[mvvRAZ]

Please allow me a small rant.

Thus far I’ve been using my A12T’s with the lightning dongle. I figured they sound alright, a little less detailed than Andromeda’s but better bass. At Deezel and mvvRaz’s suggestion I decided to try plugging them into my Gen 1 Dragonfly’s connected to my computer.

I have been a fool.

Understand this— I don’t believe in most of the hi-fi mumbo jumbo spread in these forums, plus I’m cheap as hell. I’ve always believed that DAC’s make 10% difference tops.

The music that came out of my A12T’s plugged into a Gen 1 Dragonfly was so much more profoundly spacious, melodic, and detailed... it made me goddamn angry! I have been WASTING these IEMs on the lightning dongle.

I am currently searching frantically for a portable DAC, and will likely get a Cobalt unless someone convinces me otherwise. Portability, sound quality and avoiding #donglelife are the most important factors in what I buy.

No matter what though, I am converted. Thank you all for helping me understand (and making my wallet cry).

The way I see it, you've gotten yourself an IEM with excellent scalability and it will keep improving as you improve the DAC cable etc

When I was just getting into the hobby I went through the regular upgrade cycle, starting from a DF Red, to a Mojo, to an AK SR15, noticing major improvements each time I scaled up

Half an year later I spent some time with the AK SP1000M and once again, the improvement was so large I had to give in

I'm not saying you should just go an jump on the most expensive piece of gear you can find, but the way I see it, it makes sense to evaluate how much you would be willing to spend and not waste your money on a lengthy upgrade cycle

And on the whole cable topic, the 64 stock cables are designed mostly for pro use, which pretty much assumes they'll be receiving tons of punishment and will most likely be getting replaced sooner or later. They sound okay, but Imo you will also receive a pretty noticeable upgrade if you go for a cable

 

[yfei]

Please allow me a small rant.
Thus far I’ve been using my A12T’s with the lightning dongle. I figured they sound alright, a little less detailed than Andromeda’s but better bass.
The music that came out of my A12T’s plugged into a Gen 1 Dragonfly was so much more profoundly spacious, melodic, and detailed... it made me goddamn angry! I have been WASTING these IEMs on the lightning dongle.

Have you tried Andromeda with DragonFly? Andromeda is much much more sensitive to source, I think you will hear a lot more difference between dongle vs. DragonFly using Andro.

 

[Bimbleton]

I’m a little confused and wanted to ask you all for help.

After that mindblowing experience with A12T’s + Spotify through my laptop + Gen 1 Dragonfly, I rushed to the audio shop to test some updated Dragonfly options with my iPhone streaming 320kbps Spotify.

They were all disappointing, not much different from the Lightning dongle. Tried DF Red and Cobalt, there was barely an improvement.

Can someone explain what’s going on — why the MASSIVE jump in audio quality when played from my PC + DF vs played from my iPhone + DF? And is there any way to replicate the PC sound in a portable way? Should I try a Chord Mojo + iPhone, or iFi DSD + iPhone?

Also please let me know if this is the wrong forum to post in, I’m happy to post elsewhere. Thanks.

 

[Bimbleton]

Duplicate post, deleted

 

[mwhals]

I’m a little confused and wanted to ask you all for help.

After that mindblowing experience with A12T’s + Spotify through my laptop + Gen 1 Dragonfly, I rushed to the audio shop to test some update Dragonfly options with my iPhone streaming 320kbps Spotify.

They were all disappointing, not much different from the Lightning dongle. Tried DF Red and Cobalt, they was barely an improvement.

Can someone explain what’s going on — why the MASSIVE jump in audio quality when played from my PC + DF vs played from my iPhone + DF? And is there any way to replicate the PC sound in a portable way? Should I try a Chord Mojo + iPhone, or iFi DSD + iPhone?

Also please let me know if this is the wrong forum to post in, I’m happy to post elsewhere. Thanks.

Try an ifi xDSD.

 

[jmpsmash]

I’m a little confused and wanted to ask you all for help.

After that mindblowing experience with A12T’s + Spotify through my laptop + Gen 1 Dragonfly, I rushed to the audio shop to test some updated Dragonfly options with my iPhone streaming 320kbps Spotify.

They were all disappointing, not much different from the Lightning dongle. Tried DF Red and Cobalt, there was barely an improvement.

Can someone explain what’s going on — why the MASSIVE jump in audio quality when played from my PC + DF vs played from my iPhone + DF? And is there any way to replicate the PC sound in a portable way? Should I try a Chord Mojo + iPhone, or iFi DSD + iPhone?

