Hello, so I'm new to the hi-fi audio scene, and I would like to ask for you guys"s help. So, I'm looking into getting a budget DAP which can run something like the HD6XX, and I've stumbled upon this little guy. So, can it drive the 6XX well? And, how better is it compared to Fiio M3K? Is there a world of difference?
Shanling M0 - Smallest Hi-Res Portable Player - New Firmware V3.6
- Thread starter Shanling
- Start date
-
- Tags
- dap ldac shanling shanling m0
fish1050
Headphoneus Supremus
In power alone it is a major step up with what I believe is 3x more power than the M3K. Not mention full bluetooth support and while I haven't heard the M3K I have to believe it sounds better as well.
So can the M0 drive the HD6XX or is it not possible for it?
Haha, I see. So can you recommend me a Budget DAC that can drive the HD6XX satisfactorily?
xxAMAROKxx
100+ Head-Fier
Yesterday, I've heard HD650 from M0 and I was very satisfied. It's one of the good choice - sound-balanced-wise - for these headphones. No problem with volume on Hi gain.
roladyzator
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2006
- Posts
- 55
- Likes
- 33
Do you have a particular issue with HD6XX 's sound that you'd like to address?
M0 has enough power to drive HD6XX to very loud levels. Full 2V RMS output equals to 114.25dB. As high impedance phones HD6XX don't need much current either.
If you need louder, without spending much money, FiiO E10K would give you 2dB more with it's ~8Vpp output.
I don't tihnk adding excess power or increasing SNR from 110 to 120dB for example would give you tangible improvements.
But neither M0 or E10K are significantly better sound-wise than a half-decent on-board sound these days (provided you don't use any audio enhancement software which often adds distortion) - to my experience with Thinkpad T460, by no means an audiophile laptop
I was very disappointed when I bought Aune X1s, a ~200USD dac/amp, claimed here to be exceptionally revealing and good at soundstaging, and finding that it wasn't any better than the on-board sound in a double blind test. So happily returned it
I recommend you to play around with some EQing first on whatever you have now, to find if you like HD600 better with more bass, treble or a tailored EQ preset such as Sonarworks of TB Morphit provides.
Then you could go with a bright, warm DAC or even a tube amp in the future - something that does change the sound to your preference.
I have Beyerdynamic DT150, which some users here compare to HD600 and I can say they sound good, but they don't get any wow factor in anything I tried with them (M0, Aune X1s, on-board sound, Samsung S7).
All those sources still result in the same laid-back sound that albeit full and non-fatiguing, sounds kind of dull. I actually prefer Koss KSC75 for majority of my musical collection.
M0 has a gentle sound, with no excess treble or bass and very low distortion, which makes is it the smoothest sounding of all sources I tried. I don't think you can get much better as far as neutral sound signature goes if you don't need more power for inefficient headphones, which HD6XX luckily are not.
Last edited:
Oh, thank you!
You can basically forget any budget DAP with a high impedance headphone, especially one as inefficient as the Sennheiser HD6nn series.
These DAPs are designed to drive IEMs and other low impedance headphones.
M0 will drive a T5p or an LCD-X but it deosn't sound anywhere near as special as when driving a suitable IEM in my opinion. It doesn't get the best out of the full size phones. It sounds a bit flat, a bit boring. On the other hand it makes my humble Sony EX650's sound amazing, the iBasso IT01 even more so.
Last edited:
roladyzator
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2006
- Posts
- 55
- Likes
- 33
High impedance HPs being difficult to drive is a common misconception repeated here again and again.
Often there is not enough voltage range in battery-operated devices to get sufficient power at higher impedances - is that what you mean?
High impedance headphones don't need much current and are actually easier to drive if you have the voltage.
High impedance measures the voltage in a way and does not draw much current.
Low impedance headphones draw more current, which leads to a heavier load on the source and degrading performance characteristics such as THD and crosstalk in most output stage designs.
Still, you'd be surprised to find out how bad distortion and crosstalk measurements in a source must be before you really notice them.
Back to M0, it can handle high impedance headphones well as long as then are sensitive enough to reach ~110 dB at 2V rms.
M0 just doesn't have anything that special about its sound. It's not bad by any means but not spectacular in any way.
Certainly not worse than similarly priced competition for the sound alone (and slightly better than most smartphones), but it's the features and form factor makes it really exceptional and worth buying IMO.
Often there is not enough voltage range in battery-operated devices to get sufficient power at higher impedances - is that what you mean?
High impedance headphones don't need much current and are actually easier to drive if you have the voltage.
High impedance measures the voltage in a way and does not draw much current.
Low impedance headphones draw more current, which leads to a heavier load on the source and degrading performance characteristics such as THD and crosstalk in most output stage designs.
Still, you'd be surprised to find out how bad distortion and crosstalk measurements in a source must be before you really notice them.
Back to M0, it can handle high impedance headphones well as long as then are sensitive enough to reach ~110 dB at 2V rms.
M0 just doesn't have anything that special about its sound. It's not bad by any means but not spectacular in any way.
Certainly not worse than similarly priced competition for the sound alone (and slightly better than most smartphones), but it's the features and form factor makes it really exceptional and worth buying IMO.
Last edited:
xxAMAROKxx
100+ Head-Fier
I suppose, that balanced and transparent sound of the M0 is given by the technology of its DAC.
Most of the other DAPs have dedicated op-amps, but the M0's ES9218P has amps implemented into the chip. One for each channel.
Moreover, the ES9218P has the new HyperStream II technology. Even the ES9023 (..it should be 9038..) flagship hasn't that.
Most of the other DAPs have dedicated op-amps, but the M0's ES9218P has amps implemented into the chip. One for each channel.
Moreover, the ES9218P has the new HyperStream II technology. Even the ES9023 (..it should be 9038..) flagship hasn't that.
Last edited:
The ES9023 is not a flagship. It is... how can I put this politely... decidedly average? I could use stronger language.
The flagship line was ES9018, then ES9028 and now ES9038 Pro. The ES9018 is still a very fine chip when properly implemented.
There is more to it than just providing the correct voltage and current. The M0 just does fine against the tiny diaphragms and tiny back EMFs of IEMs but does not fare so well against large headphones of which I gave two examples with quite different impedances (LCD-X is only 20 ohms). M0 sounds best with price-appropriate IEMs in my opinion.
xxAMAROKxx
100+ Head-Fier
Oh, I was thinking about ..38 DAC ... then read more sheets like that http://www.esstech.com/index.php?cID=422 and than put it wrong. I like the simplicity of Block diagram down there.
viveksaikia22
100+ Head-Fier
Any owner of M0 can shed some light on the above query?
Users who are viewing this thread
