It's all depend on you taking which as reference
and compare with. There is almost nothing
at the same price can take this down.
And I am ex-owner of clip+, i can sure this is a lot better than clip+.
Prove: http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=1362523&hl=

if just playing slow songs, slightly above gumstick.
if fast paced, then below gumstick and/or clip+.
if consider fullness of the sound body and bass alone, above gumstick.

overall, unless i figured a way to make it faster sounding.. personally i would put it below gumstick.

problem is.. if u are not using good phones or speakers and good source, the difference in speed would be small.

either way it is still rm90 vs rm315. for the price, the value is there.

This post has been edited by DaEMoNteNTAcLe: Oct 5 2010, 04:11 PM

wat kind of dac has fast sounding yet warm sound signature?

I would note that for songs with lots of detail, like my favourite Mike Oldfield music, the DAC is too slow and end up smearing the details. The Clip+ however delivers the right speed. Though of course sadly the body and weight of the sound, especially bass and mid cannot match this DAC. Clip+ isn't very warm... well, not with Shroom EB anyway.

thanks for the review dude. then u should find a way to make it faster or are u still using the dac?

i dunno how....
and didnt really have time to play.
not really using it, since my onboard (yep ) is quite good.

the only one i know would be go-vibe dac. i think arnd rm240. i dont own it so i cant comment on the sound much.
it is warm tho, works well with ck10, but maybe a tad too warm with bassy phone for my taste. jaben sells this for rm240 if im not mistaken.

Very thanks DaEMoNteNTAcLe for the kind review

Perhaps, using a very high input with very low
output impedance buffer can cure the "slow" sounding?
-> JISBOS

very interesting idea. tho im not very sure how to increase the input.
i was actually thinking the problem is more on the synchronous transfer on the usb side.
now if i only know how to properly read circuit board.. was never good at it anyways..

I was about to recommend that, but yeah, the price is about RM240, more pricey than this, but for sure it is fast and warm.

interesting..
im trying it with a different usb cable.. and i dont really feel it's slow..
maybe my usb hath n0t enuff p0w3r?...
or.. maybe needs some burnin for the caps?
or.. ck10 is fast?
too many variables.. i also dont have optoplay to compare anymore, just my lappy's stock realmedia HD onboard, which is quite good.. cant really come with a conclusion.. but i'll be playing with this dac for awhile now.

is there slight improvement if i'm connected it with my TA2024 and TA2020???currently connected directly from my laptop inboard sc...

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Added on October 6, 2010, 10:14 pmis there slight improvement if i'm connected it with my TA2024 and TA2020???currently connected directly from my laptop inboard sc...

This post has been edited by MANKiND: Oct 6 2010, 10:14 PM

Hmm. Burning in is also probably a good idea. I am thinking that everything needs burn in for audio stuff, even the DAC, strangely. I'm not sure if Shroom EB qualifies as slow then: because on Shroom EB the DAC was still somewhat slow, though it was not as obvious as when on cans. Maybe the slowness of detail we both heard was due to not enough power to drive the cans? Inadequate USB power is an interesting proposition. Well. If there's another meeting sometime at Jaben you're coming to, let me know. Can drag my lappy with me to see whether the 'not enough juice' theory holds or not.

A question, is it an amp in the middle line?

nope, direct connect..

currently the only amp in my hand is the go-vibe ppk. i have a silver cable and vdh interconnect to go along with it.

well i wont be arnd for some time, i believe my bro is comin back to kl in another week? u might want to catch his unit instead.
anyways im using a different usb 2.0 cable with twin input as of now. there's also the possibility the caps took sometime to charge because of the low usb power, or it was off for sometime already, so need to build charge.
I didnt really notice the smearing we heard before on tubular bells.

so i'll be running it thru a day with my old hd201 and see what happens tonight.
later when i do have time i'll be putting it to the merciless test of the 300ohm HD650 + Symphonica, it will show all flaws without reservation

seems like i'll be keeping this DAC after all. the low end weight and sound body is very nice.

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Added on October 7, 2010, 8:36 amoh chchyong89.. just kinda itchy, no offence here but..
this is for you..


=)


This post has been edited by DaEMoNteNTAcLe: Oct 7 2010, 08:36 AM

u no good u no good =(

An amp is recommended in the middle line between
the DAC and your cans, then u can hear more of this DAC.

Btw, i tried shp8900 directly into this dac and
it distort like hell when i tune up the volume. It has a very
great signal but the output of this dac is too limited
to drive some cans directly. It's unlike some other
dac which has opamp at the output stage that is capable
to produce higher current output, (but opamp do
colorize the signal")

This post has been edited by chchyong89: Oct 7 2010, 12:15 PM

actually already tried that,
the combination of this dac + ppk is cleaner vs optoplay + ppk, tho it still doesnt fix the slow problem last time. im not really sure what happened, will need some people to test together and some feedback.

For me, it sound much better from time to time on my edifier C3 from the first day i bought it. Maybe this is what u guys call it as burn in progress in audiophile world?

Its either the component burn-in, or your ear 'burn-in'

More or less haha, the more you use it basically the more it will "mature", and... things can go pretty far depending on the age of usage. >_>

Bro Daemon, am looking forward to your verdict with the Symphonica test then. So now you're saying that even on Tubular Bells with this DAC there is less obvious smearing if using a two-headed USB cable like the o nes used on 2.5" portable HDDs?? Fahrenheit147 coming? Will PM him and ask how much time he's logged on the DAC ad request the opportunity to test again then. If the smearing issue DOES go away with burn in I would get this DAC for sure.