[flashmp3]

  ok today i just did one new trial, connected the note 5 rooted with viper4android and an alo mk3B and listened to my audeze oh man the bass with subwoofer on in V4A was simply the best i ever heard from any setup I ever heard.
 
the below is good for people who love to eq their music to add bass and other adjustments and not for people who love neutral sound sigs
 
This goes back to the point in phones like v10 ( and to me the note 5 as well ) are improving their audio qualities and you have the support of xda and V4A which is the best proecessor you can dream off than what is found in any dap. You can have so many tweaks with V4A that blows out any eq in any dap and if needed add an external amp for difficult to drive headphones, also as you can see almost all daps rely on external amps to drive difficult to drive headphones including the notorious priced ak380
 
what struck me most is how good the following setup was :
 
1- note 5 + alo mk3 B using neutron player and V4A with my audeze, what a dam great sound big warm sound with great bass and big soundstage and no harshness really that is the best sound I ever listened to so imagine how this will be with your lg v10 which has even a better dac than the note 5
 
compared to 
 
2- ak100ii + alo mk3 B where i found the sound to be flat with my audeze and bassless even when i use the eq in ak100ii
 
I guess for people who love tweaking their sound you will never find a dap that can offer the same tweaks you can achieve with V4A 
 
I know one thing and this is not to bash any dap but the eq in most daps are just a joke compared to the V4A in android phones so that is a huge point for me to consider especially for people who love to eq their music .
 
a great phone with a good dac like lg v10 or note 5 + iems== no dap needed as iems sound great with almost any phone so then defientely with the lg v10
a great phone like lg v10 or even note 5 + add an amp for difficult to drive headphones== no dap needed especially all daps to be honest need an external amp to drive headphones like audeze and even ak380 I see people using amps with it.
 
warrior1975 why dont you test what i mentioned above with your phone and an external amp and lg v10 and your th900
 
i am really debating if there will be a dap that can give me the same satisfaction as using a great phone with a great dac/amp and have viper4android 
as to me its all about tweaking and adding bass without messing the mids and highs. I honestly do not feel any dap eq is good until now compared to viper4android. This testing took me 2 hours to confirm my findings, as a person who used to be in car audio owning one of the best car audio processors Helix pro and amps where i used to spend countless hours measuring freqcuencies in the car with a mic and using room eq to fix certain frequencies in my car, I am 100% confident that V4A is the best way to tweak your audio that no other dap can allow you to do.

 
I share you opinion my friend !!! I tested multiple DAP and were never seduced cause in fact as basshead their equalizer are crap. That is why some have to buy headphones dac/amp that have bass boosts etc....With v4a you don't need any hardware bass boost. Dynamic system, bass or subwoofer settings and here you go. Maybe the day they will make a DAP with a true equalizer and stop making toys i'll reconsider it..........
 
Just a little sharing for those who have or want to consider JVC HA-SZ2000 : I let it burn playing pink noise, white noise and brown noise i found on youtube for a bit more than 8 hours at high volume (not too high as the goal is not to break it). I then let it play a bass song (subwoofer test on youtube). Then applying equalizer and raising 1Khz, around 2Khz then a bit of 8Khz then 12Khz to 20Khz give me the upgrade i wanted from my VMODA M100. The veil has totally gone. Changing pad, burn-in + good equalization really give wonderful results..........It had become my main headphone. Don't mind that it's big to go outside cause the sound you get out of it really worth it IMO

 

[Sound Eq]

   
I share you opinion my friend !!! I tested multiple DAP and were never seduced cause in fact as basshead their equalizer are crap. That is why some have to buy headphones dac/amp that have bass boosts etc....With v4a you don't need any hardware bass boost. Dynamic system, bass or subwoofer settings and here you go. Maybe the day they will make a DAP with a true equalizer and stop making toys i'll reconsider it..........
 
