung flagships.

I don’t stream formats with higher resolution than FLAC so regular aptX/AAC meets my needs. Switching codecs rapidly I don’t detect a difference, even less so in the street or at the gym where I’m losing 20 to 40 dBs of noise floor even with well-isolating iems. The ES100’s great DAC and amp section is more important to SQ than the codec used as long as it’s aptX or AAC.

 

[PiSkyHiFi]

While I love that Radsone included LDAC to keep up in the specs arms race, I’d argue it’s mostly a useless codec in this instance. AptX is already an almost transparent codec up to Tidal Hi-fi/FLAC standards (16bit/44.1Hz CD quality) and AAC possibly even more so as @SubMash has been putting forward earlier in the thread. AptX HD gets bandwidth up to 24-bit streaming quality - we’re talking über-high-end formats here, with the majority of even well-recorded commercial tracks showing no appreciable difference when moving from mp3 320 to 16-bit FLAC, blind and volume-matched.

And then you have LDAC alone at the top, claiming better results but still using compression. The default mode is almost at the same bandwidth as aptX HD actually, and many report a poorer range at 990 kbps. So I’m asking: who really needs LDAC with the ES100? With the LDAC settings on the highest quality and transmitting an immaculately-recorded HD file, you'll need a sound-proofed room and at least a thousand dollars worth of highly analytical headgear to even detect, let alone derive enjoyment from the upgrade. And that’s if you even believe the material factually contains more detail depth or dynamics at 24-bit/96Hz than you could extract from FLAC; and that LDAC is substantially more lossless than aptX HD.

With that kind of expectations, it would be appropriate to move higher up the chain than the ES100 on the dac/amp side, go for the iFi xDSD or the Fiio Q5, whose Bluetooth support only extends to... non-HD aptX.

Needless to say it’s not the typical scenario I associate with streaming from the ES100. In fact aptX HD seems overkill too although it’s nice to have, with LDAC as an alternative to aptX HD for those whose source doesn’t support it, such as silly Samsung flagships.

I don’t stream formats with higher resolution than FLAC so regular aptX/AAC meets my needs. Switching codecs rapidly I don’t detect a difference, even less so in the street or at the gym where I’m losing 20 to 40 dBs of noise floor even with well-isolating iems. The ES100’s great DAC and amp section is more important to SQ than the codec used as long as it’s aptX or AAC.

@SubMash has a thing for AAC, I do too, but at the same time, when I try to be objective it I put it like this:

LDAC > AptX HD > AAC > AptX for Bluetooth compatible rates and a short range.

I suspect he'd disagree with me, we have a lot already.

 

[crabdog]

@SubMash has a thing for AAC, I do too, but at the same time, when I try to be objective it I put it like this:

LDAC > AptX HD > AAC > AptX for Bluetooth compatible rates and a short range.

I suspect he'd disagree with me, we have a lot already.

I'd say "Who cares?". The ES100 supports them all so we can choose which one we want to use.

As for which codec is actually superior - that's more a topic for the sound science thread IMO.

 

[chinmie]

Is there any change in volume output if compared with an amp? What can you say?

what do you mean change in volume? i don't understand the question. the ES100's amp is poweful enough to drive the Zen to loud volume

 

[Marco Angel]

While I love that Radsone included LDAC to keep up in the specs arms race, I’d argue it’s mostly a useless codec in this instance. AptX is already an almost transparent codec up to Tidal Hi-fi/FLAC standards (16bit/44.1Hz CD quality) and AAC possibly even more so as @SubMash has been putting forward earlier in the thread. AptX HD gets bandwidth up to 24-bit streaming quality - we’re talking über-high-end formats here, with the majority of even well-recorded commercial tracks showing no appreciable difference when moving from mp3 320 to 16-bit FLAC, blind and volume-matched.

And then you have LDAC alone at the top, claiming better results but still using compression. The default mode is almost at the same bandwidth as aptX HD actually, and many report a poorer range at 990 kbps. So I’m asking: who really needs LDAC with the ES100? With the LDAC settings on the highest quality and transmitting an immaculately-recorded HD file, you'll need a sound-proofed room and at least a thousand dollars worth of highly analytical headgear to even detect, let alone derive enjoyment from the upgrade. And that’s if you even believe the material factually contains more detail depth or dynamics at 24-bit/96Hz than you could extract from FLAC; and that LDAC is substantially more lossless than aptX HD.

With that kind of expectations, it would be appropriate to move higher up the chain than the ES100 on the dac/amp side, go for the iFi xDSD or the Fiio Q5, whose Bluetooth support only extends to... non-HD aptX.

Needless to say it’s not the typical scenario I associate with streaming from the ES100. In fact aptX HD seems overkill too although it’s nice to have, with LDAC as an alternative to aptX HD for those whose source doesn’t support it, such as silly Samsung flagships.

I don’t stream formats with higher resolution than FLAC so regular aptX/AAC meets my needs. Switching codecs rapidly I don’t detect a difference, even less so in the street or at the gym where I’m losing 20 to 40 dBs of noise floor even with well-isolating iems. The ES100’s great DAC and amp section is more important to SQ than the codec used as long as it’s aptX or AAC.

I do since my S8 doesent support APTx HD