[Closed] More tedious hifi bollocks.

Gotta ask, what’s the dragon tail connector for?

Do your headphones not link direct into the phone?

are you using the Note to supply the file an the DAC to convert it to music? Is it an amp like my Fiio E2 thingy?

Why not use the headphones DAC? It sounds pretty good to me when plugged into a USB.

are you using the Note to supply the file an the DAC to convert it to music?

Yes.

The connector and DAC (the bit with the Dragonfly on it) are an upgrade to the standard quality DAC function in the Note 4. Plugging the headphones straight into the mobile is OK, but not quality. This rig allows the ‘phones to really shine...

Plus, of course, the lead is made from unicorns’ hair platted by virgin mermaids on a full moon with Uranus in the ascendant.

Nice setup with some good kit choice other than the leads.

Heard nothing but good things about the Dragonfly. Although I think the red is pretty outrageously priced.

You’re obviously unaware of the price hike due to the recent shortage of unicorns all being snapped up by the Brexiter media campaign... 😉😃

Plus, of course, the lead is made from unicorns’ hair platted by virgin mermaids on a full moon with Uranus in the ascendant.

not suitable for vegans then.

Interesting, I'd love to hear it, just on Sennheiser HD 25 SP IIs here.

Pants - this is more like it for portable hifi...

I was looking at that dragonfly just yesterday, is it worth the money for phone and headphone use ?

I find my Sennheisers a little weak and closed in when plugged into my phone, they sound great on my hifi though.

Why not use the PX wirelessly btw?

Supposed to be excellent.

Bluetooth is convenient, but nowhere near good enough SQ. At home also. I stream everything, but the router is hard-wired into the system...

I was looking at that dragonfly just yesterday, is it worth the money for phone and headphone use ?

Well, I think it’s worth it, but others might balk at spending that much.

To my ears, it would be a comparatively cheap way for a person to obtain really top-quality Hifi as opposed to spending hundreds, or even thousands, on a home rig.

err, isn't that lead the wrong way round ?

No. Lead arrows point in the direction of the signal travel. Source first.

Edit:

... has another look...

Oh. Oops. 😳

Rig.

Urgh

What shoes for headphone listening? (Always like your pretend snob utterances). 😂

Thanks. Gotta try one of these things, see how I get on. I didn’t realise until yesterday that you could use them on IPhone with the camera adaptor.

I carry a spare, charged, battery. It does chew the power at a fast rate...

err, isn’t that lead the wrong way round ?

... has another look... photo is a little indistinct. The arrow is good (there’s only one on the lead, pointing away from the jack).

Phew. 😬

Bluetooth is convenient, but nowhere near good enough SQ.

But the PX's aren't just Bluetooth, they use aptx-HD.

Upgrade your phone and dump the other bollox.

Yes, I’m aware they are ‘not just Bluetooth’. Be that as it may, it’s still not top.

I’d be interested to hear what phone you think would deliver the same SQ as the Dragonfly... 🤔

For the full audiophile on the go solution, have you considered a set of custom in ear monitors?

Having used over the ear headphones for the last 20 years I treated myself to a pair of ACS Evolve a couple of months ago and they really are a different league to anything else I have used.

The vocals sound very slurred to me. Need to re-rig it.

Er... eh?

I’d be interested to hear what phone you think would deliver the same SQ as the Dragonfly

No idea TBH.

I like decent hifi, I have a pair of B&W PX headphones, use them with Bluetooth when travelling, also plug them into my laptop via USB and I think they sound a little better. Not a lot in it IMO.

However, do I think a £70 3.5mm jack cable can make a noticeable difference over a standard one? In a word, no. You do and if it works for you, good luck.

What I don't understand with those micro DAC's, is how you can cram a DAC and a headphone amp, in such a small box and produce audiophile results? If you need full size separates when you are at home?

By the way - I ended up buying a Naim Nait 5i and it's very good. Just using cheap speaker cable and a standard power lead so probably not using it to it's full potential. 🙂

err, isn’t that lead the wrong way round ?

Hang on, a directional audio cable?

ACS Evolve

I just giggled at the cost .... £549

I just giggled at the cost …. £549

£579 with the magic balanced cable.

Besides, surely that's cheap to you? 🙂

edit - There is supposed to be a smiley face after that but it's just showing a small square.

Hang on, a directional audio cable?

Well, if you think about it, unicorn hair grows directionally, so.....

😂

I just giggled at the cost …. £549

£579 with the magic balanced cable.