Just a little sharing for those who have or want to consider JVC HA-SZ2000 : I let it burn playing pink noise, white noise and brown noise i found on youtube for a bit more than 8 hours at high volume (not too high as the goal is not to break it). I then let it play a bass song (subwoofer test on youtube). Then applying equalizer and raising 1Khz, around 2Khz then a bit of 8Khz then 12Khz to 20Khz give me the upgrade i wanted from my VMODA M100. The veil has totally gone. Changing pad, burn-in + good equalization really give wonderful results..........It had become my main headphone. Don't mind that it's big to go outside cause the sound you get out of it really worth it IMO

the eq in daps can not be compared to v4a at all, i really hope maybe on of those new daps coming out like onkyo can be rooted and we can install v4a on it, otherwise I might just just with a phone and v4a 

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

  the eq in daps can not be compared to v4a at all, i really hope maybe on of those new daps coming out like onkyo can be rooted and we can install v4a on it, otherwise I might just just with a phone and v4a 

 I'm a huge V4A fan.
 
I got a chance to demo and review the X7 so I will be able to check it's eq but it has an IEM amp module so no bass paper test

Maybe another time...
 

 
Full review in a week

 

[Dilatedpeoples2]

   
I share you opinion my friend !!! I tested multiple DAP and were never seduced cause in fact as basshead their equalizer are crap. That is why some have to buy headphones dac/amp that have bass boosts etc....With v4a you don't need any hardware bass boost. Dynamic system, bass or subwoofer settings and here you go. Maybe the day they will make a DAP with a true equalizer and stop making toys i'll reconsider it..........
 
Just a little sharing for those who have or want to consider JVC HA-SZ2000 : I let it burn playing pink noise, white noise and brown noise i found on youtube for a bit more than 8 hours at high volume (not too high as the goal is not to break it). I then let it play a bass song (subwoofer test on youtube). Then applying equalizer and raising 1Khz, around 2Khz then a bit of 8Khz then 12Khz to 20Khz give me the upgrade i wanted from my VMODA M100. The veil has totally gone. Changing pad, burn-in + good equalization really give wonderful results..........It had become my main headphone. Don't mind that it's big to go outside cause the sound you get out of it really worth it IMO

flash, did you get your WS1100's???

 

[Basstion]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Quote:

 
 I'm a huge V4A fan.
 
I got a chance to demo and review the X7 so I will be able to check it's eq but it has an IEM amp module so no bass paper test

Maybe another time...
 

 
Full review in a week

Nice and funny first shot HBB! I am interested in your view basshead. Had a chance to try by Fiio but for work and set time, I jumped at the chance.
 
So say hykhleif, interested me android dap to test the benefits of V4A and other improvements and the X7 has interested me from the beginning. As you said, the module amp IEM is very weak (100mw ~ 16Ω) but perhaps with a more powerful module (as I recall 500mw ~ 32Ω), is sufficient to avoid having to add an external amp and be more portable yet (my desire

 )

 

[flashmp3]

flash, did you get your WS1100's???

Unfortunately it is stuck at the customs. I called yesterday they told me they Don t understand why it is still at the customs cause it should have been sent for delivery as I provided the invoice. Waiting tomorrow hoping I ll have some news cause nothing today

 

[DexterMorgan]

Unfortunately it is stuck at the customs. I called yesterday they told me they Don t understand why it is still at the customs cause it should have been sent for delivery as I provided the invoice. Waiting tomorrow hoping I ll have some news cause nothing today

 
How much was the customs duty?

 

[DooberKnob]

I would be interested to see a dap with a built in amp that performs as well as an external one.

 

[vapman]

Any amps that are under $300 and good for both IEMs like XB90EX as well as stuff like the Fostex TH900?

 

[Luckbad]

Any amps that are under $300 and good for both IEMs like XB90EX as well as stuff like the Fostex TH900?

Garage1217 Project Polaris, iFi iCAN Micro.

 

[vapman]

I had been thinking the ican was out of my price range. If it is attainable attainable for less than 300 that's great.

 

[chillaxing]

iCan would be a great choice, but its not portable.

