[BartSimpson1976]

 
The Hi-res audio samples on the A15 aren't too mindblowing, honestly

Don't worry, that's just because "Hi-Res" does not offer any audible difference to FLAC or even high-quality MP3s. Regardless of what devices you use.

 

[doniethegreat]

I'm looking at the FiiO E12 (with the L5 cable from the WM out port). Think that would be a good pairing for the device & B&O's?

I gotta admit, I use ALAC. No difference in sound quality, but I just find iTunes so easy to use & hard to abandon, even if I never buy anything from Apple directly.

Just upgraded to FW 1.21... All up to date & ready to go! Time to fill this card up.

Try JDS labs C5 amplifier. It has very good reviews. I am waiting for mine to arrive but Im pretty sure it will be a very good combo.

 

[fish1050]

  Decided to spoil myself for Xmas and pick up one of these, a hefty microSD card, & a new pair of headphones (B&O H2's). Started transfering music, but after the first album (Air's "Moon Safari"), I decided I'd just give it a quick listen to make sure everything moved over OK... That was about half an hour ago, and I'm now on "You Make It Easy"

Whoops... But a good whoops!
 
Build quality doesn't seem to be as premium as the NWZ-A845 it's replacing, but if the A15 can serve me for the 4/5 years the NWZ-A845 has, then hey, I'll have bought myself a bargain.

I was curious about the H2's since the review on whathifi was very positive.  I was also curious about whathifi saying "the headband is made from a clever ‘adaptive’ composite material, and while the fit is reassuringly snug, it never becomes uncomfortable, even during longer listening sessions. This impressive comfort is helped by the beautifully finished lambskin leather-covered earpads".   Since comfort is a major stumbling block for me with most headphones I have tried it makes the H2's sound very interesting. 
 
Also I was wondering how the H2's compare to the Sony MDR-100AAP's as they sell for the same price in Canada.  The Sony's didn't isolate well or fit my ears well so I am interested in how H2's compare in these two areas and of course in terms of sound quality.  Unfortunately the only useful spec I can find on the H2 is the frequency response (20-22Khz) no mention of sensitivity or impedance. 
 
Would appreciate your impressions of the H2's in conjunction with your A15.   I can buy the H2's in Canada but I can't find any retail stores in Toronto that sell them so I can't audition them.

 

[fish1050]

Try JDS labs C5 amplifier. It has very good reviews. I am waiting for mine to arrive but Im pretty sure it will be a very good combo.

Before I bought me E12A I was considering the C5.  I went with the E12A as it was available locally so I could audition it.  The C5 has gotten good reviews so you should be quite happy.

 

[Mickice]

I only tried my old Fiio E7, it actually made it sound worse xD

 

[MonkeyKingBar]

Try JDS labs C5 amplifier. It has very good reviews. I am waiting for mine to arrive but Im pretty sure it will be a very good combo.

 
Thanks for the tip - I look forward to reading your thoughts on it. I ordered the FiiO L5 cable earlier, but I'm going to take my time & make sure I get the right amp for my needs.
 

 
I was curious about the H2's since the review on whathifi was very positive.  I was also curious about whathifi saying "the headband is made from a clever ‘adaptive’ composite material, and while the fit is reassuringly snug, it never becomes uncomfortable, even during longer listening sessions. This impressive comfort is helped by the beautifully finished lambskin leather-covered earpads".   Since comfort is a major stumbling block for me with most headphones I have tried it makes the H2's sound very interesting. 
 
Also I was wondering how the H2's compare to the Sony MDR-100AAP's as they sell for the same price in Canada.  The Sony's didn't isolate well or fit my ears well so I am interested in how H2's compare in these two areas and of course in terms of sound quality.  Unfortunately the only useful spec I can find on the H2 is the frequency response (20-22Khz) no mention of sensitivity or impedance. 
 
Would appreciate your impressions of the H2's in conjunction with your A15.   I can buy the H2's in Canada but I can't find any retail stores in Toronto that sell them so I can't audition them.

 
I have a fairly large head (26" circurmference measured just above the eyeline with no hair) and pretty small ears. I went through three albums yesterday (with a break between 2 & 3), and I didn't find them uncomfortable at all. If anything, the size of the earpieces & snugness of the fit suit my head perfectly.
 
