As far as I understand (based on specs) the #1S is quite bit more powerful than the M3S (300 vs 130mW SE and 360 vs 230 mW in balanced mode). The sound signature on the M3S may of course be preferred despite this but for power alone the 1S should be superior. Just my 2c. ..
As far as I understand (based on specs) the #1S is quite bit more powerful than the M3S (300 vs 130mW SE and 360 vs 230 mW in balanced mode). The sound signature on the M3S may of course be preferred despite this but for power alone the 1S should be superior. Just my 2c. ..
Specs are good for reference, but real world performance sometimes begs to differ. Especially with output gain. I'd rather trust user experience over a spec sheet when it comes to relative output gain and headphone synergy.
Specs are good for reference, but real world performance sometimes begs to differ. Especially with output gain. I'd rather trust user experience over a spec sheet when it comes to relative output gain and headphone synergy.
Gain and power are different things and how much each change in volume increases (or decreases) the listening volume is hardly relative to the amount of total power output. I agree that synergy is very important though. Again, the #1S will deliver more power but that does certainly not mean that it will sound better with every (or any) headphones.
Gain and power are different things and how much each change in volume increases (or decreases) the listening volume is hardly relative to the amount of total power output. I agree that synergy is very important though. Again, the #1S will deliver more power but that does certainly not mean that it will sound better with every (or any) headphones.
To MY ears, the Shanling sounds a bit warmer, richer and having a more full sound. That said, the detail representation of the Opus, is well...typical Opus. The #2 has replaced my Shanling M5 as my reference point for that reason. The amount of detail on the #1s is impressive, and helps provide a fairly fun sounding DAP. It is still a bit thin for my tastes, though. The #2, fills that thinner sound quite nicely, though.
As for the HD6xx (HD600 for me), the Shanling provided a better sound. It was easier to drive the 600's through the M3s, than the #1S. I found on the Opus, I had to raise the volume by about 20 numbers (70 to 90), to get any sort of decent sound. Even then, it had a more thin sound than the warm, rich sound from the M3s. The M3s had no problem what-so-ever driving the HD600's. I did have to raise the volume about 10 (from 30 to 40ish...) to provide an equivalent sound volume-wise. This was in no way doing any volume matching between the two DAP's, this was only going from how I typically run any of my IEM's/cans on each DAP. Take that as you will, but I do believe this is valid, since I had to raise the volume on both in order to drive the 600's adequately, and to what I would call a volume equivalent to my normal listening.
Yes they do.
As I said in my mini-review, the difference in volume between Opus #1 and #1S was about 4-5% with IEMs (all < 50 ohms).
With kennerton Valis (about 64ohms), the difference was 8-10%.
For me, it is relatively non-significant, since there is still some space for higher-impedance.
With the Valis on Opus #1, it is getting painfully loud at volume 100/150, so there is some space.
But people shouldn't expect to correctly power 250-600 ohm headphones with such as a small DAP anyway.
As a comparison, Opus #1S can't really fight against an AK380 with its additional amp, although it is more powerful than the AK380 alone.
Quick question. Can the 1S (or any Opus) have both SE and balanced output at the same time? I know the original #1 you had to select output but don't have to do that on the 1S?
Quick question. Can the 1S (or any Opus) have both SE and balanced output at the same time? I know the original #1 you had to select output but don't have to do that on the 1S?
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