[sandchak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by packman /img/forum/go_quote.gif http://redirectingat.com/?id=475X763...distortion.pdf Yeah I agree. The document above is such a great piece of work...something unseen before. Truth hurts?

Here is what I think, most IC manufacturers design their chips having very high open loop gain, which can show perfect readings in the meter, although this same feature has the tendency to leave the sound very dry..

A measuring meter is linear, it has no life, no emotions, while ears are non linear, and it has subjective sense..

I think its easier to make a circuit that scores perfect on the meter, but the challenge is making something that sounds good.

Its really not about whether truth hurts or not, the truth is someone like me goes by my ears and what sounds good to my ears rather than what looks impressive to my eyes.. Again, all this IMHO..

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by packman /img/forum/go_quote.gif E-D-I-T A correction to something I have read in this thread: The Wolfson WM8740 has 117 dB of S/N ratio, and -104 dB of THD The AD1852 has 114 dB of S/N ratio, and -102 dB of THD Directly from the datasheets. It's clear to me, apart from this information, that the WM8740 would be a preferable choice for a high performance DAC of today. The $269 Little Dot DAC for instance uses it (along with a Wolfson digital receiver). Compare with the popular CS4398's 120 dB of S/N ratio and -107 dB of THD.

Hi Andrea,

Check the graphs of the digital filter response. The WM8740 shows around -80DB in those. If anything, possibly the WM8741 might be interesting, as it shows much better figures. Aside from that though, the sound quality is most important. I don't have any regard for that big PDF of measurements, as it was clear that there was more detail with a HDAM than any of the opamps I have tried -- OPA627, OP27E, LM4562 and LME49710. The latter, were, however, pretty close to the Earth HDAM. The HDAMs also change with burn-in, so it would be interesting to see the measurements before and after 350 hours of use.

 

[wdoerr]

Opamp rolling with the compass?
Sounds cool. I'll give it a try. The opamps are cheap and maybe
someone here can create a opamp rolling kit, similar to the D10's
kit.

 

[haloxt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by packman /img/forum/go_quote.gif BTW I just can't believe that those who have tried IC opamps in the Compass were disapointed, unless the thing was very very flawed in its design (which I don't think likely), or the people had tried only very poor integrated opamps.

I think the compass was designed to have good synergy with the earth and moon. Is that so hard to imagine since audio-gd makes both? So it's rather funny you're advising people to use opamps in a dac you've never tried before. Don't you have preferences for different opamps in different situations? That's why I think the sun v2 is good, just not too good in the compass. If you're arguing that integrated opamps sound more neutral than the hdam's, that's kind of a given

the hdam's all have a unique flavor.

 

[comedian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haloxt /img/forum/go_quote.gif I asked that a long time ago, Peete told me it's okay which input you use.

Good news, thanks mate.

 

[obentou]

Received my Compass today! Ordered May 7, Arrived June 3 in Toronto.

The compass was shipped pretty securely, with the two styrofoam cushions as pictured on the site.

As for the actual unit itself.... I think it was taped excessively - sooo much tape, and in my haste to get it out I almost cut the Compass with my knife! In the end I managed to get it out of the plastic wrap (without harming the Compass).

The Compass itself for some reason had a huge smear on its casing on the top, which ran the length of the unit. I tried to rub it off with water to no avail, so I used some rubbing alcohol to get it off. Fortunately this worked and the case looks nice again with the brushed metal finish. Seemed to me someone spilled oil on top of my unit. I'd recommend others who will be receiving theirs to wipe it off as well since there was some weird orange tinge on my wipe when I finished cleaning it.

So, I plugged it in and most importantly, it worked as hoped. Popped the K701's in and the sound coming out was very different from what I was used to with my ESW10JPN + iBasso D10 setup. This combo had a much "brighter" sound to it and sounded very close to my portable setup (W3 + Sony 639F). This was the biggest surprise to me, but I guess that was to be expected since the cans are known to be like this in nature.

I noticed that I don't have the volume knob turned much as well - not even past 9 o'clock, lol... without a doubt this thing can blow my ears off if I tried playing it at the highest volume.

Without any burn in on my part, the Compass sounds good. Plenty of detail and separation with the K701's, although I think it could be improved with more use. It hasn't dropped my jaw completely yet, but I am sure it will once I pop in all the jumpers and let it burn in for a while as recommended by the information on the site.

I apologize for being unable to elaborate more on the Compass sound because I think it will be biased... to listen to this totally new setup coming from an ESW10JPN and D10, it sounds very much different from what I am used to so I don't want to give out any false impressions until I try other headphones for reference. In the future I would probably try the PK1's or some other can if I ever get the money...

Edit: Sorry forgot to add, I am running the Compass through USB with ASIO4ALL.

 

[samspotting]

I ordered 1 week after you and received it yesterday and I live in Toronto.

Weird...

