[Joe-Siow]

I'm using mine to drive a HD600. And I'm loving the SQ it produces.

 

[AustinHorn]

Larry +, FYI, after complaining about the headroom limitations of my 1st DACmini compared to my HDP dac/amp, CEntrance sent me a "tuned-up model"  that now has even more volume with both my HE5LE & my 880 600 ohm Beyer's. I told them that this should now be their new standard for this CX model of the mini.
 
Now it not only sounds better with all my phones, it will play them louder than I normally listen now too. Very happy with this version now with my Orthos.  The LCD-2 worked with my other mini fine too, but now it seems even a better match & now it is a great match for both the HE5LE & my Beyers. 
 
Anyway, FYI...
Quote:

Quote:

Apologies for thread-digging...


 


I know this was kinda stated early in this thread. But do you mind reiterating your stand again about the DACport vs the Nuforce HDP as "one-box" solutions for a HD600?


 


I'm aiming for either of these for my HD600 (stock cables for now) to use with music that requires a very expansive soundstage (esp. for the separation), textured sound, micro-detail and fast transients.


 


Cheers!


 


ADD: Or are there any other "one-box" solutions out there I should consider (or at least shortlist to consider)? I want to keep the budget at around this range but, as I'm only working towards earning one of these for this year, I can afford to stretch a bit (just not too much).

 


I don't think I have anything to add to my review using HD600. A lot depends on how loud you like it, with HDP driving the HD600 a bit more authoritatively and louder. The DACmini is another one-box solution to consider, and I think in sound quality it's a step above the others mentioned in the review. It's clearly more powerful than the DACport, although with something like the HE-6 headphones only the HDP has enough power.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Larry +, FYI, after complaining about the headroom limitations of my 1st DACmini compared to my HDP dac/amp, CEntrance sent me a "tuned-up model"  that now has even more volume with both my HE5LE & my 880 600 ohm Beyer's. I told them that this should now be their new standard for this CX model of the mini.
 
Now it not only sounds better with all my phones, it will play them louder than I normally listen now too. Very happy with this version now with my Orthos.  The LCD-2 worked with my other mini fine too, but now it seems even a better match & now it is a great match for both the HE5LE & my Beyers. 
 
Anyway, FYI...

 

I'm actually quite happy with the stock gain, as I use it with my IEM much more than with my full size phones.  I'm not sure I would want to send it in for a change.  We'll see, after I get to do more testing with my full size phones, as I'm still burning it in with music.

 

[AustinHorn]

Hey, I'm very glad to hear you now have a DACmini to evaluate. I love mine a lot.  Upping the gain of mine hasn't had a negative effect on my use of IEMs. So now it can drive my Orthos + my Beyers as well.
 
I'll be very interested to see your comments on your experiences with your mini. Hopefully even a formal review of it might be forthcoming.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy yours as much as I've been enjoying mine.
 
Quote:

I'm actually quite happy with the stock gain, as I use it with my IEM much more than with my full size phones.  I'm not sure I would want to send it in for a change.  We'll see, after I get to do more testing with my full size phones, as I'm still burning it in with music.

 

[sfhoo]

Does anybody experience low volume imbalance with DACport? The headphone I used was TripleFi 10 Fisher mod.
 
My setup
 
Foobar2000 > ASIO4ALL v2 > DACport > TripleFi 10
 
Volume on DACport was about 7-8 o'clock when I experienced imbalance. I also tried listen to it with my Sony MDR-EX71 cheap headphone, same problem, imbalance around 7-8 o'clock. I can tell because I switch left and right also try with different song. Thanks

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Does anybody experience low volume imbalance with DACport? The headphone I used was TripleFi 10 Fisher mod.
 
My setup
 
Foobar2000 > ASIO4ALL v2 > DACport > TripleFi 10
 
Volume on DACport was about 7-8 o'clock when I experienced imbalance. I also tried listen to it with my Sony MDR-EX71 cheap headphone, same problem, imbalance around 7-8 o'clock. I can tell because I switch left and right also try with different song. Thanks

I have no channel imbalance with mine.

 

[sfhoo]

Thanks for the reply.  Hopefully I won't get the same problem with the exchange unit.
Quote:

I have no channel imbalance with mine.

 

 

[mrspeakers]

Tracks very nicely with my IEMs.  At the very lowest volumes it drifts, but I never listen *that* low.  The tracking is way better than my D12.

 

[crumpler]

Just placed an order for the DACport! Can't wait to hear what this little USB driven AMP can do!

 

[monsieurguzel]

Yeah, I played with mine a little to see how the volume tracked and it is pretty much perfect all the way through low volume.  There is only some imbalance at the very lowest level (7-8 o'clock) which is normal with pretty much any volume pot which isn't a stepped attenuator or something like an Alps RK-50.  I wouldn't worry about it and I don't think your unit is defective.
 
On a side note, I'm really loving mine paired with the Ed 8 headphones!  Great match!

 

[pekingduck]

No channel imbalance with mine either. Phones are JH13.

 

[crumpler]

Just a quick question, i'll be able to use my DACport purely as a DAC with a 3.5mm - RCA cable yes? And in this configuration, i'll just have to turn the volume dial all the way up to ensure no audio data is lost?

 

[pekingduck]

Yes I've tried it myself and it works pretty good.
 
Quote:

Just a quick question, i'll be able to use my DACport purely as a DAC with a 3.5mm - RCA cable yes? And in this configuration, i'll just have to turn the volume dial all the way up to ensure no audio data is lost?

 

 

[crumpler]

Quote:

Yes I've tried it myself and it works pretty good.
 


 

Cheers mate!
 
 

 

[mrspeakers]

Quote:

Just a quick question, i'll be able to use my DACport purely as a DAC with a 3.5mm - RCA cable yes? And in this configuration, i'll just have to turn the volume dial all the way up to ensure no audio data is lost?

The volume control on the DACPort is analog.  If you turn it all the way up the output voltage could get way too high to be line-level for many devices.  You'll lose nothing by simply adjusting the DACPort volume to create an appropriate output level for whatever you are driving to sound "about right" in the loudness department (as in output should sound similar in volume to when you use a CD player to drive the same amplifier, or whatever you're trying to feed this into).
 
Since you mention losing data, I think you must be referring to the volume on iTunes?  If so, the answer is "yes," but you also need to turn off all the volume equalization, cross fading, EQ, and any other affects or the output won't be bit perfect.  
 
As an editorial comment: using the DACPort as purely a DAC means you also have amps and buffers in the signal path, which duplicate the gain stages in whatever amp you do chose to use, so there will be some loss in SQ.  Depending on your system and budget, just finding a pure DAC for this purpose might suit you better...