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XDuoo XD-05 Portable Dac/Amp Introduction - Impressions
Aug 26, 2020 at 1:57 PM Post #1,801 of 2,100
Agreed. The Muses03 is the pinnacle of sound stage and separation in all of the chips I tried, and I really wanted to leave it in my XD-05+ permanently due to it's layering capabilities. Despite about a dozen attempts I just couldn't get over the bad tone of it though. The tone can just ruin songs when you expect to hear a certain sound, and it ends up being so far off from the expectation. It always struck me as a bit odd at how bright the Muses01 & 02's are, then the 03 goes way past neutral into dark territory. The 827SQ has enough layering and stage to at least give it some of the characteristics of what makes the Muses03 great, just not to the same great lengths in those areas.
 
Aug 26, 2020 at 3:29 PM Post #1,802 of 2,100
Dramlin said:
Agreed. The Muses03 is the pinnacle of sound stage and separation in all of the chips I tried, and I really wanted to leave it in my XD-05+ permanently due to it's layering capabilities. Despite about a dozen attempts I just couldn't get over the bad tone of it though. The tone can just ruin songs when you expect to hear a certain sound, and it ends up being so far off from the expectation. It always struck me as a bit odd at how bright the Muses01 & 02's are, then the 03 goes way past neutral into dark territory. The 827SQ has enough layering and stage to at least give it some of the characteristics of what makes the Muses03 great, just not to the same great lengths in those areas.
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Do you think Burson v5i has better separation and soundstage than the 827SQ?
 
Aug 26, 2020 at 4:13 PM Post #1,803 of 2,100
That's a hard one. I don't have clear notes comparing the stage & separation directly between the 827SQ and V5i. I remember always being wowed by the capabilities of V5iwhen I would put it in, only to end up removing it after a day or so due to the lower than neutral tone. In my mind the Muses03 had superior staging and separation to the V5i, and the V5i was closer to neutral than the Muses03 (but still tonally too low for my liking). Just going off of memory alone, I think the V5i has a subtle amount more separation compared to the 827SQ, with stage being similar between the two.
 
Aug 27, 2020 at 12:52 AM Post #1,804 of 2,100
Dramlin said:
Happy to help-

AD822ANZ - The 822 is a really good 'normal' chip in the XD-05, as in it doesn't have the deeply layered 3D capabilities of the SQ's, Burson, or Muses02/03's, but it is top tier compared to the other chips I reviewed. Not to say it's worse than the Muses though-- It's got a neutral tone with excellent details, stage height, bass, and ambience. Critical listening is satisfying as everything is represented. It's downsides are that it is slightly on the softer side (not crystal clear on every note), and due to the lack of the 3D stage it can be a bit boring unless if the music is mastered well. It can't beat the 827SQ or the technical capabilities of some of the more expensive chips, but It is excellent for the price as long as you don't mind a moderate amount of softness in the sound that takes away a little bit of clarity.

AD828ANZ - Similar to the 822 with a clearer sound (not soft), less sound stage width & depth, and less separation while still remaining neutral in tone. It's a bit of a trade off gaining clearer definition at the expense of stage and layering. I prefer the 822 or 827AQ due to those trade-offs, but it is still a really good chip otherwise.

AD827AQ - Also similar to the 822, with the main difference being moderately sharper and clearer. This leads to a thinner sound. In some ways this improves the sound as you get more clarity in every note, but due to being thinner it loses some ambience or feeling in the music that the 822 provides.

From the 3 above I'd recommend either the 822 or the 827AQ depending on your headphones and preferences. If you've got warm headphones, and you aren't treble sensitive, then the 827 will probably sound best. For thin or neutral headphones the 822 will likely be a better choice.
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Thanks for the very helpful and informative answer! I think i'll start off with the ad822 as i'm quite treble sensitive and currently have the he4xxs which are a bit bright for me.
 
Aug 27, 2020 at 1:06 AM Post #1,805 of 2,100
haziee said:
Thanks for the very helpful and informative answer! I think i'll start off with the ad822 as i'm quite treble sensitive and currently have the he4xxs which are a bit bright for me.
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I am extremely Treble sensitive and imo AD827SQ is not bright at all. It has a very neutral and bodied signature.
 
Sep 4, 2020 at 1:05 PM Post #1,806 of 2,100
Alright I'm back on MUSES03. AD827SQ sounds like there are 2 walls blocking the sound on either side. MUSES03 is free and open sounding and extends to infinity. AD827SQ sounds very restricting.
I have the luxury of changing opamps on both my DAC and AMP. Bright MUSES02 on DAC + Dark MUSES03 on the AMP balances out the sound LEL. Sounds much better than 5xAD827SQ which I put every where before this. AD827SQ is also not as detailed as the MUSES opamps.

Also trying Burson V5i-D, it might be more detailed than the MUSES, need more testing
 
Sep 4, 2020 at 9:06 PM Post #1,807 of 2,100
Excellent that you found a good combo between devices to utilize the muses03. What DAC and Amp combo are you using?
 
Sep 4, 2020 at 9:15 PM Post #1,808 of 2,100
Dramlin said:
Excellent that you found a good combo between devices to utilize the muses03. What DAC and Amp combo are you using?
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Oriolus BD20 DAC with 2xMUSES02 in I/V section and 1xMUSES02 in LPF section => Oriolus BA300s mkii PreAmp => Oriolus BA20 AMP with 4xMUSES03 in the amp section => Abyss Diana V2
 
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Sep 30, 2020 at 11:55 AM Post #1,810 of 2,100
Hey guys. Anyone know where I can buy this volume lock knob thingy?
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Sep 30, 2020 at 2:18 PM Post #1,811 of 2,100
I have seen them for sale together with bluetooth adapter on AliExpress.
 
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