[homesickmadmax]

My current set up is:
iPhone -> iFi Hip Dac -> HD6XX & HE4XX

I listen mostly at lower volumes and the Hip Dac’s bass boost does a great job of giving me sufficient bottom-end even at these lower volumes.

Problem is, I’m sick of stacking! And the idea of having a DAP that is not connected to Wi-Fi and is strictly off-line is very appealing.

I’m just wondering if I can tweak the EQ on the NW-A55 to somewhat match the bass boost I’m getting from the Hip Dac?

I totally understand that

Personally, I like my Hip-Hop songs to have a lot of bass. Without my amp directly with the NW-A55, I manage to have a great amount of bass with EQ and Sony different sound enhancements. The "Clear Audio +" switch gives a lot of bass. It is good for some genres, but I usually leave it off.

I suggest you, if you buy one, that you give a try to the firmware mods of @MrWalkman . There are two for the A55. Both add sound quality to the player.

 

[TheEldestBoy]

I totally understand that

Personally, I like my Hip-Hop songs to have a lot of bass. Without my amp directly with the NW-A55, I manage to have a great amount of bass with EQ and Sony different sound enhancements. The "Clear Audio +" switch gives a lot of bass. It is good for some genres, but I usually leave it off.

I suggest you, if you buy one, that you give a try to the firmware mods of @MrWalkman . There are two for the A55. Both add sound quality to the player.

Thanks a bunch for the feedback. I think you’re right, I should buy one and give it a shot and listen for myself.

I actually stream all my music right now, and I have for the past number of years. I don’t remember the last time I bought a CD or a digital download!

Having said that, lately I’ve been having the itch to disconnect from the Internet and start building an off-line library.

As crazy as it sounds in this day and age, I’m considering buying CDs again. Ripping them to my computer and then keeping the CDs as a back up.

And then whenever I get around to building a decent stereo system I’ll have my CDs ready to go.

 

[homesickmadmax]

Thanks a bunch for the feedback. I think you’re right, I should buy one and give it a shot and listen for myself.

I actually stream all my music right now, and I have for the past number of years. I don’t remember the last time I bought a CD or a digital download!

Having said that, lately I’ve been having to itch to disconnect from the Internet and start building an off-line library.

As crazy as it sounds in this day and age, I’m considering buying CDs again. Ripping them to my computer and then keeping the CDs as a back up.

And then whenever I get around to building a decent stereo system I’ll have my CDs ready to go.

Honestly you won't regret it a second. It sounds great and is a breeze to use. The battery life is also great.

Man I love cd's. It is so easy to use and when you buy a CD, you tend to listen to it more (at least for me).

 

[nc8000]

Thanks a bunch for the feedback. I think you’re right, I should buy one and give it a shot and listen for myself.

I actually stream all my music right now, and I have for the past number of years. I don’t remember the last time I bought a CD or a digital download!

Having said that, lately I’ve been having the itch to disconnect from the Internet and start building an off-line library.

As crazy as it sounds in this day and age, I’m considering buying CDs again. Ripping them to my computer and then keeping the CDs as a back up.

And then whenever I get around to building a decent stereo system I’ll have my CDs ready to go.

I still buy a fair number of cd’s, mostly second hand, and rip while still keeping the cd’s for back up

 

[beautiophile]

I still buy a fair number of cd’s, mostly second hand, and rip while still keeping the cd’s for back up

There are many more effective means (e.g. NAS, cloud) to retain back-ups, but I like your idea. I'm planning to make room on my bookshelf to store cds the same way I store paper books against my kobo e-reader. Haha.

 

[coztex]

I've been yarrharring most of the time

 

[nc8000]

There are many more effective means (e.g. NAS, cloud) to retain back-ups, but I like your idea. I'm planning to make room on my bookshelf to store cds the same way I store paper books against my kobo e-reader. Haha.

I’ve backed my files up both on my nas and on a usb drive, I keep the cd’s as it would be illeagal to keep the ripped files without keeping the cd they were ripped from. Also my wife don’t like picking music on a display, she prefers picking a cd and putting it in the cd player

 

[earmonger]

I’ve backed my files up both on my nas and on a usb drive, I keep the cd’s as it would be illeagal to keep the ripped files without keeping the cd they were ripped from. Also my wife don’t like picking music on a display, she prefers picking a cd and putting it in the cd player

A CD player? What is that?

 

[nc8000]

A CD player? What is that?

 

[iFi audio]

I’m just wondering if I can tweak the EQ on the NW-A55 to somewhat match the bass boost I’m getting from the Hip Dac?

Perhaps something similar could be done with a parametric EQ, but I don't think it would be the same. Our bass booster is done in the analog domain, and that's one of reasons why it works the way it works.

 

[bach98]

this sounds good when paired with a55.

 

[WilcoRoger]

Good pairing, IMO (I've an ER3SE)

 

[iFi audio]

this sounds good when paired with a55.

It's been a while since the last time I saw these. Analytical, clean and precise sound signature I presume?

 

[fish1050]

I still buy a fair number of cd’s, mostly second hand, and rip while still keeping the cd’s for back up

Yeah I also still buy used CD's except after I rip them I burn the tracks to blank DVD's as a backup and I also store copies on external hard drive for easy access. Then I resell the CD's to help finance the operation. Buying them used online and then selling them locally I can often break even and sometimes make a profit.

So a friend of mine bought an A55 off of ebay.ca. When he received the retail box was filthy. Clearly it had been sitting on shelf somewhere for a very long time. The unit was completely dead and could not be charged. So he had to return it and get his money back. I am wondering if Sony is still producing the A55 or are you getting units that have been sitting around for years possibly? I have been going back and forth about buying one but this experience has me wary. When you buy a unit as old as the A55 is now do you really know how long it has been sitting around before you bought it?

 

[bach98]

It's been a while since the last time I saw these. Analytical, clean and precise sound signature I presume?

Yes. Neutral, Clean, Lots of details but still very enjoyable (esp vocals and guitar). I think this is the bang for the buck under 60$.