Bored today. So I looked for some HI Rez for their HP Model 2.
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Sounds about right when you’re in this hobby lol
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I believe that an unfortunate series of power flickers has bricked my UltraRendu. So I guess I’m going to be in the market for a new streamer. Since I’m going to have to get another one, I might as well go ahead and step up from the UR. I know I could just get a OpticalRendu, but I’m kind of curious to try something else. Auralic isn’t really an option, since their accompanying app is only on Apple devices. But how do offerings from Innous, Aurender, Lumin, etc compare to the Sonore offerings?
Edit: Got a reasonable price on an Innuos Pulse. Should ship out Tuesday.
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currently I can set aside some money for a cheaper portable device, ive researched all of them but im having massive trouble deciding which.
I just cant decide If I should get me a questyle cma18 or an actual dap, for talking out for walks to rehab my legs.
I love questyles sound signature thats why I think it may just be my pick.
The thing is with a dap im carrying 2 devices anyway, the advantage is they have a ton of memory for flacs and SD compatibility.
I like bluetooth devices I feel the quality is just right for portable use, and it would feel a nit comfier to use the cma18 on my pockets and I would have 5g internet to browse songs.
But my cellphone doesnt have nearly as much storage or sd slot so thats the main disadvantage. Also my mobile data may run out in high res so I usually use low or medium sq.
When I had the ifi gryphon I was happy enough browsing tidal and walking everyday except for the fact that it needed just a tiny bit more power for half of my cans.
So I was patiently waiting for the gryphon 2 to come out but actually the cma18 cane out first, with enough power and I love questyles sound signature so much I dont even think the gryphon 2 could beat it should it come out.
…
There are very few reviews for the cma18 and most of them suck.
Cma18 is my bt option, and for its new price its actually the least expensive.
My dap options are a bit more expensive used:
Astell sp1000m blue/gold
Questyle qpm (very hard to get)
Sony wm1z
Cowon Plenue
People who take out devices to walk what do you think?
I only use easy and medium difficulty to drive headphones, I have a large collections so no problems there.
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Maybe to put one more option on the table: both the iBasso dx180 and iBasso dx260 are great “going for a walk” DAPs. They run full Android, which makes streaming a good option. And they also can be switched to an embedded Linux OS (called Mango OS) that makes it a pure DAP with no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. My 2 cents, if you’ve not looked into them, it’s worth putting a little time into before making a choice.
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Thanks for your 2c, the dx180 is verypowerful and seems to have some generally good matchups, also I love the look.
But I do think I would like the used astell sp1000m a bit more cause I had an alpha and I loved it. Ill keep the ibasso in mind tho! Good price.
Aslo I feel slowly but steadyly leaning to the questyle products more and more
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Not much talk of HifiMan’s GoldenWave Prelude on here. Has anyone had the pleasure?
@everyone, has anyone ever had or tried the Trafomatic Head 2
From the moment I saw it on head fi I fell in love immediately, theres something about the design that moves my soul.
Ill take any information on the amp, impressions, strenghts, weaknesses, preamp, tube stuff, matchups, whatever.
Im actually circling in my mind between head 2, LTA velo and wo wa22 mk2
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Anyone with experience with either the Townshend Allegri Reference or EM/IA passive preamps? Either the Elmaformer or the remote control one. The Townshend has a few reviews, the EM/IA not so much, but the Dave Slagle autoformers have been around for a while.
I’m interested in perhaps adding a preamp back in front of the Nautilus, and have dabbled with passives in the past. Both of these brands look intriguing
Been doing some ~$1000(very flexible target) DAC research for an all-purpose, enjoyable system upgrade(phones & speakers). Not a fan of typical Chord sound, or Schiit. Probably liked Liberty DAC II & X-SABRE most so far. I think I enjoy a focused, detailed, organic sound, that has natural spaciousness and full extension. On the list so far, any thoughts?
- Matrix X-SABRE ($3K, ES9038PRO) - Solid. But don’t need to waste money on streaming or wireless.
