forbigger

yeah, heard about it but some believe that this would add to another component in the chain and likeliness that it will add something good or bad to the signal is pretty high...... CMIIW, XLR and RCA is it an entirely different topology of cables that need additional processing? Sorry for my ignorance.......

outside frm the input, the thing cost 2.5k retail......way out of my budget. but thanks again. at least gives me the knowledge........

thanks for the responses. isnt the neko only do balance and didnt have usb input? i'm looking for a dac that can do both balance and single ended and usb. guess i have to pass...... As for the reason for me to upgrade from pico is that im looking for a better dac (must admit that its going to be hard) and the one with more input. And for when that i will be going balance, i dont see this in the immediate future but likes to have the options for it........

Ok folks, I've been lurking for the past 2 weeks trying to find presumably better DAC for my current setup which is : Notebook --> Pico DAC-->WA6 or Gilmore Lite -->MS1/HF2/701/ESW9. I have been looking hard at the following: 1. Benchmark Dac1 2. Buffalo - used 3. Grace M902 - out of budget but I try to find used 4. Gamma 2 - used 5. Lavry DA11 My road map in the distant future is to upgrade to balanced so I thought I would like to start with DAC first. I understand when I'm ready to upgrade to balance I would have to get rid/recable of almost all my current headphone/amp. On the other hand, I'm also looking hard at ATH W5000. So should I use the cash I have now ~1k to buy this phone or concentrate to achieve my distant objective (going balanced) ? Note that I wont be buying a CD transport since I like to listen to my songs from notebook. As usual, any advise will be appreciated. And also to Admin - why did my WTB thread for Buffalo was deleted? Have I done anything wrong?

Ok folks, here's how the story goes. Visited US for work for around 2 weeks. Email Woo audio and ask if they have any WA3 or 3+ in stock for immediate delivery. Got reply from Jack that he have WA6 with PDPS upgrade and it suited 701 better. Impulsive feeling came again. The devil inside me said to me "wouldn't it be nice if you have both tube and SS amp so that it you can experience the best of both world?" and too bad the angel was away and wasn't available for advise. So the devil wins......... Then I harassed Justin to send me whatever DAC I've already ordered from him that is also available for immediate delivery (irregardless the color)....... Cut the long story short, WA6 arrive earlier. Fire it up and hook it up direct to DAP (Zune) with mini-rca cable. Listen to it through 701 and WTF? The sound seems soooo distant and soft. Some of the folks here said its the source which I believe is the case too. Buy my time and the Pico DAC arrive today. Hook it up with my notebook and playback the songs using Foobar and USB input to Pico. The sound ? To summarize.......orgasmic though not on every track. The thing have not burn in yet and I have been so impressed. Every little good thing about 701 were a reality now inside my own ear. Couldnt be more happier....... I should be contended for the time being while waiting for the Gilmore Lite to be delivered to me and finally have a chance to compare between a medium end tube vs medium end SS amp. By then ,I will decide which one is a keeper (or maybe both)....... What would you guys think is better ? the gilmore lite or wa6 ?

I posted the same questions at HF and got zero reply......kinda disappoint me......

Guzzi, sorry, couldnt find the edit button......What I meant on my post above is too bad that meeting up with other member maybe out of the questions......

Heard about Bali island ? Its in Indonesia....... SP Plat Extreme ? Eats any headphones for breakfast.....too bad I only have limited time in US thus meet up is out of questions. I might bring my Senn Mx400 and watch some fireworks if its connected to your amps.......;D And that old Koss of mine that I hated so much......the one that looks like an over the ear earring than an earphone......Seriously, I really really wanted to see the 701 driven to its max and I think your amp will do extreme justice to it....... I just PM you anyway

Thanks for your offer. For me to stay another 2 weeks (in which I have decided to stay couple more days after my business is done), I would have to face the wrath from my wife......BTW, I will be in US from 14 - 23 July only...... Thanks for the correction on the grammar. How far does it take to drive from LA to St Barbara ? Thanks for all the responses. You guys in this forum are really helpful !!

Unfortunately I wont stay for that long. Mind you as I'm a foreigner. But thanks anyway.....

