creatip123

Tried it, so I can confirm it works. + The amplifier is needed because the receiver by itself doesn't have enough current to properly run an IEM or headphone.

Wait, don't tell me you think better and worse is not subjective? True, high fidelity audio is defined, measureable and quantifiable. But it's just one of the many possible standards people use when they are judging if a thing is better or worse than the other things. As I understand it, high fidelity = how close the reproduction result compared to the original. One of the measurement is how low the distortions, right? Ok, you and maybe millions of other people judge a (audio) thing is good, bad, better or worse using this standard. But you can't seriously be thinking that 6 billion people on this planet must uniformly use the exact same standard to judge things? People judge a thing as better or worse using their own standards that they believe in. For example, I know ODAC + O2 got a lot less distortion than the Aune T1 tube dac, because of the analog tube. By definition, yes, the O2 combo is more high fidelity than the T1, that I agree. Now, which one do I think is the better one? Of course I'm gonna go with the one I like, which is the T1. My standard for judging audio stuffs is not 'as high fidelity as possible'. As long as I like it, then it's better for me. I'm not buying something because it's 'got the least distortion, most neutral, closest as it can get to the original source, perfect reproduction, etc, etc'. I buy things because I like the resulting sounds, and that's that. What good is a thing that's 'the best out of the best' if I don't even like it? People spending (more) money on an audio stuff that sounds better to them subjectively. Which one is more suited to their preference, that one automatically become 'better' for them.That's why there are so many variations of headphones and speakers around, all with different frequency responses. If there is only one standard of judging, then all the headphones will sound similar (not the same, just similar). I mean, come on, HD650 is dark, Tesla T1 is bright. They can't both be 'accurate' when they sound so different. So which one is the closest one to the original? Let's say, for argument's sake, T1 is the closest. So T1 is definitely better than HD650? Everyone must agree that the T1 is the better one? Everyone must pick and buy the T1 (assuming money is not a problem) because it's definitely better than HD650? Marketing thingamajigs with their half-fictious feature descriptions, measurements, and whatnot target the buyers who are 'lost'. Buyers who don't really know what to look for, less informed, less experienced, etc. I don't represent other people, I represent myself. What I think is just that, cables sound 'different'. Better if the difference is more suited to my taste, worse if it deviates more from my taste. And I also said the scale is tiny. If cable A is better (subjectively for me), and it's $10 more, then I'd consider it. If it's $100 or $1000 more, no way I'm spending that kind of extra money for that tiny scale of difference. Now what other people think and believe when they invest their money on cables, that is beyond my control. I don't, and never did encourage people to go multi-hundreds or thousands extra for cables upgrade. What I said in past topics was that if it's just a few extra bucks, then why not. Custom cables usually look good and more durable anyway, so just think of paying extra for those things. I don't know for sure, but I don't think there are people who buy expensive audio stuffs for their 'high-fidelity' specs, features, and reviews, keep using it, but don't like it at all.

That was actually my point, and what I said earlier, more or less, before I got bombarded by quantum mechanics and empty spaces. Never said anything about more expensive or multi-thousands cables being better and reaching heaven. Different cable materials can sound different, and that's that. Different is different. Better and worse are just humans labeling things.

That, haven't found the proper answer yet. Thought about resistancy, but doesn't seem right. Well, based on the procedure (where the cables were the only free variables), and the fact that I got 16 out of 19 right on the ABX, it's either different cables indeed change the sound, or I'm a powerful psychic. Of course don't dismiss the possibility that I was cheating. That's why I uploaded the exact files for anyone who wanna double check, and swore that I didn't swap the files before uploading.

