[Bruc3]

I would recommend the Yulong Canary. You can get it now for only 258 US. It comes in black, silver, or red. It has the awesome ESS9018K2M Sabre DAC in it, and the amp has plenty of power output to drive the K712 Pro. This will be a very nice upgrade from your Z card. You will be happy.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Yu...hash=item1a217eb9e6:m:m3Iv0O6i42CK4rumZYGPCuA

I was actually looking at that, and almost was going to jump on it until I found out it apparently has a Output impedance of 10 Ohms according to thread below? Which if you apply the 1/8 rule means it is suitable for headphones 80 Ohms or higher i.e. not good for K712 with 62 Ohms. Is that right?
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/daart-yulong-canary-dac-amp-based-on-es9018-k2m.832671/page-2

 

[393699]

You don't have anything to worry about. That will not be an issue. Just so you know, your Sound Blaster Z has a 22 ohm output impedance. At 10 ohms output impedance, this may certainly be an issue for IEM headphones. For the K712 Pro, you won't have any problem. You will be very impressed with that unit.

 

[Bruc3]

You don't have anything to worry about. That will not be an issue. Just so you know, your Sound Blaster Z has a 22 ohm output impedance. At 10 ohms output impedance, this may certainly be an issue for IEM headphones. For the K712 Pro, you won't have any problem. You will be very impressed with that unit.

Ok thanks.

 

[Bruc3]

So looks like its come down to these 3 amp/dacs. Price not being a factor, which one is best with the K712:
- magni 3 / modi 2
- Aune T1 se mk3
- Yulong Canary
- Audio-gd nfb-11

Im leaning towards mm stack as it has a great reputation, lowest output impedance < 1 Ohms and biggest power output too.

It would be good if someone has had experience with these to chime in.

 

[alphanumerix1]

So looks like its come down to these 3 amp/dacs. Price not being a factor, which one is best with the K712:
- magni 3 / modi 2
- Aune T1 se mk3
- Yulong Canary
- Audio-gd nfb-11

Im leaning towards mm stack as it has a great reputation, lowest output impedance < 1 Ohms and biggest power output too.

It would be good if someone has had experience with these to chime in.

Id go Mm stack or nfb.

 

[393699]

So looks like its come down to these 3 amp/dacs. Price not being a factor, which one is best with the K712:
- magni 3 / modi 2
- Aune T1 se mk3
- Yulong Canary
- Audio-gd nfb-11

Im leaning towards mm stack as it has a great reputation, lowest output impedance < 1 Ohms and biggest power output too.

It would be good if someone has had experience with these to chime in.

I used to own the Aune T1 SE MK3. You don't even want to bother, if you are looking for a good amp section. The amp in it is mediocre at best. Out of all those options, I would pick the Canary or Audio-gd.

 

[Bruc3]

I used to own the Aune T1 SE MK3. You don't even want to bother, if you are looking for a good amp section. The amp in it is mediocre at best. Out of all those options, I would pick the Canary or Audio-gd.

Thanks, that helps narrow down the options. Seriously considering the Canary now for the value, seems well priced and get alot for what you pay.

I will have a think and let you know what I decide. Thanks.

 

[Bruc3]

Hi guys,

Call me crazy but after spending the weekend with the M-Stage HPA 2 USB (borrowed from a friend), I honestly could tell little to no difference vs the Sound blaster Z. This was both for the AD700 and K712 headphones.

I tried classical, pop, acoustic songs with vocals and some rap/hip hop.

Suprisingly I actually prefer the sound of my AD700, sounds more open and bit more alive. Maybe the K712 just needs more time to burn in, but I am not convinced that would make a huge enough difference.

Although my hearing ain't great, so might be why I could tell little to no difference.

So guess I will just stick with my SBZ then. Next upgrade would likely be the AD900X then since it seems I like the AT sound signature.

 

[393699]

If you are a fan of that sound signature, you should spend more, and get the AD1000X instead. It is a substantial upgrade in sound quality from both the AD700X and AD900X.

 

[Bruc3]

If you are a fan of that sound signature, you should spend more, and get the AD1000X instead. It is a substantial upgrade in sound quality from both the AD700X and AD900X.

Ah ok, have not looked into the AD1000X, will definitely check it out now. Thanks.

 

[393699]

Hi guys,

Call me crazy but after spending the weekend with the M-Stage HPA 2 USB (borrowed from a friend), I honestly could tell little to no difference vs the Sound blaster Z. This was both for the AD700 and K712 headphones.

I tried classical, pop, acoustic songs with vocals and some rap/hip hop.

Suprisingly I actually prefer the sound of my AD700, sounds more open and bit more alive. Maybe the K712 just needs more time to burn in, but I am not convinced that would make a huge enough difference.

Although my hearing ain't great, so might be why I could tell little to no difference.

So guess I will just stick with my SBZ then. Next upgrade would likely be the AD900X then since it seems I like the AT sound signature.

Do you still have the M-Stage in your possession ? If so, you should try connecting it straight to the front speaker output on your sound blaster Z card. This way, you will be using the sound card as your DAC, and the M-Stage as just a straight headphone amp. Connected this way, you will notice a large difference when compared to connecting your headphones to the headphone output on the sound card.

 

[Bruc3]

Do you still have the M-Stage in your possession ? If so, you should try connecting it straight to the front speaker output on your sound blaster Z card. This way, you will be using the sound card as your DAC, and the M-Stage as just a straight headphone amp. Connected this way, you will notice a large difference when compared to connecting your headphones to the headphone output on the sound card.

Unfortunately my friend wanted it back so I returned it to him already.

Either way, that test has made me more satisfied with the SBZ performance now. Was just curious to see if I could tell difference between seperate dac/amp. Guess my ears cannot tell the difference.

 

[Bruc3]

Looks like the AD1000X price is not much different to the AD2000X here in Australia. Also it seems more difficult to find AD1000X stocked locally. I assume the AD2000X is even better than AD1000X.

 

[393699]

I have not heard the AD2000X. I have heard the AD700, AD700X, AD900X, and AD1000X. Vocals, dynamics, detail retrieval, instrument location, and treble on the AD1000X are just stunning for the price. It offers a very articulate and beautiful presentation of the music. The AD2000X uses an even higher end pair of drivers, so all of these attributes should be improved upon even more. As I mentioned before though, the AD1000X is a huge jump above the AD900X. It is well worth the price difference. Either the AD1000X or AD2000X will make your AD700 sound like a low end toy in comparison. You will be super impressed if you are a fan of the Air series sound signature.

 

[alphanumerix1]

Looks like the AD1000X price is not much different to the AD2000X here in Australia. Also it seems more difficult to find AD1000X stocked locally. I assume the AD2000X is even better than AD1000X.

ad1000x is 99% of the 2000x.

Locally you will have a hard time finding one for a decent price. I'd go used or import from japan via mail forwarder e.g amazon japan. <300aud