[ZGojira]

   
ZGojira, 
 
Thanks for your input. 
 
I don't remember if I hear a click through my headphones when turning my HA-2 on or off, but I do know that I NEVER hear a click in between songs, etc etc. What I notice is that if more than I dunno, 20-30 seconds (or so) goes by w/o any music being played, it will go into "Standby Mode" and only get out of it a few seconds after it detects music. But there's never any clicking noise. If I am in the middle of the track and hit the button to start it over, that will bring it out of Standby Mode too. 
 
I really appreciate that you've tried them BOTH out. I am getting mixed reviews from both this site and others like Massdrop on that comparison. To me I want a balanced/neutral sound, but if it's a bit warm, I guess that's fine too. I love that the HA-2 balances out the bass too so an overly bassy track will sound less so. And for those that lack, I find that the Bass Boost feature is quite helpful (esp on certain heavier rock tracks). It sounds to me like I'm probably just going to stick with my HA-2. The bigger body and sensitive volume knob of the XD-05 factor into that decision as well. 
 
What is op-amp rolling? 

 
Through the headphone, there's only a small audible click when turning off, there are no clicking when turning on. The clicking I was referring to before was coming from the device and not through the headphone. The  "Standby mode" functions as you describe on the XD-05.
 
I think the impressions really come from what the reviewers have heard and what they tested it through. I find the HA-2 bright (relatively speaking compared to most other things I have heard), thus if you are use that that sound, you will likely find the XD-05 warm in comparison. It's not as detailed or controlled as the HA-2. To me the HA-2 fits the typical Sabre stereotype sound... In terms of being neutral, neither is flat...
That said, I have had the burson v5i in the XD-05 in the device (playing) for the last few days. It completely changed the sound, at it's current form I would say it's more neutral than the HA-2, detail will be close, but still slightly less control.
 
The device's opamp is swappable enabling you to "tune" the sound to your liking... In my opinion, the stock opamp is really bad. I was only interested in trying the Muse 01/02 and the Burson v5i. But with so many fake Muse opamps around I decided on the Burson. I would go as far as saying, it's an essential upgrade. Factor the upgrade into your purchase price

. 

 

[eobet]

This one (spanish) :
http://headphoniaks.com/blog/xduoo-xd-05-analisis-review/

 
Yeah, exactly. Google comes up with some French or Italian review, and then just store page upon store page, and a few forum mentions.
 
Why the heck has nobody reviewed this unit?
 
Seems bloody suspicious to me!

 

[RockStar2005]

   
Through the headphone, there's only a small audible click when turning off, there are no clicking when turning on. The clicking I was referring to before was coming from the device and not through the headphone. The  "Standby mode" functions as you describe on the XD-05.
 
I think the impressions really come from what the reviewers have heard and what they tested it through. I find the HA-2 bright (relatively speaking compared to most other things I have heard), thus if you are use that that sound, you will likely find the XD-05 warm in comparison. It's not as detailed or controlled as the HA-2. To me the HA-2 fits the typical Sabre stereotype sound... In terms of being neutral, neither is flat...
That said, I have had the burson v5i in the XD-05 in the device (playing) for the last few days. It completely changed the sound, at it's current form I would say it's more neutral than the HA-2, detail will be close, but still slightly less control.
 
The device's opamp is swappable enabling you to "tune" the sound to your liking... In my opinion, the stock opamp is really bad. I was only interested in trying the Muse 01/02 and the Burson v5i. But with so many fake Muse opamps around I decided on the Burson. I would go as far as saying, it's an essential upgrade. Factor the upgrade into your purchase price

. 

 
Oh ok. Interesting. So it's coming from the device itself, and NOT through the headphones. Still, I don't hear any clicking come from my HA-2 at all. 
 
What is that?! Looks like some kind of chip or add-on module (v5i). 
 
Ok I'm even more confused now. lol What am I upgrading and how would I even do it?? 

 

[eobet]

   
In my opinion, the stock opamp is really bad. I was only interested in trying the Muse 01/02 and the Burson v5i. But with so many fake Muse opamps around I decided on the Burson. I would go as far as saying, it's an essential upgrade. Factor the upgrade into your purchase price

. 

 
Color me suspicious of your opinion 3x:
 

  The original op amp is a gold plated opa1612, which is already very good.