Besides, surely that’s cheap to you? 🙂

The smile came through, and I wouldn’t spend that much. To me, I’d loose or break them and then kick myself violently for being an idiot.

each to thier own though yeah 🤪

🙂

Portable audio is a compromise -  I can't really immerse myself in music with all the external distractions of travel unless I'm on a long, uninterrupted journey.

Hence iPlayer and audio books/ebooks. Or real books.

Am interested in proper headphones though - it's like speakers, you choose a 'house' sound - was a Sennheiser guy for ages, then discovered Beyer-Dynamic - a bit more 'Hi-Fi' but soo much more detail.

Have you tried Grado's? Not had a pop but severely tempted.

Grado's aren't very good for travelling. Not the most comfy and the open back design means you would disturb everyone around you. Great for shorter periods of home listening though. Nothing beats open back designs.

I’d be interested to hear what phone you think would deliver the same SQ as the Dragonfly

It won't be the phone that matters if using Bluetooth. The DAC will be whatever is in the headphones. I've seen a few audio reviewers that prefer the PX via aptx-HD than plugged in, though I've not checked what wired kit they were using.

I used to like AKG very much, but after owning two pairs in a row that failed by the really thin foam jacketing becoming separated, I gave up on them. I was looking for a pair of over-ear noise cancellers mainly for aeroplane journeys and hotel rooms. Had a look through the reviews in “What HiFi” (good mag) and picked the B&W PX’s on their recommendation, there being no HiFi store within several hundred miles of me.

Although I use them with a cable, the NC still works at the top-level setting with with a very small loss of SQ, essential on board aircraft to blank out the engine rumble.

The DAC will be whatever is in the headphones.

I suppose Woppit is suggesting that the Dragonfly DAC is better than the B&W DAC. His set up is using the analogue in on the headphones.

He also seems to be suggesting that the aptx-HD is not as good as it claims to be.

Although I use them with a cable, the NC still works at the top-level setting with with a very small loss of SQ, essential on board aircraft to blank out the engine rumble.

As soon as you put the noise cancelling on, any SQ gains, real or perceived, from the external DAC will be lost.

“What HiFi” (good mag)

Do you think they make entirely objective reviews and are not slewed by advertising revenue?

Er… eh?

It's alright inside, but outside ...

No. Lead arrows point in the direction of the signal travel. Source first.

Edit:

… has another look…

Oh. Oops.

… has another look… photo is a little indistinct. The arrow is good (there’s only one on the lead, pointing away from the jack).

Phew

Magic ! - personal best for me 😉

Had a look through the reviews in “What HiFi” (good mag)

Credibility lost (not just for Trump style parenthetic praise).

I should have known from the prog rock .

Edit.

As soon as you put the noise cancelling on, any SQ gains, real or perceived, from the external DAC will be lost.

As I said, there is a very very small amount of SQ fade, but nowhere near as much as without the DAC, when plugged straight in to the Note 4...

when plugged straight in to the Note 4…

Why do you think B&W would put a crap DAC in their flagship wireless headphones?

Do they? I’ve no idea, but I’ve no intention of getting into an argument with you about your long-distance psychic insight into my experiences or opinions about my literary habits.

Have a nice day.

Kind of on topic, but how do you all find Tidal?

I had a simple set up, Samsung S8 and direct into a set of Sony WH1000XM2 (which I lost).

The sound was good, but I didn't like Tidal. The lack of playlists was a real pain. When I'm working or in the gym I just want to go through all sorts of genre's without creating my own playlist. Tidal I felt you had to be more specific about what you wanted to listen to....Anyway I'm back on Spotify just because for easy listening to all sorts of different types of music, the Spotify playlists just seemed to work better.

opinions about my literary habits.

Didn't make any. I asked you a genuine question. Apologies if you are offended by that.

Do they? I’ve no idea,

Well you buy a £300 pair of phones that have a built in USB DAC and then go and spend a similar amount again to bypass it. That would seem to tell me that you think it's pretty shit.

£549!!!!

Could buy a car for that...

Well, for 20.6 days you could.

mobile phone ...tidal.. audio quality...

Kind of on topic, but how do you all find Tidal?

I agree that Spotify has a superior interface, but it doesn’t do lossless, which is my overriding priority - sound quality (which applies to a digital file from a phone as much as anything else, despite what that ^ pillock is trying to imply with his Star Trek gif)...

Here's mine iPod Classic with 528gb ssd playing lossless files Oppo HA2SE Dac/Amp Ultimate Ears TF10's with custom moulded ear buds also have B&W P9's but the TF10's knock them into a cocked hat.

