DeBilbao
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 20, 2003
- Posts
- 149
- Likes
- 183
xDuoo recently presented the XD05 Plus, an update of its successful XD05, a very versatile amplifier and DAC that not only works as a portable solution, but can also perform perfectly as a complement to a desktop amplifier like the xDuoo TA-20 that I recently reviewed. Unlike the TA-10, the TA-20 doesn't have a DAC and you can get it from the XD05 Plus.
For those who already the xDuoo XD05, the XD05 Plus update offers quite a few goodies:
As any other xDuoo devices that I've been testing, it has been provided by Steven from Xtenik Audio, in exchange for my unbiased opinion in some Internet forums. If you're interested, it's available at https://www.xtenik.com/product/xduoo-xd-05-plus-amp/ for 259,90 USD (235 EUR).
The equipment comes well protected in the classic Chinese cardboard box, but lately I see that they are evolving and is better presented, with a silkscreen on the inner box with the same design as on the outside. I suppose that in other markets it will be available in physical stores, and the competition there is on the shelf.
Inside the xDuoo XD05 Plus you'll find a bunch of accesories:
The size is relatively compact and can be moved easily, but it is not a pocketable device. You can carry it in your backpack with your laptop, but it's more oriented to be used over your desktop.
On the back of the unit you'll find:
On the left side there are three buttons with no labeling, but you can guess their functions by turning the unit upside down:
The front panel sports a lot of useful controls:
Opening the xDuoo XD05 Plus is very easy, and you only need to unscrew the four front screws with the help of a Torx T6 screwdriver.
DIYers will like the ability of this xDuoo XD05 Plus to change the OPA1612 operational amplifier without soldering. Similar to the tube change, the opamp change is interesting for those who like to try and draw their own conclusions.
I'm tempted to try the Burson v5i at https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/supreme-sound-opamp-v5i/
Looking the PCB from the back, we can see a pair of interesting chips. The biggest is the CPLD from Altera, the MAX II, where all the logic has been programmed. To the right you can see the DAC AK493EQ from AKM, with great responsibility of the sound profile of the device.
The sound offered by the xDuoo XD05 is good, detailed, energetic and a bit aggressive for my taste. Using its line output and connected to the amplification of the TA-20, the sound becomes sweeter and loses that speed and aggressiveness to approach the memory I have of the analog sound of my youth with vinyl, which is what I'm looking for in terms of sound profile.
In this configuration, using the line output only as DAC, I have compared it with the iFi iDSD nano that I usually use and the difference between the two is remarkable, especially in terms of detail. The AK493EQ of the XD05 Plus offers a more detailed sound, while the Burr Brown of the iFi iDSD nano is much more relaxed and for my taste "more analog".
But it all depends on what music you listen to and how you like listening to it. Close, intimate, delicate recordings of Jazz, Folk, Country or R&B, improve a lot with the amplification of the TA-20. For rock and other genres it also goes well, and listening directly with the XD05 Plus, I feel that it has that point of speed, of claw, that goes well with guitars and rock in general.
It's not the same listening to a Jazz/Soul album, with its seventies sound, full of instruments and a lot of groove.
Or a Jazz quartet like that from Joshua Redman, exquisitely recorded that asks for concentration with every instrument.
Or Radiohead and their Pyramid Song in Amnesiac. An album with a myriad of sonic details, demanding space, air and resolution.
Or the latest from the Pixies and their British rock. Guitars and drum beat the tempo in This is My Fate and demand fast response from your setup.
Or the delicacy of Alexander Desplat in the movie soundtrack The Shape of Water. A warm, calm, relaxing sound that I revisit often.
Or Beyoncé's energy in the new Lion King soundtrack, modern R&B, full of details and demanding powerful bass reproduction.
Every genre or style requires a different ideal sound profile, and everyone of us are different in terms of taste, so trying to give an universal advice that serves to anyone is mission impossible. Everyone has to find his own way, and reviews like this one only serves as a guide to get a clue in terms of how it is, but you can like what I don't and viceversa.
What is clear to me is that once a few minimums are exceeded, quality leaps are more subtle and proportionally cost more money. The xDuoo XD05 Plus is a device that by itself can satisfy many, is like a Swiss Army Knife that offers you everything in a compact format, which you can use on the move thanks to its built-in battery.
I have thoroughly tested the xDuuo XD05 Plus connected to my iPhone directly and I can assure you that it gets a very good sound from my Sennheiser HD 650.
