The ISOAL lossless audio codec sounds interesting... I doubt many manufacturers will implement it, since Apple AAC and Qualcomm aptX have bigger install bases:

https://www.soundstagesolo.com/index.php/features/481-bluetooth-6-0-is-here-sort-of

http://www.shureasia.com/go/kse1500/en/

Have you guys seen these? Didn't see that coming. Color me interested!

It's breathtakingly expensive, that's for sure. I was thinking of getting the Mojo 2, so if this thing sounds better, maybe it's better to have everything in a Sony money box.

Also available in gold if you're so money: https://www.sony.ca/en/electronics/walkman/nw-wm1zm2

In other news, the new Sony money cans may not be as good as the old money cans – ain't nothing like old money: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/sony-wh-1000xm5

Anyone else here take the plunge on this, it so far has kicked ass with the JH13 and 16s as well as my LCD X and the AT W3ks, Lots of texture and spatial cues with the mojo. More info t come if anyone is interested. Pairs very well with IPAs and pale ales! 

So far I'm loving mine. I found a good solution to the video transcoding dilemma in the for of the Xilisoft Video converter. I endcoded a couple of videos with it yesterday and it worked great and only takes about 15min. to transcode a 40 minute show which seems perfectly reasonable to me.

I haven't decided whether or not to install the 5 App pack from January since I don't really need any of them. I can check my gmail through the web interface and even that is hardly necessary. Bottom line, if Apple can find a way to drop the price about $100 per category so that the 32GB version is under $400 I can see these things taking over the world.

I have no experience with truly great IEMs, so y'all are gonna have to tell me what's up.

Neil Young: Steve Jobs and I were working on new iPod

Singer tells technology conference he and the late Apple boss planned audiophile successor to iPod with high-resolution audio

Sean Michaels · guardian.co.uk

Read by 404 people

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New adventures in hi-fi … Neil Young and Steve Jobs were working on audiophile iPod. Photograph: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images/Sipa Press/Rex Features

Neil Young has claimed he was working with the late Apple boss Steve Jobs on a follow-up to the iPod. Young said he and Jobs were developing a new device for listening to "high-resolution audio", which would download content "while you're sleeping".

"Steve Jobs was a pioneer of digital music, but when he went home he listened to vinyl," Young said during an interview at the D: Dive Into Media technology conference. He and Jobs were apparently both concerned with the dearth of high-quality listening formats for audiophiles, and the two men met to work on new hardware that could store the large music files Young prefers. Since Jobs's death in October, Young complained, there is "not much going on".

Young is a notorious opponent of MP3s and other compressed music formats. He even criticises CDs, which he claims offer only 15% of the audio information contained on master recordings. "What everybody gets [on an MP3] is 5% of what we originally make in the studio," he said. "We live in the digital age, and unfortunately it's degrading our music, not improving."

The 66-year-old singer called on his audience to improve standards for high-fidelity audio and new consumer-friendly playback devices. The main obstacle to better quality recordings is file size: audiophile-quality songs can take as long as 30 minutes to download, Young said, and current players can store no more than about 30 albums. "I have to believe if [Jobs] lived long enough he would have tried to do what I'm trying to do."

While Young attacked the internet's effect on audio standards, he acknowledged its utility as a promotional tool. "I look at [the] internet as the new radio," he explained. "Radio [is] gone. Piracy is the new radio; it's how music gets around."

Young is currently working on two new albums with his long-time on-off backing band Crazy Horse. He recently updated his website with an epic, 37-minute jam, thought to be taken from these sessions.

I have a few microSD cards with DSD files that work fine in the Chord Mojo, Fiio M7 and a Cayin player. But when I put them in the 1A, it goes through building a database routine, but then does not recognize anything in the card. If I plug the card back into any of the other listed above, the music shows up as usual.

Is the Sony player different in terms of formatting? Suggestions appreciated!

Thanks

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Color me interested, as I find I really like planars. Of course it could all be hype/bullshit (haven't done ANY research).

So anyone here use the LG, I know Peter was a pretty big supporter. I would likely use Neutron as a player and load a large micro sd. I tried to read the HF thread but at 170+ pages with 90/10 noise to signal I gave up.  

I know, I know, non-HC approved, but it is what it is.

He also mentioned that he mentioned that he doesn't have space for his headphone amp anymore, so is looking to sell it. It is an original Torpedo (I built it for him), IIRC from the prototypes build. PM me if there is any interest for this. He says he hasn't even used it while in South America, but I know he used it when he was still here in the US.

Three of us have one. We have each used it in different ways.

So here's my experience:

First off, my copy changed character in its first hours of operation, enough so that trying to figure out what was going on with it was frustrating. I think it's odd for electronics to "break in" much. If they change at all, they just seem to get "a little better." This thing sounded yucky and differently yucky every time I picked it up. I'd recommend a few days in the picnic cooler before listening.

Once I got it figured out, I concluded that it drives IEMs pretty well, but it drives headphones really badly, and not in the usual amp-can't-drive-these-headphones way. Usually, I would expect weak dynamics and maybe a roll-off at one end or the other, but from the Fiio, I got huge FR bumps at, oh, about 200 Hz and maybe 8 or 10 KHz and absolutely nothing beyond those points. The midrange was screwed up in ways that are hard to describe - flat, dimensionless, messed up harmonics, or maybe something else altogether. But it wasn't musical or nice. I tried every headphone I have that I would use with a portable. None were pleasant.