- Holo Cyan 2 ($1100, R2R) - I liked May, but maybe not more than Liberty DAC II or X-SABRE. Seems to be the top choice, so far… Not so good with PCM(equal to Iggy A2); way better with DSD(much better than Iggy A2)? “Better thickness and texture than RME”. “Treble extension rolloff, compared to Ares 15th”. “More detailed than Gustard R26”.
- Soekris 2541 ($1300, R2R) - Heard very high praise. Full, rich, controlled, like a Schiit without the metallic edge, maybe. Never heard any Soekris.
- “DENEFRIPS” Pontus 15th ($2000, R2R) - Massive praise, but maybe colored overly warm and/or soft? Apparently very natural sounding, and “25-33%” better sounding than Ares, and more full sounding than Venus II. Never heard any “DENEFRIPS”.
- Gustard R26/A26 ($1600, R2R/AK4499EX) - High praise. Better than any SMSL/Topping, at least, apparently. Seems possibly dated, and don’t know about USA customer service/repairability. Cyan 2 sounds better, and more full, apparently.
- Dangerous Audio CONVERT-2 ($2500, custom chip?) - Rack unit, but willing to consider =p Never heard any Dangerous Audio.
- Geshelli JNOG3/DAYZEE ($529/1300, AK4499/4191) - Willing to consider, due to such high general praise. Never heard any Geshelli, and aren’t impressed by the cheap build.
- WANDLA+HYPSOS ($4,000, ES9038PRO) - Apparently an endgame DAC, having the best characteristics and performance of everything. And, interestingly, USB-C. So I could hook my phone up to it, I guess
I think I will no longer consider my original top choice, MyTek Liberty DAC II(ES9038), due to reading about some issues it had, and very poor USA customer support thereafter… Can anyone say anything about this DAC? It was my favorite I recall hearing, at any store/show, even only being $1500(with X-SABRE/May/DAVE being 2nd favorite).
Is it true that there isn’t necessarily a best connection type for DACs, such as I2S? But whichever was implemented best? (Will be using my Holo Red from PC via USB until the Red dies, probably)
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I picked up a Pontus 12th for mydesktop HP listening. I realized that I was leaving a lot on the table with the built in DAC. Didn’t want to spend too much so I got the Pontus for just over $1K used.
It reminds me a lot of an OG Yggdrasil, it doesn’t feel too warm or soft but I’ve heard the 12th upgrade makes it a little more audiophile, meaning improved detail and brings it closer to neautral but just closer, not there. I think it’s been fun, lots of slam and a surprising a amount of texture with a good organic sound. Couldn’t be happier for the price.
USB is good, I’m using BNC but I hear that i2s is the best input, now sweating it though and I’m fine as is.
Out of curiosity, have you tried the Red in bridge mode instead of USB out from your PC? I know Holo USB implementations are good, but curious if you’ve actually tried it as a bridge.
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I’m thinking the Holo Cyan 2 will be meatier than the Pontus II. And WANDLA+HYPSOS would/could be a/the end-game option.
I have used Red as a streamer, yeah. I read that it’s able to play music files off the internal card, too, which is more interesting to me… But I couldn’t figure out how. I dislike how the USB output is disabled when using streaming mode, I believe is the configuration. Setting up the streaming isn’t too bad(in a PC environment, at least), but is definitely more of a hassle than using USB. It looks like Holo has software updates for the Red, with instructions, but I haven’t done any yet. I think it requires the use of the internal card(annoying).
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Since you mentioned Geshelli, it might be worth looking at their Dayzee, which Lachlan (Passion for Sound) kind of slobbered over in a recent review. It’s $1300 to near $2000 depending on how you spec it out.
I’ve never heard one, though I’d kind of like to now! 
https://geshelli.com/dayzee/
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Thanks I never found a trustworthy enough comment praising the pontus enough to even consider ir
I guess the 12th version really added a lot of what was lacking in the technical ability department
But how much warm did they sacrifice to make that, in the ares 2 to ares 12th its a completely different product as the 2 was large and super warm altho hazy
That holo cyan 2 statement is mosy likely true if the 12th version is how I think it is, but I believe the 12th should be more detailed? I dont know hope someone does.