 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/burson-audio-supreme-sound-opamp-v5i/reviews/16140
 
http://nwavguy.blogspot.no/2011/08/op-amps-myths-facts.html

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

It's a very personal opinion that each of us is going to have. I'm having a O2 that runs on 3 expensive opamps that cost me 4 times the amount I paid for the O2. And I would say that I can tell the stock and upgraded experiences apart each and every time, blind testing. Ironic, is it?

 

[alota]

It's the eternal problem. Every mind is different.
The best solution is to try personally

 

[eobet]

Sure. It's a cheap enough thing for me to try for myself.
 
Also, since the XD-05 seems to be basically made for changing this, I can even have someone swap it out randomly a number of times for me to try to blind listen to it if I really want to test it.

 

[ZGojira]

   
Color me suspicious of your opinion 3x:
 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/burson-audio-supreme-sound-opamp-v5i/reviews/16140
 
http://nwavguy.blogspot.no/2011/08/op-amps-myths-facts.html

That's fine

You are entitled to your opinion. May I ask have you ever tried swapping op-amps before? Do your experiences align with what is described in the articles?
 
This is my first op-amp upgrade, and I have read both of the linked articles both more than once before putting my order in.
I do not rule out the possibility that difference devices respond to op-amp rolling differently. But in this case, the difference was indeed substantial. 
It's still very far off from a high end source, but the opamp change is enough to make it go from high-low end sound quality to the low-mid range sound quality segment for me.
 
I had the opportunity to quickly AB with the HA-2 again today, the HA-2 is still be more detailed and refined DAC/Amp. I personally prefer the HA-2 more than the XD-05 even after the upgrade.
 
It was difficult to tell which op-amp was originally included, someone has tried to scratch off the numbers, and the build quality was not very good.

Before you ask, here are some pics (took me 15 tries to get it them this "sharp", so don't ask me to take "better" pictures

):
 

 

 
 
 
Now that you have mentioned it, it could be possible that it once read "1612A" in the second line.
Nevertheless, as you can see, some plastic bits on the pins are broken and the pins themselves do not sit perpendicular to the PCB.
 
 

  Ok I'm even more confused now. lol What am I upgrading and how would I even do it?? 

 
You open up the unit, there is an 8-pin chip on the board. You replace that, and reassemble the unit. There are lots of other opamps that you can try/test/use, most of which are a lot cheaper than the burson.
 
The general impression I gather is that the Muse01/02 and the burson v5i are the best available given the size limitation.

 

[Holypal]

   
Oh ok. Interesting. So it's coming from the device itself, and NOT through the headphones. Still, I don't hear any clicking come from my HA-2 at all. 
 
What is that?! Looks like some kind of chip or add-on module (v5i). 
 
Ok I'm even more confused now. lol What am I upgrading and how would I even do it?? 

 
I think you want to buy a portable dac/amp that much better than oppo HA-2. Maybe go for Sony PHA-3, Chord Mojo or Chord Hugo.

 

[Holypal]

   
The general impression I gather is that the Muse01/02 and the burson v5i are the best available given the size limitation.

 
I have muses8920 and muses02. Now I really have to try Burson V5i.

 

[ZGojira]

   
I have muses8920 and muses02. Now I really have to try Burson V5i.

Did you notice any difference between the two?

 

[Holypal]

 
Did you notice any difference between the two?

 
I prefer muses02 than 8920. It's more fun. I mostly listen to Rock， Metal and some pop. Maybe I should compare 02 to 01.

 

[RockStar2005]

   
I think you want to buy a portable dac/amp that much better than oppo HA-2. Maybe go for Sony PHA-3, Chord Mojo or Chord Hugo.

 
Chord Mojo or Hugo? No thanks Holy. I had the $600 Celsus Sound Companion One and it didn't sound ANY better than my $300 Oppo HA-2. So I have trouble believing the $600 Chord Mojo would fare any better. I actually talked to one guy on here who tried the HA-2 and Mojo side to side, and he said he couldn't hear a difference either. The $999 Sony PHA-3? That MAY fare better, but I have no intention on spending THAT much when I have the HA-2 already. I'm not saying it WOULDN'T sound any better, I just think the price tag is way too high, and I don't know FOR SURE that I would notice a difference. I do LOVE Sony products though........... my smartphone (Sony Xperia X Performance), camera (Sony DSC-WX50), cheap PC headphones, and wireless headphones I have for my TV are all Sony. Oh and of course my HDTV and blu-ray player are both Sony too. 
 
