[ramenmeal]

i have a question on how it works.

so i have my digital source and my analogue source. i want both to be able to be used as a preamp. and i want to be able to switch between them easy.

so ill have pre amp switch on, and then i can click the super mode button and it will BASICALLY, switch inputs to the preamp output?

edit: and as an extra, i could still plug another preamp into the dac out when super is plugged in, although i dont see why unless i had a better preamp

 

[koven]

Does anyone here drive powered-speakers using the Compass's DAC-out? Is there any hiss? Any change in SQ?

 

[Superfrag]

I wanted to know one thing, is the DAC chip used on the Compass same as the one used in the Zero?

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did you try the LME49720HA, which is the TO-99 format metal canned version of the LME49720 ? According to a former design engineer with National Semiconductor, Metal can versions are supposed to sound better than the plastic versions. (see here)

I might have to try this myself, for fun. I've been meaning to try the metal versions of various opamps to see what difference there was.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lahtis /img/forum/go_quote.gif I got few questions about sound quality. I would like to know which one would be better way to connect Compass to my pc now it's connected via usb. I did think if it would be better to connect it Toslink to my Esi Juli@ or then to usb and using usb asio driver? Then second question would i get any benefit to using super mode instead of normal mode or does it effect sound so much? Thanks for the answers!

Try each and see which works better. Both Toslink and USB are not so great in my experience, unless you (hold you breath) use good quality cables for each respectively. I'd try a glass Toslink cable from the Juli and see how it goes. If you Google "glass optical cable" you should come up with some that aren't insanely expensive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superfrag /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wanted to know one thing, is the DAC chip used on the Compass same as the one used in the Zero?

Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramenmeal /img/forum/go_quote.gif i have a question on how it works. so i have my digital source and my analogue source. i want both to be able to be used as a preamp. and i want to be able to switch between them easy. so ill have pre amp switch on, and then i can click the super mode button and it will BASICALLY, switch inputs to the preamp output? edit: and as an extra, i could still plug another preamp into the dac out when super is plugged in, although i dont see why unless i had a better preamp

Check the FAQ. It shows what happens in Super mode. Basically, instead of working together, Super mode separates the DAC so it's a DAC by itself, and the headphone amp so it's a headphone amp (or pre-amp if you flick the pre-amp switch) by itself.

 

[Superfrag]

No wonder I couldnt find any difference between the SQ of the Zero and Compass..

 

[Fastnbulbous]

Does the price fluctuate according to exchange rates? Last time I looked it was $258 USD. Now it's $330.

 

[koven]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superfrag /img/forum/go_quote.gif No wonder I couldnt find any difference between the SQ of the Zero and Compass..

Does this mean the DAC in both provides the same SQ ? Or does it depend on a lot of things?

 

[Superfrag]

I really dont have much idea.
I just got the compass two months back, and the zero is around 7 months old, ( friends )
we put in the same opamp and tried my ad700's and his dt990 pro's, we couldnt find any diff, it sounded the same.. I didnt really try his HP properly, but with my ad700's songs did sound the same..
maybe the difference will be more apparent, when we use HP's that require a lot of power, since the power of the compass is 3-4 times the power of zero by numbers, the 4 huge capacitors of the compass can hold collectively 14k micro farens ( dont know exact term) while the zero can hold around 4.5k.. dont fget the fact that compass has a discrete amp section.. which means the amp is definitely of a MUCH higher quality..
however, I really dont know the difference in the DAC section between the zero and compass, and the overall SQ when using HP that dont need much power, i.e. my ad700's.
the dt990 pro 250ohm supposedly require more juice, but I didnt get the time to test that with both, but my friend says he couldnt find any difference, maybe its that our ears are not fully trained to hear the details..

however I do hope when I get my ATH-W5000's ( much later though ) the compass proves its worth over the Zero..

 

[Aleatoris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fastnbulbous /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does the price fluctuate according to exchange rates? Last time I looked it was $258 USD. Now it's $330.

258 was the promotional price. Promotion period ended May (or was it june? April? Anyway, it ended.) So now you have the full price. Tough luck, I suppose.

 

[Superfrag]

yup 31st may was the last date for the ppl to buy the compass at 258 $ + accessories(if any) + shipping.
then for june kingwa made it 330$ + moon opamp free + shipping, so it essentially became 310 $
now its 330 $ + accessories(if any) + shipping.

 

[Superfrag]

Hey guys, which other opamps other than the earth and moon do you'll recommend along with the compass?

 

[keithw]

Sorry if this has been answered before, but what is the correct e-mail address I'm supposed to contact to place an order? The one at the top of this page didn't work (got a "delivery has failed" reply).

 

[keithw]

Nevermind I'm and idiot when I clicked the link my browser put it in as "E-mail:audio-gd@126.com"

 

[MadMan007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif Try each and see which works better. Both Toslink and USB are not so great in my experience, unless you (hold you breath) use good quality cables for each respectively. I'd try a glass Toslink cable from the Juli and see how it goes. If you Google "glass optical cable" you should come up with some that aren't insanely expensive.

That's kind of interesting, I found that Toslink was slightly slightly better than coax although they're very close, I felt it had a touch more detail and resolution. Granted that's using the not so special toslink that's included with the Compass (plastic I guess) and a cheapo coax. I need to get some decent cables to compare after my wallet recovers from the surprise of the HF-2 right after I paid for the Compass

 

[darkhalo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotoriousBIG_PJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif None of that made an appreciable difference. With the neutral setting and earth opamp, this is a dark and thick sounding amp. Biggie.

Biggie, also if you are up for DIY, there are 2 2200PF caps on the output end of the opamp section. Changing those to lower values will brighten the sound and increase details. But go too low and it will also flatten the dynamics to the point where you may notice.

I started with 1000pf WIMAfkp and it was incredibly detailed, but the flatness got to me too much. ATM I'm running 1800pf EVOX polys (the blue ones) which seems an ok comprimise between detail and excitement.

BTW I'm not a DIY expert, this was suggested to me by Kingwa via emails.

EDIT: YMMV, lol