Correct, Zeos mentioned it too. So Iām assuming he has a review as well
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He does in fact lol
Does anyone know if the volume control is digital or analog?
Knowing iFi itās an analog volume pot lol
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They could have used something like in the xCAN or the xDSD. My micro iDSD BL was useless due to channel imabalance in the volume pot.
Thatās unfortunate, I havenāt had issues with my micro bl, but actually I am not a fan of the volume control on the xdsd or xcan
One of the few perks of living in the UK I suppose haha, it was literally available on Amazon prime the day before I posted my pic!
No special connections here sadly ;D
Really like it so far though, huge instant improvement on my q1mk2
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So should I get a hip dac and balanced cables (~$250) or get an Asgard 3 ($200) since I already have an Xd-05 for portable? I plan on getting an Asgard 3 regardless, itās just a question of getting it now or getting the hip dac now to try balanced and an Asgard 3 later (like 3-6 months later).
I mean, I would say the asgard 3 first since you already have the 05. You could upgrade the opamps in the 05 if you wanted to
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How much do you consider balanced to actually add? Iāve never tried it but Iāve always been sceptical for some reason.
So typically a good single ended can sound just as good as balanced, but it really depends. I think balanced makes the most difference for sensitive iems imo. If an amp has balanced, make sure to use it, but if it doesnāt, you donāt really need to worry about it
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A Hip DAC reviewer on Youtube observed that its balanced-out has an audible background hiss with the FiiO FH7 IEM. He surmised that they were too sensitive for the high current balanced output of the Hip.
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I recently learned that this happens with sensitive IEMs when they are connected to a dac/amp. Ifi sells product to prevent this, the EarBuddy and more expensive IEMatch, the latter also comes in a version that allows balanced output. Got the EarBuddy this week and Iām happily hiss-free now.
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āFor those āhissyā IEMs, use the 3.5mm S-Balanced . Enjoy all the benefits of balanced from your single-ended connection.ā
All well and good iFi but you try and buy a cheapish 3.5mm trrs to mmcx or 2 pin?
as ifi xDSD user ā¦
payed for my 3.5 TRRS balanced male to 4 PIN XLR adapter 20 bucks at venture electronics and 40 for the cable version at oidio sound uk
there are some 2.5 TRRS to 3.5 TRRS balanced adapters for under 20
I got once the Massdrop set āMEE AUDIO MMCX BALANCED AUDIO CABLE W/ ADAPTERSā for 80 bucks
here you also get a 45 degree angled 2.5 TRRS female to 3.5 TRRS male adapter and a pentacon version as well
they have the 2 PIN version as well
you can find the same set on Amazon - at least on Amazon Germany
Not sure how much that Drop one went for mate but the MEE cable on UK Amazon retails for Ā£69.99 which is the start of custom prices and 1/2 the price of the DAC lol.
the hole set went for 80 bucks
you donĀ“t have to use a 3.5 TRRS
a 4.4 pentacon third party IEM cable on Linsoul or Drop is about 20-30 bucks
I have maybe a dozen different 2.5 TRRS and some pentacon terminated IEM cables and all work like a charm
mattris was saying that the Hip Dac can cause sensitive iemās to hiss on the 4.4 pentacon so iFi suggests use the 3.5 S-Balanced output so necessitating a purchase of a trrs cable thatās allā¦not too sure whether the power match was used when the hiss was detected?
I can run my FH7ās on my Micro with it set on normal gain with the iem match off without a problem just donāt move the volume knob more than 10 degrees lol but its single ended.
The Youtuber (Gavinās Gadgets) said that the Hip DACās power match feature was not activated when he heard the background hiss on his FiiO FH7 through the 4.4mm balanced out.