[Hyde00]

Shameless Plug, Selling the Sonata E44.

Reason : I've come to don't want a separate Volume control for my use case. I would like my Volume control to Link with the source. Otherwise, they sound GRRRRREAT.

Glad to know I'm not alone, most people seem to prefer separate hardware volume control. But I also prefer to control from the source.

Currently I'm thinking if the W2-131 HID mode work as I think it should, or if not then maybe xDuoo Link2 Bal.

If you know any good alternative please let me know, trying to stay within the CS43131 family lol.

 

[digititus]

Glad to know I'm not alone, most people seem to prefer separate hardware volume control. But I also prefer to control from the source.

Surely you can do both? Max the hardware volume on the E44 and control volume from UAPP or whatever app you are using. That's what I do. UAPP allows much finer tuning of volume adjustments (50 or 100 steps)

 

[G33dubz]

Glad to know I'm not alone, most people seem to prefer separate hardware volume control. But I also prefer to control from the source.

Currently I'm thinking if the W2-131 HID mode work as I think it should, or if not then maybe xDuoo Link2 Bal.

If you know any good alternative please let me know, trying to stay within the CS43131 family lol.

Get the link2! I think I might actually like it more than my dc03. There is this one on alixp:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtHi0sC

I ordered it but it wont be here for a few weeks

 

[Hyde00]

Get the link2! I think I might actually like it more than my dc03. There is this one on alixp:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtHi0sC

I ordered it but it wont be here for a few weeks

Lol I am really on the fence to be honest. Here the big question, how forward is the vocal? LOL distant vocal is deal-breaker for me. I think W2-131 is not too far but not too close either? So if xDuoo Link2 Bal is closer than that then I might lean towards it lol.

Also the AliExpress one look...... Interesting...... LOL. It's literally T shaped.

 

[G33dubz]

Lol I am really on the fence to be honest. Here the big question, how forward is the vocal? LOL distant vocal is deal-breaker for me. I think W2-131 is not too far but not too close either? So if xDuoo Link2 Bal is closer than that then I might lean towards it lol.

Also the AliExpress one look...... Interesting...... LOL. It's literally T shaped.

The link2 bal is about as neutral as they come, its one of many reasons i love it so much. Having a neutral amp is essential if you want to fully appreciate the native tuning of your cans/iems. If you really like boosted mids ("Forward Vocals"), invest in some Grados. Especially if you like live music. I'm a big deadhead, and sets I've heard a thousand time bloomed into a whole new experience when i first put on my RS1s. Check out the Grado Fan Club if you wanna learn more, and maybe even find a pair used. I suggest skipping the SR line all together. The most helpful advice I've received on my audiophile journey: "Buy as much Grado as you can afford"

 

[Hyde00]

The link2 bal is about as neutral as they come, its one of many reasons i love it so much. Having a neutral amp is essential if you want to fully appreciate the native tuning of your cans/iems. If you really like boosted mids ("Forward Vocals"), invest in some Grados. Especially if you like live music. I'm a big deadhead, and sets I've heard a thousand time bloomed into a whole new experience when i first put on my RS1s. Check out the Grado Fan Club if you wanna learn more, and maybe even find a pair used. I suggest skipping the SR line all together. The most helpful advice I've received on my audiophile journey: "Buy as much Grado as you can afford"

LOL you're spot on about Grados! This is insane, I haven't even tell you anything about my music preference yet. And yes I do really like the Grado sound! THOUGH biggest issue is that I work from home and I also tend to listen to music loud, so I'm restricted to closed back unfortunately. Otherwise I'd love to get myself a pair of Grado.

I've struggled to find myself a pair of closed back with Grado sound yet, someone suggested Shure SRH940 or Sony CD900ST. Though I'm currently using Denon D5200 so I'm worried it might be going backwards in terms of resolution if I try the other suggestions. So I'm compensating by using mid forward dac/amp to offset my headphone a bit (not the best solution but oh well, I'm limited by certain restrictions).

xDuoo LInk2 Bal is tempting though since it presents such a great cost to performance ratio. Though in this case then maybe tonal preference wise W2-131 might suit me a little bit more. I might order something tomorrow, still have 1 day to think about it lol.

Again thanks for the suggestions though!!!

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

Get the link2! I think I might actually like it more than my dc03. There is this one on alixp:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtHi0sC

I ordered it but it wont be here for a few weeks

Quite sexy...