Folks, anyone know where I can audience some headphone amplifier on these cities (in order of priority). If there are headphones, it would be even better. Also what kind of brand ?? Thank you all....... I know I've ordered my headamp+DAC from Justin so I may not buy anything at all but I wanted to expose myself to as much as possible thus have more experience. OTOH, God know I might ended up with something too :palm:

Grawk, you missed the cables, LOD and interconnects.....Ohhh, one more thing, silk USB cable where the silk is made by Mongolian worms which been fed by 55 yrs old Macallan ;D;D @filburt : less than a week

Guzzi : You help me to convince Justin with the in-n-out and if you succeed, take it that I owe you too......hows that ?

Thank you for all the inputs. I've made up my mind and ordered the Glite+Pico DAC about a week ago. Really appreciate all the inputs and most of it pointed me to Glite+Pico. I'm quite sure that I've made the correct decision. And I kinda like this forum since I have more helpful responses than the so called "neighbour". At the least, I felt that as a true beginner, I felt more welcomed here...... Now, if only Justin can expedite the shipment of my amp and DAC. PS. Justin - if you did receive my PM, my offer still stands!!.....

I was listening to Guru Feat DC Lee Aint No Time to Play track today on the 701. Out of curiosity I thought, "hey, lets try this song with my 5 month old MS1 whom I just got a bowl pad for"......And the result is like night and day. Not to blame 701 but I think I'd rather continue to listen with MS1 and wait for the desktop amp to arrive. To keep listening wont give 701 justice at all. I may ended up selling it as a matter of fact. As I said above, 701 eats the portable amps for breakfast and it is even more evident on this particular track........ Oh boy, I learn something new everyday.......Was really surprised to see quite a few people @HF said that their 701 sounds great from their portable amp. I remember even one guy say it sounded okay from Fiio.....It's just a plain denial IMHO

Tried Yuin although briefly and kinda like it but the build quality IMHO quite shoddy. But I have no plan to buy anymore earbuds or IEM. In fact I'm getting rid of my old IEM's like E2C, d-jays and UE SF-3. I plan to keep only the q-jays......

Hi Morph, I listen to music to enjoy it. Not to criticize it. So long it sound good in my ear, I'm happy. So if critical have a scale from 1 (dont give a damn) to 10 (most critical), maybe I'm 3.5......Thanks for your word of assurance......

My feeling is proven when I bought this damn 701. That I'd get deeper into this audio mess..........I like it so far but it eat my portable amp for breakfast (as you all know), as soon as I wanted to crank up the volume, the sound start to distort, bass rolled off, etc........

What about Gilmore then? Shit, dont tell me I made a wrong decision.........I know that this setup is meant for HF-2 but it would be better if it can drive the 701 to a reasonable level in terms of quality

I have no problems with the bass even now I'm driving it with under performed Headsix. The beauty about this is that you will be hard guessing on how this phone transformed with a better amps, better cabling and source......For me, this phone will always have surprised waiting on every corner.

Sorry atot......didnt buy nor audience the devilsound.....sticking to the proven brand......

go away sprit.......:palm: I may end up with electrostatics setup and alimony....... Or maybe I should downgrade all my song collection back to 64 or 128 then use ibud......I come from this and no harm going back to this:p

thanks......hmm, for 300 more I'm gambling.......why not ?? Thanks morphsci THE GAMBLING IS JUST DONE......JUST ORDERED GILMORE LITE/PICO DAC......... My overall budget just went to 1200(813 fr this +425 fr HF2) +370 (fr impulse purchase of 701) = close to 1600. GOD, PLEASE STOP THIS INSANITY..........

Do you think the pico or gilmore/pico can drive 701 at a reasonable level ? And with the pico dac/amp say one day i wanted to upgrade to Fet-A like your suggestion above, can i by pass the power on the pico and just use the dac?

May I know for what reason ? I still have my queue order on HF-2 Another thing I forgot to mention is that I also auditioned DAC1 with 702 and the vocal was outta this world. The reason I didnt buy it is because the sellers dont want to reduce his price. He is quoting 10.380 HKD and its not I'm going to haggle to 8k. I gave him 10k as offer and he flat out rejected it. I got pissed and left. So much for a good DAC + Amp. And this is the one event who encourage me to try out the Kxx series and ended up buying 701.