Sadly, I'm unable to give you any sort of comparison, be it technical or subjective, to the MDR-100AAP's, as I don't own (and haven't tried) a pair personally. However, I can give you a subjective, non-technical mini-write up of my experience so far with the H2's & A15.
 
Volume wise, the A15 drives the H2's comfortably. I had the sound at 25/30 for louder music, as anything higher was just verging on uncomfortable for me. Keep in mind I'm an aspiring career musician & have cranked tube guitar amps up to max for well over a decade - If I say something is loud, then chances are it's pretty damn loud!
 
Sound quality is just pretty damn exciting. I don't listen to much heavy stuff, but I threw on "Rooster" by Alice in Chains (click for link), as it's one of my favourite headphone testing songs. Once the vocal accompaniment kicks in ("yeah they come to snuff the Rooster"), my expectations were building, and being matched... But when it kicks into the distorted guitar - That's when I've heard gear fail on me in the past (although that's typically hi-fi/PC audio gear). However, the A15 kicked the H2's into overdrive, and the wall of sound it produced was just absolutely godly. Bit of a statement, but I'd say it's a more impressive immediate sound than my much more expensive hi-fi setup, but hey, apples and oranges. I'm curious as to how a headphone amp can make that sound much better, honestly - Something for me to look forward to

 
Going to test the A15 with some classical music tonight. I've Evgeny Kissin performing Shostakovich's Piano Concerto #1, so it'll be interesting to see how everything handles that.

 

[alecjcook]

  Don't worry, that's just because "Hi-Res" does not offer any audible difference to FLAC or even high-quality MP3s. Regardless of what devices you use.

the hi-res files are 24-bit. MP3s are 16 bit, there will be a massive difference in quality

 

[Nikori]

  the hi-res files are 24-bit. MP3s are 16 bit, there will be a massive difference in quality

Lol not really. I'm convinced the "difference" I hear is all in my head. How do I know? I did an AB test with a 320kbps mp3 compressed from my 24/96 file. I only got 8/10 right and this was with EXTREMELY careful listening and a song I knew really well. But I still listen to hi-res so that's that )

 

[alecjcook]

  Lol not really. I'm convinced the "difference" I hear is all in my head. How do I know? I did an AB test with a 320kbps mp3 compressed from my 24/96 file. I only got 8/10 right and this was with EXTREMELY careful listening and a song I knew really well. But I still listen to hi-res so that's that )

Hi, this diagram shows an example of the difference between (8), 16 and 24 bit depth. If you can't hear the difference, does not mean the difference isn't there. 
In realistic terms it will matter what kind of song you are listening too. For example, if your trial track is highly compressed heavy metal with lots of distortion, no, I don't think you will hear the difference.

 

[The Walrus]

However high quality, mp3 is lossy so some people will hear a minute difference, some won't. But it is not because mp3 is 16 Bits. 44.1KHz sample rate CD quality files are also 16 Bits.
Your 24 Bit downloads may sound better, but it is not because they are in 24 Bits but because they probably used a different master. Downsample your 24 Bit files to 16 Bits and they will be identical as far as the human ear can hear.
The stair-steps you posted above exist only on paper and showing them getting smoother as the bit depth gets higher is just misleading to say the least. For more info please watch this:
https://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml 
Here is a great article on 24 Bit downloads: https://xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html 

 

[castleofargh]

 

  Lol not really. I'm convinced the "difference" I hear is all in my head. How do I know? I did an AB test with a 320kbps mp3 compressed from my 24/96 file. I only got 8/10 right and this was with EXTREMELY careful listening and a song I knew really well. But I still listen to hi-res so that's that )

Hi, this diagram shows an example of the difference between (8), 16 and 24 bit depth. If you can't hear the difference, does not mean the difference isn't there. 
In realistic terms it will matter what kind of song you are listening too. For example, if your trial track is highly compressed heavy metal with lots of distortion, no, I don't think you will hear the difference.

what this graph shows does not exist in the sony! in fact it's the worst graph you can think of using in favor of highres.(I know sony did use something like that, and that's really not flattering for their marketing department). 
 what this graph shows, could exist somewhere in a messed up discrete DAC with zero filter to do the band limiting(or measured before the filters). but of course without band limiting Nyquist theorem doesn't work, and digital audio fails as a system.  so it's like saying, "look, CD resolution fails when I don't follow the number one rule of digital audio". shameless dishonesty.
I know it looks compelling when you know nothing about how modern DACs work, but it's at best an incomplete model that conveniently forgets to say so in favor of some highres agenda. I don't know what it was showing in its original context, but in your post that really what it is. mistake and/or manipulation.
 
 it's something that does not actually exist at the output of any competently built audio devices. and most certainly not at the output of a pulse modulated DAC like the sony ^_^.
the A10's DAC will in fact interpolate the samples so in any case the number of points used is always much higher than 16/44, and the amplitude precision is fixed by the modulation speed generating some noise. which also makes that diagram dead false for yet another reason.
 