 

[Hotep303]

Hey guys, forgive me if this has been discussed, didn't know how to search for this, but is there a way to walk around the native android mixer for all of audio on my phone in some way?

I've been using ibasso DC04 through HiBy player on my phone which supports Tidal, but I feel limited. I want to listen to YouTube and all apps on my phone. Is there a solution to this? Do iPhones not have a crappy native mixer? I could get an iPhone.. just don't remember if ibasso supports it...

Do dedicated Android players not suffer from this? (Never had one that had online capabilities)

By the way I did some A/B testing and on certain tracks on certain sounds the difference is huge and Android sound processing just ruins certain aspects of the sound especially if it's more synth sounds as opposed to more sine wave sounds... So I'm stuck inside HiBy..

Thanks a lot!

 

[noknok23]

Hey guys, forgive me if this has been discussed, didn't know how to search for this, but is there a way to walk around the native android mixer for all of audio on my phone in some way?

I've been using ibasso DC04 through HiBy player on my phone which supports Tidal, but I feel limited. I want to listen to YouTube and all apps on my phone. Is there a solution to this? Do iPhones not have a crappy native mixer? I could get an iPhone.. just don't remember if ibasso supports it...

Do dedicated Android players not suffer from this? (Never had one that had online capabilities)

By the way I did some A/B testing and on certain tracks on certain sounds the difference is huge and Android sound processing just ruins certain aspects of the sound especially if it's more synth sounds as opposed to more sine wave sounds... So I'm stuck inside HiBy..

Thanks a lot!

Are you rooted? you could try this module, it's supposed to improve sound quality: https://t.me/s/nlsound_updates

 

[POLBeLin]

Hello people, I'm looking for a way to remove the noise that comes from the electrical grounding issue of my laptop. I use IEMs which are made of metal so they can conduct electricity. When I touch my laptop, the noise goes away. Someone told me that the 10$ Apple Dongle will be enough to remove this issue, is this true?

 

[BaTou069]

Hello people, I'm looking for a way to remove the noise that comes from the electrical grounding issue of my laptop. I use IEMs which are made of metal so they can conduct electricity. When I touch my laptop, the noise goes away. Someone told me that the 10$ Apple Dongle will be enough to remove this issue, is this true?

worth trying, that dongle is the best in terms of price2performance

 

[Hotep303]

Are you rooted? you could try this module, it's supposed to improve sound quality: https://t.me/s/nlsound_updates

Not rooted. Doesn't look too promising tbh. Just want bit perfect audio for YouTube pretty much. Thanks for the reply

Does anyone know the situation with iPhones? I suppose it's not gonna be bit perfect, but maybe it's less bad in terms of processing?

Also dedicated players could be a solution... I've gotta look up more how the Android ones function. I've had WM1A but my phone with a dongle gets me most of the way there I feel. It's just more online capabilities besides Tidal that I'm looking for.

 

[BaTou069]

Just want bit perfect audio for YouTube

What? Why? It's 16/44.1 on utube I'm pretty sure that's the standard output anyways

 

[Hotep303]

What? Why? It's 16/44.1 on utube I'm pretty sure that's the standard output anyways

Yeah I'm ok with relatively low bitrate. 320 mp3 is good enough for me what brothers me is what android sound processing does to the sound. 320 mp3 sounds way better played bit perfect through HiBy than the same file played on HiBy through android mixer.

I want to watch YouTube videos, listen to music on YouTube and Spotify, maybe even watch a movie on my phone with the same quality I get out of HiBy. Or at least less bad than Android. So maybe iPhone. Still no iPhone users that could compare. Although I suppose most Android users can't even hear the difference that I'm talking about (cause noone seems to mind), so I might have to A/B it myself... Gotta get some adapters I suppose.

 

[danny87]

Yeah I'm ok with relatively low bitrate. 320 mp3 is good enough for me what brothers me is what android sound processing does to the sound. 320 mp3 sounds way better played bit perfect through HiBy than the same file played on HiBy through android mixer.

I want to watch YouTube videos, listen to music on YouTube and Spotify, maybe even watch a movie on my phone with the same quality I get out of HiBy. Or at least less bad than Android. So maybe iPhone. Still no iPhone users that could compare. Although I suppose most Android users can't even hear the difference that I'm talking about (cause noone seems to mind), so I might have to A/B it myself... Gotta get some adapters I suppose.

How about bluetooth dongles like the fiio btr3k or btr5? I know it's not a usb dongle, but i assume it should bypass the android mixer and may be suitable for your needs.