 

[Luckbad]

That is a caveat. Didn't see that as a requirement though. Do you need one for mobile use?

 

[thejammonster]

 

Sorry but none of those are basshead cans.  Yes they have great quality, refined bass, but not hard hitters.

there is a video done by one of the members that went out to buy the lcd-x just to do a bass video.  NO bass impact.

Don't get me wrong i love how the lcd-2 sounds and i'm about to get a pair.  but i'm not getting it for the hard hitting bass, i'm getting them for the refined bass.

Then you have not experienced a properly amped HE6, it hits like bricks for an open can.

Here is my modded 400i moving air,the 6 hits much harder.
https://youtu.be/ylMbSnM350M

 
After 2 months I can confirm that the HFM HE-400i can indeed hit this hard.  The Audeze LCD-2 can, too.  The Fostex TH600 still hits harder than both.  It turns out, though, that a speaker amp isn't required.  I've got an Emotiva XPA-200 sitting next to me and it is totally overkill 

  I wanted to make sure that I didn't think "what if?" after the fact so I made sure I got a big amp (240W @ 4ohm, 150W @ 8ohm).  I got a Rolls PM57 headphone tap which gives an impedance load for the amp as well as a volume pot for attenuation.  It works well but I have to turn my source (PC) way down to avoid distortion when EQing.  I also got a few cable adapters to plug the headphones in directly.  This makes it much easier to EQ but I get hiss (can't hear it with music playing) and I can't turn my source up past 10% without it being too loud.  I'm sure I could find a happy medium with a custom cable or project box, but it isn't worth it to me.  I just had to hear it for myself.  It turns out, though, that the Schiit Lyr 2 can do the same thing without any compromises.  I don't have to buy any special cables or adapters or put up with hiss or distortion.  Just plug and play, completely silent, pure power.
 
Notes:
 
Emotiva XPA-200 - Really nice build quality at an amazing $400 price tag.  This company is basically the Schiit of speaker amps, save for being assembled in China  If I ever make the switch to HiFi speakers I'll be looking at these amps.
 
Hifiman HE-400i - Surprisingly light and super comfortable.  Build quality isn't great for ~$500.  Nice sound signature that isn't nearly as bright as I remember the HE-400 being.
 
Audeze LCD-2 - Big, heavy, but still comfortable.  Superb build quality all around.  Sound signature surprisingly bright at higher volume but not offensive.  Unsure if they are worth $1,000.
 
Fostex TH900 - Sorry, but not worth ~$1,200 to me.  They are the same build as the TH600 with nice wood cups.  They do hit harder than the TH600 but they're somehow even brighter.
 
Fostex TH600 - Still the winner (for me).  Less than half the cost of the TH900 (~$550) and 90% of the capability.  Next venture will be wood cups, new pads, and recabling.
 

 

 

 

[BeatsWork]

  It works well but I have to turn my source (PC) way down to avoid distortion when EQing. 

 
Ok wait, are you feeding direct from PC line out?  If using DAC how are you still using volume control in media player?  Or do you mean pulling down gain in EQ?
 

It turns out, though, that the Schiit Lyr 2 can do the same thing without any compromises.  I don't have to buy any special cables or adapters or put up with hiss or distortion.  Just plug and play, completely silent, pure power.

 
Oh god yes, I should make that clear in my PM57 review that I'm not recommending that anyone go out and buy a speaker amp & Rolls rather if you already have a great speaker amp the PM57 worked well for me.  But if you're starting from scratch you can get much better bang for the buck from a dedicated headphone amp.
 
The whole "speaker amp" has a bit of an "urban legend" quality around it.  Sure you can get very good results this way, and even perhaps low cost like the Emotiva Mini-X  but I'm very dubious that this is ultimately a bargain considering the tradeoffs and it's ludicrous to say that you need 100's of watts to drive any headphone to it it's full capacity.  It's the quality of the amp (current/damping factor etc. etc.) not the fact that it can power a speaker which matters more.