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Oh I was listening with the Objective2. I tried the ZO2 at a local Head-Fi meet today, so my ability to test specific tracks with the ZO2 right now is non-existent since I'm back at home. XD
The instrument at 5:50 isn't a guitar, it might be a Guzheng (Chinese zither).
I should note that I'm listen to the O2/ODAC and E7 as a USB option. I can try it as a straight-up amp if you want. I don't have Spotify Premium so I can't listen to Spotify on an iPod or other mobile device.
With the E7 (bass boost zero), the soundstage isn't as wide, instruments seem closer together and have less air between them but the separation is still pretty good, less shimmer in the "cymbals", upper-treble extension isn't as good, the bass seems less clearly-defined compared to the O2.
Thanks again!
If you could, that would be great.
I'll probably most likely be listening straight from the S3 or my X-Fi unless I get an E7 or similar, so I know the sound won't be as great as it can be.
Ah yeah, that sound
Yeah, I love that part of the track!
I'm guessing the O2 isn't a portable option haha
Hm, I get the same kind of observations-ish as I posted earlier with straight-up amping, it depends on your source:
4-year old MacBook
- MacBook headphone-out: OK sound
- FiiO E7 (line-in connection, bass boost 0) -> M-100 = better sound in my opinion (harder-hitting and cleaner bass, better L/R imaging and instrument separation, slightly more detailed, better upper-treble response)
- JDS Labs O2 (line-in connection, fully-charged battery-powered) -> M-100 = better sound than E7 in my opinion (tighter bass that's less boomy but loses some of that chest-thump, midrange is more detailed and slightly less laid back, upper-treble response is smoother/less sharp than E7)
Retina MacBook Pro
- MacBook Pro headphone-out: better sound than the setup above with the E7 in my opinion, I was genuinely surprised (lots of chest-thumping bass, very good L/R imaging and instrument separation, relatively speaking, good upper-treble response)
- FiiO E7 (line-in connection, bass boost 0) -> M-100 = "meh", I can't tell if it's any better than without the E7 :/ The treble sounds a little grainier/artificial to me and the soundstage is more of that closed-hallway kind of sound (not as good L/R imaging). There is more clarity in the midrange and the bass is tightened up a bit. Strange indeed.
- JDS Labs O2 (line-in connection, fully-charged battery-powered) -> M-100 = honestly, there's not a whole lot different from without any amps (bass is tighter and better-controlled, slightly better upper-treble response, a bit more detail with the midrange and it's slightly less laid back, slightly better L/R imaging, better instrument separation)
In short, for an OK source: O2 > FiiO E7 > older source
for good source: O2 > good source > FiiO E7
I'm not sure how an S3 nor an X-Fi sound, so I can't really say whether or not an E7 will be super beneficial to you.
With that track, on my newer MacBook, the E7 makes the song sound warmer (more rich-sounding bass, gentle rolled-off treble), the O2 enhances the M-100's output (better bass rumble, and just a much cleaner-sound overall), and straight out of the MacBook's headphone jack, things sound clearer than with the E7 but at the cost of having a "meh" bass response from the M-100 (with this particular track the bass sounds pretty lean coming from the M-100).
I can say that the O2 and E7 do help the sound output with my portable Sansa Clip Zip media player; both add a nice increase in soundstage, instrument separation, punchier bass response, and more clearly defined treble. I would classify the O2 as transportable. It's not nearly as portable as an E7, but more portable than a full-on desktop amplifier. The O2 certainly does compete with some desktop amplifiers from my experience, so it's fair to say the O2 is a really good transportable amp if you need one.
From what people said about the M-100 at the meet today, they were pretty impressed with it. One person said it does acoustic tracks very well, someone else kept on listening to 2CELLOS with the M-100's, and another person was doing some comparisons between the M-100, a modified AD-D2000, and an Audio Technica ATH-W3000ANV.
