[blue_lammer]

Well I had a more extensive listening experience but I still can't tell the difference. I'm using the AV-710 HQ output to the Compass in "Super" mode, K701 headphones.

I think this may be the end of the line for me, which is good and bad in a way ^ ^. To be honest I've listened to Prickly Pete's $5000 balanced HD650 setup and I wasn't really blown away, it sounded rather pedestrian, as sacrilegious as that sounds.

I may have a golden tongue, but not golden ears. I'm happy where I am and I think I'll call it a day. I may switch headphones but I doubt I'll be changing from the compass anytime soon.

 

[K3cT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue_lammer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I had a more extensive listening experience but I still can't tell the difference. I'm using the AV-710 HQ output to the Compass in "Super" mode, K701 headphones. I think this may be the end of the line for me, which is good and bad in a way ^ ^. To be honest I've listened to Prickly Pete's $5000 balanced HD650 setup and I wasn't really blown away, it sounded rather pedestrian, as sacrilegious as that sounds. I may have a golden tongue, but not golden ears. I'm happy where I am and I think I'll call it a day. I may switch headphones but I doubt I'll be changing from the compass anytime soon.

If you're using the Super mode then you're not using the Compass' DAC. Are you sure you get it right?

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue_lammer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey I have a quick question to those with golden ears. I can't tell the difference between the DACs of the Compass and that of the Chaintech AV-710 (Wolfson WM8728). Does this mean I should stop upgrading my equipment or am I okay since the DACs are about the same?

If two components are designed to be dead neutral in their sound, then for the most part, they wont sound different, unless the care in design and construction of one is better such that you can hear more detail in the music.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue_lammer /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think this may be the end of the line for me, which is good and bad in a way ^ ^. To be honest I've listened to Prickly Pete's $5000 balanced HD650 setup and I wasn't really blown away, it sounded rather pedestrian, as sacrilegious as that sounds. I may have a golden tongue, but not golden ears. I'm happy where I am and I think I'll call it a day. I may switch headphones but I doubt I'll be changing from the compass anytime soon.

A useful point made elsewhere is that a lot of gear, including headphones, is designed to impress you on first listen (in the showroom for example). In the case of headphones, it may be a boost in the mid-bass region that makes music sound fun, or a boost in treble to fool people into thinking there is more detail. What I am going to call a purist audiophile set-up is designed to reproduce the music (the data or signal) as accurately and with as little distortion as possible. This kind of gear isn't fun at first listen, but, more so in the case of a speaker rig, can be awesome if it powerfully reproduced a live performance, ie: You could easily close your eyes and feel you are there.

Now because most of us are dealing with coloured headphones the Compass isn't really aimed at the purist audiophile IMO, not when we swap HDAMs and whatnot to adjust the sound for our headphones and music. Also, a lot of modern music doesn't really benefit from an audiophile system (though it's nicer, for the most part to hear it in high quality, it wasn't designed to be played back in one). An example might be Alicia Keys, whom, when I hear her singing on my rig, I can clearly visualise the studio she was standing in when she sang, and am annoyed at the crappy pre-recorded synthetic rubbish they overlayed to make the track.

I hope that goes some way to explain what is going on when you all experience the things you do.

 

[Sparky14]

For anyone following my discussion of my new malfunctioning Compass........

Kingwa has worked with me on a repair plan (although it did take a week due to the time change for the e-mail discussion to play out).

My Compass is being sent to a 3rd party for repairs. I'll let you know how this progresses.

 

[Frwkie]

Do you guys have any clue yet how the Compass compares with the Matrix Mini-i?
Since my Zero died last sunday (circuit board doesn't power up) I'm in for a new (more durable) DAC...

 

[jsplice]

The dac inside the Compass is ok, but if all you need is a stand alone dac, I would look elsewhere. Obviously if you need a dac/amp combo, then the Compass may be a good choice. I don't have experience with Matrix Mini-i, but I am also interested in it because it uses the AD1955 dac chip...