Although if I connect it to the xDuoo TA-20, the sound improves noticeably. But that has a lot to do with the Sennheiser HD 650, which has a surprising ability to improve with amplification.
Hope you liked the reading.
For those who already the xDuoo XD05, the XD05 Plus update offers quite a few goodies:
- Twice the power, going from 500wW to1000mW (a full watt) for a 32 Ohm load.
- The operational amplifier OPA1612 is still the same, but now it can be replaced by the user without any soldering required.
- New DAC AKM AK4993EQ instead of AK4990
- USB input with USB-C connector instead of microUSB.
- New USB XMOS XU208 receiver instead of XMOS U8
- Now it supports DSD 64 (DOP) in the optical output.
- THD goes down from 0.0025% to a lower 0.0016%
- Dynamic range increases from 112dB to 117dB
- Bigger battery capacity, from 4000mAh to 5000mAh, for 13 hours lifetime.
As any other xDuoo devices that I've been testing, it has been provided by Steven from Xtenik Audio, in exchange for my unbiased opinion in some Internet forums. If you're interested, it's available at https://www.xtenik.com/product/xduoo-xd-05-plus-amp/ for 259,90 USD (235 EUR).
The equipment comes well protected in the classic Chinese cardboard box, but lately I see that they are evolving and is better presented, with a silkscreen on the inner box with the same design as on the outside. I suppose that in other markets it will be available in physical stores, and the competition there is on the shelf.
Inside the xDuoo XD05 Plus you'll find a bunch of accesories:
- USB-C to USB-A cable to connect it to your computer.
- OTG USB-C to USB-C cable, to connect it to a USB-C device.
- OTG USB-C to micro USB cable, to connect it to a micro USB device.
- Rubber feets to protect the base of the unit and your desk from scratchs
- Rubber pad to place comfortably your mobile over the unit.
- 6,3mm to 3,5mm stereo jack adapter.
The size is relatively compact and can be moved easily, but it is not a pocketable device. You can carry it in your backpack with your laptop, but it's more oriented to be used over your desktop.
On the back of the unit you'll find:
- USB-C input, my usual preference because it can process almost signal. It will receive the digital signal from our source with a XMOS XU208, supporting:
- PCM stereo 16-32bit/44.1-384kHz
- DSD native mode or DOP (DSD Over PCM) 1 bit (2.8MHz - 11.2MHz)
- DXD up to 24-32bit and 352.8kHz - 384kHz.
- Optical digital input, that will be processed by a Cirrus Logic CS8422 chip, more limited in formats supported:
- PCM stereo 16-32bit/44.1-384kHz
- DSD native mode or DOP (DSD Over PCM) 1 bit (2.8MHz - 11.2MHz) (new from XD05)
- 3,5mm stereo dual jack that can act either as line input or line output.
- USB-C charging for the battery, as the device can be used as a portaple unit. If you want to use it connected to your computer, it will get power from the USB port.
On the left side there are three buttons with no labeling, but you can guess their functions by turning the unit upside down:
- INPUT, to select the source. It's wisely located closer to the front as you'll probably use it the most.
- SRC, only applicable to the optical digital input, and serves to forrce the signal upsampling to 48kHz, 96 or 192kHz
- FILTER, to choose between different sound filters. Sincerely, I haven't been able to discern any difference between them. There are 4 filters for PCM signals plus 2 more for DSD signals.
- PCM1 is Sharp roll-off,
- PCM2 is Slow Roll-off,
- PCM3 is short delay Sharp
- PCM4 is short delay Slow
- DSD1 adjusts to 39kHz DSD64, 78kHz DSD128, and 156kHz DSD256 signals and,
- DSD2 adjusts to 76kHz DSD64, 152kHz DSD128, and 304kHz DSD256 signals.
The front panel sports a lot of useful controls:
- 6,3mm headphone input jack, that can be converted to 3,5mm with the included adapter.
- Volume control knob, that offers good feeling and some resistance so you don't move it without intention.
- Gain switch with 3 different positions. I've tested it with my Sennheiser HD 650 in the tree settings and I've found no difference between first and second position, and the third distorts easily. Testing it with IEMs you can feel the difference between the two first.
- BOOST selector that acts as an impedance switch. Off for headphones lower than 150 Ohm and on for headphones over 150 ohms. In my testing with the Sennheiser HD 650 there are no differences between them.
- BASS selector to hump bass. Very subtle increase with the HD 650, very noticeable with IEMs.
