[sofastreamer]

i have seen reviewers that prefered the rohm dac the most. its all about preferences, availability, synergy with the headphones used, unconscious biases and psychoacoustics etc.

 

[Jeffyue]

Finally got this PCI adapter sit in properly with the extra plastic strip ..


Have been using SS3602 and it sounds fantastic to me with HD800S. Going to do some op amp rolling (mainly for Burson V6).

Don't know if it needs time to burn in, but first impression is that V6 is not as spacious as SS3602, but think will let it run a few.days to see if it would improve over time.

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

And still no word on the R2R DAC either its not going to happen because it can't be or it got dropped.

 

[ChangTan]

And still no word on the R2R DAC either its not going to happen because it can't be or it got dropped.

according to xDuoo's Weibo, there is a headphone expo in shanghai on 30th and 31st this month (The 8th Shanghai International Headphone Exhibition) and they will be showcasing the r2r dac module.

 

[grainjar]

Has anyone tried using the USB C to USB C cord that came with the XD05 Pro?

The first time I used it to connect to my phone, it played one song, and then halfway into the second song, my Prestige LTD made a clipping noise and went silent, and the Tidal app on my phone was paused. When I clicked play again, the song would progress one second and pause again, but it wouldn't make any sound. The Tidal app had never malfunctioned like this before. I had to disconnect and reconnect the USB cord to get the music playing again, but the same thing happened after a song or two. I realized one end of the USB cord has a light indicator that lights up orange when it's connected, and that lighted end was connected to my phone. So I tried reversing the direction of the cord, so that the lighted end was connected to the XD05 Pro, and after that, the music would play, but after every other song, I would hear my right IEM make some kind of clipping/sputtering noise. So I stopped using the USB connection and switched over to Bluetooth, and it didn't have any issues. Then I tried using the USB cord for my phone charger to connect via USB, and it hasn't had any issues since. Any idea what's going on?

 

[moonbst1]

Hello all of XD05pro users here. I just ordered mine and super excited about this portable brick DAC/AMP. Love the modular idea, therefore the size doesn't matter.
I am going to use stock chip first couple weeks, then like to try different DAC and OPamp, I am sure AKM chip would be my first choice to try, does anyone has recomendation of OPamp? I put 2 of V5i-D opamp in my eBay cart, however I haven't decided amd pulled the trigger yet.

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

Hello all of XD05pro users here. I just ordered mine and super excited about this portable brick DAC/AMP. Love the modular idea, therefore the size doesn't matter.
I am going to use stock chip first couple weeks, then like to try different DAC and OPamp, I am sure AKM chip would be my first choice to try, does anyone has recomendation of OPamp? I put 2 of V5i-D opamp in my eBay cart, however I haven't decided amd pulled the trigger yet.

The V6Vivid made so little difference in all my other products where the Sparkos SS2590 and the SS3602 most certainly did and they fit well in the 05 PRO that's my rwc

 

[Ferdinando1968]

 

[LoneFurrow]

Ah, I haven't seen any comparisons between the AKM and ESS cards with the Sparkos SS3602 op amps, so I really appreciate the insight. I've seen some reviewers preferring the AKM card to the ESS card, but they were using the stock op amps. Do you think the stage and instrument separation is better on the AKM than on the ESS, or do you think it's pretty close?

It's tricky comparing the subtleties of the different DAC cards without having two XD05s (or three, ideally) to hand. I have tried switching back and forth between the ESS and AKM again today. I can't perceive a significant difference in stage and separation, to be honest. I would say the ESS feels a tad crisper, the AKM a little bassier and more organic. But as @sofastreamer said, it's all about preferences, library, and bias.

I don't feel like there's a lot between the ESS and AKM overall. Once my AKM module arrives, I will use that for a while and see how I get on with different genres, IEMs, headphones, amps, e.t.c.

 

[LoneFurrow]

That's so cool. How do the SS2590s sound?

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

Has anyone tried using the USB C to USB C cord that came with the XD05 Pro?