I won't argue audibility of file formats here, there are plenty of topics in the sound science sub section where we can talk about that.

 

[dsouza]

The graph above is misleading and it does not exist in any DAC (either 16 or 24 bit).

Below is the best article I've read so far explaining such common misconception:
https://xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

BTW, there is no such thing as 16bit or 24bit MP3. All MP3 are float and this concept does not apply to MP3.

 

[fish1050]

   
Thanks for the tip - I look forward to reading your thoughts on it. I ordered the FiiO L5 cable earlier, but I'm going to take my time & make sure I get the right amp for my needs.
 
 
I have a fairly large head (26" circurmference measured just above the eyeline with no hair) and pretty small ears. I went through three albums yesterday (with a break between 2 & 3), and I didn't find them uncomfortable at all. If anything, the size of the earpieces & snugness of the fit suit my head perfectly.
 
Sadly, I'm unable to give you any sort of comparison, be it technical or subjective, to the MDR-100AAP's, as I don't own (and haven't tried) a pair personally. However, I can give you a subjective, non-technical mini-write up of my experience so far with the H2's & A15.
 
Volume wise, the A15 drives the H2's comfortably. I had the sound at 25/30 for louder music, as anything higher was just verging on uncomfortable for me. Keep in mind I'm an aspiring career musician & have cranked tube guitar amps up to max for well over a decade - If I say something is loud, then chances are it's pretty damn loud!
 
Sound quality is just pretty damn exciting. I don't listen to much heavy stuff, but I threw on "Rooster" by Alice in Chains (click for link), as it's one of my favourite headphone testing songs. Once the vocal accompaniment kicks in ("yeah they come to snuff the Rooster"), my expectations were building, and being matched... But when it kicks into the distorted guitar - That's when I've heard gear fail on me in the past (although that's typically hi-fi/PC audio gear). However, the A15 kicked the H2's into overdrive, and the wall of sound it produced was just absolutely godly. Bit of a statement, but I'd say it's a more impressive immediate sound than my much more expensive hi-fi setup, but hey, apples and oranges. I'm curious as to how a headphone amp can make that sound much better, honestly - Something for me to look forward to

 
Going to test the A15 with some classical music tonight. I've Evgeny Kissin performing Shostakovich's Piano Concerto #1, so it'll be interesting to see how everything handles that.

Thanks for the feedback on the H2's, no big deal on the MDR-100AAP as they didn't work for me anyway. 
 
How are the H2's for noise isolation and sound leakage?   One of my biggest negatives on the MDR-100AAP  was poor isolation.  If the H2's isolate reasonably well they may be my next headphones.

 

[fish1050]

I don't listen to much heavy stuff, but I threw on "Rooster" by Alice in Chains (click for link), as it's one of my favourite headphone testing songs. Once the vocal accompaniment kicks in ("yeah they come to snuff the Rooster"), my expectations were building, and being matched... But when it kicks into the distorted guitar - That's when I've heard gear fail on me in the past (although that's typically hi-fi/PC audio gear). However, the A15 kicked the H2's into overdrive, and the wall of sound it produced was just absolutely godly.
 
I lived in St Louis for awhile and had several friends who were musicians.  One buddy worked for St. Louis Music designing custom guitar amps and had his own instrument repair business.  He also played in a classic rock cover band and one of their signature songs was "Rooster".  He plays lead guitar and can really shred this song, always got the crowd on their feet.

 

[heliuscc]

Try JDS labs C5 amplifier. It has very good reviews. I am waiting for mine to arrive but Im pretty sure it will be a very good combo.

RSA Shadow, tiny amp, USB charging, battery lasts ages, and sounds good. And stacks with A15 well, wish the WM port cable was right angled though.