[lee730]

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Yes, I'll consider your input, thanks. Do you also have the FXT90?

No and while I was tempted to get them, since I have the flagship I saw no reason in downgrading. But if I didn't have the FX700 and wanted something cheaper the FXT90 would have been on my list.

 

[kiteki]

 
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I'd look for a used FX700 if I were you. That is the route I went and paid $270.00 with free shipping.

I don't know which bank you work at but $270 for a used IEM which I've never heard is still a bit iffy to me, especially after all my new discoveries two days ago.  This same rule applies to the Studio V which uses the same DAC chip as my $25 X19+ and has some magical class-A biased opamp which I've already ordered for my desktop DAC/Amp.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

 

I don't know which bank you work at but $270 for a used IEM which I've never heard is still a bit iffy to me, especially after all my new discoveries two days ago.  This same rule applies to the Studio V which uses the same DAC chip as my $25 X19+ and has some magical class-A biased opamp which I've already ordered for my desktop DAC/Amp.

Well Kiteki you'll never know til you try now won't you . I got burned listening to people rave about the EX1000 and managed to find that upgrade in the FX700 based on my sound preferences. I studied on headfi and elsewhere to come to this conclusion. It was either between the EX1000 or FX700. I gave the EX1000 a try first as it seemed most people liked it slightly more than the FX700. Boy was I wrong to go with the crowd. At least to these ears the EX1000 is much more aggressive than the FX700 and in no way sweet. Now if the EX1000 represents the more neutral analytical side of music, then I can tell you right now I simply hate that sound. Luckily my second attempt with the FX700 worked out great and I found that upgrade to the IE8 (but the IE80 now is up there side by side with the FX700 IMO in overall enjoyment). I bought my EX1000 for $284.00 and sold them for that amount. So basically I took a small loss on shipping but made out with an FX700 at a bit of a cheaper price.
 
Now regarding the Studio V. I was also skeptical about it and was about to pass over it. But at 50% off and some of the good reviews I read on it (Mark is like a mentor for me here on headfi; pretty much the majority of stuff I bought off of recommendation from him was spot on). I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt the Studio V is more transparent, has more detail and clarity over the T51. Its also more neutral sounding than the T51 which makes for a great pairing with headphones that are slightly on the darker side with bass emphasis (IE80). Sound stage is also noticeably bigger than the T51. Left and right balance is a lot better than the T51 and instrument separation is better as well.

 

[kiteki]

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Keep in mind when people are making comments regarding percentage of performance. Its a very subjective game. FX500 mid range is very recessed when compared to the FX700. It has more sub bass and less mid bass than FX700. Treble is quite harsh and not refined like the FX700. To me that would be a bigger difference than 10 to 15%

 
Not sure I would say very.
 

 
 
Next thing you know it, and you'll be saying WASAPI is very bassy compared to ASIO and "it's all about synergy", Lee. 

 
 

 

[kiteki]

Quote:

 
Now regarding the Studio V. I was also skeptical about it and was about to pass over it. But at 50% off and some of the good reviews I read on it (Mark is like a mentor for me here on headfi; pretty much the majority of stuff I bought off of recommendation from him was spot on). I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt the Studio V is more transparent, has more detail and clarity over the T51. Its also more neutral sounding than the T51 which makes for a great pairing with headphones that are slightly on the darker side with bass emphasis (IE80). Sound stage is also noticeably bigger than the T51. Left and right balance is a lot better than the T51 and instrument separation is better as well.

 
You said the same thing about HM-601 so I don't believe you.
 
If it's 50% off, that just means it's massively overpriced when they're selling it for 299 English pounds.

 

[lee730]

Kiteki try and use ASIO an WASAPI on Media money and see the difference for yourself. I am also using them in bit for bit playback and upsampling to 24/88000. Do you do any of this in your home setup? Turokrocks found a difference between the 2 plug ins. Not sure why you don't either...
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Not sure I would say very.
 

 
 
Next thing you know it, and you'll be saying WASAPI is very bassy compared to ASIO and "it's all about synergy", Lee. 

 
 

 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

 
You said the same thing about HM-601 so I don't believe you.
 
If it's 50% off, that just means it's massively overpriced when they're selling it for 299 English pounds.

Well the 601 does have better left and right balance than the T51. Its not neutral like the T51 though but an enjoyable colored sound. I still kinda find the T51 kinda departing from the neutral segment due to its prominent treble. Can't say its treble is neutral, it overshadows its mid range due to this.
 