Had the new neighbours round for drinks and a listening session on my home rig last night.

Their usual mode d’emploi when listening to music at home is from an ‘Alexa’ tower or via a laptop into some Bluetooth speakers, usually as background music to some task or other and apparently no experience of listening through a real Hifi rig before.

I started with Von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic playing ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ which you may remember is the opening music for Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

I played it at a fairly hefty volume. When the music (from my rig) finished, there was silence.

I turned and asked “What do you think?”

Open mouthed at first, then - ”Absolutely stunning” was the reply I got. The only downside is that I may have unwittingly nudged the guys into a downward spiral of debt and penury caused by them putting together their own rig...

Obviously, I made sure they were appropriately dressed for the occasion and sporting the correct type of shoe for this part of the world, not rigged out in some awful sets of working class high-street rubberwear.

Still, it’s nice to be able to tell a positive ‘neighbour’ story on here for a change after all the more usual ‘bustard next doors’ stereo kept me awake all weekend and his dog ate my wife’ Stuff that usually gets posted, although I do realise that talking about Hifi causes an effect akin to rigor mortis in some.

And I didn’t rig the experience either.

Still, it’s nice to be able to tell a positive ‘neighbour’ story on here for a change

Great, you've just guaranteed a "My arsehole neighbour plays his classical too loud" hilarious parody thread. It'll probably even mention Brexit. 🙁

Yeah I’m sure it’ll be rigged with lots of chucklesome hilarity and clever use of apercus and litotes whilst completely ignoring the fact that the neighbours weren’t, of course, next door being upset but in my gaff being impressed by my RIG.

😂

If you don't like Tidal but want higher quality streams, it might be worth looking at Qobuz or Deezer Hifi.

I've started using standard Deezer recently and the Flow and playlist recommendations have been good. Easy enough to discover stuff too and a large catalogue.

Normally just my 2 ipods (32Gb and 64Gb) into my Shure SE112 phones. When the I'm properly listening and paying attention (and not anywhere I can lose the stuff) it is a Sony NW-A27HNB into a FiiO Mont Blanc amp into Ultimate Ears UE900s. I'm terrified of leaving them on a train or plane.

https://flic.kr/p/2c9Zh8G

I have a Linn LP12 gramophone plus AVI CD player tuner and amps driving ATC speakers. All very nice stuff but I've never had any desire for fancy in car or mobile stuff. It just doesn't seem worthwhile.

I have a Linn LP12

😘

What?

This thread has piqued my interest in DACs again, how does this dragonfly job compare to the FiiO Q1ii?

The FiiO is bigger, but I'll be using it at my desk, along with my Shure SE535s.

Or are there any other options? Whats the difference between the red and black dragonflys?

The earlier comment about adding an extra DAC when there’s already one in the phones bugged me so I’ve just done a half-hours’ concentrated testing.

I ran all four variations against each other: Bluetooth non-NC, Bluetooth NC, cable non-NC, cable NC.

My conclusion is that the previous comment re: extra DAC was correct. The addition of the Dragonfly with the previous cheaper cable was an improvement, but after using it with the better quality cable, it actually degraded the SQ in comparison. I would have been better off just upgrading the cable in the first place and sticking with that. 🙄

An expensive error.

Oh well. You live and learn, eh?

Next stop for the Dragonfly and ‘tail, eBay...

Was it an upgrade along the lines of speaker wires that that have been ‘run in’ to improve sound quality?

Some of the Hifi  guff would be right up bike manufacturers street.

K-Sugden:  Where did you get your custom moulds for your TF10's?  I got some for my IE8's from ACS years ago and it was the best money i've spent on audio equipment, unfortunately they don't do custom moulds anymore and i've not been able to find an alternative.  My TF10's are just sat in a drawer as i can't get a decent fit.

Noskills have you a local hearing aid centre as they can usually cast a custom mould for you? (Not Specsavers I suspect)

Sorry Noskills they came from ACS before they stopped doing them

The FiiO is bigger, but I’ll be using it at my desk, along with my Shure SE535s

Have a look at the AudioEngine D1 if its desk based you're after. Just missed a black friday sale though...

FiiO X3 user here, playing FLACs. I just use the player as a standalone player, playing stored albums (no phone or DAC or Spotify or anything), with some Audio Technica cans at home, or old-skool earbuds on the commute. (I can't get on with in-ears)

I ran all four variations against each other: Bluetooth non-NC, Bluetooth NC, cable non-NC, cable NC.

