[Jensenchua]

Aw darn.. Was hoping the SQ would be a notch up so I'd have an excuse to "upgrade" lol.. Currently using my 128gb iPad Air as storage.. More than sufficient space haha..

LOL, DX90 SQ is not bad too, you can try out your local store first maybe you like the sound from it~

 

[deja-vu]

Totally agree, the Gaming & movies sounded awesome in the Creative sound cards (Asus still lack o these), but when comes to music I personally still prefer the Asus.

how is the sound quality of your asus compared with your violectric v200 on a sennheiser hd800 ?
Would cause the purchase of this headphone amplifier a meaningful improvement in sound ?  My soundblaster elite pro has enough power to drive the  hd800 with good quality , but  I think that the potential of this headphone is not fully exploited - the dx90 is in my opinion too weak for the hd800, even at vol 250,  because its sound becomes rather thin and flat.

 

[Jensenchua]

 
how is the sound quality of your asus compared with your violectric v200 on a sennheiser hd800 ?
Would cause the purchase of this headphone amplifier a meaningful improvement in sound ?  My soundblaster elite pro has enough power to drive the  hd800 with good quality , but  I think that the potential of this headphone is not fully exploited - the dx90 is in my opinion too weak for the hd800, even at vol 250,  because its sound becomes rather thin and flat.

I don't use my Asus to drives my HD800, only V200 will do the job. HD800 is very picky on amp but for me the V200 done a great job with it, V200 have plenty of power to drives most of the headphones in the markets, the V200 brings out the HD800 mids & high, bass is well control, soundstage is fantastic. Not sure about the Soundblaster though, need to get my ears on it to give any commment.
The DX90 definitely do not have enough power to drives it, if you want good potential on your HD800 is better to get an amp separately.

 

[funkforfood]

What about LO sound quality?
I am currently using the X5 and I feel that its line output sounds a bit thin and lacking in body.
The DX90 LO perform better than X5 LO?
Thanks!

 

[jamato8]

  What about LO sound quality?
I am currently using the X5 and I feel that its line output sounds a bit thin and lacking in body.
The DX90 LO perform better than X5 LO?
Thanks!

I use the DX90 with the Hugo all the time. Great sound, nothing wanting, IMO. 

 

[deja-vu]

  I don't use my Asus to drives my HD800, only V200 will do the job. HD800 is very picky on amp but for me the V200 done a great job with it, V200 have plenty of power to drives most of the headphones in the markets, the V200 brings out the HD800 mids & high, bass is well control, soundstage is fantastic. Not sure about the Soundblaster though, need to get my ears on it to give any commment.
The DX90 definitely do not have enough power to drives it, if you want good potential on your HD800 is better to get an amp separately.

thx for your advice - I was not aware that the HD800 needs a considerably higher level of amplification compared to the soundblaster elite pro.
I'm going to keep an eye on the violectrics. The bryston BHA-1 looks also very suitable with it´s mini jack for a dx90.

 

[Barra]

 

  What about LO sound quality?
I am currently using the X5 and I feel that its line output sounds a bit thin and lacking in body.
The DX90 LO perform better than X5 LO?
Thanks!

I use the DX90 with the Hugo all the time. Great sound, nothing wanting, IMO. 

The HUGO only inputs digital unless you know something that I don't. Do you mean that you use the DX90 with coax digital audio input as a source? I think he is asking about DX90 as a DAC to an external amp.
 
Its been a long time since I have compared my DX90 and X5 through an external amp, but the difference isn't as huge as comparing to the HUGO or the Geek Out 1000 I have been playing with over the last week that both sport class A amps.

 

[jamato8]

As a dac, the DX90 does a fine job. I have used it with the Lyr 2 and some of my portables. No complaints on sound quality. The dual Sabre dacs do a great job of presenting the recording, IMO. 

 

[intlsubband]

Can anyone recommend a good coax to 3.5mm cable? I'd like to connect it to my desktop DAC, the supplied cable is simply too short to have as a lead from the back panel of my DAC. I'm having more difficulty than expected to find a replacement.

 

[jamato8]

  Can anyone recommend a good coax to 3.5mm cable? I'd like to connect it to my desktop DAC, the supplied cable is simply too short to have as a lead from the back panel of my DAC. I'm having more difficulty than expected to find a replacement.

I use one from Whiplash Audio. It is a specialized coax cable that does an excellent job of transferring digital signals. 

 

[intlsubband]

  I use one from Whiplash Audio. It is a specialized coax cable that does an excellent job of transferring digital signals. 

 
Thanks! just looking at the website now. Which one of the 3.5mm connectors fits with the DX90? (2, 3, or 4 poles?)
 
cheers

 

[jamato8]

   
Thanks! just looking at the website now. Which one of the 3.5mm connectors fits with the DX90? (2, 3, or 4 poles?)
 
cheers

You only need a single tip on the coax, as you are using one conductor and the ground. 

 

[funkforfood]

  I think he is asking about DX90 as a DAC to an external amp.

 
Exactly, I'd like to understand if the line output of DX90 is better, more full-bodied and less biased towards the mid/high frequencies than the X5.

 

[LoryWiv]

Great thread. I am close to pulling the trigger on DX90 to replace my aging Cowon J3.Chord Hugo is rare air for my budget but I'm thinking of the iFi micro-DSD. Abyone tried this combo.? Is it straightforward to go from the DX90 coax. digital output to iDSD...I'm a bit confused 'cause it's backplate shows digital input via USB, a config. I'm not familiar with: Here's the iDSD backplate: http://imgur.com/N0w6LCO Not certain what type of cable would be required to support a digital interconnect between DX90 and this bad boy, so any help for this relative noob would be appreciated.Thanks!

 

[zeppu08]

Great thread. I am close to pulling the trigger on DX90 to replace my aging Cowon J3.Chord Hugo is rare air for my budget but I'm thinking of the iFi micro-DSD. Abyone tried this combo.? Is it straightforward to go from the DX90 coax. digital output to iDSD...I'm a bit confused 'cause it's backplate shows digital input via USB, a config. I'm not familiar with: Here's the iDSD backplate: http://imgur.com/N0w6LCO Not certain what type of cable would be required to support a digital interconnect between DX90 and this bad boy, so any help for this relative noob would be appreciated.Thanks!

+1 on this combo... Any thoughts guys?