Also please let me know if this is the wrong forum to post in, I’m happy to post elsewhere. Thanks.

there can be different explanations. did you try iphone / DF comparison at home? Was the audio shop noisy?

 

[mvvRAZ]

I’m a little confused and wanted to ask you all for help.

After that mindblowing experience with A12T’s + Spotify through my laptop + Gen 1 Dragonfly, I rushed to the audio shop to test some updated Dragonfly options with my iPhone streaming 320kbps Spotify.

They were all disappointing, not much different from the Lightning dongle. Tried DF Red and Cobalt, there was barely an improvement.

Can someone explain what’s going on — why the MASSIVE jump in audio quality when played from my PC + DF vs played from my iPhone + DF? And is there any way to replicate the PC sound in a portable way? Should I try a Chord Mojo + iPhone, or iFi DSD + iPhone?

Also please let me know if this is the wrong forum to post in, I’m happy to post elsewhere. Thanks.

The Mojo is more for headphones I think, I don't like how it pairs with IEMs too much

To ask you though, if you're considering such large DACs, why not just go for a DAP instead?

 

[sergeywin1]

I don’t know mate... I’m gonna have to try different cables for myself and work my way down the chain of diminishing returns. But DAMN, I feel so stupid for not getting a better DAC earlier. Holy hell...

My Tia Fourtes scale amazingly well whenever you upgrade the gear. I went from the stock cable to Plussound Appolonian+ (great improvement) to DHC Symbiote SP V3 OCC Silver 8 Wire (amazing improvement).

My source has been Mojo+Poly in Airplane mode and it never disappoints (stellar soundstage and detail)

Changes as small as contact conditioners cause a positive audible difference - so Definitely go for a cable upgrade!

 

[Bimbleton]

Thanks to all who replied.

Try an ifi xDSD.

I’m looking into these options. Wonder if xDSD is better than the nano.

there can be different explanations. did you try iphone / DF comparison at home? Was the audio shop noisy?

Audio shop wasn’t that noisy, very few people there. You are correct, I haven’t tried that combo at home, but I don’t think my Gen 1 Dragonfly can even connect to an iPhone unfortunately.

The Mojo is more for headphones I think, I don't like how it pairs with IEMs too much

To ask you though, if you're considering such large DACs, why not just go for a DAP instead?

I may end up going that route, but boy I don’t know much about DAPs at all. I’ll have to do more reading. Had been hoping to just have an easy one-device portable solution, but the PC+A12t combo was so staggeringly improved, I think it’s worth the chase.

 

[max1236]

Now that I have my dap and iems Im never looking back, it's like total freedom and it's the sound I want. I found pairing with my phone and things like that were cumbersome. Now my phone is free to use and I'm always getting the best sound from my dap. I would recommend going to the shop and test out their daps, and also do some research at home.

Also maybe check out a Bluetooth receiver?

 

[mvvRAZ]

Now that I have my dap and iems Im never looking back, it's like total freedom and it's the sound I want. I found pairing with my phone and things like that were cumbersome. Now my phone is free to use and I'm always getting the best sound from my dap. I would recommend going to the shop and test out their daps, and also do some research at home.

Also maybe check out a Bluetooth receiver?

I agree, I also started off with portable DACs but ever since I went for a dap I haven’t missed them in the slightest

 

[twiceboss]

Now that I have my dap and iems Im never looking back, it's like total freedom and it's the sound I want. I found pairing with my phone and things like that were cumbersome. Now my phone is free to use and I'm always getting the best sound from my dap. I would recommend going to the shop and test out their daps, and also do some research at home.

Also maybe check out a Bluetooth receiver?

ipod touch is another alternative to daps and to me it is more reliable for the use of streaming apps. Thin and fast, pretty much my go to currently.

 

[mwhals]

ipod touch is another alternative to daps and to me it is more reliable for the use of streaming apps. Thin and fast, pretty much my go to currently.

An iPod touch is just a smaller iPhone without the phone, so it would be no different than the OP’s iPhone.

 

[toaster]

Remember, diminishing returns kick in at some point as well, as with all luxury items.

Additionally, there's sensitivity to the differences you hear (or don't,) and subjectivity to your appreciation (or lack thereof) for the changes.

 

[MarkF786]

I'm considering buying an U12T and need a second cable - but there are two options, recessed and non-recessed, by 64 Audio provides zero information about which cable goes with their IEMs!

Does anyone know which cable goes with the U12T?