Hi all, pretty new to DAP/DAC’s and I have been reading up, researching, as I am bit of a nerd with research. I would like to get a DAP to get away from using my phone for media playing. In my research, I’ve seen a lot of choices/brands, and video comparisons.
What I have come down to is the FiiO 11 LTD, Astell Kern 25, Sony 55/105.
What I do want is something that has good performance, can stream if I want, decent battery life (the Sony 105 seems to suck from reviews there) and something of quality. My first DAP I want mid tier, not too crazy budget wise, but still decent with audio quality.
My recommendation for the AEON Flow Closed: Desktop amps with massive current. It has 13 ohm impedance, versus many speakers with 8 ohms while headphones can have 300 ohms or more. The AFC will make sounds on small amps and batteries, but those sounds are usually rough, congested, and compressed. I now use it on the Lyr 3 or RebelAmp, preferring even Sony bluetooth noise canceling closed headphones when away from a desktop amp.
I’ll try the AFC on my ZenDAC with a wall wart power supply and in balanced mode. That’s the best case scenario for the ZenDAC. I’ll report back tomorrow. Your question made me curious.
Initial impressions are that Schiit’s ESS card is on par, maybe slightly better than the ADI-2 DAC fs. Schiit’s card sounds nearly identical, with a slight improvement in treble clarity. It is important to note that I do not hear the ESS glare.
To directly answer the question you asked, how does it directly compares to the Modi 3+… I don’t know. It’s been way too long since I’ve heard the 3+. If I had to venture a guess though, I would say this is better and is the first internal card they have made which isn’t a compromise on sound.
Thanks for the info! I’m probably going to buy some time in late November so hopefully by then more folks get their hands on it and we can get some more people’s opinions but so far atleast exactly like you said it seems to be on par or better and I do find just having a All in one solution pretty convenient
I’m setting expectations for the AFC on my Bifrost 2 → RebelAmp setup. The AFC is too lean and bright by default, and requires EQ to boost the bass and tame the treble (that’s expected with the first generation AFC). Once tweaked, it’s pretty good. I’ll start tomorrow with the ZenDAC, and may or may not last very long.
I don’t have personal experience with the SR25 but a while back, I thought about getting one and read through the head-fi thread. The posts there indicated a couple of things: that it has excellent battery life, and that lots of people were complaining about wi-fi dropouts, which, if true, would complicate streaming. I don’t know if Astell & Kern fixed that with a software update; it might be worth looking into.
You might also consider Shanling DAPs, which have been getting a lot of praise. Note, though, that they’ve switched out some models that had AKM chips to ESS ones. Early reports of the M6 Pro 21, with the ESS chip, have been positive.
I’m looking for closed-back headphones suited to a large head and large ears. I’ve tried some Sennheiser ones in stores, for instance, and they were always much too clampy.
I currently own: Koss KSC75 (Gone through 8 pair!), Koss Sportapro, Monoprice M1070, Hifiman HE400S, Etymotic HR5.
As you can see, they are all super-open and unsuited to the task except for the Etys which just broke. I’m also kinda sick of IEMs. I’ve owned several pairs of Etys for use in an office environment, and I’m wanting to try some over-ear closed headphones.
My favorite headphones are the M1070’s. Amazingly clear, and pleasant bass. I strongly dislike exaggerated bass of brands like Sony.
My price range is: $50-$100. I’m looking for a pair in can throw in a bag and not cry if they break.
I like to listen to: Alternative rock mostly.
I will be using them for: Listening to music and YouTube videos in a noisy shared space with people talking loudly and banging things around. I want good sound isolation, but not necessarily ear protection levels. Those tend to be too clampy for long use.
Setup: iPad → USB camera adapter → ZenDAC V1 with a wall wart power supply → Balanced cable (more power than singled ended) → original AFC.
This setup makes it easier to achieve a “normal” tone than on the Bifrost 2, RebelAmp, and EQ. While the BF2 and Rebel are technically superior and draw details from the AFC, the AFC’s tuning is too thin and bright and it screams for EQ. In contrast, the ZenDAC is warmish and mid-focused and becomes bass heavy or “fun” with bass boost engaged. This is actually what the AFC needs, as it fleshes out the weak parts.
I rate the AFC’s technical potential as “good.” It’s a different flavor in the general Sennheiser 600 class rather than the Focal Clear class, per its limited bass depth and definition, limited mid and treble precision, limited treble extension, and the typical Dan Clark lack of dynamic punch. IMO the lack of dynamic punch is a good thing with closed headphones, as I can listen comfortably for twice as long versus punchy closed headphones. I’d certainly choose my HD-600 (on a carefully chosen setup) or the Clear first for open headphone situations.
Very cool. You touched on something I think about a fair amount - dynamic punch. I know many of these terms are a bit hard to define and certainly open to user experience, preference, etc., but I would think a punchier sound is not necessarily a good thing on a closed-back headphone.
This is by no means the thoughts of an expert or anything, but logically, I think I am trying to solve for what would rationally be a challenge for closed-back: soundstage. I find that soundstage is something I am appreciating and one of the implied challenges of a closed-back or iem could be providing that open feel.
This is completely subjective. I personally love a punchy sound, but with closed-backs it does cause listening fatigue quicker for me compared to open-backs; the latter can be super punchy and not cause me fatigue. This will vary from person to person, though.
Closed-backs do tend to have smaller sound stages, likely due to the limitations of the closed-in design and extra dampening. Sound stage can somewhat be “faked” by adjusting the tuning (frequency response), but it doesn’t sound as realistic to my ears.
IEM’s, on the other hand, have the worst sound staging capabilities in my opinion; there’s just no getting past the fact that they’re stuck directly in your ears…just not much you can do.
Regarding the sound stage, what do you look for when listening? Width, depth, that “3-D effect” people talk about?
For me, I would describe it as immersed. Using my limited experiences (Sundara, B2 and otherwise consumer stuff like Bose and some not super high-end Sony), the Sundara “feels” like I am in the center of a revolving show. I guess 3D is the closest based on your wording, but I keep going back to “surround sound” even though it may not be appropriate.
I think a lot of people describe a more enveloping sound stage in the way you did. Of the three headphones/earphones you mentioned, the Sundara certainly has the larger sound stage to my ears, though nothing I’d consider truly large. If that’s something you really value, see if you can get a demo of the Sennheiser HD 800; it’s not a closed-back, but the sound stage is touted as the largest amongst headphones.
I’m also kinda sick of IEMs. I’ve owned several pairs of Etys for use in an office environment, and I’m wanting to try some over-ear closed headphones.
