I strongly advocate the start-from-the-source model. For years I suffered because of underspending on DACs, but then found that when details and refinement are lost early along they are lost forever. The equipment later in the chain can – at best – cover up the losses or create a rough approximation of the source. I now budget a lot more for the DAC and amp. A bad early chain will make every headphone sound awful.
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First post ever.
I’ve been using an ifi hip dac2 and a dragonfly cobalt with my iPhone and would like to find a DAP to replace them, if possible. I know absolutely nothing about them. I would need one that will allow me to use Tidal and Amazon Music. I will be using Thieaudio Clairvoyance, Campfire Audio Dorado and Beyerdynamic dt1990 pro (250 ohm) head gear with the DAP.
If you know of a decent one under or maybe a little bit over and isn’t too complicated for an older aged guy to use I’d sure appreciate hearing your thoughts on one. Getting old sucks 
Thank you!
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So true, the Matrix Sabre Pro dac is anything but bright. To me, it has a natural sound, not bright or metallic. In most cases, the total implementation of all the internal parts including the dac is what brings about how a device sounds.
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First off, welcome!
I’ve been using the FiiO M11 Plus ($749 at time of writing) and am happy with it. It comes with Android 10 so installing apps from the Google Play Store is easy. I haven’t had any problems using the TIDAL app on it but have not tried the Amazon Music app.
Thanks for your help…much appreciated! I’ve been looking at the M11 and have pretty much decided to get it. The M17 looks to have some great components in it but it’s size is not what I want to be carrying around.
Again, thank you.
I would like some help. I am at a crossroads. I currently have an Innuos Zenith. It is currently only used as a room core/endpoint. I am wondering if this is the best use of this unit. I have never given it much thought at this point. Having purchased a number of new headphones, moving on from this would help free up some funds.
Is there a more economical way to bring roon to my TT2/Mscaler stack?
How are others doing this? Please share
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I have a Zen Mini MK3.
I use it with InnuOS 2.0 since I prefer the sound this way instead of the one I get from Roon.
I wouldn’t change the digital transport of my music for no reason.
I find it essential to appreciate the music I listen to.
The inexpensive way to substitute your Zenith would be running Ropiee, VitOS or similar operating systems on a Raspberry Pi.
You can eliminate many problems from to the Raspberry Pi using an IFI power supply instead of the one you get with the Raspberry.
The Raspberry does the job but to my ears at the price of great loss in sound quality.
Anyway if you want to let go the Zenith the Raspberry will do the job.
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Couldn’t tell you the difference between a pi and innuos but i can tell you i really didn’t hear a difference between the zenith and the mini. Depending on the storage size of your zenith, if you can get a decent price and find a used mini, its a smaller footprint, cheaper and sounds just as good.
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Hello , I am a new memebr and i kindly wanted to ask for advice .
I am an Electronic music producer ( Techno , Electronica ) from Tel Aviv and i wanna get the Audeze XC or The Audeze X , its mainly for producing and mixing .
Since we don’t have local distributor & i need to buy 'on blind ’ , and i am not sure which Model will be better for me , i know that in general open headphones are better for mixing but i used to work with closed headphones as well so i am bit confused and also not sure which model will be better for this kind of music i am producing .
I have tried to contact Audeze guys but they didn’t know exactly to point for a specific model therefore i wanted to try if someone here can help me a little bit ,
My budget is up to € 1200-1300
Thanks in advanced
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I haven’t heard the LCD-X but I have listened to the XC. The latest version is a very good headphone. It sounds nice and clear. Its tuning is fairly neutral but it can sound a bit lean. I’m not sure if the mids are recessed in places or if it’s just that the mid-range isn’t very lush or forward. More importantly, the XC does not have much bass emphasis. As a result, the sound comes across as brighter than it would if there were greater bass heft and depth. In other words, the XC can sound brighter than it actually is because of the absence of bass.
This lack of bass may be an issue for you if you need good bass response for producing electronica and techno music.
The other thing to note is that the sound of the XC varies considerably with the amplifier you pair with it. I tried it with the following amps:
- Schitt Mjolnir 1: too bright, because the amp has slightly elevated treble, and the bass is almost entirely absent.
- Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid: too bright, some glare in the treble. Not good.
- SW51+: this is a fairly neutral amp but the tubes and impedance, I suspect, add some bloom to the bass, which helps to take the edge off the treble. The richness of the mids is a welcome corrective to the XC’s tuning. The headphones sound more balanced, more engaging and less clinical now.
- Schiit Magni 3: this is a slightly warm amp and it pairs fairly well with the XC. There is better bass but still some midrange leanness.
To conclude: beware of the XC if you want strong, deep bass; beware of matching the XC with the right kind of amp. I found it to be quite amp-picky. I’d advise you to think of the amp and the headphone as a single entity: the one relies on the other for producing a certain kind of sound, and synergy matters!
I hope this helps.
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I really appreciate your post and your list of experiences with different amps. 
