niron
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2014
- Posts
- 412
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- 164
nice to know this can drive the R70X nicely
Love the CF cover. Can someone point me to a good place on eBay/Aliexpress where I could get one? Thx!
Ok, got the ES100 yesterday, today it goes back to amazon...
As such , the quality is not bad. Better than an average snapdragon-based smartphone. Worse than DFR. Unfortunately, pairing with my Fiio A5 was not that successful. Everything sounded somehow flabby and veiled.
On it's own, without an amp, the sound was warmer than an ipod touch 6th gen but overall about the same in quality. Some things sound a bit better out of ipod directly, some from ES100.
However, ipod pairs much better with the A5 than the ES100 does.
Sound quality of an ipod+A5, after a very minor EQ tweaking, is better than dragonfly red on it's own. ES100+A5 was noticeably worse.
Tests have been performed with volume-matched simultaneously playing sources (ipod and an ipad playing the same track) an a switch box, where DFR was used to compare other gear to it.
So, I'd say, if you have an Android phone - ES100 is a nice add-on. would improve sound quality a lot and add some comfort on top of it.
However, I was not looking for an absolute mobility, as I needed something that I can use indoors in a semi-mobile way. I was hoping an ES100 stacked with an A5 would give the best sound and convenience of fast switching between different sources (android phone, ipod, multiple ipads)... This didn't work out. I will continue using an ipod+A5 stack, and when I'd need a different source, I'd use a very mobile DFR for that.
On a side note, it's really surprizing how close ipod+A5 sound compared to the DFR. DFR has a slightly flabby bass and slightly more of it, ipod+A5 is a bit leaner, but provides a bit larger impact and dynamics. Even a difference in sound between an ipod and an ipad is more noticeable at a first listen, than a difference between ipod+A5 and a DFR. DFR always sounds a bit mellow in a direct comparison, ipod+A5 drive with more authority and sound more fun.
The ES100 can drive my Senns 6XX (300 ohm) without a problem, which means the amp is amazingly good for its size.
To my ears the ES100 is better than DFR (particularly with Dance mode EQ), and is much efficient, battery wise (DFR will drain your battery in no time).
ES100 also wins mobility in my book.