[jsohn]

 
Quote:

 
 
Timbre and tone-wise it should match the sound of the T1 fairly well; however, 600ohm headphones like a lot of voltage swing and the D1 is only running off of a 5v power supply.  So my guess would be that it won't be optimal.  The DACmini running on a 15v PSU was the minimum I thought was optimal with the T1, and the Schitt Valahalla was even better with them.

 
yeah i was thinking dacmini but i was hoping this cheap budget amp would do the trick. thx for your input

 

[AndyTheDrifter]

NM.

 

[inanevoyage]

I got my D1 in the mail today. It is pushing Grado 325is cans.
 
My first test song was Bon Iver - Holocene.
 
-Increased soundstage.
-Individual instruments and some ambient nuances I haven't heard before.
-Cut the piercing, bright highs at similar volumes as before.
 
It is with this last point that I'll conclude: If you own Grado's and have been put off by how bright those highs can get when pushed, this amp is for you. It took something great and made it even better.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

 
Quote:

I got my D1 in the mail today. It is pushing Grado 325is cans.
 
My first test song was Bon Iver - Holocene.
 
-Increased soundstage.
-Individual instruments and some ambient nuances I haven't heard before.
-Cut the piercing, bright highs at similar volumes as before.
 
It is with this last point that I'll conclude: If you own Grado's and have been put off by how bright those highs can get when pushed, this amp is for you. It took something great and made it even better.

 
That's great, thanks for the update/impressions.

 

[genclaymore]

How does the Audio engine D1 compare to sound cards like Xonar STX and Creative X-FI HD PCi-e?

 

[jdip]

 
Quote:

How does the Audio engine D1 compare to sound cards like Xonar STX and Creative X-FI HD PCi-e?

 
I would like to know as well.

 

[sonic2911]

Im going to buy the D1, and looking for good deals. I saw audioengine store offer 10% off, any better? so when i buy at audioengine store and if it's not suit for me, can i return with full refund easily as they said?

 

[nullstring]

Can't decide between this and the iBasso D7. Hrmmm

 

[dparker83]

The guys are AudioEngine definitely stand behind their word.  Personally, I don't see how you could dislike this DAC for the value.  Very musical and rich sound.  Much better than other sub-200$ DACs in my opinion.

 

[crzycuyler]

I know these are very different price brackets, but how do you think the Audioengine D1 compares to the NuForce Icon HDP? I work at Best Buy and can get some incredible deals on audio equipment such as these items. I wouldn't mind making the investment for the HDP if it is worth it. I plan to also purchase the AKG K550 headphones, which I've heard is easy to drive but can improve in bass and a number of other ways with a good amp, and of course a good DAC never hurts.

 

[Earwicker]

I've just bought a D1 to replace my Essence STX. I've been pleased with the Essence, but I've just had a new i5/Win 7 x64 PC, and it doesn't play nicely with the soundcard (lots of noise). First impressions were very positive, but for some strangeness: I don't know if it tries to do some weird automatic gain or impedance matching or something, but my first impression was that it sounded nice but had a lot less output than the Essence - especially through the RCA outputs. I have a hi-fi with a Naim integrated amp I sometimes plug into, and through that, it sounded a little bit feeble at first, with not much more drive than a portable MP3 player. Anyway, I've just been out for a few hours, and when I re-booted the computer, it suddenly decided to double its output! Stunning sound though my HD 380 pros, which is what I mainly want it for. If anything, it's a bit too powerful.
 
So it sounds great, but I think it does have a few technical flaws. You have to unplug the headphones to enable the RCA outs, but I just plugged the cans back in and it didn't enable them again. I had to unplug the gizmo from the computer and plug it back in again. (Seem to remember reading that someone else had experienced a similar thing.)
 
At the moment, I reckon it's outperforming the Essence by quite a margin, but can't be bothered with A/B tests at this time of night!
 
I rather suspect that the power supply on this computer is noisy as hell. Tomorrow I'm hoping to take delivery of a toslink cable, and I'll try powering it from a 1000 mv USB mains adaptor instead of the computer. I rather suspect that'll effect a very significant improvement.
 
