[7nationarmy]

Anyone compared this to the Dragonfly Red and Black? Couldn't seem to find any on this.

 

[Roen]

Draws more current / power than both the Red and Black. Seems to use the same DAC chip as the Black.

Achieves more technical spec (32/384) than Dragonfly (24/96). Whether you'll be able to hear the difference is up to you.

Physical volume control via buttons on the dongle.

Serves as a SPDIF bridge if you need.

Better value for money, IMHO.

 

[Armaegis]

The spdif/optical output is quite handy. I'm rather allergic these days to installing a million different drivers every time I audition new dacs, so being able to leave just the one connected and feeding the spdif to others is a huge convenience.

 

[7nationarmy]

Draws more current / power than both the Red and Black. Seems to use the same DAC chip as the Black.

Achieves more technical spec (32/384) than Dragonfly (24/96). Whether you'll be able to hear the difference is up to you.

Physical volume control via buttons on the dongle.

Serves as a SPDIF bridge if you need.

Better value for money, IMHO.

 
Hmm, I am not too concerned about power draw and buttons. More on the sound, because I can go and try the Dragonflies since there are local dealers, but not the mDSD. What do you think of the sound differences though?

 

[Roen]

I haven't auditioned them against each other, so I'll refrain from making any comment.

 

[eldss]

  Anyone compared this to the Dragonfly Red and Black? Couldn't seem to find any on this.

You should ask @cleg. He's reviewed all three of them. I asked him on the other forum and below is what he responded. Not a lot of buzz about the mDSD, but for $100, it's hard to beat. 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/805832/new-dragonfly-black-and-red-discussion/1485#post_12809235

 

[7nationarmy]

  You should ask @cleg. He's reviewed all three of them. I asked him on the other forum and below is what he responded. Not a lot of buzz about the mDSD, but for $100, it's hard to beat. 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/805832/new-dragonfly-black-and-red-discussion/1485#post_12809235

Thanks for that. Roen pointed out that the mDSD is not suitable for the super sensitive 846s, but so far no such issue pointed out with the Dragonflies. It'll be nice if I can try the mDSD for myself, but so far no local retailer that i can find.

 

[Roen]

Thanks for that. Roen pointed out that the mDSD is not suitable for the super sensitive 846s, but so far no such issue pointed out with the Dragonflies. It'll be nice if I can try the mDSD for myself, but so far no local retailer that i can find.

DSD is a very addicting thing.......

 

[megah1rz]

I read a review and decided to buy. I am satisfied with the purchase. Clearly better than the black dragonfly. As a portable device - very cool!

 

[JCruk]

  This looks interesting! Too bad I just missed the fundraiser. Can anyone confirm if this little device works with Linux (Ubuntu)?

 
A little late...
 
But the Encore mDSD does work with Ubuntu 16.04+
 
It is recognized by recent kernels and I've been able to get it to play DSD files using MPD (0.20.2). However, I had to set: dop "yes" within the .mpdconf in order for DSD files to work, so it's limited to DSD128 files as a maximum. That might just be a kernel module limitation with the XMOS chip in the mDSD. Maybe future kernels will allow native DSD support.

 

[Roen]

I will say there is a hugely negative con, and it goes to build quality / design.

Static electricity can serve to temporarily short the unit and immediately blast max volume. It's not a pleasant surprise when you have deep inserted IEMs.

It's readily reproducible too with IEMs. I haven't seen this occur in my QC35, but it is within the realm of possibility. Whenever I'm wearing my ski jacket and have the mDSD in lined pockets, I have to be careful how I move, otherwise, I'll get a painful surprise. Hell, even if the mDSD is in my khaki pants pocket and I'm taking off my ski jacket, it can still generate enough static electricity to short the unit.

However, if you only use this as a desktop DAC for your computer, then it's a non-issue.

 

[Armaegis]

That's the first I've ever heard of that... does it happen when you touch the case, or also when you touch your iem cable?

 

[Roen]

That's the first I've ever heard of that... does it happen when you touch the case, or also when you touch your iem cable?

Doesn't happen when I touch the case or cable, but when the mDSD is in my pants pocket or jacket pocket. It's not static that's on my body, but the static being generated by a fuzzy jacket that's shorting the mDSD.

It's been happening for months now, I've just been a bit lax in posting this.

I would recommend for you to test it, but use smooth playing track that doesn't hurt your ears when blasted at max mDSD volume for 1-2 seconds.

Pressing any volume button will bring the mDSD back down to previous volume levels.

 

[Armaegis]

Are you sure it's static and not something from the cabling or casing being bumped around? What would happen if you put the mDSD into a little ziploc bag or something? just a random though, as this seems like very strange behaviour and static does not typically jump without a path to flow (so I wouldn'tt expect it to happen inside a pocket... but who knows).

 

[Roen]

Are you sure it's static and not something from the cabling or casing being bumped around? What would happen if you put the mDSD into a little ziploc bag or something? just a random though, as this seems like very strange behaviour and static does not typically jump without a path to flow (so I wouldn'tt expect it to happen inside a pocket... but who knows).

It's happened on multiple cable sets as my IEMs are MMCX. It's also happened on multiple IEMs. It also only occurs when I'm wearing a jacket with fuzzy lining that likes to generate a lot of static. I could try ziploc next time and report my results.