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue_lammer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I had a more extensive listening experience but I still can't tell the difference. I'm using the AV-710 HQ output to the Compass in "Super" mode, K701 headphones. I think this may be the end of the line for me, which is good and bad in a way ^ ^. To be honest I've listened to Prickly Pete's $5000 balanced HD650 setup and I wasn't really blown away, it sounded rather pedestrian, as sacrilegious as that sounds. I may have a golden tongue, but not golden ears. I'm happy where I am and I think I'll call it a day. I may switch headphones but I doubt I'll be changing from the compass anytime soon.

You are right ...on first listen it's somewhat underwhelming but the division in SQ between the Compass and RE1/CD7/Phoenix is vast IMO and there is no contest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif If two components are designed to be dead neutral in their sound, then for the most part, they wont sound different, unless the care in design and construction of one is better such that you can hear more detail in the music. A useful point made elsewhere is that a lot of gear, including headphones, is designed to impress you on first listen (in the showroom for example). In the case of headphones, it may be a boost in the mid-bass region that makes music sound fun, or a boost in treble to fool people into thinking there is more detail. What I am going to call a purist audiophile set-up is designed to reproduce the music (the data or signal) as accurately and with as little distortion as possible. This kind of gear isn't fun at first listen, but, more so in the case of a speaker rig, can be awesome if it powerfully reproduced a live performance, ie: You could easily close your eyes and feel you are there. Now because most of us are dealing with coloured headphones the Compass isn't really aimed at the purist audiophile IMO, not when we swap HDAMs and whatnot to adjust the sound for our headphones and music. Also, a lot of modern music doesn't really benefit from an audiophile system (though it's nicer, for the most part to hear it in high quality, it wasn't designed to be played back in one). An example might be Alicia Keys, whom, when I hear her singing on my rig, I can clearly visualise the studio she was standing in when she sang, and am annoyed at the crappy pre-recorded synthetic rubbish they overlayed to make the track. I hope that goes some way to explain what is going on when you all experience the things you do.

You hit the nail on the head Curra WRT my preferences and what the A-gd dac/transport/preamp combination does for my regular 2 channel system. It's simply outstanding in this role. I'm not sure if the headphone section lacks pizzaz because of strict neutrality or the wiring used is holding it back. Of course I'm supposed to be exploring that in the near future (once I get my RE1 issues sorted out first).

Peete.

 

[nnt]

Now that my Compass has arrived, I just had to finally join HF to express my initial satisfaction. The fit and finish is excellent. The case is beautifully built, and the unit feels like a brick. Opening it up, every solder joint is clean, and the internal wire routing is careful.

It -feels- like a piece that should have cost much more than it did. Now to sit down and get fully acquainted with how it sounds.

 

[driftingbunnies]

blasphemy! where are your real headphones?

 

[rhythmic_impulse]

I had my Compass for nearly four months now. In the beginning everything sounded extremely well until recently when I start noticing that the audio level don't seem to balance. The right audio is now louder and slightly brighter than the left channel. Listening to mono recordings don't seem to have a dead in the center sound image, with the left channel slightly louder. It used to well centered in the middle. Now its a bit off-center. If I had to pinpoint it, if I were to listen to mono recordings, it sounds as though the image is 5 degree off to the left.

What is odd is that at the 9 o'clock position of the volume control, everything sounded in the center but when raised to about 10.30 position (Usual listening at low-gain setting) it starts to go off-center and it gets worse at the 11 o'clock position upwards. Checking the output from the headphone out, DAC out and Pre-Amp out to another rig has the level indicators showing the right side about 0.6 db louder than the left side. I have tried switching different HDAMs and different headphones but the effect is still the same though less pronounced than when listening through the HD600.

At first I thought it was a problem with my HD600 and its cable but I tried it on different gears like the MOTU and the headphone out of a digital beta deck and they all sounded dead center.

Is that something I should take it up with Kingwa? I am just worried about the cost of having to send it back.