I bet though since you hated the 601 you would have really hated the 602 lol. More treble roll off but sweeter mids. I think I'll stick with a bit more emphasis on the treble and less roll off.

 

[kiteki]

Quote:

Kiteki try and use ASIO an WASAPI on Media money and see the difference for yourself. I am also using them in bit for bit playback and upsampling to 24/88000. Do you do any of this in your home setup? Turokrocks found a difference between the 2 plug ins. Not sure why you don't either...

 
You are using custom drivers for your LX that I don't have access to... or am I mistaken?
 
I use DirectSound, ASIO and KernelStreaming from Foobar, I've tried them all and also alternated between 16 bit and 32 bit output, I've also tried all variations of upsampling with the SoX plug-in in foobar along with the Musiland drivers of which I have cycled through 10 or so to make sure I was using the best one.
 
 
Also Lee... you can't upsample ASIO, that's impossible.
 

 

[kiteki]

 
I didn't hate the HM-601 I just don't need to pay $260 to listen to a damn Walkman. =)  You can pick up those MUSE things on ebay too for $60 or so to check out NOS sound, or the Monica.
 
 
The HM-801 uses "the king of DAC chips" so it's a bit different actually.
 

 

[lee730]

You can upsample in ASIO. Within media money it is an option. It actually goes up to 192000 but my DACport LX does not support that. Just try and install media money 4, download the asio plug in and put it into the plug in folder in media money folder. WASAPI comes standard on media money 4 and works without having to add the plug in. Also my DACport LX has a driver for it provided by CEntrance which according to them is superior.
Quote:

 
You are using custom drivers for your LX that I don't have access to... or am I mistaken?
 
I use DirectSound, ASIO and KernelStreaming from Foobar, I've tried them all and also alternated between 16 bit and 32 bit output, I've also tried all variations of upsampling with the SoX plug-in in foobar along with the Musiland drivers of which I have cycled through 10 or so to make sure I was using the best one.
 
 
Also Lee... you can't upsample ASIO, that's impossible.
 

 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

 
I didn't hate the HM-601 I just don't need to pay $260 to listen to a damn Walkman. =)  You can pick up those MUSE things on ebay too for $60 or so to check out NOS sound, or the Monica.
 
 
The HM-801 uses "the king of DAC chips" so it's a bit different actually.
 

King of DAC chips? Saber? I thought the ibasso DX100 is the king of DAC DAPS . Its been crowned King even before its inauguration.

 

[kiteki]

 
Like I said in the DX100 thread, Hifiman thinks no matter how high specs Sabre ESS and Asahi Kasei Microsystems can measure on paper, the PCM1704 will still be the king of DAC chips to them.
 
 
I haven't heard neither the PCM1704 nor the OPA627 (yet), so I can't really trash the HM-801, it really is a very high-end portable device in a sense, unlike the HM-601 which sounds the same as various Sony and Aiwa Walkmans.
 
Also they used JRC5532 in the HM-601 which I don't understand, at DIYAudio they say the NE5532 sounds better and that is my independant finding as well.
 

 

[lee730]

It all come down to synergy between the headphone/IEM and of course personal preference. What intrigues me about the DX100 is all the features. Particularly that filter feature. I'm guessing that can add roll off on the fly?
 
 

 

[kiteki]

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You can upsample in ASIO.

 
You can't select bit-perfect (ASIO) and upsampling at the same time, upsampling isn't bit-perfect, and I thought ASIO only supported up to 48kHz.
 
 
It's possible Media Monkey has a built in bass enhancer, so when you select ASIO and bypass the internal software in Media Monkey then ASIO all of a sudden becomes bass-light, well that's the only theory I can come up with.
 
When I compare KernelStreaming, ASIO and DirectSound (all at 16-bit output) they all sound almost exactly the same, like 97% or higher, more like 99.7%, so if there are any differences they are extremely slight and can't ask for a unique IEM/HP synergy in my experience.
 
Upsampling on the other hand, I can hear the difference, however it's once again extremely slight and I initially kept failing at trying to blind test it.
 
 

 

[kiteki]

Quote:

It all come down to synergy between the headphone/IEM and of course personal preference.

 
Not really, I had a box of 10 opamps and I didn't know what they were I just bought a mixed box of them, and my favorite 2 just so happened to be Hifimans favorite 2 as well... and other companies.
 
Higher sound quality is universal, sometimes...