well, my system is immune to impedance, so no tonal change, just direct tube distortions. I don’t think you can see tubes in the RU9 tho, its just visible on Shanling UA7 and iBasso’s Nunchaku?
Nunchaku is Cirrus DAC, so I’m thinking of avoiding that.
My old pics:
Window transparency:
- B4X
- Tap 2 mini / AD3 (TIE)
Most glow:
- Tap 2 mini (LED TUBE DOES NOT GLOW)
- AD3
- B4X
Heat (standby 5 min or so):
- AD3 (slightly warm)
- B4X (lukewarm
- Tap 2 mini (none/cold)
you also get a lot of noise though, especially if you have wifi/mobile data/bt on, it helps with them off iirc…and its also annoying with the tube “ping” if you flick the tube amp case.
Korg and Jan are solid states, I think the only DAP with a natural tube is the Caiyin N3 or something.
N3 was pretty popular, i remember that one.
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Cayin N3 ultra vs M33 R2R
Ok this battle has gone to a whole fucking new level
Cayin got upto 600mw vs M33 1100mw
But Cayin got AKM and tube and normal amps, vs M33’s R2R and amp
Cayin is cheaper, could just grab another AMP to pair with if needed ig.
both run android but Cayin stuck on 8.1 or so.
@domq422 Have you heard the N3 Ultra?
Also I think I could get hands on a Blue M33 R2R soon, but split between these two.
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No not really but with RU9 you do have 3 settings..SS, Modern tube or Classic tube. I really enjoy this Dac/Amp with a lot of my flathead buds 
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I’m intrigued with idea of tubes, Never had the opportunity to own one, but M33 R2R reviews are swaying me real bad… 
RU9 seems pretty good, idk how that stacks to n3 ultra with its classic military grade NOS tube.
@Rikudou_Goku @shortbus Looks like DC04 Ultra doesn’t suffer the distortion issue, also there’s a setting to disable DRE, which causes the issue in the first place i think.
The power output is questionable tho. 900mW is a huge doubt, But I’ll have to confirm that once I can try my experimental build.
I think I’ll hold off on the DAP purchase at this point…
I have not; that one did intrigue me as well before PTT on the M33.
Ultimately, the newer Android version of the M33, the insane power #, and FiiO’s track record made me choose the M33.
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I’m now confused between Shanling M5 ultra and the M33
Also the RU9…
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Just go with your gut.
I’m a huge fan of FiiO stuff.
Take my opinions with a grain of salt but the M33 has been very good for me. The battery life could be better, the screen is barely bright enough for direct sunlight, & Apple Music behaves oddly on it, but the FiiO player has been flawless and I’m only using it for music listening so I can’t ask for anything more.
I can’t speak on it if you’re planning on using it as a true Android device, downloading apps, surfing the web, watching YouTube etc. etc.
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Having a dedicated DAP vs using your phone with DACAMP, what’s better?
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Depends on who you ask, there are pros and cons for both.
Pro for a dap would be that it has its own battery so you arent killing your phone that you may need for more important stuff when you are out. Your phone likely does not have an sd card and/or small internal storage so you may not be able to fit your entire library, if you can you will not be able to fit as many apps or other stuff in the phone.
Pros for phone, you likely already have one so much cheaper cost since you just need a dongle. Phone soc is much faster than what is in daps so your navigation experience is much better here and likely a default win IF you want to stream from like spotify especially with built in mobile data, that daps does not have (you need to share wifi from phone, so not very convenient).
Personally i just stick with my phone since i stream from my own server at home and thus need mobile data on the device and the slower soc in daps would be a pain to navigate through and also one less device to remember to charge.
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It is why RU9 seems to be a better option imo, but M33 would make sense when at home, or just for a trip when you can prep everything up if you know what I mean. So a DAP does have its purpose for me. I’m still exploring that part…
Just as an aside: Apple Music behaves oddly on all DAPs (like the screen not powering down when just listening to music). I’ve been told Apple makes all sorts of adjustments to its Android apps without advertising it, catching the devs off-guard. Tbh, some of that behaviour also finds its way to the iOS versions. I’ve had skips within the first 15/30s on Apple systems as well.
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It’s all subjective.
I enjoy both, but I like the fact that I can listen to music on my DAP and not be bothered by anyone since it’s not connected to anything besides my music.
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