[zikarus]

Any recommended dap pairings thus far?

Using mine with a Shanling M3x and they sound great (low gain balanced).

 

[lmf22]

Any recommended dap pairings thus far?

I'm using these with the Sony WM1A (balanced output). Excellent sound and you can tune it with a few custom firmware options.

I recently switched to High Gain and I'm hearing more and deeper bass, slightly clearer mids/vocals, and a bigger soundstage!

 

[jmills8]

I'm using these with the Sony WM1A (balanced output). Excellent sound and you can tune it with a few custom firmware options.

I recently switched to High Gain and I'm hearing more and deeper bass, slightly clearer mids/vocals, and a bigger soundstage!

How many MW in balance you getting? Hope it is atleast 800 MW.

 

[lmf22]

How many MW in balance you getting? Hope it is atleast 800 MW.

Not even close to 800mW. The Sony W1A is not known for it's high output power. Here's a screenshot of the audio output specs.

 

[jmills8]

Not even close to 800mW. The Sony W1A is not known for it's high output power. Here's a screenshot of the audio output specs.

Way under powered , come on Sony.

 

[gLer]

HiBy R8 here. Truth be told, the IE 900 sounds great off almost any source. I've tried it with my phone and with a portable DAC/amp and it's consistently excellent across these sources.

 

[pietcux]

Way under powered , come on Sony.

I drive my HD800 from the WM1A loud enough on High Gain balanced, there is plenty of power.

 

[gLer]

I drive my HD800 from the WM1A loud enough on High Gain balanced, there is plenty of power.

Volume is not the same as power, and power is nothing without control. The HD800 migh sound fine out of a WM1A but it's far from the best it can sound. Not even the most powerful DAP can drive an HD800 as well as a properly designed desktop amp, and the WM1A is not a powerful DAP.

 

[rantng]

Volume is not the same as power, and power is nothing without control...

 

[jmills8]

I drive my HD800 from the WM1A loud enough on High Gain balanced, there is plenty of power.

Nothing to do about loud , I know an old guy who just uses his phone with his HD800 and is happy , but the HD800 could sound a lot better. He wont try.

 

[pietcux]

Who of the ones criticizing the WM1A owns it? It has both, power and control. To me it is a V8 engine with high displacement and great torque at low rpm.

 

[jmills8]

Who of the ones criticizing the WM1A owns it? It has both, power and control. To me it is a V8 engine with high displacement and great torque at low rpm.

Had it and it lacks power.

 

[gLer]

Who of the ones criticizing the WM1A owns it? It has both, power and control. To me it is a V8 engine with high displacement and great torque at low rpm.

I wasn't criticising the WM1A, just pointing out it's not optimal for the HD800 no matter how loud it drives them. It would be much better suited to the IE 900, which incidentally is better than the HD800 in every metric I care about, and also happens to be the topic of this thread.

 

[pietcux]

Sure I rarely drive the HD800 with it, it is the IE900 companion now.

 

[Nostoi]

Who of the ones criticizing the WM1A owns it? It has both, power and control. To me it is a V8 engine with high displacement and great torque at low rpm.

I had the WM1A for a year or so; it's definitely way under powered. My conclusion is that it's designed for IEMs (and even then it really benefits from an external amp), all the headphones I tried sounded dynamically flat and quite lifeless.