[Brighten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Have you seen this? Caution Flyers - Almost bought myself a strip-search - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

Yeah, it was a great read.

 

[cat6man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfen68 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've now decided that Head-fi should be nicknamed "A collection of people most likely to be apprehended at airports".

you bet.............it is impossible for me to fly through frankfurt without having my music system swabbed down for a quick mass spec...........i'm 6 for 6 having my music rig tested at that airport

 

[EFN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luca T /img/forum/go_quote.gif Excuse me what is that DAC?

THAT big thing in the middle - no it's not a Nuke detonator as alleged by Jamato

 

[Luca T]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EFN /img/forum/go_quote.gif THAT big thing in the middle - no it's not a Nuke detonator as alleged by Jamato

Is it portable?

It's a DIY, How does it sound? Are you satisfied?

 

[EFN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luca T /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is it portable? It's a DIY, How does it sound? [size=x-large]Are you satisfied[/size]?

You gotta be pulling me legs eh? here at Head-Fi there no such thing as "satisfied"....else this site would have closed years ago

...dang even Senn HE90 owners can't conclusively decide if they are satisfied

EDIT:
Yes those are DIY Kit from HiFiDIY.net. 12V DAC OS 8X. Pretty solid performance but the size is killing me.

 

[Luca T]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EFN /img/forum/go_quote.gif You gotta be pulling me legs eh? here at Head-Fi there no such thing as "satisfied"....else this site would have closed years ago ...dang even Senn HE90 owners can't conclusively decide if they are satisfied EDIT: Yes those are DIY Kit from HiFiDIY.net. 12V DAC OS 8X. Pretty solid performance but the size is killing me.

Ehm ok sorry, I meant did you enjoy enough for a DIY(of course it's never enough

)?

Is it just DAC?

How is the SQ of a DIY like that compared with an ibasso or a RSA?

 

[khtse]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EFN /img/forum/go_quote.gif THAT big thing in the middle - no it's not a Nuke detonator as alleged by Jamato

Imagine what would happen if you go through the airport security with this thing in your hand.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by khtse /img/forum/go_quote.gif Imagine what would happen if you go through the airport security with this thing in your hand.

Yeah?

That's what we've been talking about for the past 6 hours...

 

[verjuno]

great review

i was a good read

 

[PatLogan]

Hello HeadphoneAddict,

Thank you for this wonderful review.
I have a first price naim system at home, and i'm happy and broken...
But i'd like to experiment listening to headphones.
I bought a westone um1 to begin and would like now to have a good dac/amp for small price.
Hesitate between nuforce icon mobile and superpro dac 707 (from what I read and to stay around 100$)
I hesitate also to go on the diy side and make a bantamdac + cmoy.
What would you suggest me ?
The idea is only to have a better idea of what my um1 has in the belly and then take time to see if I want to go toward intras or electros...
Thank for any advice.
Pat

 

[b_jay_k]

in my limited browsing on head-fi so far, this is the most amazing review i've seen/read. based on this and the nuforce icon mobile thread i have ordered one (limited budget). i had a funny feeling the D10 was going to be pick of the iBasso crop, but to best all the others on test was a bit of a surprise. if only i could afford to spend a further £100 over the Nuforce. i will see how impressed i am with it after a couple hundred burn in hours.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatLogan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hello HeadphoneAddict, Thank you for this wonderful review. I have a first price naim system at home, and i'm happy and broken... But i'd like to experiment listening to headphones. I bought a westone um1 to begin and would like now to have a good dac/amp for small price. Hesitate between nuforce icon mobile and superpro dac 707 (from what I read and to stay around 100$) I hesitate also to go on the diy side and make a bantamdac + cmoy. What would you suggest me ? The idea is only to have a better idea of what my um1 has in the belly and then take time to see if I want to go toward intras or electros... Thank for any advice. Pat

All the amps in this review have a DAC to use them as an external USB soundcard with built-in amp. The Super Pro DAC707 is a DAC only, so you have to use it as a source to feed a separate amp. Without an amp section it will not drive headphones, it drives or feeds an amp (RCA output jacks to connect to full size amp, or use adapter to feed portable amp). The 707 is also not portable unless you build a 12v battery pack. However, the 707 has a better DAC than the Nuforce (or vivid V1).

The Nuforce should be a good match for the UM1. Although I haven't heard a UM1 I have read it is not too bright sounding, and the Nuforce could help that. The Vivid V1 should also be a good $99 DAC with amp for the UM1. When using the Nuforce DAC to feed music to the Nuforce, I think it gets along well with a variety of headphones and in ear monitors and earphones, but Skylab thought it was too bright and forward. I disagree when used with the DAC and most headpones, although with the wrong source or headphones he can be right. Sometimes the Vivid V1 dac/amp can sound a little similar to the Nuforce, and has a slight coloration to it that actually hurts it's performance with the Grados while making it a great amp for the HD600. So, neither one is perfect, but both hard to beat for under $100 unless you go with an amp without a DAC to plug into the computer as an external sound card.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by b_jay_k /img/forum/go_quote.gif in my limited browsing on head-fi so far, this is the most amazing review i've seen/read. based on this and the nuforce icon mobile thread i have ordered one (limited budget). i had a funny feeling the D10 was going to be pick of the iBasso crop, but to best all the others on test was a bit of a surprise. if only i could afford to spend a further £100 over the Nuforce. i will see how impressed i am with it after a couple hundred burn in hours.

At the end of my rankings I mention all the amps are nice sounding. Basically if I was constrained by a budget, I'd be okay with having to use any of them, but some are better than others in the job of bringing a totally transparent performance to my ears.

For instance, I think the D10 driving headphones and IEM is very close to the $500 Apogee Duet that I am borrowing - with some phones one is better, and with other the other one is better (with Head-direct RE2 that I am burning in, the Duet sounds better with them, but with Westone ES3X or Westone 3 the D10 is everybit as good or slightly better). I haven't reviewed the Apogee as I consider it a desktop DAC/amp that wont run under it's own battery power like the others, but I put it among the top DAC/amps around. The only reason the Predator and 3MOVE (and often the XM5) rank as high as the amps with superior DAC's is that the quality and sound signature of their amps makes up for it, making you just want to listen more.

 

[tinseljim]

That was epic. I believe you have a real gift for this, both in explaining what you're hearing and making the technical details clear.

Thank you.

 

[b_jay_k]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif At the end of my rankings I mention all the amps are nice sounding. Basically if I was constrained by a budget, I'd be okay with having to use any of them, but some are better than others in the job of bringing a totally transparent performance to my ears.

I remember you saying the Icon Mobile performed better through USB. I dont really need it for anything beyond being plugged into my PC but the fact that it is portable is a bonus. I'm hoping the PFE are good/transparent with it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinseljim /img/forum/go_quote.gif That was epic. I believe you have a real gift for this, both in explaining what you're hearing and making the technical details clear.

X2
[/PRAISE]