Maybe down the line I MIGHT consider the PHA-3, but I have no idea if it would make any NOTICEABLE difference to me. I actually had the Sony PHA-2 for about 4-6 weeks, but at the time the only set up that worked with my Android phone (the Sony Xperia Z3 at the time) was the one that was analog and DIDN'T utilize the PHA-2's DAC, so I returned it. After returning it I found out how to make my Z3 work with the PHA-2 digitally so the DAC WOULD be utilized, but by then I had my HA-2 and didn't wanna fuss with it anymore. 
 
I love the HA-2, so it's hard for me to believe ANY amp/DAC would sound better than it would, esp one under $1000. But who knows?

 

[peter123]

Chord Mojo or Hugo? No thanks Holy. I had the $600 Celsus Sound Companion One and it didn't sound ANY better than my $300 Oppo HA-2. So I have trouble believing the $600 Chord Mojo would fare any better. I actually talked to one guy on here who tried the HA-2 and Mojo side to side, and he said he couldn't hear a difference either. The $999 Sony PHA-3? That MAY fare better, but I have no intention on spending THAT much when I have the HA-2 already. I'm not saying it WOULDN'T sound any better, I just think the price tag is way too high, and I don't know FOR SURE that I would notice a difference. I do LOVE Sony products though........... my smartphone (Sony Xperia X Performance), camera (Sony DSC-WX50), cheap PC headphones, and wireless headphones I have for my TV are all Sony. Oh and of course my HDTV and blu-ray player are both Sony too. 

Maybe down the line I MIGHT consider the PHA-3, but I have no idea if it would make any NOTICEABLE difference to me. I actually had the Sony PHA-2 for about 4-6 weeks, but at the time the only set up that worked with my Android phone (the Sony Xperia Z3 at the time) was the one that was analog and DIDN'T utilize the PHA-2's DAC, so I returned it. After returning it I found out how to make my Z3 work with the PHA-2 digitally so the DAC WOULD be utilized, but by then I had my HA-2 and didn't wanna fuss with it anymore. 

I love the HA-2, so it's hard for me to believe ANY amp/DAC would sound better than it would, esp one under $1000. But who knows?

As long as you believe that no one probably will, power of pre-determination and expectations is strong.

I like to go into things with an open mind and don't jump to conclusions from what other says or even from just beliefs but ymmw.

I've spent more that two weeks with over 30 dac/amp combinations (priced from $50 to $1,500) in my own system listening with my own headphones /IEM's and only two if these units have sounded similar enough for me to be impossible to tell which one I'm listening to....

Volume matching and time are my two best friends when comparing two different units. In addition I find it to be far more reliable when done in home environment with IEM's /headphones that you're familiar with.

That being said I'm glad that you're enjoying your HA-2 and I hope to get to spend some time with it one day myself.

 

[RockStar2005]

As long as you believe that no one probably will, power of pre-determination and expectations is strong.

I like to go into things with an open mind and don't jump to conclusions from what other says or even from just beliefs but ymmw.

I've spent more that two weeks with over 30 dac/amp combinations (priced from $50 to $1,500) in my own system listening with my own headphones /IEM's and only two if these units have sounded similar enough for me to be impossible to tell which one I'm listening to....

Volume matching and time are my two best friends when comparing two different units. In addition I find it to be far more reliable when done in home environment with IEM's /headphones that you're familiar with.

That being said I'm glad that you're enjoying your HA-2 and I hope to get to spend some time with it one day myself.

 
Well that's how I am too. I mean, it TOOK an open mind for me to even take a chance on the HA-2, and I'm glad I did! Saved me $300. lol I'm just saying that it sounds pretty DAMN amazing, any many on here and Massdrop (etc) have agreed with that statement.
 
Wow 30?? And which amp/DAC do you have now??
 
I've spent HOURS at a time comparing headphones and amp/DACs, but it sounds like you've done MUCH more on that front than me. lol I've tried out like 7-9 headphones, and 2 different amp/DACs...............Celsus Sound Companion, and the HA-2. I also tried the Sony PHA-2, but couldn't get it to work properly, so it doesn't count. lol
 
Thanks!