 

[eddiewalker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmic_impulse /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had my Compass for nearly nearly four months now. In the beginning everything sounded extremely well until recently when I start noticing that the audio level don't seem to balance. It seems that the right audio is now louder and slightly brighter than the left channel. Listening to mono recordings don't seem to have a dead in the center sound image, with the left channel slightly louder. It used to well centered in the middel. Now it seem s its a bit offcenter. If I had to pinpoint it, if I were to listen to mono recordings, it sounds as though the image is 5 degree off to the left. What is odd is that at the 9 o'clock postion of the volume control, evrything sounded in the center but when raised to about 10.30 position (Usual listening at low-gain setting) it starts to go off-center and it gets worse at the 11 o'clock position upwards. Checking the output from the headphone out, DAC out and Pre-Amp out to another rig has the level indicators shows the right side is about 0.6 db louder than the left side. I have tried switching different HDAMs and different headphones but the effect is still the same though less pronounced than when listening through the HD600. At first I thought it was a problem with my HD600 and its cable but I tried it on different gears like the MOTU and the headphone out of a digital beta deck and they all sounded dead center. Is that something I should take it up with Kingwa? I am just worried about the cost of having to send it back.

Are you capable of measuring the volume pot's resistance at a few different points to make sure the two sides are tracking close to each other? That particular pot is well regarded for its matched channels, but faulty units are always possible.

Tangent has the pinout for the Alps pot used in the compass here: How to Wire Panel Components His site (as well as amb's) even sell the pots because they're popular in DIY amps, but desoldering and replacing the one on the Compass is NOT a project I'd recommend to someone without some experience.

 

[rhythmic_impulse]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eddiewalker /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you capable of measuring the volume pot's resistance at a few different points to make sure the two sides are tracking close to each other? That particular pot is well regarded for its matched channels, but faulty units are always possible. Tangent has the pinout for the Alps pot used in the compass here: How to Wire Panel Components His site (as well as amb's) even sell the pots because they're popular in DIY amps, but desoldering and replacing the one on the Compass is NOT a project I'd recommend to someone without some experience.

I wouldn't even know how to start measuring the pot's values...with my limited soldering skills anyway..

The odd thing is, if its the pot defective, the mismatched channels are also detected on the DAC out. Isn't that suppose to be independent of the Pot?

 

[rhythmic_impulse]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eddiewalker /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you capable of measuring the volume pot's resistance at a few different points to make sure the two sides are tracking close to each other? That particular pot is well regarded for its matched channels, but faulty units are always possible. Tangent has the pinout for the Alps pot used in the compass here: How to Wire Panel Components His site (as well as amb's) even sell the pots because they're popular in DIY amps, but desoldering and replacing the one on the Compass is NOT a project I'd recommend to someone without some experience.

I wouldn't even know how to measure the pot...with my limited soldering skills. The odd thing is that the DAC out also shows this mismatched. If its the volume pot having issues, it shouldn't affect the DAC out? Perhaps, its the DAC board....

 

[rhythmic_impulse]

Eddiewalker, I don't know how to do that. I have only limited soldering skills.... But if it is the volume pot having issues, it shouldn't affect the DAC out right?

 

[eddiewalker]

Sorry, I missed that part. I don't think you have anything to lose by emailing Audio-gd.

I would at least try simplify your explanation a little bit, and perhaps do a little comparing with a steady reference tone to get a better handle on the problem. There are a number of free ways to generate tone, such as Audacity, or downloading mp3 samples.

Your decibel measurements are a little "situational" and don't say a whole lot.

If you do at least have access to a multimeter, I would set it to volts AC with a steady tone running through the Compass and stick one probe on the outer part of the DAC-out RCAs, then stick the other probe on the inside of the left jack, followed by the inside of the right and compare the two measurements.

That way you can say for sure "When the left side is at __volts, the right side is at __volts.

For reference, when I feed an 80% amplitude tone through the USB dac both RCA outputs measure 1.63vac