[Nick Dangerous]

Dunno if I've already mentioned this, but regarding filter usage I prefer IIR with the original Concero and no filters with the HD/HP. Mainly because the smooth character of the original Concero works well with the slight upper-range sparkle contributed by the IIR filter. But in the case of the HD/HP it is a bit too much of a good thing in my opinion.

 

[zilch0md]

Thanks for that, Nick!  
 
I will try IIR up-sampling with my shelved-highs LCD-2 and stick with Apodizing for my brighter SM45 monitors.
 
(I've been ignoring IIR...)
 
Mike

 

[Axiom05]

  Dunno if I've already mentioned this, but regarding filter usage I prefer IIR with the original Concero and no filters with the HD/HP. Mainly because the smooth character of the original Concero works well with the slight upper-range sparkle contributed by the IIR filter. But in the case of the HD/HP it is a bit too much of a good thing in my opinion.

Interesting as the IIR filter actually begins rolling off in the audio band sooner than the Apodizing filter. The Apodizing filter should have more high frequency energy than the IIR, in theory. My experience is that the IIR provides a smoother high frequency character than the Apodizing filter, although the difference is not huge.
 
http://resonessencelabs.com/details-of-iir-and-apodizing-filters/

 

[project86]

  Interesting as the IIR filter actually begins rolling off in the audio band sooner than the Apodizing filter. The Apodizing filter should have more high frequency energy than the IIR, in theory. My experience is that the IIR provides a smoother high frequency character than the Apodizing filter, although the difference is not huge.
 
http://resonessencelabs.com/details-of-iir-and-apodizing-filters/

 
 
I hear it the opposite way but I totally agree that the difference is not massive. It's a subtle thing that you appreciate over time, but it doesn't immediately jump out at you. I don't think -2dB at 19kHz is all that noticeable anyway, and the lack of pre-ringing makes the IIR seems more quick/sharp to my ears. 
 
Anyway, I'm thankful to have both. 

 

[Nick Dangerous]

Agreed with project86... apodizing sounds smoother to me than IIR.

 

[Axiom05]

   
 
I hear it the opposite way but I totally agree that the difference is not massive. It's a subtle thing that you appreciate over time, but it doesn't immediately jump out at you. I don't think -2dB at 19kHz is all that noticeable anyway, and the lack of pre-ringing makes the IIR seems more quick/sharp to my ears. 
 
Anyway, I'm thankful to have both. 

Absolutely! Having the choice of filters is great and I would never consider buying a DAC that did not offer a choice of filters. I am amazed that so many DACs still only offer the basic brick-wall FIR filter. 

 

[Ken Pachkowsky]

Just a short note and quick Hi to all.
 
Just want to let you know we follow these threads with great interest.
We appreciate all opinions and suggestions re our product line.
 
Have a great day.
 
Ken Pachkowsky
Resonessence Labs
 
JayBo
Nice pair of JBL's there. Had a pair of 4345's and 4350's in the past.

 

[daerron]

My Concero made the trip from Canada to South Africa in less than a week. Today's courier services never cease to amaze me (Emotiva shipped my Mini-X within 4 days). Very impressed with the quick shipping! When I took The Concero out of the box, I was initially shocked to see that it was so small. Heck, I thought, how did I pay so much for such a little device, my wife is going to kill me!
 
Hooking it up to my Hi-fi, it didn't take long for both me and my wife(!) to be really impressed of what this little DAC is capable off! So far I haven't even bothered to listen to the Concero on my headphone rig. This DAC really creates some magic with my B&W CM9 speakers, giving them a little bit more edge, liveliness and air on top which make them seem to come alive much more. I am also digging the filters so far, especially when listening to rock. I told my wife that the Concero has the same DAC chip in as the Dragonfly and she immediately asked me why doesn't the Dragonfly sound like this? They must have some pretty special magic mushrooms up there in Canada? Colour me totally impressed so far!

 

[Francoy]

^
Even though mushrooms abound in the great white north, it’s the frostbites that do the trick. When you have to "hibernate" for 6 months, any reason to remain inside (like say, work on DAC circuit implementations) you’re bound to crack the code or something...

 

[tomscy2000]

I just finished my review of the HP; I apologize if the review is not quite relevant for most of you as I'm primarily an IEM user --- I also elected not to speak specifically toward how the Concero HP pairs with specific earphones or headphones, as I really believe it does a great job with almost everything. However, I'm truly impressed with everything else that Resonessence is as a company --- most here understand how they approach their business, and it's not just the Concero line that is excellent. These guys really know how to make a quality product. Fortunately, the HP is a near ideal product for how I live and listen, so it's a near perfect companion for me.

 

[zilch0md]

tomscy2000,
 
Thanks for your very well written review of the HP - enjoyable reading and a compelling argument for considering the HP as an all-in-one desktop solution.
 
I noticed you included this comment:
 

 There is hardly any difference between plugging it straight from the USB port of my laptop and having it filtered through the excellent iUSBPower.

 
A while back, I had asked, on this thread, whether anyone had ever heard any USB power-related glitches when using the Concero.  I had received a unanimously negative response (a good thing), and not having heard any audible problems whatsoever, much less problems that I could directly attribute to insufficient 5V power coming from my laptop, I decided not to experiment with using an external 5VDC power source. 
 
