I'd take a look at the ATH-WP900, small, easy to carry, looks and sounds good. They are also within your price range.

While many have characterized Topping DACs as “lifeless” or “boring,” my personal experience with several of their DACs has led me to perceive them as being very transparent. They neither augment nor diminish any aspects of the source; instead, they just present it in its original form, which I...

To me I would rank quality music source on par with headphones, a 50k system would just make poor quality / badly record music sound worse. But yea, back on topic. Has anyone heard the Utopia out of the Mass Kobo 433? Trying to find a good quality amp thats also compact in size.

You can also take a look at the Final D8000

Speaking from experience, the overall sensation of ‘immersion’ within an audio experience is predominantly influenced by the genre of music, the quality of its mastering, and the listener’s mood, rather than the selection of headphones—this holds particularly true when comparing models within...

From my experience, the clears have more slam, impact and treble (brighter). Some people find the clear to have a metallic treble, but I didn't have that issue. Soundstage wise, don't really notice that much of a difference, but then again I'm not a headphone soundstage kind of guy. It’s...

Having owned the Clear for several years, I can attest to their value as a potential upgrade from the 58X, particularly considering their current pricing. The extent to which they impress you, however, is subjective. Personally, my first foray into high-fidelity audio with the HD650...

I'll definitely consider the topping HS02, thanks for the suggestion. Yea, I tried reinstalling the lastest firmware from Amenero, I even tried the AISO4ALL drivers, but nothing works. Oh well, its not a big deal, i'll try the HS02 or just settle on listening through coax. I was just making...

Nope, not working. The display on the dac switches to DSD for a brief moment then immediately switches back to PCM, with no sound coming from the headphones. I'll try it with another DDC to see if it solves the issue. Thanks

Hey thanks for the quick reply, I tried every option from 512 all the way down to 64 with the same result (no sound comes through). I'm beginning to think maybe my DDC IIS isn't fully compatible with the IIS on the Gustard, but PCM works up to 384, weird.

The market these days offers an array of high-quality, cost-effective DAC/amps that are comparable in performance, specifications, and features. Personally, the decision often hinges on brand, aesthetic preference, and whether one favors an integrated unit or a separate stack configuration.

I’ve read your whole post and concur with several points you’ve raised. It’s common for individuals to share their initial impressions of new audio equipment using superlatives such as “way better,” “not even close,” or my favorite “night and day.” While I understand the excitement that...

Don't know if this is the right thread but here goes. I recently replaced an office dac with a Gustard A18, running IIS through an Amanero USB bridge, and now upsampling to SDM would not work(no sound) and PCM would only do 384k max, there is also 1 -2 second static/popping noise before the...

Before making any recommendations, curious as to why you sold the 789? Was it because you didn't like how it sounded? or was it something else?

Do any of you know if the U18 IIS configuration is fully compatible with those on the A18? My current ddc at the office is not playing well with this dac in HQplayer. No matter what I do, it maxes out at 384k PCM and refuses to play anything converted to DSD, theres also a poping sound whenever...

Does any know if only the updated MQA version of this dac has the DIRECT DSD option? I just got the non MQA and no optical input version and it doesn't have that option in the menu.

Maybe there's some misunderstanding because I'm not actually trying to argue with you per se, I'm merely using your points as a stepping stone to express my thoughts and concern with this product, it just so happens that mine are in contradition with yours. And not arguing in good faith? Come on...

What does offering different current mode have anything to do with being class A? “It personally annoys me a lot that we're willing to call this amp "bad" when other companies can get away with the same or even worse." Most users who report problems with temperature also post information such...

Right, and I'm saying there are class A amps cheaper that doesn't have the heat issue Its literally in the last sentence you wrote and I find your reply a little condescending So its okay for you to give an opinion on this product but not me? got it. The software/hardware on this unit has to...

My concern is not with the product’s subjective performance; rather, regardless of whether the manufacturer’s price point is $100 or $10,000, the product should function as designed. For example the topping A30pro I have has better measurements, is almost as powerful, and only cost 250 dollars...

Why are you only comparing the S17 to amps that are double its price? What about amps that half its price and work as intended? This is a flawed product then, when I buy a something, no matter the price, it should work as advertised. I don't see anywhere where it says "must use external cooling...

The thing is, a new DAC might fix your issue with male vocals but will introduce new problems in other areas. Most people giving you advice on this forum have years of experience and have listened to many different types of gear, I would take their advice into consideration. But hey at the end...

Thats fine, I totally agree with you. I have the OG Utopia and I love it to death, but for certain types of music, my other headphones which cost thousands less can bring more enjoyment to me. I'm not asking you to sell your pair of Utopia, just that you may find something out there better fit...

Or maybe you can try a different set of headphones for male vocals? It would make a lot more sense than getting 2 utopias so you don't have to swap cables....

Probably all the headroom, literally, since someone mentioned a few post back that the radiance was loud for quiet listening with the volume at 1