The first time I used it to connect to my phone, it played one song, and then halfway into the second song, my Prestige LTD made a clipping noise and went silent, and the Tidal app on my phone was paused. When I clicked play again, the song would progress one second and pause again, but it wouldn't make any sound. The Tidal app had never malfunctioned like this before. I had to disconnect and reconnect the USB cord to get the music playing again, but the same thing happened after a song or two. I realized one end of the USB cord has a light indicator that lights up orange when it's connected, and that lighted end was connected to my phone. So I tried reversing the direction of the cord, so that the lighted end was connected to the XD05 Pro, and after that, the music would play, but after every other song, I would hear my right IEM make some kind of clipping/sputtering noise. So I stopped using the USB connection and switched over to Bluetooth, and it didn't have any issues. Then I tried using the USB cord for my phone charger to connect via USB, and it hasn't had any issues since. Any idea what's going on?

No idea, but I use the cable with the extension. Make sure both cables are tightened up and locked together, no issues so far with the cable. I also use the light end into my phone

 

[Ferdinando1968]

I was wrong.
The 'large' SPARKOS work, up to turbo mode, without activating the protection.
They heat up quite a bit.

The V7s also get quite hot.

I haven't tested the STACCATO, but I show them in a comparative image due to size.

Everything I say below is all very very IMO, due to the difficulty of easily running A/B tests, due to the unprofessional cabling, due to the BT connection used during testing, due to my inability to distinguish subtle differences.

I used the EA1000 because I noticed that I can hear sound differences more easily with them.

The V7 VIVID sound better than the V6, the sound seems 'richer' to me, but I don't find much difference with the V6.

The 'big' SPARKOS sound better than all of them, but I find no difference between night and day with the little ones (in addition to what is written above, it could also be that they are underfed).

 

[LoneFurrow]

Hello all of XD05pro users here. I just ordered mine and super excited about this portable brick DAC/AMP. Love the modular idea, therefore the size doesn't matter.
I am going to use stock chip first couple weeks, then like to try different DAC and OPamp, I am sure AKM chip would be my first choice to try, does anyone has recomendation of OPamp? I put 2 of V5i-D opamp in my eBay cart, however I haven't decided amd pulled the trigger yet.

The V5i-D opamps are good but I'd go for the Sparkos SS3602s if you want the "best" (my opinion, of course) option that still renders the XD05 PRO properly transportable. I've been testing the ESS and AKM DAC modules and would say the differences are, to me, relatively subtle. I'm leaning towards the AKM today but may well change my mind tomorrow!

 

[LoneFurrow]

I was wrong.
The 'large' SPARKOS work, up to turbo mode, without activating the protection.
They heat up quite a bit.

The V7s also get quite hot.

I haven't tested the STACCATO, but I show them in a comparative image due to size.

Everything I say below is all very very IMO, due to the difficulty of easily running A/B tests, due to the unprofessional cabling, due to the BT connection used during testing, due to my inability to distinguish subtle differences.

I used the EA1000 because I noticed that I can hear sound differences more easily with them.

The V7 VIVID sound better than the V6, the sound seems 'richer' to me, but I don't find much difference with the V6.

The 'big' SPARKOS sound better than all of them, but I find no difference between night and day with the little ones (in addition to what is written above, it could also be that they are underfed).

Thank you, that's really interesting. I had a Burson 3X GT amp for a while and tried V6 Vivids and Classics, SIL 994s and SS2590s. I found the V6 Vivids pretty disappointing so they were consigned to a box. The V7s sound like they're perhaps closer to the V6 Classics, from what you've said.

I get the impression this is one of those fun-to-try experiments, but ultimately the SS3602s offer the best overall compromise of sound and portability. I'll likely head down a similar path in a few weeks.

We should try to get a bunch of XD05 PRO owners together to compare different combinations and customisations side-by-side!

 

[Ferdinando1968]

Thank you, that's really interesting. I had a Burson 3X GT amp for a while and tried V6 Vivids and Classics, SIL 994s and SS2590s. I found the V6 Vivids pretty disappointing so they were consigned to a box. The V7s sound like they're perhaps closer to the V6 Classics, from what you've said.

I get the impression this is one of those fun-to-try experiments, but ultimately the SS3602s offer the best overall compromise of sound and portability. I'll likely head down a similar path in a few weeks.

We should try to get a bunch of XD05 PRO owners together to compare different combinations and customisations side-by-side!

I'll add a personal note about the V7:
they are beautifully built, compact and in my opinion beautiful.

On my samples I found the width (between the rows of DIP 8 pins) to be slightly larger than my DIP8 sockets,
so I had to force them a bit to fit them in.

Among the photos published there is one that shows this.