Opening the xDuoo XD05 Plus is very easy, and you only need to unscrew the four front screws with the help of a Torx T6 screwdriver.
DIYers will like the ability of this xDuoo XD05 Plus to change the OPA1612 operational amplifier without soldering. Similar to the tube change, the opamp change is interesting for those who like to try and draw their own conclusions.
I'm tempted to try the Burson v5i at https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/supreme-sound-opamp-v5i/
Looking the PCB from the back, we can see a pair of interesting chips. The biggest is the CPLD from Altera, the MAX II, where all the logic has been programmed. To the right you can see the DAC AK493EQ from AKM, with great responsibility of the sound profile of the device.
The sound offered by the xDuoo XD05 is good, detailed, energetic and a bit aggressive for my taste. Using its line output and connected to the amplification of the TA-20, the sound becomes sweeter and loses that speed and aggressiveness to approach the memory I have of the analog sound of my youth with vinyl, which is what I'm looking for in terms of sound profile.
In this configuration, using the line output only as DAC, I have compared it with the iFi iDSD nano that I usually use and the difference between the two is remarkable, especially in terms of detail. The AK493EQ of the XD05 Plus offers a more detailed sound, while the Burr Brown of the iFi iDSD nano is much more relaxed and for my taste "more analog".
But it all depends on what music you listen to and how you like listening to it. Close, intimate, delicate recordings of Jazz, Folk, Country or R&B, improve a lot with the amplification of the TA-20. For rock and other genres it also goes well, and listening directly with the XD05 Plus, I feel that it has that point of speed, of claw, that goes well with guitars and rock in general.
It's not the same listening to a Jazz/Soul album, with its seventies sound, full of instruments and a lot of groove.
Code:
https://open.spotify.com/album/0rVJ8sRQ4M3Un2cDo3kKAB?si=5CNdbIlzT4Sz7lmJUXN1Mg
https://tidal.com/browse/album/75659446Or a Jazz quartet like that from Joshua Redman, exquisitely recorded that asks for concentration with every instrument.
Code:
https://open.spotify.com/album/38R4DeasP4tqHhfiiShLVE?si=kw1U_CRiSnak2u4mGDrsFQ
https://tidal.com/browse/album/105875792Or Radiohead and their Pyramid Song in Amnesiac. An album with a myriad of sonic details, demanding space, air and resolution.
Code:
https://open.spotify.com/album/6V9YnBmFjWmXCBaUVRCVXP?si=87QkN1VcTD2Q3lYfIXACjQ
https://tidal.com/browse/album/58990535Or the latest from the Pixies and their British rock. Guitars and drum beat the tempo in This is My Fate and demand fast response from your setup.
Code:
https://open.spotify.com/album/4XUtkoya9Ai7VeG4a1yYWN?si=l2xPZuzmSgyz1-TVqaGg3g
https://tidal.com/browse/album/116484469Or the delicacy of Alexander Desplat in the movie soundtrack The Shape of Water. A warm, calm, relaxing sound that I revisit often.
Code:
https://open.spotify.com/album/058fiqH1NYYmur8cicws4l?si=h25HzEJtQgeklAZvXu_Ovw
https://tidal.com/browse/album/81356130Or Beyoncé's energy in the new Lion King soundtrack, modern R&B, full of details and demanding powerful bass reproduction.
Code:
https://open.spotify.com/album/552zi1M53PQAX5OH4FIdTx?si=92ZuVf1sQ1GhTe9NLiJmOQ
https://tidal.com/browse/album/113655822Every genre or style requires a different ideal sound profile, and everyone of us are different in terms of taste, so trying to give an universal advice that serves to anyone is mission impossible. Everyone has to find his own way, and reviews like this one only serves as a guide to get a clue in terms of how it is, but you can like what I don't and viceversa.
What is clear to me is that once a few minimums are exceeded, quality leaps are more subtle and proportionally cost more money. The xDuoo XD05 Plus is a device that by itself can satisfy many, is like a Swiss Army Knife that offers you everything in a compact format, which you can use on the move thanks to its built-in battery.
I have thoroughly tested the xDuuo XD05 Plus connected to my iPhone directly and I can assure you that it gets a very good sound from my Sennheiser HD 650.
Although if I connect it to the xDuoo TA-20, the sound improves noticeably. But that has a lot to do with the Sennheiser HD 650, which has a surprising ability to improve with amplification.
Hope you liked the reading.