Wandla and hypsos even tho common combination is a very very specific one, and I see youre kinda picking the dac based on that.
What headphones do you plan to drive with the wandla? Maybe theres a better match?
Thats very wildly optmistic, I dont feel that way at all, not that im super experienced in mid fi dacs but I find more joy from my exogal comet + full upgraded, not that I would recommend it cause exogal broke so they no longer offer support, but mines working very fine for some time now.
Theres a lot of options, some reviewer might make you think the wandla is the best dac amp combo at the price but that is based entirely on their personal opinion
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Oh? So you feel it’s rather the opposite of a well-rounded, standardized tuning/sound(like Harman), and more of a choice for headphones/speakers with one specific tuning? I’ve seen it recommended without the HYPSOS, as still being great, so that could save me some money up front(then try the upgrade later).
Do you feel Weiss DAC204 would be better? It was liked next-best, according to the person who liked WANDLA most.
Some of my favorite sounds would be: Immanis/Magna, DT700, HD800s, CA-1a, Tungsten, HD660s2, OG HE-6, L500, Clear MG, Hadenys. For speakers, I’d be looking at something like: Mofi 8/888, Philharmonic Tower/Bookshelf, Linton 85/Dovedale, no sub.
No, not at all, I think theyre exactly everything you are saying id say the opposite, in reality I would say theyre too well rounded
What that means to me is that you have to looking specifically for a well rounded system that is meant to make most things sound good and test them out “neutraly”
What I mean is that theres also the option to build your chain, and that includes the dac around the headphones that you plan to use in a shorter to medium period of time. That would be the reason someone like me would rather go for something as specialized as possible rather than as well rounded as possible, not that well rounded is a bad thing some people love it.
Then theres also things like full cost, store deals, used deals, etc so that could also factor on your audio component prospects
It depends, but id 100% go weissdac over ferrum stuff, also if you dont use dsd or can compromise the weissdac205 is a cheaper version of the weissdac204 but it does not convert dsd to pcm
A lot of reputable sources stand by weissdacs204/5 sound, its an amazing sounding dac according to some peers
Its more forward, a bit sweet, has a ton of fluidity, its technical capacities are very high for the retail price.
Anyway I could still make a case for the ferrum stuff being more laid back and a bit more “neutral”
Now this is what we need
So because you are buying only one dac and have all of these combos I see exactly why you would why to go something as generalist as possible.
For now id definitely go weissdac and I think its a great choice, amazing value for its retail price which is very rare these days. But thats just me, I like very engaging, liquid, frontal sound; if yours varies theres always other options.
Id like to give another recommendation, so I need to know, for you what is/are the characteristics of the sound you would want to improve the most?
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Question about DSD vs PCM… Apparently Cyan 2 sounds MUCH better with DSD. But is there a way I can actually output my PC audio via DSD? Or is DSD ONLY something used to play song files with, from a music player? AFAIK, only PCM is used to send PC audio(all audio) to my DDC/DAC.
Ahhh, I get you now! Very valid point. My headphone preferences are mostly on the warmer, meatier side, with treble less than typical HFM tuning.
I think I generally enjoy clarity, impressive enough detail/resolution, smooth treble extension, naturally spacious presentation and imaging, organicness(not overly rich, like Audio-gd or SMSL M400, HFM E400 seemed to sound). HD800s with a little more thickness, is a nice general sound balance for me. The clarity/detail/texture and spatial accuracy has to be there. I don’t want a sound too sterile/clinical, like Chord. More organic, enjoyable. I think I like a little more focused sound, definitely not something overly distant, like how Fidelio X2 or K712 sound. Naturality over clinicality, but still having excellent fine detail and technicalities. More warm & dense than neutral, probably. Mid-bass is nice bass. 
OG HE-6 off some big McIntosh amp is an all-time favorite sound of mine. Detailed, liquidy, bassy, very engaging with smooth, shimmering, enlightening resolution.
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I got a Wandla GSE loaned to me by a friend for a few weeks, plugged it in a couple hours ago. We’ll see how it performs with Aegis and Levante.
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Nice. What headphones do you still have other than the Tungsten?
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UM Mest MK2 IEMs
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