Anyways, does burn in work if I use preamp? I want to burn in my speakers at the same time. Will preamp burn in the amp just as well?

 

[cyberidd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by squall343 /img/forum/go_quote.gif good news from audio gd Now they offer repair for free from their website н¨ÍøÒ³ 1 And now they have international hotline 　н¨ÍøÒ³ 1

I was impressed with Kingwa's communication and how he handled the bag incident, and he still continues to surprise me with his dedication to his customers. Good job audio-gd, keep it up!

 

[hertz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obentou /img/forum/go_quote.gif Received my Compass today! Ordered May 7, Arrived June 3 in Toronto. The compass was shipped pretty securely, with the two styrofoam cushions as pictured on the site. As for the actual unit itself.... I think it was taped excessively - sooo much tape, and in my haste to get it out I almost cut the Compass with my knife! In the end I managed to get it out of the plastic wrap (without harming the Compass). The Compass itself for some reason had a huge smear on its casing on the top, which ran the length of the unit. I tried to rub it off with water to no avail, so I used some rubbing alcohol to get it off. Fortunately this worked and the case looks nice again with the brushed metal finish. Seemed to me someone spilled oil on top of my unit. I'd recommend others who will be receiving theirs to wipe it off as well since there was some weird orange tinge on my wipe when I finished cleaning it. So, I plugged it in and most importantly, it worked as hoped. Popped the K701's in and the sound coming out was very different from what I was used to with my ESW10JPN + iBasso D10 setup. This combo had a much "brighter" sound to it and sounded very close to my portable setup (W3 + Sony 639F). This was the biggest surprise to me, but I guess that was to be expected since the cans are known to be like this in nature. I noticed that I don't have the volume knob turned much as well - not even past 9 o'clock, lol... without a doubt this thing can blow my ears off if I tried playing it at the highest volume. Without any burn in on my part, the Compass sounds good. Plenty of detail and separation with the K701's, although I think it could be improved with more use. It hasn't dropped my jaw completely yet, but I am sure it will once I pop in all the jumpers and let it burn in for a while as recommended by the information on the site. I apologize for being unable to elaborate more on the Compass sound because I think it will be biased... to listen to this totally new setup coming from an ESW10JPN and D10, it sounds very much different from what I am used to so I don't want to give out any false impressions until I try other headphones for reference. In the future I would probably try the PK1's or some other can if I ever get the money... Edit: Sorry forgot to add, I am running the Compass through USB with ASIO4ALL.

Thank you for a nice review.

When you mean "brighter", I guess you mean the mids and treble. How about the soundstage? Is it forward or close to your ears?

 

[Shizdan]

Anybody have some HDAM's they wanna sell me?

 

[MadMan007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hertz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thank you for a nice review. When you mean "brighter", I guess you mean the mids and treble. How about the soundstage? Is it forward or close to your ears?

I'd wager his impressions are largely due to the difference between the K701 and ESW10JPN as much as the amps. He should try the ESW10JPN in the Compass if he still has them.

 

[wdoerr]

I'm no audiofool/phile, but:

The Earth HDAM distortion measurement are obviously erroneous.
Audio-dg measures 0.0005% THD @ 1KHZ.
Weiss Engr. measure 0.1% to 1.0% THD @ 1KHZ.

Weiss Engr is measuring THD in excess of 10% at high frequencies.
Even a fool like me would be able to hear that, so, either:

Weiss Engr. measurements are erroneous, or:
The Audio-dg HDAM's are not compatable with non Audio-dg products.

Kingwa need to got on this right away.

 

[ecclesand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdoerr /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm no audiofool/phile, but: The Earth HDAM distortion measurement are obviously erroneous. Audio-dg measures 0.0005% THD @ 1KHZ. Weiss Engr. measure 0.1% to 1.0% THD @ 1KHZ. Weiss Engr is measuring THD in excess of 10% at high frequencies. Even a fool like me would be able to hear that, so, either: Weiss Engr. measurements are erroneous, or: The Audio-dg HDAM's are not compatable with non Audio-dg products. Kingwa need to got on this right away.

Hope you brought your flamesuit with you. You may want to don it now.

 

[obentou]

All I can say is with my current setup the soundstage is quite expansive.

And yep my impressions are largely due to the difference b/w the ESW10JPN and K701. Too bad I don't have the ESW10's anymore, so I can't offer a comprehensive review of the Compass. I can only tell you guys how the K701 sounds with the Compass through the USB

Edit: Hmm maybe mine took long to deliver because I used EMS perhaps?

 

[Optional]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMan007 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow shipping both ways for returns. That's the sign of a VERY customer-first company.

Pretty much every computer component company does this and so do all the big makers also, it's something I really expect from a company whose product I'm going to purchase, it shows they care about me and not just my money, which means I'm much more likely to purchase another product from them in the future.

On another note, my Compass is out for delivery right now! YAY!