Line out to an amp was a completely different story. It's certainly not as convenient as a single box, but this way, it's musical - a pleasant FR curve (m-a-y-b-e a bit of brightness, but I'm something of a brightness hypochondriac) good to really good resolution across the band, great, really tight bass and a pleasant, if slightly rolled treble. It's way better than my iPod Classic, and I don't have to fuss with transcoding ALACs. It works for me.

The interface seems adequate to me. Battery life seems fine.

At our SoFla meet a couple weeks ago, we had this, the HiFIMan 801 and 901, and the AK 100 at hand. It was interesting. The AK 100, through a Pico Slim, showed a magnificent clear treble and loads of resolution. I've never liked the AK 100 amp-less. The Pico Slim made a big improvement. It didn't like the RSA Tomahawk as well, but it was still very good . The 901 was very PRaT-y and weighty. It was musical. It had great resolution. Didn't try it with an outboard amp because I didn't feel the need. The 801 was cut of the same cloth, but less of it. The 901 was my favorite of the four. The Fiio leaned in the 901/801 direction - musical, maybe a tad warmer than the  AK 100, but not quite as satisfying. The Fiio seemed to like the Ray amp better, but it was lovely with the Pico Slim, too. The interface of the AK 100 was in a class above. The 901's  was OK and better than the Fiio's. The Fiio's was perfectly adequate.

(Most of the listening was done with my, formerly Shelley's, formerly Miguel's, ETW-9s.)

John summed it up by saying he thought the Fiio/Pico Slim was "70 to 80%" of the AK 100/Pico Slim. At 25% of the cost. (20% of the cost of the 901). 

So there you have it. It was a rocky romance at first, but now I really like the thing, given that I don't use a portable enough to justify a kilobuck DAP.

Todd?, Jeffy?

pico POWER Portable Amp

Coming in the future.

Powerful like a desktop amp, small like a Pico.

Recommended for hard to drive headphones.

Are there more information available in meet threads and such?

I've been out of the loop for a while. Got into headphones before my firstborn arrived. I thought my days of blasting music through speakers in late night listening sessions was over. But my kids sleeps through loud music. I have a portable setup consisting of Kowon iAudio X5 DAP + Shure SE530. I used to use the Etymotics ER-4S with an el cheapo Headroom amp.

I'm looking to get the iBasso DX200 or Pioneer XDP-300 DAP. Probably stick with the existing IEMs. What portable amp would you recommend? Nothing fancy. Budget up to $500 new or used.

My in-house system consists of a pair of Magico Q5 speakers powered by Pass X350.5. Primarily listening to vinyl. Music-wise, I listen to a wide range from Jazz, Claasical, 80s alternative rock to Asian pop music.

Not looking for top of the line, $$$$ stuff. Just something to get me through those times when you're stuck at an airport due to delays and I just need to close my eyes and mentally go somewhere else. Thanks in advance.

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I bet AudioQuest has been making a lot of money from this gadget in the last couple of years.

My first purchase a few months ago was the ATH IM-02 IEM's. I also picked up the 1more triple drivers for times when a need a little more bass or just want to be rough and don't want to injure the ATH's.

I am using an iPhone 7 with the provided Apple lightening to audio adapter and listening to Apple Music.

My question... what would be the next step towards improving my sound? What would be the most noticeable?

- adding a DragonFly Red or Black with Apple CCK? 

- up-grading to high quality source music - like Tidal Hifi with current equipment?

- upgrading to even higher quality IEM's?

- start down-loading and using high quality FLAC files from current set up?

- upgrading to a dedicated DAP with FLAC files or Tidal?

Thanks in advance 

Recently, I've been looking around for cable, and on Amazon there was a possibility, I ordered the cable, but unfortunately the connector is not compatible. (Too big).  Anyone has any suggestions for where to order? I looked at UE, but could not find it, odd.

On a side note, wow the other day I was looking at IEMs and this market has really exploded. I have been out of the audio loop for quite a while. ha!

Cheers and thanks for any suggestions.

Obviously, this could lead to new headphone and accessory sales (again – moar DACses?).

Bluetooth still seems to be a muddle re: sound quality: http://www.cnet.com/news/can-aptx-give-you-better-sound-over-bluetooth/

I have one as my portable amp/DAC paired with an iPod Classic 7G, and it is pretty awesome.

Oppo seem to have taken on the headphone market and made some very impressive first products (like the PM-3)

Share your thoughts and opinions

Also, is the Walkman the only budget portable device that can stream Tidal?

Thank you very much.

I don't want to get too spendy, and I've arrived at something around the price of the the AK100ii as the sweet spot. Does anyone have experience with this combo, or could recommend something decent around the same price range ($800)? I can't believe I'm contemplating spending even that much just to have a somewhat slimmed down solution, but This Is Head Case and all that.

Any advices?

In attempting to connect my Pico dac/amp directly (no hub) to my Lollipopped Galaxy S5, I am unable to send the digital audio out to the dac.  The Onkyo app actually has a setting for USB Audio, but the phone just hangs and shows no love.  I've had my Pico for years now, so maybe I need a newer version?

Most googling sends me to the other site or to Korean sites with posts about other dacs.  Google is not my friend.

Justin - is this something you are familiar with?  Is there a way to update my beloved Pico?