[One and a half]

  Does PHA-2 enough to drive LCD-2? I am still struggling between  hifi-m8 + D100 and PHA-2, because I want to play DSD but not sure about the amp of pha-2.
 
I've read a review online said that the PHA-2 performs quite well with LCD-3, but that's the only article I can find now. 

The LCD-2 and 3 are both planar headphones. If both have the same mass of driver, then the amount of power to give you ear splitting db is the same. If the LCD2 has a lower mass, then I can assure you the PHA-2 has plenty to give you on the road.

 

[One and a half]

Pardon my ignorance on DSD but why is sony releasing a DSD capable DAC? Is there some channel for people to get -Sony- DRM DSD content? My limited knowledge tells me DSD lives on SACDs and ripped tracks. I don't think sony would promote ripping and since they are also a music label I would think they would have some mechanism to publish DRM DSD music from their own label before releasing hardware that can play it.

Let's clear up a few things a little here, if I may. DSD lives on the SA-CD medium and SA-CD is encrypted, not the files that reside on SA-CD. DSD files that you can buy and download from e-onkyo, Ototoy, Acoustic Sounds, Channel Classics, Blue Coast Records are DRM free.
 
Sony publicly will support (push), with it's partners, Warner and Universal DRM free DSD. These are early days, with the momentum growing of available DSD downloads. DSD's sound quality is limited only by the recording engineer and producer. 

 

[AUDIOBREEDER]

  Let's clear up a few things a little here, if I may. DSD lives on the SA-CD medium and SA-CD is encrypted, not the files that reside on SA-CD. DSD files that you can buy and download from e-onkyo, Ototoy, Acoustic Sounds, Channel Classics, Blue Coast Records are DRM free.
 
Sony publicly will support (push), with it's partners, Warner and Universal DRM free DSD. These are early days, with the momentum growing of available DSD downloads. DSD's sound quality is limited only by the recording engineer and producer. 

Sony can push how much they want on DSD but many people wont make that move. Millions have accounts with itunes, beatport etc and the amount of space a single DSD file takes is absurd. SACD was a failure considering how cheap CD were/are. Even the sound quality is not that much of a big difference unless one is in a sound proof room.
 
If Sony wants to come back into the game they need to come with their own digital store and provide 320Kbps files or bring in rare albums, singles etc. which many stores dont have.
 
MP3 files are the easiest and hard drive saver and has lived on for more than a decade.
 
All these formats such as DSD, Flac, etc. I think maybe 10-20% of the population maybe listening and that percentage maybe lower.

 

[tradyblix]

Does it have auto-shut off circuitry ? Because one of the most annoying things about the PHA-1 is, falling asleep listening to it and realizing there's no more batteries and a 2 hour charge in your future.... 

 

[Alligator]

I have one on order now. I'll post when I receive it.

Any recommendations for better headphones to match this amp? I'll be upgrading from ATH-M50s.

 

[AUDIOBREEDER]

  Does it have auto-shut off circuitry ? Because one of the most annoying things about the PHA-1 is, falling asleep listening to it and realizing there's no more batteries and a 2 hour charge in your future.... 

I doubt it will have that. Better not to sleep off with the PHA-1 on.

 

[Speakerphile]

  Sony can push how much they want on DSD but many people wont make that move. Millions have accounts with itunes, beatport etc and the amount of space a single DSD file takes is absurd. SACD was a failure considering how cheap CD were/are. Even the sound quality is not that much of a big difference unless one is in a sound proof room.
 
If Sony wants to come back into the game they need to come with their own digital store and provide 320Kbps files or bring in rare albums, singles etc. which many stores dont have.
 
MP3 files are the easiest and hard drive saver and has lived on for more than a decade.
 
All these formats such as DSD, Flac, etc. I think maybe 10-20% of the population maybe listening and that percentage maybe lower.

What's absurd is how cheap storage is these days.  Portable devices will be 300-500GB within pretty short order.  When storage ceases to be the roadblock quality will prevail.  Also keep in mind, Sony doesn't need 80% of the market in order for this to be successful.  This is just a way to monetize a product that Sony already produces.  Even mild success could be a huge windfall for them and would only add fuel to the fire.  