Alex

 

[jdip]

Quote:

I've just bought a D1 to replace my Essence STX. I've been pleased with the Essence, but I've just had a new i5/Win 7 x64 PC, and it doesn't play nicely with the soundcard (lots of noise). First impressions were very positive, but for some strangeness: I don't know if it tries to do some weird automatic gain or impedance matching or something, but my first impression was that it sounded nice but had a lot less output than the Essence - especially through the RCA outputs. I have a hi-fi with a Naim integrated amp I sometimes plug into, and through that, it sounded a little bit feeble at first, with not much more drive than a portable MP3 player. Anyway, I've just been out for a few hours, and when I re-booted the computer, it suddenly decided to double its output! Stunning sound though my HD 380 pros, which is what I mainly want it for. If anything, it's a bit too powerful.
 
So it sounds great, but I think it does have a few technical flaws. You have to unplug the headphones to enable the RCA outs, but I just plugged the cans back in and it didn't enable them again. I had to unplug the gizmo from the computer and plug it back in again. (Seem to remember reading that someone else had experienced a similar thing.)
 
At the moment, I reckon it's outperforming the Essence by quite a margin, but can't be bothered with A/B tests at this time of night!
 
I rather suspect that the power supply on this computer is noisy as hell. Tomorrow I'm hoping to take delivery of a toslink cable, and I'll try powering it from a 1000 mv USB mains adaptor instead of the computer. I rather suspect that'll effect a very significant improvement.
 
Alex

 
Are you planning to do an A/B with the STX sometime?  I would like to see how that pans out as I am trying to decide between getting an AE D1 and an STX right now.

 

[sonic2911]

Quote:

I've just bought a D1 to replace my Essence STX. I've been pleased with the Essence, but I've just had a new i5/Win 7 x64 PC, and it doesn't play nicely with the soundcard (lots of noise). First impressions were very positive, but for some strangeness: I don't know if it tries to do some weird automatic gain or impedance matching or something, but my first impression was that it sounded nice but had a lot less output than the Essence - especially through the RCA outputs. I have a hi-fi with a Naim integrated amp I sometimes plug into, and through that, it sounded a little bit feeble at first, with not much more drive than a portable MP3 player. Anyway, I've just been out for a few hours, and when I re-booted the computer, it suddenly decided to double its output! Stunning sound though my HD 380 pros, which is what I mainly want it for. If anything, it's a bit too powerful.
 
So it sounds great, but I think it does have a few technical flaws. You have to unplug the headphones to enable the RCA outs, but I just plugged the cans back in and it didn't enable them again. I had to unplug the gizmo from the computer and plug it back in again. (Seem to remember reading that someone else had experienced a similar thing.)
 
At the moment, I reckon it's outperforming the Essence by quite a margin, but can't be bothered with A/B tests at this time of night!
 
I rather suspect that the power supply on this computer is noisy as hell. Tomorrow I'm hoping to take delivery of a toslink cable, and I'll try powering it from a 1000 mv USB mains adaptor instead of the computer. I rather suspect that'll effect a very significant improvement.
 
Alex

can u recommend to me a good toslink cable? i wanna use the D1 with my MBP but it's just has 2 USB ports and i used both of them, so i must use the toslink with D1.

 

[Earwicker]

Quote:

 
Are you planning to do an A/B with the STX sometime?  I would like to see how that pans out as I am trying to decide between getting an AE D1 and an STX right now.

 
Yes, I'll do it later today if I can. The D1 won't have had its full 30 hrs of burn-in time, but I can't imagine it's going to change much. Early impressions are that it outperforms the Essence by a fair margin, although bear in mind that the Essence doesn't seem to like this particular PC much.
 
Now that the D1 has sorted itself out a bit, it is apparent that like all such devices these days - well, for the past 30 years really! - it applies far too much gain, but otherwise sounds fantastic.
 
Alex

 

[jdip]

Quote:

 
Yes, I'll do it later today if I can. The D1 won't have had its full 30 hrs of burn-in time, but I can't imagine it's going to change much. Early impressions are that it outperforms the Essence by a fair margin, although bear in mind that the Essence doesn't seem to like this particular PC much.
 
Now that the D1 has sorted itself out a bit, it is apparent that like all such devices these days - well, for the past 30 years really! - it applies far too much gain, but otherwise sounds fantastic.
 
Alex

 
Thanks, much appreciated.
 
I like the form factor of the D1 but the only thing holding me back is that unlike the STX, it doesn't have Dolby Headphone which is supposed to be very nice for games and movies.