[sstyle]

Yesterday I bought a FiiO HS2 - a source switcher. And now I can not hear a difference between FiiO X7, iPhone 5s, Centrance Mini-M8. So what is the best way to compare? Run simultaneously on each one. Or one of them with 1-3-5sec delay from other? Or set 1 track to 3-5 times repeat and then switch to another source?
 
Maybe you can advice me a good track for my goal
 
p.s. Sure volume is on the same level (by SPL meter) on all devices. I tried to listen a same flac files on all devices and from TIDAL too. All devices connect via HS2 to external desktop high-quality A-class amp with Sennheiser HD650.

 

[Deftone]

Nothing wrong with your test. Re doing it slightly different won't change the fact you can't hear any difference. Not all headphones/ iems are revealing enough to benefit from expensive sources IMO. HD800 is a good example, it sounds different on almost everything.

 

[sstyle]

So, you told that iPhone 6 sounds like Centrance or high-end X7? It is impossible.

 

[Deftone]

  So, you told that iPhone 6 sounds like Centrance or high-end X7? It is impossible.

 
why is it impossible?
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nev7BYpYUfc
 
Skip to 28.30
 
couldnt hear the difference between X7 / Mojo / 6s

 

[sstyle]

There is should be diffrerence in deepth of scene (layering), instrument separation, high-freq quality, etc.

 

[Deftone]

like i said.
 
Quote:

Not all headphones/ iems are revealing enough to benefit from expensive sources IMO. HD800 is a good example, it sounds different on almost everything.

 
i have owned the hd650, rather than it being a detailed and revealing headphone it likes to play whatever you got and make you happy when listening to it.
 
i have had £100 iems that reveal the source quality better than HD650 but! they dont sound as magical as the HD650.

 

[twister6]

@sstyle : without a switch and 3.5mm cable interconnects (going from your sources to the switch), were you able to hear a difference between your sources while using HD650 connected directly and listening to the same song?
 
It's true, not everybody hear the difference between sources.  In theory we should, but not everybody has a perfect hearing.  In reality, people joke on Head-fi - not to be able to hear a difference is a blessing because you stop spending money to constantly upgrade your gear
 
But if you do hear a difference when connecting HD650 directly to your sources, but don't hear a difference when going through the switch - it could be a matter of poor cheap cables and impedance mismatch added to your audio path.
 
I actually got and tested one of these switcher boxes as well (my mini review is here), and found that combination of external cables and switches messed up the sound a bit.
 
So, ne perezhivai, bratva

 

[reginalb]

  Yesterday I bought a FiiO HS2 - a source switcher. And now I can not hear a difference between FiiO X7, iPhone 5s, Centrance Mini-M8. So what is the best way to compare? Run simultaneously on each one. Or one of them with 1-3-5sec delay from other? Or set 1 track to 3-5 times repeat and then switch to another source?
 
Maybe you can advice me a good track for my goal
 
p.s. Sure volume is on the same level (by SPL meter) on all devices. I tried to listen a same flac files on all devices and from TIDAL too. All devices connect via HS2 to external desktop high-quality A-class amp with Sennheiser HD650.

 
There will be a lot of different responses here in portable source gear. Come to sound science, there will be a metaphorical blanket and cocoa waiting for you. I am going to climb in to my flame suit and say: There really shouldn't be much of a difference between different sources except for under specific conditions. If it measures flat, it should sound like anything else that measures flat, unless for example, output impedance is too high for your headphones. Most of the things that people really worry about in PSG (things like distortion and jitter) are below the threshold of audibility with most modern amplifiers, and most DAC's at this point measure flat. Even silly NOS ones and the like mostly measure flat at this point.
 
Human ears (even the best on whippersnappers) aren't really all that good. But our brains are really good at tricking us in to thinking we hear things like varied soundstage when we switch to a different SD card, or that electronic components like capacitors can have burn in. Even things that are easily demonstrable as false are easily believed in some corners. I love to play with different electronics, but I've come to realize I don't need to go broke to drive my great headphones. Do some blind testing on any track that anyone suggests and you're likely to come to the same conclusion each time.