A few days ago, however, I was using my rather inexpensive (poorly made?) Acer notebook without AC power, with the Concero getting its power from one of the Acer's USB ports. Everything seemed OK, just using Foobar 2000 to play WAV files from an SD card (my preferred storage media, to avoid HDD throughput issues as other Windows applications are running).  
 
But when I started playing a 720p YouTube video, via WiFi (with which I was enjoying a 17.94 Mbps download speed in my home - as tested right then), I immediately began hearing short-duration dropouts in the audio - gaps of silence occurring at irregular but frequent intervals (about every two or three seconds) - using the USB-powered Concero with an externally-powered amp and LCD-2.  I immediately suspected that the dropouts were due to a lack of current available to the Concero, so after trying all three USB ports on my Acer, to no avail, I plugged the Acer into a 120V AC outlet: The problem went away.  Taking the Acer back to battery power (which was at 82%, by the way) the gaps in audio recurred. 
 
I suspected this was due to the heavy power consumption imposed when using the WiFi receiver, the graphics adapter and display, and the HDD (which was spinning constantly), while streaming the 720p video, using the laptop's battery instead of 120V AC power.
 
So...  I decided to reproduce this situation (streaming a 720p video via WiFi while the laptop was using its internal battery), but with the Concero getting its power exclusively from an external source - an Anker Astro Pro, 10,000 mAh LiPo battery with dual 5VDC 2-Amp USB A ports - connected to the Concero via a Cables to Go C2G 28108 USB Y-cable, as shown in these photos:
 

 

 
The result?  No more drop outs while streaming that same 720p YouTube video, with the Acer laptop running on battery power, because now, the Concero had a separate, 5-Volt 2-Amp power supply, all to itself.
 
Moral of the story:  USB 2.0 ports are supposed to put out 5VDC at 500mA, but when several loads are simultaneously demanding power from my Acer, it's apparently incapable of meeting that specification.
 
I'm a fanatic about clean power, so I'm done using my Acer's USB ports to supply power to the Concero, even when the Acer is plugged into AC power and is not streaming 720p videos via WiFi.  I want the peace of mind of knowing that my Concero is "all that it can be" - without my having to constantly monitor the audio quality, wondering if I'm compromising the Concero in any way. I'd rather just give it 2 amps of clean 5V power, all the time, for portable operation and for desktop use.  It deserves better power than what my Acer laptop can supply.
 
Back to your review comment...  If you had never tried connecting the Concero HP (which likely has higher current demands than a Concero) to the iUSBpower, you would never have known that any improvement in audio could be had, subtle though it was, in your case. And what if your laptop or PC USB power was less accommodating, but still not presenting any blatant problems?  In other words, how can we be sure we aren't compromising the USB-powered device without diligent A/B testing, between laptop power and a high-quality 5VDC source?    
 
I, for one, am not willing to sacrifice audio quality for the sake of convenience.  I can see myself doing so with a $100 USB-powered DAC, but not with one that costs $600 and performs as if it costs much more. And I'd be even less comfortable doing so with an $800 USB-powered DAC+Amp, that offers such premium performance.  An additional $63 worth of clutter and inconvenience can ensure uncompromised power. 
 
All that said, I eagerly accept your assessment that the Concero HP's power management is remarkable.  I can easily imagine this to be true, just given my experience with the Concero (in all situations other than streaming 720p video with my Acer laptop when it's not on AC power).  I have either owned or spent considerable time with three other ESS9023-based, USB-powered DACs that all exhibited power-related "glitches" under far less compromising situations on the same laptop:  the Stoner Acoustics UD100, the JDS Labs ODAC, and the Audioquest Dragonfly.  None of those DACs can "groom" USB power as well as the Concero - it's truly exceptional.
 
Mike

 

[angelo898]

Personally, I use the concero hp with a MacBook Pro 13 inch when I'm out. I connect my Mac mouse via Bluetooth, portable hdd via one of the 2 USB ports and the concero hp via the other. I then turn on wifi from time to time, other times I'm using a Ethernet cable. I have yet to encounter problems like you have zilch

 

[zilch0md]

Hey angelo898,
 
Your MacBook is apparently doing a good job of supplying power in compliance with USB 2.0 specifications, but your Concero HP can't generate its own power - at best, it can only smooth over short duration brown outs, so to speak, but there's a threshold at which it will falter. 
 
It should be clear from what I wrote, above, that I believe the problem I experienced was not with the Concero, but rather, with my Acer notebook failing to supply sufficient power to the Concero in a rare situation, where a lot of power is being consumed by my Acer, while disconnected from AC power.  I neglected to mention that I also use a USB wireless mouse, by the way.   
 
Quoting the last line from my post, above:

 None of those DACs can "groom" USB power as well as the Concero - it's truly exceptional.

 
Mike

 

[daerron]

I have also experienced zero dropouts running it from either my PC or Macbook Air. So far I'm liking the Concero very much, but it is definitely not as detailed and dynamic as the PS Audio Nuwave DAC, but it has a much nicer music presentation and the bass quality and midrange is superb. How much more detailed is the HD compared to the original Concero?

 

[project86]

  I have also experienced zero dropouts running it from either my PC or Macbook Air. So far I'm liking the Concero very much, but it is definitely not as detailed and dynamic as the PS Audio Nuwave DAC, but it has a much nicer music presentation and the bass quality and midrange is superb. How much more detailed is the HD compared to the original Concero?

 
 
Think NuWave level detail, but way less annoying on the HD. It's worth it to buy the HD over the original imho.