 

[One and a half]

  Sony can push how much they want on DSD but many people wont make that move. Millions have accounts with itunes, beatport etc and the amount of space a single DSD file takes is absurd. SACD was a failure considering how cheap CD were/are. Even the sound quality is not that much of a big difference unless one is in a sound proof room.
 
If Sony wants to come back into the game they need to come with their own digital store and provide 320Kbps files or bring in rare albums, singles etc. which many stores dont have.
 
MP3 files are the easiest and hard drive saver and has lived on for more than a decade.
 
All these formats such as DSD, Flac, etc. I think maybe 10-20% of the population maybe listening and that percentage maybe lower.

Now there's the problem right away. itunes, beatport etc. offer the two shoe sizes AAC 256, MP3 128 or 256 if you are lucky. The effort to record in high quality DSD or PCM at higher bit rates (read 5.6MB/s ++) is no different, yet the output quality is dumbed down to fit hard drive space? Size 10 shoe fitted to size 3, that makes a lot of sense, not.
 
MP3 worked in dial up days, where 56kb modems were the rage, with internet speeds at least 20 times that even on mobile phones, there's no excuse for MP3 to exist other than to provide samples.
 
SACD failed due to many reasons, so did DVDA, HDCD, and CD is slowly dying, notice the common factor, spinning digital media. DSD on its own was difficult to implement in the early late 80's early 90's but technology has improved and it's not an obstacle any more. 
 
Anyway, the thread is about the PHA-2 DAC amplifier, not format wars, I'm sure there's a thread for that somewhere.

 

[One and a half]

  Does it have auto-shut off circuitry ? Because one of the most annoying things about the PHA-1 is, falling asleep listening to it and realizing there's no more batteries and a 2 hour charge in your future.... 

It does have an auto shut off, it's known as flat battery.

 

[One and a half]

I have one on order now. I'll post when I receive it.

Any recommendations for better headphones to match this amp? I'll be upgrading from ATH-M50s.

What's the budget? LCD-3 work very nicely and they are a cow to drive, so anywhere in between I suppose.
Currently on the road with Denon AH-D7000, no issues, drives loud.

 

[reficul560]

Thanks for the explanation.
 
My original thoughts are that use a powerful amp/dac now, and later add a D100 as a DAC. DSD is not that ready at this stage, from my point of view.
 
If putting this into consideration, buying a PHA-2 could be awkward, if it doesn't have enough power. Since PHA-2 has the same amp hardware with PHA-1, I really doubt whether it is capable of driving LCD-2 to a good level, though LCD-2 does have a lower mass than LCD-3.

 

[Alligator]

What's the budget? LCD-3 work very nicely and they are a cow to drive, so anywhere in between I suppose.
Currently on the road with Denon AH-D7000, no issues, drives loud.

Since I'm already buying the PHA-2 and ZX-1, keeping new headphones to ~$500 would be nice. Open or closed are both fine. Full bass and comfort are high priorities. The LCD-3s look nice, but I'd be worried about driving them and the comfort. I guess I'm looking for an ideal match to the PHA-2.

 

[One and a half]

Since I'm already buying the PHA-2 and ZX-1, keeping new headphones to ~$500 would be nice. Open or closed are both fine. Full bass and comfort are high priorities. The LCD-3s look nice, but I'd be worried about driving them and the comfort. I guess I'm looking for an ideal match to the PHA-2.

The PHA-2 can cater for headphones 8R to 600R. The LCD3 are very revealing, the head pressure is hard ass though. Good bass I found are the Denon, this forum has enough suggestions on what to get. The PHA-2 can drive, an ideal match....difficult to get ideal as everyone's ideas are different.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

its good to see a better DAC section in the pha-2 versus the pha-1, what bothers me is the amp section is essentially the same. So low impedance earphones will again not be favored by the pha-2 due to the higher than optimal output impedance and nature of  power delivery by the tpa6120 amplifier chip used in both the pha-1 and 2.

 

[fkrieger]

Since I'm already buying the PHA-2 and ZX-1, keeping new headphones to ~$500 would be nice. Open or closed are both fine. Full bass and comfort are high priorities. The LCD-3s look nice, but I'd be worried about driving them and the comfort. I guess I'm looking for an ideal match to the PHA-2.

Is the idea to pair these components to be able to play hi-res and then provide more power with the pha-2 amp? How would you connect the two? Analog?