Well, I know about 'too closed minded' but it's actually the first time I've heard of 'too open minded'. Granted, almost anything with 'too' in the front is bad in some ways or the other, but comparing the two (too closed vs too open), I'd choose 'too open'. An example, what I read in a science article: prior to 1905, people would either call you crazy or simply ignore you if you say matter (as in solid matter, etc) is another form of energy. Classic physics clearly separated those two as different 'beings'. Well, good thing Einstein got 'too open' of a mind that enabled him to write and coined the famous E=mc2, which states that matters can be converted entirely to energies, in other words matter is another form of energy. Like I said, my mindset is 'I'd rather try/do something that later on might be proven wrong, because that way I can keep learning'. You know what, forget all that. Forget all the testings, procedures, and methods from last time. Let's just say they're all wrong. Just go back to basic: I just did this a few moments ago. Prepared 2x m2m interconnects with different cables, Canare and Mundorf. Both aren't high-classed cables, just mediocre, good priced, decent cables. Recorded two excerpts of a song (one for each cable), for plain and simple ABX. This time I didn't do all the inverting, level tweaking, and all of that which I did last time. The recording chain goes: ipad LOD => different m2m => aune B1 (I was test driving the B1 at the same time) => cheap, over the counter m2m that costs about $1 or so (this stayed the same all the while) => VIA onboard line-in as recording device => audacity, recorded as 16bit PCM WAV. Playback and abx-ing with aune T1 to HE-400. So the only free/changing variables were the m2m interconnect cables. Everything else stayed the same. The (latest try) ABX: The report generated by the foobar abx: Restarted the test a few times, because I was having trouble concentrating in the beginning. Well, even if all of the tests that I weren't satisfied with still get accounted for, it accumulates to 28/39 (0.5% of guessing). These are the exact same 2 files that I used, if you or anybody wanna try: http://www.filedropper.com/abx They're already level-matched with foobar's replaygain, so they're ready to load into the ABX plugin. Of course I can't give a proof that those 2 files are indeed the same files I used (I might did some foul plays), so the best I can do is swear that the procedure I did is exactly what I wrote above, and those 2 files are really the exact files I used. Download it if anybody wanna see/hear, that those 2 files are indeed very identical (no cheating, no sound cues), yet still discernible by abx. Now, keeping in mind that other than the 2 types of m2m, everything else stayed the same in the recording chain, and they were all digital (not analog). So saying that the other devices caused the sound to be different, would almost be the same as implying that each time you play the exact same song, using the same PC, same media player, same EQ, same amp, same everything else, they would sound different. The point? For me, different cables give an audible differences. Not one is better than the other, just different. Last time, I did all that editing and inverting and whatnot to separate just the difference, which turned out to be a questionable methods (although nobody has pointed any flaws so far). So this time, it's just plain ears with ABX-ing.

First off, why are you complaining? Nobody was telling you to run errands or do what you don't want to do. Make it clear first, the 'taking it to HA', is it what I want or what you want? Because I never said or implied anything even remotely close to 'taking it to HA'. Now if it's what you want, why are you complaining to me? The plot is very simple, I said yes, you said no. I said I'm ready and willing to give the test subjects, testing methods, and procedures for you to recreate. You're free to make your choice. You want to challenge my test data or methods or results, sure, why not. I like to be challenged, as that's one of many ways to learn. If I'm proven wrong, then I'll say I'm wrong. You want/need to ask somebody else (in this case, people in HA), that's your privilege, not your liability. Hell even if you wanna take this all the way up to MIT, then go ahead. Just don't put it on me, because I never told you to do anything you don't want to. The way the wording is, it sounds as if what you're saying is 'You're wrong. I don't know what or how, but you're still wrong. To know what or how, I need to ask more knowledgeable people, but I don't want to, so stop asking me to prove you're wrong and just accept that you're wrong'

Poppings are normal, usually caused by the amp powering up, giving some electricity offset signal. This can be corrected with a 'soft start' relay, which isn't really on the user's end. Some devices have these relays, some don't. In the past, people make a habit of just turning the volume knob down when starting the amp/powering on, and turn it back up after a few seconds.

Well, I posted about this (sound difference of cables) in the 'beginning...' private discussion group, posted step by step process of separating the differences with audacity. I'd be happy to provide the original test files, and you do the separation process yourself, just to ensure there were no foul plays.

As far as soundstage (narrow vs wide), this might do it: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/362631-closed-vs-open-back-headphones/

If not taking into account the scale of differences, I actually agrees with him, and in audible spectrum of course. The (audible) differences are there, just in tiny scale. I'd say it's like wearing 100% cotton shirt vs 90% cotton + 10% polyester (or something) shirt. Is it different? Yes. Can you feel it? On and off for me, but maybe someone somewhere can. Is it worth the extra money? Not for me, dunno about others.

That and also one of the purpose of an external dac is to be somewhat portable, for using with laptops and/or mobile daps/phones. Although maybe not portable enough to put in breast pockets (some are really that small), but portable enough to bring around in a bag. Well, unless it's one of those bookshelf dac devices....

Well, if it's speed you want, you could always flip a coin. 5 seconds, and you got your answer....

3 consecutive topics for a single question? Really??

In term of bass, open backs don't pound on your ears as much as closed backs. Some people find this 'bass lacking' (while it's not technically correct), others find this much more enjoyable and comfortable (for the eardrums)

For the money, or in terms of bang for bucks, yeah it's good.