[quaddac]

I would say don’t waste your money. In the end even if the IFI IPower provides a clean voltage you are still using a cheap adapter to convert it. Mind you, a good quality DC to USB-C converter with 12v output is not easy to find, they’re all cheap ones from sites like Aliexpress. Kinda defeats the purpose of having the iPower2 in the first place which is why I returned mine.

Could you explain the conversion process you are talking about? Electricity is supplied from the power supply to the USB plug/cheap adapter - what happens next?

 

[ChangTan]

I think you guys are focusing too much on the power supply thing for the unit. You just overcomplicate simple things.

I really doubt that there is a difference in the sound between using a linear power supply and a switching power supply on modern day electronics.
We are not in the 70s/80s anymore, electronic components have improved a lot since to a certain point that it is indistinguishable without expensive precise measuring equipment.
A linear power supply will not improve anything over a decent switching power supply. Unless the switching power supply is utter crap with absolute zero filtering, then a linear supply unit will make a difference. But then why spend more on a linear power supply when you can just get a decent switching power supply for a fractions of the price of the LPS? I don't know.

As power goes up, filtering it would get harder. Consumer dac/amp does not require a lot of power so filtering the power it needs is relatively easy. Even with a rather noisy switching power supply i still doubt you will hear any audible noise when listening especially over whatever music you're playing.

 

[quaddac]

I think you guys are focusing too much on the power supply thing for the unit. You just overcomplicate simple things.

I really doubt that there is a difference in the sound between using a linear power supply and a switching power supply on modern day electronics.
We are not in the 70s/80s anymore, electronic components have improved a lot since to a certain point that it is indistinguishable without expensive precise measuring equipment.
A linear power supply will not improve anything over a decent switching power supply. Unless the switching power supply is utter crap with absolute zero filtering, then a linear supply unit will make a difference. But then why spend more on a linear power supply when you can just get a decent switching power supply for a fractions of the price of the LPS? I don't know.

As power goes up, filtering it would get harder. Consumer dac/amp does not require a lot of power so filtering the power it needs is relatively easy. Even with a rather noisy switching power supply i still doubt you will hear any audible noise when listening especially over whatever music you're playing.

I didn't mean the power supply, but whether a cheap USB-C adapter had any impact on the quality of the power supply. But since you say that the linear power supply does not matter, let me be surprised. In this case, why does the manufacturer recommend this solution?

 

[Ferdinando1968]

The power supply is one of the most important sections of electronic equipment (just as the air compressor is for the airbrush).

And on the XD05-PRO the power supply section seems really well done, with separate power supplies dedicated to the various sections of the DAC.
(I have circled all the distinct power supply sections in black and the filters sections in red)

There are DC/DC switching power supplies, LDO linear power supplies

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-dropout_regulator

https://www.sg-micro.de/uploads/soft/20220630/1656563662.pdf

and Pi filters between the DC/DC and the output amplifiers

https://circuitdigest.com/tutorial/pi-filter-working-application-circuit-design-tips

So cleaning the power supply is done first of all inside the DAC.

That said, in my humble opinion, having a clean, noise-free external power supply:

https://www.nwengineeringllc.com/article/switching-power-supply-noise-radiated-emi-and-emc.php

it's always better.

(although I'm using a 5 EUR switching power supply to power mine).

 

[Ben86]

Has anyone tried to use LINE IN with kit cables (3.5 - 3.5mm/4.4 - 4.4mm) to connect Cayin RU6?

 

[justsomesonyfan]

I got an iPhone 15 pro max, and the XD05 PRO works very nicely with it, the cable that comes with the iphone works fine which is great, no need to find weird cables.

And about the ROHM DAC, I had high expectations but it's not as good as the ESS DAC. It entirely removes the sharpness of the ESS which is good, but it allso dulls the sound, likely a poor digital filter that overly smooths the sound.

agreed about the rohm dac, when I tried the dx320 i was disappointed when everything sounded too soft, it made metal music sound as if it went through an instagram beauty filter.

 

[Ben86]

agreed about the rohm dac, when I tried the dx320 i was disappointed when everything sounded too soft, it made metal music sound as if it went through an instagram beauty filter.

Yes, I agree, ROHM dac card is the most suitable for natural vocal music - soul, blues, jazz music, it emphasizes a bit natural vocals and instruments timbre and softens a bit high frequencies and overall presentation becomes more "natural, soft and relaxed". For metal and rock music I also prefer ESS dac chip as it better emphasizes dynamics, detalisation and brings more "fun and engaging factor" to music.

Now I'm really waiting for AK4499EX chip and wondering what its signature will sound like. I really hope that it will surprise us in the best way

 

[Jahgrid]

Yes, I agree, ROHM dac card is the most suitable for natural vocal music - soul, blues, jazz music, it emphasizes a bit natural vocals and instruments timbre and softens a bit high frequencies and overall presentation becomes more "natural, soft and relaxed". For metal and rock music I also prefer ESS dac chip as it better emphasizes dynamics, detalisation and brings more "fun and engaging factor" to music.

Now I'm really waiting for AK4499EX chip and wondering what its signature will sound like. I really hope that it will surprise us in the best way

I also agree with your opinions except that, for my taste, ROHM does not do well when there is a lot going on in a song or when a song relies heavily on low-end sound bands.

It does very well when we have, for example, vocal guitar duets, but I don't like it when the main character is, for example, the bass guitar or contrabass, I get the impression that the sound is as if it were shoved through a thin piece of paper. Sabre is more versatile here.

 

[justsomesonyfan]

Yes, I agree, ROHM dac card is the most suitable for natural vocal music - soul, blues, jazz music, it emphasizes a bit natural vocals and instruments timbre and softens a bit high frequencies and overall presentation becomes more "natural, soft and relaxed". For metal and rock music I also prefer ESS dac chip as it better emphasizes dynamics, detalisation and brings more "fun and engaging factor" to music.

Now I'm really waiting for AK4499EX chip and wondering what its signature will sound like. I really hope that it will surprise us in the best way

I think both the ak4499ex and rohm have a solid chance of lagging behind the 9039pro due to having 2 channels and not being fully balanced, but I'm interested in the ak4499ex vs r2r too, as I love r2r, but am very interested in the newest ak4499ex too.

That being said, if i do end up with a xd05pro it will only be secondary to my wm1a so far, S master is king

 

[quaddac]

(XDUoo's recommended linear power supply specification is 12V 3A.)

Where did you find this information?

 

[Ben86]

Which headphones/iem everybody is using with XD05PRO? I use mostly my Sennheiser HD650, with XD05PRO it sounds just wonderful

 

[KaiFi]

not being fully balanced

What does that mean, though?

 

[elira]

I think both the ROHM and AKM DACs have differential output, so they are balanced. The R2R DAC might not be depending on how they implement it.

 

[G1nt0]

don’t waste money on a boring and simple rohm dac module, I managed to listen to it for half an hour or an hour (16 44.1), then I got tired of it, put it in a box anyway and use the more technical ess9039pro. if the high frequencies tire you, try 7 (new slow minimal) and 4 (linear slow) fir filters. Now I’m waiting for akm and r2r, I don’t care about cirrus, it’s not a competitor, sabre is very successful this year.

 

[KaiFi]

I will likely not be getting the ROHM DAC. The consensus here seems to be that it’s disappointing. That said, and I know some doubters think there’s no such thing as a DAC “house sound”, it often seems to be the case that ESS DACs are associated with a brighter sound across multiple implementations so it will be interesting to see how the AKM compares with this particular amp. And if a module is not “fully balanced”, it should say so. I’m tired of false advertising around balanced.