Why didn't you compare it with a USB connection to the headphones and use the DAC in the headphones?

Not massively certain what all of the words in this thread mean, but it reminds me of why I like to read humorous novels by David Nicholls or (to a lesser extent) Nick Hornby 🤣

I'd also (no really I would) like to achieve a hi-fi  "rig" for personal listening pleasure.  Is it do-able with a sub-£100 lossless player, decent cable, and decent headphones?  Or does one need an additional  gubbins box and many more "spondoo's"?

sub-£100 lossless player, decent cable, and decent headphones?

Yes, although it’s not the machine, but rather the file containing the music that it carries that is, or isn’t, “lossless”.  😁

Or does one need an additional gubbins box and many more “spondoo

One needs to buy what sounds good to one!

There are those who will claim that they can hear the difference between lossless and diff. bitrates of lossy compression formats but the actual data tells a different story.  I know some people who like to fix old hi fi kit and in some cases they claim that changing the original capacitors for modern versions has ruined the sound quality.  There are those that will claim 100% oxygen free monster wire is the only thing worth listening to.

Mostly what they are saying is nothing to do with quality in the good/bad sense but how it suits what they like - warm/sharp more bass/treble/ etc

Having said that your higher octave hearing declines as you age so you might want a rig that does good highs (can be adjusted with an eq).

Also matching your equipment to itself is important.  I have a set if old akg studio headphones which sound great but 'phones, iPods and the like don't have the oomph to drive the honking great driver's in them.

Yes, although it’s not the machine, but rather the file containing the music that it carries that is, or isn’t, “lossless”.

Man alive! Are you that fellow who once insisted "hub dynamo" be forthwith and correctly appellated   "generator hub", on pain of being peered upon?  Invidious!

But thanks 😁

Mostly what they are saying is nothing to do with quality in the good/bad sense but how it suits what they like – warm/sharp more bass/treble/ etc

I get that, but thanks.  I know I've joked around, bit for the serious enquiry I should have been be upfront about my situation.  Have been composing (electronic) music on and off for 20 yrs, and being somewhat (a lot) more of a musicphile, not an audiophile, and for this reason normally leave the final mixdown to better-equipped/more conversant compatriots.  Nothign doing this last ten so am out of the loop.   Massively enjoyed Minidisc back in the day.  So while I do favour a warm, punchy sound with good detail in low frequencies, I am also concerned with the soundstage, separation, and detail in general,  but not so good at putting my finger on the right /most compatible gear

Having said that your higher octave hearing declines as you age so you might want a rig that does good highs (can be adjusted with an eq).

And oof! in the feels! 😂

Weirdly I always have to turn the treble down.  I oromise am not boasting.  Thst would be "sad" wouldn't it?  What a great chat up line: 'Whoa, wimd down the treble love, doc says I have the cochlea of a man half my age' 😏

Also matching your equipment to itself is important. I have a set if old akg studio headphones which sound great but ‘phones, iPods and the like don’t have the oomph to drive the honking great driver’s in them.

Currently have AKG Y50s and iPad or iPhone.  And Shuffle.  And a little Sony lipstick-Sized Walkman.  It just happened that way honest guv.   Right now listening to Sibelius on Spotify Premium at 320kbps ( apparently.  Sounds very similar to Spotify at 160kbps 😑  Ogg Vorbis innit?

Thing is, my current phones are cabled, but it's a (fair quality) recent replacement of the supplied one, and this one being 3.5mm-3.5mm means it has cheap 2.5mm adapter on one end because bloody AK bloody Geräte saw fit to make a 2.5mm female on the cans themselves.  So until I can afford a custom cable I have to suck on this poundstore bodge.  Like attending the Birmingham Symphony Hall with gum in the ear.  I have no idea what what I'm hearing would sound like with a decent cable.

<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Having said that your higher octave hearing declines as you age so you might want a rig that does good highs (can be adjusted with an eq)</span>

Oof!  In the feels!  I'll habe you know I have the cochlea of a man half my age.  'Turn the treble down baby, it hurts' < Not the best chatup line admittedly,  but play to strengths I say.

^ STW weirdness means I went back and edited things that seemed to have disappeared and then came back post-edit.  Chrome is not a fix it seems.  Ah well, now you have two variants of the same killer chatup line from which to steal. And some typos.  Soz 😕 *

*You can't say I'm not contributing the tedium and bollocks.

Man alive! Are you that fellow who once insisted “hub dynamo” be forthwith and correctly appellated   “generator hub”, on pain of being peered upon?

No.