Now call me lucky, but I use a kilo buck amp in the Burson Soloist SL and the chord Qutest DAC set at 3V RMS and the XC has considerable slam in the low end as a result. Now by no means can you ever fix some of the clinical nature the XC has I’ve accepted that. The XC is clinical, detailed and has wide staging but in no means is the XC laid back or a fun listen. Trying to “warm up” the XC is really not the point of this headphone.
It is quite strident in some regions of the treble like the HD 800, which is why at some point I’d like to have the D 8000 Pro by Final Audio.
The difference is terrific, but make no mistake one must keep both headphones if one acquires both.
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really appreciate your kind post , i am currently using the Schiit Magni ( 2019 Model ) for my current headphones
( HD650) , not sure if that amp will work for Audeze but for now i am not sure which model i should go with
Also i found someone is selling here in Israel his 2018 Audeze 4z but again im not sure if this model is good/better for Elctronic / Techno Productions , Mixing .
Thanks Again , Really appreciate your detail post !
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Goodmorning everyone!
I would like to buy headphones and a dac / amp (if needed) for a total budget of € 300, maximum € 350.
I would use them mainly for playing games and listening to music.
Both open and closed back are fine, as long as they are comfortable, especially with glasses.
I tried the DT 990s and found them pretty comfortable, but buying them it remains a budget of 200€, that is the twice that i would spend on headphones, that seems to me a little bit too overkill, so something comfortable as them, but better (?)
I would buy from Amazon.it
Thanks to everyone!
To follow up on this, I ordered them a week or so ago and got them in yesterday. I upgraded to the XLR VIVO cable which is probably an overpay, but it seems really well constructed.
So far they sound good under both stock tuning and the Oratory settings through AutoEQ, so I’m surprised that they don’t get more attention. The stock tuning is definitely more bright and brings more attention to things like cymbals, so like anything in this hobby it comes down to preference. It’s a big jump going from an open to closed back in terms of isolation and far less external sound coming through, but my initial impression is that they’re not really congested at all. People are right about the comfort. Still a honeymoon phase but as of right now I’m pleased.
I’ve been giving the FiiO K9 Pro a test run and it’s been mostly fine with the Sundaras, but it seems to struggle to get the Noires to a solid volume without going to 2-3 o’clock on the dial, even in balanced mode and switching from medium to high gain. After a bit of research I ordered an A30Pro/D30Pro combo which costs roughly the same and from what I’ve read can drive pretty much anything, so I’ll have to see how they fare when I get them in the next day or two. I’m still in the return window for the K9 Pro and will likely send it back either way.
(Edit: I actually managed to get the K9 Pro to clip on high gain and full volume. The ring went red until I turned it down and it started playing again.)
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Hi guys, this is my first post on this forum. I will be attending the CanJam NYC 2022 in about 10 days, thinking to purchase a new headphone but right now I have in mind the Focal Utopia and Audeze LCD-5.
Budget: $2000-$3500 used price.
Music Genre: Pretty everything except classical and rap.
Will be only used at my home desktop rig (DNA Stratus V4 amplifier and Rockna Wavedream SE DAC)
I already read that the Hifiman Susvara doesn’t have good synergy with my amp, so that is a no-go. I don’t like heavy headphones so Abyss, LCD-4 is out of question.
My preferred music signature would be similar to Sennheiser HD650 (little mid-forward) with some coloration or warm as some described. Bass not a big deal if but preferred something better than the Sennheiser HD800. Soundstage really don’t care for I preferred the HD650 soundstage over the HD800 cause is not accurate to me. Treble preferred something not too bright or sharp. Thanks for any advices for which headphone to test out in CanJam.
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Given your preferences check the DCA Stealth: very good tuning and extremely comfortable.
In my experience DCA’s headphone pair extremely well with hybrid tube amps.
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Regarding the Susvara and Stratus combination being a no go, it is my opinion this has been given too much credence as an absolute. I have the Susvara and listen to them with my Stellaris and it’s fantastic to me. Caveats, I don’t listen at extreme dbs and I don’t agree with the notion that Susvara require extreme amounts amplification to sound great.
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(apologies if you have read this already on the Fiio M11 thread). Hi there. I am trying to find a DAP that can cope with 80,000 tracks (getting on for 600GB - and yes I know that they are not highest quality at that size). I have the Fiio X5III which struggles to manage that quantity of music and the AK SR15 which likewise struggles - the best I have got the SR15 working is with the Foobar 2000 app. Both sell themselves as having storage capacity of 1TB but at the same time appear only to be tested to around 40,000 tracks (presumably because the expectation is that they will be higher quality and take up more space). Does the M11 have the ability to handle this volume of music seamlessly. Any idea? Alternatively, any ideas about a DAP that can? Many thanks for any help offered.
you sound like me, you’ll most likely enjoy the LCD-5 the most
Hello!,
I’m looking for any recommendations on a cable and tips for the moondrop aria, and also a 2.5mm adapter. If the price can keep under 10$ for the cable and tips would be perfect, but my max is 20$.
I know nothing about the 2.5mm adapater so if it’s too expensive there’s no problem on purchasing it in other moment, this adapter would also be use (or i’ll try to use it) with a meze 99 classic.
Thanks for the reply 
.